European Parliament trip

On tuesday, I had to be at the European Parliament at 10:30 sharp! No later! So I got to the bus stop extra early to find that there was major construction happening and of course...wait for it....another strike. So I waited in the rain for a good 20 minutes before running back home and asking politely for my host dad Daniel to give me a lift to the field trip. Thankfully, he obliged and drove me strait to the gate. He's so kind!

Then my friends and I, all wearing as many layers as possible and in varying shades of gray, black, and tan, shivered until our guide Terrance showed up. I was under the impression we were going to receive a tour of the building and then be on our way. I was quite mistaken.
We entered the building and our guide led us through the maze of corridors to the coat check, and then to a larger conference room with chairs all a round. A woman came in to talk to us and answer any questions we had. After a while, we learned she was the Vice President of the European Parliament! During her shpeel a man came in and served us coffee or tea. It was quite welcoming.

We were then led into the main area where all of the delegates meet.

They were having a panel on eradicating poverty. Each of us had headphones linked to an interpreter of our choice language. What surprised me is that the delegates called upon to speak only had one minute to get their point across. Can you imagine traveling all the way to Strasbourg for one minute? 

Then something really exciting happened! The president of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon walked in and gave a compelling speech on the purpose of the European Parliament. This apparently was a huge deal as he had never addressed the European Parliament before. What I found most interesting is that he warned the Parliament of anti-muslim sentiments. He received a standing ovation! I felt really lucky to be able to see such an important figure speak.

Today I had an interesting experience. I was taking the bus to school which usually takes about 15 minutes. Today it took 35. When the bus was going to take a left turn, there was at least a mile long parade of tractors driving in the street. The tractors had german flags and signs on it, and some of them pulled trailers with cow statues painted like the german flag. It went on forever and ever. The bus driver wouldn't let us get off the bus to walk to school. So there we sat as hundreds of giant tractors whizzed by. I still have no idea what they were trying to get across. Perhaps germany is striking milk? Haha.

I leave for Paris on Saturday! Then to belgium and who knows where else?