First weekend !!!
Turning 21 on the plane was fun!! We celebrated a bit on the plane and tried to sleep to avoid jet lag (fail)...We arrived at 8 am in Brussels and had to circle around for an hour to find Maskulka and the bus to Leuven. After a short bus ride, we arrived at the Irish Institute. We sat through an orientation enumerating lots and lots of rules about the institute. Here we met Caroline Nash who is the director and liaison for lehigh to the institute Lots of rules including no food in the room and alcohol Of course, one of the "bros" asked what the penalty for catching us drinking in our rooms would be. At this point we were super tired and falling asleep on the tables which of course were beautiful. The entire wing of the institute we are staying in is brand new. We have swipe access to the grounds and to each individual room, so it's super safe too. I love my roommates Olivia and Rebecca! We are in a triple - one bathroom with separate toilet from the shower and two beds, two desks on the bottom floor and a spiral stair case to my room upstairs. So cool ... it's like having a single and there's a skylight window that opens which is really nice.
Anyway, the brunch post orientation was delish. Afterward, I checked out the city - so cute! It's very quaint, low key and quiet.. Lots of shops and restaurant/cafe/bars all over the place that are all fun. We had some trouble in the phone store getting the international texting working, but calls worked so it was worth getting. After browsing the town for a while , I left the group around 3 and crashed in my be until we went out for dinner and drinks at 7.
What an adventure at the first bar we went to - cafe orient, we met groups of bachelor parties. One bachelor had a to do list t shirt including getting ten girls to kiss his shirt with a pink lipstick he had. With Lauren Laura and Rebecca we all did this and wrote our phone nbers onhis back So funny. There was a blow up doll in another bachelor party. It seems like this is a big weekend to get married and bachelor bachelorette parties are a big deal here. Unlike America where the one getting married is spoiled by their friends with alcohol and strippers, the friends made creative tasks for the bachelor/bachelorette including hilarious outfits. One bachelor was dressed up like Gretal and had to get girlsto sign a soccer ball because his name is Hans and his fiancé's name is Gretal so they switched places for the parties. So funny. We tried "cherry beer" or Kriek so so good. I also had two triple kielstaat which was also really good! The beer is served in glasses specific to the type of beer it is and you can take the glass with you when you leave! Took a Stella class for the road, haha. Then the four of us met up with the rest of the group across the square at a restaurant called Komeet. So good we split a pasta dish and salad to conserve on cals and money. Afterward we walked around as a big group and realized everything was closed and it seemed really quiet so we went to a little cafe playing Spanish music for a birthday dessert and night cap. It was only ten pm but after the flight and orientation everyone was super disoriented and tired. I really enjoyed that everyone was celebrating my birthday - thanks guys!
The next day, I got up early and went for a run with Olivia and Tiereny. Such a pretty place - we ran to the athletic fields which are about 10 minutes from our dorms. Tons of nice fields, tennis courts, and a track, so that should keep us in shape. Rebecca Olivia and I went to church which was cool because the entire service was in Dutch. Around noon, the entire group got on some trains for a day on Brussels! It's a short train ride, only about 20 minutes or so. Brussels is SO different than Leuven. First off, they speak French not Dutch. It's super busy, lots of people everywhere. I sat down with Brendan, rebecca and Lauren for a great lunch before meeting up with the rest of the group while checking out the famous "peeing boy" statute - so funny it was dressed up in costumes which is customary. we all split a 1 euro waffle which was soo amazingg!! We explored and walked around for a little, bought some chocolate and then went to Delirum Cafe, which is top ranked in the Guiness Book of World records for largest menu of beers.. have some funny videos to post later from here with lighting drinks on fire. definitely going back to brussels a few times to go back to Delirium cafe and restaurants...
It's now Wednesday and I just presented with my marketing project group and am going out soon! The first "week" of class has been fun...by week I mean we have class two hours per day, mon-wed. I've gone on lots of runs at the athletic fields to make up for going out every night! so much fun at the bars. we went to De Rector last night and turned it into a Lehigh frat party by dancing on tables. It seems like the locals don't really dance nor do they get as drunk as we do in America. Met a bar tender named Niko that is apparently the "Lehigh" bar tender - makes friends with the Lehigh kids every summer they come, so we go to his two bars a lot - Eclips and Revue. Monday night, a Belgian kid we met led us to a club-type bar named Dolci...not near the main square, but was super packed and really fun! Much more like a bar would be in America. The bars here don't seem to get as roudy as American ones would...more of a chill environment and they all have chairs outside, so it's a cafe - feel. I'm surprised they play a lot of US top-40 hits, was expecting foreign techno stuff!
This weekend, the entire group is going to Amsterdam and making a pitstop in Antwerpen, the diamond capital!!! So excited for Amsterdam, but a little nervous about these sex shows in the red light district...
So much going on, but that's all for now! I'll definitely post a new note after some "elevated" experiences in Amsterdam this weekend!
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