Reflection

It is so incredibly difficult to sum up the entire trip and its impact in a few paragraphs. I learned so much about Western Europe and more specifically Belgium. The art and food of Belgium are the first things that stick out in retrospect. Belgium is a wonderful country with a rich and overlooked history of painting. I never knew that the advent of oil painting came about with Jan Van Eyck and Dirk Bouts in the 15th century. I had no idea how highly regarded Peter Reubens was as a Baroque master. I loved learning about Magritte's troubles with the French surrealists. The Gothic style of architecture that is so prevalent in Belgian towns really captivated me too. Prior to my trip I had never seen anything like it. It has made me jaded towards all other styles of architecture. Most notably this week when I was walking around Manhattan I couldn't help but feel that all the buildings were really boring looking. Another big difference I've noticed is the lightning fast service you come to appreciate in US restaurants. Over the past few months I've come to prefer the more relaxed style of dining in Europe. I'm sure there are many other subtleties I will come to notice over the next few weeks. The whole experience was life changing. The amount of traveling and new places and cultures I got to experience over the past few months is bordering the absurd. I would strongly urge any person to do as many study abroad programs as possible. I think back to what was at the time a pretty frustrating experience and laugh. By missing our train in Hamburg and having to take 4 trains throughout the night to get back, we inadvertently got to see the Cathedral of Cologne. My grandfather was from Cologne and had painted the cathedral a few times. The whole thing looked so familiar at the time and I couldn't figure out why until my mother explained that I saw a painting of it my entire childhood. Anyway it is little adventures like that, that you don't get to experience unless you put yourself in strange situations. I will never forget or regret my time spent abroad.

Trip back

So this is it. I am sitting in London Heathrow waiting for my plane home. This last week was really strange. The whole trip felt so surreal that reality didn't sink in until the last night. Everything was so alien to me when I first arrived into Leuven. It was my first time in western Europe, I had absolutely no academic background in any of the classes taken, and no impressions of the people and now it is coming to an end. This week I said my good byes at work. We finally had the ice hockey exhibition. On tuesday I had to stay until 8:00 but it was worth it because I got to meet Yari Kuri, and touch the Stanley Cup. Thursday we took our last final and had a banquet dinner to celebrate our time there. On Friday I flew to London and spent the weekend there before departing today. London is absolutely beautiful. It is one of my favorite cities I have visited. It has a certain New York City hustle and bustle vibe with a European twist. Since I was really only there for one full day I didn't get to see much. I went to London Tower, the Tate Modern Museum, saw Westminster Abby, a few Cathedrals, and Buckingham Palace. Today before leaving we went to regency park too. On Friday night we ate some of the best Indian food I've ever had. It was a great way to spend my last weekend in Europe.

Parents

This week started off with my History final exam. It went pretty well. I had quite a lot to say. Work was really slow this week. On Tuesday I went to a Budgetary committee meeting and on Wednesday I organized boxes and attended another meeting finalizing the ice hokey exhibition plans. After work on Wednesday I went out to dinner with my parents who were in Brussels visiting. Since we had off Thursday I went out on Wednesday night and had a blast. Thursday I met up with my parents and we went out to a Thai place. It was some of the best Thai I have ever had, and it is some of my favorite cuisine so I really enjoyed the meal. Friday my parents came to Leuven and I showed them around. Saturday we went to Brugge together. What a town. It is like someone froze time 600 years ago. We took a canal tour and a horse drawn carriage tour. We went to a gallery that had a Dali exhibit which was fascinating. There were no finished works it was all sculptures and sketches. There were many things I have never seen from my favorite artist. After that the week was all down hill. On saturday night on my way home from the bar, I stopped to talk to these two guys. They approached me speaking Spanish and since I love practicing mi Espanol so I was all for talking to them. However this proved to be disastrous. I'm not 100% sure but I had my wallet 5 minutes before talking to them and didn't 5 minutes after talking to them. So all signs point to them pickpocketing me. I had a large amount of money in the wallet and I am in a little bit of a jam now that I have no way of getting any of my credit cards sent here on time. To top it all off I left my passport at my parents hotel and had to go to Brussels to pick it up today. When it rains it pours.

4/6/08

This week was spend primarily preparing for my economics final and finishing up my paper. I finished the first draft of my paper on Monday so I could put it aside for a few days before doing the final edit. Work on Tuesday and Wednesday was very busy. I am helping my MEP prepare for the international ice hockey exhibit they are hosting in the parliament. I also put the finishing touches on the article I wrote for him. Tuesday and Wednesday night were spent studying studying and studying some more. The econ exam went really well. I wont know the results for a while but I am pretty confident of my performance. Friday I edited my paper and turned it in during the evening. Then Saturday and Sunday I studied for my History final on Monday. Friday night was really fun. We went to the staff house and had drinks with the employees of the institution. Other than studying and Friday night yet another uneventful weekend.