HelloWeeny

White trash & Aerobics instructor

Halloween falls on a Monday this year. Although Halloween isn’t as big of a deal in Europe as it is in America, that doesn’t stop non-Americans from celebrating this holiday… even if they don’t know what exactly Halloween is.

A conversation with my friend Alvaro from Spain:

Alvaro: “Amy, I need to organize a party for Halloween… how do I do it?”

Me: “Costumes and lots of alcohol.”

Alvaro: “That’s it? Are you sure I don’t need anything else, I want to do it right.”
Me: “ Ya, that pretty much sums up Halloween… I’ll make some orange-slice jello shots!”

Alvaro: “Okay! I’ll make sangria! So I can throw it tomorrow?”
Me: “Halloween is on the 31st, but yes you can throw a party tomorrow.”

Alvaro: “Ohh… okay I’ll throw it Monday.”

“Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!”

"Je suis déchets!!!"

I didn’t bring too many things from home, so I had to improvise on my costume. I decided to be "white trash" for Halloween. I wore a white trash bag as a dress, teased my hair, and put random junk such as straws in my hair. The straws became really convenient throughout the night, as many people needed straws for their drinks! haha.

By the end of the night, the number of Belgian boys I’ve spotted peeing along the side of the streets tripled! I actually saw one multi-tasker peeing while walking! Hence, why I titled this post, “Hello weeny.”




xoxo,

Amy

24 Heure Vélo

The only decent photo captured.

“24 Heure Velo” translated to English means “24 Hour Bike.” Basically, this event involves bicycles, beer, and music… for 24 HOURS.

To give you a sense of how much alcohol is consumed; this event is the 2^nd most alcohol profitable event in ALL OF EUROPE (Ocktberfest being 1^st.) So naturally, classes are cancelled all day Wednesday and the morning after.


For 24 hours, the entire city becomes one huge bicycle track surrounded by concert stages. During the race, you usually see 2 types of bicyclers: the professionals and the entertainers. The professionals are the typical people in bodysuits zooming by in their slick bikes; the entertainers are the people in costumes inching by on bicycle “floats.” Both ride their bikes for 24 hours to raise money for charity. 


Similar to ACL, multiple music stages are set up, along with beer and food tents. The only difference is beer is only 1.5 euro, and the music is free! Gotta love the Belgians ;)

I wish I had taken more photos, especially of the creative bicycle floats, but I hate being responsible for anything valuable while I’m drinking. 






xoxo,
Amy

I AM.sterdam

So, I went to Amsterdam this past weekend. It’s a very beautiful city in the daytime. There’s an abundant amount of beautiful sights such as the peaceful canals, the artistic graffiti, and the wonderful parks. 

The nice graffiti on a building

When dusk falls, the city becomes a bit more interesting. The way the people of Amsterdam go about things, is so unlike anywhere else in the world. Here, prostitution is a legal profession; in America, it's not. If pornography is legal in America, I don't see why prostitution isn't also. If you observe both professions, both are essentially selling the same thing, their bodies. One is just clever enough to profit by mass producing the event. Business is business. 

My friend Megan and I arrived in Amsterdam around 11:30 pm; we didn’t get to our accommodation (5 minutes away) until 1:00am. Haha apparently people from Amsterdam do not know how to give decent directions. After our “nice” stroll, we finally found our hostel, the first I’ve ever stayed in. Although I personally would rather pay an extra $20 to stay in a mediocre hotel, for the “experience” purpose, I think every college student should stay in a hostel at least once. :)

Part of the Van Gogh Museum

The next day we walked to the Museum District and went to the Van Gogh Museum. Van Gogh was actually only an artist for about 10 years before he shot himself in the chest. In those 10 years, he painted nearly a 1000 paintings, which is about 1 every 3 days. Talk about completely absorbed. Nonetheless, the visit was worth every penny.


After the museum visit, we went to a sushi restaurant called Restaurant Genki. For about 13 euro, you could eat up to 48 pieces. ahhh HEAVEN.

Besides eating at Restaurant Genki, and visiting the Van Gogh Museum, I can’t say we were really productive the rest of the weekend. :)





xoxo,
Amy

24 Hour Fitness? psh.

I was watching this episode of “Friends,” when Chandler pays a ridiculous price for a membership to a local gym he never goes to. Every time Chandler attempted to quit his membership, he failed miserably because there was a pretty girl hired to persuade him otherwise. Haha, oh boys.

Well it got me to thinking about gym memberships. I thought gym memberships at home were a scam… here not only do I have to pay a one-time membership fee, but I also have to pay an additional 3 euro EVERY SINGLE TIME I want to use the treadmill.

On the topic of health, it cost the same amount of money to order a glass of wine/beer, as it is to order a glass of water at a restaurant.

Also frites and waffles are 10 times cheaper than buying a salad, ANYWHERE.


What kind of incentives are these?

Mom, seeing that you’ve become tech-savvy since I’ve been gone---emailing, facebook etc., I wouldn’t be surprise if you happen to be reading this.

So, if you don’t want me to gain weight, I think it would be best if you send me additional money designated for my health. Love and miss you :)



xoxo,
Amy

Dear God, it's me Amy

My city is located 15-20 minutes outside of Brussels. It’s a completely pedestrian city and the population consists of about 25,000 people. Internet is not prevalent, nor is television. It’s hard to adjust at first, but it allows me to do more things that I supposedly “didn’t have time” to do back in Austin.

I took a stroll around my small town, and came across a small bookstore. This bookstore had about 100 shelves with each shelf being the length of one of my arms; 2 shelves had books written in English.

From a very limited selection, I chose Kafka on the Shore written by Haruki Murakami, and spent the entire day being a bookworm.

I’ve read a few books since I’ve been here, and I can’t say I enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed Nancy Drew’s adventures back in the 4^th grade. I’ve always imagined coming across a gem in a hole-in-the-wall bookstore like this one, but I suppose that only happens in the movies.

xoxo,
Amy

American Gangster

When I first met Haven, she gives the impression of being a very innocent, sweet, southern girl from Alabama. Don’t get me wrong; she is still very much so all of those things.

Her father seems to have thought so too, and decided to pack a steel baton, and a knife disguised as a pen into her backpack.

For those at home who aren’t aware of this, you’re NOT ALLOWED to bring weapons through customs. Do I need to say more?




xoxo,
Amy

London Baby!

After class on Thursday, I took the train into Brussels, where I met 2 of my friends, Haven and Megan. On our train ride through the Chunnel, we happen to sit next to an American visiting Europe for business. He was so thrilled to sit next to other Americans, and so annoyed that his company stuck him in second class that he decided to buy all of us dinner and drinks! Lucky us. :)

We finally arrived in London around 9 pm. Haven had a friend named Tony, who had a flat we could stay at. After our brief introductions, we quickly got ready to have a taste of London’s Nightlife.

Candy store in Harrods

Friday

Our first stop of the day was Harrods. Harrods is London’s largest department store, running a few blocks long. Not only does Harrods’ contain a variety of retail stores, it also has a variety of restaurants. We ate brunch at a nice, cute French tearoom.

Skipping around in Green Park

Next we took a lovely stroll through Green Park. Green Park is one of many royal parks in London. Since you get to experience the changing colors of the leaves, I have to say that autumn has to be my favorite season of the year.

Buckingham Palace

Then we did a bunch of touristy activities such as visiting Buckingham Palace, Winchester Abbey, Picadilly Circle and the Big Bend Tower.

Winchester Cathedral

Buckhingham Palace: Unfortunately, I didn't get to go pass the gates. On the other hand, the British flag was waving high in the sky that day, which means the Queen was present.

Winchester Abbey: I think once you've seen one, you've seen them all. I'm not a huge fan of Cathedrals, but the Winchester Cathedral is a must see. If you're not familiar with this site, it was used as a film set in "The Da Vinci Code."

Picadilly Circle: People say it's the Time square of London.

Exhausted, we took the tube back to the flat. We ordered in sushi for dinner, and took quick power naps to get ready for, as the boys would call it, our “posh” night.

Saturday

There’s nothing better than a real English breakfast. I ordered the “Big Bend Breakfast,” which consist of 2 fried eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, hash browns, and buttered toast. For those who know me quite well, it’s not a surprise if I told you I finished that and ordered a side of soup too. :D

Around nighttime, the girls and I attended the “Legally Blonde” Musical. It was extremely entertaining, and I highly recommend everyone to go see it. 

After the Musical, we were up for another round of night 1 and 2.



xoxo,
Amy

Nuit Blanche in Brussels

“Nuit Blanche,” translated to “White Night,” happens once a year in populous cities such as Brussels, London, and Paris. This year Nuit Blanche was held on Saturday, the first of October. The true definition of the word, “Nuit Blanche,” is to stay up all night. The night consists of contemporary art shows, fashion shows, and a series of parties. (I didn't end up taking any photos of the actual art shows since I didn't want to lose my camera throughout the night.)

Shopping

To get ready for the art shows and parties, the girls and I went to do a bit of shopping down on the strip.  

The Hero statue

Then off to touch the Hero at the Grand Place for some good luck. There's parts you can touch for good luck in life, love, academics, and for Asians! Lucky me that I'm Asian and a student, I get to touch 2 extra parts haha.  :)

Delirium Cafe

Then off to pregame at Delirium, which is this bar that has the largest variety of beer in Belgium and possibly the world. There's this large book at the bar with a list of over 2000 brands of beer from over 60 countries. 

Although the whole idea was to stay up all night for Nuit Blanche, I went to bed by 3am. I guess I'm just use to establishments closing by 2am. 

xoxo,

Amy