Erika's European Encounters

Today is my LAST day in Leuven. I started it with my Flemish Art oral exam, which I did pretty well on. Afterwards, Brigette and I walked around town and saw the Town Hall one last time. 

Afterwards, we had to clean our room and essentially empty it completely. Afterwards, we had one last dinner, and I went to Dewerf for my last dessert in Leuven. I had a DELICIOUS hot chocolate, and after that a bunch of us went to the Klockhuis for one last Belgian beer. 

On this note, the blog that has been documenting my adventures in Europe for the past ten months is officially finished. Thanks for reading and sharing this wonderful year with me!

This is a photo of Brigette donning some of the stranger things I’ve accumulated during this year. We were going through our possessions and starting to pack up things for America. I packed a LOT, but I’m actually becoming rather worried that I won’t have enough space. I’m almost certain one of my bags will be overweight. Niet zo goed.

Today I spent all day (barely) studying for philosophy. In the evening, a few of the American girls in the huis participated in a clothing swap that was hosted by Brigette and myself in our room. I was able to get rid of some of my older clothes while gaining some very nice articles of clothing. Essentially I shopped for free. Everything else that no one wanted or was stained/over-worn was donated to the poor. 

Today I did some studying, and for lunch, I went out with Megan to Panos. After running to the bank (and seeing very strange things in town, like this chicken costume), we went to Leuven’s Botanical Gardens. I wish my camera was alive for the excursion; it was positively beautiful and so close to the huis! I’ll definitely be going again once the weather is nicer.

First thing I did when I woke up today was head to the gym. After a short workout session and a quick lunch, a HUGE thunderstorm struck. Since it’s been soooo hot and humid here, this storm was quite a blessing since it cooled down the town.

However, it prevented me from accomplishing my errands today because apparently stores just close down when the rain is too intense… what an absurd place. Things like this shouldn’t shock me since I’ve lived in Leuven for a little more than 7 months now, but I was still surprised by this. Anyways, I returned to the huis and studied the remainder of the day for my upcoming final exam. 

Today I slept in, went to the gym, and then was lazy in my bedroom. I also hung out outside and read since it was 81 degrees and super sunny today. Where was this weather in Palma Mallorca!?

Today I had my Operations Management examination. It was BRUTAL. I also submitted my Medieval Mysticisms paper; that wasn’t so brutal.

In the afternoon, there was the Nachbar Huis end-of-the-year BBQ. Everyone was supposed to bring something, and I brought marshmallows (that I accidentally discovered in a supermarket Germany and decidedly bought) and sticks as my dessert contribution. All the food was very good and very filling. There was an assortment of pasta salads, normal salads, grilled meats, and pies. Despite all this delectable food, I’m pretty proud of the marshmallows.

Today there was MORE studying/paper-writing, but in the evening I was able to replace Brigette’s spot at the Unit President’s dinner, which was at a Vietnamese-Italian fusion restaurant. It was SO GOOD. I had some peanut sauce kebab thing with a mini-salad for my appetizer, squid with a spicy kinda-mushroom-tomatoish sauce, and then a dame blanche for dessert. Definitely one of the top dinners I have had this year.

Today I was rudely awoken by a parade going by our huis. After this wake-up call, I went to the gym with Nayha and we did an intense leg workout. After this, we went to the grocery store and walked through the begijnhof on our way back to the huis.

For dinner I made stuffed peppers, of which I am VERY proud, and I watched “Bridget Jones’s Diary” for the first time with Katrijn. I think I fell in love with Colin Firth because of that movie.

Today I slept in so that I could recover from a late night. Once awakened, I tried going to the gym, but it was closed. So instead I did a workout at the track nearby. Afterwards, I chatted with some friends before going to STUK in order to do some work while downloading movies. In the evening, I made myself a delicious dinner and watched a movie in the boys’ room.