Beginning to be Belgian

Today marks my 2-week anniversary of living in Brussels. And in such a short amount of time, I can already say that Belgium has become my home. My sense of direction has dramatically improved as I no longer have to pull out my giant metro map at every stop to figure out which direction I need to go next. I was even able to direct a lost tourist to their correct metro stop! Being mistaken for a Belgian is probably the best compliment I've received since being here. I've also been pleasantly surprised with how much my French has improved in so little time. Just seeing signs in French and hearing everyone speak it on the metro and on the street encourages me to practice as much as possible. This paid off when I was in line at the grocery store, and I held a conversation with a woman about the convenient product placement of gum and magazines near the check out line... all in French! While it may not seem like much, it's been several years since I've taken any sort of French class. Goes to show how crucial it is to be immersed in a culture/language to really learn it. However, the defining moment of my Belgian-ism occurred at my school-sponsored beer chugging contest. Before the contest began, one of my fellow Belgian students found out I was American and began telling me various bars to go to and landmarks to visit. He was astonished to find out that I had already been to most of the sites he was suggesting! I even rattled off the name of a bar that our program director had told us to visit, and my classmate had never even heard of it. Knowing more about Belgium than a native Belgian in week 2? I'll take it! (Side note for everyone wondering: I lost in the first round of the beer chugging contest...)

As promised, here are photos of the the house I rent a room out of:



My room---so much space, so few things to fill it with!












In other news, reality struck in Brussels this past week with the beginning of spring semester classes. I will be taking classes at Vesalius College, a tiny, 300 person English-speaking college. Here is "campus":


Our school takes up solely the first floor of this building. Classes are extremely small and can last up to 3 hours. This is quite an adjustment from 300 person lectures in Madison where the professors wouldn't even have the slightest idea you exist unless you make the effort. At Vesalius, everyone knows everyone and everyone is accounted for, as attendance is taken in every class.

My schedule is as follows:
International Journalism
U.S. Foreign Policy since 1898
Intermediate French II
Belgium Culture Course

The best part: No class Monday or Friday! This means I'll be free to travel on the weekends easily. This also allows me to have more time to work at my internship! I have been hired as an intern at a non-profit organization here in Brussels called Close the Gap. This organization collects computers from corporations and other donors and sends them to third world countries for educational purposes. I will be helping with the marketing and PR for Close the Gap this semester and receive credit for it.

This past weekend, some friends and I took the train to explore a town about 45 minutes north of Brussels, called Antwerp. Antwerp's claim to fame is that it has a booming diamond industry and exports 80% of the world's diamonds. It is also home to 50,000 Orthodox Jews. We happened to be visiting on Shabbat, so very few places near our hostel were open on the day of rest. Regardless, it was great to wander around a new city, even it was for just 1 day.


This is the train station in Antwerp. It has been voted 4th best in the world, giving this quirky city yet another claim to fame.

One of the highlights of our stay in Antwerp was the discovery of a Mexican restaurant. This was especially monumental because on day 1 of orientation, our program directors told us Belgians don't know how to make Mexican food and there was no way we would ever find anything close to decent Mexican food in Belgium. This was heartbreaking as I am a frequent Chipotle customer and nacho lover. It felt so good to prove them wrong! While this restaurant was extremely overpriced (15 euros for 1 burrito-equal to about $20), we managed to haggle the owner for cheaper food if we all got the same enchilada. He agreed and even threw in free chips. Next mission: Finding a decent Mexican restaurant in the city I actually live in.


Overpriced but delicious Mexican food... Olé!





































Another 3-day stretch of class ahead before another weekend and the beginning of my internship. This weekend we'll be taking a trip to the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg with the CIEE program... Stay Tuned!

À Bientôt!