It’s over. Two words that are having trouble sinking in. I’m officially home.
Its hard to imagine summing up this experience in one post. It’s also hard to imagine this being my last blog post.
I’m currently wearing shorts, holding a pair of car keys, listening to country music, and sitting in a neighborhood Starbucks. Welcome to the burbs.
Where to start?
The question I have already gotten 5 times “what was my favorite part?” ...continue reading "Eye Opening and Life Changing"
6 days. 12 hours. 31 minutes until my flight takes off across the big pond back to the land of free water, country music, and ranch dressing (among other things). INSANE.
I’m having a terrible time wrapping my head around this fact. It’s that hell week. When you have to pack up everything you own, while studying for finals, saying goodbye to friends, and maintaining sanity. Finals week in the spring is horrific situation endured by college kids across the world but this week in a different country is a sick joke.
Trying to plan out this beautiful master piece of scheduling, making sure you fit in everything before you leave until god knows when is hard (drastic understatement) So what’s on the list? What do I have to do before I depart back to the DC life?
I can hardly think of a thing. My initial reaction to this realization was confused/horrified.. but giving it a second thought, not having anything left you absolutely have to do before you leave? That’s definitely an ideal situation. I know what I have done in Europe is just the tip of the ice burg but I think I completed the things I was really set off to do coming to Europe. ...continue reading "Finals and Departure Prep"
On Tuesday, the new king of Holland was crowned and naturally, we were there to celebrate. 6:30am in the car on the way for the biggest party in Europe. Its traditional to wear orange.. lots of orange. I bought 3 euro bright orange leggings at the midi market last week that worked out perfectly. We got a hotel next to the airport for super cheap (the rates were sky high due to the festivities in the city). We took a shuttle to the airport from the hotel and caught the train into the city for 8 euro round trip. The train was a short 20 minute trip right in to the center of the city. THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE. People of all ages, speaking all different languages, and clearly from all different backgrounds. There was singing and dancing outside every bar and vendors selling everything orange, glasses, hates, shirts, etc. ...continue reading "Queen’s Day"
Around Brussels there large squares in the center of different parts of town. These squares were formally areas where people of the different districts would do their shopping and get groceries. The different districts in Brussels are fairly spread out so the squares are quite large to support many people.
The trading industry in these squares still continue today. On the weekend and some weekdays, certain markets are open filled with a variety of goods. There are two markets I am personally familiar with only two, though there are many more.
This morning we went to a market at Gare du Midi. It is where the central train station is in an ‘interesting’ part of town. I went with a suitemate who had been before so it was very easy to get around. When we got out of the metro, there were hoards of people out on the streets. I was beautiful outside and already around noon so I guess that should have been expected. ...continue reading "Markets!"
ITS WARM.
That’s right. Brussels gets warm and you can only begin to understand how much I love it. I’m officially running outside in shorts daily, no longer need a jacket, and can wear sandals. HEAVEN.
I’ve discovered the most amazing place to run. It rivals the greenway and rock creek parkway. In February, I found this lake and collection of trails via my house mom’s advice. It supports a nice 45 minute out and back jog but nothing like back home. You can only imagine my excitement when I realized it was just a tip of the iceberg. There are trails for days a 9 minute run away from my house. How did I get so lucky. It is probably a 30 mile loop? With soft trails, asphalt trails, wide trails, narrow trails, curvy trails, hilly trails, flat trails, bike trails, muddy trails, and all any other kinds of trails you can think of in this great Brussels running wonderland. I’ve hardly been training enough to run for a hour regularly but I can’t help myself in this vast land of greatness. ...continue reading "Spring!"
After travelling for spring break, I have a new appreciation for Belgium. Some good, some bad.
1) Compared to Italians, Belgians are extremely quiet. I love this about Belgians because I found the Italians to be rather loud.
2) Everywhere has nicer weather than Brussels (everywhere but London) It was so nice to travel South and get some sun. I have returned half way through April and the forecast this week is in the 60’s.
3) Compared to London, Brussels is tiny. London was too big. Not in the over whelming since but in a impossible way to get anywhere. The hour transit and multiple transfers on the tube made me miss Brussels’ simple and quaint system to get around. ...continue reading "Cultural Differences"
In the CIEE Brussels Business program, the students have a choice between living in a home stay or living in apartment style housing. In this blog, I'm going to compare two options however first I'm going to address the slightly confusing way you go about signing up for housing and how I was a little nervous and concerned about the process.
One of the greatest things about choosing Brussels as you study abroad destination, is you ability to travel. Brussels in centrally located to most of Europe and the airport is relatively easy to get to. While, I considered studying somewhere with a larger culture shock like South Africa and Hong Kong, they are much harder to travel out of. Therefore, I have taken a handful of trips to get a better feel for other parts of Europe. In Brussels, there are many ways to get around:
It is that time of the year, Midterms. Study abroad midterms are no different than midterms in the states, they are no fun.
My midterm course load consisted of two take home midterms in Operations Management and International Banking Systems, a traditional midterm in my Belgium cultures class with multiple choice and short essay questions, a midterm in french, and my economics professor doesn't like conforming to traditional midterm operations. While this seems like a lot, it is completely doable. The perks of being abroad is not having club meetings and appointments. ...continue reading "STUDY abroad"
During study abroad your life changes in more ways than just living in another country. I think there are a ton of different ways I didn't think about like budgeting your money for example. When abroad, budgeting for food and hygiene products stays constant but instead of saving money for that sweater you saw online or prepping for a trip this summer everything is so in the moment, you budget for trips, clothes that you forgot at home, and authentic food from the places you travel. It's funny how your life revolves around getting to new places, meeting new people, getting to know a new culture, and doing research on what is best to do or see. Juggling planning with school and keeping in contact with everyone at home is a struggle. ...continue reading "Ode to Abroad"