Hitting the travel wall.

Culture shock hit me a bit last night and today. I was in a bit of "Ok, this place was cool at first. But I´m tired and I want to go home and cuddle with my cat and play a large amount of video games. It rains too much. I don´t understand half of what is said to me. Things are expensive here. I don´t have a computer [It´s in customs. I hope it goes through quick and is not "suspicious"] and I´m tired."

A bit better now, though I´m even more tired after a four hour lecture on European integration theory, though it was by a British guest speaker who said things like "Constructivism is the hottest thing in IR theory since sliced bread. But only if it´s toasted. And with a bit of jam". It was still ridiculously boring and a lot of review.

I hope I get onto the recovery stage soon.


I also went to Gent over the weekend, which was beautiful, but so very hot. I put on a ridiculous amount of sunscreen and still got burned. It was really cool, though. We went to a Museum of Torture, which was my favorite part, especially since it was located in the Castle of the Counts (again, friends, pics on facebook). The views were pretty and I really enjoyed the castle. Then we went on a walking tour, which was fairly boring. The guide took us into Gent´s cathedral (gorgeous, but I like Brussels´ better) and we saw the Ghent Altarpiece, called "The most coveted painting in the world". It´s been stolen countless times, one panel is still missing, Hitler was obsessed with finding it, you get the point. Everyone was obsessed with some secret meaning in it, but nobody has found anything except symbolism.

We also went on a boat tour through the canals of Gent, which was nice, but too hot. There were some statues and paintings of the Spanish King Charles V, who was born in Gent. He was apparently a casanova/rapist, and sired 37 illegitimate children from all different mothers. Women would literally hide their daughters in the nearby forest when they heard he was visiting. The people of Ghent, obviously, think fairly lowly of the Spanish monarch, and have sculpted sculptures and painted paintings far too...vulgar for me to post. Ok, they´re not bad, but I can´t find an internet picture of them and I didn´t take a picture of them. You can only see one of the paintings if you go on the canal, and it, uh, jumps out at you. 

Well, I must go buy the cheapest loaf of bread possible and take a nap. Think positive thoughts towards customs! :)