Last night I had the opportunity to meet two new students, Malvine and Sylwia. They are both from Poland and missed our tour/orientation because they arrived late. So, I told them that I would take them into town today. I tried to take some more pictures for you guys because I didn't do a very job of photographing everything on our tour yesterday.
Also, weekends in Belgium seem to be very dead unless you are traveling. While some students are around and like to party, most students go home as they do not live very far from where they attend school. It would be the equivalent of Trent living at Lindenwood and coming home on the weekends. In fact, people speak so many languages here that even Belgian students can sometimes be considered study abroad students. For example, Anne is a study abroad student from southern Belgium. So, she speaks French fluently, some Dutch, and some English. Because we are in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, she is considered a study abroad student. Although, she goes home on the weekends.
Also, I have the longest weekend out of anyone here. I only needed a few courses to graduate and I am scaled on a different scoring system. For example, I only have four classes I am taking here on Tuesday and Wednesday. Everyone else is taking 30 ETS credits (the European system). That is equivalent to like 7 or 8 courses. So, not only do I have a 5 day weekend, but I do not have as many courses to take here- even if you count the two online courses I am taking through Northwest.
Also, weekends in Belgium seem to be very dead unless you are traveling. While some students are around and like to party, most students go home as they do not live very far from where they attend school. It would be the equivalent of Trent living at Lindenwood and coming home on the weekends. In fact, people speak so many languages here that even Belgian students can sometimes be considered study abroad students. For example, Anne is a study abroad student from southern Belgium. So, she speaks French fluently, some Dutch, and some English. Because we are in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, she is considered a study abroad student. Although, she goes home on the weekends.
Also, I have the longest weekend out of anyone here. I only needed a few courses to graduate and I am scaled on a different scoring system. For example, I only have four classes I am taking here on Tuesday and Wednesday. Everyone else is taking 30 ETS credits (the European system). That is equivalent to like 7 or 8 courses. So, not only do I have a 5 day weekend, but I do not have as many courses to take here- even if you count the two online courses I am taking through Northwest.
The town square
Town Square
Malevine, Sylwia, & I
Old Catholic Church
I love it there! That's crazy that it's so diverse and that even a citizen of that country is considered a study abroad student. It's also cool that you have such a long weekend and can actually enjoy your time/travel a little bit in your time off.
ReplyDeleteI just got my schedule figured out today: I'm taking 4 classes, 4 days a week, working in the International Affairs office 2 days a week, have Kurdish lessons 3 nights a week, tutoring a student in English one night, and church things 2 nights a week. It looks like I will be very busy and then visiting families in my free time, while also being asked to play on the university's basketball team. Ha! But I think for me, I need to be busy here cause the toughest times are always when I am bored or alone.