The last few busy weeks...

The last few weeks have been very busy. I have started classes, started traveling and have met some pretty great people so far. I've also finally learned how to use the metro and bus lines here (thank you google maps too) so I’m starting to feel more like a local. So a quick, not as thorough as I would have wished, summary of my last couple weeks:

1)    Sightseeing:
So the first weekend, the CIEE group took a bus tour around Brussels and got to see some of the tourist sights. It was raining but still fun. I’ve also had various walking tours and have only gotten once on the metro….so that’s a win so far! I’ve seen a ton of stuff so far and have so much more planned for future travels around Belgium and around Europe. I have also been able to see more of Brussels as I have been between housing places (see #5) so I have really learned how to navigate my way around the city center and how to get from the city center to school even at 6:30 in the morning!

2)    I started classes at Vesalius College!
Vesalius College, or VeCo, is an American-style college not far from the center of Brussels. It’s very small and different from Wisconsin, with just two floors of classrooms and offices in an office building. However, it’s across from the Dutch-speaking national university, Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), which though still small has more of a campus-y feel to it including a café, a gym, and a dining hall. This semester I’m taking four classes at Vesalius: Introductory French, Government and Politics of Global Powers, European Union Politics, and The United Nations and Global Governance. In addition, I’m taking a core class through CIEE about the history and politics etc of Belgium. So far, they seem really interesting and French isn’t too hard…yet! Plus…I only have 2-3 hours of class on Monday and Wednesday and no class Friday! 

3)    Trip to see Lex!
I went to Paris and had an amazing time chatting and seeing the sites of Paris with my cousin Lex and his girlfriend Kristina. It was so fun to see where Lex has been staying for the past few years and to experience Paris with the help of someone who has actually lived there. I did do some touristy things such as going to see Notre Dame, try a crepe, and eat a macaroon for the first time! But, I also had a great time just relaxing for the weekend, going to a few cool museums especially the History of Paris one and checking out some other nice spots like Shakespeare and Company. Overall, it was a really awesome weekend that I got to spend with family while also checking out the fun spots of Paris! I can’t wait to go back over Spring Break with the parentals.

4)    Day trip to Battle of the Bulge on the 70th anniversary of the end of battle!
Fittingly, our program visited the city of Bastogne in Belgium, on the exact day the battle ended! The Battle of Bulge for those who don’t know was the main site of the battle that took place in January and December of 1944/45 and was one of the key American victories in World War II. It was also the bloodiest battle on the Western Front for American forces, costing nearly 20,000 lives and thousands more wounded. The remains of 5,076 of these soldiers are at this cemetery in Luxembourg. As we whined about our feet being cold from standing outside for an hour, I realize how stupid we all sounded. I mean thousands of men were living through the same or worse weather for months in foxholes with the discomfort of cold feet not being anywhere equivalent to the fear of being killed at any minute. The whole experience was amazing! I feel so lucky to have toured the battle field and the American cemetery with a 80 year old man who was a small boy who had been living in the town of Bastogne when and where the Battle of the Bulge took place. 

5)    Upcoming!
So…what do I have coming up?? Well…I have class on Thursday (today is a field trip to the European Union) and then I leave Thursday afternoon for ROME! I must say I am obsessively excited about this too! After taking so much Latin, I have always wanted to explore Rome and I’m even going to Pompeii on Sunday! Its gonna be so fun. I am also in the middle of dealing with my housing. Why am I changing? Well…I was put with a cat and I am allergic to cats but since I needed to be close to school, I have decided to put up with the cat (vs the 45+min hostel to school commute) until I can figure out a permanent solution.

6)    Almost forgot….FOOD and DRINKS!
I promised my Wisco friends I would put this in here so….yes the food and drink have been amazing! Everyone who knows how much I don’t really go out will appreciate the fact that I have forced myself to go out at least twice a week to a bar and/or club and stay out until midnight. While I still enjoy staying in, I have tried to expand my horizons a bit...which I must admit, may have been kinda fun a couple times. Also if you haven’t tried Belgian frites (fries) or a Belgian waffle …I feel sorry for you because it is heaven! I might have to smuggle back many of the waffles. And while we are talking about food America doesn’t have let me mention the mass amount of difference between the cultures around food/drinks. Its SO cool how much the Belgians really love their beer! I have only seen two American beers ever on a menu! Apparently there is 11,000 types so I’m not surprised but still…very different. So between the beer and fries and waffles and pizza…I will be joining a gym very shortly :) 

So that’s most of what has been going on! Hopefully soon we will actually have a warmer, sunny day but until then I just have to remember that its still 40+ degrees higher than Madison so I don’t have a reason to complain. So I promise this time that I will update after Rome...and then after London....and then after Dublin. Yes that is my travel schedule for the month of Feb! I can't wait! Hope life in the States is going well for everyone!