Did someone say chocolate and waffles?!
May 23, 2011
Today was adventurous to say the least! Today was my first day of working and Pedro was very helpful in sending me directions from where I am living to the building I will be working in. It was about a 2.7 km walk and was supposed to take about a half hour. I thought I'd leave 45 minutes early so I had 15 minutes to spare of getting lost; some streets just don't have signs in Europe... Anyways, it ended up taking me a mere hour to get there. woops! Fortunately there was an older man leaving his boat house for the morning. I stopped to ask if he could help me with my written directions. Me being a 'genius', I went through Google street view on my route the night before to look for building/sign indicators, but somehow still managed to end up where I was. The man was very kind and got a map out of his car politely pointing out I had walked nearly a mile the wrong way. As I thanked him and turned around, he suggested that I should look into purchasing a map. I'll definitely consider that.
Before leaving in the morning, my mom and sister woke up at 1am their time to skype a hello to me which was fun, though I couldn't talk for long because I still had to pack for tonight's trip because of course I hadn't finished that yet.
Today we mostly discussed about what the expectations are, work time, and learning more about the objectives and goals of the program Universe Awareness. I am really excited for this summer and what I can take back from it.
For lunch, I ate at the cafeteria in the building with Frederick which was very nice and I learned about how she became involved with the program. Pedro had other things to do in the afternoon so Frederick drove us to Brussels, Belgium where I am now. On the way here, we saw many cows and let me tell you, they do not smell the same as American cows - pew!!! We are spending the night because tomorrow Universe Awareness is receiving a 1.9 million euro grant from the European Parliament and there is a conference/talk that I have been fortunate to attend. We are staying at the White Hotel, and it is white. (I'm so funny, but seriously) It's very trendy and European. Below is a picture of the view from my balcony, very nice.
As we drove through the city to get here, we got a little lost and I learned how unlike the Netherlands, everyone here speaks French and zero English and not even enough to get directions. Since this is the case and I can speak English and Spanish very well, I am going to take a quick online French course and then venture out for dinner at the place the man at the desk recommended.
(I forgot my cord to plug in my camera so pictures will have to wait until I get back to Leiden.)
Okay... so more to add on today... went to find the restaurant, but I didn't think I could handle the menu and be sure of what I was getting by myself so I found a market and bought food, much cheaper and probably much safer.
Before leaving in the morning, my mom and sister woke up at 1am their time to skype a hello to me which was fun, though I couldn't talk for long because I still had to pack for tonight's trip because of course I hadn't finished that yet.
Today we mostly discussed about what the expectations are, work time, and learning more about the objectives and goals of the program Universe Awareness. I am really excited for this summer and what I can take back from it.
For lunch, I ate at the cafeteria in the building with Frederick which was very nice and I learned about how she became involved with the program. Pedro had other things to do in the afternoon so Frederick drove us to Brussels, Belgium where I am now. On the way here, we saw many cows and let me tell you, they do not smell the same as American cows - pew!!! We are spending the night because tomorrow Universe Awareness is receiving a 1.9 million euro grant from the European Parliament and there is a conference/talk that I have been fortunate to attend. We are staying at the White Hotel, and it is white. (I'm so funny, but seriously) It's very trendy and European. Below is a picture of the view from my balcony, very nice.
As we drove through the city to get here, we got a little lost and I learned how unlike the Netherlands, everyone here speaks French and zero English and not even enough to get directions. Since this is the case and I can speak English and Spanish very well, I am going to take a quick online French course and then venture out for dinner at the place the man at the desk recommended.
Tomorrow, I do not need to be at Parliament until noon, so I just finished routing out my walking trip to include waffles and chocolate, great choice if I do say so myself. I also took a map from the front desk and drew lines of where I need to go - hopefully someone will be able to help me if I get lost then!
(I forgot my cord to plug in my camera so pictures will have to wait until I get back to Leiden.)
Okay... so more to add on today... went to find the restaurant, but I didn't think I could handle the menu and be sure of what I was getting by myself so I found a market and bought food, much cheaper and probably much safer.
Posted by Stephanie Finnvik.
