Brugge

Last weekend I went to Brugge which is a small Belgian city about 45 minutes outside of Brussels. It was very nice and quaint. When we arrived, we walked through the town that was speckled with small townhouses that could have housed small elves or the sort. It was quite comical until we walked through a small archway that opened up to a grand architectural sight. We were in the courtyard of what used to be a Catholic hospital. I took excessive amounts of pictures but somehow wasn’t able to capture the beauty of actually being there. We couldn’t stay there too long since we still had the rest of the city to see so we went along our way.

We walked through the winding cobblestone roads and, not surprisingly, got lost a couple of times. We eventually followed the horse-led carriages to the center of town where it was lined up with shops, restaurants, and of course the local cathedral. We took it all in until the girls pushed us to the widely known chocolate museum which ended up being a waste of 5 Euros! The museum was essentially the history of chocolate and not the chocolate factory for which the girls hoped. We ran out of the museum and headed to the jazz festival that we originally intended to attend. After getting lost in the middle of another museum (this time it was a contemporary garden museum), we learned it was 20 Euros and way too expensive for our student budgets.

Naturally, we then headed to a local bar and indulged in the local brews. We spent a few hours there chatting and mingling with the bartenders. More friends joined us later in the evening and we had a blast just hanging out. We soon took off to get some dinner and headed back to Brussels. Overall, it was a great place…especially to take the mom!

On another note, I was recently elected president of the Junior Common Room which is another name the British use for the student government and have been unbelievably busy getting that organized. Although I have had various leadership positions before, I must say that it is quite different being in charge of 150 grown, intelligent adults. Some are old enough to be my parents…very interesting. It’s taking time, but people have to constantly remind me that, even though I feel unworthy, my classmates, and faculty, look up to me. Something I apparently must get used to.

Furthermore, classes are pretty much in full swing now and I’m trying to get my routine down despite the constant peer-pressure to go out all the time! I’ve limited it down to the weekends, thank God. Today, I finally found an English-speaking Catholic mass to attend and finally made it to the well-known Midi Market that has everything so cheaply! I spent about 5 Euros and got: 2 kiwis, a bushel of mint, bananas, a kilo of freshly mixed vegetables, 30 eggs, and grapes. Usually back home in DC the mint would alone have cost the equivalent to 5 Euros. I plan to go back every Sunday! Next time I’ll have to buy some meat.

Well, that’s me this past week. Until next time…