Final Friday

Wow. Last Friday in Brussels. I should have done more with it.

I woke up, went running, bought two boxes to ship home (once filled, of course), went to the grocery store and then came home.  Kristen and her friends were up so we talked for a while before I showered. 

Then I packed.  I fit everything into two extra-large boxes to ship, my big suitcase, my big backpack, my carry-on and my giant purse.  Wow.  I don't know how I did it and I really hope I can re-do it next week when I'm actually leaving. 

Then I went to the grocery store with one of Kristen's friends, who was going to make dinner for us all, killed some time and ended up going out to dinner at the local ChiChi's (called the "Tex-Mex Restaurant") where I had a wonderful quesadilla, a really bad pina colada (gave away) and an ok strawberry-banana margarita.  It was a lot of fun.  Twelve people or so were there, and we all had a good time.

We sat outside because, now that we're leaving, it's finally pretty in Brussels. These two little boys kept coming over and screaming and being crazy and it was funny for the first ten minutes or so.  They were imitating animals and riding their bikes into walls and generally being silly.

After dinner, Sam and I came back to the apartment while everyone else went out.  We're both tired and have things to do, so we didn't feel like going out.  We talked for a long time and now she's taking a shower.  It's hard to get a hot one with eight people staying here.  Ally comes tomorrow for a night, Jenna comes Sunday (both friends of Sam) and all of Kristen's friends leave Monday.  It'll be a busy weekend.

Tomorrow is the long-awaited grocery store post. I'm not sure if I can really give it justice after having gotten so used to it, but I'll try my best.  Otherwise, I'm studying and exploring.  Probably studying in the park, and when I get bored, I'll walk around.  Oh, and a rugby game at 4.  Should be fun, and interesting.

Goodnight, world.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-

-eekend. Finally.

Finance test returned and reviewed, management test done, grocery and book store visited, packing started. Now just four more tests to study for - finance retest and my management final Monday, finance final Tuesday and law final Wednesday.  Thursday is to pack and relax and I'm home on Friday.  Whew.

Wait. What?

What just happened to the past four months of my life? Seriously? Are they over? They can't be. Wow. What a year.

In the past twelve months, I have: taken seven AP exams, gotten into and gone to college, worked two jobs, taught an autistic child how to swim, graduated, moved out of my home, reinvolved myself with Marion and Inge, driven back and forth to Clemson, gone to three surprise parties, completed two semesters of college, lived in Europe, traveled to twenty-four cities (at least), been to New York City for the first time, learned German, gone sailing, gotten drunk, raced on the college level, taken a train, seen a whole lot, kissed, loved, missed, taken an online class, watched Lord of the Rings, read a whole bunch of books, tasted a space cake, eaten Chinese, made dinner for friends, lived with roommates and been on my own.  And a million other things.  Sheesh.

I'll be nineteen in just about a month.  I'll be a junior in college with only two years left in a week.  It's scary yet amazing how much life changes in a year - just think what it will be like in a year from now.  I'll be twenty.  No. I don't want to think about that. 

I was talking to a friend today and I said that I regretted some of the things I've done in the past semester.  He made me correct myself.  I don't regret things, I've learned what not to do in the most meaningful way possible.  By wasting time on them.  This year has been intense.  Not only getting to know Marion and Inge, but getting to know myself, test my own limits, see who my real friends are and who's only there from convenience.

Living in a foreign country has been eye-opening, for sure.  The escalators that only work from pressure pads and motion detection.  The roundabouts.  The SNOW.  The food, the smells (oh, gosh the smells), the cobblestone streets.  The metro (oh, how I'll miss public transportation).  The tourists now that it's warm(ish).  The way Belgians can be jerks.  The cars.  The heaters (or lack thereof). Everything is different. 

And yet it's so similar. 

There are friendly people.  There are foods you recognize (like fruit - I have my Florida grapefruit every morning).  There is sunshine and the same people you see jogging every day.  There's clouds, most of the time, but there's thunderstorms.  No humidity, but rain.  Dandelions and the same pretty weeds. 

The songs on my ipod are the same, but the route I run has hills.  The food I cook is the same, but the kitchen and recipes are in metric and Celsius.  Once upon a time, I thought of Europe as this far-away play land, where people were old fashioned and so different.  The buildings might be old, but the population is young.  Technology is everywhere.  You have fast-food places run out of old stone buildings, pubs and modern restaurants in buildings hundreds of years old.  It's so cool.

Being in Europe has been a ton of fun, and I'm sure that my posts in the next week will be redundant, but I want to write down every detail so I don't forget when I go home.  I'm glad I got to be a student in Brussels, with the opportunity to travel every weekend and see all that I've seen.  To have studied here has really made me realize how limited we are when it comes to culture in the States.  Yes, it's a "melting pot" but here you're really immersed in it.  Spain, Ireland, England, Germany, France, Israel, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, and of course Belgium have all been interesting and different.  I enjoyed traveling and learning and I can't wait to explore other parts of the world, as well as one day come back. 

Goodnight, world.

A Wednesday...

Without Wednesday Night Dinner?!? How is that possible?

Well, today I didn't get up and go running like I said I would because it was much too cold.  So I studied instead, went to law class, gave my speech and tried to take my management test.

Law was interesting, as usual.  Did well on my test.  Speech was awful and I don't know why.  Didn't practice or have the enthusiasm I normally do.  Management was confusing because it wasn't posted until two hours late because of some virus.  Didn't do it yet, but have time to study again.

Then I came back and watched half of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original, good one) and talked to friends.

Now it's time for bed.

Goodnight, world.

Reflections

Wow. It's nearly down to a week. I have one test left for each of my classes. 

It's been really great to be here in Europe and I know there will be so many things that I miss.  Taking public transport, being able to walk, the grocery stores being small and eco-friendly, the food, speculoos, the chocolate, the waffles, the certain people I see all the time, the awesome apartment, my roommates, having roommates, being completely independent and free, being able to travel every weekend and at the drop of a hat, and making my own schedule will all be things I miss. 

It's weird, because I know I missed things (and I still miss things) from home, but most of those "things" are people.  Not all of course, since I miss my car and my cats and sailing and people on the street speaking English and measuring things in English measurements (though that might be just because I'm used to them), but I also miss all my friends and family and everyone back home. 

I guess it's not that weird when you think about it, because I have lived here for four months and I've really gotten used to it.  I enjoy it.  Brussels still isn't my favorite place on the list, but by no means was it horrendous.  It's a really great city for students (i.e. you don't ever do anything in the actual city) because it's small and easy to navigate.  In all actuality, I haven't explored Brussels as much as other cities, so that's my goal for this weekend. To go get lost, take my metro pass and my camera with me and really see Brussels. 

Anyways, today I went on a run to clear my head before class, where we reviewed and took a test.  Hopefully I won't have to take the retest, but we'll see in less than 48 hours.  Tomorrow I have law class, my last speech and a management test.  And then a whole bunch of people are going out.  I don't know if I'll go with them - it depends on where they go. 

After class I talked to people and watched a couple movies and studied a tiny bit. Oh, and rewrote my speech five times. But now I think it's right.

I'm going to finish Phantom and then go to bed early.

Goodnight, world.

Quick Post

Because nothing eventful happened today in Brussels. Surprise.

I did get to talk to my awesome parents, who made Life Masters with points in duplicate bridge last week during their stay in Gatlinberg.  That's something like 500 points, and you get fractions of a point for a day of bridge.

Anyways, I studied and took a law test and watched Pirate Radio, which was very good.  Lots of good music.  I also studied a bit for finance and helped Elena with some problems.

Now it's time for bed.

Goodnight, world.

Work, Work, Work

First off, ONE HUNDRED POSTS!?!?! Sheesh.  Makes me realize how long I've been here - and how little time I have left (hopefully).

Today I went on a long run, found some closer grocery stores, got some weird looks for running, and did lots and lots of homework for my three tests, project and speech due this week.

In between all this fun, I was checking email and news and blogs and whatnot and I seemed to run across the volcano issue a lot.  Anyways.  This volcano Eyjafjallajökull-Fimmvörduháls (yes, it does look like someone threw up on a keyboard, and no, I can't say it) in Iceland started erupting a couple of months ago, but a great big ash cloud exploded on Thursday, canceling all flights in all the different countries.  You know all this.  But the thing is, IT'S STILL ERUPTING. 

They say that it may keep erupting for up to TWO YEARS.  Of course, they've cleared some flights, but most international flights out of Brussels (to the US) are canceled (though the ones coming here are fine...) and London has been and will be closed for a WEEK.  London.  The big international airports. The little ones. All of them.  The airlines are losing over $200 million A DAY.  Some airports have reopened, but not very many, and not very many for long-distance flights.  I don't know how they're going to get everyone home and I hope they have my flight and don't bump me for someone who was supposed to be back in the States yesterday.

The biggest problem is that they don't know when it'll be over. The glacier causes more ash than normal volcanoes produce, and it's a different, more dangerous type of ash.

But we made plans if we can't fly home.  Some have friends and relatives in London/Germany/Spain/Italy and will kick it with them until the skies are clear enough.  Some decided Africa seems like a cool place and will go to Egypt.  I personally wouldn't mind heading over to Israel on a Mediterranean Cruise.  Or maybe do the Greek Islands.  But the best thing, I think (though all these are pretty cool) would be to take the train to London to take the trans-Atlantic cruise that leaves May 15.. It's six days and we'd be able to actually do something with our summers. 

Which leads me to another potential problem this stupid volcano could cause: A lot of people have interviews and internships and jobs and things that start the week we get back.  One friend (who was majorly screwed because he couldn't go to Edinburgh) would be even more upset because his internship starts May 10th and he can't graduate without it.  So many people wouldn't have jobs this summer and so many more would miss other opportunities. 

Basically this volcano sucks.  Especially if it erupts any more.  A lot of people have had "allergies" due to the ash, which we can't really see and don't notice because the past week has been the first week of sun all semester.  Oh, and today was the first day it was actually warm (as in you don't need a jacket).

So. Volcano, please stop.  It's finally sunny in Brussels.  I'm only here for two more weeks. This week has too many tests. And now it's time for bed. Or at least a movie to fall asleep to.

Goodnight, world.