Goodbye

I spent 128 days, more than 4 months living in Brussels. Getting the chance to spend time abroad as a student may not be a unique as it once was, but I still feel privileged to have had the opportunity to do so. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve returned and I wanted to take some time before truly reflecting on the experience.

When I started writing 4 months ago, I said I wanted this experience to be unique, and for this blog to be different from those by other students. I’m not sure if I succeeded in that. It ended up being mostly me telling of my travels not unlike anyone else who does so, but I still tried to present it in my own way. While the blog may not be as original as I hoped, I am pretty sure my experience was as much a reflection of my personality as it could have been. I didn’t post an instagram of all the cool and beautiful places I went ( I opted more for comedic sights). I didn’t make a pic stitch of me holding up a sign in all the places I visited saying “Thanks Mom and Dad for giving me the world”, which is probably the most basic thing you can do. I thanked my parents in person like a human being does. I did things my way.

This semester has had its positives and negatives. There were moments when I was on top of the world, enjoying life to its full potential, drinking wonderful beer, embracing a completely different culture and seeing the world. But there were also moments where I really struggled, I battled with my own personal weaknesses, and even let them win at times.

I am not going to say that this semester has changed me. What I will say is that because of this semester, I have grown more comfortable with who I am. I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone and although I wasn’t always successful, I am proud of the accomplishments I made.

There’s one thing I can take away from this semester that I’d like to share, and that is how I learned to become more independent. I mean that in several ways. From living on my own, cooking for myself, and getting myself to commute to school even when I had no desire to, I was able to function and prove I can handle living on my own, like an adult, in a foreign environment. I now feel comfortable in supporting myself both physical and emotionally on my own, and I feel that’s an essential skill to possess.

For me, Becoming more independent also meant making bold decisions and acting on my own. When I came to Brussels, I told myself I would make travel plans with the people I met and go from there. When others weren’t interested in doing the same trips or going to the same places as me, I didn’t let the fact that I was alone stop me from doing what I wanted to do. So, I traveled and I explored new places on my own, and I couldn’t be happier with my decisions. I didn’t let others hold me back from having the experience I wanted, and that is what I am most proud to take away from this experience.

Thank you for reading this along the way. I realize my writing can be lengthy at times, maybe a little dull, or my jokes just fall flat. But the writing I have done here has been very cathartic for me over the semester, and I am thrilled that people either care or are interested enough to read what I have to say. So, thank you.

I’m glad I was able to write down my thoughts and stories throughout this experience, even if they were a few weeks late. As you can probably tell, I am going to miss Brussels, and Belgium. It was a wonderful few months. But those few months are just a small fraction of my lifetime, and I’m sure that whatever lies ahead will be just as influential and enjoyable as these past 128 days have been. Looking forward to it. Cheers.

Final Days

The days began to dwindle and before it could even sink in, I had finished my classes. I still had a week of finals left, but those were no more than a formality. With so little time left, I planned out a few things I had yet to do but still wanted to. It was my intention to do everything I possibly could before leaving this beautiful city and country.

In the evening following our last day of class, we had our last CIEE organized activity of the semester: a visit to the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. The Royal Greenhouses are exactly what its name describes in that they are greenhouses and they are in fact royal. They are located on the grounds of the Royal Family's pristine living quarters. The greenhouses are only open for 3 weeks during the entire year, so visiting them is a highly anticipated event. We arrived about 8:00 on a Friday night, which was the last day that the grounds were open. Fittingly, there was a massive line awaiting us and we had to wait quite a bit before entering.

This is where the King lives

A Weekend with Steve and Peg

As April turned to May, I found my days in Brussels dwindling, the thought of which scared the crap out of me. Fortunately, i didn't spend too much time dwelling on it as my parents were coming to visit.

I was extremely excited to welcome my parents to my newfound home for a plethora of reasons. For one, I have come to love this city and with the amount of pride and care I held for Brussels, I really wanted to show it off to people I care about. I had yet to have anyone visit me, so this would be the first opportunity to show people around my home and let them see what I loved about this place.

More importantly, my parents have a history with this city. Back in 1980, well before I was born, my father was transferred to his company's office in Brussels, so my parents and two oldest sisters moved to Brussels, where they lived for 2 years before returning back to the States. My father had only returned to the city briefly for a day over a decade ago, and my mother had not returned since they left. So their visit would be an exciting opportunity, not only for me to show them my favorite parts about the city, but also for them to revisit their former life, see what had changed and showed me their old stomping grounds. It had been over 30 years, so I was intrigued as to how they trip would be for them.

My parents arrived on Thursday morning. i wasn't able to meet them right away as I had to give a presentation on a semester long project for my marketing class, but was able to meet up with them afterwards. Following our initial regrouping and embrace, my father had to take a conference call, so my mother used the opportunity to try out some of that Belgian beer I haven't been able to shut up about. 

And so, the trip had come full circle

There's No Place Like Home

Alright, now that I've gotten all my trips out of the way, it's time to talk about the most important part of this semester abroad: Brussels. In just a few short months, Brussels has become my new home, a place that I enjoy very much, and miss when I'm away. I could explain it in more detail, but I'll just say for now that it is a city where I feel comfortable and that allows me to act like myself which all anyone can really ask out of their place of residence, no. So after traveling for the majority of April, I was relieved to return to this city and live out the final few weeks of my program.

So, without hesitation, let me explain some of the things I love about this place. Yes, I've already mentioned the beer and the bars.

They are wonderful and a great way to enjoy a night in the city. There's a great deal of variety in where I can go, and I'm able to mix it up quite a bit.

The big name is of course Delirium.

Best alleyway in Brussels

An entire alleyway owned by the same group that contains a cafe, a draft house, a beer cellar, a quiet zone, a floris (absinthe) bar, a rum bar and a tequila bar. I'm probably missing a few, but I think you get the point. Yes, the place is touristy but its the most popular place in Brussels for a reason. Prices aren't terrible, theres plenty of room to mill about, even if getting a table can be difficult, and options for everyone. I've spent a good amount of time there, as its a central meeting place and always helps in adding more beers to my list. Again the goal was 128 different beers for the 128 days I'll spend in Europe. And if you're looking to just try the beer and avoid the swarms of people, you can check out Little Delirium, which is just a few blocks away and never extremely crowded.

If I desire a more typical Belgian experience, I'll go to the downtown location of Chez Moeder. It's original location in St. Gilles is a hard place for me to get to, but its second location downtown is bigger and still offers just as much a variety, with over 30 beers on tap and an expansive bottle list that you have to ask for. It's on the pricier side, however, the menu features a more rare variety of beers that are difficult to find elsewhere. This is a great place to try a lambic beer like a gueze or framboise.

I mostly go out with people from the program. If we go to the city centre, we will most likely end up at O'Reilly's Nua for karaoke or The Big Game for 1 euro Stella's before making our way to St. Gery, which a cool little square where bars and cafes line the sidewalks surrounding Les Halles de St. Gery, an old train station that has become a cafe/bar/nightclub. People prefer this area for the cocktail bars like Mappa Mundo and Coaster.

The nightlife is not just restricted to the city center. Cimitiere D'Ixelles is a small area located between the campus of the two major universities in Brussels, the ULB and VUB. The are has a good number of cafes and bars which are largely populated by students. El Cafe is a pretty popular place with most of my friends, and seems to be where everyone will meet up, which is the only real reason I'll ever go there anymore. It's a cocktail bar with a dance floor but a crappy beer selection, so not my cup of tea. I prefer Tavernier down the street, where you can enjoy a nice Zinnebir.

There are a whole bunch of places I haven't even gotten to explore yet. Not being into the club scene limits me a bit. I've heard good things about Madame Moustache, You and the Bois, which is a club in the middle of the forest, which sounds sketchy when you type it out, but people really seem to like it.

Of course, Brussels is not just about the drinking, even though its an essential part of the social scene. You'll probably be aware that Brussels is considered the capital of the EU, as it is home to many European institutions and the NATO headquarters.

NATO

This helps transform Brussels into such a diverse international city. There are tons of different communities throughout the city. And it would not be surprising to hear more than 8 languages spoken in a given day. Many of the EU institutions are located in the place Luxembourg area east of the city centre, which fittingly has a very bureaucratic vibe to it. It is a good place to spend a Thursday night, as most of the politicians return to their districts for the weekends. Nearby is Place Jordaan, home to Chez Antoine, supposedly home to the best frites in Brussels.

 I've tried them, they were amazing, but the title of best is a hard one to claim.

In addition the city centre is full of cultural activities, many of which I have yet to get to. The center is dominated by one of Brussels more recognizable features, which is of course the Grand Place. Without a doubt, the most beautiful square in all of Europe, the Grand place is the center of all activity in the city and I frequently pass through it on my way just to gaze at its lovely splendor.

At night, it lights up and appears even more stunning. The lighting will often be themed regarding the time of year, as it was green for St. Patrick's day and rainbow for Pride week.

Everything else in the centre is only a short walk from the Grand Place. Two streets to the south is the Mannekin Pis, the fountain statue of a little boy peeing that has become the symbol of Brussels.

There are several origin stories that exist about Mannekin Pis, my personal favorite being that he was pissing and put out a fire to save the city.

One of the biggest hubs of the city is the area surrounding the Bourse, the old stock exchange building on Boulevard Anspach, the main street in the centre. I'd have to recommend picking up a cone of frites from Friteland, one of the best friteries which is right nearby, and go take a seat on the Bourse steps and enjoy the buzz of activity going on:

Just a few blocks east is Gare Centrale and the Royal Palace.

Here you can find many government buildings surrounding Parc, it's large park. In this area, you'll also find many of the city's museums nearby, most of which I have visited so far or will definitely do before my time is up.

Just south of there is the Grand Sablon, a nice area surrounding an old church that can be considered the chocolate street, as there are tons of chocolate shops lining this street.

Some of the biggest tourist attractions are located a bit north of the center in the Heysel area. It should only take a 20 minute tram ride or 15 minute metro. This is where you find the Roi Badouin stadium, the national stadium where I attended the football match in March. The King's palace

The King lives here

and the Royal Greenhouses are also located close by. Most of the area is a reflection of the 1958 World's fair which built up a majority of the area. The Atomium is the giant monument at its center, that is probably the second biggest symbol of Brussels, behind Mannekin Pis.

It looks immensely better on a nice day

The Fair grounds has become a hub of activity thanks to the monument as well as the large adjacent complex which includes a massive cineplex, a water park and the Mini Europe theme park. There is also an expansive green park area that is home to several country pavilions left over from the World's fair.

A little east of place Luxembourg, is the beautiful Cinquantenaire, a beautiful archway towering over the surroundings.

It is surrounded by a beautiful park and is only about a 20-25 minute walk from my apartment.

These are just some of the most notable things to do and see in Brussels. I have lived here for almost 4 full months, and have still yet to visit many of them. So, if you hear that Brussels is a small and unexciting city, know that is wrong. There's plenty to do here, and if you're like me and don't take yourself too seriously and can appreciate a fine beer, you will love it here. Cheers.

Luxembourg

So in the process of writing, and moving along with the semester, I happened to forget/ purposely not include for sake of time/just flat out didn’t want to post about some things I have done. One of these was the CIEE day trip to Luxembourg back in early March. With all the traveling I’ve done since, this trip may not seem as big in comparison but it was still Luxembourg and was a great and interesting day. We went on a Thursday, so we got to miss class which was nice, but we also had to leave at 7, which meant getting up at 6, not nice.

We started the day with a visit to the European Investment bank. Not it’s new nice and shiny building that’s just a few years old, but rather its older contemporary, which sees less action as a result. We gathered in the buildings large meeting room, where we were given a presentation on the European Investment bank, what it does, and how it works. To be honest, a lot of what was said went way over my head, but I believe the general premise was that companies gives the bank money, which the bank then invests in order to make more money. I am smart.

Leaving Luxembourg’s modern financial district, otherwise known as home for the money of rich people, we then traveled to the city center. I’ll admit, I did not know much about the actual city of Luxembourg before the trip. From what I knew, it was just that tiny country south of Belgium where celebrities and companies hide their money from taxes. What I did not realize was how much of a creative cityscape Luxembourg is. The center of the city sits atop of what is essentially a plateau of sorts, really a flat hill, and is surrounded by a series of walls. The original city wall stands on the hill, protecting the city from the surrounding valleys. To put this in perspective, here is how the walls of the city centre stand out:

Alsace You Whether You Like It or Not

After a week back in the real world again, going to class, papers and projects, and cooking for myself, I took part in the CIEE organized trip to the Alsace region of France the following weekend.

Here’s a little background info on Alsace, as I knew nothing about the area before the trip. Alsace is a region in the east of France that borders Germany and Switzerland. Much like Belgium, the region has been under numerous jurisdictions in its existence and the as a result the modern population have ties with both Germany and France. It is one of the few areas you’ll see with town signs in both French and German.

For our trip we would be staying in Strasbourg, the largest city in the region and also one/third of the center of the EU (the other 2/3 being Brussels and Luxembourg). The trip also included visits to other Alsacian sites, Freiburg, the German capital of the Black forest region, and the town of Trier, the oldest European city north of the Alps.

Leaving Friday morning on our infamous CIEE double decker bus, we arrived in Strasbourg that afternoon. After a quick bus tour, we were also given a walking tour of the city. We started at the city’s dam before navigating its small cobble stone streets.

I've Been Here

This right here is a donut. A german donut. I purchased 5 of these beauties at the Munich haupbanhof before boarding my train for Koln. Without a doubt, one of the best decisions of my life. These things were amazing, some of the greatest things I have had the pleasure of tasting. I miss them everyday, and wake up in the middle of the night crying about them.

Munchen

As i lie in bed nursing the second bout of serious illness I have experienced during the semester I find myself in a dilemma. Having just come off one of the busiest academic weeks I can remember, in which I had 3 presentations, a group project, 2 papers and a week of finals still left to go, I am exhausted. I don't want to get out of bed, my body aches, I have the chills, and I still have a 10 page paper on Belgium history due Friday night. I should probably get on that, but then again I still haven''t finished writing about my spring break travels, so I'll do that to procrastinate. 

The train ride from Berlin to Munich was the longest of my German adventure, sending me from the northeast part of the country south into Bavaria, home of leiderhosen and pretzels. I emerged from Munich Haupthbanhof sometime in the afternoon. After some initial struggles finding wifi, I was able to direct myself to my Airbnb, drop off my things and make my way back to the city center.

Wait, I don't remember all these bikes

I Am A Jelly Donut

First, let me say that this is not how my trip to Berlin went:

Hamburglar in Hamburg

*A pre-post note* I recently handed in a edited collection of these blogs for a class project. In order to do so, I reread many of my posts for the first time and just want to issue an apology. There were so many grammatical mistakes it was cringeworthy. That plus the fact that my sentences just didn't make any sense half the time just made it all sound really dumb in hindsight. So if you've made it this far, thanks for sticking it out. I promise, I'll try to do a better job from here on out. Okay, now onto what I have to say this time around.

After a quick two days back in Brussels that consisted mostly of homework and applications, as well as stalking the results for UR at the quidditch World Cup, I set off on the second journey of my spring break. I had arranged a week long tour of Germany that would include stops in 4 different cities: Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, and Cologne. Why Germany? I have wanted to visit Berlin and Munich for sometime now. With Germany being just a short train ride from Brussels, I decided to extend the trip to include a few more cities, as let's be honest when will I ever get the chance to go to Hamburg again? I had also heard good things about Cologne from other students in my program, and just like that  I had a trip planned. I had acquired a Benelux Germany Eurail pass, that allowed me to hop on any DB train for 4 dates of my choosing. This gave me more flexibility in my travel schedule that made the whole process a lot less stressful than it otherwise would have been.

Take Me Home, United Road

AGHGHGHGJGHFHGHGHFJGHHFHHGJG

The Tuesday of my trip to England, I had the opportunity to do something I've dreamt of doing for a while now: visit Old Trafford, home of the worlds greatest football club Manchester United. United are my team. I follow the team and its players daily and try to watch as many games as I possibly can. I know some more staunch or traditional football fans will criticize me for supporting United, saying I'm a bandwagon and that I didn't "grow up" with them as my team. Well that's just wrong, ever since I've followed European football, United has been my team. I owe that to my brother Rory as he definitely had the most influence in my fandom. Having been a United supporter himself since childhood, his interest in the sport and team introduced me to the culture that I ultimately fell in love with. Much like how a son is groomed to follow their fathers team, Rory led me to support United. Thanks bro.

London. Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

At Vesalius, we are given two full weeks off in April for spring break. I used the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling, because Europe. I split the break into two parts, spending the first week in London before coming back to Brussels for 2 nights and then traveling around Germany for the second week.

Living the Poncho Life in Bruges

The day following the Belgium match, we had a CIEE organized trip to the city of Bruges. The trip was originally scheduled for the same day as the Belgium game but because Monika and Michelangelo are awesome, they changed the date so we could go to the game.

We met up at the train station early that morning. The program was divided into two groups, one was to do a bike tour in the morning and a walking tour in the afternoon with the other doing vice versa. I was one of the fortunate souls lucky enough to be in the morning group. It was already raining when we arrived in Bruges, but little did we realize what we were getting ourselves into. Monica handed out ponchos to everyone. I accepted one but was not yet ready to submit myself to the indignity of wearing a poncho. After meeting up with our tour guide who assigned us each a bike we were ready to set off on our tour. After surveying the pouring rain around us, I finally relented and put on my poncho.

What have you done to me?

The plan for the bike tour was to ride a few kilometers outside of the city, stopping at an old fashioned windmill and then the old town harbor. I say that was the plan, seeing how we barely accomplished half of that. Initially, the conditions were not terrible as we started to make our way out of the city. It was raining but we were on the bikes going a comfortable speed with poncho's keeping us somewhat dry. The next part required us to bike several kilometers down a straightaway right next to a large canal. This was the part when everything went to shit. Upon hitting the straightaway, the elements of earth began to exact their anger on us. The rain picked up to a heavy downpour as wind blew off the canal directly on to us. The ponchos became useless as the wind caused them to tear, letting the rain, which was coming horizontally thanks to the wind, fall straight onto us. It may have been only 10 or 15 minutes but it felt like 2 hours. Eventually we did make it to the aforementioned windmill, where we got to stop and go inside.

Tous Ensemble! TOUS ENSEMBLE!

On a cool March night in Brussels, I was finally able to cross one of the highest items off my European bucket list: Attend a high level football match. The Belgium national team was playing its fourth group qualifying match for the 2016 UEFA Euro championships. Belgium is in Group B with Bosnia & Herzegovina, Wales, Israel, Cyprus and Andorra. After playing home and away matches against each team in the group, the top 2 teams qualify for Euro 2016 finals with the 3rd team placed in a playoff to earn one of the final spots at the finals. Anything other than qualifying for the finals would be a massive failure for the current Belgian national team. The team is expected to win the group, but had started slow with only one win and 2 draws in their first 3 games. Coming into the Cyprus match, Belgium was 4th in the group with only 5 points, trailing Israel with 9 points, Wales with 7 and Cyprus with 6. It was a must win game for the Red Devils.

Ik Spreekt een Beetje Nederlands (part 2)

So the day following the CIEE trip to the Hague, i returned on my own to visit my friend Sien. Sien is a student at Leiden University in the Netherlands who studied on exchange at Richmond during the fall semester where she joined up with the quidditch team. At the end of last semester, I told her I would visit her and I delivered.

Ik Spreekt een Beetje Nederlands (Part 1)

This past weekend was one of the best I have had during my time in Europe so far. It all started on Wednesday afternoon when I decided to book a last minute trip to Amsterdam. With less than 2 months left during the semester and with plans for every weekend in April, I realized that I was running out of time to visit the closest major city to Brussels. I had also been meaning to visit my friend Sien, a student from the Netherlands that studied abroad at Richmond during the fall and lives in the Hague. We had talked about meaning up at some point but had yet to schedule anything. So with little time to spare, I arranged to meet up Sien on Friday afternoon and spend the rest of the day in The Hague before hopping up to Amsterdam for the rest of weekend.

Ironically, this weekend would start off with a CIEE organized trip to The Hague on that Thursday. Unfortunately, I wouldn't not be able to stay the night in The Hague, so I would have to hitch a train ride the next day.

Oh Yeah, I Had a Birthday

When I told most people that I would be celebrating my 21st birthday while abroad, the most popular reaction seemed to be, "well, that sucks". Now, we all know the American tradition is to go out and get your first legal drink on your 21st birthday, but having been legally able to drink for the past 2 months, that doesn't quite have the same appeal anymore. That said, that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy my 21st birthday as I please.

Ghent Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Alright so I've been meaning to write this one for a while now, but you know midterms, excuses and so forth.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was out at a bar or school (I'm not sure which. are they not the same thing at this point? I'm kidding), when I realized I didn't have anything planned for the weekend. So I thought, hey I should go somewhere for the day on Saturday. I looked to my right and asked my friend Kyle if he wanted to go on a day trip.
"yeah", said he.
"Cool. let's go to Ghent", said Bo.
We both nod.

So that Saturday, we got up at a time before noon, hopped on a train and embarked on a romantic getaway to Ghent. Why Ghent? Well, having been for the LichtFestival, it seemed like a pretty cool city, but since I was only there for a few hours during the festival, I didn't get to see much of the actual city at all.

Parliament, Street Art, Chocolate, Beers and Francophones

I'm going to start this blog off by taking a minute to talk about my program here in Brussels. I am fortunate to be studying here with the CIEE Study Abroad. That acronym may not seem like much but it can provide a pretty big difference in the type of experience you can have abroad. Studying through CIEE has provided me with numerous advantages that other abroad students at my school in other programs or direct enrollment do not have.

First off, CIEE takes care of your housing, which is huge. Other students at Veco came to Brussels without having a clue where they would live, and so need to go looking for an apartment immediately without any real knowledge of the city. I didn't have to deal with that.  I was assigned an apartment and I live there. Point set match.

Another advantage is that CIEE organizes several trips and activities for us. In addition to day trips to Binche and Bastogne which I have already talked about, we have several more day trips planned around the Benelux countries (that's Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg for those who ain't with it), a weekend trip to Alsace, France, and a variety of activities during the week that we can take part in. I have already mentioned how with the program, we have toured the Cantillon Brewery the Belgian Comic Strip Museum as well as seeing both Him and Her versions of the Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. In the past few weeks, we have been fortunate enough to tour Belgium's federal parliament, various street art of Brussels, a traditional belgian chocolatier and another brewery.

Carnaval

This past Fat Tuesday, instead of our weekly class, our CIEE program headed out to the small Belgian town of Binche to experience the town's renowned tradition of Carnaval. Located in the southwest of Belgium, Binche is a small town of roughly 30,000 inhabitants located in the French Speaking Wallonia province of Belgium. The town has come to be known for its annual Carnaval festival, a three day festival every February when the town becomes overrun with people piling into its small streets to engage in the festivities. What those festivities celebrate, I could not tell you, but hey its an annual event and seems to be pretty successful. The festival has been recognized by UNESCO for its cultural significance, another thing I don't quite understand but means it's important.

We arrived in Binche around 2 in the afternoon. Tuesday marks the final day of the festival, in which the local towns men known as Gilles wake up early and spend the day dressed in their traditional Gilles attire, 

Which look like this

Beers Beers Beers

This blog seems to have been lacking on the beer recently, so time to change that. I am living in Belgium after all, and if you haven't heard, there is beer here. In the little over a month that I have been in Europe, I have ordered and tried 37 different beers already. To try and rank the beers I have tried would be a foolish thing to do at this point, because rankings are completely subjective and rather pointless when you think about it, especially since most of the beers I have only tried once or twice. At first, I wanted to take a picture of every beer I drank during my time here but that failed rather quickly (and by quickly, i mean it didn't even make it through the first night). So i switched my goal, and am now just writing down everything I order, because when you try over 37 beers in a month, you're not going to remember each that well, and wow I've had over 37 beers the last month, geez Belgium what are you doing to me. I hope that by the end of my stay here, the number will be in triple figures. I don't expect to keep up my current pace, but am pretty sure i can reach that goal. That said, here's some of the different beers I have tried and some basic thoughts, impressions, and remarks I can honestly give so far:

The Da Vinci Code Taken During Midnight in Paris but Before Sunset

This past weekend, I took part in my first trip away from Belgium, traveling with a group of friends to one of the few places in Europe I've been fortunate enough to visit before: Paris, France. My first trip to Paris was a class trip senior of high school almost exactly 3 years prior. Although fun, I think it's easy to understand how different my experience in the city would be this time around.

I took the Megabus from Brussels for about 32 euros roundtrip. It took about 4 1/2 hours to get to Paris and only 3 hours to get back. We arrived around 7:30 Friday night, and by the time we checked into our hostel and had dinner it was almost Midnight in Paris so i took a stroll around the city so I could go meet up with Owen Wilson and F.Scott. Ugh, that reference was forced, I'm sorry. Anyways, that night we went to a club on the Champs Elysee called Queen (which will become important in a second). Although we avoided a cover charge by signing up online, I finally learned just how ridiculously expensive Paris is by paying 3 euros for a coat check and looking at a menu where soda was 10 euros and anything alcoholic was at least 15 euros. Me being somewhat responsible, decided not to blow all my money on booze that night (looking at you Hank), but still 15 euros for a drink is absolutely ridiculous. Paris, why you gotta be so rude?

Super Bowl Monday Morning

As most of you probably know, the largest American sporting event took place this past weekend with the widely despised and clearly superior New England Patriots defeating the Seattle Seahawks for their 4th Super Bowl title. It was a tremendous game that left most of us including myself on an emotional roller coaster and could go down as the best Super Bowl in history. I'm still in shock of what happened, and honestly haven't stopped smiling. While I probably would have preferred to be in the United States for the game, gouging myself on chicken wings and snack food, the experience of watching the game in Europe was different and still very enjoyable.

A Dose of Reality: Past and Present

Normally, these types of blogs tell tales of one's travels and the general excitement that occurs while studying abroad. That is why I'm going to be a buzzkill and tell you about my misfortunes to start because I want pity. The last week of January started off with me getting sick on the previous Thursday. Apparently 3 solid weeks of trying to sample as much Belgian beer as possible catches up with you, who knew? So while a large number of people in my program spent the weekend in Amsterdam I stayed home and barely got out of bed, and probably sneezed out my weight in mucus. Oh man isn't that a lovely image, yum. My housemate Cesar also came down with a flu or something worse and was bedridden as well, so our house was a whole lot of fun that weekend. Luckily, I was pretty much recovered by Wednesday.

Anyways, with that depressing tale of sorrow out of the way, we can move on to the good stuff that happened this past weekend. For the second straight Thursday, we celebrated the 21st birthday of a member of our program (Happy birthday, Natalie and Eamon). So yes, another night of more 1 euro Stellas than I would like to admit ended in roaring success, with me doing Karaoke for the first time. I helped some friends with a rendition of Mr. Brightside by The Killers that brought the house down. I'm not sure if it actually brought the house down, but you weren't there and can't prove me wrong so HA! I took Friday easy, watched the Grand Budapest Hotel and went to bed early as CIEE had a scheduled trip to the Battle of the Bulge battle site Saturday morning and the bus was leaving at 730.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 815. Now you may ask, Bo, didn't the bus leave at 730? And the answer is of course yes. I tend to have a history of waking up in the morning, snoozing my alarms and going back to sleep, which is a bad habit I seemed to have brought to Europe. So, What do I do now? Well, luckily Michelangelo had told us that if we missed the bus, we could take a train to Bastogne and meet up with the group during the day, so that's what I did. Somehow (thanks to specific instructions from Michelangelo), I managed to book a ticket, take a 2 hour train ride to Libramont and then a 30 minute bus ride to Bastogne and was able to meet up with the group for lunch around 1:30 where I arrived during the meal and had this beer  in a horn glass immediately ordered for me by the CIEE intern Elliot:

La Corne

Moving Along

As of this writing, I have completed my first week of classes at Vesalius College. Yes Mom and Dad, I am doing more than just drinking beer here. Much like at Richmond, I somehow finagled my way into a schedule with no Friday classes. Although its just syllabus week, I have already recognized several differences between studying abroad at Vesalius and back home at Richmond. For one, Vesalius is tiny, with a student population of about 350 students, 150 of which are students on exchange like me. The school really only possesses 2 floors in a basic office building, which include about 4 classrooms, a bathroom, a TV displaying the day’s class schedule, and a vending machine.

Yep, this is campus

Woah

Well its been a whirlwind first 72 hours for me here in the capital of Belgium. The past few days have consisted of plenty of walking, instantly forgetting the names of people in my group, more walking, learning about the people of Brussels' obsession with urinating, a bit more walking, rain, forgetting more people's names, being a stereotypical tourist, some standing, somehow managing to house 4 adult sized men in a hostel room the size of an ordinary bathroom, and oh yeah beer. Here's some of what I've tried so far:

The first beer I had was from a can...

Beginnings

"You better do a blog" - various friends during my last night in the US until the summer. Mostly said by Emily.

I told myself I wasn't going to do a blog. OMG look, I'm going abroad, you should totally read my blog so you can be jealous of all the fun i'm having! That's not how I wanted to approach my time in Brussels. Tons of other students, including three of my siblings, have studied abroad, and many of them have blogged their experiences for friends and family. Being me, I don't want to be just another student. I have to be different in my own way. But as the reality that I will be living in a foreign country for the next four months has really started to sink in over the last week or so, it has become apparent just how different my life will be this upcoming semester.

After consulting with some of my friends, including James and Pat who recently returned from their semesters in Turkey and Australia respectively, it had become apparent that during one's time away, communication with back home becomes an issue. Think about it, I'll be living in a foreign country where the population speaks different languages, I'll have to rely extensively on wi-fi for any sort of communication, there won't be a Chipotle or Chik fil A anywhere nearby, and who knows what sort of absurd rambunctiousness I might find myself in. And so, I have come to the conclusion that I will in fact do a blog (If you didn't see this coming, how are you even reading this right now!). Not to brag about my adventures and sightseeing, but rather to inform my parents, my siblings, my friends both from home and at Richmond, and any other unfortunate soul who might stumble upon this thing and find amusement in my writing, about what I'm up to and where I am. Let's face it, between the numerous family members and friends that I am lucky to have in my life, it'd be a difficult task to keep each and every one of you up to date personally. So, take solace in this blog, for it is your gateway into my life for the next four months (or until whenever I grow tired of updating this thing).

This will not be my first time blogging per say. Middle school Bo went through a blogging phase when he discovered that various people like to write satirical stories and make fun of culture on the internet. Amazingly, those blogs still exist to this day and can be found through my profile. To sum up each in a few words (not that you care, but it makes me feel better giving context for how weird Middle School Bo was. I mean he didn't even go by Bo then. Weird):

BOC Blog - My original foray into blogging.  Cringe Inducing. Like the shadowy places, you must never go there (that one's for you Jarn).

Caitlin Smells like poo - the true highlight of my brief blogging career. For a period of time, I constantly annoyed my sister by saying she smelt like poo. Childish? Yes. A peak into the future genius of my wit and writing? Yes.

Why I Control the Blogosphere - Apparently, my brother did something to piss me off during my blog time and my rebuttal was to create a blog where I post pictures of him and refer to him as The Creep. I was weird.

And so, here we are. I hope you find some enjoyment from following my stories, pictures, posts or whatever I put on this thing. If not please burn your computer and never speak of this again. I am typing this post on my phone during my 4 hour layover at Newark international airport because for some ridiculous reason Newark doesn't offer free wifi. Seriously, get with the times Newark. So as I'm about to start this adventure, get your fill of this post, cause honestly who knows when I'll post again. Cheers.