Where da party at?!

Rue Saxe Cobuerg.

My neighbors are having one heck of a party right now. People are singing to Britney Spears' "Oops, I did it again" at the top of their lungs right now. My floor is shaking from the bass. I can hardly think amidst the screaming and whistling but figured that this moment was blog-worthy. Instead of drowning out all the noise, I just opened my window and figured I should embrace the moment and dance around my room like a maniac. Really, who needs night clubs when you have neighbors like mine?!

This afternoon I observed some Belgian teenagers outside of the Louise stop with Alayna. The similarities in actions and mannerisms to teens in the States was astounding: girls and guys were huddled in little groups, everyone dressed to impress, and the girls would run up to each other screaming as if time kept them apart for weeks. Hilarious. Metro stops are great places to people watch. But there is an art to it because making eye contact, I learned the other day, suggests interest and TRUST ME, you do not want to send that message.

Taylor and I ate our first waffle this evening and it was covered in chocolate, whip cream, and strawberries. I will probably regret that decision tomorrow morning when I have a stomach ache, but boy was it good!!! We tried to go to a Mexican restaurant tonight for dinner and it turned out to be a BAD call despite a recommendation. Plates were small, pricy, and unsatisfying. After finishing my meal, I suffered from a case of "food envy/lust" as we like to call it and ate one of David's tacos. Mom and Dad, I am ready for y'all to come so I can have a good meal.

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.

What am I eating?! What am I doing?!

I cannot get used to the food over here. Thankfully I found my staple, peanut butter, so I can eat lunch. Bread becomes fuzzy after only 4 days and we are talking about bread that I paid 3 euro for! Yesterday at lunch I ordered a Panini Poulet thinking that poulet meant chicken in French, which in my defense it does. However, what was nestled between the bread and mozzarella was pepto pink and resembled bologna, not exactly the chopped chicken that I envisioned. Yes, I did eat the entire thing and manage to keep it down, but not before Alayna and I closely examined the mysterious meat. There is no Dr. Pepper and even worse, no "to-go cups" of coffee. If you want coffee you better allow 15 extra minutes on your way to work or class to sit down and sip it. Somehow, if you can find a "to-go cup" of coffee, there is no station with creamer and you may even receive two stacked plastic cups of warm liquid (plastic and warm substances don't mix, in case you are a little rusty in household 101). Unbelievable. Thank goodness for peanut butter.

On Monday afternoon I took my first trip down to the laundromat with Alayna and Austin. It was absurd. First, I lugged a laundry bag filled with clothes, sheets, etc. to a laundromat that was about 5 minutes away, but took me about 15 because I took a few wrong turns. We spent an arm and a leg on tokens that the machine ate. All the instructions were in Turkish or French (we live in a Turkish enclave) which none of us can read AND the visual aids were worthless. Finally we managed to get the machine to work, added the soap that smelled like a 10 day old pina colada, pressed start andddd... water sloshed around in the machine, but the soap did not filter down. So, we spent about 10 euro to wash our clothes in cold water, something that I could do in my bathroom sink for free. Furmanites, don't complain. You have no idea how easy your have it.

Oh, I went to this exercise in the park yesterday evening before family dinner. Some local fitness center sponsored free aerobics classes in the park this summer, free to the public. Austin, Molly, David, Taylor, and I stumbled upon it last week and Austin, Alayna, and I decided (for some reason) to go and participate. For those of you who don't know me that well, I am slightly uncoordinated when it comes to dancing and the moves looked more like Riverdance than aerobics. I had this fear that I would turn around and see David and Taylor filming the spectacle and posting it on YouTube to embarrass me. What is worse, a group of men were playing futbol on the field next to us and yet I chose to wear my spandex and participate in Riverdance.

Last night, Evelyn and I hosted a dinner at our apartment for about 15 people. It was really fun and easy (at least for me because I opted to clean up rather than cook). For once, my tummy was full of familiar foods and content. On my way home from school yesterday I stopped at the local pastry shop that sells pastries and bread for cheap and picked up several eclairs, baklava, and some mystery dessert-- all of which were delicious.

So, if you plan to visit Brussels soon don't eat poulet or anything with Americana in the name (right Austin and Katy?), stick with the 4 basic food groups: waffles, beer, chocolate, and french fries. Wash your clothes in the sink because the laundromat is worthless. And remember that parks are for running and walking, not public humiliation.

As a side note, forgive me for all the words that I misspell. There might be one or two...

Sorry to disappoint...

I survived the commute to my internship interview this morning without cursing, missing a train, or getting lost. Miracle? I think so...

Here's a disappointment for you: an attractive French man spoke to me when I was in a tizzy about to board my train, but our conversation ended after "bonjour" because I don't speak a lick of French (my dad is probably thankful that I took Spanish right now). The train ride to Enghein where I met Jo (pronounced Yo) was beautiful: green grass, rolling hills, windmills, cows grazing, quant houses, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and look forward to escaping city life for 40 minutes everday on the train. The people, well all 8 of them, at Duomedia are very welcoming and anxious for me to join the company. The company started in 1999 and I will be their first intern ever which is exciting for me (yes, I am making history in Belgium) and for them too. I will draft press releases, contact customers to gather data for conducting case studies, learn about brand management and market positioning. Jo picks me up at the train station each day and drives me to the office. He asks a lot of questions and informed me that he will google Tennessee so that he knows about my home state; however, Jo did know that Elvis resided in my state. Hopefully Elvis is not the only thing that TN is known for outside of the US...

Tomorrow is my last first day of classes, so I should go to bed. By the way, HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, JORDIE!

One Body

Bonjour! My career as a "blogger" is only about a week long, but I really do love it. I like writing down my thoughts and experiences because it forces me to reflect, to think long and hard. Tonight I am overwhelmed with appreciation and love for the body of Christ. Right now, I am half way across the world, in a new place with people speaking a foreign language and yet I already have a community, a place where I belong. The people at Holy Trinity were joyful, welcoming, and English speaking. The service was contemporary and very relaxed. After the service they invited us to a cafe down the street to join them for dinner and a beer (this may sound strange, but it is customary). They showed us love, offered us community and fellowship, and expressed that we were an answer to prayers (and really, they were an answer to ours as well). It is SO cool to be the recipient of such love and to see the body of Christ reaching out, impacting the world around us. I can truly say today that I have seen and felt the body of Christ reaching out to me. I guess my challenge to you all is to step out and to love those around you, at Church, at work, at school, and in your community and show them the body of Christ. Show them a living and active group of believers...there is nothing cooler and stronger.

Chances are the blog entry will be quite riveting tomorrow as I have my internship interview. My commute is long and I have to take the Metro 7 stops to the Midi Station and hop a Eurorail train 20 mins outside the city. It might be a miracle if I can make it there without getting lost and someone cursing at me in French. Stay tuned...

Communication has been relatively easy thus far. Reading signs and menus in French and Dutch teaches you to make educated guesses, to take the leap and hope that you guessed correctly and didn't order Spam (like Austin and Katy did one night). I often communicate to waiters with a thumbs up sign which is really the universal language in my opinion. Everyone knows what that means and the waiter at the restaurant next to Hotel Derby still flashes the thumbs up sign every time he sees me. It is brillant and it just works wonders. However, my first trip to the grocery store was a little unnerving yesterday afternoon. The lines were long and I was tired of guessing what kind of food to purchase because I could not read the labels and the brands were not always the same. When I approached the cashier I immediately said "bonjour" which I normally do, but things feel apart after that. She asked me a question, which I very kindly responded with "no francais," but clearly she did not understand because she repeated herself several times. Then, she proceeded to yell at me in the store causing all the people in the store check out lines to look at me. I felt my chest knotting up and redness filling my cheeks and really I just had no clue what to do. Part of me wanted to cry and part of me wanted to just start rambling crude remarks in English. I refrained from both. Thankfully, the girl behind me stepped in and acted as a translator. Who knew a trip to the grocery store could be so difficult? Next time I go to the store, my French speaking roommate Evelyn will come with me.

Yesterday I moved into my flat (yes, I plan to call it a flat because it sounds more swanky...run with me on that if you will) and it is well, interesting. I walked in and the entire ground level is undergoing renovations and at that moment I considered walking back outside, calling the cab and returning to the Hotel Derby. The top three floors, all occupied by students on my trip were newly renovated and furnished. My room is really very nice and clean with brand new furniture and appliances. My only complaint (well, not the only one) is that we do not have a washer/dryer in the building so we have to walk down our predominantly male inhabited street to the laudromat. My flat is close to the King's Palace, all the parlament buildings, and Brussels park, all of which are fun places to explore! Oh, and there are several other Furman students in the building and within 5 minutes walking distance. I look forward to exploring the area more and discovering hidden gems.

Today we took a bus tour of Brussels, which seemed like a great idea at the beginning of the day but turned into a real drag after 3 hours. Bored, starved, and irritable, we finished the tour around 2 and found a great cafe near Grand Plaza that was delightful and inexpensive. The tour did open my eyes to so many new places in Brussels to explore and helped me understand the layout of the city a little more (mom and dad, I will be an expert by the time that you come). It is really an incredible city.

I will say that it is hard acclamating to "city life" after living in Greenville and Nashville the past couple years. We use public transportation to go everywhere, which is great but I miss the convenience and flexibility of a car. There is so much to learn about the area and the language barrier does make it slightly more difficult. In time, I will become more comfortable with the area and my daily commute to school and to work.

Tomorrow we plan to go to the market to browse antiques. Markets open around town every weekend on Saturday and Sunday and sell various goods in all price ranges. We have the name of an English speaking church in town from Dr. Nelson that we will attend tomorrow evening. I am so excited for the service and read online tonight that they have community groups! I would really love to plug in and build relationships with families in the community to learn from them and hopefully to fellowship with them.

I love reading your emails, so keep 'em coming! Please drink a large glass of ICED water for me because I miss that luxury!!

Like, Whoa!

I could not think of anything else to title this so I thought that "Like, whoa!" really captures life in Brussels right now. We had 8 long and painful hours of orientation today at Vesalius that took me back to freshman year O week at Furman. Vesalius, like Furman is a liberal arts school, but it is a product of 1970's archetecture and boy does it show! In one word, it is UGLY. It looks nothing like Furman: no bell towers, no fountains, no mall lined with trees, but only puddles, glass buildings, and asphault. The culture is completely different here. For example, at Furman we fountain hop and at Vesalius they bar hop. Yep, the student government actually sponsored a bar hopping trip tonight. If that is not crazy enough for you, the student center has a bar, the legal drinking age is 15, and it is legal to smoke dope solo. Crazy, huh?

I did receive my class schedule today and it is by far the WORST schedule of my college career. I have a class on Friday afternoon from 4:30-6. That will put a real damper on weekend travel! Atleast it is with "the best professor at the school" and there are several other Furman students in the class with me.

Today was a day of firsts for Katie Prevost in Brussels. I tried my first beer in Brussels and it was a pale ale (again, I forget the name... I am not tired this time so there is really no excuse). Beer is stonger and much more filling here than in the states. I also tried some chocolate tonight at a shop off the square and it was heavenly! Thank goodness there are not any chocolate stores near my apartment otherwise my clothes might not fit like they did when I came over. The food here is less than satifsying and it is even worse at Vesalius (I know, I tried and almost died today) so it was nice to pick up a few calories this evening.

By the way, I posted a link to a photo album that my friends ("family") created for the trip. We took pooling our pictures was a good way to share them with our friends, families, and each other. Enjoy!

In one word, ADVENTURE.

Wow. I don't even know what to write or where to start. Since my last post we toured the Tower of London, had afternoon tea at Harrod's, went to St. Paul's for Church, managed to lose one of our group members to UK security at the Eurostar station, and arrived in Brussels. It is beautiful here, but it is weird to think that it will be "home" for the next couple of months. I found out my internship placement yesterday afternoon and I will work for a small PR firm that is just outside the city. There are only 8 people who work in this office and the program director told me that they have plenty of work for me! It is exciting and I think that I will have a lot more opportunities available to me. Today we received our housing assignments. Instead of just placing us in apartments, the directors created this huge mess and decided to let people select their own place. Well, of course everyone wanted to live in the same place because it is newly furnished and there are 6 students in that building. My roommate Evelyn and I were placed here which is very exciting! They really had no choice but to put me there because it is the best location for me to hop the train to my internship. It is also really close to several other apartments where friends will live. There are so many stories to share but they have to wait because I am running out of time. Hope everyone is well!

We're Here!

Yes, we did arrive in London safely yesterday morning, but not without some travel woes. Our flight from Nashville to Chicago was delayed quite a bit, pushing our take-off time back over 2 hours. David and I landed in Chicago at 4:52, 8 minutes before our flight to London was scheduled to leave. Immediately when we stepped off that plane, we called a friend on the same flight and found out that they had yet to board our plane. So, we took off on a dead sprint through O'Hare (yeah, think Home Alone style with 25lb bookbags on... I have the bruises on my back and shoulders as reminders of that jog) and some how managed to make the flight. The 7 hour flight passed quickly with a little help from the ipod, The Office re-runs, and meals and beverages every couple hours. I did not sleep much, but managed to survive a full day yesterday. Molly and Alayna did not make it to London until early this morning due to delays in Chicago that pushed there take-off back a day. Clearly, I have little to complain about when it comes to travels.



London is nothing short of incredible (70 degree weather, yeah c'mon!). At times I cannot believe my eyes that I am standing in front of such historic places. Sadly, my recollection of the History of England is poor, despite the fact that I took the class last term) so I am struggling a little to recall all the kings and their accomplishments. Today we toured Westminster Abbey which was really AMAZING. I did not want to leave. I really cannot even describe it but there is something so majestic and breath taking about that building. It is packed with history and tombs of historical figures like kings, scientists, writers, monks, and even FDR (yeah, the American president). We also went to St. Paul's Cathedral, the oldest Cathedral in London and in my opinion the most beautiful. David and I are going to try to make it back there for the worship service tomorrow morning. We walked along the Thames to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and saw the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parlament. Yesterday we battled exhaustion but some how managed to make it to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards and Hyde Park. We ate in an English Pub, "Old London" and I ate some food that is very British and tried a beer. I cannot recall the name of my meal or my drink which is rather embarassing but truly telling of my exhaustion at this moment. The meals are expensive and not very hearty, especially breakfast at the good old Royal National ("trail mix surprise," my cereal this morning and orange juice in a glass the size of a shot were both less than satisfying).

I did not expect people to be quite so 'standoffish' here. No one will make eye contact with you, talk with you, or even smile at you (yeah, think T.S. Eliot's picture of people walking across London Bridge in "The Wasteland"). It is a little disappointing and it does make me miss Nashville.

My signal is weak and fading so I will sign off for now. Thank you all for the prayers, emails, etc.! Cheers!

The Joys of Packing

Never again will I complain about packing for a week long trip. One week is tough, two weeks is a bit of a challenge, but 4 months is nearly impossible! I am known to overpack for a slumber party, so just imagine me cramming 4 months of stuff into 2 suitcases. What a nightmare! I dread the trip home... it will be a miracle if I can fit everything in my suitcases for a second time.

I'm Ready!!!

Writing in my journal the other night, I realized that I am ready. I am ready to be stretched and challenged, ready to increase my understanding of other cultures and the world around me, ready to grow in relationships. The Spirit has given me such a peace: I cannot even describe how at ease I am right now. At Church on Sunday Dr. Olds had all the students and teachers stand up and members of the congregation sitting on my row laid their hands upon me and prayed for me. It was truly incredible and God reassuring me that I am ready.

Last week Mary Grace came in town for the night and we went out with Lane and Jacelyn to McDougals :). Spending time with these girls made me realize how much I love and miss the fellowship of Furman friends. There are some incredible girls and guys on my trip this fall and I am anxious to be with them and get to know them better. There will be many days that test my patience and ability to love others, but I am ready to be with them.

As I write, I realize that sitting in a public place updating a blog is not a good idea. There is way too much going on and too many people to watch to really put my thoughts into this entry that no one but my immediate family will read. So, I think I will call it quits.

The countdown is on...

The planning is done. The "to-do" list is shrinking. The time is almost here. Wow, I cannot believe that in less than 2 weeks I will be in Europe! Eager, nervous, sad, thrilled, nothing quite captures the way I feel right now. I am sad to leave my family, Nashville, my summer job, my friends, Furman in the fall, college football, and yet, I am so anxious to be there. The unknown and the wonder of it all excites me. My friends, the countdown is on...