While some of the other students scattered to places like London and Amsterdam for the weekend, my roommates and I spent the weekend in Brussels, regrouping after a hectic week of classes and work. Yesterday, we ventured into Grand Place downtown to check out the annual Brussels Beer Weekend. It was quite a sight! There were silly hats, and vintage cars, and more beer than I have ever seen in my entire life. We even noticed a visibly pregnant woman holding an empty glass of Duvel - a 10% alcohol content beverage. Very interesting.
We even saw a parade of strange characters in costume along the streets of De Brouckere. An older gentleman was wheeling about a recreation of the "Manneken Pis" - a small sculpture of a peeing boy that is an icon in Brussels. As he approached, I noticed that one of the parade officials muttered something about, "American." Before I knew it, a man was taking a picture of the Manneken "peeing" all over me. It was only water, but it was embarrassing. Thank you, Brussels, for peeing all over me. The ultimate sign that I am not wanted here, perhaps?
I have found that at this point in my adventure, the homesickness is setting in. I almost teared up yesterday when we stopped in a shopping gallery that reminded me of an American shopping mall...pretty pathetic. It doesn't help that the internet connection in our apartment has been rather spotty, making it difficult to connect to people back home (as if the time difference doesn't make this hard enough). I'm also nervous and stressed about my job at IDF. Tomorrow's meeting will be an important task for me, so I am anxious to do well.
I feel like I am at a strange point - between new excitement and comfortably settled in. It is still bizarre to me that I can't just order a water with dinner, or find a normal folder in the store to hold my papers (they are hard to come by, and the ones that you do find have strange flaps that are not very effective at holding papers in). I spoke with Nora today about similar anxieties. While we are thrilled to be here, we are worried about the fact that we are already counting down the weeks until we return. This study abroad trip is unique because, rather than traveling and touring and taking a few classes, we have to adjust to work and school and life in a specific city, and become more than just tourists. This is both stressful and amazing.
I'm just hoping that this stressed out feeling will subside once we begin traveling. Next weekend, we are heading off to Bruges with the Furman group to check out WWI sites and explore the beautiful town that is hailed as "the Venice of the North."
We even saw a parade of strange characters in costume along the streets of De Brouckere. An older gentleman was wheeling about a recreation of the "Manneken Pis" - a small sculpture of a peeing boy that is an icon in Brussels. As he approached, I noticed that one of the parade officials muttered something about, "American." Before I knew it, a man was taking a picture of the Manneken "peeing" all over me. It was only water, but it was embarrassing. Thank you, Brussels, for peeing all over me. The ultimate sign that I am not wanted here, perhaps?
I have found that at this point in my adventure, the homesickness is setting in. I almost teared up yesterday when we stopped in a shopping gallery that reminded me of an American shopping mall...pretty pathetic. It doesn't help that the internet connection in our apartment has been rather spotty, making it difficult to connect to people back home (as if the time difference doesn't make this hard enough). I'm also nervous and stressed about my job at IDF. Tomorrow's meeting will be an important task for me, so I am anxious to do well.
I feel like I am at a strange point - between new excitement and comfortably settled in. It is still bizarre to me that I can't just order a water with dinner, or find a normal folder in the store to hold my papers (they are hard to come by, and the ones that you do find have strange flaps that are not very effective at holding papers in). I spoke with Nora today about similar anxieties. While we are thrilled to be here, we are worried about the fact that we are already counting down the weeks until we return. This study abroad trip is unique because, rather than traveling and touring and taking a few classes, we have to adjust to work and school and life in a specific city, and become more than just tourists. This is both stressful and amazing.
I'm just hoping that this stressed out feeling will subside once we begin traveling. Next weekend, we are heading off to Bruges with the Furman group to check out WWI sites and explore the beautiful town that is hailed as "the Venice of the North."
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