Gent

Hello All!

I'm off to Gent today for a three-day adventure with my class! Sounds like it's going to be an eventful three days with city tours, guest lecturers, exploring yet another new city, dinner at a Turkish restaurant, and ending it all with a tour of a Mosque and discussion on Islam in Belgium.

I'll update when I get a chance on Wednesday once we get back to Leuven!

Tootsies!

amaaaazing weekend :)

Finally back from a long weekend in Paris! I don't even know where to start! I don't think it's really hit me yet that I was IN Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower, Arc Di Triomphe, The Louvre & the Mona Lisa, Notre Dame, Champs Elysees, the list goes on and on. I have over 150 pictures (and some videos at the request of Kenny) and a million stories to go along with all of them! It was an adventure to say the least... but most importantly it was a SUCCESSFUL adventure!

Over the course of 3 days we saw every major tourist attraction, ate crepes--eu claires--baguettes--etc, watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night, met creepy french guys, took the typical "Eiffel tower" picture, experienced RUGBY madness and super fans, dealt with the language barrier, mastered the Metro system, took way too many pictures, ohhh and almost got pick-pocketed (long, funny story). It was a great trip to say the least! Like I said before, I have no idea where to start... so I'll just give you all a brief, quick summary of what we did... and I'll share more stories when I get home!


Friday night: we took the train from Leuven to Brussels and caught the High-Speed train from Brussels to Paris. The trip from Brussels to Paris only takes about an hour and a half so it wasn't a bad train ride at all. Once we got to Paris we met up with Katie and Sandy (and Katie's friend Michelle who is studying in Paris). Our afternoon/evening in Paris included a quick tour of the city and our first siting of the Eiffel Tower, Arc di Triomphe, and a few other landmarks. We went for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant on Champs Ellysees (one of the most famous streets devoted to shopping and dining). The best part of the night? Going to the Eiffel Tower at night. Each night, on the hour, every hour, the Eiffel Tower sparkles---literally sparkles. We were lucky enough to experience the sparkling while UP IN the tower... and also from the ground. (I got a really cool video of this).


Saturday: We got a good night's sleep and started the day at full speed. Our first stop was Notre Dame. So we hopped on the Metro (which we ended up mastering by Sunday afternoon) and headed that way. The Notre Dame Cathedral was beautiful (which may be an understatement). But personally, I found it weird and rather disrespectful to have thousands of tourists interrupting a legitimate mass. (maybe that's just me). From Notre Dame we went for lunch (crepes) at a little restaurant famous for crepes and sandwiches. After lunch it was off to Arc Di Triomphe. It was cold and rainy so we made a quick trip to the top to take some pictures before heading to the Eiffel Tower. Today, there was a special show going on at the Eiffel Tower (some guy was attempting the longest freefall and then skating down a ramp--well, something like that--Sarah and I got tired of waiting and decided to go take the "usual" Eiffel Tower pictures) From the Eiffel Tower it was time to get dinner (which was at a restaurant near Michelle's dorm).... after dinner we got on the Metro and made the trip back to our hotel. Here's where the story gets interesting....

*I really really wanted some candy. So I went to the vending machine while waiting at the metro station. I put my euros in and pushed the numbers for a Twix.... then we watched in amazement as both a Twix and a package of cookies fell down! It was definitely my lucky day... or so I thought. We were all excited and laughing about it as we got on the metro.... we sat down and waited while other people got on... all of a sudden some guy passing by reaches into our train and tries to grab the candy from me!!!!!!!! I grab back and luckily he was unable to get it... and then he just creepily smiles and me before running away. I couldn't believe it... he tried to STEAL MY CANDY BAR! He didn't care about my friend Anastasia's designer sunglasses, our purses, etc... he wanted my Twix! We were just in shock at this and couldn't help but laugh. The one time we almost got pick-pocketed it was over a candy bar!!!! How crazy... and funny!*


Sunday: Our last day in Paris didn't have much planned. We started our morning at the Louvre (which is absolutely GINORMOUS).... and I got to see the Mona Lisa. (which by the way... is actually really small! I was pretty surprised) We wandered around the Louvre for a few hours... (as I secretly hoped some "Dan Brown novel" experience would unfold--- "The Da Vinci Code" author--- unfortunately nothing happened haha) Another interesting part of the museum was the section devoted to ancient Egyptian art and artifacts---I took a lot of pictures, don't worry. After the Louvre we didn't have much to do so we finished up some souvenir shopping, stopped to have a eu claire *yuuummm* and made a quick visit to the "statue of liberty"---looks just like our statue of liberty except MUCH smaller. From there it was time to head to the train station to make our return back to Belgium.

This is just a veryyyy brief description of everything we did in Paris.... I can't even begin to go into detail on everything! I can't wait to tell you all the rest of the stories and show you pictures (trust me, I have plenty!)

I'm beyond exhausted though and we have a full week of traveling coming up! I can't believe the trip is already halfway done! Crazy how fast it's going!

We're off to Gent (another city in Belgium) tomorrow and will be there until Wednesday night. I'll update again soon!

Tootsies!

paris.paris.paris.parisssss!

We're off to Paris for the weekend!!!!!!!!!

((update you all on Sunday night when we get back to Leuven!))

Antwerp!!!!

Groeten!!!!!

Today my roommates and I FINALLY made it to Antwerp! After a long week of class, a miserable rainy day yesterday, and PARIS coming up this weekend we decided that a day of shopping was definitely needed. So we ventured off on our own for the first time... acting like old pro's figuring out the train situation and navigating ourselves around a new city. (Well, they did. I can't read a map to save my life so I'm not exactly any help!!!)

Antwerp (or Antwerpen in Dutch) is yet another wonderful city found here in Belgium! The visit started out great in a BEAUTIFUL train station... followed by shops and stores lining the streets... amazing architecture found throughout... and last but not least a ZOO!!! (unfortunately it started to rain as we were finishing up shopping so we never made it to the zoo). Antwerp had a lot of stores and restaurants that you would find in the US... including Starbucks (which we definitely made a stop at), McDonalds, Chi-Chi's (none of us even knew those were still around!), H&M, Nike, Urban Outfitters, the list goes on and on. Needless to say, we felt right at home.

((We must admit though, Chicago and our beloved Michigan Avenue STILL has better shopping... however, this was a nice day trip and it gave us something to do. And OF COURSE we all still managed to buy a new outfit -- just what we needed to start our weekend in Paris!))

*Another funny side note* Apparently.... they don't like when you put your feet up on the seats on the train. There were three of us.... and the way the seats are situated on the train are two per bench/seat type thing... and then the 2 benches are facing each other with a table between them --- so for us...two on one side and the third person sitting across from us. I didn't have anyone sitting in front of me so I propped my feet up on the seat. I didn't think anything of it. The guy came around checking tickets.. and I sat up and started digging through my purse to find the ticket. I looked up and the guy was giving me a nasty look, I just smiled and said "hi"... he then said "english"... I was confused but getting used to people trying to figure out how to talk to us, so I said "yes". He then proceeded to yell "feet" at me... and point at the seat in front of me. I quickly said sorry... but that wasn't enough. He followed it up with "clean it off" and another dirty look before moving on to the next group. Ooops. ((Lesson Learned - haha))


Aghhh!!! Paris!!!! I can't believe I am finally going to get there! This really is something I have only dreamed about... I'm sure I will be in awe when I see the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Arc De Triomphe, etc, etc. And I know I will have millions of pictures to show all of you! Although, I am a little worried how my lack of knowledge of the FRENCH language is going to work out while I'm in Paris... but I 'm sure it's nothing I can't figure out using my handy-dandy French Translation Book. (But cross your fingers that we don't end up offending tooooo many French people while we are there this weekend)

I probably won't be able to update until Sunday night when I get home --- but I'll be sure to tell you all about it! I can't waitttt!!!!!!


Tootsies!

yikesss!

chinese food..... in Belgium.... from a shady little shack of a building?!
hmmm. interesting.

i'm sure it will be fineeeeee----famous.last.words.



((the rain stopped by the way. thank goodness!))

Rain.Rain.Go Away.....

Well, we made it a week in Belgium without any rain.... we were definitely spoiled. Today we woke up to pouring rain and chilly temperatures... typical Belgian weather.

We made the walk to class in the rain, all complaining and whining, definitely not enjoying our first experience with Belgian weather. We also had to go register with the city... some weird thing they make you do if you are going to be here for more than 3 weeks. (Pretty pointless and time consuming if you ask any of us). We had to first walk in one crazy downpour to the train station to take pictures... they wanted 3 passport size pictures... such a hassle. And not only were we soaked and miserable, they also cost us 5 euros. Great. We were all so thrilled. From the train station we made a short walk to the city hall to register --- Today must really just be a day of BAD LUCK... because none of the girls of D202 had our actual passports... only the copies---so we got DENIED. We made the walk in the rain for nothing and will have to do it tomorrow at some point. After that, all I wanted to do was go back to the room and get under the covers. (Of course I have homework and reading that I should be doing on a rainy day such as this, but my procrastination was not something I left in Champaign, so we'll see what actually gets done today).

The big question of the day.... does Belgium have DELIVERY! (haha)
none of us are wanting to be out in this weather... and we're going to get hungry.... so pizza? Jimmy Johns? We are definitely missing you!
((We're not your stereotypical American college students at all, are we!? haha))

The rain also forced us to cancel our trip to Antwerp.... again. We have tried twice now to get there.... all we want to do is SHOP! Is that too much to ask!?! I can't even remember the last time I went on Forever 21's website... I'm going to start going through withdrawals here if I don't get some shopping in my life!---however, my suitcase was already filled to the max.... so this might be a good thing! but still.....
(by the way you should all look up Antwerp--or Antwerpen as it is called in Dutch. It looks like a great city with a lot to offer... great shopping, the cool old building and museums, and a zoo!) So hopefully we will get there tomorrow afternoon.

TWO DAYS until our longgg weekend in PARIS! I can't wait!

Tootsies! :)

week ONE.

It's hard to believe that I've been out of the US for a week now.... seems like just yesterday I was ranting about a stupid volcano in iceland canceling my flight! But after a week here in Leuven these are just a few of the things I miss: 1) FREE NORMAL water. (you have to pay for it at restaurants and no one seems to drink normal tap water! crazy! definitely missing it) 2) ICE. I like ice. Any one who is around me for just a short while can figure that out. In Europe... you are LUCKY to get a couple small ice cubes in your glass. We really take ice and water for granted in the States. 3) SALAD. You can't really find a normal lettuce salad here.... again something that is a vital component of my life. 4) the ENGLISH language. Yes, most of the people here speak English to some extent... but ughhh! why can't we all just speak a universal language... it would make my life so much easier! We were asking a waiter one night what flavor a particular beer was and asked if it was raspberry. It took us forever to explain what a raspberry actually was! And when a menu is translated into English, the translations are often rather rough and not exactly clear. If only I knew Dutch..... 5) my BELOVED chicago BLACKHAWKS!!!! hello stanley cup finals :) And even though Kenny is going to DVR all of the games for me, it just won't be the same listening to it on the radio. I expect you ALL to watch! LET'S GO HAWKS! and last but not least 6) chieffers. haha just kidding, of course I miss all of YOU. Don't forget to keep me updated on your lives!


Last night we went on a short adventure to an old castle just outside of the city of Leuven. It took about 25 minutes to walk there but it was beautiful and the scenery along the way was great! I even managed to find a house that I'm pretty sure should be my future summer home. Hope you are all ok with that :) But I'll post pictures soon of the castle!


At this point... I should probably tell you about the academic side of my experiences here in Belgium. I'm taking a sociology course through the U of I and we are mainly focusing on family dynamics and comparing Belgium (and Europe) to the United States. It has been pretty interesting and has given me quite a bit to think about! As far as school work goes there aren't too many requirements, but we do have to keep a journal of our experiences and make 8 posts on some sort of discussion (not too time consuming though so that's nice). I can't really complain too much :)


And now...finally... the BIGGEST part of my day.... I got my bike. Yes, the time has finally come. I know we've all been waiting for this moment when I would have to navigate myself around a foreign country on a bike that was probably made in the 70s. I can't even touch the ground from it. And to make things worse I have absolutely NO idea what the road signs mean or the rules of the road. YIKES. I'm not kidding... I was terrified getting on the bike for the first time. All that was going through my mind was my last experience on a wheeled object (aka my skateboard incident my junior year of high school. some of you will remember that night uptown...others will not, but needless to say, I ended up on the ground.) We've all been joking about my future biking experiences in Belgium and how you all want videos. You all are HILARIOUS. And I can't forget Kenny's words of encouragement last night... "Please don't get hurt!". I mean, I really just want to thank you guys for all the support... yah, not so much. haha But in the end my first ride back from the bike shop went smooth and I made it safe and sound. Phew!


I'll try to update again soon! Things are going to get crazy in the next week or so with all of my traveling (I'm heading to Paris this weekend!!! soooo excited!) But I'll stay in touch!


Tootsies! (One of my absolute favorite words I've picked up here!)

Groeten!

Groeten! ("Greetings" in Dutch) --- I've been in Leuven for about 6 days now (I still get confused by the whole losing a day/8 hours during the flight over--but we'll just say I've been here for 6). The first 24 hours here in Belgium was probably one of the most overwhelming experiences I've ever had! Within 5 minutes of being in my new "home" I had managed to blow up my power converter and was scared that I had blown up my laptop as well (which is one of my only sources of communication with everyone at home). So in tears I found my professor and explained what I did and he figured it all out for me... luckily, my computer was still alive and I'm just a technology idiot. (But we all knew that). We explored the city a little more before finally getting to clean up and crash... we were all exhausted going on more than 24 hours without sleep. After blowing up the converter I figured it couldn't get worse... I was wrong. After my first shower here I managed to blow up my brand new blow dryer.... and then my straightener. Awesome. Clearly I was thinking this trip was a mistake and I was never going to make it in Europe. But after a stop at a local store, which was very "bed, bath, and beyond" like I managed to find a new EUROPEAN straightener and no longer have to worry about converting anything. Phew!

The last few days have really been a blur. We've been going non stop since we arrived here in Leuven. I'm exhausted to say the least. Everything is so different here... but I would definitely say it's a nice change. They are so much more relaxed and easy-going... there's not the rush and craziness like there is in the US. And fortunately for us we have been blessed with BEAUTIFUL weather... highs in the mid 70s and plenty of sunshine (something that is very uncommon for Belgium). However, the weather is supposed to get back to normal within the next few days (clouds, clouds, and more clouds... along with highs only in the low 60s... oh and don't forget the annoying drizzling rain) --- but that's ok... I am starting to run out of warm weather clothes anyways ;) Yesterday we went to Brugge... a little bit more of a tourist destination, but amazing nonetheless. There are canals there that run throughout the city... much like what you think about when you picture Venice, Italy. Also, there are many tourist stops like a french fry museum, chocolate museum, art and lace museum, and a million different shops. I finally had my FIRST WAFFLE (or wafel as they spell it in dutch) yesterday while traveling through Brugge. Hands down, BEST waffle I've ever had. We didn't have nearly enough time to see everything in Brugge since it was just a day trip, so I'm hoping to get a chance to go back some time before I come home! Today has been a much-needed day of down time. We have been on the go since we got here and since today is the Pentecost (some Catholic holiday that Europeans observe) most of the shops were closed. It was nice to get a breather after going at 100mph for the past 6 days. At times I get a little homesick and miss all of you... but then I remind myself that I am in one of the most amazing places I've ever seen and you are all in boring ILLINOIS haha.

We're heading on a group trip to a castle here pretty soon... it's supposed to be about a 25 minute walk but the weather is nice so it will be great to get out of our cramped, extremely hot room. Hope you all are doing well and I'll update again soon! Miss and love you all! :)