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