On Friday we met up with some of Eline's friends and they were very nice to us. We had some drinks at a bar and then went to a club called Noxx. The music was great and we had such an amazing time. I was rocking out to some Lil' Wayne songs on the second level, only to later find out that Lil' Wayne was performing these songs on the first level. Woops. Didn't even know he was there. =) Sometimes I amaze myself.
WE MADE IT THROUGH DUTCH LESSONS! It was frustrating, but we got through it and we even learned a few things. We will continue to have this class throughout the semester but only for two hours every two weeks.
We start our actual classes tomorrow! I am excited/nervous. Though I won't be in an actual classroom as often as I am used to, it is looking like I am going to be doing way more work than I am accustomed to. My weekly schedule looks like this:
Monday:
8:45-10:25: Body Expression class (only lasts 7 weeks instead of 14.) [3 credits]
10:40-12:20: International Course on Socio-Educational Care Work [3 credits]
Tuesday:
12-3pm: Staff meeting at my internship
Friday:
2-4:45pm: Field Practicum (every other week where we write case studies and papers about our internship and check in with our supervisor). [this class + internship = 3 credits]
On top of that, I will be working 22+ hours at my [unpaid] internship. And on top of that, I am taking two courses online [6 credits together, grand total of 15]. Right now, it is seeming a bit odd to me that the internship that I'm working 22 hours for plus the field practicum and papers, etc. is going to transfer as 3 credits.I am very happy for the opportunity and the experience, but that is a lot of hours to be putting in on top of writing papers and work for other classes for only 3 credits. I hope it doesn't become too much! I'm a little worried, but trying to stay optimistic.
Last week I met with my supervisor at my internship. His name is Jelle and in 2006 he studied abroad at the University of Maine. He showed me around the facility and explained a little bit of what I'll be doing. I was slightly surprised to hear that I will be working 11-hour shifts, but excited to be spending that much time with the children. Basically, children of any age get reccommended to live at this facility. They may be having troubles at home, with the law, etc. It is our job to figure out why they are there. We (social educators, interns, psychologists, etc) talk to them and get to the bottom of what is going on in their lives. At the end of their 2-3 month stay we make a reccommendation that they either go home or go elsewhere and whatever other reccommendations need to be made. There are about 12 children there at a time. I'm keeping this description a bit vague, because I don't want to get anything completely wrong. My first day is on Tuesday so I'll know a bit more then and will be able to articulate my actual responsibilities at that time. So excited to meet the kids, but a little nervous to communicate with the younger ones who don't speak English!
Good Love is on the way to Belgium in the form of Karin Baard and Tanna Jellison! Karin will be here on Wednesday and Tanna will be here on Friday. We are currently making plans to visit Amsterdam with Emilee and Amparo! Sooooo excited. I can't even describe how happy I am to reunite with these two ladies. Eagle Love.
I hope to have A LOT to blog about after this next week. Looking forward to so much! =)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
From mixed drinks to techno beats, it's always heavy into everything...
On Thursday we finally picked up our pictures to decorate our rooms. They look so much more cozy now. =) We also did a little grocery shopping and lounged around because we knew that we had a long night ahead of us.
We met up with Eline and her friends at a bar around 8p. *On a side note, Eline apparently has very few girl friends. hah.* Our friend from Norway, Therese, joined us. At 9:30p we went to a sushi bar. I was so adventurous! I tried almost everye thing in front of me and I even used chopsticks. hahaha. All of you at home would be so proud. It may or may not have taken me like 20 minutes to eat each piece because it was taking me so long to pick them up with the chopsticks, but it was fun.
Vincent's girlfriend, Anouk, met up with us and drove all of the girls back to Eline's while the guys walked. Such gentlemen! Haha. I actually don't think they had a choice. ;) I believe I recall Eline saying something like "The girls are going to go in the car and the boys are going to be gentlemen and walk." Love her!
We hung out at Eline's until about 1am when we tried to go to Cafe Local, a club, but they were at capacity and only letting those with membership cards in. So we went down the street to Velvet Lounge. Eline explained that it is a really fancy restaurant, but after the plates are cleared everyone gets up and dances. We did the same. The crowd was a bit older, but we made our own little party. It was a blast.
So after our crazy night on Thursday, we kind of lounged around the apartment all day on Friday. I also made the biggest plate of spaghetti known to man and ate every bit of it. SO GOOD. om nom nom.
Today, Saturday, Emilee and I went to the Fashion Museum and the Diamond Museum. The Fashion Museum exhibits the works of different designers every couple of months (I think). Currently there is a ginormous hat exhibit. I quite enjoyed the more modern looking hats that reminded me of Lady Gaga. I was also amused by the hat that was literally made out of barbie doll legs. So creepy.
The Diamond Museum was WAY more up my alley. Ahhhhh everything was so gorgeous. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed so there are no pictures to come. We were pretty bummed about that. We wanted to pick out our favorite pieces. However, I'm pretty sure we both agreed on our favorite necklace/earring set. I will find a picture and attach it. There was also a golden tennis racket with like 8 pounds of gold and thousands of diamonds set in it. Good. Lord.
Tonight we met up with our friend, Amparo! She is from Antwerpen, but she studied at the University of Maine last semester with the same program that Emilee and I are here with. She brought us to a small jazz pub. It was so cool. Twere three levels, but everything was very open and there was a jazz band...obviously. We caught up with Amparo and then we went to a french-fry stand thing..hah.. Apparently it is a favorite spot of the students here. Mmmmmmmm. Theeeen, Amparo took us across the river to a view of the whole city at night. So pretty! It was such a quiet area too. I didn't realize how loud the city is until it was quiet again. I could have stood there staring at the city forever...accept it was freaking freezing!
Also, I bought new ballet flats today, because I left my favorite pair at Glenda. UGH I was so mad. So anyway, I decided to wear them tonight to break them in. Maybe it was a good decision to do it on a night that we weren't out dancing all night, but we did A LOT of walking. My heels hurt pretty bad, but they looked WAY worse than the felt when I checked them out at home. There were literally pools of blood in my shoes. ahhh, so gross. Emilee almost passed out when she saw them. OOPS.
It is so great to have Eline and now Amparo to show us around the city. I don't know what we would do without them!
All for now, next week is going to be very similar to this week. Window shopping, touristy things, dutch lessons, pubs, night clubs, etc. at least until we start actual classes. =) <3
We met up with Eline and her friends at a bar around 8p. *On a side note, Eline apparently has very few girl friends. hah.* Our friend from Norway, Therese, joined us. At 9:30p we went to a sushi bar. I was so adventurous! I tried almost everye thing in front of me and I even used chopsticks. hahaha. All of you at home would be so proud. It may or may not have taken me like 20 minutes to eat each piece because it was taking me so long to pick them up with the chopsticks, but it was fun.
Vincent's girlfriend, Anouk, met up with us and drove all of the girls back to Eline's while the guys walked. Such gentlemen! Haha. I actually don't think they had a choice. ;) I believe I recall Eline saying something like "The girls are going to go in the car and the boys are going to be gentlemen and walk." Love her!
We hung out at Eline's until about 1am when we tried to go to Cafe Local, a club, but they were at capacity and only letting those with membership cards in. So we went down the street to Velvet Lounge. Eline explained that it is a really fancy restaurant, but after the plates are cleared everyone gets up and dances. We did the same. The crowd was a bit older, but we made our own little party. It was a blast.
So after our crazy night on Thursday, we kind of lounged around the apartment all day on Friday. I also made the biggest plate of spaghetti known to man and ate every bit of it. SO GOOD. om nom nom.
Today, Saturday, Emilee and I went to the Fashion Museum and the Diamond Museum. The Fashion Museum exhibits the works of different designers every couple of months (I think). Currently there is a ginormous hat exhibit. I quite enjoyed the more modern looking hats that reminded me of Lady Gaga. I was also amused by the hat that was literally made out of barbie doll legs. So creepy.
The Diamond Museum was WAY more up my alley. Ahhhhh everything was so gorgeous. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed so there are no pictures to come. We were pretty bummed about that. We wanted to pick out our favorite pieces. However, I'm pretty sure we both agreed on our favorite necklace/earring set. I will find a picture and attach it. There was also a golden tennis racket with like 8 pounds of gold and thousands of diamonds set in it. Good. Lord.
Tonight we met up with our friend, Amparo! She is from Antwerpen, but she studied at the University of Maine last semester with the same program that Emilee and I are here with. She brought us to a small jazz pub. It was so cool. Twere three levels, but everything was very open and there was a jazz band...obviously. We caught up with Amparo and then we went to a french-fry stand thing..hah.. Apparently it is a favorite spot of the students here. Mmmmmmmm. Theeeen, Amparo took us across the river to a view of the whole city at night. So pretty! It was such a quiet area too. I didn't realize how loud the city is until it was quiet again. I could have stood there staring at the city forever...accept it was freaking freezing!
Also, I bought new ballet flats today, because I left my favorite pair at Glenda. UGH I was so mad. So anyway, I decided to wear them tonight to break them in. Maybe it was a good decision to do it on a night that we weren't out dancing all night, but we did A LOT of walking. My heels hurt pretty bad, but they looked WAY worse than the felt when I checked them out at home. There were literally pools of blood in my shoes. ahhh, so gross. Emilee almost passed out when she saw them. OOPS.
It is so great to have Eline and now Amparo to show us around the city. I don't know what we would do without them!
All for now, next week is going to be very similar to this week. Window shopping, touristy things, dutch lessons, pubs, night clubs, etc. at least until we start actual classes. =) <3
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Wait Until Tomorrow
So, after a week of window shopping, Emilee and I finally decided to make some purchases on Tuesday. She got a sweater and I got a little black dress. Very practical purchases. =) It was raining, but we really had a great time shopping. We have yet find boots that are up to our personal standards, but also within our tight budget. We'll keep looking! Hopefully we find some before spring!
We also had our first dutch class on Tuesday. It was frustrating...to say the least. Our teacher refuses to speak any English so we rely on pictures and pointing to try to figure out what the hell she is saying. We are learning a lot though, as frustrating as it might get. I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing and learn as much as possible without wanting to pull out my hair. We have this class this week and next week, Tuesday-Friday from 2-4pm. We will also have it throughout the semester every other week for just one day again for 2 hours. We can do it!
After class, we met up with Terese and got sandwiches and coffee at Panos. So good that we ate there for lunch again today. The workers are so patient with us...I think that's part of why we like it. It is also quite affordable compared to previous lunches we have had.
Today before class, we kind of took it easy. Class was a bit easier today, simply because we knew what she expected and we knew how to communicate (or not communicate) with her. It is going to be okay.
After class today, we went to Ikea with Eline. SO much fun. It made me wish I had a home to decorate soooo badly. Someday, someday. There were also toddlers running around everywhere, which made me smile. =)
Tonight and tomorrow we are resting up, because we have a big night on Thursday! We are going to Eline's for sushi and drinks and after we are going to a club. It is also the last Thursday night for our Finnish friends so we will most definitely be meeting up with them at some point. It should be a long, long night, but we are very excited! ;laksdjfla;ksjdfl;ajsldjf. <3
We also had our first dutch class on Tuesday. It was frustrating...to say the least. Our teacher refuses to speak any English so we rely on pictures and pointing to try to figure out what the hell she is saying. We are learning a lot though, as frustrating as it might get. I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing and learn as much as possible without wanting to pull out my hair. We have this class this week and next week, Tuesday-Friday from 2-4pm. We will also have it throughout the semester every other week for just one day again for 2 hours. We can do it!
After class, we met up with Terese and got sandwiches and coffee at Panos. So good that we ate there for lunch again today. The workers are so patient with us...I think that's part of why we like it. It is also quite affordable compared to previous lunches we have had.
Today before class, we kind of took it easy. Class was a bit easier today, simply because we knew what she expected and we knew how to communicate (or not communicate) with her. It is going to be okay.
After class today, we went to Ikea with Eline. SO much fun. It made me wish I had a home to decorate soooo badly. Someday, someday. There were also toddlers running around everywhere, which made me smile. =)
Tonight and tomorrow we are resting up, because we have a big night on Thursday! We are going to Eline's for sushi and drinks and after we are going to a club. It is also the last Thursday night for our Finnish friends so we will most definitely be meeting up with them at some point. It should be a long, long night, but we are very excited! ;laksdjfla;ksjdfl;ajsldjf. <3
Monday, January 17, 2011
Comfortable
Today was such a productive, yet relaxing day!
First, we went to our medical exam to make sure our vaccinations are up to date and just have a routine check up. Sorry if this is overshare, BUT I have to tell the story. The woman who was looking through my papers and checked out my eyes and such, did not speak the best English in the world. So, she looks at me dead serious and goes, "Okay now you to go to the bathroom and make pee pee in this cup." I may or may not have bursted out in laughter and said, "WHAT?" ahahahaha. I think she though that was the proper way to tell me that? I'm not sure, but I could not help it.
We met a few girls in the waiting room who will be in a couple of our classes at Plantijn. I think they thought we were crazy. Woopsies. Julie did explain that Belgians tend to be a bit more introverted and I definitely forgot when I told them that the doctor asked me to pee in a cup. They looked a little mortified and I made a mental note that not everyone is as open as me.
After that, we took our time walking through the city and took a ton of pictures. We are becoming so comfortable with living in this city at this point. We have been so proud of ourselves lately. Although, we did have a bit of an epiphany a couple of days ago. This is really sad, but it is just too funny to keep to ourselves. So the first day we went to a movie, we had been shown the theater before, but we just kind of stumbled upon it again and decided to see a movie. When trying to navigate ourselves home, we got ourselves so far away from home that we had to take the subway back to Central Station and then try to find our way home from there. And we did, but it literally took us an hour to get home. When walking to the theater to meet our international friends, we came to the horrifying realization that the theater is literally 5 minutes from our house. You literally take a right and it is a straight shot.
On top of that, and possibly even worse, there is a street called Mier and it is like THE street for shopping. We have been window shopping there everyday. Central Station is at the end of this street. Well, even after we finally figured out where the theater was, we did not realize it was on Mier straat and right beside Central Station. The route we had been taking to Central Station had been taking us about 20 minutes...We finally realized today that we live about 8 minutes from Central Station and from Mier straat. Soooo embarrassing, but at least we can laugh about it now.
So, after frolicking around the city, we went to the school to become formally registered students. I cannot even explain how relieving it was to have all of our paperwork in! Medical exam and registration done in one day! Now if only our student IDs would come like...yesterday. =)
For lunch, not only did we meet up with Eline, but I met up with my dear old for, Tomatoes. For those of you who know me well, you know that 1. I love tuna and 2. I HATE tomatoes. Well I got a tunafish sandwich. When I opened it, it had some tomatoe chunks in it. It also had chunks of pears too, but I was less concerned about that. I almost decided to start picking out the tomatoes, but instead, HOLD THE PHONE, I left them in and ate the sandwich. It was actually probably the best sandwich ever. The mixture of the tuna, mayonnaise, pears, tomatoes, and delicious bread was heavenly. You better all be super proud of me, because I don't try new things often, especially with tomatoes in it! om nom nom. I want another one right now.
After lunch, we were walking around, window shopping for diamonds and then Eline said that she wanted to treat us to coffee in the opera house. The coffee shop was GORGEOUS. We're talking Sistine Chapel level gorgeousness. And apparently the Brad Pitt of Belgium showed up a few tables over. It was kind of funny, because Eline was getting just as excited as we were to see Rupert Grint, but we didn't understand her this time! His name was Kevin Janssens. If you google him, he is pretty darn good looking, but I don't think we appreciated it as much as Eline did! The cappuccino was delicious. Thanks Eline!
After that, Eline reccommended we go to another mall. We had the greatest time window shopping. I have been so proud of us that we haven't spent all our money on clothes, because we have literally browsed through all of the stores here and have made no spontaneous purchases! We did, however, buy adorable postcards to send to loved ones. These have literally been our most exciting purchases. We were so happy after that point.
We got home around 7pm and are currently still forcing ourselves to stay awake so that we can sleep through the night. Tomorrow we are meeting up with Eline to window shop some more, but this time at Ikea. I can't wait. I love picking out my dream furniture on the website so it will be fun to do so in person too.
I will be posting pictures on facebook soon I swear! I took so many today there is bound to be some good ones! <3 <3
First, we went to our medical exam to make sure our vaccinations are up to date and just have a routine check up. Sorry if this is overshare, BUT I have to tell the story. The woman who was looking through my papers and checked out my eyes and such, did not speak the best English in the world. So, she looks at me dead serious and goes, "Okay now you to go to the bathroom and make pee pee in this cup." I may or may not have bursted out in laughter and said, "WHAT?" ahahahaha. I think she though that was the proper way to tell me that? I'm not sure, but I could not help it.
We met a few girls in the waiting room who will be in a couple of our classes at Plantijn. I think they thought we were crazy. Woopsies. Julie did explain that Belgians tend to be a bit more introverted and I definitely forgot when I told them that the doctor asked me to pee in a cup. They looked a little mortified and I made a mental note that not everyone is as open as me.
After that, we took our time walking through the city and took a ton of pictures. We are becoming so comfortable with living in this city at this point. We have been so proud of ourselves lately. Although, we did have a bit of an epiphany a couple of days ago. This is really sad, but it is just too funny to keep to ourselves. So the first day we went to a movie, we had been shown the theater before, but we just kind of stumbled upon it again and decided to see a movie. When trying to navigate ourselves home, we got ourselves so far away from home that we had to take the subway back to Central Station and then try to find our way home from there. And we did, but it literally took us an hour to get home. When walking to the theater to meet our international friends, we came to the horrifying realization that the theater is literally 5 minutes from our house. You literally take a right and it is a straight shot.
On top of that, and possibly even worse, there is a street called Mier and it is like THE street for shopping. We have been window shopping there everyday. Central Station is at the end of this street. Well, even after we finally figured out where the theater was, we did not realize it was on Mier straat and right beside Central Station. The route we had been taking to Central Station had been taking us about 20 minutes...We finally realized today that we live about 8 minutes from Central Station and from Mier straat. Soooo embarrassing, but at least we can laugh about it now.
So, after frolicking around the city, we went to the school to become formally registered students. I cannot even explain how relieving it was to have all of our paperwork in! Medical exam and registration done in one day! Now if only our student IDs would come like...yesterday. =)
For lunch, not only did we meet up with Eline, but I met up with my dear old for, Tomatoes. For those of you who know me well, you know that 1. I love tuna and 2. I HATE tomatoes. Well I got a tunafish sandwich. When I opened it, it had some tomatoe chunks in it. It also had chunks of pears too, but I was less concerned about that. I almost decided to start picking out the tomatoes, but instead, HOLD THE PHONE, I left them in and ate the sandwich. It was actually probably the best sandwich ever. The mixture of the tuna, mayonnaise, pears, tomatoes, and delicious bread was heavenly. You better all be super proud of me, because I don't try new things often, especially with tomatoes in it! om nom nom. I want another one right now.
After lunch, we were walking around, window shopping for diamonds and then Eline said that she wanted to treat us to coffee in the opera house. The coffee shop was GORGEOUS. We're talking Sistine Chapel level gorgeousness. And apparently the Brad Pitt of Belgium showed up a few tables over. It was kind of funny, because Eline was getting just as excited as we were to see Rupert Grint, but we didn't understand her this time! His name was Kevin Janssens. If you google him, he is pretty darn good looking, but I don't think we appreciated it as much as Eline did! The cappuccino was delicious. Thanks Eline!
After that, Eline reccommended we go to another mall. We had the greatest time window shopping. I have been so proud of us that we haven't spent all our money on clothes, because we have literally browsed through all of the stores here and have made no spontaneous purchases! We did, however, buy adorable postcards to send to loved ones. These have literally been our most exciting purchases. We were so happy after that point.
We got home around 7pm and are currently still forcing ourselves to stay awake so that we can sleep through the night. Tomorrow we are meeting up with Eline to window shop some more, but this time at Ikea. I can't wait. I love picking out my dream furniture on the website so it will be fun to do so in person too.
I will be posting pictures on facebook soon I swear! I took so many today there is bound to be some good ones! <3 <3
Sunday, January 16, 2011
My Stupid Mouth
International students say the darndest things. The best part about our new international friends is that we can make complete fools out of ourselves and they don't mind, because they have been in and are in our positions as well. They are living in a culture they are not used to and, though they are a bit more experienced in Antwerp than we are, they are learning new things everyday just like us.
Yesterday, we went to a farmer's market. It was HUGE and there was a plethora of any fruit or vegetable you could possibly want. Not to mention massive amounts of olives. So. Many. Olives. Eline bought us some mini-waffles and they were delicious. Emilee and I inhaled them like we had never been fed before.
After purchasing some fresh fruit, we went over to Eline's mother's house for some coffee. I love the little coffee breaks here. Even though life in this city can be so fast paced and overwhelming, there is always time for a coffee break in order to get away from everything and I have really appreciated that so far. It seems like at home I am too busy to just sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and visit with friends, but it's such an everyday thing here and I am in love with the idea.
Eline's mother's (whose name is escaping me at the moment. Help, Eline? haha) house is gorgeous. She has some beautiful artwork and the architecture of the building is just amazing. House Hunters International would be drooling over this home. She has a puppy Wilma, and it was great to play with her. It kind of made me miss Murphy (who by the way, I skyped with the other day). KIND OF. hehe.
Eline has exams on Monday, so we parted ways and went back to our apartment, but not before her mother so generously loaned us one of her big cooking pots. We were debating on whether it was worth it or not to buy one. We wanted to make soups and freeze portions so we can eat it later on, but we didn't have anything to cook it in. It was so nice of her to just dig one out of her cupboards and let us borrow one of hers! We really appreciate everything Eline and her mother have done for us so far. =)
Last night we went to a movie with Anssi (Finnish), Tanya (Finnish), and Janis (Latvian). We saw Little Fockers, which was terrible by the way, but I very much enjoyed watching Tanya ask for "One to Little Fuckers." (woops, sorry this blog just turned rated R). The best part is, she knows how to say "Fockers," but she explained to me that her accent is so thick that she can get away with swearing. People don't say anything because they blame it on her accent and the fact that English is her second language. "I just like to say it because I can." Oh my Lord do I love this woman.
Speaking of English as a second language, or as Liz and Miranda coined it, ESL, it is hilarious. Some of the phrases they use are so adorable we just have to laugh. Emilee and I definitely have to over-simplify our sentences and make sure we don't use slang in order for them to fully understand what we are trying to say. What is funny is that sometimes when Emilee and I are alone, we still find ourselves speaking in over-simplified sentences or in round about ways when clearly we can understand each other fine either way. The other day Emilee said "I have a lot of hiccups." Ahahahaha. I loved it.
After the movie, we went to a pub. We had a couple drinks and had some great conversations. It was fun to explain fraternity houses to them, because their only image of them are what they see in movies. It was so great to get to know them a little better too. Next Thursday is their last Thursday so we are hoping to make it memorable for them. We will definitely miss them, but hopefully we will make more international friends when classes start.
We start dutch classes next week! Ahhhhh. It should be interesting to say the least. Wish us luck!
Much Love all, <3.
Yesterday, we went to a farmer's market. It was HUGE and there was a plethora of any fruit or vegetable you could possibly want. Not to mention massive amounts of olives. So. Many. Olives. Eline bought us some mini-waffles and they were delicious. Emilee and I inhaled them like we had never been fed before.
After purchasing some fresh fruit, we went over to Eline's mother's house for some coffee. I love the little coffee breaks here. Even though life in this city can be so fast paced and overwhelming, there is always time for a coffee break in order to get away from everything and I have really appreciated that so far. It seems like at home I am too busy to just sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and visit with friends, but it's such an everyday thing here and I am in love with the idea.
Eline's mother's (whose name is escaping me at the moment. Help, Eline? haha) house is gorgeous. She has some beautiful artwork and the architecture of the building is just amazing. House Hunters International would be drooling over this home. She has a puppy Wilma, and it was great to play with her. It kind of made me miss Murphy (who by the way, I skyped with the other day). KIND OF. hehe.
Eline has exams on Monday, so we parted ways and went back to our apartment, but not before her mother so generously loaned us one of her big cooking pots. We were debating on whether it was worth it or not to buy one. We wanted to make soups and freeze portions so we can eat it later on, but we didn't have anything to cook it in. It was so nice of her to just dig one out of her cupboards and let us borrow one of hers! We really appreciate everything Eline and her mother have done for us so far. =)
Last night we went to a movie with Anssi (Finnish), Tanya (Finnish), and Janis (Latvian). We saw Little Fockers, which was terrible by the way, but I very much enjoyed watching Tanya ask for "One to Little Fuckers." (woops, sorry this blog just turned rated R). The best part is, she knows how to say "Fockers," but she explained to me that her accent is so thick that she can get away with swearing. People don't say anything because they blame it on her accent and the fact that English is her second language. "I just like to say it because I can." Oh my Lord do I love this woman.
Speaking of English as a second language, or as Liz and Miranda coined it, ESL, it is hilarious. Some of the phrases they use are so adorable we just have to laugh. Emilee and I definitely have to over-simplify our sentences and make sure we don't use slang in order for them to fully understand what we are trying to say. What is funny is that sometimes when Emilee and I are alone, we still find ourselves speaking in over-simplified sentences or in round about ways when clearly we can understand each other fine either way. The other day Emilee said "I have a lot of hiccups." Ahahahaha. I loved it.
After the movie, we went to a pub. We had a couple drinks and had some great conversations. It was fun to explain fraternity houses to them, because their only image of them are what they see in movies. It was so great to get to know them a little better too. Next Thursday is their last Thursday so we are hoping to make it memorable for them. We will definitely miss them, but hopefully we will make more international friends when classes start.
We start dutch classes next week! Ahhhhh. It should be interesting to say the least. Wish us luck!
Much Love all, <3.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Neon
SUCCESSFUL DAY AND NIGHT.
Never once did we get lost today and we ran quite a few errands. We went to the school to take care of some paperwork (which we need to complete today), we printed out pictures of friends and family to decorate our bare walls, and we met up with Terese, an international student from Norway. We did a bit of shopping and went out to dinner.
The new find of the day was Cherry Beer. It is delicious. The beer here isn't like the crap we have in the U.S. As Emilee said last night, probably the worst Belgian beer (and there are 2,000 kinds) is better than the best U.S. beer. I would be willing to take that bet as well.
Liz and Miranda, the two UMaine students who were here last semester, left us some names and numbers of people we needed to meet. After facebooking Julie, she invited us to a party at a friend's apartment. This friend is Anssi, an international student from Finland, and also another contact they had left for us. We hung out with international students from all over, but the bulk of them were from Finland. They were SO good to us. They really took us under their wing and immediately accepted us. It was so nice to make new friends. Julie will be here the whole semester because she is from Antwerp, but most of these new friends will be leaving at the end of the month. I think Emilee and I almost started crying when we figured that out.
Single-handedly the most frustrating part about Europe is being STARED at and judged when I pick up my sandwich and eat it with my hands. I thought I was being safe in getting a sandwich. NOPE, they eat those with fork and knife as well. I almost started crying. I was so hungry and I had to sit there and cut it up and then eat it. It was like falling apart because I wasn't doing it right.
It is so difficult, because I feel like people don't understand why we can't eat properly. We can't eat with the fork in the left and knife in the right simply because we do not have that muscle memory. That is not how we were taught when we were toddlers. It is the same thing as learning to write with the less-dominant hand.
Most of the time I can laugh at these things. And I did the first time when we were among friends, but it's just gotten very old, very fast. I'm trying so hard to embrace it and try my best, but when I am hungry and I just want to eat my food, it is difficult to do so, but if I don't people stare.
The other downside to living in Europe and to studying abroad is that it is SO EXPENSIVE. My funds are depleting already. I am hoping that once we getting settled it we won't be eating out quite as much or buying little things for the apartment, because my funds are hurting already. Financial Aid, feel free to come in any time!
Love, love, love Belgium.
Never once did we get lost today and we ran quite a few errands. We went to the school to take care of some paperwork (which we need to complete today), we printed out pictures of friends and family to decorate our bare walls, and we met up with Terese, an international student from Norway. We did a bit of shopping and went out to dinner.
The new find of the day was Cherry Beer. It is delicious. The beer here isn't like the crap we have in the U.S. As Emilee said last night, probably the worst Belgian beer (and there are 2,000 kinds) is better than the best U.S. beer. I would be willing to take that bet as well.
Liz and Miranda, the two UMaine students who were here last semester, left us some names and numbers of people we needed to meet. After facebooking Julie, she invited us to a party at a friend's apartment. This friend is Anssi, an international student from Finland, and also another contact they had left for us. We hung out with international students from all over, but the bulk of them were from Finland. They were SO good to us. They really took us under their wing and immediately accepted us. It was so nice to make new friends. Julie will be here the whole semester because she is from Antwerp, but most of these new friends will be leaving at the end of the month. I think Emilee and I almost started crying when we figured that out.
Single-handedly the most frustrating part about Europe is being STARED at and judged when I pick up my sandwich and eat it with my hands. I thought I was being safe in getting a sandwich. NOPE, they eat those with fork and knife as well. I almost started crying. I was so hungry and I had to sit there and cut it up and then eat it. It was like falling apart because I wasn't doing it right.
It is so difficult, because I feel like people don't understand why we can't eat properly. We can't eat with the fork in the left and knife in the right simply because we do not have that muscle memory. That is not how we were taught when we were toddlers. It is the same thing as learning to write with the less-dominant hand.
Most of the time I can laugh at these things. And I did the first time when we were among friends, but it's just gotten very old, very fast. I'm trying so hard to embrace it and try my best, but when I am hungry and I just want to eat my food, it is difficult to do so, but if I don't people stare.
The other downside to living in Europe and to studying abroad is that it is SO EXPENSIVE. My funds are depleting already. I am hoping that once we getting settled it we won't be eating out quite as much or buying little things for the apartment, because my funds are hurting already. Financial Aid, feel free to come in any time!
Love, love, love Belgium.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
3x5
City life is becoming more and more okay with me day by day. Emilee and I explore new places each day and are slowly starting to be familiar with the streets and paths we will be taking everyday.
We found out that the dutch class we will be taking does not start until next week. It will last for two weeks before classes start and then we will have one two hour class every two weeks to help us out throughout the semester. This is very exciting and will hopefully really help us out in our internships. We also now have a week to get our sleep schedule down and explore the city so we can get around a bit easier.
We got a tour of our school yesterday and it is GORGEOUS. It is so modern, but friendly. The architecture is beautiful. I need to take pictures so I can show you all, but I've been trying to absorb everything and not look like TOO much of a tourist.
My sleeping schedule is a bit messed up at this point. I've been waking up really early, sometimes as early as 5am. I therefore get exhausted around 1 or 2pm and the past couple of days I have succumbed to taking naps midday. I therefore cannot sleep in so I bounce back up at 5am. This morning I woke up at about 7am and have been puttering around. I laid down for a bit, because there was literally nothing else to do. Emilee was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her and I don't feel completely comfortable roaming the streets of Antwerp by myself at this point. So I did dose off around 11 for like twenty minutes. Doesn't count!
We are getting coffee and a late lunch with Eline around 3pm so that will force me not to sleep until tonight when I can get a good night's rest and hopefully sleep in past 8am. I am considering investing in a small fan, because I normally sleep with a fan at home and I don't have one here and I think that might be a part of my problem. Perhaps I will look for one today.
I had another waffle yesterday. om nom nom.
We found out that the dutch class we will be taking does not start until next week. It will last for two weeks before classes start and then we will have one two hour class every two weeks to help us out throughout the semester. This is very exciting and will hopefully really help us out in our internships. We also now have a week to get our sleep schedule down and explore the city so we can get around a bit easier.
We got a tour of our school yesterday and it is GORGEOUS. It is so modern, but friendly. The architecture is beautiful. I need to take pictures so I can show you all, but I've been trying to absorb everything and not look like TOO much of a tourist.
My sleeping schedule is a bit messed up at this point. I've been waking up really early, sometimes as early as 5am. I therefore get exhausted around 1 or 2pm and the past couple of days I have succumbed to taking naps midday. I therefore cannot sleep in so I bounce back up at 5am. This morning I woke up at about 7am and have been puttering around. I laid down for a bit, because there was literally nothing else to do. Emilee was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her and I don't feel completely comfortable roaming the streets of Antwerp by myself at this point. So I did dose off around 11 for like twenty minutes. Doesn't count!
We are getting coffee and a late lunch with Eline around 3pm so that will force me not to sleep until tonight when I can get a good night's rest and hopefully sleep in past 8am. I am considering investing in a small fan, because I normally sleep with a fan at home and I don't have one here and I think that might be a part of my problem. Perhaps I will look for one today.
I had another waffle yesterday. om nom nom.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
First Belgian Waffles, Rupert Grint, and Decorating
Okay so as you may or may not have noticed, before I was titling all of my blogs John Mayer songs/lyrics, but I was just so excited that I HAD to tell you a bit about my past 24 hours in the title.
Emilee and I had a great day yesterday. We slept in a bit and were alive and ready to see the city. Around 4pm, Eline (In high school she stayed with Emilee's family on exchange. She lives in Antwerp) took us around the city to pick up a few essentials that we needed around the apartment. Hand towels, hand soap, etc. We also window shopped like it was our jobs.
We ate our first Belgian waffles! They are SO freaking delicous. Not overrated in the least bit. After that we set up our Belgian phones and then had our first experience with the train. We are going to have to get used to this! We then went grocery shopping with Eline, because she was making us dinner that night.
While there, NO THIS IS NOT A DRILL, we saw Rupert Grint. There is no doubt in my mind. Emilee goes, "Casey, I think that was Rupert Grint." I had kind of got a glimpse of a redheaded guy, but not as well as Emilee (yes I'm a little jealous, but I was standing very close to him so screw it). My first reaction? "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR." We immediately began to search the entire store for him. We were so giddy I thought I was going to start crying.
We have found that Harry Potter is not as big in Belgium, or anywhere other than America and the U.K. Eline didn't even know who he was. When Emilee said that he made eye contact with her it was almost as though he recognized us and took off. Now it makes sense to us, that he probably took one look at us, saw her look of shock, heard us blabbing on in English, saw us TAKING PICTURES in a grocery store for the love of God, and realized that we were American. I'm sure he likes blending in here and probably bolted before we bombarded him with giggly questions and asked him to take pictures with us, etc.
We checked online and he arrived here in Belgium the day before us for the premier of an independent film. This can't be a coincidence. This was him. And he's in Antwerp. Must. Find. Him. And. Commence. Snogfest.
So dinner with Eline, her boyfriend Ludwig, and their friend Frederick, was SO much fun. Their apartment was so homey and we had some really good conversations and really good food. We also got a crash course in how to use a knife and fork, because apparently the way we hold our utensils is barbaric. Normally, Emilee and I wouldn't care so much, but Joel was telling us that in our internships, the kids will call us out on not eating properly, because it what they are being told right now. Their parents are trying to teach them table manners and we have to set good examples. I think it was the slowest meal Emilee and I had ever eaten because we were struggling so hard. It was fun to laugh about it though. =)
We got home and decided to celebrate our successful day in the city with a bottle of champagne...which turned into another bottle of wine...which turned into a few beers after that. We had a great time listening to music, decorating our kitchen, and having a little heart to heart.
To save money, we decided to decorate our apartment like angsty teenagers --with clippings from magazines. We had them left over fromt the plane rides so we cut out a ton of stuff and covered one of our walls with new years resolutions, and cute sayings that reminded us of our journey so far. Unfortunately, I checked it out this morning and the tape didn't hold on most of it, so we will have to get some tape today and take care of it, before anyone sees our messy, messy kitchen.
Also, I'm pretty sure we have done the opposite of what everyone has told us to do. We're supposed to be regulating our sleep schedule before we start classes. So what do we do? Stay up until 8am drinking wine, and wake up at 3pm. YUP we are screwed, but we are having so much fun and I really think that is all that counts.
Love and miss you all. I've skyped with quite a few people so far, but I'm definitely missing some really important people in life. ADD ME AND GET ONLINE. =)
Emilee and I had a great day yesterday. We slept in a bit and were alive and ready to see the city. Around 4pm, Eline (In high school she stayed with Emilee's family on exchange. She lives in Antwerp) took us around the city to pick up a few essentials that we needed around the apartment. Hand towels, hand soap, etc. We also window shopped like it was our jobs.
We ate our first Belgian waffles! They are SO freaking delicous. Not overrated in the least bit. After that we set up our Belgian phones and then had our first experience with the train. We are going to have to get used to this! We then went grocery shopping with Eline, because she was making us dinner that night.
While there, NO THIS IS NOT A DRILL, we saw Rupert Grint. There is no doubt in my mind. Emilee goes, "Casey, I think that was Rupert Grint." I had kind of got a glimpse of a redheaded guy, but not as well as Emilee (yes I'm a little jealous, but I was standing very close to him so screw it). My first reaction? "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR." We immediately began to search the entire store for him. We were so giddy I thought I was going to start crying.
We have found that Harry Potter is not as big in Belgium, or anywhere other than America and the U.K. Eline didn't even know who he was. When Emilee said that he made eye contact with her it was almost as though he recognized us and took off. Now it makes sense to us, that he probably took one look at us, saw her look of shock, heard us blabbing on in English, saw us TAKING PICTURES in a grocery store for the love of God, and realized that we were American. I'm sure he likes blending in here and probably bolted before we bombarded him with giggly questions and asked him to take pictures with us, etc.
We checked online and he arrived here in Belgium the day before us for the premier of an independent film. This can't be a coincidence. This was him. And he's in Antwerp. Must. Find. Him. And. Commence. Snogfest.
So dinner with Eline, her boyfriend Ludwig, and their friend Frederick, was SO much fun. Their apartment was so homey and we had some really good conversations and really good food. We also got a crash course in how to use a knife and fork, because apparently the way we hold our utensils is barbaric. Normally, Emilee and I wouldn't care so much, but Joel was telling us that in our internships, the kids will call us out on not eating properly, because it what they are being told right now. Their parents are trying to teach them table manners and we have to set good examples. I think it was the slowest meal Emilee and I had ever eaten because we were struggling so hard. It was fun to laugh about it though. =)
We got home and decided to celebrate our successful day in the city with a bottle of champagne...which turned into another bottle of wine...which turned into a few beers after that. We had a great time listening to music, decorating our kitchen, and having a little heart to heart.
To save money, we decided to decorate our apartment like angsty teenagers --with clippings from magazines. We had them left over fromt the plane rides so we cut out a ton of stuff and covered one of our walls with new years resolutions, and cute sayings that reminded us of our journey so far. Unfortunately, I checked it out this morning and the tape didn't hold on most of it, so we will have to get some tape today and take care of it, before anyone sees our messy, messy kitchen.
Also, I'm pretty sure we have done the opposite of what everyone has told us to do. We're supposed to be regulating our sleep schedule before we start classes. So what do we do? Stay up until 8am drinking wine, and wake up at 3pm. YUP we are screwed, but we are having so much fun and I really think that is all that counts.
Love and miss you all. I've skyped with quite a few people so far, but I'm definitely missing some really important people in life. ADD ME AND GET ONLINE. =)
Waffles! Do we look like tourists or what?
Friday, January 7, 2011
City Love
WE MADE IT. barely.
So we had been in the Washington Dulles airport for about an hour when canines found an unattended package that was deemed "suspicious," because 3 suspicious packages with bombs were found earlier that day in Maryland, the situation was taken very seriously. They evacuated the whole floor above us while we waited to hear any news. About two hours later they deemed the situation secure and started okaying flights to board. We ended up arriving in Brussels at about 10am.
We were greeted by Emilee's Belgian friend greeted us and helped us get on the bus to Antwerp which was an hour ride. We met with Joel, our study abroad advisor and he brought us to our house.
Our house is technically 3 floors, but we only use 2 of the floors. Emilee and I live on the first floor (which is actually the second floor). Another international student will also be living on this floor and we will share a kitchen with her. Three more internation ladies will be living on the second floor. They have their own kitchen. The toilet is on the first floor and the shower is on the second floor so the six of us will be sharing these. Emilee and I have beds, desks, desk chairs, a wicker chair, an armoire, and our own sinks in our rooms. We are just started to settle in and we are excited for the other girls to move in. We met Lynn who lives upstairs for a brief second earlier today so hopefully we will be able to hang out with her in the next few days.
Joel took us around the city today. It was a lot to take in when I hadn't slept in over 24 hours, but I did my best. My body is totally rejecting all of the food I have eaten so far, so hopefully I will adjust soon. We live right in the middle of the city and the grocery store, the mall, the shopping street of Belgium, our school, and basically everything is REALLY close to us. About a 10-15 walk.
Tomorrow we are going to go exploring.
=) All for now. Soooo tired.
Love you all!
So we had been in the Washington Dulles airport for about an hour when canines found an unattended package that was deemed "suspicious," because 3 suspicious packages with bombs were found earlier that day in Maryland, the situation was taken very seriously. They evacuated the whole floor above us while we waited to hear any news. About two hours later they deemed the situation secure and started okaying flights to board. We ended up arriving in Brussels at about 10am.
We were greeted by Emilee's Belgian friend greeted us and helped us get on the bus to Antwerp which was an hour ride. We met with Joel, our study abroad advisor and he brought us to our house.
Our house is technically 3 floors, but we only use 2 of the floors. Emilee and I live on the first floor (which is actually the second floor). Another international student will also be living on this floor and we will share a kitchen with her. Three more internation ladies will be living on the second floor. They have their own kitchen. The toilet is on the first floor and the shower is on the second floor so the six of us will be sharing these. Emilee and I have beds, desks, desk chairs, a wicker chair, an armoire, and our own sinks in our rooms. We are just started to settle in and we are excited for the other girls to move in. We met Lynn who lives upstairs for a brief second earlier today so hopefully we will be able to hang out with her in the next few days.
Joel took us around the city today. It was a lot to take in when I hadn't slept in over 24 hours, but I did my best. My body is totally rejecting all of the food I have eaten so far, so hopefully I will adjust soon. We live right in the middle of the city and the grocery store, the mall, the shopping street of Belgium, our school, and basically everything is REALLY close to us. About a 10-15 walk.
Tomorrow we are going to go exploring.
=) All for now. Soooo tired.
Love you all!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Half Of My Heart
...is being left in Orono, Maine with Emily, Tiffany, Shelby and Sarah.
This morning my entourage dropped me off at the bus station in Bangor. Anyone else would be completely embarrassed to have 4 crazy girls screaming, jumping up and down, and waving at me as I boarded the bus, but I LOVED it. It was great and I appreciated it SO MUCH. The bus driver actually asked if Justin Beiber were on the bus. Nope! Just me. =)
Those of you who were guessing how much my suitcase weighed? 57 pounds. Luckily Emilee checked two suitcases and one of hers weighed about 38 pounds so we crammed a bunch of my heavy stuff in her bag.
Also, when going through security, I took out my "baby" laptop, but forgot about my other laptop, fondly named "Buttcrack." So the guy was like "Do you have a laptop in this bag?" COMPLETELY forgetting that I have two laptops, I was like "umm no, just this one right here." Oh man, he must have thought I was such a little liar. I told him how sorry I was and how that one was about to break so I was traveling with two today. ahhh. Oh well!
Now, we are all through security at Logan Airport and waiting to head to Washington Dulles and then to Brussels.
Drank a little caffeine for this one, so I can actually sleep on the long flight from DC to Brussels. Hope I don't regret drinking this medium iced coffee.
All for now, I'll write another blog when we are settled in!
This morning my entourage dropped me off at the bus station in Bangor. Anyone else would be completely embarrassed to have 4 crazy girls screaming, jumping up and down, and waving at me as I boarded the bus, but I LOVED it. It was great and I appreciated it SO MUCH. The bus driver actually asked if Justin Beiber were on the bus. Nope! Just me. =)
Those of you who were guessing how much my suitcase weighed? 57 pounds. Luckily Emilee checked two suitcases and one of hers weighed about 38 pounds so we crammed a bunch of my heavy stuff in her bag.
Also, when going through security, I took out my "baby" laptop, but forgot about my other laptop, fondly named "Buttcrack." So the guy was like "Do you have a laptop in this bag?" COMPLETELY forgetting that I have two laptops, I was like "umm no, just this one right here." Oh man, he must have thought I was such a little liar. I told him how sorry I was and how that one was about to break so I was traveling with two today. ahhh. Oh well!
Now, we are all through security at Logan Airport and waiting to head to Washington Dulles and then to Brussels.
Drank a little caffeine for this one, so I can actually sleep on the long flight from DC to Brussels. Hope I don't regret drinking this medium iced coffee.
All for now, I'll write another blog when we are settled in!
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Heart of Life is Good!
After a few phone calls today, I was informed that my visa is being over-nighted and that it will finally be in my hands tomorrow! I am so excited to be leaving on time, but I was NOT expecting this. Therefore, I am nowhere near packed. There was so much I meant to do before leaving!
I'm noticing while I pack that having small feet is paying off, because I would never be able to pack as many pairs of shoes if I had big feet.
Also remembering that I have to pack for spring too ... and pretty much have already decided to buy spring clothes there in order to make room for my scarves and excessive amount of toiletries. Might regret this later, but oh well. =)
Everyone living in Houlton, my last night here is tomorrow night! (Tuesday). Those in the Orono area, I'll be staying in Orono Wednesday night and then I'll leave for Boston Thursday morning. Give me a call if you would like to meet up.
Can't wait to spend some quality time with Glenda Wednesday night!
I'm noticing while I pack that having small feet is paying off, because I would never be able to pack as many pairs of shoes if I had big feet.
Also remembering that I have to pack for spring too ... and pretty much have already decided to buy spring clothes there in order to make room for my scarves and excessive amount of toiletries. Might regret this later, but oh well. =)
Everyone living in Houlton, my last night here is tomorrow night! (Tuesday). Those in the Orono area, I'll be staying in Orono Wednesday night and then I'll leave for Boston Thursday morning. Give me a call if you would like to meet up.
Can't wait to spend some quality time with Glenda Wednesday night!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)