Until next time...

Well, after a month, my little escape from reality is about to come to a close. I can't even believe how fast in went by. It's kind of strange because it feels like I just got here yesterday, but at the same time I feel like I've been here forever. Kind of a weird paradox that I can't really wrap my head around, but it's true. I'm really really excited to be coming back home, but it's kind of bittersweet! Belgium earned a special little place in my heart and it's sad knowing I won't really be able to come back again. I guess I'll just have to plan another trip to Europe so it won't be so sad :)

So, since it's the end, I wanted to summarize my trip and go over the important things like what I learned, what I will miss, etc. So here we go!

Things I will miss:
-The food: I decided to make this one category to keep things simple (didn't want to take up the whole list with all the different delicious foods!), but I will definitely miss the food: waffles, chocolate croissants, fresh bread, pastries, fries, croque madames...you know, all the healthy stuff! We have most of these good foods in the US and (except for the breads) they taste just as yummy, I just no longer have an excuse to eat them all the time! So they will be missed.
-Coke light, being a mere train ride away to all of Europe, exploring Brussels during my lunch break, seeing the hundreds of kids ride their bikes to school through Leuven's streets every morning, enjoying a meal outside in a European square, giving English help to my coworkers and having the best English around, club dance and Zoomba classes at the gym, exploring a new city every weekend, the freedom from not having a phone, walking past a royal palace on my way to work every day, and of course all my lovely EASA coworkers.


Things I'm looking forward to back home:
Free refills!, COLD drinks, free ketchup!! (it's like 0.40 euros a packet! Devastating), being able to understand the people around me, not being stared at when I run through the city like it is the strangest thing in the world to actually exercise just for fun, dollars, a wardrobe bigger than a suitcase, a washer/dryer I can use all I want for free, sleeping more than 4 hours a night, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, not feeling inadequate because I know only one language, being able to watch all my shows online and not be blocked my international copyright laws, movies in theaters, walking on paved streets instead of cobblestones, playing basketball, and seeing my friends and family/reuniting with LUWB!!

The best part:
My internship. I got to work and meet with people all over Europe on a daily basis; whenever I stop to think about it, that is pretty darn cool. My coworkers were from Bulgaria, the UK, Greece, the Netherlands,and Romania, and I got to interact with and learn from them every day. It was awesome to see how although we all came from different places, we could connect with each other and gain a new perspective on things. These are kind of intangibles that you can't really fully describe, but it just helped me understand the world a little better and opened my mind up to things outside my little bubble in the US. It's things you can only really learn outside the classroom and actually going and immersing yourself in another place. I know it was only a month, but it was pretty amazing how much I was able to learn. This was definitely an experience I will never forget.

Closing thoughts:
Belgium is great country. It unfortunately lives in the shadow of it's brothers to the south and north, France and Germany, but it can hold its own against those two. What I particularly liked about Belgium, even its biggest city Brussels, is that it is very liveable. There are hundreds of small cities that are filled with families, safe, historic, and charming. Brussels is the capital of Europe and has all the things you'd want in a city, but it also has the nice, quiet side streets and isn't overcrowded with tourists like the other big European cities. It's also hard to complain about the hundreds of waffle stands and chocolate shops.

It really is remarkable how many languages Europeans know, especially in Belgium/Brussels. Basically everyone knows English and most know French, apart from their native language. While I think Americans should do a better job of teaching/learning languages, it's a million times easier to learn different languages here where they actually use them. Their movies (for the most part) are normally shown in English, they use multiples languages in day-to-day life with all the different nations/cultures so close, and they often have multiple national languages so even their own countrymen speak many languages. That would make it all a million times easier! We do not have that luxury in the US. Plus, English is essentially the international language, so we are spoiled in being able to use it everywhere and not really have a need to learn another. I still wish I knew another though. On the train from London to Brussels, there was an adorable little French girl sitting in front of me who was about three. She kept turning back and waving and smiling at me, and I of course returned the favor. At the end of the trip she turned to me and said "Au revoir!" I said "bye bye!" And then, realizing I was American, she started speaking to me in English! I looked at her and said "You know more languages than me!" Her parents laughed and I was being shown up by a three year old. I was alright with it though because she was so cute!

My trip to Belgium was amazing! Much more than I expected and it really turned out to be a special trip. I'm so lucky to have had such an experience (thanks mom and dad!) and I like to think I came out a better person because of it (or at least I had a darn good time). Tomorrow it's back to the states and back to real-life! Well, I do have a week of vacation with my parents on the beach in Maryland to ease my way back :) Goodbye Europe! Until next time...

Living like a Royal

Well, the most anticipated weekend trip is now over: London!! Home of the Royal Wedding, David Beckham, Harry Potter, the Queen, Love Actually, and Emma Watson - doesn't get much better than that!

And the weekend definitely lived up to the hype. It started at 506 AM (let me emphasize AM) when I frantically woke up to my alarm realizing that I pressed snooze one too many times and had 9 minutes to get myself and my things ready to leave. Talk about a way to start the morning. Once I had made it to the lobby (while still putting my hair up and shoving things in a bag), we started walking to the train station where we realized it was taking a bit longer than we thought to catch our 537 train, and we finished by RUNNING to the platform from about half a mile away with bags flying and sweat pouring down my face. We jumped on the train just as the little worker blew his whistle and shut the doors. By this point I looked like I had jumped into a pool which was really attractive, but we made it!

After that little adventure, the rest of our travels was smooth sailing. We got into London about 8am and had the whole day to enjoy the city. It was Friday morning during rush hour when we arrived and I don't think I have ever seen so many people in suits and ties! Those Londoners are definitely all about business. I fit right in with a messenger purse around my chest, a plaid shirt and capris, and a duffle bag that I fashioned as a backpack by putting my arms through the handles. Oh well, if I really am a tourist, why not look like one?

We don't have access to the printer at our institute except for certain hours, so we used my hand-drawn map to find our way - needless to say we got a bit lost. After about a half hour though we found our way to the hotel which was literally a block away from the famous Tower Bridge and we got a full apartment with a kitchen and living room! Living like queens in London. Perfect :)

Although we had been up since five, we went out and explored the whole day; we were in London for heaven's sake! No time for resting. We did the same Saturday and took full advantage of the lovely weather - I got tan AND sunburned in LONDON - by being out all day. Here are some highlights and stories from the trip:


1) They were getting ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics and doing a total cleaning/transformation of the city. The Underground was spotless and everywhere they already did was all spiffed up and amazing, but otherwise caused a whole lot of traffic and mess- I had to use my map skills to find different metro routes multiple times and must admit I did a pretty fine job. I should be a cartographer.


2) I'm a tense bit (aka majorly) obsessed with the royal wedding/will and kate/the british monarchy/the british in general, and all I wanted from this trip was one of those wonderful British flags with the heart-shaped picture of Will and Kate on it that everyone was waving around on April 29th. I thought for sure I'd be able to find it at one of the little side stands they have all around, but they were nowhere to be found! I was so devastated. We got to another stand about halfway through the day and I grumpily looked up at it and mumbled something mean under my breath when Emily said "is that what you were looking for?" I looked up and there it was waving in the wind!! I was ESTATIC. I ran (literally started jogging) up to the stand and said I'll one of those please! I asked how much it was, not caring what he said because I was going to buy it anyways, and he said £10. I didn't think anything of it and just ranted to him about how I'd been looking for this everywhere and how happy I was. I felt so accomplished and was walking around with my head held high, holding my prized flag. This was until literally the next 10 stores we passed had the same flags. For £2. 2! I was totally talken advantage of and I was so nice to him! It also dawned on me that £10 is in fact not 10 dollars, but about $16, and I bought two of the darn things. Yep, I spent $32 on cheap flags. But, I love them so much that I'm alright with it :)


3) This is my third time being in London and every darn time the queen is not in Buckingham Palace. All those visits probably added up to about a week and not one day was the queen in residence. This trip she was there the day before and left the morning we got there. Come on! It's so disappointing seeing the British flag waving above the palace instead of the royal flag - I need to have a chat with her about her too frequent visits to Windsor castle...

4) My love for England makes me worry that back in the day I might have been a royalist. I'm all about America and love that I am an American, but I just have some doubts about my Colonial era self


5) I want to find out the story behind those big black hats-they sure weren't going for practicality. I'm thinking Marge Simpson impersonators.


6) Seeing the entrance to Westminster Abbey and being inside the church made me instantly feel warm and fuzzy inside. I got chills and it made me so happy. I got to see first-hand all where all the magic of the royal wedding happened! It was magical. I had a dorky half grin on my face the rest of the day.


7) So I realized during this trip that our mighty American dollars really aren't worth that much. London completely drained my bank account. I took out £100 from an ATM and it took $164 out of my bank account without an transaction fees! That's almost 2 to 1! What happened America...


8) Fact: fish and chips really are delicious in London


9) To end our trip with a bang we decided to see Les Mis on the West End!! It was SO much fun and I just couldn't go to London without seeing a Broadway show for my mom. We got super cheap tickets for only £15 (what a steal right? Go straight to the box office the day of for tickets - they're the cheapest)BUT they were "very limited view" so I had a lovely railing in front of me that blocked the entire stage if I were to sit properly in my seat. No worries though! As long as I leaned forward on the ledge the whole time, I could see the entire stage really well with only a few cricks in my back and both legs asleep by the end: a price I'm willing to pay for such a good play! Only drawback was they sang EVERY word. There was no normal talking even between songs. Every once in a while I would think: just talk to the darn person! Then I started to think how it would be kind of fun if we went a whole day just singing our conversations and that happy thought made me less annoyed.

So, all in all, like all my other trips, London was awesome! I can't decide if Paris (with a real Paris apartment, the best host ever and a charming city) or London was better. I suppose I don't need to officially decide, but I might have to give London the edge. I just can't help how much I love the royals and seeing all of that in person was amazing. Not only was Westminster Abbey home to the royal wedding, but also hosted the coronations for every British monarch for the past 1000 years, act as the resting place for the most notable Brits (including Queen Elizabeth I, Jane Austen, and Isaac Newton), and hosted Princess Diana's funeral. London just has so much living history that I find so fascinating. I just can't get enough of this place.

Well, after the fastest month of my life, my last week is finally here! It's a bit bitter sweet because I was just getting into the swing of things at work and living here, but I'm excited to come back to the glorious US of A! It's been a fun ride, but I suppose I should come back to reality. Chip chip cheerio!