I’ve been in Belgium for over a month now, and I’m still getting used to all the differences in everyday life. Classes have begun, and that was the first major difference: Life in Leuven vs. Life at Loyola. So how class registration works here is you can “enroll” in as many classes as you want (basically go to them during the first 2 weeks, and see what you think), and than you “register” in the select few you are actually going to get a grade for. This is quite different, because at Loyola, I have a set schedule and I know what to expect walking into each and every class. That is quite the contrary in Leuven. I was “shopping around for classes” the first week, unsure of what classes I was going to be taking throughout the semester.
My first class was Women’s Studies: Religion and Theology. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the class was small, just about 25 people, I would say “kids,” if I was at Loyola, but that is not the case here. Most of my classmates are older than my parents; my roommate Shayne and I were by far the youngest. There are people from Australia, India, Greece, England, Taiwan,…the list could go on. I also have that class with a nun from Africa, and a monk from Poland, these are things that at first took my by surprise. It is all very interesting because everyone is coming from totally different walks of life, yet we are all here for one common goal, to learn.
 |
This is my Women's Studies classroom,
so the set up of this classroom is pretty similar to a Loyola class.
(Yes, I'm reppin' Nalgene abroad!) |
I'm also "registered," in Intro to Ethics...joy...its 2 times a week, while EVERY other class is only once a week, but i'll deal. My favorite class so far is Anthropology of Children and Youth because it pertains to present day topics, and I believe it is most interesting because it is relevant. Than, as you know, there is Dutch class...it's a struggle, but I'll get through it. Wednesday evenings I have International Relations and European Integrations Post WII, the content surround the European Union, so I suppose it is important to learn about the policies of the nation I'll be living in for the next year. In addition I am taking Travel Reporting, and a culture class "taught," by Dr. Hughes, that basically consists of us going on trips, so...i don't hate it!
Interesting to note:
We have a 7 minute break in the middle of one of my classes because the professor decided it was the perfect amount of time for everyone to have a cigarette...
 |
| I guess people aren't getting the message. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laundry in Belgium is SO expensive. As a young and frugal college student studying abroad, I have to spend my money wisely, so I decided to do laundry the old fashioned way! It is a lot harder than it looks, it was a real arm workout scrubbing all my clothes. To put it in perspective, it would cost me about $8.00 to do just one load of laundry...and I have a lot of clothes.
 |
| Laundry day! |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Hughes held a meeting for all of the Loyola students so we could discuss details about our Italy trip in the spring. Along with talk about the trip, he discussed what we should expect as the semester goes on. He gave us a crisp sheet of paper that displayed the "Cultural Adjustment Curve," basically a roller coaster of emotions that we should prepare for, and I think the timing of this meeting was on-point because we had just gotten back from Dutch class and everybody was a little uptight. The tension in our faces was quite obvious as we strained to stay awake after sitting through Dutch for 2 hours. To speak for myself, I'm definitely still in the "Frustration/annoyance with everyday differences,"stage, because there are SO many differences. Its the simple things that are the most frustrating: having to pay to use a public toilet, having to pay for plastic bags at the grocery store, having to bike everywhere (including the grocery store, its always struggle city riding home with bags in tote), and oh yeah, not being able to understand anything because all the signs are in Dutch.
We were also told to mentally prepare ourselves for as little as 4 hours of daylight each day in months to come, we were told where the nearest tanning salon is so we could go for light therapy if needed. I have just decided that yellow has to be a staple in my wardrobe to provide as much happiness/brightness as possible. (Color therapy is another tool we can use, yellow makes people happy).
I know in the future, I'm going to look back and wish I could crinkle my nose and bring myself back to this very day, so I'm doing my best to see the positives. This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, and no matter how frustrating it can be, I would not trade it for anything.
True Life: I was pick-pocketed.
I should start off by saying I was not harmed, and all that I lost was about 20 euro, I was pretty lucky. It was a few weeks ago and I was out in Leuven with all of my friends. Over the course of the night we had went to a number of different bars and I had not taken out my wallet, so I didn't realize it was missing until we were heading home--that's when panic set in. In my wallet was not just money, but my license, American and Belgian bank card, credit cards, etc.
I retraced my steps, pretty much running from one bar to the next, and it wasn't looking too good. On are walk back towards the huis, (I was planning on canceling all of my cards) we took a different way than usual (and thank goodness we did!), venturing down a street I had never walked down before. Scurrying down the cobblestone street Katie spotted something thrown to the side...long behold it was my wallet!!! All that was missing was the cash, all of my cards were there, and I was literally dancing in the street. Katie's hawk-like eyes were so clutch!
Being pick-pocketed was soooooo European of me, but now my nerves are shot. I just purchased a new purse, zipper and buckle (as opposed to the zipper-only purse that was subject to theft), to prevent any future dilemmas. Lets hope for the best!
Serve the City
As you may know, service is HUGE at Loyola. So coming to Belgium, I was very interested in learning about service opportunities abroad. I first heard about Serve the City at a welcome reception thrown by PECS at KU Leuven. I got on the mailing list and ended up signing up to serve one Sunday morning. A bunch of the Loyola kids joined in, and we were all working at local parks and schools painting, cleaning up trash, and gardening.
 |
Shayne, since she is "the smallest" had the great privilege
of painting from atop a 10 feet ladder. |
Shayne, Katie, and I were all sent to paint the entrance-way of an elementary school. It wasn't in the best shape, so we had our work cut out for us! We were using a bright lime green paint, my favorite color, so I was quite excited. Unfortunately I was not prepared to paint by wearing "junky clothes," since I had to pack my life into just 2 suitcases, I had to bring the clothes that make me look 'fresh to death'. I managed a small splatter on my left denim pant-leg, but luckily it is towards the bottom, and not too noticeable. Our project coordinator, Rik, is from the Netherlands, and he was very helpful at times when we were a little clumsy with our fluffy paint rollers and stringy paint brushes. The project opened so many doors, and now we regularly attend a "Bible Study" group each week at a local bar (of course, even Bible study is paired with a Stella...). I put it in quotes because at times there is more socialization, than study, but its all about making new friends!
Livin' the dream----off to Dublin for the weekend!
Lucozade
Flake
