Lists

List #1- United States, you should do as the Belgians do:

1) Going green.

Most stores in Brussels charge you for a plastic bag if you don't bring your own reusable bag. Everyone carries shopping bags and rolling carts with them to the stores/market. On another eco-friendly note, all the lights are motion censored and turn off automatically after about 10 seconds if you don't move around the room enough. Way to go Europe for actually following through with being environmentally cautious!

2) Public transportation.

It is phenomenal here. There is a tram spot a few steps from my front door that takes me directly to school. The metro, trams, and buses all continuously run during most days. Cars are not even necessary here, and those who do own cars do not understand how to drive them because of a severe lack of driver's ed training (we've been told that the test consists solely of turning a car on and driving it in a straight line).

3) Relaxation.

Most every store here closes at 6 PM on the dot every day. Almost nothing is open on Sunday. Restaurant meals have multiple courses and last for hours and hours. Belgians fully understand the concept of taking time off, relaxing and living a slow-paced lifestyle. (United States, take note of this one in particular!)



Just wanted to share this photo... I like to call it "the beauty of getting lost." I took the wrong tram one night and ended up at this beautiful cathedral. Turns out, I was close to my house but just in an area I was unfamiliar with.



List #2- Brussels, really!?

1) THERE ARE NO COFFEE SHOPS HERE.

This has been a very tough adjustment for a caffeine-addicted college student. In the US, you can't walk more than 20 feet without stumbling across a Starbucks or some other coffee-producing establishment. On the contrary, Belgians haven't grasped this concept yet! We have found a small café near our school that gives out Dixie-cup sized "coffee to-go" for the equivalent of about $3.

2) Meteorological conditions.

The weather here can never make up its mind! It's always gloomy and usually misting rain. Yesterday, Mother Nature decided to dump a couple inches of snow on us. Today, that snow is gone because of an unusually sunny day. Now don't get me wrong, the rain doesn't stop me from going out and exploring the city but it would be a hell of a lot better if it wasn't somber and dreary outside all the time...

3) "Gourmet" food.

At home, cheese curds and french fries are two food groups we're told to avoid because of the grease factor and fat content. However, in Brussels, they serve massive cheese curds at restaurants as an appetizer, arrange it nicely on the plate and slap the name "cheese croquettte" on it. Gourmet fail #1. Also, french fries are considered a prime delicacy here. I want to make it very clear that I am NOT complaining about the fact that I receive a side of "frites" with almost every nice meal I eat out at a restaurant here, but rather reiterating the fact that french fries are such a strong cultural symbol for Belgians.




That's it for my lists. This past week in Brussels, I scrambled around the city to find my textbooks (still haven't found them all) and tackled a laundromat for the first time. On Wednesday, my program hosted a dinner for some french speaking students joining our group. The condition to attend the free 4-course meal + unlimited wine: No speaking English. Let's just say the unlimited amounts of wine helped my broken french flow throughout the evening. Yesterday, our group went on an excursion to several World War II memorials, including an American cemetery in Luxembourg honoring soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. We also saw various German tanks, a German cemetery, and visited a forest where several fox holes were still in place from the war. It was a powerful reminder of how many people sacrificed their lives for their country and for future generations.

Here are some photos from that excursion:

View of the city of Bastogne- The snow seems to follow me everywhere

Memorial honoring all 50 states.

American cemetery in Luxembourg




C'est tout pour maintenant! (That's all for now!)
Bonsoir!