Ketchup

I know sooo many of you are following this blog.. I'm sorry that I haven't posted in awhile. No fear- I'm going to catch you up on the basics.

I went to Paris with a group of five other people from UF two weekends ago. We saw most all the famous monuments and explored a couple of popular museums and sites. I can see where Paris' romantic reputation comes from based on the Eiffel Tower and the Lourve, but not so much from the other areas of town. I was a little disappointed with the huge tourist culture, but it's for good reason. Paris has a lot to offer.

My favorite part was picnicking under the Eiffel tower with friends and watching it get lit up. I also enjoyed going to le Orangerie- the Impressionist art museum. Monet's Water Lilies series was breathtaking. There were two rooms displaying four sequential pieces in an oval. Both rooms let in sunlight from the ceiling so that the colors in the works transformed and thus modified the piece. I spent a good deal of time sitting and staring, interpreting, reinterpreting after brighter sunlight, etc.




Mizzou peeps went to Leiden this most recent weekend. It's a quaint, college town in Holland. The trip just reaffirmed my love for the Netherlands. It's pretty much official that I'll be moving there as soon as I graduate and learn Dutch. Leiden was just as full of bikes, pretty people and pancakes. It also offered the perk of a rich Pilgrim history. That's the main reason why our professor set up the trip. I learned a lot about America's actual founding fathers while indulging in fantastic (free!) meals. The seafood was delectable.

Three Weeks In

That's right. I'm about three weeks into my program. I'm getting pretty acclimated to Brussels and Europe in general. I'm also adjusting to the independent living.. mainly the budgeting and finance. But let's not talk about that.

I've done a little more sightseeing around Brussels, including a trip to the atomium. It's this massive structure modeled after the atom. Why it was constructed and in Brussels of all places, I couldn't tell you. All I can say is that it's huge and a bit of an upgrade from the bean in Millennium Park. There is fantastic ice-cream served at the base of it too.



The gang has planned a trip to Paris this weekend. The girls (there are three of us) leave early tomorrow morning.. around 6:45.. and the boys leave an hour or so later. To be expected. We've planned a (free) trip to the Lourve Friday night, Versailles on Saturday and monuments on Sunday. Ahhh, fashion capitol here I come!

I AMsterdam

I have my first weekend trip to report on! Where else to begin my European travels than Amsterdam?

My roommate, Jenna, and I have been spending most of our free time with a group from the University of Florida. We organized a weekend, transportation (train) and a hostel reservation in the land of tulips and canals. It turned out to be quite the ideal trip, at least for me. Actually, Amsterdam appeared to be the ideal location for me.

Let me break it down:
-The 'dam has a huge bike culture. There's a bike lane right alongside the automobile/tram ones everywhere and just as much traffic, if not more.
-The fashion was inspirational. I swear the people of Amsterdam breed model, well-dressed babies. I was astounded by the chic ensembles I saw in all situations: biking, casual walks, sightseeing, museum hopping, etc. I couldn't help feeling like a bum in my leggings and cardigan, which would be considered more dressy in the U.S. Sorry, you know me. This observation was probably the first and most often one I noticed.
-So many museums, but so little time. We went to the Van Gogh museum, the archaeological museum, the Anne Frank House and the tulip museum. I left plenty of museums to go to when I return, hehe. Van Gogh was my favorite destination by far. I spent hours in there just standing in front of his pieces, captivated by the vivid imagery I saw before me. I realized art has this certain presence you can only experience in person. I loved feeling that intensity and the specific art of Van Gogh.
-The pancakes are magical. I did some research before hitting up the 'dam and read that its specialty was pancakes- sweet and savory. The girls went to a sweet little pancake shop by the Anne Frank museum on the last day. Oooh, and did we save the best meal for last. I opted for savory and got a pancake cooked and topped with spinach, brie, olive oil and pine nuts (my mouth is watering as I write).


There's just a summary of my weekend. I made the most of it. Now, I have another week of classes and will be planning another excursion for next weekend. I think Paris is in the works...

Holiday

It's my second holiday spent here. I'm beginning to believe that the Europeans use any excuse to call off work or school. I have no problem with that.
I've learned a few more things about Europeans and Belgians more specifically-
basically by learning what NOT to do:
1. Don't leave your grocery shopping for Sunday, or holidays for that matter. Europeans close their shops down.
2. Don't order ketchup with your french fries. That's sooo American. Real Europeans ask for mayonnaise.
3. Everyone loves jazz, especially when it's performed on five different stages over the course of three days (my weekend).
4. Europeans love their weekend markets- so much that I could barely walk from one stand to the next without being run over by a herd of older women lugging grocery buggies.
5. They wear comfortable shoes knowing they have to walk everywhere. Unfortunately, I've learned that the hard way and have a few blisters to prove it.
Oh, the trials and tribulations of being an American. I'm still on my quest to become as European as I can while I'm here. Learning French might help.

School Mode

I've completed my first week of classes! I've switched out of the art class (mainly to clear up my Friday) and am now taking two political science courses- one on democracy and one on nationalism and ethnicity. I'll be all well-versed in Constitutional talk and current European conflicts at the end of these six weeks (I guess that's a warning for future discussions).

The school system is a little different here in Brussels. In case you didn't know, Brussels is a divided country with three Parliaments: the French, the Flemish and the Germans. There are two Universities in Brussels- one Flemish and one French. Both are free for Belgian citizens though, which is both good and bad. Some people go into the University underestimating the amount and difficulty of the workload and only about 30-50% of students end up graduating. Those who do stay in school dedicate a lot of their time to homework and seem genuinely interested in the class content. Having a dose of international students has provided interesting and diverse discussion in class too. Even kiddies from the program who live in other (more Southern) regions of the U.S. provide opinions of which I've never been aware.

This weekend is the Jazz Marathon- three successive days of free concerts, chocolate and artisanal cheese. I plan on taking lots of pictures and enjoying the experience enough for you all. No worries.

105 Rue Gray

Here's a taste of how I'm living-


I got a fully stocked kitchen. Now I just have to learn how to step up my cooking skills. Next to the kitchen is the beloved balcony (left). And at the back of our apartment is the even more gorgeous terrace (right).


Viola, the living room...


...that doubles as my bedroom!

There is another bedroom a level down for Jenna, along with two bathrooms. A dining room linking the kitchen and living room tops it off. The location is pretty good too. We're about a 30 minute walk from campus (which I'm learning is nothing here), a five minute walk from a lovely square of restaurants and bars, and within easy transport of the Grand Place (the city square). The public transportation is fantastic here. The times and various kinds (tram, bus, metra..) are cheap, safe, and accessible. I'm living a good life here, for sure.

Brussels Orientation

Marcus and I arrived safely in Brussels Thursday night. The trip getting there made me question if we ever would... I had to improvise my commuting plans and alleviate some baggage weight, just making it to the gate in time to board the plane. It was stressful to say the least.

But I'm here, finally. The plans have been non-stop since. I don't know what sort of energy I'm running on because it's not coming from sleep. Our professor, Overby, treated us to dinner after arriving Thursday. Everything people say about the food and drinks here is true. Quality, quality, quality. I've eaten and drank well, so I've been a happy girl. The fries I enjoyed yesterday were top notch.

I went to orientation at the college where I'm taking classes- Vesalius. It is the flemish speaking FREE university. Yes, (some) higher education is free here! Well, not for me though. There are a couple of programs from other schools and national student travel agencies that together make up the 50 or so students taking summer classes at Vesalius. I've gotten to know a number of them during the long day of orientation and today while touring the city of Brussels.

Today's been a long day too- starting around 9:30 a.m. and ending around 7:30 p.m. The day consisted of sightseeing, eating, going to the chocolate museum and getting lost commuting. There might be a concert in the works for tonight too... needless to say, there's an infinite amount of things to do here. Finding the hours to sleep is the hard part. 

  

Getting There

Marcus and I are on our way to Brussels. We flew into Dublin this morning and spent the day walking, cheap sight-seeing and eating. I can finally believe that I'm about to embark on a European adventure. I have the tangible effects of jet lag to prove it. I had a bout of it right off the plane, but I sucked it up to explore Dublin's city center. The wave of jet lag hit me again in the afternoon and I about fell asleep on the tram ride back to our hotel.

 

Aside from my sleep-deprivation (I can't remember the last time I pulled an all-nighter... and yet I call myself a college student? I know.), my little time in Dublin has been great. I've accepted my tourist tendencies by keeping my camera ready in one hand and a map in the other. Dublin is gorgeous, even with lots of rain. The residents are friendly, there's green all around and just as many pubs as people.

 

We're off to Brussels tomorrow evening. I seriously hope that Ryan Air doesn't strictly enforce the 15kg weight for checked bags... too many shoes.