Hello hello! Well I haven't typed out an entry in about 2 weeks, mostly because my computer was in the KU Leuven PC shop for 6 days. Yep, it crashed, which I sort of expected but was still upset about. It's just bad when it's your only form of communication with family and friends back home...
But anywho, last week was exciting, with Dutch class and the arrival of many of the internationals. Dutch wasn't as bad as you would think, even with 5 hours of class a day. The only problem I have with Dutch (or Nederlands) is that it is not Deutsch (or shall I say Duits?). Haha...they're very similar, which makes it easier in a way to grasp initially, but when you really sit down to study it, you really have to hammer it into your head all the differences. And the pronunciation has some key differences that really create some problems with me, since I'm kind of bad with German pronunciation in the first place. But in any case, class was kind of fun. We watched these "soap operas" about an Italian kid named Paolo Sanseverino who falls in love with the Belgian Eels Baart on the plane to Brussels. It's ridiculous. Oh and the vending machines upstairs from our classroom had wonderful espresso. We would ride our bikes there about 10 minutes earlier than necessary just so we knew we had time to grab some hot chocolate or coffee from this machine haha...Our teachers were also very friendly and good-humored. I'm glad we have them for the rest of the semester. Four hours a week from now on...twee op maandag and twee op donderdag. Yeaaah natuurlijk.
Oh and on vrijdag (Friday) we had to go to the outdoor market and get some fruits and vegetables using their Dutch names. And we also had to walk up to some random Leuven residents and ask them all these questions in Dutch and basically interview them. We thought approaching older people was a good idea because they would be kindly and bored anyway, but in fact the old people would speed down the road when we approached them with "excuseer." Since then, I think we've all been trying to use our Nederlands as often as possible. It makes you look much less foolish.
Oh and on that Tuesday Sarah got here!!! She did the kiss on both cheeks, as do all the Spanish and Italians I've met so far. She is awesome and very funny and very friendly. Sooo I pretty much love her haha. She's used to going out at 2 am and not getting back until 7, dancing all night, taking siestas, so on and so forth. She's from Benidorm, which is a huge touristy city on the beach. But she goes to school in Valencia. We've been hanging out a lot and I've been asking her what things are in Spanish and she asks me what things are in English. Maybe I'll pick up on some key phrases :)...so yeah in conclusion, I'm very happy to have my roommate, and I will probably have some serious adventures with this girl haha.
On that Saturday we went to Antwerp, a trip organized through PECS. It was fun there. Our tour guide was a little wack, and us and the Penn kids ended up just exchanging looks a lot of the time, knowing this woman was just a little crazy. But the city is still very relaxing, a good place to stroll around. Then on our way back to Leuven, we went to Fort Breendock, which was a prison camp during WWII. As you can imagine, a pretty depressing place, and of course utterly fascinating. As far as I can tell, and was told so, this prison camp was really no better than a concentration camp. And it shows.
Well we came back from our day in Antwerp and decided it was a good night to go out, what with Dutch being almost over. Soooo we went to Alegria, a dance club/bar. It was basically Loyola, Penn, and many of the international kids there. It was so so so much fun. It's just a good time here at dance clubs-not like all the grinding and nastiness that goes on at all the American dance clubs (all the ones I've been to). You just dance! However you want to haha. So yeah I left there with a bunch of people around 4 am and got back to our kitchen to discuss the events of the night and eat Nutella.
Sunday we recovered and studied for our Dutch midterm on Monday. I was sick of studying for it and glad for it to be over by the next afternoon. I think I did alright. I passed, and that's all that really matters with this course haha.
Tuesday was our trip to Brugge! So it was another early morning, but I'm starting to learn my lesson about getting up for a full day of walking and exploring, so i got like 8 hours of sleep the night before. And it paid off because I seriously loved Brugge. There weren't that many people there, in a city that is apparently a tourist-magnet, but I think that's because it was a Tuesday and it was a rainy day sort of. But yes, we had a guided tour (the tour guide was this funny old man who would scream "So you see...JA!") and then we went to an art museum to see many of the works of the Flemish primitives (wonderful-I'm not a huge art person but I loved the style of these paintings). Then we had free time for lunch, so Cristina, Renata, Danny, and I went to a cozy little place for soup and sandwiches. Theeen our boat tour!!! It was so beautiful. I was pretty much in love with the place. Then Dr. Burger decided to buy us a round at the Bierje, which has a ridiculous number of brews. So, you would probably shoot me, but I ended up getting this peach beer with 2.5% alcohol haha. But it was delicious-it tasted like juice (it kind of was I guess). Buuuut I did try Rochefort (Trappist brew) and many other kinds of beer, so it's not like I wasted any opportunities. Oh and the peach beer was also rather expensive, and I love spending Loyola's money.
I'm wondering whether it's bad that I can't remember if we went out that night or not...there's a strong possibility but I won't linger on the debate...
So Wednesday was the beginning of Orientation Days for international students at KU Leuven, so there were a lot of activities going on. I made sure to sign up at Pangaea, and while there, I signed up for one-on-one German lessons in this language chain they offer. Hopefully someone will shoot me an e-mail about that. I would've joined their German conversation club buuut it is only one level (all the other languages are beginner and advanced) 8 weeks (all the others are 10) and on Saturday nights (all the other are weekdays). Sooo German got shafted. But I'll find a way! Oh yeah and I'm also totally going to take the belly-dancing classes they offer!!! I've wanted to do that since forever basically.
Sooo got some things done during the rest of the day, like food shopping, then later that night I went to my faculty bar (Arts), Ron Blacks , in the Ladeuzeplein. It's an awesome pub. It has quotes from authors, historians, public figures, and artists all over the walls, most of them pertaining to alcohol or living the good life. Met some Polish kids, as well as people from France, Belgium (duh), Turkey, Hungary, etc. Had a kriek (cherry) beer and a Bailey's hot chocolate c/o Cristina. Had some good conversations and left at a decent hour to get some sleep.
Thursday I went to a talk on student employment in Leuven (yeah um, that's starting to become a bit of a priority since I'm really kind of done with settling in). I think I hung around for most of the day, and that night there was an international party (haha) at Alma 2, basically one of KU's school cafeterias. They had a dance set up, and also room enough to just chill. Once again, a very fun night. People here dance for hours and hours, and they just have so much fun while doing so. There's nothing gross or shady really, well not compared to the US...or just Baltimore maybe haha....I had a Stella and then split a Red Bull and vodka with Ruth. Danced for hours. Sweat a lot. Oh well...left "early" at 3 while the party was still raging...
Friday I actually had work to do-my Alpha Sigma Nu application!!!! Loyola seemed to call me from a huge distance and make me do work for them again. I hadn't had to suffer through that for a while, so it was really hard to sit down and write that essay after going to the market for a bit. I was listening to "Missed the Boat" by Modest Mouse and I was just thinking how I was too happy to do that damned application. But yeah it got done somehow and the essay is semi-decent. I'm not deluding myself with thoughts I'd get in anyway haha.
That night us Loyola kids decided we were gonna attempt to keep up with the European kids, and not go out till 1 or 2. Sooo we started drinking around 10:30, and although we wanted to stay up, ironically enough it was also absinthe night. We have a bottle in our kitchen for some reason, so we decided to finally break into it. Mark made me a drink with a shot of absinthe which was apparently French-style, with its sugar and water. I could only have half of it and then passed it up in favor of my beloved screw-drivers. For some reason, it ended up being only Mark, Cookie, and I at Mark's favorite bar in the Oude Markt. Had a Cristal there. Had many funny, sentimental conversations. Then had friets. Ohh friets....Got home about 4. Stayed up til 5 for some reason...and I wonder why I'm getting sick...
Yesterday I was an absolute bum. Basically just hung out. I went out to H&M to get a coat and a pair of flats, but other than that, I stayed in and dressed in my pj's basically. I took an hour and half long nap but that didn't stop me from going to bed at midnight. Some of the other girls in my group went to a party thrown by this Italian kid Stefano. Other girls went salsa dancing with the Italian girls on my hallway (the Loyola girls were back by 3:30; the Italian girls came back at 9 am). But then a bunch of us were just exhausted and still full of alcohol, so went to bed haha.
But I'm glad I got a lot of sleep because today Cristina, Cookie, Madeline, and I went for a bike ride. A forty kilometer bike ride that is. We rode outside of Leuven, to the north of the town, and found a few bike trails there. They were wonderful, and we rode through many tiny towns, and little farms, and fields. It was beautiful weather for it too. We stopped and had a snack in the parking lot of a cemetary. We continued on the loop and before we knew it, it had taken us directly back to Leuven! Soo we stopped at the grocery store haha....We had a lot of fun though and we want to take our bikes on the train with us and ride some trails in Brussels, which supposedly has breathtaking trails. Oh and we want to get up early one morning and do the Trappist brewery bike trail. Yep that's right, an actual bike trail which goes along Trappist breweries. Can't drink too much though if I want to be able to ride home haha....
So tomorrow/this week is rather busy with the opening of the academic year tomorrow and the first day of classes on Tuesday. Oh and wine and cheese party for the whole huis on Thursday night! I'll let you know how all of this goes...I feel like this entry lasts for an eternity and a half...oops...it's just very hard to describe how wonderful it is here, so as inadequate yet lengthy these entries are, I hope you get the idea that life here is wonderful and never boring and always an adventure. It's full of possibilities at every moment. I'm so so so happy to be here and so grateful. And that's why I'm so sure that everyone should come visit me!! You don't want to miss out on this place. I'll speak Nederlands for you! :)
Alright well almost time for bed. Academic procession starts at 9:30 tomorrow so I'm gonna begin my winding down routine. Ahhh Belgium...so good to me...Tot ziens!
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