BELGIUM BOUND!

Ok, kids the post that I know we've all been waiting for is finally getting written, right here--right now!
The story of how I made it to Brussels, Belgium and all the fun that's been going on since I've been here.

Well let's see, I suppose I have to tell you the story of the plane ride first, huh?
Ok, well the story starts on Tuesday January 11th, 2011.

I left Tallahassee, FL around 7:20am headed to Orlando, FL. Jenny and I stopped at Chick-Fil-A for my last American meal on the way there. Around noon, we made it to the airport and I got all checked in with printed ticket and checked bags. Next, I said goodbye to Jenny (I am so tired of saying goodbyes, I hope I won't have to say anymore for a long while!) and then went through security. But, being the joke that I am I left my laptop, external hard drive, and travel adapter all in the bag, so of course I got questioned for a little while, then I realized I was no threat so let me go off on my adventure. Then, I chilled in the airport for a good long while, chatted it up with the Carver family (Kate and Luke), called my parents, and pretty much anyone who would pick up. Then, I bought myself a classic Seventeen magazine and word find.
Reasons for purchase:
1. At heart I am a 17 year old girl
2. I love word finds, they don't take skill, just patience.

Goodbye Disney and Goodbye America, See you real soon in June!

Me and my ticket! I'm off to see the world!

Ok, well then at 3:35pm my flight left from sunny Orlando, FL to cold chilly New York City, NY. I ended up sitting next to a man from Amsterdam so for a better part of the flight we chatted it up about Amsterdam and how he was was so surprised that I was going by myself. At the end of the flight, he gave me his business card, he is both a Realtor and the owner of a limo service in the Netherlands. In essence, if I got into trouble in Amsterdam he wanted me to call his company and they would drive me around for free, which frankly was really generous of him. But, he wasn't dodgy because I met his kid and girlfriend, and they all seemed genuinely concerned about my well being. Either way, after the flight I never saw them again despite the fact that they were on my flight to Brussels. The reason for this had to do with because of the mix up in that my original flight got canceled do to snow in Atlanta. Since Delta had to change my flight for me, by the time they got around to doing that, they were all out of economy class seats, so I got bumped up to First Class.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I GOT TO SIT FIRST CLASS.
A few things about first class, at least on my flight:
1. I was the only female.
2. I was the only person under the age of 30.
3. Its AWESOME.
4. You get a giant seat that reclines in every way you could ever dream of.
5. You get to put your stuff away and people help you put your carry-on luggage into the overhead providers.
6. They take your coat and hang it up for you.
7. They offer you drinks in actual glasses.
8. They don't just give you a blanket, they give you a comforter.
9. They offer you hot towels all the time, which frankly I took but really had no idea of what to do with.
10. You get a personal TV to watch anything from movies to HBO.
11. They offer you a 3 course dinner meal. I went all pretentious and had the Filet Mignon with the smoked salmon. Then for dessert I had the cheese tray and the ice cream sundae!
12. They ask you if you want to be woken up for breakfast.
13. Eventhough you may be wearing a turkey leg shirt and sweats, they have to be nice to you!
14. Overall, its the best thing ever!


Now that I'm done ranting about the joys of first class, I suppose I could finish telling you my tale. 


So, I ended up sitting next to a pilot who was off duty, so all the flight hostesses knew him. Also, he was kind of a creeper and wanted to talk to me. Also, when I was done with the conversation and started watching a movie, he watched the same one. He is a 45 year old pilot with kids, who just out of the blue decided to watch Going the Distance, I think not! But whatever. 


Our flight got in early, so we arrived in Brussels at 8:45am on Wednesday January 12th, and it was supposed to get in at 9:15am. I got off the plane, and went through Customs. It was a little confusing at first because everything was in Dutch and French, and at the time I wasn't recalling any French besides "Bonjour" and "Merci." But alas, I made it through. Then, I went to baggage and got my gear in check. Stopped by an ATM to get some euros since all I had was US money, which is worthless in Europe, and went off to the Relay store in hopes of finding the taxi driver that Vesalius College had set up for me. Eventually after a much stressed out 10 minutes or so, he found me and we found Alison another girl who is studying abroad at Vesalius. The taxi took us over to my host family's house, the Piette's, and I got a quick introduction not even 5 minutes in length to have Mme Piette drive Alison, Jeimin (my other roommate who was already at the house), and myself over to orientation on time. Shockingly we made it and early at that! 

Not going to lie, orientation was rough. I was so tired and simply fatigued from all the traveling that I kept falling asleep. I'm sure I made a great impression, being a little smelly, looking not too good since I came right off the plane, and I was falling asleep. To be honest, I am shocked anyone even talked to me. Oh, by the way, it was cold and rainy! Not sunny and warm like I had come to expect from Orlando, no Belgium is a cold, dark, European place where you are told not to look or talk to strangers, aka I now have to break myself of everything that Disney taught me to do.

Orientation started at 10am and ended at 3pm. I then walked back to my family stay, its about a ten minute walk from campus, and met the family. So its just M. and Mme. Piette they are a retired couple who have 3 daughters, all older, and 5 grandsons. Also, they have two cats, Mozart and Indy. Turns out I have really missed cats. I live with Jiemin, another study abroad student originally from China but she goes to Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. There is another student who is living with us, Cayla, and she is from Vermont. She is very lucky because she has her own room on the third floor, whereas Jiemin and I are living together on the 4th floor. After we settled for a while, Jiemin, Cayla, and I went exploring in search of shampoo, soap, etc. Also, we were looking for the KK, a club on campus, because there was supposed to be a meet and greet there, but alas we ended up on the other side of campus instead of at the location right next to us. Then, we looked at the time to realize that Mme Piette wanted us home for dinner at 7:30pm, and it was getting awfully close to that time, so we returned home. Mme Peitte made us spaghetti because "everyone eats spaghetti." So, the Piette's are providing us breakfast everyday, and dinner Monday through Friday, all other meals our on us. Dinner was good, but a little strained since M. Piette speaks fairly good English, but Mme. Piette speaks very little, and Jiemin and I speak a little French, but not much, and Cayla doesn't speak any. After dinner, I showered and unpacked a little. I was so tired, so by 10pm I was soundly asleep. There you have it, my first day in Belgium!