brussels, belgium

5-7 october 

Belgium. great friends. good food. what more could i ask for? 

my dear friend M would be celebrating her birthday soon and we thought why not celebrate in a grand manner? she has always wanted to see Belgium and it was close enough that we all figured why not? friday morning we all jumped on a train to Brussels with a few people planning on joining us later because they still had class. we had gotten an apartment for the weekend which was good because there ended up being 11 of total staying there! it was a very nicely decorated place near the city centre and plenty of room for all of us. 

relaxing in the living room. 

one of the first orders of business was of course food. M had a friend from home studying abroad that was able to make the weekend as well so we waited for her and then set out to find a good grocery store. because there were already so many of us we split into groups each in charge of brainstorming a different dish. wow i picked a group of great cooks! we had some yummy stuffed peppers and tortillas and just general goodness. as we were only in town for the weekend we wanted to make the most of it and whenever we asked people what we should be sure to do in Brussels we heard go to Delirium. this turned out to be a bar with hundreds of different beers. so we enjoyed dinner and then set out! 

walking the streets with my girls

when we arrived there were plenty of choices! we all tried a different kind - i picked a cherry beer which was delicious. it was a lovely evening talking and enjoying a new place with great people. 

they had a whole thick catalog to list all the different drinks available! 

packed building! it was three floors and each was this full. 

trays all stuck to the ceiling.

after a good time there we thought we might walk to another place we had heard about. our group and another large group from our school were there and we all took off in a large crowd. we didn't end up finding any place but enjoyed walking the pretty streets. 

our whole group with a couple of extras! 

we made it home safely and all crashed into bed somewhere throughout the apartment. i lucked out and scored the master bed with two of my good friends. 

the next morning we wanted to explore more of the city starting with the gardens near our apartment. it was raining but we weren't about to let that deter our fun! there was an art exhibit in this building as well that we wandered through before going out into the gardens. 

many of the flowers were already dead but the trees and shrubs were still lovely to walk through. as we walked through i could just imagine enjoying a spring day with a good book in a maze of hedges. 

there were also neat statues scattered throughout the grounds near the observatory. 

after the gardens we took off into the city and went back to the large memorial that we had passed the day before. it was dedicated to the council as well as the soliders of the two world wars. 

we also went to the amazing cathedral on our way to our apartment. it was so large and the outside incredibly intricate! 

the inside had soaring ceilings and amazing artwork of past saints, stunning stained glass, a large organ, and depictions of scenes from the Bible. 

after the beautiful cathedral we continued to make our way to a large market area where we found lovely stalls of jewelry and painting, with a statue in the center, and ringed by shops of patat, waffels, or chocolate. 

of course we had to stop and pick up some yummy belgian chocolates! we picked a few that looked tasty and each one was delicious! 

we gathered back at home to make dinner and play some card games. we had a great evening! so many laughs and general good times. there was also an event going on throughout the city that started late and kept going til 2 am. we hit up a few of the exhibits that were going on - including one where you could dance as a hologram! so i have now completed my 20 seconds of fame. 

we also began the celebration of dear M's bday! 

oh here are more photos of the city during the day. 

the next morning was clean up and a bit more walking around the city before it was time to head home. 

we found a whole park filled with funny statues dedicated to food and assorted belgian recognized things. 

it was a lovely weekend with great people! a very happy birthday to my friend, i hope it was the most memorable and fun you will every have! 

brussels was lovely and i would love to travel back someday - even if it is just for the waffels!! 

just another day in the life

1-4 october

i think i have finally settled into a sort of routine here. trying accomplish homework, spending time with new friends, biking to run errands all done with a deep love for this city. 

this week wasn't too eventful.
monday was just taking care of errands and getting the chance to skype my coffee girl! unfortunately her mic or something wasn't working so i couldn't hear her but she could hear what i was saying and type out responses. it made for an odd kind of conversation but i was so glad to finally get to talk to her! after talking to her for about an hour i also got the chance to speak to ej! it was wonderful to see his face and to hear what he has been up to. only 3 months until i get to see him again!
tuesday and wednesday were simply classes and tackling homework. wednesday night headed over to K's house for dinner and then went out with the girls to grab some dessert. we couldn't find any open gelato places so we cruised by the grocery store and picked up a carton of ice cream and a sort of pie that as the box described "smiling from under a blanket of crumbly goodness" or something of the sort. after yummy desserts we all snuggled down to watch The Emperor's New Groove.
thursday morning i grabbed coffee with my good friend that i went to the concert with and met with my group to tackle another of our many papers. That night was a big night out but not too big because the next day we were headed to BRUSSELS!

cheers to the freaking weekend!

28 - 30 september

woo!
this weekend certainly deserved a cheers or two! the fun started friday morning biking with two of my friends to study in the Peace Palace. the Peace Palace is the home of the International Court of Justice and is an amazingly beautiful landmark complete with breath taking gardens {not open to the public so don't even try to go wander through them} connected to the actual building is an extensive library with many old books especially on law.

so amazing

statue by the library - no idea why a cat but it was cool!

the Peace Palace!

before settling down to study we wandered through the short display about the history of the International Court of Justice and then through security. because this is such an important place it was necessary to have photo id. I thought rather than taking my passport i would take my new residence permit even though it has a terrible photo. they won't really look anyway, right? WRONG. after the seemingly sweet security officer checked my id he asked to see it a second time and then burst into laughter. not wanting to keep the source of his mirth a secret he showed it to my friends asking if they had seen it yet. of course it is such a terrible photo my friends couldn't contain their laughter either. and not wanting to leave anyone out he called over his fellow security officer, who until then had been minding his own business, that he had to come see this! my word i think i deserved them taking a photo to put on the wall as worst photo of the year!

after making everyone's day with my specter-esqe photo we made our way to the library after meeting up with a friend from one of the other girls' classes. as we were walking across the grounds to the library i couldn't help but think i picked one of the greatest cities in the world to study in. 

the library was very large and very quiet. we settled in a room with a couple of couches and large old paintings on the wall. after a couple of hours everyone's stomachs were growling so we figured a bite of ice cream was in order. but first we had to check out the flame that is united from countries all over the world. 

around the flame are stones from each country. the united states was a sad looking little stone that looked like the top half had been taken away by an adoring fan but it was cool to see anyway. we savored our ice cream and conversation sitting in grote markt but scarttered for home when the rain started to fall. once home and fed i had the pleasure of skyping with my dear friend in London! seeing her made me 1000 times more excited to finally visit her.

with the afternoon drawing to a close it was time to head out to spend time with the cool peeps i call friends. we met up and then headed over to a friends house who had just scored and gotten two free sofas so there was finally enough room for all of us to sit! after a fun evening a few of us headed out to a new place where there was a 90's theme night. sadly they hardly played any actual 90's music but we had fun anyway.

saturday was quite a lovely day as the sun decided to stay out and play making the day warm and enjoyable. after a chill, homework filled morning my girls and i met up to go to the market for kilos of fresh food for cheap. just as we were climbing on our bikes laden with fresh veggies and baked goods we had gotten for that nights supper, two other friends called and invited us to lunch with them. 

at the market

we biked back to the centre to drop off our goods and then meet the other two for a yummy lunch of Italian pizza. after the delicious meal and conversation everyone split to go their separate ways for the rest of the afternoon. i met up with a different friend  to check out the British and American import store, Kelly's. walking into the store filled with specifically American food i realized just how many products i hadn't even thought about or hadn't noticed were not on the shelves of the grocery stores here. and the really funny thing was i hadn't even missed them. sure they are tasty and what i am used to but not necessary or a craving. after getting a couple of things we stopped by a sweet little eatery for a cup of coffee and mozzarella sticks. the waitress was even able to convince my friend to try bitterballen {a dutch specialty} which he was convinced was some sort of unmentionable, don't fret it wasn't.

after a delightful afternoon i headed home to do some homework until dinner with friends. this is quickly become a habit which i enjoy. we made a lekker {translation - delicious} supper of spaghetti and veggies which we finished off with speccalaas  from the market. sadly i don't have an oven so i can't make these treats myself!

this evening was a big gathering for our friends birthday the next week. so we all went to celebrate with him. there were loads of people there including a smattering of new faces. its is always interesting to meet new people from all over the world come together in one place. it was a great evening and we all had a really fun time.

the next morning my friend and i made our way to the American Protestant Church for service. the sermon and worship are all in english here and it was lovely to be back in a body of believers praising God and reflecting. the service was more of a traditional sort and the hymns were all ones that are well known and loved. i'm so thankful that i have another friend here that holds the same beliefs that i can talk to and discuss matters of faith with.  after church it was time to head home and prepare for the coming week. after a fun, busy weekend it is nice to spend a day in resting, reflecting, and preparing for the next week.

a month already?!

24-27 september

back to the grind again on monday. luckily my class starts late in the day so i can take care of errands and take my time in the morning. i got to skype with ej because he happened to wake up really early and i was online so i got to talk to him for a bit which was lovely. i also had to meet with my group for one of my classes but other than that it was a rather chill day.

tuesday morning i had to make my way to the immigration office to pick up my residence permit. apparently americans are burgers. you are what you eat?

my residence permit card to study here. there is no way i'm showing the front of this card. my photo looks terrifying. 

speaking of americans. it is rather interesting to be one surrounded by so many people from so many places. my dear friend wrote a fantastic post about it and i don't think i could have said it better myself. so please do go read it.

the rest of the day was filled with classes and learning. but the evening was the big gathering for international students that happens every tuesday night. i met up with some friends before going and we all hung out at our friends apartment near my house before heading out. we got there by about 11.30 and had a total blast before going to bed *way* too late.

8.45 classes come way too early i'm telling ya. after 4 hours of listening to student presentations i was ready to be done! after a quick lunch i met up with two friends to go on a cultural activity and view the Panorama Mesdag!
wow.

it was stunning. basically it is a large dome shaped room that is painted to look like the beach and town back in 1880. there was even sand added to make one feel like you were actually there. out of the corner of my eye i was waiting for the flags on the ships to start moving in the wind that i could almost feel on my face. if you ever have the chance to go it would be well worth a visit.
the rest of the evening was spent doing homework and planning my trip to italy!! i am so excited for autumn break as the first couple of days will be spent in italy with good friends and then i will leave them to go to london to visit my dear Chandler who is studying there!
{side note it was also little bro's bday but i missed getting to skype him to sing him a terrible rendition of happy birthday}
thursday was a delightful day with only two classes. one seminar for accounting and then a lecture on water management in holland. after the lecture a few of us headed back to my place to make a light dinner and relax. a few more friends joined up and then we headed to the centre to a friends apartment to make pancakes! yum i'm so glad this is becoming more of a weekly tradition. we tried something new this time and added a cinnamon swirl to the center of the pancakes to make them like big cinnamon rolls. it was a good call! they were scrumptious to compliment the fun evening with good friends.
there was a big gathering of people in the same building as thursday nights tend to be student nights on the town. so we all headed down to chill with more people before heading out to Miller's, a higher class bar. even here good conversations abounded and it reminds me how lucky i am to come here to meet so many new people with such different backgrounds and views on life.
i can't believe i have been here for a month already!
{sorry for the lack of photos! look up the panorama - it was beautiful and they wouldn't let me take any photos inside}