Pocket: picked.

Ok, so on the bright side, there are lots of other things I STILL have.  My passport for instance.  This was what I started saying to myself the next day...  Still have my cell phone, still have my keys, still have a couple coins, all my friends, still have still have still have...

Some may have heard by now, but on Friday morning (some would say Thursday night) at around 4am, I managed to have my wallet stolen from my back pocket.  It went like this:
I was having a great Thursday night, Katie and I had met up with my dad and Teri, who were visiting, at Delirium where we had a few beers.  Then of course we had to get them to drink some absinthe with us at Floris bar, which was a great time.  So after a few hours, they headed back to the Marriott (more on this later) and Katie and I went on to another bar.  After this, of course we got some late night frites.  Ok, so I've explained now what I was doing out until 4am.  Next we decide that we don't want to wait around until 5:30 (and I think it's a bit easier to spend money after many drinks) to catch the first tram, so we go to catch a cab home.  Now it gets good.
Katie and I are leaning towards the window of the cab trying to talk to the driver, when YOINK!  Someone came from behind, saw my wallet, and just plain grabbed it out of my pocket.  It was not like I barely noticed it, it was like if I were to try to grab someone's wallet.  No special pickpocket skillz whatsoever.  I turn around, see my man running, and start running after him.  I managed to keep up with him for a couple blocks, which I thought was pretty good.  Some would consider me a very slow runner,  also, I was not out until 4am drinking water... Who knows, maybe I was running all over the road and could have caught him if I ran in a straight line!
Ok, so then I trip.  Cobblestones also make running at full speed more difficult.  I get back up and continue the chase, when he luckily turns a corner right past a police station where there were cops standing outside.  I pant and tell them: "he has my wallet!" they say: "that guy in white?" me: "yes!" then one of the cops takes off running.  I doubt he could have caught him, I was fairly behind at that point, and telling them he had my wallet took a second.  So I go into the station, fill out a report and manage to get one of my cards cancelled (this was pretty nice of the robber, I wouldn't have known where the station was otherwise!).
This all took a while and I began to wonder what Katie was up to, so I headed back to where my chase began.  Didn't see her, but luckily found her inside the McDonalds across the street (also, this McDonalds is in the same building as the Marriott where my dad was staying).  She let me know that just after I took off running, another man came up to her and tried to grab her wallet right out of her hands.  Luckily she had it looped around her fingers so he couldn't grab it.  She says he then ran away but not after she got in a good smack on the head!  We then found our way into the Marriott and talked the guy into calling the room "Faulkner".  "It is 4:30 in the morning sir"...  After a few tries he answers and gets his account blocked (from which I had a card that was in my wallet).  In the meantime, Katie managed to get us fancy coffees on the house!
So then we headed home.  Luckily we didn't even have to wait around for the first train in the morning!

What I lost:  30(ish) euros, 2 debit cards, 1 credit card, 2 student IDs, my Utah driver's license, health insurance cards, my month public transport card, my smiths marketplace wallet, and a little skin from my knee.

You live and you learn... I had never thought this was how it would happen.  I always imagined someone sneakily grabbing it on the metro and me noticing a few hours later.  Now I know!  As much as I don't want to, I'll be putting my next wallet in my front pocket at all times.  I should probably figure that out BTW, considering I got a new card today and had nowhere to put it.  My dad mentioned going to the flea market to buy one, "cause hey, maybe you could buy back your original one! And maybe your drivers license!"
Anyway, my conclusion:  There are still many thing I STILL have! ... right?
Sorry, I didn't manage to get any pictures from this night.
-C

Holla for Holland

This last weekend, Katie, myself and a friend from school decided to go check out this dutch town you may have heard of, called Amsterdam.  We took a bus there from Brussels, which only took about 3 hours and actually wasn't that bad.  It was kind of a spur of the moment type of thing, so we left Saturday and came home Sunday.  And! Katie's good friend from home in Hotlanta (she insists nobody in Atlanta says 'Hotlanta' but I think she's lying) also has a delta pilot father, and she flew into Amsterdam just for the 24 hours!  It gets better!  Her pilot dad also has some Marriott hookups and got us a free room!  So that was awesome, it sure beat paying 30-40 euro for a cruddy (sp?) hostel.

Amsterdam is a pretty unique place to say the least.  There were bikes EVERYWHERE.  There aren't bikes in Brussels like there are in Amsterdam, and I haven't ever been to scandinavia but I hear those countries similarly have an incredible amount of people on bikes.  I felt like there were more bikes locked up everywhere than there were people (and it was crowded).  Also, you really have to pay attention crossing the street, so as to not get hit by a bike, car, or tram.  Here's a pic of some bikes:

I'm thinking they know why a lot of people come to the city.  Holy smokes (pun intended).  There were 'coffee shops' everywhere, luring in all the tourists.  This was quite the shock, coming from the land of 3.2% beer.  Also, of course the red light district was quite crazy.  It was actually pretty funny, while we were walking through, I got to see this nervous looking 20 something year old walking with his friend, stop and say: "I'm doin it".  Just before he walked up to a window and said: "how much?". Naaaaaaaastay! 

Funny sign on the window of a coffee shop:

So, we walked around quite a bit, saw that cool I Amsterdam sign, a cool park, etc.  Unfortunately, we didn't really have time to see some of the really cool sights that I'd like to catch (Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum).  BUT! I will be headed back in a week to meet up with a friend from SLC that's stopping by!  I think the Van Gogh museum is on the agenda, so that should be good.  Here are some more photos: 

 Also, had a pretty eventful night last night.  So another post will soon follow.
-C

Catchup, catsup.

Sorry it has been so long since my last update!  I've been very busy here in Belgique, so brace yourself, this one might get long.

Lets see, where to start?...  I have been here a whole month!  I can't believe it, time is just flying by.  It makes me relieved that I will be here two semesters and won't have to stress over trying to travel everywhere I want to go in the next two months.  But don't get me wrong!  I am going TONS of places over the next couple months.  It being cheaper to book things in advance, my roommates and I have been on a bit of a booking spree over the last week.  My weekends are filling up fast!  Alright (drumroll...), I'm going to Amsterdam this weekend for a night with my roomie katie, and a couple friends, I'll be going to Gent ad Bruges the weekend after when my dad visits, I'll be meeting some friends from SLC in Amsterdam the weekend after that, us roomies and Mechthild will all be going to Zadar, Croatia (particularly excited for this one) for a weekend after my mom visits,  then our fall break is the first week in Nov. and a large group of us will be flying to Barcelona and then somehow continuing on to Portugal/Lisbon.  whhhheww.  So many things to look forward to!  Luckily there is this airline that provides really cheap flights (flt to Croatia is 8 euro there, 20 back), and we'll be staying in cheap hostels.  Also on my list of places to go: Budapest, Morocco, Istanbul, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Riga (Latvia) and Ireland.  Glad I have next semester.

Okay, some random things now.

The other day I turned my alarm off in my sleep and woke up right when I usually leave for school.  So I threw my hat on over my bed head and ran out the door.  After making it on time, my teacher walks in the class and immediately gives me a glare and motions for me to take off my hat.  A bit confused (but for some reason not too surprised) I ask: "are hats not allowed in school?" and the teacher says "it is very disrespectful to wear hats inside, here." So when I get home and am laying on the couch (hat on) telling Katie and Mechthild about it, Mech says "well yeah, I would tell you to take it off at the dinner table, but if you are just laying there on the sofa I don't care. It's just a bit weird."  So I go on surfing the web on the couch, and about fifteen mins later she comes back over to me and says: "Christian, if you don't mind, could you actually just take your hat off?" I thought it was hilarious and bizarre.  Haven't worn one since.

I ordered some fancy boots to wear around here before I left, and they were too big so I sent them back and ordered a new pair, shipping them here for a bit more.  They came really fast, luckily the afternoon before I went out to a bar that required something other than sneakers.  I noticed they were the wrong color, but it was my second choice and I liked them so I let it go.  So, wore them out, drank a good bit, woke up in the morning, and noticed a nice white tear/ scuff on the toe (funny thing was, I sort of jokingly said "now I just need to scuff 'em up a bit" before we went out).  I was a little frustrated, and was talked into emailing the company, just to see.  Using my college level writing skills, I put together a nice little complaint, and was then promptly asked for a photo:

Then a couple days later: "We are so sorry for the inconvenience sir, all of your money will be refunded and you can dispose of the shoes, or donate them as you wish." Ha! It was the best thing ever! I chose to donate them to myself...

I managed to find on Sunday what I think is one of the only places in Brussels where you can watch american football.  It was SO great.  Huge screen that was playing the game I wanted to see, and other games on other TVs.  I think all the American men in Brussels flock to this place on Sunday evenings, because I don't think I heard anything but American English all night.  It was quite funny, I think I'll be there every week.  We also sat next to a neuroscientist from MD, and he talked all about stuff like drug effects, and testing he does on animals. So that made the night pretty interesting to say the least (nice guy though, we ended up inviting him to bar trivia night the next night, hoping to boost our score.  He didn't come unfortunately, even though Katie named the team "Dr. Eric" after him).

My french teacher told us yesterday that about this time is when study abroad kids usually start to feel really home-sick and start to get critical of their new home.  I sure do miss a lot of people/ things, but so far so good for me.  Things I'm noticing however: It sure is nice to be cooked for all the time, but it can be hard to not completely be in control of your diet, shop for yourself, etc.  This a bit of a change.  Also, I don't like the feeling of spending money without any sort of income (as nice as it sounds).  Feels weird.

Katie and I didn't have anything to do last Saturday and David was on a school-related trip, so we went to Antwerp for the afternoon!  It only cost us 7 euro each round trip on the train, and only took 30 mins! It was great! It was even better than I remember also.  It is a really pretty city, and I can see myself going back there to hang out in the future.  We got this pic just after taking a picture of a nice looking couple with their arms around each other in front of the same statue. "Would you mind taking one of us?"

Here are a couple others from there as well:

I realize it could probably easily sound like I'm having nothing but fun and couldn't possibly have time for school.  So for the parents and those concerned: School is going well so far, I am really enjoying it.  I feel like I finally have a schedule with no BS classes.  All of my classes are really interesting and I feel like I'm really learning things that I am interested in, and should know.  I am particularly really enjoying learning about major world conflicts that took place either before I was born, or I just don't know enough about (Crises in Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia, Chechnya, etc.).  It makes reading and doing work easier when it's interesting and informative.

Anyway, I think that's finally all folks.  Hope everyone is well.
-Christian

I decided to start a blog.

Am I blogging? I think I'm doing it.
Anywayz, I thought this would be easier than the whole mass email thing.  Anyone can check it out whenever, I don't have to try to remember everything I've been doing, can just jot things down as I think of them, etc etc.
I've been very busy around here, but I'll try to think of some stories/ things to say and make a real post soon.  Who knows, maybe I'll just get really into this whole blogging thing and you'll have more posts than you know what to do with!

Here's a pic from the Grand Place that I like. It's a nice (well, grand I guess?) place.

Au revoir for now!
-Christian