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.