Busy Brussels!!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks!! Orientation Week started Sept. 22. It consisted of sessions of information in the morning and opportunities to get to know each other in the evening. So it was either this

Or this:

It seemed easy on the schedule, but then at 1030 Friday morning, I needed a nap. It was a surprisingly intense week, for many reasons. Thank you to those who reached out about my grandmother. It was difficult to be having such a full schedule here in Brussels and then trying to stay connected to what was happening at home.   So thank you for thinking and praying for me and my family. 

UPDATES

- Decided to stay in my beautiful apartment in Place Jourdan. Seriously why would I move?? I've even found a new roommate! Her name is Mura, she's from Germany and delightful. She'll be crashing on the couch until the official move-in date later this month. 

- Picked my classes, which was hard work actually. I only get three classes a semester and only two semesters in this program! And I want to take all the things. But I've settled for my three classes plus one I'm going to audit. I'm a nerd. And yes the amount of reading threatens to bury me, but I'll give it my best. The director of my program is fantastic and suggested a way to incorporate my past work experience and undergrad studies with this MA and suggested Political Communications. I'm so excited about this class! It wasn't originally an option in my pathway, but I just got a form signed and there ya go. I'm also taking a Migration course, a Development course and I'm auditing Humanitarian Issues in Forced Migration. So that's going to be the real pick-me-up on Monday mornings. 

- I've found some great friends who've really been there for me this past week. Not a one of them is over 25, but I don't hold it against them. And beyond those close friends, there are so many people here who, well it's a cop out to say it,  but they are just great. And I've loved hanging with them and I'm pretty sure I'm going to love being in class with them. 

- Brussels continues to be beautiful and is becoming more and more familiar and feels more and more like home. I'm excited with this first week of classes to really start to settle in to my routines and studies and see if I can figure out what I'm doing. 

So until next time! Au Revoir from Brussels. 

(photo credit Dalia Shakir)