Super long post because Erin has been busy/lazy/tired/lazy

Alright, I'll admit it. I've been lazy. I blame the weather. Everybody knows you can't get any sensible work done when it rains.

Also, there's a new show on HBO that I need to attend rehab for. And I have to now wait two more days for the next episode. </obsession>

When it comes to posting pictures of my travels, I'm not going to be posting any on this blog due to laziness. It takes too long to upload them on here, and then arrange them in the correct position. Ugh. But never fear! In my next non-lazy moment of my life, I will be opening up a flickr account for you lovelies who don't have the privilege of being my facebook friend. Because we all know that you can't be a real friend without having access to every photo, video, and status update.

Let's see...

Thursday. Visited the European Commission. Not much to talk about. Went through a security checkpoint (not the fancy ones they have at the American airports. Sorry, Belgian people, there's only one picture of my naked-parts, and that's at the Charlotte Regional Airport. Fucking full-body x-ray goggles security checkpoint.) and then listened to some guy ramble on for two hours about things we learned the previous week. If that's the way most meetings go there, and I worked at the EC, I'd throw myself off the top window.

I think we were also supposed to go to the European Council, but I was starving and my thumbs were worn down to nubs from excessive twiddling, that I just skipped it and got lunch. Yes, very bad student, I know. You would've done the same thing, don't even deny it.


Saturday. Got up at the crack of dawn (Well, figuratively. There's 18 hour days here) and made my way down to Central Station to catch a train to Bruges. Lovely city, if you got rid of all the obnoxious tourists. Ok, I was a tourist too, but I must be integrating into European society because I'm starting to be annoyed by Americans. They talk too loud. Bruges is known for its canals, and is called "The Venice of the North". Minus being pulled into the ocean. That doesn't happen there. Five points to Gryffindor (I'm in a weird mood).

If Belgium was Middle Earth (pardon the terribly nerdy analogy here), then Bruges would be Rohan. There's probably more horses than people living there. The whole places smells like horses, which is a wonderful thing for me, very smelly for everyone else.

I also had the most brilliant hot chocolate in my life. Hot milk, then you put in mouthwatering, delicious, delectable, heavenly (ok, now I'm using a thesaurus) Belgian chocolate and let it melt. You then add on double whipped cream (I stole someone else's whipped cream. Don't worry, they didn't want it!) and experience what I like to call a foodgasm. Fortunately, I'll be returning to Bruges once my family flies to Europe next month, and so I will get to have a double foodgasm. For only three euros, too.

ISA pays for almost everything on an official excursion (foodgasms are typically not included) and so we went on a lovely horse-drawn carriage (see, Rohan, my friends) through the city. Being an ultra horse-geek, I took more photos of horses than of the actual city.


Monday. Whit Monday. Hooray for Catholic countries! Visited Breendock, a concentration camp 20 minutes away from Brussels. Our tour guide was incredible. He acted out a lot of the things that the SS said and did there, and included us as his "prisoners" in order to demonstrate the monstrocities. It was a very intense experience. This was considered the nicest concentration camps, the prisoners got their own bed and even a new pair of underwear every six months. It's difficult to describe the experience, the word that is easiest is, again, intense. We then travelled to Antwerpen. Nice city, but it's mostly for shopping, and all the stores were closed due to the holiday. We took a "ghost tour" which was disappointingly not like Asheville's. It was mostly folk tales and old stories about the city. The guy was funny, and it was a nice break from the depressing morning, but it wasn't a serious tour like I was expecting.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I had class and realized how much work I have to do in just a couple of weeks.

Friday I did some of the work.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Waterloo, to visit the battlefield where Napoleon finally surrendered, just a few minutes outside of Brussels with a couple of my friends.

Sunday, I'll be sleeping since there will be no noisy construction on that day and I can actually sleep in. And buy groceries. I'm out of bread. I'm sure you're interested.

For now, friends...