I have a student juried art exhibition on display now until Dec. 18th at FAU in the Schmidt Gallery Public Space in the performing arts building. Please, stop by and see it if you're in the area. I'm showing a small selection of photographs from Europe and a video.

be loved

goodbye london, you made me cry

I went to london this past Monday through Wednesday. It was a good trip, I enjoyed the town. I guess I didn't really have any expectations for my visit, but then again, it turned out to be something not totally expected. I walked around the city a lot, took a few photos, observed the people and place, watched the olympics is trafalgar square, watched a mesmerizing theater production (for only £10, might I add), and ended it all with a stressful journey from my hostel to the plane. It's a long story
involving operation hours, company restrictions, dumb ryanair, frustration, lots of money, and solemn weeping. But I will be back home tomorrow night (Friday, Aug 22), so any questions or stories you may want to hear from my trip, you are more than welcome to ask. And please, come see me, I miss all my friends terribly.

I added photos to my gallery for the bed and breakfast I helped out in France. You can see them HERE.
And some LONDON PHOTOS as well.

nearlyTHERe

a message from my dad to me

Traveling Adventures

I had another crazy and long traveling adventure on my way to Paris-then Arcy-sur-Cure. It all started when I couldn't make reservations for my trains until the day of, for a few reasons but by that time, one of my trains no longer had tickets available. In a frantic panic, I searched long and hard for other routes and trains that would get me there around the same time. After 2 hours, I finally found connections to get me there, but it was going to take 5 trains and included a nearly 5hour layover in Munich from 10:30-3:17am. Munich was brutal. I wondered around for the first hour or so, sat down with a soda at BK for another hour and a half until they closed. Around 1am, I tried to take a rest but the only place to lay down were metal single seat benches (and it was getting quite chilly out, the metal chilled me to the bone). I eventually gave up after an hour. My next train, when we were about 10min out from my next transfer station, it stopped for an hour...I don't know how it was broken, the announcements on the train were all in German, but without a doubt, there was no hope for my train. We eventually went back to the station where we were previously and I got on a different train making my journey 6 trains long. The next train I caught to Paris was 3 hours later than my original time to depart so I got to Paris tired, a little frustrated and with half my day gone.
In Paris, I just walked around. I didn't have interest in seeing the various monuments, I had seen them before. So I walked..and walked. All the way from my hotel near the Bastille to La Defense. If you don't know how far that is, get a map of paris and enlighten yourself. Sitting at the end of the city looking on to the Arch de Triumph and the rest of Paris I couldn't help but see it as a prefect end to my ridiculous, but accomplished day. To see photos, go to my travel gallery

Now I'm in Arcy-sur-Cure helping out Rapha House ministry. They have a bed and breakfast type house for missionaries to get away and get refreshed. I'll be helping them out with some graphic design and video.

tribute to a broken mac

So my motherboard started acting funny before I left on my trip and I had my computer in to the Mac store for a week before, but, as luck would have it, they couldn't get the parts in time for me to have it fixed before I left...so this is what I live with.

reLAXED/reFRESHED

I left the castle in Mittersill Monday night and I had a great time there. I met lots of people, took lots of pictures and actually had a few moments to relax a little bit (I haven't really done that since I left the Netherlands). The castle was a unique place... even though there were people from various places and came for various reasons, they all seemed to be finding what they were looking for at the castle and were quite satisfied. I was talking to the Director, John and he was telling me that they really needed to get new photos of the castle and didn't know how they were going to do it. And then out of the blue, I happened to send them an email asking if they could use a photographer. It's amazing how God will orchestrate things into being..and it was perfect timing for both me and the Schloss.

I now have photos on my gallery JUST CLICK HERE to see them

You can find the castle's website at http://www.schlossmittersill.org/

current location: Mittersill, Austria

I'm staying at a castle retreat center in the mountains of Austria. This place is absolutely beautiful and the castle is old and really cool. I have my own bathroom and I couldn't be happier (first time that's happened since I've been here).

I was in Vienna for the past 5 or so days. I was taking pictures for Calvary Chapel Vienna and a missionary there. You can check out some of the photos on my gallery by CLICKING HERE

Vienna was just as I would imaging it to be 500 years ago, everything is so old and seems to be well preserved likes nothings changed and the city is in a different time. It's worth a visit if you're ever in Europe.

Budapest

It's been long since I left Budapest now, well less than a week, but it feels like long ago (I have been without internet since I left). Here are some of the photos I took for Golgota Budapest and some artwork for the internet radio station they have.

PhotoGalleryLink

crazy last day

I have done so much planning today my brain hurts.
But I have all my train routes planned (almost) all my reservation taken care of

I ate a yellow watermelon

sour milk [and not for the faint of heart]

there are many things in life that you know about and talk about, and understand what is meant. But then there are moments that you finally understand why words and phrases are said the way they are. This week, my revelation; sour milk.

I love milk and drink a lot of it, but I can be touchy about it when I'm in a new or unfamiliar place. However, I decided to just jump right in and buy some here in Budapest. My first glass was good, a little different, but good. Two days later...I poured a big glass, drank, and had no clue what had just entered my mouth. It was like drinking liquid sour dough bread. I've had my fair share of bad/expired milk, but I never knew it could be of the sour variety. Now I know and it all makes sense.

budapest

The minute we arrived, I decided that it's my favorite city I've been to in Europe yet (but maybe that will change as I live here the next week and a half...). It is beautiful, I love the buildings and the feel of the city. I don't know what I'll be doing yet, I'll get the scoop on that tomorrow. I'm working with Calvary Chapel Budapest.

here's a short video of my new accommodations
(the sound is very low, I had to whisper because the girls I'm staying with were sleeping)

Romania

It was my first stop on my journey to photograph and it was great. I met some great people (Cornel & Karen Bucur are amazing!) and saw impacting ministry taking place. It was interesting learning a little bit about how I want to approach this whole thing I'm doing. This trip has been one of those experiences where you really have no clue what you're getting into, but you just decide to go for it anyway and hope for the best. I'm definitely figuring it out as I go. I think I'm growing a lot on a few different levels but right now I'm more reflective about that, as if I was sitting on the outside of everything, trying to make up my mind about how it's all effecting me. I have quite a few photos posted on my gallery. Most of the photos are from three ministries of Pathway to Joy Ministries; one of the orphanages, the hospital, and Sabolciu, one of the gypsy village they work with. Their ministry is amazing, if any of you have the chance to go and help them out on a missions trip or whatever, it is totally worth whatever it costs; monetarily or otherwise. You can find them on the web at http://www.pathwaytojoy.org

For Photos:
Romania Gallery

2 new photo galleries

one to finish up my stay in the NETHERLANDS

the other for my TRAVELS

a strenuous journey

Probably one of the hardest things I've ever done was to get this far. I'm taking refuge at a McDonnalds in Budapest while I collect my thoughts and wait for my next train to Romania (only for a soda, I don't eat the food there). I'm in need of a refuge because I've been carying an extra 30lb (no exaggeration, it was weighed at the post office) of packages that needed to be mailed back home from my stay in Leiden but couldn't be because it was Sunday yesterday and the post office was closed. The bags that I have with me (2) are even heavier (I can lift my suitcase but not over my head) plus I bought a somewhat weighty tripod to use over here. When I left my dorm in Leiden I sat down on the front steps, ready to cry because I couldn't fathom how I was going to carry it all; the distance, up and down stairs, in and out of trains, etc. I just prayed that God would give me the strength to do it and send anybody that would help me along and keep ones who would be trouble away. My walk to the train station from my dorm is at least a mile so I slowly began my journey. I had my packages in one of those large blue IKEA bags and the only way I could carry it without it falling off my shoulder was to put one of the straps on my shoulder and the other around my neck. About a third of the way there an older lady asked me if she could help. I warned her that is was heavy, but she took pity on me anyway. This lady, however, was trying to catch a train and we were walking so fast, I thought I might faint or collapse under the weight.
Getting on and off trains was a bit of a challenge, but in two steps I managed. On my first transfer, I got really nervous about getting everything off the train before it left the station and through it all ended up leaving my newly purchased tripod on the train only realizing it 40min. later. I slept in a train, not in a bed but a chair. The car was illuminated by florescent the whole ride and I was across a really smelly man (he was very nice though). When I went into the bathroom, I could finally see the damage I had done to myself by the weight of everything. On my neck I have lovely new bruise markings in the shape of the straps and a few elsewhere. I ache everywhere, my neck, shoulders, I did something to my hip that hurts a lot and my ribcage feels like it got crushed. But I'm alive, safe and finally mailed my packages (for way too much money I just found out thanks to currency converters). I've also decided that I'm out of my mind for doing this, but I guess thats what happens when you follow after God. And I know His body hurt so much more when He had to carry the cross.
Sometimes we have to get really uncomfortable to understand a little more how much our God loves us.

Familiarity in Friends and Starbucks

My second last day here I met up with some old family friends in Amsterdam who happened to have a layover there on their way to Italy.  I showed them around town a bit and tried to make their very limited stay in the city worthwhile.  However, it was their visit with me that redefined my experience here.  If you ever choose to travel by yourself, good luck, it's tough.  Seeing my friends was like being home with family again.  We even had Starbucks when we went back to Schiphol (the only starbucks in the country).  Riding back to Leiden on the train after it all, I was quite satisfied.  I'm leaving for Romania today around noon.  It will take me about 27 hours to get there.  Packing to leave was a huge hurdle to get over, but I'm just about done.  I'm very excited and a good deal nervous to move onto the next stage of my journey, but ready or not, my train leaves at 14:23 and there's no turning back.

Final Project for school

this is my final project for school.  It's only a study for the work, it will change later because I want to record my own music for it but am laking a piano right now (it just wouldn't fit in my suitcase).  Anyway, take a look.  
[it should be played in a loop]

Thoughts of the Netherlands [and when I move on]

I was a little unsure upon my arrival of my experience here in Leiden, Netherlands.  Was it going to be worth my time and money, would I learn anything.  Here's what I've gained.

You must always push yourself.  Determination to do this will make me a better artist [or just an artist at all].  My schooling here is quite open and I can do with it as much as I am willing.  This isn't so much different from what I've been learning at school so far, but being in an unfamiliar place where everything looks new/exciting and overwhelming it's easy to get distracted by all of it.  But here, I'm learning the ambition to create in a slightly different direction and it's helping me focus.  This, coincidentally, only makes it easier for me to move on from here with clearer vision to capture the people and places I'm going to visit.  I can't get this right all on my own, however.  It will take some talent, yes; but most importantly God given inspiration.  So, if you're in the habit of praying for others, I would ask that you pray for me to have Divine inspiration to capture the hope the missionaries and organizations already give on a daily basis.  If God gets the glory in the end [and all the way through] then I've done my job.

watch for picture to come in the future, I'll be in Romania in about two weeks.

If you're interested...

I've recently started using skype and have quickly fell in love with it [especially since I get to see my family now].  If you happen to use it too and want to chat with me for a few, please look me up. (I think I'm the only ashley huizenga on there)

[updated] Netherlands Photo Gallery

I posted a few more photos online from the Netherlands.  Check them out here:

Itinerary

This is my itinerary thus far.  I still have about 2 weeks to fill.  Please if you know of any missionaries/christian organizations anywhere in Europe or happen to be one, please let me know if you can use my photography.  Send any information to ashleyhuizenga@gmail.com.

July 7-15 - Oradea, Romania

July 15-25 - Budapest, Hungary

July 26-31 - Vienna, Austria

Sometime August - France

a tour of my room

I've made it

I have made it to Leiden, Netherlands.  It was quite an adventure though.  I landed in Cologne, Germany and had to take a series of trains to get to Leiden and I don't speak a word of German or Dutch yet.  But as God would have it, I've made it here successfully.

Leiden is a beautiful town! It is overrun by bicycles...probably in the hundreds of thousands in number of bikes here.  It is the preferred mode of transportation.

The program I'm in here for school is small.  I am one of seven but I think I can learn a lot.  We will be visiting The Haag tomorrow and a few other places in the Netherlands before we're done.  I'll have pictures to post as I go along.  I hope you are all well.  Send me an email if you get a chance, it's ashleyhuizenga@gmail.com

ashley

Getting things together

I just booked my flight and purchased my train pass.  I held my breath, prayed a little and hoped that I didn't just make a huge mistake.  Once my schedule is a little more finalized I will post it on my blog so you know where I'll be while I'm away.  So far it looks like this

June 3 - Depart for Leiden (Netherlands)

August 23 - Arrive back in Ft. Lauderdale (good ol' US of A)

my biggest need right now is lots of prayer.  I still have a lot to plan out, people and ministries to visit and fit into my 2+ month schedule.  But God is good and I am confident that all will work out exactly the way He wants.  I'll have much more to post later (this is the boring stuff anyway).