Roadtrip

I went on my first day trip to Bruges, Belgium with a few of the girls from our Mizzou group this weekend. The town is called the "Venice of Belgium" because the entire city is surrounded by canals. We took a canal tour, visited the Basilica (where an apparant vessel of Jesus' blood is held) and The Church of our Lady, and shopped at the various markets. Here are a few of the pics from our trip:

Me and Melanie

Rose Garden from the canal



Someone's tired...



Me and mel stopped at the cutest wine bar for dinner.
Wijn Est: http://www.wijnbarest.be/

This was, hands down, the best cheese I've ever tasted.

 

Basilica-where they have an apparant vessel of Jesus' blood found after the crusades



Front of Sanctuary in the Basilica



The Vessel of Jesus' blood

Church of our Lady

We got back to Brussels around 9:00 p.m. and were pretty wiped. Overall, I thought the city itself was much cleaner and had a definant "fairytale" feel to it compared to Brussels, but the service was much less patient and rude with those who did not speak fluent dutch.

This week will be pretty hectic because I start my history class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings so I literally go from working a 9-hour day straight to class for 2 hours so it's going to be exhausting! I will keep you updated as soon as I can find time. Je vous aime tous!



Just Breath

So my internship is basically the shiznit.

I just finished my second day but I already feel like part of the family. I work in the Corporate Affairs Department; meaning I deal with media overviews, internal/external communications, event planning, and lots of other various PR tools. The people I work with have been very welcoming and really treat each other with respect.

The work environment is surprisingly more laid back than I expected. I think one of the main things I am learning in my time here is that Europeans take their time in all areas in life, including work. As an American, I was always brought up to believe that the work place would be extremely fast paced,  stressful, and a constant rush to meet impossible deadlines. I hear it first-hand from friends who are young professionals and family members who often become easily burnt out from their jobs due to being overworked and constantly tired.

Though Europeans are hard workers and do their work in a timely matter, I was surprised how differently wired I was with my work ethic. When I am assigned tasks, I immediately start on them, become very focused, and don't stop until I am finished. My co-workers were shocked at how fast I finished all my assigned tasks. When I started to explain myself, one of my co-workers accurately summed it up..."You Americans, you work too hard; no time to relax and enjoy what you are doing. Take a break once in a while and breath, you'll begin to see the beauty in what you do."

After thinking it through, I realized he was right. I work my ass off and when was the last time I really just took a break for myself?

Overall, I could not be happier that I came to Brussels this summer. It has only been the first week and I have already learned so much, met amazing people, and completley immersed myself in their chocolate, beer and coffee. Life could not get any better.

All My Love

The Sound of Settling

A few people have asked to see what my flat looks like so here you go! It has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The apartment is pretty spacious compared to most European flats so we got pretty lucky.



Why yes I did lug 2 huge suitcases up these stairs. I wasn't kidding when I said there were no elavators.



Our Flat! We are on the third floor



Entrance to our flat



View from outside our window.



Dining Room



Hey Jor!



Belgians really like their spiral staircases



Kitchen



One of the bedrooms

  

You Live, You Learn

Just got into Brussels this morning! I have been extremely jet lagged and the culture shock has definitely taken a bigger toll than expected. That taken, lessons that I've learned in the last 10 hours:

1.  There are no elevators. (Lugged 4 huge suitcases up multiple floors on a small spiral staircase-aka, my workout for the day)
2.  Belgians drink. A lot. Beer seems to basically be a main food group which they include in all areas of life.
3. Waiters do not have to work for there tip because gratuity is included in the check; so don't expect 5-star service anywhere on average-priced restaurants.
4. The after-dinner mint is often a cough drop
5. Learn how to speak french. I knew the simple "Bonjour" and "Merci," but some Europeans get offended when Americans just expect them to know English.
6. Pedestrians don't have the right of way
7. No one wears t-shirts or sweats. I have never, in my life, seen better dressed men/women taking their dogs on walks and doing simple everyday errands.
8. Wearing socks with sandals is cute here. I still don't think I'll ever give in.
9. There are hardly any chain restaurants.  I only saw one McDonalds within a 40-mile radius. 
10. Apartments don't have dryers.

Overall, Ixelles-Brussels is a beautiful town best described as being cosmopolitan with an urban twist to it.  The views are breathtaking and every building seems like it could tell a story from a thousand years ago. Though there is a more modern section of the city with new buildings, the town almost seems like it has been trapped in time with it's cobblestone roads, old red-brick architecture, and curbside meat/vegetable shops.