Orientation week is over and I am pretty excited to start classes this week. As like anywhere I am still trying to feel the professors and the administration, but they seem very motivated and excited to work with us. I haven’t quite narrowed on what I want to write my dissertation, but it will probably be along the lines of the religious influence on conflict resolution and how to utilize it to curb transnational terrorism. I want to focus on Islam and Catholicism, but I am not sure how yet. We’ll see how that plays out.

I had a little drama a few nights ago after a long night of partying for a friend’s birthday, Jake. We went to a place called Delirium which serves over 2,000 different types of beers, almost all Belgian, since Jake loves beer as much as I do. The live-band was pretty cool and had a fun time. When we left the bar, I immediately noticed we were surrounded by gypsies who are usually young boys dressed like normal kids, but are unusually friendly and touchy. No one else knew who they were, so I was the first to push them away. Unfortunately, I was only able to help Dennis because by the time I noticed they were around Jake they were long gone. Jake, unfortunately, had his wallet stolen. What a birthday present. Oh, and it must be told that he has the strangest luck. He had already lost his wallet the week before in a cab, but a few days later ran into the same cab driver who saved his wallet along with all the money it!!! What luck! And then this happens which totally undermines any luck he had originally.

On a brighter note, I went to Antwerp yesterday and it was a lot cooler than I expected. I went with Amber, Davina, Peter (the Bostonian), and two Belgians who were supposed to be our guide who actually were going to have us help them promote a ski trip while showing us around…a job we did not want to do. When we realized we were tricked into doing this, we ditched them and discovered Antwerp on our own. We saw the architecture, the breath-taking cathedral, a castle, and ended the trip on the terrace of a few bars. The day began raining, but ended with the bright sun clearing up all the clouds. It was a great trip. The thing I learned the most is how Belgium is truly dividing by the Francophone and Flemish speaking communities. Many speculate that the country might divide in two within the next twenty years or so.