Europe Diary

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my plane landed in Brussels.  It seems like yesterday when I was offered this surreal opportunity, and everyone raised their brow and asked “Belgium? Why? You are moving AGAIN?” Well, I must say that I ask myself the same questions once in a while…

Now that I’ve been here for about 3 weeks, things are finally starting to come together.  I admit that I didn’t fall in love with Brussels from the first sight, but then I didn’t make much effort to get to know it as well.   I guess the quote saying “You don’t know, therefore you don’t love” is true in this case.

As I get to know my surroundings and get use to the idea of being here, I start to relax and enjoy myself.  The 20 minutes hike to the DHL shuttle stop every morning somehow doesn’t feel as painful as it was in the beginning… (Ok, I take it back, as I still hate the cold and walking on those @#&$* killer heals, which doesn’t seem to cooperate very well with the old European stoned streets…but, at least now I know perfectly where the bus stops).

Now…what are some of the cool things I can share about Brussels?  The truth is I haven’t had the chance to explore the city because I have been out of town, and the city is practically dead on Sunday and everyday from 6:00 pm onwards as all the shops are closed (A fact that I am still struggling to tolerate).  They love to eat and have the BEST, but unhealthiest food you can ever imagine – fries, ice cream, chocolate, waffles, mussels, pastries…and I am still investigating why have I not seen any overweight people here.  Like other big cities, Brussels is also very international, and the people are quite friendly… especially those friendly taxi drivers who likes to chat and turn their head to look at you instead of the road in front of them…

Through this past 3 weeks, I have come to appreciate many things that I have always taken for granted, and things that I have given the opportunity to experience. Despite the fact that I still speak French like a Tarzan, and 9-10 things that can possibly go wrong indeed went wrong, which makes me feel like a complete moron….I am enjoying the whole new cultural experience…meeting different people, going to new places, trying different foods, etc.  I am also very lucky to have 2 very nice flat mates, Alma from Iceland, and Ewa from Poland.  They both love to cook, so I figured I can never go wrong living in a house known as the ‘House of Good Foods’

Well, I guess this is it, for my first salut from Brussels.  It’s been a long day and I deeply miss my family and friends!! Well, wherever you are, I hope things are going well with you. I hope to be able to share some cool pictures of Brussels to lure you into visiting me here. J   Take care, my friends and GBU!

Au revoir,

Shinta  J

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2005 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.