To Quote Jesus . . .

"IT IS FINISHED!"*  The thesis, that is.  Now, while my efforts may not have saved humanity from eternal damnation, I am proud of the end result.  I turned the paper in on Thursday morning after several sleepless nights, many many tears, and only one panic attack.  I actually think I did better than most people.  I could not have done it without a lot of help from some extremely wonderful people.  First, thank you Mom and Dad for always taking my calls, even though I was usually a mess on the other end.  Thanks for listening to me whine and complain and for always believing that I could do it.  I also have to thank all of my friends back in the States who came through with encouraging letters, emails, and wall posts.  Many a Skype conversation helped keep my feet on the ground during this temporary break with reality.   I also need to thank my friend Oran who helped me format my thesis when I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing.  I am sorry, but in America, MLA is king.  So I have never used footnotes, tables of contents or numbered chapters before.  Oran made sure that even if my arguments don't make any sense, my paper looks good.  Finally, I owe a gigantic "THANK YOU" to Paul, my Rotary host counselor.  I called him on Wednesday afternoon in a complete panic.  We were supposed to have our papers turned in by 3:30 to have them bound in order to pick them up the next morning and turn them in between 10:00 and 12:00.  This two hour window is extremely strict.  Well, it was 4:45 and I was still working when I called Paul .  He was just wonderful.  First, he came over and gave me a huge hug.  Then he called around to copy shops in Bruges and got one to agree to open an hour early for me on Thursday morning so I could have the thesis bound at 9:00 and still have plenty of time to turn it in.
So now it is in and I can breathe a small sigh of relief.  I don't know how impressed my supervisor will be with my efforts, but for once (and trust me, this is rare) I am proud of the work I submitted.
It is back to work this evening, though.  My first exam is on Monday morning (cruel, if you ask me).  So I must begin to study some German.  I have a feeling that these exams will pass rather quickly.  Already, I have less than a month before I finish academic work.  Then I have two weeks to CHILL while awaiting my results.  I can't wait!
So thank you to everyone who called, emailed, sent postcards, etc.  I really appreciate all of the support.  Trust me, you won't have to do it ever again.  I promise you, this is the last thesis I will ever write!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

*No offense was meant by this quote.  I love Jesus and His words just seemed very fitting at the moment.