Je Parle Francais!

I speak French fluently now, but I will write in English to be mindful of my audience. Just kidding! I did switch into a beginning French class hoping it will be more enjoyable and useful than the ridiculous Poli Sci class with all the reading and writing. And I must confess that Evelyn helped me with the title of this blog entry a little. Atleast I will not have class on Friday afternoon from 4:30-6.

Last night I kept thinking of things to include in the blog entry today but now that I am actually in front of my computer writing, I cannot think of a thing to say! That is such a cliche thing for a woman to say... We had family dinners all this week, meaning we rotated cooking for each other in our apartments. For the first time all week, I ate a meal without a single carb. No pasta, no bread, no rice. Thank you, Katy Wynn! I have never been so happy to see chicken on my plate. The crowd was much smaller last night, but more conducive to good conversation. I am grateful for our times of togetherness and I do hope that it continues once classes and internships really begin. Without question, my favorite part of this trip is the fellowship. I cannot imagine life in Brussels without such a strong and encouraging community of friends.

What am I learning? Patience and flexibility. Last night I really needed to get home for my phone date with mom, who I have neglected to talk to all week. We were all a little slow to leave Molly and Katy's flat last night, some how managed to take the wrong tram, and then missed the tram that we needed. For some reason, it was another 25 mins or so before the next tram. I am such a planner and at times, a control freak that I started to get really frustrated. It was late and we still had to take the tram to the metro stop, change metros, and hop another metro home before midnight. It 11:30 it was questionable if we could actually make it home in that time. So, we started to wander around General Jacques looking for a cab. David and Evelyn waved one down and sent all the girls on our way. It frustrated me that I had to pay for a cab, that I missed my phone date with Mom, that our landlord changed our locks and Evelyn and I thought we were locked out, and that our internet did not work. Of course. Why should anything go as planned? I am learning to be patient in all of these situations. I hope I controlled by frustration and did not speak harshly last night to my friends (if I did, know that I am sorry). This trip has already exposed so many of my weakness and my sins, putting me in situations where I am challenged and forced to respond, adapt, and hopefully grow as a result.

What's on tap for the weekend? Well, quite a lot. We might go to see Shrek 3 tonight at the park and hang out at Carpe Diem (great name for a bar/cafe, I know). Beer fest is in Brussels this weekend and we plan to take it by storm tomorrow afternoon (not really, but we will go and have fun). Christie's friend Meghan from GT who works in Holland is coming on Saturday for the day/night. Taylor Hall plans to make me stay up all night and listen to the UT/Cal game on streaming audio, but we will see if that actually happens. Sunday is market day in Brussels so there is always a lot to explore. Maybe we will explore a castle outside the city too.