Thank you, Colin Farrell for Making Bruges, Belgium Popular

I randomly find that the vast majority of college-age people are familiar with the city of Bruges thanks to the movie called 'In Bruges' starring Collin Farrell. I'd never heard of the city or the movie before coming here, but I highly recommend it (the city I mean...can't pass judgement on the movie). I spent the weekend there and in Knokke, a town on the coast, and both were absolutely lovely. Brugge was a quaint, medieval city with tons of character and history. It somehow escaped WWI and WWII destruction, so everything there is authentically old. Knokke was very posh and clean. Apparently it's known as "The Hamptons" of Belgium, and I certainly saw my fair share of Jaguar's and Rolls Royce's.

I guess I should mention my classes here in Leuven for people interested in actually "studying" abroad. I'm taking International Marketing, Innovation Management and Strategy, Capital Investment Policy, and (prepare yourself for the longest class title ever) International Relations and Integration of the European Union since World War I. Whoever said studying abroad would be "easier" than Wharton lied. The workload is just divided differently than at home. I have not had/will not have anything due until the last week in December. No mid-terms, no pop quizzes, hardly any reading assignments, nothing, until the exams and papers that constitute 100% of my semester grade in December. Scary, really. I prefer the American system. It's hard convincing myself to research and start working on a paper due in 2 months. But I like all of my classes, and it's very interesting to compare the differences and similarities with Penn.

Other random but fun Belgian sidenotes: 1. I've discovered my new best friend yet worst enemy in Speculoos. Strange name, but don't be fooled. It is the most delicious, gingerbread-type cookie you've ever thought about tasting. And to make matters worse, they've ingeniously created Speculoos ice cream and Speculoos butter (think Nutella, but better). I've probably gained 10 pounds on that alone. On the same note, I had the most delicious waffle I've ever eaten in Brussels last weekend. I ordered it with brown sugar, whipped cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. To die for! 2. I went to a legit conference in Brussels on "Growth Through Innovation Strategy" instead of my Innovation Management class last week. The speakers were professors and politicians from around the world. Did I mention extensive, complementary buffet post-conference? 3. I took a hot air balloon ride over Brugge on Thursday. SO cool. That is all the explanation needed, it was that awesome. 4. My dorm doesn't have a washer/dryer, so doing laundry here is a pain. And expensive. I paid 10 Euros today to do two loads of laundry and to dry it all. With the exchange rate as terrible as it is now, that's $14!!

Alright, I'm off to work on my Dutch tonight. It's hard to practice the language here because everyone speaks English fluently. Belgians automatically revert to English as soon as they see me struggling with Dutch. I just need to try harder, I suppose. Welterusten, iederen!