I spent 4 brief days in Paris first with a close friend of mine from school who'd been studying there, and then to Brussels. It was hot and muggy when I got here, and my backpack far too heavy, but I found my way to the apartment after many many hours of delays, traffic on the bus from Paris, and wrong turns when coming out of the Metro into my neighbourhood! When I move in, my renter sets me up with a Belgian phone and sim card he already has and doesn't use...so nice! I find myself thinking, wow, that's good fortune. And kindness.
The first week went slowly. My roommate hadn't moved in, and I didn't know anyone or any French, really. I've lost most of my Dutch, which was never much to start with. I spent most of every day trying to get myself to do work, interviewing European Commission officials for my undergraduate research thesis, and trying to get to know as many different parts of the city as possible. I did far too much comparing to Amsterdam, but I'm learning to love the place now.
Brussels is neatly-sized, with soooo many extraordinarily distinct sections, so it can feel very large (especially when you're just getting to know it and don't speak the language)--the size is small enough to be unlike New York City or Paris or London, but somewhere large enough to feel city-like. It's like the size of DC, which is perfect (though DC is--believe it or not--much more homogeneous spatially than this place). It's true I never really felt Amsterdam was city-like. It was city-like in a....neighbourhood-y, downtown way. Which is good! I loved it! But it wasn't a classic 'big-city' feel like the others I mentioned (which is not a bad thing, just a thing I've noted). And neither is Brussels, but it's still something new. It reminds me a lot of Washington, D.C., with maybe a mix of Amsterdam thrown in. Lots of international people, cultures, languages, the government is centred here, but also the streets are wider and more open, the buildings are shorter and more utilitarian, and the architecture is very 1800s Victorian brick townhome. Amsterdamian, like I said, only with lighter colours and more variety thrown in. I miss the water, though, but there are lots of parks here and fountains everywhere. When the Sun is not oppressive and hot (Summer is my least favourite weather / season!), it is downright gorgeous. It's downright gorgeous even in the Summer Sun, but everything is better when the Summer Sun is not glaring on it.
At the end of a week, my new roommate (well, housemate) moved in, and she's both Polish & Greek, plus she speaks English and is learning French...we're bonding over our French skills (hers are still better than mine, though), our love of international relations and the EU, and living in Brussels without knowing anyone else.
At the end of two or three days with her, my friend from school (who was just in Paris) came to visit for 4 days, and she taught me to love the city! She's right: it's such a funky, lively little town! By that, I mean city. But it's so surrealist, so postmodern, so...eccentric and down-right strange! The public art and metro art alone would tell you that, even if the Magritte museum wasn't stationed right in down-town Brussels. We of course go. My 'Use-It' guide and map says 'Brussels is the capital of surrealist Belgium, and that's also how we speak. One of the nicer insults is "skieve lavabo", which means "twisted sink"'. It's something you really notice, about the city, though! It's full of personality and wit and quirkiness, all in its own little bundle of self-pride and also kindness. My friend noted that people smile at you here in Brussels and appreciate when you try to speak French (she can; I just try, badly, but still), whereas in Paris you get sneers. My housekey is a funny thick old skeleton key, and I like it :) It's nice living in the city, having only one roommate, and having a kitchen and terrace and living room all to the two of you! I love it :)
On Thursday, 1 July, my roommate and visiting friend and I went to the 'Ommegang' festivities in the centre of the city. Ommegang (ommegang.be) recounts the tale of a divinely-inspired medieval theft of a Virgin Mary statue in Antwerp by a working-class Brusselier womyn, and her miraculous return with the precious object. It became an annual procession ('ommegang' means to 'walk around') that turned into a cultural and national event, and now it's somewhat of a tourist attraction (by somewhat, I mean, majorly!). It was awesome. Big parade, medieval costumes, historically inaccurate weaponry (guns? in the Middle Ages???), ridiculously towering oversized character-costumes that people managed to maneuverer around, and two different height-layers of stilt-walkers...which culminated in a stilt-battle, with the last person standing winning the hand of some beautiful lady or other. Also horses, of which we saw more left-over evidence the next day. Mmmm.
On Saturday, 3 July, the city celebrated the beginning of the Belgian EU Presidency with an evening and night dance-tutorial and then concert, outside by the EU and European Commission buildings. The event was called 'I <3 EU' and culminated in a pop singer-star floating from a gigantic pink balloon, in a ridiculous pink and white hoop-skirt dress, various other famous artists (singer / guitarist from Placebo, the guy who does 'Alors Danse'), a live-people enactment of the EU flag (yellow-clothed trapeze artists hanging in a circle formation, doing stunts and then ending with their arms and legs out to form star-shapes, and a blue banner dropped behind them), and TONSSSSSSS of fireworks, which we loved! It ended around midnight / 12.15am, so we figured: Happy Fourth! An international, EU-loving Fourth :) Better than we do it at home, I think.
Sunday, 4 July, the Tour de France comes through town. I miss it by about 5 - 10 minutes, but....!
Monday, 5 July, the Tour de France starts up again in Bruxelles. I plan to go to the Parc de Bruxelles near the Royal Palace to watch it start up, but as I head out of my apartment to go down to the Metro (AWESOME PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE HERE), I see a crowd of people lined up past my view up and down the large street running through the neighbourhood, maybe 2 blocks from my house. There are crowd-control fences and friendly neighbourhood police officers. I bring my picnic sandwich and set down here for a bit to fill out some postcards. Then, all of a sudden and without ceremony, around 12.20pm, for about maybe 15 or so seconds (at most?), bikers WHIZ past us! Then, they're gone, and the people around me look so dazed they only really start clapping as the bikes are leaving, then get into it once all the dozens and dozens of cars with the dozens of spare bikes on top drive past us (which takes much longer than the bikes themselves!) I do my laundry by hand today, because laundromats are expensive and far away and in French, and I try typing up some notes from my interviews with EU officials. But it takes so LONG and my arms start to hurt! I pack up for the next day, because I know I can do it tomorrow, when....!
Tuesday, 6 July: First day at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel working with a researcher / lecturer I took a class from in Amsterdam. He gives me the key to our office (his office, which I'm sharing), and brings me to the hour-long staff meeting at 10.30am. I am introduced, and then sit through another hour during which time a PhD student presents his work, research questions, and initial findings. The hour culminates in a 15 - 20 minute debate on law versus political science PhDs and methodology, and I find myself thinking, this is good to know, since this is something that will give me insight into the process! Not a poli sci PhD then, maybe. I find myself thinking about Economics a lot, especially because there is a sign right in front of me listing off the VUB's degree programs, with 'Economics' listed prominently atop the 'European Politics and Law' degree which, of course, also catches my eye. I love Europe. I love European politics and International politics, but why do all American poli sci programs focus on the U.S. or North America? Uninterested. Le sigh. To my right is a hand-written profile of all the six-week-long summer program participants, like little personal introductions one might write out in fourth grade. Most of the students speak upward of 4 languages, and they're all around 22-30 years old. Some of them have degrees in economics, and I find myself envying them. I felt that way about CSS once. I meditate on this idea / fact while listening to the lecture.
Back in the office of the researcher I'm working with, my U.S.-to-European plug converter I have to attach to the end of any electrical plug I need to use isn't working (again), and my computer's about to lose power. I borrow his Mac charger plug since he's run out to various meetings and won't need it, and when he comes back, I tell him. I explain my converter was making popping and fizzing sounds, and would charge for about 5 seconds before the light would fade again. He looks like he's scratching his head mentally and he says, 'Huh! That's not good', and looks as though he wishes I hadn't kept trying with the charger to make it work, like he's afraid I would hurt his electrical outlet extender. He's probably right to be thinking that. So, he gives me the European plug adapter socket thing that attaches into the Mac adapter (the little plug that slides into the bulky rectangular prism...you know what I'm talking about; I don't know the words for it, but you know what I'm talking about). He says I can keep it because he has like 3 or 4 of them. I feel weird taking it, but Goddess knows I need it! My computer charges successfully after that.
The key to the office has a smiley face in it, where you can put it on a keychain. I choose one of the eyes, but I know I could have used the smile. It makes me smile whenever I see it (despite the fact that I've just violated one of its invisible eyeballs). What a silly office key to have!
This is my update. There are many things I've forgotten, but I love you all.
xoxo
Miranda
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