My Super Exchange

2007-08-07T03:28:00.000-07:00

Well hello! I'm quite sorry I haven't been updating the blog... but I've had very limited access to the internet in Warsaw, and without pictures it's just not as much fun! Anyway, the truth is the exchange is very much over. So I just wanted some closure here...

The last month or so I've been hanging out in Warsaw. I've managed to get out of town a few times, most significantly, I had a chance to visit Helsinki this past weekend! And I totally fell in love with Finland! Beautiful people, beautiful landscape... well, it was just a lot of fun!

I am off again soon for the last round of European travels before I head back home to Ottawa on the 3rd of September. I am going back to Belgium, visiting Holland with my friend from Ottawa, and then going to spend the last bit of time in Nice and maybe other cities on the French Riviera. I am extremely excited!

It was fun keeping the blog, but for now though, I'll see you on Facebook!

Kisses, kusjes, caluski!

2007-06-23T01:19:00.000-07:00

So it's really the end: I have just three more days, two more nights here in Ghent. I wanted to quickly update you on what's been happening in the last few days, because my recent Paris posts are actually quite dated.

Here we go! After classes ended last week, we celebrated with an International Dinner party. We actually had the first official International Dinner back in May. The whole idea was that people bring food that's typical to their native country's cooking... I have to say that the first dinner was a little bit more of a success food-wise, because people had a little bit more time to prepare their dishes. Here are a few pics from back in May:

This time around, the menu consisted mainly of chips, dips and crackers :) However, my friend stole the show with an ambitious Finish sandwich cake, which she also decorated beautifully. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from that night, last Friday, but I will post them as soon as someone is kind enough to forward them to me!

Saturday evening I went to the movies with my friend, Pieter, to see the new Tarantino movie, Death Proof. It just came out here in Ghent, and unfortunately, it was not being shown with Rodriguez's other Grindhouse feature, Planet Terror... but that's ok. Maybe it was enough violence and gore for one night. Here's the trailer for that one:

Sunday, we got up bright and early to visit Luxembourg for the day! Actually, I overslept a little, and unintentionally postponed our trip by one hour... but everyone survived the change of schedule! The train trip lasted about 3.5 hours, so we ate, slept and watched a movie on my friend's laptop to pass the time.

Luxembourg is quite beautiful, very green and clean in comparison to Brussels, for example, and not surprisingly, quite a rich place! In fact, Luxembourgers have the highest GDP of any country in the world. The country has three official languages, French, German and Luxemburgish.

The city of Luxembourg is quite important in terms of military history, and there is lots to see if you're a history buff like my friend! The city used to be surrounded by fortifications (some parts dating back to the 10th century), but they were almost completely destroyed following Luxembourg's ratification of the Treaty of London in 1867, in essence, to confirm its neutrality. Still, parts of the fortifications have survived, including about 2 km of casemates, which we explored with the help of a very nice guide... Casemates are tunnels built into rock, and the term literally translates to "house of slaying/killing."

And we saw and crossed the Adolphe Bridge, which was once the biggest stone bridge in the world. However, since it was renovated with steel reinforcements, it no longer carries that title...

The views around the bridge were so beautiful!

Then we stumbled upon a church festival at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is a beautiful church that dates back to the early 17th century, and houses some amazing stained glass work and an impressive organ gallery. The church was offering bread, water and champagne, so we helped ourselves!

After the Cathedral, we walked towards the city centre, where a children's band was playing Beatles' music in the main square. They were so cute, and I especially fell for this one little boy who was playing the mandolin.

Our final destination in Luxembourg was the American Cemetery and Memorial, located just east of the city. It's the final resting place for over 5,000 American soldiers, including General Patton, who, according to my friend, was an infamous character. To be honest, the trip to the cemetery was a little bit of a trek, and we ended up crossing a forest and a wheat field to get there... but it was worth it.

Then we made our way back to Ghent.

Monday night, I visited a friend in Brussels for dinner and drinks. The drinks part was especially cool, since we enjoyed them in the basement lounge of the Belga Queen, which used to be a bank... now it's a fancy restaurant, and the lounge part is located in the old safe room.

Tuesday, my friends and I decided to enjoy some touristy things in Ghent, so we took a guided boat ride along the canals. It was so nice! After the boat ride, we sat in a cafe along the Graslei and tasted the best beer in the world! Yes, of course it's Belgian. It's called Westvleteren, a trappist beer brewed by monks at the Saint Sixtus monastery in West Flanders, and it set us back about 26 Euros for three pints! Well worth it, though!

Finally, Wednesday night was my friend's last night here in Ghent, so we went all out! That means, we enjoyed some trappist beers, did some late night bowling and ended up dancing in Overpoortstraat. Here are a few pictures:

That's it for now... next time you hear from me, I'll probably be in Warsaw. Two of my Finnish friends are already joining me there on the 29th... so I will survive my post-exchange blues, I think!

Lots of kusjes!

2007-06-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

A novel by Kasia Kraszewska. Part two.

Ok... first I have to finish telling you all about Paris... and then I'll recount more recent happenings. (Basically, it's a bittersweet time here in Ghent: school's done but people have gone or are leaving quite soon!)

So after the Place de la Concorde, my Mom and I were quite tired, and of course, I was wearing my new shoes, but they were giving me a little bit of discomfort... so we decided to pause for a coffee. First, we crossed the beautiful Pont Alexandre III, which was built between 1896 and 1900, and is considered to be one of the prettiest bridges in Paris. Once we crossed, Les Invalides were just on the other side. So we took some nice pictures. The story behind Les Invalides is quite interesting... Louis XIV ordered the construction of this giant compound in 1670, to house sick and elderly veteran soldiers, who would have otherwise probably ended up on the street. Today, it is also a burial site for France's war heroes.

Finally, we sat down in a typical Parisian cafe and ordered some drinks. Sipping and planning our evening, we decided to stay in this area of the city until night fall, since the Eiffel Tower Quarter was just a short walk away. Of course we needed to see the tower with all the lights. So, in order to kill some time, and since our stomachs were quite empty... we decided to head from coffee straight to dinner. Ah, life is hard!

We didn't have any specific dinner destination in mind, but we wanted something authentic and less touristy... I think we really lucked out with a little place called L'Auberge Bressane. When we entered, they asked us if we had a reservation, which we didn't, but they squeezed us in anyway... and by the end of our meal, the place was packed, and all we could hear was French French French. We ordered a bottle of the 2002 Chablis... to tell you the truth we were a little intimidated when the wine expert approached our table, but we ordered white anyway! And of course, to start off with, we ordered the escargots... which came with those special tongs, which we had no idea how to use. But we managed! We always do :) For the main course, my Mom had this amazing chicken and truffle dumpling... and I had tuna fish, half-cooked, half-raw... as you can tell by my detailed description of our dinner experience, it was a meal I will never forget!

After dinner, we walked a short distance and were already at the Champs de Mars, with the beautiful Eiffel Tower in view. I can't express how amazing it is to see it for the first time, all lit up. See for yourself:

After the Eiffel Tower, we walked north to see the Arc de Triomphe, also lit up and beautiful:

After midnight drinks on Champs Elysees, we continued along this legendary street, observing the nightlife until we couldn't manage anymore (exhausted, full of food, with achy feet). So we took the metro the rest of the way back to our hotel, where we passed out immediately!

The next morning, we started off with a delicious breakfast in a cafe... baguette, chocolate croissants, eggs, jam... coffee. And we briefly visited St. Suplice, but most of it was under heavy construction. And then we entered Jardin du Luxembourg, where so much was happening... People doing Tai Chi and other meditation exercises, martial arts, running, biking. Others were reading, listening to music, suntanning, out with their kids, playing with miniature sailboats in the pond, walking their dogs. There was even a group of people doing laugh therapy, not caring who saw them or heard them. What an interesting and wonderful place. We could have stayed there indefinitely, but we still had more to see!

After the gardens, we headed east to Place de Pantheon, which was originally a church, but also a burial place of famous people including Voltaire and Rousseau! Then we headed north to Ile de la Cite, but first passed through St. Germain, a wonderful district with many narrow streets and great eateries. Typical Paris, the way I had always imagined it. Finally we arrived at the Notre Dame... what an amazing cathedral, it literally takes your breath away!

After Notre Dame, we located Picasso's museum and did a quick tour of both the permanent collection and new exhibition, the latter entitled Carmen, an amazing group of works inspired by the fictional Gypsy temptress, Spain, and matadors. Our final destination was Centre Pompidou, a place which houses a public library, an art museum and music centre in one, and is really an unusual piece of architecture. Just outside the building, there's the Stravinsky fountain, with some pretty fun art.

Well, we were exhausted again! We headed to a cafe for some drinks and a late lunch and then it was time to go... back to Ghent.

After our return to Belgium, my Mom spent one more day with me and then headed to Poland. And I was left with a final project and a little bit of studying. Now it's all done, and like I said before... it's very bittersweet. I will tell you all about our end of the semester celebrations and my plans for the summer.. but next time!

Lots and lots of kusjes!

2007-06-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

The Last Month of My Life. A novel by Kasia Kraszewska. Part one.

Since the last time I posted, my sister left to go back to Canada... My best friend Freyja came back to visit Ghent again, before heading on a little adventure in the Scottish highlands with her Mom. And my Finnish friend, the one that had to go back to Helsinki already, she also came back to visit us for a few days. I managed to finish most of my school assignments... It was quite busy, especially a couple of weeks ago, but now I only have one major assignment left! And that's pretty crazy. Our class has started counting down the days of the exchange. Some of us are happy to see the end (I think it's mostly those in long-distance relationships) but most of us are quite sad, or at least have mixed feelings. It's always nice to get school over with... but people will start flying out of here as early as the 14th of this month. And that will be the end of MOCOMA 2007. So sad...

Speaking of school and assignments, here's that little video we made for our Visual Literacy class entitled, Femme Fatale in Ghent. "It's a little gem of a movie," according to my classmate. Some have called it Oscar-worthy, but you will have to see for yourself!

I finally have a million pictures to share with you. My Mom came to visit me last Tuesday. Originally, she was going to come here with her friend, but that fell through. Still, we decided to keep her two-person reservation in the B&B so that I could stay with her. It was glorious... I so enjoyed sleeping in a large bed, in a large room, and taking a nice long hot shower in a clean bathroom, and being served delicious breakfast every morning... croissants, baguettes, toast, eggs, ham and cheese, tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, juice and coffee. Mmmmm. It was everything we could hope for and much, much more. Here are a few pictures of our bedroom and the breakfast room:

My Mom arrived on Tuesday, and I sort of expected her to pass out since she skipped a night of sleep. But nooooo. She was incredibly anxious to go out on the town and meet my friends, so we went out to Vooruit that night, to see Husky Rescue, a cool Finnish band fronted by a beautiful girl (my Finnish friend has a huge crush on her, but he was too shy to go up to her after the show):

And, in case you're interested, here's the video for their song, Summertime Cowboy:

Anyway, back to my Mom's visit. It was just as I expected: my Mom fell in love with Ghent! We walked along the cobblestones and canals, and took in the architecture. And we went in and out of clothing and shoe stores. And we sat on little patios and in bars, drinking coffee and Campari and beer. We even ate Belgian frites with mayonnaise at two o'clock in the morning... and got caught in typical Belgium weather (rain!) and had to run home barefoot. Here are a few pictures from our adventures:

On Thursday, we hopped on a train and took a day trip to Bruges. Although the day started off cloudy, it turned quite beautiful by the afternoon... We walked around and visited a few churches, did a little bit of shopping, and then enjoyed some crepes and coffees on a patio. Here are a few photos:

Friday and Saturday my Mom took me on a trip of a life time... to Paris, the city of lights... the most romantic place in the world. My Dad had just been there with his family, and I was unable to meet him in the end because of school... And I thought it'd be such a waste not to go, since it's so close to Belgium. So, anyway, I got to go! The trip was part of my graduation / children's day gift. What can I say, I'm a lucky girl!

Here we are, arriving on Saturday morning in Parisian traffic (we were giddy as school girls, by the way):

When we arrived, we took the metro and got off near Les Halles... We broke for lunch right away, then went to explore the area, which is surrounded by large glass and metal buildings. According to Wikipedia, these date back to 1850, but I could have sworn they were much more recent... in fact, I kept commenting how futuristic they looked. I guess I'm not a specialist, by any means. Anyway, the true women that we are, we entered the Forum des Halles, a mall that's situated partly underground, and my Mom bought me a pair of real Parisian shoes. Here are a few pics from lunch and Les Halles, and my new shoes:

Next, we walked across Ile de Cite (passed Notre Dame... but we would return there later), and dropped off our things in our room at Hotel St. Pierre, right near Sorbonne in the Quartier Latin. The view from our window:

In the afternoon, we walked along Quai des Grands Augustins, crossed Pont Neuf, and ended up just to the east of the Louvre... We crossed the grounds, paused by the Pyramide du Louvre and the fountains, and then continued past the Arc de Triumphe du Carrousel, through the Jardins des Tuileries and to Place de la Concorde:

Ok, I will end here for now... I think that's enough reading for you guys for one day! I will continue later on this week, because we saw so much more in Paris!

Lots of kusjes... Mamo, juz tesknie za Toba!

2007-05-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry sorry sorry. It's been such a long time. I don't even know where to start... and since I don't have any photos right now, there's nothing to prompt my memory!

School's going well. We only have a month to go. I can't believe how quickly time's flying by... it's always like this when you're having a good time!

Freyja left about a week ago, although she didn't venture very far (Amsterdam) and she left behind a bag full of her stuff... so she's making it back to Ghent this weekend and we will be reunited in this beautiful city.

My sister came to visit for two weeks! She's here right now, and we're both staying in my tiny room, sharing my twin size bed. Thankfully, she doesn't kick in her sleep! We've been taking some time to tour Ghent, enjoying the sights, the cafes, the nightlife. Last weekend we actually took a short trip to Amsterdam to visit Freyja for three days (we just can't get enough of that girl!). We arrived in the evening on Thursday, took a stroll through the city, had a late dinner and then headed to the hostel, which was actually about a 45 min drive outside the city centre. Located right on the beach! So on Friday, we rented bikes and took a day trip along the sand dunes... it was, as my classmate would say, the opposite of hell. We had a little picnic on the beach, and then headed back to the hostel for some late afternoon drinks on the patio... Then we had dinner at a fancy restaurant, where we could see the sun dipping into the sea at sunset! Saturday we ventured back into Amsterdam, strolled to admire the beautiful architecture, and then headed back to Ghent on the bus.

This week I've been back at school, so my sister has done some venturing on her own. But in the evenings we usually make it out to a cafe, enjoying each other's company! This weekend looks like it's going to be busy again, so I'm looking forward to it!

Hope all is well with everyone! I will post some pictures as soon as I can...
Lots of kusjes!

2007-04-15T02:08:00.000-07:00

The last few days of the Easter break have been without further incident. I've been having a really nice time actually. But of course, I have left all my school work until today, and still I'm procrastinating with the blog...

My cousin was nice enough to send in some photos of Easter in Warsaw. Here I am with my uncle and grandparents at the breakfast table (I still have the flu and am trying to "cure" it with some morning cognac):

And this is from a walk my cousin, uncle and I took to Lazienki Park after breakfast:

This is from last Monday, my cousins and I out for drinks:

And then back to Ghent! On Friday, Freyja and I went exploring and found a beautiful park in the south end of the city. There's a beach and a lake, and lots of green spaces to just go sit and relax. We went around and were pretending to shop around for real estate in the area (there's gorgeous houses on the outskirts of the park)... I know for those of you in Ottawa/Toronto, that you probably don't want to hear this, but it's been over 22 degrees here since Wednesday, and not a cloud in the sky:

Yesterday, a couple of friends and I made our way down to Brussels for the International Festival of Fantastic Film. A good family friend hooked us up with some free tickets to see the evening's big event, a new movie from the maker's of Shaun of the Dead, called Hot Fuzz. It was hilarious and gross and just brilliant and we laughed the whole way through! Here's the trailer for it:

That's it for now... I should really get some work done! Kusjes!

2007-04-12T00:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm almost completely over the purse incident. Last night I was, until I remembered that I had bought some delicious miso paste at the health food store, and was carrying it around in my purse the day it was stolen... And last night I had a huge craving for miso soup. Then I got really really mad at the purse snatcher, but now I think I'm over it again.

Easter was so nice thanks to the grandparents! And my aunt and uncle, and my cousins and various other wonderful people I was lucky enough to see on my short trip to Warsaw. I was horribly sick the first few days, but my grandfather took care of me: brought me tea and medicine, and ordered me to bed rest. In the end, I was able to enjoy Easter breakfast on Saturday. So much good food! Then Monday I finally went out on the town, visited the Old Town Square and had a few drinks with my cousins and an old friend. Had to be back by 11 pm though, because grandma sets a curfew every time I visit. Tuesday I managed to get a little shopping done, and went out again in the evening to see Wojtek and Marcin (my "uncles" who are actually younger than me) and a friend from Ottawa who is doing an internship at the Canadian Embassy right now. We started off a Jazz bar, and moved to a really nice hookah place to enjoy some apple-flavoured smoke.

And then it was Wednesday, and time to leave! It went by so fast!

As I mentioned, thanks to the purse incident, I don't have a camera anymore, so I don't really have any pictures from Poland to share with you right now. One of my cousins will hopefully forward me some from Easter breakfast... but until then, here are some pictures from that wonderful week before the incident, aka "one of the best weeks in the history of time," from Freyja's camera.

This first one is of me on a Vespa, on our way to Make Up (Saturday night):

This is me and our good Belgian friend:

The Finns dancing and generally having way too much fun!

And then there's me, thoughtful, as always:

Kusjes!

2007-04-06T01:47:00.000-07:00

Well, my purse was stolen on Wednesday night. Yup. First the key incident, now the purse incident. I am kind of getting tired of these incidents. Surprisingly, though, I am still in good spirits. I dealt with everything I needed to deal with yesterday, including making a police statement, canceling my card, getting a new phone, etc. My Momma was nice enough to forward me some money until I can set up a new bank account here... The only thing is that my camera was in the purse, so I may not have as many pics to post for the remainder of the trip.

On top of this, I have been fighting a little bit of a cold since Monday, which has now developed until a full-blown coughing and sneezing fest... Just in time for my trip to Warsaw. I am leaving this afternoon to visit my grandparents for Easter. I am still excited, and hope that I will feel better soon!

This was just a quick update to let you know I'm still alive! Kusjes!

2007-03-31T02:46:00.000-07:00

This week has truly been one of the best weeks in the history of time! As you know, my best friend came to Ghent on Monday and it's just been so nice to show her around and introduce her to people and places and show her how spoiled I've been for the last three months! Here is her first official Ghent photo, with the train station in the background:

The weather was simply amazing earlier in the week and so we spent some time hanging out at the Graslei on Tuesday, eating and drinking, enjoying the sun until it hid behind the houses... and then we sat some more.

And on Wednesday, my best friend and I went to Brussels to see Air play live at the Ancienne Belgique. They played a great set, I'm really starting to enjoy their new stuff! The sign in the first photo says the show is sold out (of course)!

Thursday was bittersweet, because we had our final oral Dutch exam. I say bittersweet because we really enjoyed the class, and we're all in love with our teacher, and it's just too bad that some things have to come to an end... But we all passed the course, so that's good! Right after, we all headed to our Portuguese friend's house for a little get together.

And that brings us to Friday. My classmate and I handed in a huge paper that we managed to write in between all the fun we are having... It was a breakdown of the major EU directives from 2006. And we went to visit Brussels again, this time for a quick tour of the European Parliament. I really haven't had much exposure to the EU in the past, but now I'm learning quite a lot about it, and for the first time, I'm considering working in Public Affairs...

Friday night, we started our weekend of partying by making some fancy drinks: our version of hot shots (coffee, cream and orange liquor). This is a very important weekend for partying because, not only is it my best friend's first weekend here, it's also one of my Finnish friend's last!!! It's happy and sad all at the same time...

We grew some milky mustaches:

Ok, that was absolutely everything that happened during the best week ever! Hope you're all well! Kusjes!

2007-03-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

I said I was going to update on the weekend, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm sorry. It's the end of the month and my Internet is acting up again; our house always manages to use up all our broadband limits, which makes our connection unbearably slow during the last few days. I'm just dropping by to say that everything is "heel goed!" I picked up my best friend, Freyja, at the train station yesterday. She has just spent some time with her friend and ex-roommate in London... they had a great time, but Freyja had been complaining about the London weather (of course). So I promised her some sunshine in Ghent, and boy did I deliver! It was sunny and 17 yesterday. More of the same today. I'm just trying to finish up a paper, and then we will be having a picnic with some friends from school along the Graslei. More soon, and some pictures of course. Lots of kusjes!

2007-03-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

I applied for my first EU jobs this week. It sort of happened by accident actually... I was surfing a Belgian website and found a link to English Jobs in Brussels, then decided to go all out and google English Jobs in the EU. The first one that caught my eye was for Google Inc. in Warsaw... I couldn't believe my luck. I was born for this position! If you don't know already, I am a huge nerd at heart, and Google is one of my favourite things in the entire world. So I quickly updated my resume and sent it along with a gushy cover letter. It's an entry level communications position... I have my fingers crossed.

(As a side note, here's a really interesting piece about Google taking over the world.)

The other position I applied for was at Maersk Inc., which is a global shipping and transportation giant. They are also looking for entry level communications staff, this time in Denmark. It's not that I have a passion for shipping, but I think there would be lots of great learning opportunities in a company such as this. And I'm sure they need lots of help developing their corporate social responsibility strategies, which is one of the most interesting aspects of PR for me.

That's all I wanted to say for now, I will post some more on the weekend!

2007-03-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

The key situation was finally resolved on Tuesday. I am guarding the new set with my life!

Over the last week, I visited Bruges twice. Last Sunday, I visited with a friend who used to call the old city home. We walked over cobblestone streets, along the canals, visited two churches and saw Michelangelo's Madonna with Child. It was a gorgeous day, and as a result, I have some very nice photos to share with you:

Then I went back to Bruges with my classmates for a field trip on Tuesday. It was organized by students, and featured a guided tour of the Chocolate Museum!

The rest of the week was spent studying, preparing papers and presentations. On Friday and Saturday our class attended the Euprera conference on Social Media. It covered topics from blogs to Second Life to Facebook. I got so inspired by some of the speakers; it's such an exciting time to be in corporate communications!

After the conference on Saturday, we surprised our Finnish friend with a birthday trip to the sauna. She's been dreaming about saunas since she left for the exchange, because apparently everyone in Finland has one in their home. And our other Finnish friend was also celebrating his birthday this week, so Saturday night was one huge birthday party! Here we are out for dinner:

After filling our bellies with delicious Greek food, we went out to three different dance bars and had an amazing time!

Now I have to get back to work... Kusjes!

2007-03-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty horrible day! I managed to lose the keys to my apartment... After waking my roommates at a very indecent hour to let me into the house, my friend and I managed to break into my room. I've been a prisoner here since. And because I am so brilliant, I left the address tag on the key ring, so the landlord will have to change the locks on the front door. That will hopefully happen first thing in the morning so I can go ahead with my plans to visit Brussels tomorrow. But we'll see. I won't get my hopes up too much...

I want to apologize for not updating the blog for so long. But it's been more of the same really... I've been working and partying hard! Last weekend was really great because my friend's best friend came to visit from Finland. First we took her to Overpoort. It's an area of the city that turns into a huge party every Thursday, the night before the Belgian students go home for the weekend. (Most students go back to their cities, towns and villages. It's very cute; they visit their Moms and do their laundry and always come back with Tupperware containers filled with home cooking.) Overpoort is about 20 cafes, bars and dance clubs packed into just two city blocks. Once a week they close the area to traffic and it swells with party goers.

Then last Saturday night, we went out with just the ladies for a delicious late supper at a Greek restaurant around the corner from our place. We had seafood and lamb, which we washed down with wine and ouzo, telling silly stories and laughing the whole way through... No girls night out on the town would be complete without dancing, so we hit up a couple of places before calling it a night.

And the only other photo-evidence I have from the last two weeks is from this past Monday. A group of Artevelde Hogeschool students had to organize a fashion show for their final assignment. One of my roommates was a model, so I went to show some support (she was extremely nervous to walk the catwalk in 3 inch heels!) The whole thing was so professional: red carpet, candles, champagne and hors d'oeuvres! The show featured vintage wear from local shops, and some of it was pretty great!

Overall, this past week has been very productive for me. We had our first presentations yesterday... I think they went really well. I also got a head start on some new projects. For example, we're doing a presentation on radical right parties in the EU, and also writing a paper summarizing what has happened in the EU during the last year.

So I guess that's it for now! Miss you, kusjes! xxxxxxx

2007-02-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Things are really picking up at school, and by that I mean we have more and more projects on the go. Aside from the Ghent cafe film (which is going really well, by the way), we have started a couple of communication plans: one is for a music festival, and the other one for a real estate project. We're working in groups and brain storming and trying to designate tasks... it's quite time consuming but great fun!

Last Thursday our class took a day trip to Brussels. The weather was quite agreable (which meant no rain for a change) and we walked around with our Professor as a guide for about 7 hours! We took some breaks along the way, enjoying coffees and beer, chocolates and ice cream... and I think we managed to see most of the important landmarks, however we will be back another time for an exclusive tour of the EU Institutions.

So I just wanted to share some pictures with you from that day. This is the view of the city from the Brussels Midi Train Station:

And the following two pictures were taken in the beautiful Grote Markt:

Here's a picture of the famous Manneken Pis! We visited on the 22nd, which marked the 150th anniversary of Baden-Powell's birthday... hence the boy scout uniform:

And here's a couple of pictures of yummy Belgian treats:

And here's some friends from class from last Friday, when we partied at the Make Up club:

Until next time, lots of kusjes! xoxox

2007-02-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

Who needs sleep? I don't! Apparently, I can function on just a few hours a night! It's been another busy but wonderful week here in Ghent.

MOCOMA classes are going really well. We have started a few assignments and will be spending more and more time together as a class, cramped in the computer room, or in the library... I am actually looking forward to it. Our first assignment is for the Visual Literacy course, and involves making a short film on cafes in Ghent (aka bars!). Our group has decided to make a film-noir-inspired project, complete with a Femme Fatale and the dark, detached narration. We already have our cameras and we'll be starting to shoot this week.

Wednesday was Valentine's Day, and we celebrated in style at Vesalius, a student residence located (in)conveniently a few kilometers south of the city centre. It was like a flash back to my grade nine high school dances, but we managed to have fun anyway! Then we grabbed a ride back to the city, and continued partying at the Erasmus pub... You know how it ends... "and then it was morning."

Friday night, my Finnish friend and I went walking through the nicest parts of the city and took some nighttime pictures:

We ended up at this nice little bar called the White Cat. They serve a mean Mojito!

And today, Saturday, a Spanish friend and I ventured to Brussels to see a break dance competition. It was so much fun, we were inspired to take some Street Dance lessons here in Ghent! Don't laugh! I'm sure I can dance, it's in me somewhere!

Here's a shot of the city in daylight:

And here's what the competition looked like from our seats:

In other news, I finally received my Ghent residency permit! It means I can leave Belgium and come back as I please for the next five months. I'm planning to go to Warsaw for Easter! And I finally rented a bike... but the excitement was short-lived as I popped my front tire on the third day and now have to go patch it all by myself at the self-serve repair shop...

Oh, and I got Air tickets for the 28th of March. My best friend will be here to visit by then, and we plan to see them in Brussels! So excited!

I think that's it for now! Miss you guys lots and lots! Kusjes!

2007-02-10T05:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week! MOCOMA classes started on Monday, and I got to meet everyone in my program. We are a diverse group from all over the world: Romania, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Finland and Latvia. The professors are all Dutch native speakers, but they will be teaching in English (thank God!) and they seem to have very interesting careers and backgrounds, so I am looking forward to working with them.

My courses include: European Media Scene, Visual Literacy and Digital Storytelling (we get to make a little film!), Graphic Design, Social and Cultural Current Affairs, and of course Communications, Marketing Communications and PR.

In a week or two I'll know more about what I have gotten myself into! And of course, I'll keep you updated.

And it's been a week filled with birthdays. My Dad's big 50th was this Thursday. And then yesterday was my Mom's birthday... and mine as well! My roommates were kind enough to let me have a little birthday party at the house... it meant squeezing all of my newly acquainted friends in our tiny kitchen, so it was quite intimate. I can't speak for everyone, but I had fun!

Here are some pictures from that night (some have been taken by my friends). These first two pictures show the cramped conditions:

And here are some new friendly faces:

No birthday party would be complete without some dancing! So we went out to this place called Suite 16, which is conveniently located at the end of my street. It was pretty quiet when we first showed up around 1:30 am, but things picked up around 3 am, so we kept dancing the night away... and then it was morning!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Kusjes!

2007-02-04T05:22:00.000-08:00

On Friday, my friend and I discovered a little neighbourhood in Ghent called the Patershol. It's the only medieval quarter left in the city, and is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways that used to be home to all kinds of tradesmen and craftsmen. Then in the 19th century, a factory opened nearby, and the quarter housed poor factory workers, and later became known for shady cafes and brothels. Here are a few photos from our stroll:

Today, the Patershol is no longer a shady neighbourhood. It looks quiet in the photos because we went during the 'middagpauze' (the Belgians have a mid day break and everything closes! It's impossible to get a meal at 4 o'clock!).

Then on Saturday I was out for a coffee with a friend, and we came up with a brilliant idea! We decided to go to Brussels for the night to check out the Big City nightlife. We took the 10 o'clock train out last night, and caught the first train back to Ghent this morning. Brilliant! I will be back, of course, in search of more intellectual pursuits (museums, galleries, etc.), but this was a spur of the moment thing and I'm glad we followed through with it.

After arriving at the Brussels train station, we ventured through some pretty scary looking neighbourhoods and made it to a little cafe. We had some time to kill, since the clubs don't open until midnight... We ended up at two different places. The first one was called Havana, and was a great tropical themed venue with four separate areas: a lounge, two bars, and a dance floor.

It was packed to the brim with people: the windows were steaming, it was so hot in there! So after sweating to the beats for a little bit, we decided we had had enough and we headed down the street to Bazaar Club.

Bazaar is one of the most "recommended" places to go out in Brussels (it was in my Lonely Planet book), and it was definitely more comfortable! I really enjoyed the DJ, who was playing everything from old school hip hop, to funk, to techno, to the Doors and Pink Floyd... And we met some interesting men, who spoke to us in beautiful French and were perhaps a bit too relentless in their quest for love... But overall it was great and we had a lot of fun!

We ended our night with a stop for some Belgian Fries (doused in a curry ketchup). A perfect night in Brussels.

Kusjes! xoxoxox

2007-02-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

Last night, a few of us went out for an innocent drink after Dutch class. But one drink turned into many, and before we knew it, it was early in the morning and we were dancing the flamenco as the DJ played Bamboleo and Volare over and over again.

Here are my two lovely Hungarian friends who are sharing a beautiful loft on the other side of the city. They were wonderful hosts at 2 o'clock in the morning, before we headed out to the bar:

This week has been very relaxing. I only had one Dutch class (last night) and lots and lots of free time. So I've been exploring Ghent some more and I wanted to share a few more pictures with you. First, Ghent at night:

And then this is just something that caught my eye. It's on my way to school:

And I've been meaning to show you this for quite some time. Ghent is a city of bikes! Here is what the parking situation looks like at St. Pieters train station:

That's it for now, I miss you guys! xoxoxox

2007-01-29T12:16:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't include any photos of the city yesterday, I am posting a few that I took on my walk today. These are from the Graslei, which overlooks the River Leie, and is supposed to be a very popular spot in the Spring/Summer for sitting, talking, eating, drinking. This area was part of the medieval harbour, and boasts some amazing guild houses, with intricate architectural details:

This building used to be a post office:

And this is a view from the Hoolarrd bridge:

2007-01-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on my posts... so here's a quick recap of what I've been up to the last few days. On Thursday after class, three of my housemates (who are finally done with exams) took me on a little tour of our neighbourhood to show me where to eat, where to party, where to see some beautiful architecture, and where not to venture alone at night. We ended up for a quick drink at this place called the Pink Flamingo; it's completely dedicated to kitsch. Here's a photo of my lovely housemates enjoying some Jupiler:

And just to give you an idea of the bar's interior decor, here's some creative lighting in the form of a Barbie chandelier:

The place also features a wide array of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Alf memorabilia, as well as portraits of the Virgin Mary and other divine beings.

Friday night was a reprise of Wednesday's birthday celebrations. My three Finn friends and I went out to the Charlatan, the bar where I had my first Belgian beer experience just a week earlier. But before we went out, the Finns prepared a popular Finnish bar shot, fisu. It's made by crushing up Fisherman's Friend candy and dissolving it in vodka. The result is surprisingly tasty: an anise flavoured shot. Our version was not entirely true to the original, since we couldn't find the right flavour of Fisherman's candy. But despite what it looks like, it was quite drinkable:

The Charlatan was a lot of fun on a Friday night, a mix of hip hop and reggae, a full dance floor and a giant disco ball! We had a great time, and the Finnish-Canadian bond just keeping getting stronger and stronger...

The next day, we ventured out for some delicious and very traditional Belgian fare: frites with mayonnaise. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it...

I've also posted a few new photos from the Polish party (please check them out below).
xoxox

2007-01-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

I've been having some problems with my wireless Internet connection, but I just borrowed an Ethernet cable, and I'm back in business.

I've now been in Ghent for more than a week, and I have to say I'm really settling in. My new Dutch class friends are... well, awesome, and I'm finally getting to spend a little bit more time with my housemates, and they are the friendliest people! I can now admit that I was a little bit scared coming here, not knowing a soul. And then I saw my room, and I thought for sure things were going to go down hill from there :) but things are looking up! And I'm really looking forward to the semester (it begins on the 5th of February). And the setting is pretty much perfect; every day I'm discovering new cafes and bars and tiny alleyways and amazing architecture.

Here are a few photos from Wednesday night, we were celebrating my friend's birthday until the wee hours of the morning (the morning was kind of rough as a result, but most of us still made it to class!). This is us in my little polka dotted room:

And this is us on the way to the pub, we're already in very good spirits:

And this is the drink special:

We all admitted that the process of preparing the drink was much more fun than actually drinking it... first you light the shot and then you caramelize a sugar cube over the blue flame:

And of course, I'm including some more pictures of Ghent:

2007-01-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

My weekend started on Thursday. That day, I finally decided to venture out for a Belgian beer... it was on my lonesome, but a night out nonetheless. My roommates were happy to suggest a place just down the street called the Charlatan. I took my journal with me, so I would look like I'm doing something very important. Really, it was just there for a pint and some people watching.

On Friday, I went to a party with my new friends from Dutch class, including three Finns, two Hungarians, and an English girl. The party was organized by a Polish student group, and took place at a bar called the Pinut right near St. Peter's Abbey (what a location!) We had a lot of fun... The drink special was the Mad Dog, a vodka shot with raspberry syrup and a bit of tabasco sauce. Mmmmm? The bar was packed and by two o'clock, everybody was in a very good mood: all the flat surfaces in the bar were occupied by dancing, hopping, or at least swaying students, the music was... well, an interesting mix of pop and dance, with some Polish tunes thrown in the mix. Here, they don't close down the bars at any particular hour, so it was up to us to leave. Finally, right before four o'clock we decided we were pretty beat and trekked home.

UPDATE:

Here are a few photos from that Friday night. And that's St. Peter's Abbey in the background of the 2nd pic... postcard perfect.

Saturday was a lazy day, spent trying to find a decent sandwich place, wandering through the city streets, taking a few photographs. I visited one of the churches near my place, St. Bavo's Cathedral (there's a photo of the exterior below, labelled with it's Dutch name: St.Baafskathedraal). Parts of the building date back to 942, although the current exterior was more or less completed in the 16th century. It is currently undergoing some renovations, but it's still a beautiful structure. When we were there, the harp and organs were playing, completing what can only be described as a spiritual experience! The church is home to a very famous painting, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, which dates back to 1432 (this is just a google image since you're not allowed to take pictures inside):

The painting consists of 12 panels, eight of which are painted on both sides. The lower left panel was actually stolen in 1934, and has now been replaced with a copy... Some people claim they know the whereabouts of the original, but by now most believe it has been destroyed.

And now for a couple of photos from my lazy afternoon. Here is one of my new Finn friend taking a picture of the Town Hall with the Ghent Belfort in the background:

And here is a photo of St. Nicholas' Church:

2007-01-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

Ik heet Kasia en ik woon in Gent in een huis met acht andere mensen. Ik com van Canada. Ik ben niet getrouwd en ik heb geen kinderen.

Today I had my first Dutch language class. In typical Kasia fashion, I got lost on my way to school, got directed to an office where the receptionist had no idea what course I was talking about, had to knock on a bunch of different doors, and then I finally found my class. I am two days behind, but I feel like I've missed so much more! Our teacher is very young and enthusiastic. She speaks to us almost entirely in Dutch, and we nod as if we know what she's saying. She doesn't seem to mind that we completely mispronounce everything. We even got to sing some Dutch phrases today. It's going to be an interesting few weeks!

Back in my room, I am making a little bit of progress covering up the walls:

I still need a lot more posters! At my desk area, I have placed the collection of photos of my favourite people (it's a fold up album I got as a going away present from Catherine!):

And of course, here are a couple more pictures of Ghent. The first picture is of St. Baafskathedraal:

And this is my street:

2007-01-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

First, the story of my room. I finally got the keys this morning. My building is on the East side of the city; the location is beautiful, right near one of the canals. I'm on the top floor (which was a pain later on in the day when my luggage finally arrived and I had to drag it four flights of stairs...) The room is small, and it would be very quaint if it wasn't for the interesting paint job. See for yourself:

This was my initial reaction:

So I thought and I thought...

And I decided that I will cover it up with photos and posters and anything else I can find. I will update you soon. I just have to mention that I have met some of my housemates, and everyone is really friendly. We are sharing the kitchen and three of us are also sharing the shower facilities (the other lucky ones have showers in their rooms). They are all in exam mode right now, so are mostly hiding away in their rooms, but I think we'll have some fun when that's over with!

And now, for some photos of Ghent. It's an absolutely beautiful city, filled with little cobblestone streets, castles (the one below dates back to the 12th century), churches, winding canals. I can't believe I'm here! Here is just a taste of what I saw today:

2007-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I should have anticipated my trip would get interesting right from the beginning. I'm in Stockholm right now... One of my flights was delayed due to a combination of bad weather and mechanical malfunction. It means I missed my Copenhagen connection, and got re-routed to Sweden! I'm just killing time at the Arlanda airport, waiting for my final flight to Brussels. I've been here for six hours already. Two more to go. I'm not sure where my luggage is... I last saw it in Toronto. I hope to be reunited with it shortly!

I should be in Ghent by tonight, and it looks like I'll be spending my first night at the Youth Hostel "De Draecke." I have to wait until tomorrow morning for the housing office to open. Can't wait until I'm "home" in my new place!

2007-01-13T23:24:00.000-08:00

I leave for Belgium in the morning. I am so excited. My flight over is going to be a long one. I went for the cheapest student airfare I could find, which means I'm making a few stops along the way: Toronto, Newark, Copenhagen, and then finally, Brussels. I'm going to be exhausted by the time I get in, but I'm counting on the adrenaline to keep me going. I start the Dutch language course bright and early the next day, so my plan is simple: find my new place and go to bed early... but I might do a little bit of exploring, take some pictures of the neighbourhood to share with you.

It's been an amazing last weekend in Ottawa... it all started with a UPS package. My Corp Comm class sent me a going away present: a Seneca hoodie, and a card signed by all of them! It was so sweet! They're such a great group of people, I am so happy I got to meet all of them...

And thanks to everyone who came out last night! It was the best surprise party ever! Thanks Mom, Ania, you totally got me. I had so much fun, and all the gifts, cards, wishes are very much appreciated!!! I am one lucky girl to be surrounded by so many amazing people. Thank you to all my "Aunts" and "Uncles"! The homemade doughnuts were to die for, and the cake was a piece of art! And thank you to all the "gang" (for lack of a better term), you guys are the best! I will miss you very much!

Well, I'm going to finish packing and try to get some sleep. I'll be in touch soon!
xoxoxox