Day 5 - I'm Already Bad at Blogging

After lots of planning, preparation, and packing, it's hard to believe that I am actually here. So far Brussels is a gorgeous city - currently covered in about 2-3 inches of snow that continues falling. It was snowing when I got here, and although the weather keeps saying it's going to get warmer, it actually just keeps snowing.

My first day here I wandered out in the city a little bit to find a place to eat lunch and find a supermarket. I'm still not totally sure what I ate for lunch, but I think it was some kind of chopped chicken and maybe other meats (?) with some cucumber, tomato, canned corn, and other random vegetables on the side - oh, and of course frites (fries) with mayonnaise.

The supermarket (Carrefour - I actually found out this is sort of like their Walmart, but it's about the size of a gas station) is interesting. The food is different, but it is hard to explain exactly how. Grocery shopping does prove a little difficult though because often items are labeled in multiple languages, but rarely English, so I am guessing a lot. The cashiers also don't seem to speak much English, at least at grocery stores. This proved interesting on my first visit which was when I realized that everyone uses reusable bags, I didn't have one, and I had to ask for one in broken French-English. One really cool thing in the grocery store is that you can make your own fresh orange juice that is fantastic!! Everything comes in smaller quantities though, so you have to shop much more often - nearly every day!!

My "blue room" is very cute. I'll post pictures when I get everything put away. I am on the very top floor of the house, so I will get my daily exercise with the 4 flights of stairs that it takes to get from the door to my room. I do actually have a "kitchen" inside my room that includes a fridge, microwave, and small oven (it looks like a large microwave with two burners on top). My only window, a skylight, provides a good view of the tops of some other buildings and gets covered with whatever the current precipitation is. My next door neighbor, who I share a hall bathroom with, is an intern at the parliament and is really nice. We are going to explore the city together on Saturday - or she may really be showing me the city since she's been here since September, but has not seen it all. I think she may be a really good friend.

I also met Anastasia, another intern at the AmCham, on Saturday night, and we went to the cinema to see Avatar - not as bad as I expected. Last night Anastasia and I went to a boxing class at the gym. It was fun and tiring. One of the funniest parts was the little German lady who was standing near me. She can't have been more than 4'10" and was the most in shape and intense little boxer I had ever seen. Counting in German made her seem much more intense.

Sunday I went to Cornerstone International Church and (somewhat sleepily) worshipped with other ex-pats and English speakers. I enjoyed meeting the other people there and learning more about Brussels from the couple who picked me up from the metro station. After I got home from church, I wandered out to try to find the house of some family friends. I arrived in Brussels without towels or a hairdryer, and I knew that both were waiting for me at their house. Apparently I misread that map and got quite lost, but it was one of the best things I did all day because I ran across Woluwe Park. It was relaxing and fun to watch the locals sledding and just enjoy the beautiful park and snow. In the midst of my wanderings I also passed a church where children were coming out in groups of 4 dressed in robes. Each group had one child carrying a large star and one child with their face painted black. I realized that Epiphany was last week and these children were dressed as the Wise Men and the star. I don't know exactly what they were doing, but they appeared to be going out into the community in some way - it was interesting. I did finally find the house I was looking for, so now I have dry hair.

After I found the house, I met up with the brother of one of my dad's coworkers. He took me to the Grand Place and treated me to a Belgian beer. The Grand Place really is cool and there is still a large creche in the middle of the square from the Christmas season. Hopefully I will get to meet his daughters, college students, soon!

I started my internship on Monday morning at 9am. So far it has been good, busy, always something to do. Everyone in the office is really nice and speaks English in some form or another. So far I have been researching the EU Parliament and all 736 of it's members. I am researching for the Parliament Guide that the AmCham publishes, so that's pretty cool. Next week, I will likely get to meet the US Ambassador to the EU, as we are hosting a cocktail reception for him!

I can't lie, being so far away from home and really from anyone I know has made for a number of very lonely moments, but the more the days pass and my body adjusts to being here, the more exciting my adventure becomes. I am sorry to have written SO much, but a lot has happened since I got here! I love you all!!