Song of the Week: 6

If you haven't heard of them yet, then now is your chance.  Listen to this song, then drop what you are doing and go buy this album!  It is magical.  I haven't been able to listen to anything else for a week.  So seriously, check these guys out.  The album is called For Emma and it is by the band Bon Iver.  Here is "For Emma"  but it is hard to pick a favorite off of the album.  Skinny Love and Flume are also amazing.  Enjoy!

Finally Finished Finals

First of all, pardon the above alliteration.  And second, I would like to officially announce the completion of my first semester of graduate school.  I had my last exam on Friday the 18th of December and despite the fact that it was another exam from the mind of a professor with no natural teaching ability and no compassion for students, I left the exam smiling because I am FINISHED!  Now I just get to sit and wait in dread for my grades to come in.  I am not sure when they do, but I am honestly not looking forward to that day.  You see, if I failed any of my exams, I will have to come back in September to retake them.  First of all, I have never been in a position in my entire academic career where failure was even remotely on the radar.  That is, until I came here.  So now I am absolutely PETRIFIED that I have failed an exam and will have to return in a cloud of shame and embarrassment to my favorite medieval city.  But it is too late now to study more for the exams I have already taken.  So I will just have to wait and see.  I promise to keep you posted.
On a slightly more exciting note, did I mention I was DONE with exams??  I mean done.  I mean I get two weeks off.  I am leaving for Germany today, meeting the Mattwigs and Ben at the airport and then the rest of the family gets in on Wednesday!  I cannot wait!  It will be so nice to see people I know again.  So I am very excited!  I just hope that all of this snow I am staring out at from my window will not impede my journey.  I will keep you posted on that too.
Anyway, thanks to all of you loyal readers who stuck it out with me over this first term.  There were highs and lows, there were rants and joyful outbursts.  I hope you enjoyed reading about all of it and I hope you will hang in there with me until June 21!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

SNOW!

New Friends, Lots of Fun

Creative Studying

My study partner and I have been spending WAY too much time together over the past three weeks and it is starting to show.  However, we have managed to devise a sure-fire way to remember information and study effectively.  Reflecting on the absurdity and utter utility of the arrangement, I thought I would share it with you.
First, we study 2009 style.  Meaning we study together, but on Skype.  That's right, Skype.  We live in different residencies about 6 minutes apart (that's a long distance in Bruges) and with Bruges' pattern of ceaseless rain and increasing cold, Skype is just plain convenient.  Why be in the same room with someone when you can stay at home and still study together?
Second, we study . . . theatrically.  By this I mean we employ shallow, usually food or designer label-related analogies to help us remember serious facts.  For instance, I can now tell you all about the European Union's Neighborhood Policy by reducing the situation to a Mean-Girls-esque high school cafeteria scenario involving chocolate cupcakes and Lacoste Polos.  In addition to cruel social hierarchies and chocolate-fudge cupcakes, we often enjoy employing accents.  This is one thing we are both quite good at.  Sometimes we carry on a two-hour long conversation as girls from the Bronx.  Or on occasion we explain the workings of the WTO to one another in full-French disguise.  It is hilarious and the information sticks.  Tonight we just wrapped up a study session for our Negotiation Skills course where we analyzed a negotiation while playing two middle-aged Italian/American women from Brooklyn who needed to negotiate with their butcher who was upping the price and lowering the quality of his meat.  If that is not exam preparation, then I don't know what is.
So there you have it: proof that I am insanely creative.  Or perhaps just insane.  But the good news is I found someone as insane and creative as I am.  Next time you find yourself at a loss for a method of remembering the EU's military missions, grab a partner, bake some cupcakes, and slap on a Brooklyn accent.  Works every time.

Peace, Love, and Bagels (I mean Waffles).

Song of the Week: 5 (And Other Stuff)

Wow, I almost forgot to post this today.  I have been so busy with exams and other school worries (the thesis has begun to creep up on me once again; so not ready), that I have admittedly been neglecting the blog and my faithful readers.  I do apologize.  Nothing too exciting has been happening lately.  So you really haven't missed much.  I have been dividing my time between my room and the American Cafe -  which I can almost see from my room.  I don't really get out that much.  So Wednesday night was a welcome surprise.  Not realizing that everyone and their brother came to visit Bruges in between Christmas and New Years, I neglected to book some hotel rooms for those crucial dates when my family and I visit Bruges over the Christmas holiday.  I emailed Paul, my host counselor, asking for some advice on where to stay.  He and Kaatje went way beyond sending me an advisory email and actually spent their afternoon searching for a hotel for us.  They called me unexpectedly that evening and proceeded to take me around town so I could look at the rooms they had inquired about.  It was so nice and surprisingly entertaining and I found a nice little hotel that thankfully had some rooms available.  Then they took me out to dinner to the best Mussel restaurant in Bruges.  It was so great!  I had been expecting to go to the cafeteria again fort a ham and cheese sandwich (like every other Wednesday night).  It was such a great surprise!  We all had a very nice evening.  It was a wonderful meal and the perfect way to get away from my books for a bit and catch up with both of them.  I love a little spontaneity.
In other news, Christmas is coming, I have 8 days and two exams standing between me and what I would like to believe is a well-earned break.  With that in mind, and due to the fact that I have been listening to Christmas/wintery songs non-stop for the past two weeks, I feel that this post should reflect the infectious happiness and unexpected nostalgia that I always feel when I am away from home at Christmas time.  Here is a lovely Christmas song by Owl City.  I debated between posting this and a classic, but variety is nice sometimes.  I hope everyone is enjoying the Advent season as we get ready to celebrate Christmas!

Owl City - Christmas Song

Peace, Love, and Snow-covered Waffles.

I Want to Ride a Bicycle . . .

Study Time at the American Cafe

This place, called Bean Around the World, has been my favorite haunt over the past two weeks.  It opened 4 weeks ago - just in time for exams -  and is right around the corner from my residence.  What luck!  You can find me there, commandeering the oh so comfortable couch with a giant (and reasonably priced, might I add) latte in hand chatting with the expats of Bruges.  I LOVE IT!  I can sit and study for hours.  Great coffee, awesome music, and a little touch of America in the middle of the medieval siege.

Song of the Week: 4

This week, thanks to Sally, I discovered that becoming a fan of iTunes on Facebook earned you 20 free songs on iTunes.  What a great deal!!!  So I downloaded the pre-selected Starbucks playlist and proceeded to listen to it 6 times yesterday while studying.  I kept coming back to the same few songs, though.  I love this next one by Ben Howard.  I hope you enjoy it too!  Happy listening and have a great weekend.

Cloud Nine - Ben Howard

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Ummm, So, Yeah

Sorry for the lack of posts people, but Happy December!  Can you believe it's here?  The year is almost over, Bruges is dressing itself for Christmas, and I am in the midst of exams.  Two down, four to go.  Can I just interject here that it is NOT FAIR (I know that whole thing about life not being fair, but just hear me out) that ALL of the other departments at the College have only 4 exams.  IRD has 6.  And we have 4 days less in which to complete them.  What the heck?  Ok, mini-rant over.
So the first exam was Monday, over legal aspects of the EU's external relations (aka it was a law course) and it was terrible.  My nightmare exam.  The worst test I have taken in my life.  Today I had EU economic aspects; exceedingly less scary, but also not easy.  This one was not too bad and I even finished early.  Monday the fun begins all over again, so I apologize in advance for the lack of posts in December.
I promise to write a long, happy, celebratory post on December 18th when my last exam is over.  Then I will write another when my family arrives on the 23rd.  I can't wait!
I hope your Decembers have begun with hot chocolates, Christmas music, and all around holiday cheer!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Scenes from a Belgian Restaurant

Song of the Week: 3

Ok, time for song of the week selection number 3!  I am excited about this one.  It is by an artist I have liked for sometime but have just recently been able to purchase his music.  It has been my go-to song this week as I watch exams approach.  I find it particularly appropriate for the occasion as I can't describe my life any differently now than a sea of books in which I am trying not to drown.  So enjoy Jack's Mannequin: Swim

Study Break

So, over the past week and a half, I have studied more than I ever thought was humanly possible.  Food and sleep are no longer a huge priority.  The Lisbon Treaty has taken over my life.  I have been spending most of my time with my American friend, Alexandra.  We seem to operate on a similar wavelength and so have found studying together to be quite productive.  About two days ago, we both discovered that we love Twilight (the series, not the time of day; although, that is nice too sometimes).  Anyway, neither of us had seen New Moon yet and we were both dying to go.  We were planning on biking to the theater (crazy), but without a car, what else can you do?  Belgium literally rained on our parade last night with the rainfall that the entire state of Washington receives in a year.  We decided to postpone for one night (for that is all the longer one can be asked to wait for Robert Pattinson).  We set a clear study goal and decided to shoot for the 10:30 showing.  We reached our goal, but God, despite his original promise, had refused to close the heavens on Bruges.  We had had enough.  We took a taxi to the movie theater.  I can't believe it, but we paid more for transportation than we did for the show and snacks.  And you know what?  It was WORTH IT!  We arrived at the theater ten minutes late, ran to grab the sugar-free popcorn from the case, looked desperately for a soda fountain and, finding none, settled on two bottles of water while hurriedly being forced to choose our seats (who the heck needs a seating arrangement to see a movie??) and then racing down the corridor giddy as, well, giddy as two school girls.  As we sat in the plush seats of our own row in the theater, we were beaming.
The movie was GREAT!  I am not sure if it was the fact that the movie was good (probably not) or that I have not been to a theater - or out of the city - for months.  But I have not been this happy in a long time.    The entire experience was hilarious.  It was a rather cultural experience in fact.  No one else in the entire theater laughed.  At all.  Ever.  Alexandra and I were cracking up half the time.  I am not sure what the Dutch subtitles were saying, but something was lost in translation.
I did not want the movie to end!  So sad when it did.  Alas, then it was back outside to wait for a taxi home.  On the ride home we were both still giddy to be riding on a two-lane road, to be in a car even.  It feels as if we were under house arrest and we finally got our ankle bracelets off.
It was lovely to escape for a little while; pretend like we were back in the US.  Laugh hysterically while repeating lines from the movie, chow down on salty delicious popcorn, and just RELAX.  It was nice to be reminded that there is a life that does not involve the European Union, or politics, or books.  Just stretches of beach in northern Washington where the only thing you have to do is take a walk with your smoking hot (vampire) boyfriend.  My bad, that's not my life.  But I can dream, can't I?
Good night, be sure to let the vampires bite!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Thanksgiving

Mission: Complete.  I did it.  I found a Cherry Coke in Europe.  It may not have been a Diet Cherry Coke, but it was cherry just the same.  My plans to go see New Moon were rained out this evening so I decided to venture out to the night shop for a bar of chocolate and some caffeine.  That is when I saw it, buried at the back of the refrigerated case at the night shop, the red cherries glistening like a beacon of hope.  I have never seen such a beautiful beverage in my life.  So my day was devoid of turkey, pie, and green bean casserole, but I have seldom been so happy with a snack.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  I am thankful for all that I have.

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Paul and Me

I couldn't ask for a better host counselor.  Having Paul is like having family in Bruges.

Another Great Night for Rotary

A much needed study break presented itself in the form of my fourth official Rotary presentation this evening, and what a lovely evening it turned out to be.  I would like to give a special thanks for Rotary Club Brugge South for hosting me this evening.  It was wonderful meeting all of you and I am looking forward to coming back in January!  You guys were great!

The evening was, in my opinion, a success.  Paul and I agreed it was my best presentation and also the club with the best atmosphere.  He described it as being "jovial" and I couldn't agree more.  This club has energy, initiative, and lots of fun it seems.  I was happy to be their guest (cue Beauty and the Beast song).   I was a bit flustered, having spent the last few days locked in my room studying the intricacies of the European Union's Treaties, but I pulled myself together by the time Paul arrived to pick me up.  I cannot tell you how happy I was when we drove OUT OF THE CITY!!!!  It was my first trip outside of "the ring" since arriving in Brugge.  Please consult the map to understand what I mean by the ring.  It is, in my opinion, a 9 km long invisible wall that has kept me under siege for the past three months.  But not anymore.  Tonight I broke free.  This school is nuts.  End of story.

Back to the good story.  We had a drink and a lovely meal with the first coed Rotary club in Brugge (also one of the youngest clubs).  Then I gave my presentation and for the first time, people had questions for me!  I was highly pleased because the questions were very appropriate and demonstrated a level of interest in my presence that I had yet to experience.  I was even quizzed on some Belgian politics (at least I know a little something about the royal family.  It could have been bad.).  
So it was just nice to be welcomed with such enthusiasm.  It was a long evening but so worth the time!  I will visiting again at the end of January to join the club for bowling!  I am so excited!
Anyway, that pretty much wraps things up.  The only other exiting news (having something to do with life outside of studying) is that I took the plunge and got my haircut today.  This was a HUGE deal for me.  I am very particular about who I trust with my hair, but it was getting to the point that I had to trust someone new - and a non-native English speaker at that.  Kaatje recommended the salon and the stylist was great!  I love my hair.  Crisis averted.
Anyway, enjoy the pictures from the evening and I will try and post again soon.

Peace, Love, and Waffles.  (Wow, I could really go for a waffle right now.)

The Depths of Procrastination

My first exam is on November 30.  And while my dreams have been plagued with visions of total failure, I am still unable to motivate myself to really study.  To give you a taste of the extent to which I am capable of procrastinating, I have made three new iTunes playlists this week, viewed several useless Youtube videos, re-watched the latest episode of Survivor twice, and drew a picture.  This is just the beginning.  I also started an application for the Peace Corps and have vacuumed my room twice.  The depths of procrastination were reached recently when I began taking the seasonal quizzes on Marthastewart.com.  Now, I love Martha Stewart.  This, by now, should be common knowledge.  However, under no circumstances do I support the quizzes she has available on her website.  But I have reached a low point in my life where the thought of taking a quiz is exponentially more appealing than reading a scholarly article about European law.  For example, just a couple of days ago, I took a quiz entitled "How well do you know your cat?"  (I know, I know, I kind of hate myself for it.)  This particular quiz was prepared by a "cat expert." Seriously Martha?  The woman employs an in-house cat expert?  But at the same time, I can't talk.  I took the stupid quiz.  Believe me, it was really stupid.  So stupid in fact that I emailed the link to my Mom so she could take it.  The saddest part?  I got a perfect score.  I don't even like cats, not even my own.
Today I took a Thanksgiving-themed quiz entitled "What Thanksgiving Side Dish are You?"  Honestly, I couldn't care less.  Yet, once again, I took the quiz.  This time, I was highly disappointed to discover that I am "roasted root vegetables."  First of all, what the heck kind of side dish is that?  And second, why couldn't I have been the green bean casserole with extra Funions?  It was at this point, when I realized I was actually disappointed with my results, that I knew I had hit rock bottom.
So I may be a cat expert and a roasted root vegetable side dish, but I am in no way, shape, or form ready for these exams.  Or at least not ready to begin studying.
So if you are interested, I am currently accepting donations in the form of distractions.  Send me an email, a Facebook message, Skype me whenever I am online, comment on the blog!  But please, don't send quizzes.  I have enough on my plate as it is.

Peace, Love, and Waffles (no roasted root vegetables, thanks).

Tourist Time Picture

Is it Time for Song of the Week Yet?

Because I have some good ones lined up and I don't like waiting for Saturdays to roll around to use them.  So think of this as an early Thanksgiving gift (for the Europeans reading this blog: just to clarify, gifts are not usually given on Thanksgiving). Anyway, this is a new band (for me) that I have just started to get into called Deas Vail.  I love the chill vibe!  And this song has made it onto a mix I have been working on for Bruges.  I hope you like it!  If you do, check out the albums and EPs they have out.  I especially like "White Lights," the EP from 2008.
Happy listening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NPDHrcBxLM

Hot Chocolate = GLEE

 

I Hope You Enjoyed the Song

As much as I enjoyed my weekend!!!!!!!  Sorry for the brief hiatus, but I am back from the land of paper writing and ready once again to satisfy your blog-reading needs.  So, this past weekend was pretty much perfection.  I'll go ahead and admit that it was the best two days I have had since arriving in Belgium.  As you all know from previous posts detailing my anticipation, my best friend Sally (yes, that is correct, Sally and Ali.  You got it!  Our names rhyme.  Moving on.) came for a (way too short thanks to all of my ridiculous work) visit.  But come she did!  And I am still running off of the high from Friday and Saturday. Everything went according to plan - which almost never happens when the two of us are involved.  She arrived Friday at around 8:45.  We promptly went to the Markt square and ate hot "frites" (that's French fries, or Belgian fries, for those of you who didn't know) on a bench under the belfry.  From there we proceeded to a certain dessert establishment of which I am ashamed to mention the name so I won't.  Here we basked in the glory of hot waffles, GIANT cappuccinos, and wonderful conversation.  The waiter offered to lock us in for the night and then roll us out the door the next morning.  We politely declined, but we may have to go back and take him up on his offer.
From dessert we headed to one of my favorite bars in Bruges, De Garre.  It is a teeny-tiny ancient establishment that could have come straight out of Hogsmeade (some of you know what I mean).  We had a couple of beers and spent a few hours planning our future - which, to give you a hint, involves lots of cupcakes, concerts, and a sweet apartment in the great state of Arizona.  At  some point, deep into our evening, we ended  up getting invited to another table by an American couple from Connecticut on their way around Europe tasting beers.  They were sitting with a couple from London and the six of us ended up staying far past closing just laughing hysterically at the quirks of Bruges.  Eventually the staff literally told us to leave because they wanted to close.  Mind you, it was only about 1:00 a.m.  But still I find it funny that we were kicked out of the bar.  From there we went back to my room and managed to stay awake for about an hour of the Holiday, which provided the inspiration for the next morning's activities.

I have been cutting hair for almost 10 years now and I have been cutting Sally's for three.  Whenever we get together after a separation a haircut is usually involved.  This visit was no different.  Except this time, Sally wanted Cameron Diaz's haircut from the Holiday.  Please see before and after pictures.  To make a long story short (pun intended) it was a daring morning set to the soundtrack of "A Rocket to the Moon."  So fun!

The rest of the day was spent meandering around town, being complete tourists, taking amazing pictures and visiting one of my favorite finds in Bruges: The Old Chocolate House.  This is the place to go if you love hot chocolate.  It is a miniscule 2nd floor tea room that doles out GIANT mugs of steamed milk to which you add chocolate cups and morsels that you then whisk into the milk yourself.  Simply delightful,
especially on cold dreary Belgian afternoons.

This was followed by more frites, (what can I say, we really like food.  Besides, it is a cultural activity after all.  We are in Belgium).  We proceeded to head back to my room where we spent some quality youtube time with our favorite bands and a few more hours just catching up with each other.
Sally's dad had flown into Brussels on Saturday (he is a pilot) so we met him at the train station in Bruges and he took us out to dinner.  It was so nice.  Such a perfect, relaxing evening.  Good food, good friends, good conversation and matching grey elephant necklaces from J. Crew.  Need I say more?
Neither of us stopped talking for more than a minute at a time.  We had too much to say after 6 months apart.  Even with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Gmail, and Skype, nothing does it like seeing someone face to face.
Best weekend ever.
Sorry for the ramble, I just really had fun and wanted to share!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Song of the Week: 2

It's a new week and time for a new song.  I hope everyone enjoyed The Weepies from last week!  This time, I am going to take it back to my junior year at Furman (so really, not too far back) to one of my FAVORITE bands: The Maine.

This song choice is due to the fabulous weekend I spent with my best friend Sally.  More blog posts will follow on that subject, but for now, in the interest of time and in the interest of my grade on the paper I should be writing at the moment, I will just link you to this video.

Sally and I have seen these boys 3 times live together (I think Sally has seen them 5 or 6 times), and we are, in every sense of the word, groupies.  So I hope you enjoy my obsession and the boys' fantastic new video.

This post is dedicated to Sally and the many mosh pits we have braved together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bfzyWWQNcc

I Think Friends are Neat

So, basically, I have some pretty wonderful friends.  I came back to my room today after ever-more lectures to two packages sitting on my desk.  They were from Ashley, one of my very best friends from home and someone I have known for the past 22 and a half years.  I was so excited!  I opened them and discovered that she had blissfully and wonderfully ignored my request not to send anymore food (although, that still stands).  Inside I discovered four Betty Crocker Warm Delights of the chocolate cake variety.  Um, perfection.  I am not above admitting that I immediately tore one open, added two tablespoons of water and the fudge topping, then dashed downstairs to the microwave, mouth watering the whole way.  I tried to savor it; I tried to make it last.  But lets be honest, it took me about 45 seconds to indulge in my first chocolate cake since leaving the good ol' U.S. of A.  And it was wonderful.  So thank you to friends who make the effort to make my days a little brighter.  Thank you for the little things that mean so much, the Creme Savers and the chocolate cakes and even letters from Paperchase.    
Basically, I think friends are really neat.  And I love all of my friends dearly.  New and old, near and far, you are my only tenuous link to reality and I couldn't make it without you.
Thanks Ashley for inspiring this post and for just being your wonderful wonderful self!


Oodles of love,
Ali

And the Winner is . . .

Me!  Well, me and my debate team.  This was my day today.  I finished my second paper around 3:00 a.m., slept five hours, got up for two hours of lecture, went shoe shopping (Hey, I needed/deserved a break!) and then spent the next two hours talking to myself like a crazy person while practicing for the debate I participated in for my EU foreign policy class.  Two cappuccinos and a Diet Coke later my teammates and I were seated at the panelists table in front of the rest of the IRD department.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  I love that kind of stuff: high pressure, high profile.  What can I say?  Sometimes I enjoy a little limelight.  Anyway, my team was the pro side and while we lost in the class vote on the resolution, we won the "Best Team" vote.  So I feel pretty awesome.
The past few days in general have been pretty fantastic.  While I spent most of the weekend shut in my room writing paper 2, I managed to have a wonderful Saturday evening.  I went out to dinner with three Italian friends and we shared a giant bowl of French fries and then went to dessert and got real, huge, strong cappuccinos (not from an automated machine that uses powdered milk) and warm waffles!  My waffle had banana slices!!  I cannot tell you how happy that evening made me.  It was a perfect mental break and a chance to spend some time with some girls I don't get to see often enough with my crazy schedule.
So now it is Tuesday and I am preparing to commence work on paper #3.  The last big project of the semester before exams.  I am so tired of footnotes I could throw something.  I am actually looking forward to next week when I will have enough time to just do the course readings again.  But I am working hard so I can have time to spend with Sally this weekend!!!  I think that her upcoming visit is the reason I have been in such a good mood the last few days.  I should be super stressed (and trust me, I am) but I am just so excited to see her!
Hopefully this mood and my current motivation level will last until Monday.  I have the feeling I have an all-nighter in the near future.  But I'll deal with that later.
That's all for now.  I hope life is lovely for all of you.

Peace, Love, Waffles, and Visits from Best Friends!!!!!!

Song of the Week

Thanks to several generous donations, I have been getting lots of new music from iTunes.  I absolutely LOVE this song.  It has kind of been my theme for the last week and I recommend having a listen.  Enjoy!
(The video is kind of cheesy, but the song is awesome!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JscAwVu2QI&feature=fvst

Ouch

Today hurt.  Physically, mentally, emotionally . . . .   It was just one of those days.  It began far too early this morning and with far too little sleep.  I arrived in class this morning (miraculously on time; it's amazing how fast you can walk when you have to be somewhere!) and strapped in for three hours of EU legal aspects.  Ew.  Then I ate lunch.  Then I had another two hours of legal aspects.  Ew, ew.  Then we had a fifteen minute break.  Then I had three hours of global political economy.  Ew, ew, ew.  Then I went to dinner, proceeded to get my favorite scarf stuck in the zipper of my favorite coat, from whence I concluded my fabulous day by tearing my scarf and breaking my zipper beyond repair.  So now I have no more favorite scarf and no more (functional) winter coat.  And it's cold.  Great day.

Anyway, let's just say today was not my day.

But yesterday was pretty cool.  I would like to take the opportunity to thank Brugge West Rotary Club for welcoming my host counselor, Paul, and me to your club yesterday evening.  I really enjoyed meeting all of you and I hope you enjoyed the presentation!  Thanks for the hospitality.  I have never found it to be lacking in Brugge.
Yesterday was a busy day as well, but I must say that I really look forward to giving these Rotary presentations.  It's always fascinating to meet some of these people, most with either an amazing job, life story, or crazy connection to someplace/someone I know.  It's a chance to share a (delicious)  meal with new people and to really establish that special Rotary connection.  I must admit, I was skeptical about the idea when I first learned about my scholarship.  I thought, honestly, who cares who I am, where I am from, and why I am in Brugge.  But I have been so utterly and pleasantly surprised how much they (and I) appreciate exploiting the connection we have as members of this extraordinary organization.  In what other setting is one given the opportunity to travel to a foreign country - to which one has never been - and be taken into a "family" of caring, like-minded individuals that want nothing more than to help other people and understand one another better?  It is truly amazing and a wonderful blessing.  I do not know of any other such global "support network."  The Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship is one essential tool in building cross-cultural understanding and international networks.  As a political scientist  (ok, yes, go ahead and call me one) and as someone who has always recognized the value in travel and culture exploration,  I can say that I see the true value in this program.  There is not another opportunity like it.  So thanks again to all of my Rotary friends, new and old, for getting me to Belgium.  I am honored to be a part of this organization.

So sorry to those of you who don't know much about the scholarship or about Rotary in general.  But you should really check it out.  They are doing some amazing things in the world.  (Much more amazing even than sending me to Belgium :)  Seriously, go to Rotary.org and have a look around.

Sorry to the rest of you for the inadvertent publicity.  Back to my original topic.  This evening has slowly improved; although, I don't think it is in the running to beat yesterday anymore.  But I talked to my best friend Sally on Skype for about an hour and a half after dinner.  And considering I have not talked to her in a month or seen her since MAY, we were long overdue for a chat.  Luckily she is coming to Bruges on Friday to see me!  I then proceeded to spend the next hour learning vital survival skills and negotiating strategies in this week's episode of Survivor!  (LOVE!!).  So now, I think I need to get working and keep working this weekend so I can finish my papers and take next Saturday off guilt-free!
On that note, off to do some German.  Have a wonderful, and hopefully warm and dry, rest of the day everyone!

Peace, Love, and Waffles!
(The next waffle I will eat will be with Sally on Saturday!!  Can't wait!)

OH MY GOSH!!!

I just submitted my first paper to the College of Europe.  I am hyperventilating a little bit; I won't lie.  I hate pressing the send button!  It means that you lose all control over your grade and therefore, your future.  I usually need some moral support at moments like these.  Most of the time I have to call someone and have them talk me through it as I press the button.  I managed to do it on my own tonight, but it was tough!  Now I just get to look forward to doing it another three times in the next two weeks.  Joy.  But at the same time, after I press that button, there is some sense of relief.  At least until I get the paper handed back.  But I won't get into that now.

So, aside from this VERY big news, today was a pretty cool day.  We had the official opening ceremony of the academic year this morning.  It was a formal event and I quickly realized I have no nice winter clothes; so I was absolutely freezing the whole time in my cotton dress and peep toe pumps.  Not to mention the fact that walking on cobble-stone streets in heels is nearly impossible.  I think I got stuck like six times on my way.  I must have looked really funny to whoever was walking behind me!  Oh well.
So the actual ceremony was a bit different.  There was some good and some bad.  Bad was the 40 minute speech by the Rector of the College on the life and teachings of Charles Darwin (ps, Darwin is the "mascot" of our promotion.  Don't ask me.  I don't get it either).  At times I was a bit offended.  But that is beside the point.  The man never made any connection between Darwin and the study of political science (although I am not sure one can be made).  I did learn that he married his first cousin.

Good was the string quartet that played during the opening and several breaks.  They were AMAZING! The whole ceremony should have been a concert by the string quartet.  I would have loved it!
Also good, though, was the fact that we had the President of the European Parliament as our keynote speaker. He gave a very nice speech on the future of Europe, you know, the usual.  But it was good.  Although he did keep mentioning how proud "we" should be as Europeans.  :)  I was sitting next to a girl from Colombia and every time he referred to the audience as European we just laughed.
Following the speech was a fancy reception and plenty of finger food and mingle time.  It was really fun to see everyone all dressed up!
So those were the highlights today.  Now I have to do some reading.  Have a great afternoon, evening, night everyone!  (No reference to "The Truman Show" just to differing time zones).

Peace, Love, and Waffles.

Short and Sweet

So I just read my last post and realized that it was probably too long for the information it gave.  So this one will be short (but hopefully good).  It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon in Bruges.  I just finished my first paper and am about to start researching for the other two I have due in the next two weeks.  But I thought I would take a short break and write a quick post.  Remember what I said about the weather?  Well, it heard me and today's high is 45.  Yikes!  So my run this morning was a bit chillier than usual, but quite refreshing.

No class today, but work, work, work.  I did manage to take a small break after lunch to "shop." I am on the prowl for a cute winter hat.  My bangs are long enough now that I can wear a floppy hat without looking like I am on chemo-therapy or a man.  So I really want to find a good one.  I really want a yellow hat!  So far, not much luck, but I am optimistic.  Yellow and purple are the colors this season so I think I just need to expand my search.

Anyway, nothing else too exciting going on.  I have another Rotary presentation to give on Thursday and I am looking forward to that. (I think dinner is involved and any excuse not to eat at the dining hall is ok by me).  These are also my last two weeks of class, so it is a mad dash to the finish line.  I'll need some serious prayers as I head into exams!

Well, I promised to keep it short and this is the best I can do.  I will bother you with more musings on the simple things in life at a later date.  As for today, just have a good one!

Peace, Love, and of course, Waffles.

Something Orange

Well, I suppose it was inevitable. November has arrived.  Sigh.  I am not sure how I feel about this, other than highly pleased that the warm-ish weather is holding out here in Bruges.  It may be rainy, but at least it is not frigid.  Although, perhaps I shouldn't mention this because I will of course wake up tomorrow to a giant frost or something.  So pretend like I never said anything about the weather, okay?  Thanks.

Anyway, yesterday was a really fun day.  I did my first official presentation to my host Rotary club.  It was a lovely afternoon.  Paul came and picked me up and we walked over to the Crown Plaza Hotel on the Burg.  Then it was time for some mingling and small-talk at the bar.  I need to insert another special thanks here to Piet for bringing me some of the homemade apple juice I talked about earlier and some Belgian peanut butter!  It does exist!  So thank you thank you!  (And please tell Anouk congratulations for me :)  After receiving these exciting gifts, I met most of the club informally before my presentation which was very nice, but also a bit counter-productive.  You see, my presentation (as instructed by Rotary International) was about me.  I am supposed to go to these Rotary clubs and tell them who I am, where I am from, what I am studying, why I came to Belgium . . . etc.  The problem is, when you meet the club before hand, all of these questions are usually asked and answered by way of small-talk.  It got to the point where I was telling people (jokingly of course) that I couldn't answer anymore questions because it would ruin my presentation.  I wasn't even safe with the topic of Cardinal's baseball!  It was quite hilarious.  Anyway, the lunch was fun as I was seated at the President's table between Paul and Piet, so even though I understood maybe five words of the meeting, I had an enjoyable lunch-time conversation.

Side note, Rotary really needs to rethink sending people to a country (or a region) where they do not speak the native language.  I was told that my French and English would be adequate to study and give presentations to the clubs, and that is true.  However, I feel terrible that I do not speak Flemish.  And I feel even worse that I do not really have the time to learn with my current academic schedule.  I know my presentations are understood, but I believe that speaking the language of the people you are living amongst is a simple sign of respect.

Okay, side note over.  Back to my interesting afternoon.  I met tons of kind, interesting, and hospitable Rotarians and it was very nice to be introduced to the club.  The flag-exchanging ceremony went well, too.  So I am looking forward to coming back!

After the meeting I attempted to do work without much success.  At five-o-clock I received a lovely Halloween surprise from Kaatje and Paul!  Kaatje brought me this lovely flower arrangement.  She said they couldn't bring me a pumpkin but at least it is something orange.  I totally agree.  So thank you both so much!  I absolutely love the flowers.  They brighten my room and they brightened my day!  They were just what I needed.

After a dinner of a peanut butter and honey sandwich (YAY!)  Rita and I went over to another residence to celebrate our friend Juliana's birthday.  It was a nice relaxing evening with good friends, good music, and lots of pictures.  I opted out of the giant Halloween party (I never could find a costume anyway) which was just as well because I had had a wonderful day.  So I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!  Keep the comments coming, I love hearing from everyone!

Peace, Love, and Waffles

Happy Halloween!

Hope your Halloween is super spooky!

Love, the vampires of the College of Europe

Dear Loyal Followers

I am terribly sorry that I have not posted since Tuesday. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I cannot BELIEVE how quickly time is passing! I have three papers due in the next two weeks (one of which I have started) a gigantic hugely important debate to prepare for November 10th and exams start in 3 weeks. Excuse me while I go have a panic attack.

Ok, I am back. So tomorrow is Halloween, but unfortunately, like cake, one is hard pressed to find anything to do with ghosts, goblins, ghouls, witches, and vampires in Bruges. It's quite a shame really. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and I cannot wait until I can be at home to celebrate it (maybe one day soon). So I wanted to dress up as a really cool vampire this year, and I wanted to find a large hooded cloak for my costume. I searched and searched and searched and came up with nothing. No costume shops stocked with Halloween delights here. I can't really blame them, Halloween is an American thing and Bruges has a lot of other stuff going for it. I am just sad I couldn't find my cloak. But I will figure something out. Anyway, I give my first Rotary presentation tomorrow to my host Rotary Club. I am pretty excited about that! I am glad to be making some more contacts and I hope my presentation goes well. Wish me luck!

Also in recent news, I just found out that I got all of my first choice courses for next term and my preferred thesis advisor! YAY!! The only downside is that my advisor has asked for a thesis outline by November 25. Wait. We're supposed to write a thesis this year? Oh yeah, I forgot. What with all of these other things to do . . . .

But I will just deal with that later. Next semester to be exact. Although, the way things are moving, that is tomorrow. Hahaha. Deliriously funny.

Ok, well that has pretty much been my week. I am now going to make a vain, but hopefully successful attempt to finish one of my papers tonight. Happy Friday.

Peace, love, and waffles.

PS, a huge shout out to Erin who sent me a GINORMOUS package this week. The other American students have been hitting me up for gum ever since. :) And I am not going to lie, I have been eating the peanut butter with a spoon. So thanks, love!

PPS, due to the sudden influx of home-country generosity, I will no longer be in need of candy for quite some time. I will, however, be accepting other donations of non-edible, fun, frivolous goodies that can fit easily in a box. Just in case anyone was interested. :)

Ok,ok, seriously, I'll stop now. Have a good night everyone!

One Class Down

Today marked a sad day in my so-far short but somehow very long career at the College of Europe. This afternoon I had my last negotiation skills class with Dr. Meerts. I know I raved about it before, but honestly, it definitely ranked in the top five favorite classes of my entire academic career. And that is saying something. To make the class even more fantastic, Dr. Meerts told us not to study for the final. It will all be "common sense" according to him. Wow. I will probably end up studying anyway, but I definitely feel a little bit better. Now there are just those other pesky five courses to worry about. Shoot, I wish my European Legal Aspects professor would say "don't worry about the final." Better yet, I wish exams were voluntary. Why do we need grades anyway? I know this is a question I have posed several times to my family, but it is a valid point. If you want to learn, you will do the work whether or not someone assigns you an arbitrary number/letter for your efforts. In fact, there is a school in Washington that advertises its "no grades policy" and I must admit that it is quite attractive. (Ok, so I probably wouldn't fit in with all of the hippies, but I bet I could manage if it meant no more grades). I learn just as much from thorough debate, discussion, lecture, and research than from cramming for a three hour exam that may determine my entire future. I do wonder why grading persists in the academic world, especially at the post-graduate level. Why don't we just have someone checking up on us every once in awhile making sure we are getting along alright with the assigned work? I mean, at this point, aren't we supposed to be studying things we REALLY want to study? And aren't we basically professional students? So what is the point of asking me three essay questions on an exam and then making assumptions about my total knowledge of an entire subject based upon that? It really is not very logical if you think about it. And the fact that institutions of higher learning have persisted in this practice for hundreds of years only demonstrates a clear lack of creativity and innovation. The only thing an exam does is convince me that I never want to read, see, or hear anything about the subject for the rest of my life. They succeed at beating all motivation and drive to learn straight out of me. So instead of enjoying learning about the European Union in a relaxed and stimulating environment that inspires me to learn more, I am hit with that familiar dread that creeps up on me every fall. That feeling in the pit of your stomach warning you that failure is always a possibility; no matter who you are; no matter how hard you work. And so that familiar dread has begun to settle over me once again as October comes to a close. Halloween may be approaching, but the only thing I am frightened of is my own ability to answer exam questions about every aspect of the European Union I never knew existed. Wish me luck and perhaps write your congressmen and ministers of education proposing the eradication of grades from schools in an attempt to end anxiety disorders and increase student life-expectancy.

BOOTS!!!!

They are wonderful and amazing and absolutely fabulous! But I refuse to say how much I paid for them. Who says there is no market for Shoe Stop, Payless, and DSW in Europe? I could have used one today. Oh well, I love my new boots! Now I can bury the old ones. They served me well.

Token "Pretty Picture" from My Walk Today

It's a Good Thing . . .

That I named this blog "Let Them Eat Waffles" and NOT "Let Them Eat Cake" because I learned last night that, for all intents and purposes, cake does not exist in Belgium. Ok, I will qualify this statement: to my horror, cake is not served at ANY of the dozens of restaurants in Bruges.

This gruesome discovery occurred last night when my friend Oran and I were discussing desserts at dinner in the cafeteria. We arrived at the conclusion that we both wanted a large piece of warm, possibly molten, chocolate cake. So after dinner, at around 8:30, we ventured out on what would turn into an hour-long search for cake. I believe we read the menus of about 25+ restaurants. Each and every one of them serves: creme brulee, mousse au chocolat, and various flavors of ice cream. Occasionally someone would advertise tiramisu or a tarte aux pommes. But cake? Forget about it. Finally, Oran and I were getting so desperate (we refused to give up on our search for at least some kind of dessert) that we settled on a restaurant advertising homemade apple pie. We walked in and saw three empty tables in the front room. One was reserved for two people, the other two were open. The host came up to us and we said we would like to be seated for dessert. The man told us we could not possibly do that. If we wanted to stay, we had to order dinner. I was FLABBERGASTED!! What the heck? You have empty seats in your restaurant, we are paying customers, but you are going to refuse us because all we would like is dessert and coffee?? I am sorry, but if you went into almost ANY establishment in the United States, they would feed you as much dessert as you wanted. And they would have chocolate cake.

Needless to say, I was a bit indignant (if any of you know my mother, just picture how she would react in this situation: not pretty). I told the host that his policy was ridiculous. He proceeded to "wish us luck" saying that we would be hard pressed to find a restaurant in Bruges that would only serve dessert at this hour. AT THIS HOUR?? It was 9:30!!! He then said that most dessert establishments closed around 6:00. I am sorry, but what kind of sense does that make. I don't care what country you are in; dessert comes AFTER dinner. So we left, I yelled a little bit in the street (you've got to live up to the stereotypes when they are appropriate) and we proceeded on our quest. We finally decided to give up on the cake part of the plan and just find someone to prove that incredibly pompous host wrong. After another 15 minutes, we found a nearly empty tapas bar and hesitantly asked the waitress if we could order some dessert and coffee. "Well of course" she said (with a smile, no less). She then apologized for the limited menu. This place was quickly becoming my new favorite place in Bruges. I had a magnificent creme brulee and a GIANT cafe au lait. Perfection. And to top it off, Oran was kind enough to pay. Such a gentleman. I promised that as soon as we found cake, I would treat him. Sadly, I am not anticipating this situation ever happening. Alas, how can a place that is famous for its chocolate and waffles not figure out how to put these two concepts together into cake form? This was a deeply upsetting revelation and I thought it must be shared.

If any Belgian reading this post knows where I can find chocolate cake in Bruges, please inform me! I would hate to spend the next few months of my time here believing that cake does not exist in this part of the world. I would also hate for last night to be the event that formed my opinion of Bruges's restaurant scene.

Anyway, I suppose things worked out. It is just a shame that restaurants refuse customers like that. That is not what I call a successful business model. In addition, it is just a bit rude.

Perhaps I will just have to come back to Bruges after all of this and open a dessert bar that serves every kind of cake you could possibly desire at any hour you may desire to eat it.

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed the rant.

Peace, Love, and for the Love of Pete, CAKE!

Check Out My Loot!

I love the US Postal Service

This post is dedicated to Min and Papa, my lovely grandparents who sent me the biggest package known to man today! It was such a great surprise and it must have cost more to ship than to fill with goodies, so know that it is very very very very highly appreciated! It was full of sooooo many perfect things! I have been searching for a cute, sturdy, colorful umbrella for the past few weeks now to deal with these rainy Belgian days and I opened my package today and Voila, there was the perfect umbrella! I am beyond excited! I also came across more candy than I have seen since the last Halloween I went trick-or-treating. WARNING: many of these items contain nuts! Which is a good thing! Because I have not had a payday in about a year. My word, I ate one right away I am not ashamed to say. It was perfection in packaged-food form. Then I split some of my peanut M&Ms with Angelica and Rita and contemplated ways to spend my iTunes gift card. Every item in the box was a total surprise and each one was exactly what I needed! Everyone in my residence is super jealous because I have gotten like three packages since arriving (thanks to the fam!). But I just tell them to start a blog and start asking their readers to send them things. Hahahaha! But seriously, Min and Papa, you guys are the best. You rock; you are awesome; I love you! (For more than just packages I promise).

The package was very much needed today. I had 8.5 hours of lecture which began at 9:30 this morning and went until 10:00 tonight. Humans are not born with an attention span to deal with such things. Even after 20 years of formal school and hundreds of hours honing my attention skills, I was unable to cope. My notebook pages are sporting some stars, calligraphy, and other various doodles in addition to information on European Union financial market regulation standards. Oops, oh well. So it was a good thing today is Thursday and the student bar was open! I went and had a couple of drinks with my very best Italian, Portuguese, Colombian . . . everything friends, and then came back here to write about my day.

This weekend holds the promise of a paper-writing extravaganza, but I am hoping to have some fun as well. I need to go shopping. My boots, my beautiful brown leather riding boots from Paris, finally died yesterday when the sole separated from the rest of the shoe completely. These cobbled streets are not conducive to maintaining quality footwear. Alas, I guess this just means that I HAVE to get a new pair of boots. Gee, I am so disappointed (please note sarcasm). I would rather not spend the money . . . but then again, yes I would. So when I have them you will see them!

Well, I suppose that is enough information for one evening. I must be up early tomorrow for more enthralling lectures on EU Competition Policy.

Peace, love, and PACKAGES!!!

Ali

Ok So

I debated about posting now as opposed to tomorrow, but I decided on now because I would like to put off homework for at least another 20 minutes.

Today was busy. Four and a half hours of sleep followed by seven hours of lecture required a total of 4 cappuccinos and a diet coke to make it through the day. I had a German test this morning, which I think went alright, but it was also the reason for the lack of sleep. Then there was a tutorial with student presentations followed by my Diplomacy Today course. Wow that was intense. My weekend was semi-enjoyable. The party our residence hosted on Saturday night was really fun, really crazy, and an utter disgusting mess to clean up in the morning. I got up early on Sunday to study but ended up cleaning until 2:00 in the afternoon. After what I dealt with I have officially been declared exempt from cleaning for the rest of the year. I agree with this decision. Nasty.

On a lighter note, I went out to dinner with some friends on Sunday night. It was WONDERFUL!!!!! It was a tiny local restaurant run by a husband and wife with classic Belgian fare. I ordered the croquettes de Herve with a small salad, followed by a wonderful beef stew with potatoes and a baked apple, and I finished the meal with a dessert of white mousse with amaretto. DELICIOUS! And so relaxing. The only problem was we did not get back from dinner until 11:00 and I still had to do some cramming for that German test. Oh, well. It was worth it.

I also almost had a heart attack today. I looked at my calendar and realized that it is October 19th, not October 3rd. When did this happen? I have three papers due the first two weeks of November and I was counting on that being a long time from now. Reality check. So, needless to say, I need to get myself going. Any ideas on self-motivation?

One last thing. If anyone is planning on sending something my way (ahem ahem . . . just kidding, no pressure), would you be so kind as to include several packages of Orbit gum in the Bubblemint flavor? Your contribution to my daily happiness is much appreciated. Like I said, no pressure. Hehehehe.

Anyway, enough rambling. Have a great Tuesday.

Peace, love, and waffles.

Is it Saturday . . . Already?

Hard to believe, but another week has passed! And thank goodness this week was better than the last one! The highlight of my week was having dinner with Paul and Kaatje at there home in Brugge. It was lovely! And it was sooooooo necessary. I came over about 7:00 and stayed until 10:30. We had wonderful conversation and got some dates scheduled for my Rotary presentations. Most importantly, I discovered there is life outside of the College of Europe; real life - with kitchens, and couches, and families, and other things and people that have nothing to do with school. It was refreshing and revitalizing.

It was also very interesting. At one point during the conversation, Paul asked me what I wanted to do after the College (always my favorite question: not). I gave my usual answer of "I have no earthly idea," but then decided to qualify it a bit. I explained that before I came to the College (hereafter referred to as CoE), I thought I might go for another degree afterwards, find a job and stay in Europe working for the EU, do a one year teaching assistantship in France, etc. I then proceeded to explain that after being at the CoE, my ideas had somewhat changed. First, I am most certainly NOT going for another degree right after this one. I will be done with school for a while after this year. The teaching assistantship in France is still an option, but the longer I am here, the more I think that I will be done with Europe after this (at least for a little while). I love Europe; always have. But the world is so big and I would like to see where else I may fall in love with. That being said, a little voice in the back of my head keeps saying "South Africa" and I must admit that I would LOVE to go back to Africa. Last but not least is something I never thought I would want. But I have been away from home for five years now (impossible to believe), and there is a big part of me that would really like to come back to the US when I am finished here. I will never be done with traveling, and goodness knows I am usually not the type of person to stay in one place for long, but there is always that desire to go back to what you know. And even more than that, living abroad makes you appreciate home and living close to your family. It also tells you where your loyalties lie. I love the US. I love what we stand for, I love how we do things, I love American culture and I love that I am an American (I won't start singing, don't worry). But I am serious. Europe is still appealing and I will always love it, but I will NEVER give up my US citizenship (although I might be persuaded to accept dual citizenship somewhere).

So I still don't know what I want to do come June 21, but I do know myself a little better everyday and I suppose that is something.

As for right now, I am looking forward to my weekend and I will keep working hard to finish this crazy idea called my masters degree.

Peace, Love, and Waffles

Cold Cold

I do believe winter arrived today. I admit I was a little sad to have to break out my mittens in October, but it was a beautiful sunny day, so I can't complain about the cold too much. It is just tough to swallow that it is already the middle of October!!! Time is absolutely flying! Yesterday was Sunday right? So how is tomorrow Thursday? I am telling you, it is crazy. Anyway, happy Wednesday. I am looking forward to Thursday this week because I am having dinner with my host Rotarian, Paul, and his wife at their home. I am so excited to go to someone's HOUSE! And to eat a home-cooked meal. Not that the canteen isn't great . . . let's face it, it's not great. So tomorrow should be relaxing, fun, and delicious. Yay! Then, after dinner is Oktoberfest at the student bar (there is a bar in the basement of one of the student residences that a group of students runs every Thursday. Kind of a different extracurricular activity, but hey, it's Europe). Anyway, we are celebrating all of the October birthdays so it should be fun!

As far as school goes . . . well I won't go into too much detail. But I have submitted my thesis topic, so that is a load off my mind. It was approved by the academic assistant so now I just have to write it. HA! I also finally gave in and joined a reading group. My personal jury is still out on that one, but after last week's emotional debacle, I had to do something. I have already discovered that it is not humanly possible to finish all of the readings on my own (for instance, for this week we had over 700 pages assigned). But I don't usually trust other people when it comes to my academic life, so this was a dilemma if I have ever experienced one. Anyway, I joined a group and we are splitting all of the readings for all of the courses. Everyone reads a few of the articles and then writes a detailed summary to submit to the group. Then we meet every week to make sure everyone is on the same page and keeping up. It should work, I am just really nervous about trusting other people to do MY work. We'll see.

One final note. I had mentioned earlier that I would be posting more photos this week. Yeah, so I definitely have left my camera in my room every day this week. Sorry! Lots on my mind. Maybe tomorrow I will remember to take it! Let's hope. Anyway, long post, I'll let you go.

Have a great rest of the week!

Love

Happy Birthday Dad!

This is a special birthday post dedicated to my Dad. I have always loved his birthday because it falls on October 13th which means it occasionally falls on Friday the 13th! And I love spooky October days! Anyway, Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you and I wish I could be at home to celebrate with you and to bake you a cake! We'll shoot for next year. :)

As a side note to the rest of you; if you are interested in getting your own personal birthday shout-out on the blog, simply send me an email reminder just before your birthday (ali.pauluhn@gmail.com). Thanks!

PS, happy belated birthday Erica!!!! I hope it was great!

Peace, love, and I am so getting a waffle today.

It Sounds Like Home Outside

Because there is a HUGE thunderstorm right now! It is so exciting! I love storms! I missed tornado season in the US, so it looks like Belgium is paying me back just a little bit. On a practical note, a couple more hours of reading and I should be ready to face the week, thesis topic in hand. This week should be better than last because I believe we have about half as many hours of lecture. :) YAY! So maybe I can catch up a bit. I hope! Good night everyone! I hope you are having a particularly stormy evening.

Late Breaking News

Ok, so rumor has it that I might actually have a thesis topic. A few more hours of research should tell me for sure. So look for an update soon. This is huge. If I can get this figured out I will feel so much better! So if everyone could just hope and pray that no one has done it before, I would really appreciate it.

In other news, thank goodness for weekends. This was my first weekend without a Saturday class and it was really necessary. I hung out with some quality friends on Friday night and we watched a movie and shared a bottle of wine. I love chill evenings. I am not too much of a party girl, so I always love it when I find people who are happy to hang out in their pajamas with a movie and great conversation. My friends here are awesome!

Today was good. I said "forget reading" and slept in. Then I went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make trail mix. I then spent my afternoon eating way too much trail mix and doing my German homework. See, I wasn't totally unproductive today! After that was a hilarious dinner at the canteen with some wonderful Portuguese and Italian friends (more quality people) followed be a beer at De Garre.

Overall, today was just what I needed. I relaxed; I accomplished a few things; and I had some fun.

Staying positive is going to be my main goal (and biggest challenge), but things are looking up for the moment.

I hope I can get out into town this week and take some more pictures. I have seriously been slacking in that department. I just hate feeling like a tourist! I realize this is silly because I am technically a semi-tourist. And tourists aren't bad. In fact, I met a lovely couple from Minneapolis today in the Markt. They stopped me and asked if I would take a picture of them in front of the Belfry. They were super nice. I also have to remind myself that I like being a tourist (this is why I travel). So hopefully I will have some more pictures to post in the near future. Until then, I am off to bed.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Peace, Love, and Waffles,

Ali

Not a Good Time for a Blogpost

Fact: You need more than 10 months in order to conceivably finish a master's degree.

Remember that happy post about there being hope for my academic life? Forget it. Miserable day. Overwhelmed. Want to quit. In the words of The Emperor's New Groove:

"Uh, I've been turned into a cow. Can I go home?"

"You're excused."

I would officially like to know if I can be excused. This is not discouragement, this is not a bad day. This is me realizing that this is simply not humanly possible.

Sorry to be a bummer, but I don't have anything else to say at the moment.

My Brain Hurts

I had eight hours of lecture today. I haven't had that much solid school since high school. That was four years ago. I think that attention spans actually grow shorter as you get older. Someone should do a study. Anyway, it was rainy again today, and, shocker, the forecast calls for rain everyday this week. In addition to a new umbrella, I may also need to invest in a mac and some new wellies. We'll see. Anyway, back to class today. Despite being cooped up for a cruel and unusually long time, class was pretty awesome today. Yes, awesome. This favorable description is due to the fact that our International Negotiation class began today. The professor, Dr. Paul Meerts, is fantastic! And trust me, I know a good professor when I see one. The class itself was so fun! Instead of 200 pages of reading followed be 5 hours of lecture that sounds exactly like the reading (ok, this is a generalization, but still), we actually NEGOTIATED!! Turns out this is a practical course. We have a workbook, we do exercises, have mini negotiations, and actually have the opportunity to participate, interact, and feel as if we are learning some truly practical skills. It was sooooooo much fun! This is what I want to do if I end up in politics. I want to be in the room making the important deals. I love it! It is great! I am actually looking forward to next week's five hour course! That's saying something. So it may have been raining today, but the sun is shining (at least momentarily) on my academic life. There is hope dear friends.

Enough gushing about courses. I'll let you go. Have a great morning, afternoon, or night (depending on your time zone)!

Love

Under My Umbrella

Rainy Day

The magic spell has been broken and rain has returned to Bruges. I woke up this morning to a wet and dreary world and to the realization that fall has arrived. The clouds hung low over the city and by the time I had walked from my room to the library, my boots, tights, and skirt were completely soaked, despite the best efforts of my tiny umbrella. I am definitely going to need to upgrade! Despite the misery of walking around wet, squishy, and generally saddened by the knowledge that these words will probably describe the next five months of my life here, I had a pretty good Monday. It was a busy busy busy day. But I was highly productive. It feels good. Classes are in full swing this week which means lots and lots of reading, but that is grad school for you.

On a happy note, I must admit that I broke down yesterday and bought an iTunes season pass for Survivor:Samoa. After an interestingly precarious history with authority, I decided not to join the masses in illegal downloading. However, I also realized that I simply needed to be able to follow this season of Survivor. It is like a little reminder of home and it is very very good to have. I am currently in negotiations with myself to buy passes for Glee and The Office. I will let you know how they go. After all, I do not exactly have much free time for television. At the same time, my sanity kind of depends upon the blessed mental break watching a show like The Office or Survivor offers. So, really, the lesson here is that, in life, you need balance. And balance I shall. Bring it on.

Happy rainy day from Bruges!

Just FYI

Watching Martha Stewart when you do not have access to a kitchen is TORTURE! Yesterday I watched four segments on cookie making and today I watched her make an awesome plum galette. So the entire day yesterday was spent craving a chocolate chip cookie or a chewy warm oatmeal cookie, and today, all I wanted was pie. It is not that I desperately want to eat these things (although, always a perk of baking) it is that I want to MAKE them!

I am looking forward to the day (which is hopefully fast approaching) when I have my own kitchen and I can make cookies, galettes, pies (apple!), and scones (pumpkin!!) any time I darn well please. That will be the day when all is right with the world.

For now, I MUST stop torturing myself. Alas, I just love Martha.

Note to self: upon graduation and return to the States (or not), buy a KitchenAid stand mixer. Thanks.

Bruges Skyline

Strike that, Reverse It

The last post that is! A ho hum day turned into lots of fun in the end. Too bad I posted before 10:00 p.m. Some exciting things happened after all. First, I GOT A PACKAGE!!! For those of you who do not know me very well, know this, I love getting mail. Any type of mail is accepted. Letters, packages, postcards, emails, comments, even Twitter replies and Facebook messages and wall posts can really brighten my day. So, needless to say, the package was pretty key to my wonderful evening! It contained: Peanut M&M's, an iTunes card (sooooo necessary right now!), gummy bears (my favorite), and . . . a set of really nice markers!!!! I love crafting, and being without my art supplies is really tough. So the markers absolutely made my day!! Thanks Mom and Dad! And in case you are interested, you too can contribute to my happiness. Send me an email, write me a letter, put some yummy American things in a box and send them my way. A gesture such as this will earn you a personal mention on the blog as well as a lifelong spot on my "Favorite People of All Time" list. So think about it. :)

My address is:

Europa College

Ali Pauluhn Room BI-025

Wijnzakstraat, 1

8000 Brugge

Belgium

But seriously, I just like to hear from people.

Another happy addition to my day was attending my first extracurricular activity meeting! We are forming a theater group and I have joined the club. We spent the evening playing really hilarious improv games a la "Whose Line is it Anyway" and then went for drinks at De Repuliek. Fun times. Now it is off to serious matters such as submitting a paper topic for my political economy course. At least most of my day was pretty amazing!

Happy Friday to all and to all a good night!

Ho Hum

This will indeed be the last time in the next few months that I utter that phrase or use it to describe my life. The workload here has been steady but not impossible, and so far I have had more days without class than with class. Next week, that will change as I have been informed that all hell about to break loose. My thesis topic is officially due (yeah, still working that one out) and four more courses are added to our weekly schedule. Yikes! A part of me is really dreading the pace I know I will have to start working at, but another part of me is excited to have something more to do. I usually do better when I am busier (usually :). We will have to see.

Anyway, today was a pretty good day. Not really much to report. I was really excited this afternoon because my friend Sally was talking about visiting this weekend from Lyon, France. But then she looked at last minute train/airfare and discovered that coming to Bruges tomorrow was not such a financially responsible decision. I totally understand, but nevertheless, it takes away a little from the anticipation for the weekend. Now I don't have an excuse to get out of studying. The prospect of a visitor did, however, prompt me to buy another blanket, pillow and towel to have handy. So if anyone is going to be in the vicinity within the next few months, you have a great place to stay! Feel free to drop in anytime; just let me know! (I mean it).

I hope all of you readers, wherever you are, have had a wonderful week and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I know I am.

Peace, love, and waffles.