I remember my first Antwerp

Things have finally begun to click some now.  I was a part of a group of 10 that took a day trip to Antwerp today. I didn’t know what to expect at all from Antwerp, especially after I pissed off a ticket salesman and couldn’t open the train doors to begin the trip. And I was almost disappointed by the bitter weather, but it really turned out to be a beautiful city. It’s a lot more laidback and more friendly to pedestrians than Brussels . I’ll be posting pictures on facebook later tonight from the trip. But more importantly than that, the group dynamic seems to have gotten a lot better since we were forced to hang around each other in another foreign place for an entire day. No major issues yet, at least for now, and the girls are cooking dinner for us tonight, so I’m grateful to get a break from that.

            I’ve started noticing what bothers natives about American travelers. We have an incredibly strong sense of entitlement, and it comes off as arrogance and ignorance when we try to communicate with people over here. Even if not all of us expect to be spoken to in English while abroad, we tend to get more frustrated more quickly than we should be allowed to. And while speaking habits are more of a cultural thing, Americans definitely appear to be louder and bolder when speaking amongst themselves as compared to Europeans. We’ve already had a few instances where some members of the program have embarrassed themselves in public through “American” behaviors, and it’s bringing shame to the rest of us. I wish I knew more French or Dutch when traveling so I didn’t appear so ignorant, but I don’t have time to relearn French and learn business.

            Regardless of that, Brussels and Belgium are amazing. I’ve never lived in a city before, and I’m really starting to enjoy the urban lifestyle. Walking everywhere is more relaxing, even if it does take more time, and the metro makes everything conveniently located. While the nightlife in Brussels is supposedly not as good as in Antwerp, it’s still novel to be able to go to bars at night. And the central location allows us to go just about anywhere without too much hassle. Antwerp was an almost-spontaneous day trip and this weekend we’re considering Paris or Germany, followed by Rome the next weekend. School fits itself into this equation but the profs work with us to make traveling easier. It’s a great system.

Notes:

1.     Navigating is fun until you screw up.

2.     Of course the sun would come out on the day I plan to do school work.

3.     Antwerp apparently translates to “Hand thrower” because of a story associated with the town’s history. See facebook for details.

4.     Chicken Burgers: The Breakfast of Champions.

5.     Paying less than 2 Dollars/Euros for a meal cooked by someone else is one of the greatest pleasures in life.