Ypres

This weekend we took a day trip to Ypres (or Iepers), pronounced "E-pra" or I-pers (or as the British called it in WWI, "Wipers"). Ypres is the site of several famous battles from both WWI and WWII. It was fascinating to visit this area, and although it was a very long day, I loved it.

American monument

When we arrived, we first went to the American monument, placed right next to this remarkably beautiful field where not 100 years ago a horrific war was waged. After this monument, we headed to some bunkers that were on a farm with some goats! Then we headed to the first graveyard of the day. Next we went to a cathedral, took a quick lunch break, and then headed to the In Flanders' Fields museum. This museum is so good. If you are ever in Ypres, please go. It really depicts what WWI was like and makes it real. Its very moving. There is one area where you stand near this speakers and it hear what the Christmas Peace must have been like, with soldiers singing in English and German, shouting back and forth, "Merry Christmas!"It was really moving to think about that happening, the glimpse of humanity even in war. There is another part of the museum where it represents what Passchendale was like - wow. That was very emotional.

Goat!

Copy of "In Flanders' Fields" in a bunker near where McCrae wrote the poem

Anyway, after the museum we headed out to a few more graveyards. We went to the German graveyard, where there are 40,000+ soldiers buried in mass graves. Then we went to the British graveyard and memorial. There is a little museum at the beginning. As you walk up, you hear a woman's voice saying names and ages. These are the names and ages of every British soldier who died in WWI. There is a display of many things pertaining to these men, but my favorite were the letters. You can actually read letters send back and forth. I saw several that men had written to their parents, a few that wives wrote to their husbands, even one a soldier had written a woman named Mabel to tell her that Frank has died the night before...Thinking about those families at home, bravely writting their soldiers, not even knowing if they were still alive...wow. And then you walk to the actual graveyard. There is a beautiful monument, and the whole area overlooks the salient area.

British Graveyard

I really loved our time in Ypres. As I walked from grave to grave, reading the names of men and what was written on their stones (everything from Bible verses to "Dearly beloved by his wife and little son" to "Age 23. Thy will be done"), all I could do was say thank you. These men fought for my freedom. Most in these graves were not even American, yet they sacrificed their life for my freedom. They gave it all to fight for what they believed in. My respect for these soldiers grew immensely as I learned more about what they faced. Actually seeing  the places where men fought and lost their lives, where they overcame the enemy against all odds (seriously - the Germans were on the higher ground), where they lived and suffered from all kinds of illnesses yet still went to fight every day to protect freedom, this really changed my perspective.

Graves of soldiers from all over

I think another reason this was so moving was because of my brother. I am so proud of my brother, who is currently at a military school, preparing to serve my country and defend my freedom. Thinking about him and how he wants to protect the things that America stands for, and then seeing the ages and hearing some stories of boys who did the same thing in WWI just made it more real for me. The mental image of WWI was all the more vivid in my mind because of this. So thank you to everyone who sacrificed to defend freedom, both in the past and the present and those to come.

Thankful that I could stand on this bunker with these friends freely!

"I enlisted to defend my country against a barbarian invader, to defend the home I love, to defend the world against Prussian militarism. I will carry on with the war until the end, for the same ideas; and with even more strength, because I have a brother to avenge, and those who were unjustly shot by the Germans, and above all for Mr. R., husband of my dear Marriane.

But if you want to know my opinion about military service and discipline? I am antimilitarist. I am devoted to my beloved Belgium, I hate Germany, and everything military.

Forgive my bluntness, but I have learned that in life, we must be loyal above all else..."

- Louis H., 2e Rgt. des Carabiniers, War Diary, 10. February 1917

Beautiful Bruges

After a month of traveling, we were kind of ready to have a calm weekend. Not that Paris, Aachen, and Antwerp weren't wonderful! But the idea of a slow weekend to relax and recover sounded excellent. SO we planned a two-day trip to Bruges!

One of the canals of Bruges!

Now, I'd never heard of Bruges before I was going to Belgium. I'm pretty sure that Daddy told me before I left that I needed to go there. And I am so glad I did! Bruges is this charming, picturesque, medieval town on the coast of Belgium. We took the train in on Friday morning, dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and then made our way into the heart of the town.

Best hot chocolate ever!

First we stopped for hot chocolate and scones at this incredible tea shop called De Proverie. The guidebook recommended it, and it was well worth the stop! Afterwards, we decided to go on a boat tour of Bruges. A canal surrounds and intersects the city, and the boat took us all around, pointing out different sights and giving us some more information on the history. We had actually just studied Bruges in the books we read for the Aachen/Antwerp trips, so it was cool to actually see the port where Italians set up their shipping businesses.

Cole, Cameron, and Theresa on the canal tour

After the canal ride, we stopped in the Church of Our Lady (Notre Dame). It was so beautiful! There is a Michaelangelo sculpture of Madonna and Child in this church, one of his only sculptures outside of Italy. I loved walking around this church and seeing the art and architecture of it. Afterwards, we wandered until we made it to the Markt, the center of Bruges. There stands the Belfort, or the belfry. We decided to climb all 366 steps to the top. Now, if you read my Hungary blog, you remember my post about climbing the minaret. Lets just say that the staircase in the Belfry is very similar,  but thankfully there are lights throughout it. So it was way better than the minaret because I could actually see where I was walking! But it was also even steeper in some parts. Not super fun for me, but hey, I did it! The view from the top was nice, and it wasn't scary because it was all enclosed (unlike the minaret).

Cameron, Adair, me, MG, and Theresa

We headed down and collapsed at the base of the belfry. We chatted for a while, but then we had to move because they were setting up for a wedding or something (Sidenote: Poor Cole and Stephen, the two boys on the trip. They started keeping count of how many times we talked about weddings, not to mention the discussions of hairstyles, clothes, etc. We were just preparing them for the future when they have wives and daughters). We decided to wander along the canals for a while. It was so nice! Bruges really is a delightful town. We found a great restaurant alongside the canal where we ate mussels covered in garlic-butter and frites (a traditional Belgian meal!). We just sat and ate and talked and laughed. It was perfect!

Mussels!!!!

After a great night at the hostel, we hit the ground running on Saturday. First we went to this cute market along the canal. It was a flea market, so I liked wandering along the stands and looking at the goods they had. Then we went back to the Markt, took a right and visited the Berg. We went into the Church of the Holy Blood - it was stunning. Very different from other churches I have studied, but it was so cool. Afterwards we decided to go to this brewery. We got there, and it was a little more than I wanted to pay, plus I don't like beer, and I wasn't feeling that great. So I decided to wait outside in this little square. Stephen decided to join me, and we people-watched and talked while we waited for the others. They said it was good I decided not to go because there were lots of narrow and steep stairs, including going down a ladder backwards! We grabbed some ice cream and went back to the center of Bruges again, where we found another flea market. After walking around and window-shopping, we headed back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, and boarded the train back to Brussels.

Cameron, Mary Grace, and I

It was such a nice and relaxing weekend. Today Mary Grace and I went to this really welcoming International Baptist Church. We met some cool people, and then we sat in Amon-Re (favorite Egyptian place here) working on our papers that were due Monday!

*The alliteration in the title is for you, Mary Grace!

Life and Times of an EU Intern

I am interning with a Lithuanian MEP. He seems really nice, and I like my supervisors. At first, there were some communication issues, but things have cleared up, and now my internship is great. Usually my day consists of grabbing coffee for everyone, taking in the MEP's laundry, getting lunch for everyone, getting coffee for everyone again, and checking the mail. Just kidding, I actually don't do any of that! I have attended a lot of meetings (include the EU-Russia Delegation meeting, which I of course loved. Mary Grace laughs at my love of all things Russian/post-Soviet, but what can I say?  I didn't take Russian Lit in high school for nothing!), edited some English, and read a lot of articles. I really like it!

My favorite things are: drafting English emails and editing English (probably because it reminds me of English camp and class with Paulus!), and attending the interesting meetings.


We have been working on getting more MEPs to sign a bill about raising awareness of and preventing food waste. Yesterday, I got back from lunch, and my supervisor said, "Ok, would you mind creating a poster concerning the food waste bill?" Now, y'all who know me know that I am the least artistic person ever. Seriously. In Forensics, everyone said that my aliens looked like triangles (true story) [sidenote: my mama reminded me that we did create a fantastic poster in chemistry class the year before this. That was a great poster. It literally put everyone else' to shame. And yes, Daddy, I used literally in that that sentence, you can make fun of me if you want to :)]. But I put on my game face, smiled, and said, "Of course!" My supervisor sent me all of the information and pictures, and I got started. We only had Paint on the computer, so I started with that - it was NOT working.

Then, as I told Cameron, God must have whispered in my ear and given me the idea to go to photoshop.com and see what was there. They have a whole online photo editing program. Its not super fancy or anything, but it was enough! I uploaded the picture, added the text, saved it, copied it onto Paint, added the pictures of the MEPs sponsoring the bill, and that was that! Well, it took a few tries. Plus my supervisor and I kept deciding to change things, and unfortunately every time I had to change something I had to start completely over. And then they changed the whole concept, which I couldn't do at all on Paint, but again God whispered in my ear and gave me the great idea to use Powerpoint and copy onto a Word document (that doesn't make sense to you most likely, but trust me, it was a miracle!).

Anyway, eventually my supervisor was happy with the finished project. It was a crazy few hours, but I made it! And now I can add "graphic design" to my resume - ha, yeah right! But it actually wasn't too bad, and I would be interested in learning more about editing photos and the like.

Over all, interning is going well! I'll be sure to post more updates as the semester goes on.

Aachen and Antwerp

*Pre-note: My camera battery died the first day in Aachen, and of course I didn't think to bring my charger, so I have basically no pictures. I'm sorry. As soon as I borrow MG's I'll do a picture post of the weekend just for you, Mama! :)

Last weekend, the whole Furman gang headed to Aachen, Germany (yay for Germany! I'm part German, so that's exciting. For me and that side of my family, at least! Ha). The bus ride was great, and we loved our bus driver, Paul! We arrived in Aachen kind of late, but we were starving, so we split up to grab dinner. Stephen, Cole, Connie, and I found a kabab shop that was delicious. We took our food and sat on the steps of the tourist center (clearly tourists) and people-watched. Then we grabbed some incredible (and inexpensive!) ice cream. So good. Aachen wa sgreat, really quiet and peaceful after fast paced Brussels! The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast, Cam, Allie, MG, and I went for a walk. We found the most charming park ever! There was a "castle" in the background, and we just played and laughed and were silly for a little while. Then we met up with the Furman group for our tour of Charlemagne's cathedral! It was so beautiful - reminded me in some ways of pictures I'd seen of San Vitale and Hagia Sofia. Afterwards, we grabbed sat on this field and talked and watched Aachen natives.
Later we loaded back up in the bus for the brief ride to Antwerp. Cam, MG, and I decided to go to dinner together. After a pitstop to take a look at this super-cool park with a jungle theme, we found a great restaurant. The waiter was nice, the food was good, and the company was great! On our way home, these boys suddenly started fighting! Literally two guys were punching another guy, one threw a chair at him, etc. It was scary! We ran the other way and tried to find a new way home. We ended up walking through the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and we felt perfectly safe, especially considering it was the Sabbath. And then we found our hotel! Yay! The hotel was great, I slept really well (in case you were wondering). The next morning we had another fantastic breakfast and then met up with our guide, Guido, for a tour.

Guido was...interesting. We found out later that when he spoke in Dutch to Paul, the busdriver, he had a Spanish accent. I have a theory that Guido was actualy a random guy - not our tour guide at all - who saw Dr. Nelsen and said he was our guide (even though he actually wasn't). Our real guide probably wandered around looking for us, little knowing that his tour had been hijacked by Guido! Anyway, we saw the oldest parts of Antwerp and walked around for three+ hours. Finally the tour was over, we ate at a great cafe (I know, food again! What can I say, it was the best part!), and then Adair and I met up with the Nelsens to go to the art museum.
First we stopped by St. Paul's cathedral. Incredible. It was absolutely stunning. It has this outdoor garden that has these statues representing the Crucifixtion, Christ's decension into hell, and the angels coming to Him in the grave. It was incredible. Inside, the stations of the cross are so intricately carved, there is artwork everywhere (including two Rubens!), and it is just stunning.

Afterwards, we went to the art museum! So great. So many wonderful Flemish masters! Loved it. So many remembrances from my AP Art History class in high school.

Finally, it was time to board the bus back to Brussels. We had a quick ride back and then it was the start of a new week!

Some Thoughts

I have been struck by a couple of things. I have found that I am still (not surprisingly) processing my summer in Diosd. God taught, is teaching, and will teach (felt like I was back in Latin class with that one!) me so much because of how He used that experience to draw me closer and deeper to Him. One major thing that I have been struck with happens every time I walk down the street. There are a lot of "beggers" here. People literally sit in doorways, holding out a cup. They are dirty and hopeless. And every time I walk by, my heart breaks, because I have the Truth that will set them free, but I don't know how to give it to them. I know what can break the bond of their hopelessness - not that suddenly they will no longer be required to beg on the streets, but that they will be fulfilled and confident in the One who loves them. I pass by these people with their outstretched hands, not knowing what to do except pray. I pray and ask the Lord to open their hearts to Him, that they would know Him and be set free by Him. And this is enough, I know, but a lot of times it doesn't feel like it. I believe that God will give every single person on the planet a chance to know Him (and most certainly many chances, not just one!). I know that even if I don't know the words to share, God has provided another way. At the same time, I want Him to use me. I don't want to spurn those chances to share. Its hard to know when the urge to stand up and proclaim the Gospel and the power of Jesus are what He wants or just me wanting others to know. I do know the importance of relationships - I've always believed that relationships are crucial to sharing the Gospel, and if anything, my summer in Diosd confirmed that. Yet at the same time, there are certainly times when it is appropriate to just tell a stranger the Good News. And its hard, because I don't want to miss those opportunities, and so every time I feel that longing for the people with me on the bus or the strangers I am passing by on the street or the kids in my classes or the people in my workplace to hear and understand the Truth, I pray that they will. That somehow God will make His glorious mercy known to Him. "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason, I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:15-16 - for my thoughts on that go here). I know that my life tells the story. I know that I am the worst of sinners, but that Jesus has shown His limitless patience in me. I know that others can look on me and see Jesus shining through me instead, because I with an unveiled face reflect His glory even as I am being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). I know this is true, and because of that, I can walk or sit or stand and I can pray without ceasing and I can be confident that Jesus hears me, that He always answers prayer, that He loves people more than I can know, that He desires their salvation a whole lot more than I am capable of wanting something. And because of that I have hope and confidence and joy. Because of that, I know that I serve a mighty God who relentlessly persues His beloved children. I know that He does not give up on us, and that even in those moments of uncertainty we can sit and wait because His joy makes us strong. And because of all of this, I can go forward with a smile on my face and a song in my heart because of the Savior I have given my life over to. I know that I no longer live but Christ lives in me; the life in live in my body I live by faith (Gal. 2:20).

So I Went To A Soccer Game...

So last night, I went to a soccer game.

Those of you who know me are sure you just read that wrong, but its true, I did! USa was playing Belgium. over the summer, Stephen had organized getting tickets. My thoughts were, "I hate soccer, I don't get it, why would I pay money to most likely sit in the rain and be bored for 2+ hours?" At the last minute, one of the girls who got a ticket couldn't go. When I heard about it, I kind of suddenly wanted to go, and she very kindly gave me her ticket (Anna, you are the best! Thanks!). Eleven of us trekked to the metro, made our way to the stadium (it is a stadium in soccer, right?), and it was time for kick-off! (I had to ask to be sure it was called kick-off in soccer too. Don't worry, it is.) We had so much fun. We sat in the American section, so there were lots of flags and USA chants. Not to mention a former Furman student is on the USA team! So it was even better!

There it is!

Close Up

At half-time (I'm assuming its called half-time...If they have kick-off, surely its half-time!), we ran out into the pouring rain to grab some frites (yum! And warm!) and then back up 50bazillion steps to our seats. We all watched the game and talked and laughed and ate and talked and cheered. Unfortunately, USA lost 0-1, but we still had a great time. And yes, we did the "FU 1 time!" cheer at the end. My favorite part of the whole night was after we lost when Cameron yelled, "At least we have a government!" I nearly died laughing because that was such a great line (For those of you who don't know, Belgium hasn't had a government for over a year. And yes, this comment spurred all of the Furman students to discuss how this was even possible on the metro ride home. We truly have no idea. And they still have police, a postal service, public transit, etc! We don't understand, but we're glad it works!).  Anyway, you know you go to Furman when that is your comeback! It was such a great night, we had so much fun. I don't know that I would want to go again (certainly not in Belgium where the odds are high it will pour rain), but I really enjoyed it (shout out to Karen, who I thought of almost the entire time I was there).

Proof I was there! The hair looks awful cause of the rain, but hey! AND I was representing Bama with my houndstooth scarf! Roll tide! :)

In A Word: Magical

This past weekend, we went to Paris! It was the most wonderful weekend. Early Friday morning, Allie, Theresa, Cameron, Cole, Mary Grace, and I all woke up and headed to the train station. We boarded a super-fast train to Paris (yes, we rode a train to Paris! I've always wanted to go on a trip on a train. I'm still holding out for NYC to New Orleans, but from Brussels to Paris was pretty great too!), left our stuff at the hotel, and then got on the metro for Versailles. Freshman year, I was in a FYS on Marie Antoinette, so seeing Versailles was especially cool for me.  I loved walking around, seeing all of the cool historic places, imagining what it was like for MA, etc. I absoutely had to go to the Petite Triannon and MA's hamlet. It was so cool to see these places.

All the glory of France

MA's bedroom. That small door to the left is where she escaped.

After Versailles, we went back into Paris, stopped at a bakery for some baguets, went to a small shop for some Brie and a Rose (can't do the accent, sorry) champagne, and then made our way to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic! It was absolutely stunning. I can't even explain how perfect that night was! The food was delicious, the Rose champagne not so much (shocking, right? At least I tried it...), the weather was great, and of course, the scenary was wodnerful! We met the sweetest honeymooning couple. He taught us how to open the champagne (MG and Allie shot those corks off like pros thanks to his help!), and we talked with them for a while. Cole actually ended up saving the wife from some ruffians, but that's another story. We all had such a great time. Another one of those perfect memories that I hope never to forget!

The Eiffel Tower

Theresa, Cameron, Mary Grace, me, and Cole - you can abrely see the Eiffel Tower behind us

 

On Saturday morning, we got up and headed to a market on the north side of Paris. After a short time, Cole, Cameron, and I decided to head to Musee d'Orsay. I fell in love. The Musee d'Orsay is absolutely incredible, with so many amazing paintings (Degas! Renoir!) and the building itself (an old train station) is stunning! There is a view of the Seine, and the whole place is so wonderful. If you are ever in Paris, definitely go to the Musee d'Orsay!

A totally illegal picture of the inside of Musee d'Orsay. So beautiful!

Cameron and I outside Musee d'Orsay

The boy who ruined Rome. At Versailles, we overheard this mother telling her son to behave, saying, "You ruined Rome; you aren't going to ruin this!" And then at Musee d'Orsay we spotted him again! Wearing an Italy shirt, nonetheless.

After the museum, we headed briefly to Notre Dame. After a while, we met back up with Mary Grace and Allie at the Luxembourg Gardens. These gardens were so odd (palm trees? Didn't really seem to fit), but so beautiful! A storm was coming in, so the sky looked really intense. We made it to a restaurant in La Sorbonne just in time to get shelter from the storm! We had a wonderful dinner, and then we headed back to our hotel for the night.

The aforementioned palm tree

Mary Grace and I took the bus home Sunday, so we set out earlier that morning than everyone else. We made it to the Louvre just in time! Its free on the first Sunday of the month, and we got there just before all of the crowds. I loved strolling through the Louvre, taking our time, away from the throngs of people, enjoying Delacroix and van der Meer and many more. Afterwards, we walked through the gardens of Tuileries, grabbed a crepe, and then amde our way to our bus station.

Outside the Louvre

The bus ride home was actually really fun and beautiful. The countryside was great. We talked non-stop. There were lots of interesting characters on the bus, so that was funny. Plus we kind of had no idea what was going on, in fact we weren't even sure we were on the right bus for a while, but we just laughed and talked and eventually made it home to Brussels. When we got off the bus, Brussels had never looked so good!
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. Paris was more than I remembered from my visit about 10 years ago. It was so beautiful and magical and perfect.

Classes

This week began classes at the English college here. I only have one class Tuesdays, so most of my week was pretty calm. I love my history class (it meets Tuesdays and Thursdays). The professor is half German, with a German mom and an American father. He looks kind of like Vizzini from The Princess Bride, you know, the guy who says, "Inconceivable!" all the time? He's a little taller than Vizinni, and much much nicer, but the resemblance is kind of there! I really like the professor, and I think the course is going to be interesting.

For some reason, I was a little nervous about in intercultural communication class, especially when I walked up to the room, saw no one I knew, and watched what seemed like 100s of international students come in. Actually, there were 32 people there today (one of the biggest classes I've ever been in!), but not all of them are in the class. And there were a number of Americans there as well, including a nice girl from Tennessee! She made a comment in class about being from the southeast. Afterwards, I went up to her and asked where she was from. Loved getting to talk to another Southern girl! I knew we'd be friends when she said how all the other people on her trip were Yankees AND when she said she couldn't believe she was going to be missing football. That's how you know a true Southerner.

Anyway, back to the class. I LOVED it. Its not really about communication at all but about cultures and what defines them and all of this really interesting stuff. I love the professor - he is so funny. And he told us how he doesn't really have a lecture schedule because he wants to follow where the class discussion leads. I love that! The discussion today was really cool because there were so many perspectives from around the world. We for sure had Romania, the UK, Germany, and Slovakia represented. I loved it. Its going to be a toss up which class I like more.

And our Furman class is...well, a Furman class. Lots of reading and writing. But its nice to be with all Americans sometimes, and Dr. Nelsen is great!

Paris this weekend! I'm so excited! :)

My Apartment

I live on a great street that is really central to everything (If I'd thought about it, I would have taken a picture of it today. Next time). Its bracketed by two squares, Place Jourdan and Place Flagey. It is about 20 minutes from school, about 10-15 minutes from work, 20 minutes from Cenquantenaire and that area, 20 minutes from Avenue Louise, etc. As I've explored Brussels lately, I've come to appreciate exactly where my apartment is placed!

I live in the basement level of the building. When you first enter, you walk down some stairs and immediately into our living room.

It looks dark, but that is because I didn't turn on the overhead light. Whoops!

We call our living the "boardroom," because as you can see, we have these black leather recliners (with matching footrests!). I actually really like those - I sit in"my" recliner to do homework, to get on the computer, to read, etc.

"My" recliner is the one in the back left :)

The next room in the apartment is the first bedroom, where Theresa and I sleep! It serves as a bedroom and a hallway to both the bathroom and the back part of the apartment. I like our room, its nice and cozy.

My bed is the first one

The door opens to the bathroom. Also fun sidenote: One of Tri Delta's emblems is the dolphin. Apparently Tri Delts were supposed to live here, because the rug between mine and Theresa's beds has dolphins all over it, and the bath mat in the shower has dolphins on it as well! Fitting for me and Cameron, I supposed! :)

Path to the rest of the apartment (and our wardrobes)

Attached to my bedroom is the bathroom! In Hungary, I quickly got used to the detached shower head. I actually missed it when I was home. Thankfully, my NEW European bathroom has one too! :)

Yes that is a drier. Fun fact. The washer is in the kitchen, and the drier is in the bathroom!

The next room is a combination bedroom/kitchen. Allie and Cameron's room is seperated by a curtain. I didn't take any pictures of it, but its back there! :) The kitchen is great! Its a good size, plenty of storage, and you don't need a lighter to start the stove! :) There is a huge fridge, a tea kettle, and lots of supplies for cooking. There's also a pathway upstairs to a patio that we technically share with the girls upstairs, but we haven't gone up there due to the weather (its either been cold, rainy, or both) and our busy schedules!

The kitchen (pleae note the washing machine)

Antoher view

Our table

The last image of our apartment that I want to post is interesting. We have two large de-humidifiers. We have to empty them out every night because they are filled to the brim after barely 24 hours. I DO NOT want to know what our apartment would be like without these machines!

The Dehumidifier