School is in Session. Finally.

My class schedule this semester

It’s September 30^th, and I am officially registered for classes! I’m ecstatic to finally start school, especially after having 5 months of summer vacation. I’ve been to a few preview sessions, which are classes in the first 2 weeks that give an overview of the course. Although the professors might not show up for these, you can still receive information regarding the class.

My business classes are taught in English; my art history class is taught in French. The Belgian education system is slightly different than that of the States’. I attend each class once a week for 2 hours each, which means I’m getting 12 hours of credit for 8 hours of work! Although I attend school less, I’m getting the feeling that these classes are going to be more difficult, since all the students in my business classes are a few years older, and working on their Masters.

Speaking of age, in the international pool/all the friends I’ve made, it looks like I’m the youngest. Everyone coming to study at LSM is around the age of 24 or so, which is fine because in Belgium, I seem to get along with that age best.

I don’t know if it’s in all of Europe, but people here are just more young, and carefree than people in the US. It must be the lack of stress, and the lack of work that causes the Belgian people to be more fresh and lively.

Luckily, I can assimilate well into this type of attitude ;)

xoxo,
Amy

La fête de la communauté française

The concert crowd

"La fete de la communaute francaise," translated as the "French Community Holiday," is a regional holiday in Belgium. The Belgians celebrate it with tons of free music concerts, 3D light installation shows, fireworks, and outdoor cooking.

I spent my Tuesday attending all of these festivities, and since I don't have class on Wednesdays, I celebrated it of course with a few Belgian beers! 

xoxo,

Amy

Everything Happens For A Reason

My friends have always told me I was a lucky person, since things seem to always work out. If you've been reading any of my recent posts, you would disagree, but let's see how last week's unfortunate events ended.

1. I didn’t have a housing accommodation for a few days, but then I ended up with an amazing apartment.
2. I lose my wallet, passport, and all of my money, but then someone turned it into the police in the nearby city with EVERYTHING in it.
3. I thought my camera was stolen, but in reality when I was drunk, my friend Anne had locked it up for me, because I was afraid it WOULD get stolen.

Haha my life is like a roller coaster: down, up, down, up, down up. Everything happens for a reason; all of these events were a learning experience. During the past 2 weeks (yes, it's only been 2 weeks,) I've learned to be more prepared, and less oblivious. I'm glad that I am able to learn multiple lessons, without actually being punished for it.

So, I suppose luck is on my side after all. ;)

xoxo,

Amy

In Bruges

Bruges, Venice of the North

When I was registering for classes, I met 2 girls who invited me to go to Bruges with them on Friday.  We took the train there, and walked around the city a bit.

The town center in Bruges

We decided to start the day the Belgian way, with a beer. So what a better way then by going on a brewery tour! 

Free beer after the tou

Church of Our Lady

Then off to the Church of Our Lady, which is famous for Madonna by Michelangelo. We weren't suppose to take photos, but I snuck one in. :)

If you want a workout and a great view of the city, the Bell Tower is the way to go. I climbed about 10+ flights of stairs to go to the top of the Bell Tower. The views are stunning! What I found interesting is that the ledges on this tower have these engravings in the cement pointing in the direction of popular cities in Europe. 

Paris engraving on the ledge. The church in the background.

Our lobster friend Steve.

Bruges is located near the coast, so it's quite famous for its seafood. Off to eat mussels and frites at a popular Bruges restaurant, then bars to hang out with the local youth! My new friends and I picked up an interest in botany ;) We made up a code, referring to boys as "fleurs." 

From left to right: Megan, Haven, and I sitting near the fountains.

After a full- action packed day, we called it a night and took the last train back to campus. 

xoxo,

Amy

Good luck + Bad luck = Balanced Life

Good News.

Ring, ring, ring, ring. The next day I get a telephone call from the police, delivering me the message that they found my wallet in the next nearby city. I took the train to Ottignies, and walked about 2 km to the police station. There I found my wallet with EVERYTHING in it!

I also received a great place to live, located right near the city! According to my friends, I have the best place so far. I only have 2 suitemates (most people have 8-11,) great price, and a new bathroom!

Bad News.

Over the weekend, I had left my SLR camera in a cabinet in one of the bedrooms at the temporary accommodation, and some horrible person stole it. Once my sister reads this, she’s going to be pissed.

So I apologize that my recent posts lack visual aid.

xoxo,

Amy 

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

My first Belgian waffle with chocolate and bananas!

While everyone is signing up for classes, AND attending these classes, I’m still worried about finding an accommodation. If you want to get anything done here, it has to be done sequentially; and the first step is getting a housing contract. Without a housing contract, you can’t register with the school, or notify the city you’re in town, or open a bank account; the list goes on.

I’ve camped outside the lodgment office quite a few days already, and if anyone were in my shoes they would have probably given up already. I didn’t want to give up after putting in so much effort, so I camped out on Monday at 5pm. The services open at 10am the next day. The shocking part about all of this is not that I went at 5pm, but that there were ALREADY 6 people ahead of me when I arrived.

If you think that sounds bad, that’s not even the worst part. I was walking around town that same day and my wallet fell out of my pocket. It had about 200 euros, my passport, my credit/debit cards, and all my identification cards. Luckily, I had copies of my important documents to get the housing accommodation. 

All I need is a nice belgian waffle with some chocolate to make my day better :)

xoxo,

Amy

Sleep all day, party all night…

The sticker labeling system for people

Since most of the establishments are closed on the weekends, I spent my weekend partying with the Erasmus students, which are students from all parts of Europe spending a year here in Belgium.

The Belgians are a special kind. Everything is revolved around drinking beer, and eating french fries. Apparently the Belgians invented french fries, and it was stolen by the French.

People begin drinking around noon, and stop around 6am. Public intoxication is common, and so is public indecency. I spotted several guys peeing on a building, right in front of a police officer! Also, bars and clubs don’t close; closing time is when people leave. A little bit unorthodox :) The college kids around here have something very similar to fraternity parties back in Texas, but they call them sercles. It’s very similar to a fraternity party, but 10 times dirtier. I know that's hard to imagine, but it’s disgusting.

Nonetheless, the people here are fun and the beer here is GREAT! My favorite so far is a rosee beer, which has a hint of raspberry. 



xoxo,
Amy

Homeless and Lost

Camping out in front of the lodgment services

Did I say things were going well? Ha, that changed quickly.


Wednesday.

I heard from the lady that is in charge of the temporarily accommodation, that I should arrive at the lodgment office early to ensure I get a place for the semester. The lodgment office opens at 10am, so I arrive at 7:30am. Well, I was the 13^th person in line, and they only gave it to the first 11 people.

Thursday.

I arrive at the office at 5:00am. I was the 8^th person in line, and they gave it to the first 7 people.

Friday.

The next night I made a decision to camp outside like a homeless person. I arrived at 11:00pm the night before, and I was 2^nd in line. I think I have the worst luck, because they didn’t have an accommodation for me that day either.

I guess I am a free-spirit at heart. Only a true free-spirit would go to a foreign land without the comfort of having things be certain. :)

xoxo,

Amy

Arriving in Belgium

I get to the airport early, checked in, and they randomly assigned me the last seat next to the smelly bathroom. Not to worry, once I got to the gate, I nicely asked the lady behind the desk if she could upgrade my seat if there was room, which she was glad to do. :)

Tuesday.

 6 or so hours later…

Vending Machine at the train station: chocolate & condoms.

I arrive at the airport in Brussels, and everything is in Flemish. There’s a reason why signs have pictures, and why time and city names are universal!

I finally arrived on campus, which is 15 miles outside of Brussels, and have absolutely no clue what to do.  Everyone here is extremely helpful though. I was in the office, and some random girl named, Mona, from Morocco, saw my distress from afar, and offered to walk me to all the apartment agencies to find an accommodation. After 5 apartment agencies, I had no luck. I was forced to stay in the temporary accommodation the school provided us. The ratio from guys to girls at this place is about 20:3.

I’m honestly really glad I decided to go with the flow when I got here. I’ve made so many friends being in the temporary accommodation area. I’ve made two girlfriends, named Ricarda and Jessica, from Germany and New Zealand, respectively. The rest of my friends are boys; from all over the world such as Canada, England, Italy, Belgium, France, Slovakia, Ireland, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, and India. Surprisingly, I’m the only American girl here so far.

I had a nice stroll throughout the city, and visited the outdoor markets, which are in the town center every Tuesday and Saturday.

So far, things are going relatively well.

xoxo,

Amy

The Big Apple

New York is an extremely busy place. People work hard and party hard. It’s unbelievable where these people get their energy! The term "southern hospitality" doesn't exist in the northeast, nor does the phrase "smelling the roses."  Regardless, it didn't stop me from doing outdoor activities.

Central Park

I spent my Friday afternoon riding bikes and eating hotdogs at Central Park with my dear friend Raul. 

Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir

(From left to right) Chase, Anna, Monica, Raul, and Me

Friday night my wonderful sister and brother-in-law flew in to say goodbye one last time. We had delicious Korean barbeque at this place called Hanbat. My lovely cousins from New York City, and Philadelphia came to join us too!



Saturday Night we went to this comedy show in the lower east side. Then drinks with friends and family at the Mandarin Oriental.

Little girl playing in the stream at Highline Park.

Sunday Brunch at Eatery. Then off for a stroll and some people-watching at Highline Park.



Highline Park is a park that was constructed on an abandon elevated railway. The plants that are here, are the natural flora that you would find throughout Manhattan.

The new WTC under construction.

A little bit of shopping and then a visit to the new World Trade Center in remembrance of 9/11. Interesting fact: the new WTC will be standing at 1776 feet, symbolizing the date of America's independence.




After a long day, I decided to get a tarot card reading. I know it's silly, but there's a first time for everything! Supposedly I have a very bright future. I live into my late 80's, have a prosperous career, get married to an intelligent and successful man in my late 20's, never divorced, and have twin boys and 1 girl. There's other things that she mentioned, but that basically summarizes my "future." Sounds a little too good to be true, but who knows. ;)

Off to do some packing for my flight to Brussels tomorrow!


xoxo,
Amy

Fashion's Night Out in NYC!

After getting off the plane, I chose a taxi as my transportation to get into Manhattan. I never thought I would be affected by motion sickness, but apparently the constant acceleration and abrupt stops did it for me. I was forced to spend the rest of my day in bed. :(

The FNO crowd

By nightfall, I was feeling better and ready to go to Fashion's Night Out! FNO is the kickoff for fashion week in New York. If you're lucky, you might run into a celebrity or two. Otherwise, you still get to enjoy the free booze, concerts, and a preview of the upcoming fashion. 

One of the secret rooms above the booths. 

FNO ends around 11pm, which is just enough time to grab something to eat before going out! I've never been to a club in New York, but let me tell you it's about 10 times more pretentious than then any club you will find in Texas. Nonetheless, it's not too difficult to have a fun time! ;)



xoxo,
Amy

Farewell Texas

I’ve learned a few lessons this morning:

1.  Don’t go out the night before, especially if you have an early flight.
2. Set more than 1 alarm; 2 for yourself, 1 for the person taking you.
3.  Pack 5 lbs. under the maximum limit.

Anyone with any common sense would follow these rules. Apparently I didn’t have any last night, and chose not to follow any of these simple rules.

Brief summary of my morning…

Whoever invented snooze, is training the world to have bad habits. The alarm rang abruptly at 4:30 am, snooze. 4:45 am, snooze. 5:00 am, snooze. 5:15am, snooze. My flight boards at 6:20 am. Does it seem possible to drive to the airport, check in, go through security, and board the plane all in an hour? Well I manage to board the plane at 6:35am, but only after I realized that my luggage was 2 lbs. too heavy. Luckily JetBlue felt bad for me, and allowed me to check in my luggage without any additional charge.

I boarded the plane, and found that my entire row pressed the snooze button a few too many times. JetBlue you really need to stop spoiling me.

Before I catch up on my sleep, I want to show you guys the view I have outside my small window. This photo only catches a fraction of how pristine the sight actually is. Everyone always seem to rage about sunsets, but I think sunrises are just as beautiful :)

Off to catch some Zzz's.

Farewell Texas, see you in a few months. 

xoxo,

Amy