Lessons Learned

1. I was thoroughly confused the other day when my professor gave me a syllabus, and it didn't fit into my folder. Naturally, I just assumed my folder had a weird pocket or something was stuck in it. Nope, it turns out Belgians (and possibly other Europeans as well) print on extra long paper. Who would have known?

-Belgians like the extra long printer paper.

2. While I'm packing for school or vacation or whatever it might be, my parents always laugh at me and say "You know they have stores in Greenville, or Brussels etc." aka You can go to the store if you forget something. I had that mindset while packing for Brussels and decided to buy my shampoo and face wash and things of that nature once I had arrived. I found some shampoo, but face wash looks different here, I am convinced. All of the labels are in French, and Dutch, and German, and no English. So, when I went into a beauty type store to find my face wash, I decided to just ask where to find it. The cashier only spoke French. I can understand some French and can speak some French, but I have to plan out my conversations in advance. "Bonjour! Est-ce que vous avez une chose pour menager mon visage?" I accidentally asked "Hello! Do you have something to 'to do housecleaning' my face?" No wonder the cashier stared at me like I was crazy. I thought I had used the proper verb for "to clean." Nosireebob.

No fear though, I brought some friends back into the store with me, and I used an app called "Word Lens" that translates labels or menus into English on the spot. I found the face wash, and I awkwardly smiled at the cashier as I bought it and tried to escape as quickly as possible. So much for any knowledge of French I thought I had.

-Everyone does not speak English.

3. Brussels has laws about recycling. In 2010, recycling was made obligatory, so we had to learn the rules pretty quickly upon our arrival. There are three trashcans with three different colored bags: white, blue, and yellow. Trash, plastic, and paper. We have been throwing away our trash in the proper trashcans, as far as I know, but the house cleaning person will apparently look through the trash and confirm that it is done properly. Brussels, props to you for being green and so eco. So eco.

-Recycle. Go green.

4. I literally can't see anything the light bulbs are so dim. Also, our refrigerator is barely cold. My yogurt and eggs are a nice room temperature. Also, they sell milk and eggs that don't need to be refrigerated. I, for one, was not aware that that was a thing. I will be putting all regularly refrigerated things in the refrigerator.  Lastly, the hairdryer is not heated at all.

-Europeans don't like to use electricity or power.

Day Trip to Gent

We were told this was the world's most beautiful tree and that we needed to dance around it.