Belgiumized

The weeks here go by just as the weeks do in America. I go to class (only Tuesdays and Thursdays though!), eat, sleep, do homework, Facebook, check my e-mail, work, watch TV sometimes, consider going for runs, don’t go for runs, read, hang out with friends sometimes, check Facebook, check my e-mail, eat, etc. But it’s different. Why? Because I’m in Belgium, and not in America. I go to a Belgian school, and eat Belgian food and sleep during the Belgian time zone and consider going on runs in Belgium and use the Belgian Internet and yeah, you get it. I’m still quite amazed that I’m in actually Europe for an entire semester! It’s pretty neat. You should try it.

Today was the THIRD day of sunny blue skies! I didn’t know Belgium was capable of this kind of weather! But it is! I’ve forgotten how lovely a blue sky is. It was warmer today than it has been and there was a nice breeze, too. I’m looking forward to spring in full force! I’m anxious to see everything in bloom (especially the weird trees they have here). I have high expectations as it rains so much here. I think it’d be nearly impossible for it to not be green to the extreme!

I had planned to go to an outdoor flea market today with my friends Alison and Kelly. Unfortunately, the trams decided to go on strike today! So my usual way into the city was unaccessible. So I instead had to take an out-of-the-way bus to the metro to another metro, but I eventually got there! We finally arrived at the market, which was located in a big, open square area. There were tarps and tables set up, covering it entirely. People were selling anything and everything you can think of- jewelry, clothes, furniture, violins, dishes and silverware, shoes, odd household decoration trinkets, paintings, rugs, African masks and other random things. It was pretty cool! It reminded me of a giant garage sale. I bought a purse for 7 euro (I bargained down from 10!) and a ring for 3 euro (bargained from 4).  The guy whom I bought my purse from first started speaking to us in French, then Dutch and then Spanish! Luckily a girl I was with spoke Spanish and so was able to communicate that way. He also apparently knew German, Arabic and some English. I was pretty impressed by his extensive repertoire of languages and pretty embarrassed by my puny repertoire. I hope to attend many more markets while I'm here. It makes me feel like a native.

We hung out there wandering in and out of the aisles for a couple hours and then made our way to a shopping area. The street we were on has shops along it for blocks and blocks. There are conveniently no cars allowed on this street. It is here, on this street that I indulged in my very first Belgian waffle! It was warm and had melted chocolate on top of it. So good! I’d be down for having a couple more of those before I head back to the U.S. A waffle and a flea market in the same day!? I'm becoming so Belgiumized. Although I did finally have a waffle, I sadly did not find a pair of boots. Still hunting…

The internship has still been going well. I’ve been working on getting photos of the artists and their paintings along with a bio of each artist. I enjoy looking at photos of the artwork and seeing the variety of painting styles each artist presents.

I went with Mechthild the other day to visit her son, Edward in his apartment. She is such a mother. The first thing she does when we get in the door is check the plants to see if they’ve been watered recently. Then she notices there are towels hanging out to dry and offers that he bring them over so she can dry them so that they will smell good and be soft. She’s very concerned not only for him, but also for us, which shows how caring she is. 

Recently, I was perusing through her DVD collection and noticed she had season one of the TV series, 24. I asked her if she had ever seen it and she said no, so I demanded that we must start it at once! Ever since then she’s become addicted. She’s looking into buying the second season already so that we’ll have it when we finish the first. I haven’t seen this season in a long time and so I’ve enjoyed watching it again with her and still find myself being surprised by the twists and turns in the longest day of Jack Bauer’s life. Time to start another episode now! 

Some friends and I hanging out a the Salsa bar

I just like how the buildings here look. They're all squished together but each one has it's own architectural uniqueness

The flea market!

One of the examples of the massive piles of clothes

Kelly and Alison and the flea market

View of Belgium

The Palace of Justice was massive

We eat wonderful waffles