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.

Captain Ryan: Origins

Dillon brought it to my attention that some of you don't know the backstory of the alias Captain Ryan. Two summers ago, Stephanie Eller, Courtney Dixon, and I went to Canada for 9 days. While we were in Toronto, I saw some sort of pin lying face down on the street near Lake Ontario. I picked it up and it read "Cruise Toronto: Capt Ryan." I put it on and we took a picture of me wearing it, and Courtney used her photoshop skills to make me look like a captain, which is the origin of my photo on this blog. Since then, Captain Ryan has become a sort of joke alter ego, a badass version of myself if you will.

In what I consider a terrible mistake, I have been elected chef for dinner the past two nights. My cooking knowledge is usually limited to hot pockets, ramen, and hotter pockets. Tonight I’m making tacos, which my roommates have informed me are a type of Mexican hot pocket, so hopefully I won’t burn down the apartment complex. We’ve also experienced some of the local fare, which is based heavily on fries (frites), fish (poissons), and beer (beer). Even though everyone knows I always try to abstain from drinking as much as possible in Clemson, it’s fiscally irresponsible for me NOT to drink beer here. It’s so cheap I practically have to. I hope you’re able to empathize with my pain during this trying time.

We’re all still new to the bar scene, in addition to the French speaking scene and the not acting like an idiotic American scene. I wish I knew as much French as I did in elementary school, but I also don’t want to be a pansy, so I’ll stick with Spanish.  The city is getting smaller as we explore more, but I’m still able to get lost without too much effort. Classes also start tomorrow which confuses me because I was unaware that we’d be doing anything but partying for a semester. Reality is going to have to go to chill out for a few more days though because the national championship game starts tomorrow night at 2:30 AM and we’ve found a sports bar that will be playing it. I have the distinct feeling my professor may not have a great first impression of me at my 9 AM class. It’s cool though, I’m sure he’ll be a Ducks fan. Go Oregon!

Notes:

1.     Google translate is not your friend.

2.     Cooking on a stove with only two eyes that are 3 inches apart can make for some interesting cookware formations.

3.     Americans have buildings all wrong. When I can look outside at night and see one building lit up in rainbow colors, one with a ribbon of light on it, and one that changes colors over time and still be sober, I’m happy.

4.     American cartoons in French. Hilarious. Bob l’eponge, nuff said.

5.     It upsets me that Clemson will be seeing significantly more snow over the next few days than I will.

This first post is going to be relatively dull compared to the future ones (I hope), in part because I’m new to this newfangled blogosphere and also due to how mundane air travel can be. Surprisingly, I got through baggage check-in, security, and got to my gate in 45 minutes, which I believe is a new speed record for Atlanta’s airport. But Murphy and his canon wouldn’t let me go entirely unmolested, and I found out the baggage check-in lady had referred me to the wrong gate. So I packed up, bid a fond farewell to the seat I had grown to love in those 15 minutes and moved to the correct terminal.

But before I proceed (as in all honesty, I’m writing this part at the gate and have little to say at this point), I must give a shout out to the Tiger Band for providing me with my only piece of stowaway luggage. That new duffle was the perfect size for this trip, if not a little too big. I’ve always prided myself in my packing ability, and I continue to stroke my ego currently for getting 4 months worth of things into a duffle bag and a book bag.

FLASH FORWARD

It’s currently 5:31 AM in Brussels, 11:31 PM in South Carolina. I’m rather jet lagged, but that’s to be expected. I met a Belgian man on the plane named Guillame who actually lived near our apartment at some point in his life. He spoke almost no English, and I almost no French, but he did offer to drop me off at my apartment from the airport. Now, I’m not normally one to turn down generous offers from complete and entirely foreign strangers, but I was scheduled to meet my roommate Tom at the airport.  To this point, I’m surprised by how easy everything has been. Some people in my group have had terrible luck with trains and the metro, but I weathered that storm unscathed. The group is still largely unfamiliar with itself, but I’m learning names here faster than I have with any other people. My roommates are awesome and well traveled. Because I’m still tired, I’ll stop the recount here and hopefully will have some pictures up when I get a chance to stumble around Brussels in the daylight.

Notes So Far:

1.     English = Good, French = Butchered, Dutch = Merde!

2.     Beer is good. And stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-jOEAufDQ4

3.     I have yet to shower and smell like rancid homeless man. Don’t worry, it’s first on my to-do list come morning.

4.     Don’t let me forget to do some massive travel superlatives for this entire semester. For those of you unfamiliar with my superlatives, consult my Notes for the Canadian trip ones. Sorry about the photo links in advance.

5.     I did not have a beer immediately upon landing. I know, I'm rather disappointed in myself too but it would have A. Knocked me out, B. Cost 5 Euros, and C. Made me look like an alcoholic to the natives because I landed at 8:00 AM. I'm okay with C though.

6.     Never take me seriously