The French part of Belgium: Brussels

La Grand Place

view of Brussels from the top of the parking garage

Manneken Pis

Leon de Bruxelles

Marine and some street art

Alex and Marine

People watching at the street market

MAKING CHOCOLATE AT THE CHOCOLATE MUSEUM!

Atomium

Kwak beer

Light show in La Grand Place

When we arrived in Brussels, Alex and I met up with my friend Marine (she is French, but living in Germany, so she was only a short bus ride from Brussels). We first went to one of the most famous sites in Brussels, La Grand Place square, which is a UNESCO site famous for its architecture. Brussels was so crowded compared to the other cities we had visited. We went up to the top of this parking garage to get a view of the city before heading to another famous monument in Brussels, Manneken Pis. It is a statue of a little boy peeing. The city dresses him up frequently in little outfits. He was dressed up this time in a sweatsuit. He was a lot smaller than I thought he would be!!! We went to eat at Léon de Bruxelles which was recommended by my book as places to go before you die. It is famous for its mussels and fries. Although I am not a big mussels fan, I decided to order it anyway since they are so famous there. For me, they tasted just like any other mussels, and I thought the fries that we had in Bruges for the fry war were better, but oh well. It was a fun atmosphere. We walked through some parks , passed by some riot police, and ate some waffles. After a leisurely day, we went to find our hotel. What could have been a normal “finding our hotel” experience was way more than we expected. Marine had booked a cheap hotel online, and it was still relatively early, maybe around 6 p.m., but it was dark out. Turns out that our hotel was in the middle of the Red Light District. We walked along streets and more streets filled with all types of girls ready to let you in if you had money. We were feeling extremely out of place with our suitcases and maps wandering along, but the streets just kept coming! We were almost ready to give up on the hotel when we arrived in the black district of the red light district, and around the corner was our hotel. We decided to stay in the hotel for the night just to be safe and especially since we were so tired anyway. The next day we went to eat in the outside market and had kebabs and people watched. We went ot the Chocolate Museum where the cutest old man showed us how he made chocolate and we got free fresh samples! Yay! We then went to see the Atomium which is a major symbol of Belgium, and then to the Delirium pub where they have over 2000 beers. I had a beer called Kwak, which was served in a funky glass and I really enjoyed it. After some beers, we went for a walk towards the station to drop off Marine but saw an awesome light show in La Grand Place on our way which was fun and Christmasy. Overall, I enjoyed the Dutch part of Belgium more, but Brussels (in the French part of the country) was still worth a visit. I seriously think that if I was not American, I should have been born a Dutch Belgium. The people were just so nice and I loved the atmosphere of the country. Everyone should visit Belgium!!! It was definitely one of my favorite countries I have been to!

The Dutch part of Belgium: Antwerp, Bruges, & Ghent

Antwerp's train station

Antwerp

Grote Market

The view from across the river in Antwerp

Alex in the tunnel underneath the river

The hidden alley that looks like Bruges (but in Antwerp)

An entire dress made of chocolate!!!

view of Antwerp

Lovely Bruges

Fries are so popular that they tell you not to eat them on the tram!

Ghent

Graffiti alley

Alex eating his waffle!!!

Bikes at the Ghent train station

On December 6, Alex and I left Sevilla for Brussels, Belgium for about a week.  We arrived in Brussels and immediately found our hostel, and in the morning headed to the train station to go off to Antwerp, Belgium.  First interesting thing that happened was that as the train left Brussels, all the people on the train got a view of a very long Red-Light District.  I for one had never seen anything like that before, and I was even more surprised that girls were dancing in windows in their underwear at 9:30 in the morning… but anyway, after we arrived at one of the most beautiful train stations in the world in Antwerp, we put our stuff in a locker and headed out to explore the city.  As we made our way towards the center of the city, we passed by a lot of shops.  Antwerp really reminded us of America in many ways because there were so many American stores, like Urban Outfitters! And that is a store that you usually don’t see abroad very often! We also stopped to get our first Belgian waffle for some power food as we walked around… DE-LISH! The first sight we went to see was the Cathedral of Our Lady, which really just looked like every other cathedral for us.  We walked through the Grote Market, but it was filled with closed Christmas market booths, so it hindered good pictures!  We went over to look at a castle along the river, but it was closed.  We then walked to this hidden tunnel that went down beneath the river and was really long, and we popped out on the other end.  We had a great view of Antwerp from the other side of the river, and stopped at a local café for some non-touristy food.  We headed back to the  main part of Antwerp and frantically searched for this little hidden alley that was supposed to look like Bruge, and after searching for quite a while, we found it and it was pretty.  Next we went to this Chocolate factory where we saw dresses and things made of chocolate! It was sooo cool!  We then met up with this girl Charlis with whom we were couchsurfing.  She was pretty busy with schoolwork, but she led us to this museum where we went to the top floor and had some more good views of Antwerp.  She left to go do some more homework, but on our way back to the city center, we stopped in to the Red-Light District of Antwerp.  It was still pretty early, but it was really awkward because I was the only girl on the street with clothes on…. I can't believe places like that exist! We went to meet up with Yves, the boyfriend of Charlis, and we went out for pizza and talked about what it was like to be from Belgium and such.  When we dropped our stuff off at their place, we went to a local bar where Charlis works to watch a soccer game and hang out.  Charlis and Yves were really nice and offered a really nice place for us to stay.  Great couchsurfing experience!  The next morning, we left early for Bruges.  Bruges really is the most beautiful place ever. We first walked to the hostel to drop off our stuff and seriously, it was such a beautiful walk, and we were only walking on the outskirts!!! After dropping our stuff off we went to see the Basilica of the Holy Blood (Heilig Bloed Basiliek) where some people believe it holds a vial of Jesus's blood. There was a woman inside on this throne with a vile chained around her neck of the “blood”. It was interesting to say the least. We visited the Church of Our Lady, where Michaelangelo's statue of Madonna is located. The next place we visited was quite the experience. We walked up 366 steps to the top of the Belfry tower in the center of town. It was so steep and tiny, it was basically like spinning in circles for about 10 minutes... and there was only one way up and down so we were pinned against the walls trying to let others go up or down, including a mob of British children. The view from the top was beautiful and totally worth it!!! At the bottom of the Belfry, we took the “french fry challenge” from the two neighboring rivaling stands. They both claim to have the best french fries in town (Belgium is famous for french fries), so we sampled each. They put all sorts of sauces on them, and I really don't know what kind of sauce we ordered from one of the stands, but it was awesome. So, if any of you go to Bruges, pick the stand on the left!!! We went for a walk to walk off our fries, and found the first chocolate shop ever in Bruges, “De Clerck Chocolaterie”, and bought a LOT of chocolate. The chocolate shops in Belgium have chocolate EVERYTHING! It really was quite tempting not to buy out the store! Using our handy-dandy map, we found this little hidden bar called “De Garre”. It was in a little alley that was hard to find and it was filled with all locals. It is apparently the only place in the world you can drink this specific “Garre” beer. Everyone was drinking it, and it was quite good. The atmosphere was really relaxing and cozy, we both really enjoyed it. It was a lovely way to end our day before having dinner at the restaurant affiliated with our hostel. I had Flemish stew, which was basically just a big hunk of meat, but at least I tried Belgian food. We also had a free sampler of 3 Belgian beers, which are typically good, but one of them was a nasty cherry beer... I'm not that into sweet beers. Anyway, the next day we took a train to Ghent, and then a really long tram ride to our hostel. After dropping off our stuff, we went to a lunch place recommended on our map called “De Fabriek”. Now this was a little more than we bargained for... we had no idea what we were doing. We ended up in this place that seemed like some sort of cooperative. It was supposedly an old leather factory, but now it had been taken over with foose ball tables, a rock climbing wall, a dance floor, and then a cafeteria at the top where we headed up to for food. Everyone was local and seemed like they were part of a regular group that came here. There were no signs instructing us to do anything in Dutch or in English. It was the kind of place you just had to know already. We kind of looked around feeling totally clueless until an old man came up to us and helped us. He was so nice and told us to grab a tray and that we could pay the guy serving up the food. For only 5 euros, we had soup, bread, a main dish, fruit, and a drink. It was a great deal and the food was delicious! After lunch we walked down “graffiti alley” and went to the center to the top of Ghent's Belfry, but this time thankfully, there was an elevator. Mostly in Ghent we did a lot of walking around. We did find ourselves in Ghent's Red Light District, which differed by the girls were really putting on a show. We walked through the Christmas markets and had some chocolate waffles and yummy potatoes before heading back to our hostel to unwind a bit. We met a guy from Canada at our hostel's bar/lounge where we discussed each others countries and travels around Europe over a local beer. The next day we went to the train station to go to Brussels to meet up with Marine!!! However, leaving Ghent was the end of our Dutch Belgian adventure, because in Brussels, it was the French part of the country....

What I have been doing for the last 3 months in Spain!

The view from my school in Coria del Rio

Sevici station: I ride my bike everywhere!

Plaza de Encarnacion 

Italica ruins

Pumpkin Contest!

Awwwww, my 4 year old pumpkins!

Dana (a Christmas tree) and me (a nerd) for Halloween at school

One of my 5th graders, Marina, as a witch

Alejandro, one of my 5th graders, a wizard

The pumpkin contest winners!

Alex deciding if he can climb upsidedown

Carlos, the climbing champion!

Carlos and me

Me climbing!

Triana neighborhood in Sevilla

Sevilla's Cathedral

Well so I have been absolutely terrible about keeping up on this blog this year.  Honestly I think that it has been because this year has been a lot tougher for me and I haven't had the motivation needed to write about everything going on.  However, recently, I have been feeling better and things are starting to change so I can finally sit back and be thankful that I made it through another challenge in my life.  I know some people think it is silly that living abroad can be so tough when I'm in the beautiful city of Sevilla, working 12 hour weeks, and embracing all that Europe has to offer, but it is a lot tougher than you think!  The main thing that has been tough is that I just wish that I had more people to go out with! Apart from being a lot more lonely this year, I have had some things that have been really great.  My roommates are really nice and encouraging of my Spanish.  I feel like this is my apartment too and not just renting a room, so I am much more comfortable.  I live in a great area that is close to a lot of life and great for going out for something quick, or going for a walk.  My school is wonderful this year! I love my kids and the people I work with.  It sucks that it is a little far away, but I don't mind it that much!  I feel like more of a part in my school this year, mostly because the teachers actually talk with me and help me out with my Spanish.  My Spanish is progressing slowly but surely.  I am way to self critical, but I am slowly trying to get over not being perfect at it.  I have met someone that I have started practicing my Spanish with and she "practices" her English (although she is fluent).  I have also been rock climbing with my friends Alex and Carlos.  So far, I have only been climbing under this bridge here in Sevilla where there is a rock wall, but it is really fun, and soon hopefully we will go out in the countryside to climb.  Among other things going on, I have gotten sick a few times.  It is quite hilarious to me that whenever someone has a stomach problem, a Spanish person suggests eating rice, bread, and JAMON (ham!).  They just love their ham so much here!  Ham is part of a bland diet?  I mean, I guess, but really? When have you ever heard of eating ham when you are sick? I am going to try and include little anecdotes like that in my blogs in the future, even if it is just a little line, because they are so funny and I don't want to forget them.  Anyway, that is what I have been doing lately getting accustomed to living in Spain again! I have attached a few pictures of my climbing adventures and some of my kids (for Halloween!) and what my world is like now!

Apartment Searching

So after all of the first surge of adrenaline died out with my energy as I neared the end of my journey, the reality set in… I have brought myself to a country where I can communicate only as well as a 3 year old, and understand when I am using every ounce of energy within me, I am a minimum of a 10 hour plane ride from my friends and family,  a 7 hour time difference from them, and I am homeless.  I woke up the morning of Friday, the 23rd with a feeling of dread.  Apartment searching in Spain is nothing like in the United States.  There are various ways to go about it: the internet, word of mouth, and walking around calling numbers posted on walls around the city.   There is nothing like calling people you don't know in a foreign language when they talk a mile a minute and you want to find out the details of an apartment.  Talk about stress!!!  So, I decided to ease in to it by beginning on the internet.  I set up a profile on a website called EasyPiso and then looked at a few of the options, but unfortunately the internet at the hotel was not cooperating.  I set out in the general direction of where I was interested and started writing down numbers I saw posted on walls and locating them on the map.  After walking around for a bit and letting my anxiety rise, I decided to make my first phone call before I got too worked up.  I made an appointment for 2pm.   After having my first appointment made, I had got the ball rolling and so texted a number of a guy on couchsurfing and had another appointment for any time between 3 and 430!  I was feeling quite overwhelmed at this point and decided to go take a breather at Alex's apartment to use his internet and have a little calm down talk.  But before I did, I saw one last number that I called and made an appointment for at 430.  YES!  3 appointments made, I was going to be okay!  I got to Alex's house and we made general plans for lunch and I checked the thousand "notifications" from EasyPiso before heading out to my 2pm appointment.  After making my way to the street, I realize that there must have been something lost in communication because there was not a third floor for the apartment where I was.  I called the person and found out that indeed I had misunderstood and then went to the correct piso (apartment).  The apartment was in a great location, right by one of the cool areas of Sevilla that I was interested in, and the cost was in a reasonable price range.  However, the place was a dump.  The guy I would be living with had L shaped chops on his face and was explaining that his mother, who was also there showing me around, came by every day for lunch and dinner because she worked nearby.  The rooms were dusty, dark, and had broken light fixtures lying around.  The kitchen was under construction, which she failed to tell me before I opened the door to a room full of dirt and dust, and there was a board on the floor of the bathroom covering some kind of hole?  Ummm… no thank you.  She also wanted me to sign a contract which is what I was not wanting to do due to my bad apartment experience at the beginning of last year.  I politely said I would keep them in mind and then raced to 100 Montaditos for lunch with Alex, which is a sandwich shop that has many locations throughout Sevilla .  Well, the fun doesn't stop there, because what should have been a quick lunch turned in to over an hour because the computers were not functioning for a while and when we finally asked where the hell our food was it turns out they didn't know we had ordered anything at all.  So, that was also the case for about 5 other groups, so the kitchen got slammed.   After finishing our mediocre lunch, I headed to the couchsurfing apartment.  A French girl and Chinese guy lived there and both spoke perfect English.  They seemed really awesome and the apartment was big and in good condition, and also near the same area as the last one.  I was really leaning towards this apartment, but a little disappointed that they spoke English at home because I want some Spanish practice.  I moved on to my next appointment and was also pleasantly surprised.  The guy was really nice  and from Bolivia and said he lived there with his girlfriend.  He was so friendly and patient with my Spanish and seemed like he would be a great roommate, but I was a little hesitant of living with a couple.  It was still a good price and in a great location for my bus stop! I called Alex to discuss my options on the two apartments that I was thinking about.  Although he thought I should go with the Bolivians to practice my Spanish, I called the couchsurfers back to say I would like to live there.  They seemed like they could be good friend and I think I would have been more comfortable there.  He said that he would talk with the girl and give me a call later on that evening.  Needless to say, later on that evening, I got a call saying that they weren't in a rush to rent out the place so they were going to conduct more interviews throughout the week and maybe call me then, so basically "sorry, we didn't think you were cool enough".  I wish they would have told me this way earlier on in the evening instead of waiting until 1030 to tell me!?  But, alas, there was nothing I could do but to return to my hotel and go to sleep and try not to freak out.  Day 2 of looking left me with the first task of moving from my hotel into a hostel, because it would save me a lot of money.  After making 2 trips to the hostel down the street with my luggage, I got on the hostel's internet to look at some more apartments.  As I was searching on the computer, I started getting some phone calls from people asking me to come look at their apartment.  One of them was a girl Isabel that had pictures put online which looked great!  I called and made an appointment with her at 1pm, but before my appointment I called the Bolivian guy and said that I wanted to look again at the piso and to meet his girlfriend.  She was really nice, but I got the impression that they both weren't there very often and kind of kept to themselves.  They were a bit older and I'm not sure would be as social as I'd like to be.  When I went to Isabel's apartment I was floored!  I had never seen anything this nice at any apartment in Granada or Sevilla.  It was beautifully decorated and Isabel and Marcos seemed really nice and a little hippyish.  There was art all around the apartment and lots of light, as well as a rooftop that looks over the city of Sevilla.  I really wanted it, but thought it was a bit more than I wanted to pay.  After thinking about it and discussing it with my parents, I decided it was worth it and I called Isabel back and said I wanted it.  She said there was somebody else that wanted it, but if they didn't call by the end of the day then it was mine.  She called me about 8pm and told me it was mine and I could move in in the morning! Yay! Not homeless!!!  After moving in, I discovered that Isabel and Marcos were a couple, unlike what I had previously thought, but so far it has been really great!  They are both from Sevilla and speak some English.  We speak a mixture of English and Spanish so we both get our practice and they are both really friendly.  Marcos is an artist and so it is his art everywhere and Isabel should be starting school any day now to study to be a sound technician.  So alas, here I am in my new apartment in Sevilla, Spain.  I feel like a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I have a place that I feel comfortable in.  Thank goodness!!!!!!