It was an incredible first week at my internship. (Or as the Belgians call it, my stage) I really feel comfortable in the office and have a good understanding of my expectations. I am amazed by how much the editors are willing to trust me with, and I plan on doing everything in my power to exceed their expectations. I told one of the marketing directors about my interest in design, hoping to maybe sit in on a session or two, and was given the assignment of designing the logo for the EU Studies Fair. This is the most profitable event the European Voice puts on, and my logo will be on every poster, banner, webpage...pretty exciting stuff!
On Friday, Anne and I went to do some shopping down in the city center. We turned a corner on to a major street and saw roughly 250 German men all wearing soccer jerseys or German flags. They were repeatedly singing the German football fight song and judging by their slurring and stumbling, they had been drinking for quite a while. We thought they were absolutely hilarious and chose to eat at a sushi restaurant nearby so that we could continue to watch them.
We left dinner and were walking down a major road back to the apartment when suddenly, our eyes and noses started burning. Apparently the Belgian-German rivalry isn't so friendly because a fight had broken out that resulted in the police having to use tear gas to break it up. We were at least a couple blocks away, but the tear gas was so strong that it hurt our eyes and burned our nostrils. We walked towards the bus, but found that we couldn't pass through an intersection because of a 100-man police force blocking it with dogs, shields, full-body armor...the works. I asked a female officer what was going on and her response was simply, "futbol". I asked her if this was how it always is and her response was, "well...yes...."
The MU/kU rivalry now seems very mild in comparison.
On Saturday, Emily and I took the train to Antwerp with 20 other Vesalius students that we had met. It is about an hour away, but the round-trip ticket only cost 7 euros! The second we stepped off of the train I was in love with Antwerp. The train station alone was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. The group was going to a concert called Laundry Day, which, completely to my surprise, gathered a crowd of over 70,000 people! It was absolutely insane. Emily and I chose to observe the concert from the outside for a few minutes but the expensive tickets and enormous drunken crowd didn't appeal to us. We left, and decided to explore the city on our own. We stopped at a cafe to enjoy the sun and a coffee while discussing how we should spend our day in Antwerp. We were delighted when our waitress spoke English. She suggested to us that we walk down to the river. Not knowing what to expect, we followed her advice and walked about 15 minutes towards the Medieval castle in the distance. We arrived at a gorgeous castle sitting on the bank of a beautiful river. We explored the castle and the street fair that was located nearby. It was wonderful. It was a warm and sunny day, and the people around we met were all incredibly friendly. We ate a delicious dinner at a Lebanese restaurant and window-shopped in the diamond stores. We left on a 7o'clock train promising each other that we would return as soon as possible.
On Sunday, Anne, Emily, and I decided to again take advantage of the cheap train rides and go to Oostende, a small city located on the coast of the North Sea. I had met a Belgian boy who was from the town and insisted that we come and visit. Nicholas, our new friend, met us at the train station. The second we got off of the train we saw a beautiful marina with magnificent sailboats. It was another gorgeous sunny day and the smell of fresh seafood and the sound of seagulls were all around us. We walked to the beach and played frisbee. It was an absolutely perfect day. We had a quick dinner at a Spanish restaurant called La Siesta and then headed back on the train. Nicholas rode the train back with us, and we taught him the card games BullShit and Gin Rummy (Grandpa, you would be proud!) Despite the fact that he speaks perfect English, it took Nicholas a while to catch on to the rules of the games. During BS, every time it was his turn, he insisted on putting down 9 or 10 cards and saying "tree jacks" (three jacks) It was obvious by the thick stack of cards he would put down that he was BSing, but he would still become frustrated when we called him on it. It was certainly the hardest I have laughed since I have been in Europe.
It was a wonderful weekend, but I am excited for the work week ahead. Next weekend we are going to Bruge with our art class which should be a blast!
The Beach in Oostende, Belgium
Anne, me, and Emily at a park in Oostende
Wading in the North Sea. My Belgian friend Nicholas is standing next to me.
The Boardwalk in Oostende. Farther up there are fresh seafood stands lining
the walkway.
We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day to spend here. 
A night on the town with a new friend from Vesalius!
The view from my office window. Belgian Parliament Building.
My Desk at European Voice!
At the street fair in Antwerp. Not really sure why he was dressed this way.
Checking out the views on the banks of the river in Antwerp.
Medieval Castle in Antwerp.
BCD: I know you will understand the significance of this.
Everyone else, I have a slight obsession with a restaurant in Columbia that has the same name as this place. The owner was standing outside and insisted on being in the picture.
Pastry stand. These places are all over Belgium and despite that delicate decorations, they only cost 1.50 or 2 euros each!
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