Jenn's Trip to Europe

Won't write much because I am a little tired, but we just got back from going to Brussels and Liège, in Belgium. Had a good weekend, though I didn't really like Brussels quite as much- but I think that's just because I have a bias towards smaller towns. (And I like to feel a little safer.. there seemed to be creepy people from the first 10 mins we were in our hotel) I ate my first Belgium waffel which was very good. :D In Brussels, we walked around the town, which seemed very modern, but at the same time had wonderful neat buildings that were decorated with statues. We went to the art museum there, and saw the famous painting, the Death of Marat by David. It was very well done. The whole group went, but as usual, I ended up hanging out with Sarah, because she also enjoys art. We seem to spend more time looking at everything, as we both could spend a day in an art museum. We saw some very beautiful paintings, though one of the wings closed at 1 (to reopen later) but by that time, everyone was ready to head on. So we ended up not getting to see as much as we wanted to. (I've realized recently that I don't mind abstract art, if it is more composed. I don't like stupid art. Some stuff just catches my eye, and I don't know why.. maybe a certain color or feeling, but I like that. I think that one type of art that intrigues me is Cubism.. [maybe just Braque, or that style. Maybe because some of the stuff that I first saw back in the McNay, in San Antonio was of that style, and I just like it] I also like Maria-Helena Vieira da Silva, (I googled that.. I didn't remember that whole name! lol) It's funny how after being at several art museums, you can recognize a style of an artist. I didn't see Silva at this last art museum, but I just wanted to mention it. But anyhow, then we saw some more of the town, and had an interesting run in with some Chinese people. Sarah, Amanda and I had gotten food and were eating it on the stairs by the Grand-Place in Brussels, and a group of about 6 Chinese men (and one woman) stood next to us. And then they just started to blantantly stand in our space (one was about 3 feet from me, and I was chowing down on a sandwich that had tough bread) and they kept staring at Sarah. (Probably because she has red hair) We thought that if we ignored them, they would stop standing so close to us, especially Sarah, and standing in our space. They also kept trying to talk to us, but obviously we don't know Chinese, etc. So to solve this problem, we just got up and left, and went to the other side of the stairs, out of sight! lol It was just kind of creepy, even though they were harmless. After that, we headed back to the train station, and then headed to Liège. I really liked that city. It was definitely older but more comfortable. We saw the spot where the cathedral there used to be (it was destroyed during a revolt), and now there's just a square with columns.. but it was neat because you wouldn't have known that from seeing it. (Will add in more later)

And when we got back, my roommate and I decided to rearrange our room, which was fun (we didn't completely put a whole bunch of thought into it, but just kind of did it..) I also feel like my comprehension of french is getting much better because I seem to be catching more words, and understanding stuff on tv more. (I noticed some of this just by the recorded message they have on the trains, in French, because it is a constant.. and I understand it better) C'est très bon! (That's very good) I will try to write on this more again, but sometimes, it's nicer to not have to mess with computers and check email.. even though I do enjoy emails from home. Another random thing that's good is that not everything seems so new and confusing. It was just easy to pack for the weekend (we've been having so many weekend trips), and to go through the Paris mètro and train station; I feel like we are just becoming used to the swing of life here. Well, unfortunately, studying abroad also means that with traveling, we still have classes, so I probably need to get ready and head to bed.