Blogs from Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, Europe

All of my entries thus far have only documented my shenanigans traveling around and hosting handsome visitors. I promise that I am actually in Europe for academic purposes. If for no other reason than to give myself a bit of credibility, I'll write today about what I'm actually doing at KUL. Final exams have begun and we will have completed all 5 by February first (after which I will hastily hop on a plane to spend 10 days in HB with my family!) Last week: Classification of Paralympic Athletes, Disability Studies January 12th This week: Biomechanics (wheelchair propulsion, gait analysis, aquatics and prosthetics), Physical Activity-Physical Fitness- Risk of Exercise, and Exercise Management in Chronic Disease and Disability January 17th Next week: Statistics Applied for APA on the 24th (yikes) The final week: Psychology of Sport, ... read more

Medical chart reads: "Female Erasmus student, age 25, has contracted ring worm, athlete's foot, lime disease, and the black plague due to lack of foot protection in public venues. Treatment: a swift slap upside the head." Why isn't there an alarm in my head that goes off when walking barefoot is inappropriate and unsanitary? What have twenty-some-odd years of beach culture done to my standards for hygiene? I have taken 3 hostel showers without shower shoes and walked through the halls to common, internet-friendly, lounges to Skype my beloved completely barefooted. Clean it up, MacDonald. On a slightly less rantish note, I found man's most amazing idea near the train station: the bread vending machine. Or, as I now call them, "breanding machines". Pop in a couple Euro, and shazam, a full loaf baked that morning ... read more

Well after Wilm and I retired for the night, I had this plan where I would awaken at 7, grab breakfast with the other Hostel patrons, and head out to see the city. Wilm was going to wake me before he went to work and I was going to use the facilities after he was done. However, that plan fell apart when Wilm decided to call an audible and take the day off. I over slept and barely made it out of the room in time. Starving, I hit the streets and came across my first taste of Belgian waffles and yes they are everything they are cracked up to be. Picture a fluffy waffle that you eat like a sandwich with a crunchy sugary shell. You can opt to add chocolate or fruit to the ... read more

Well after our eventful afternoon in Brussels we hopped on the metro and landed in Mike’s home city of Leuven known for its University and the home town favorite brew of Stella Artois. We took a short tour of the city where I familiarized myself with the culture and surroundings and after a successful day I retired to the hostel... The hostel was everything I thought it was and more. As we entered the complex we were greeted by a Flemish hostess - for the lack of a better term - as the word hostess is too good for what she provided. Think of a person who handed me a sheet and key in a deep Dutch accent. As I arrived to the room it was empty, I threw my belongings into the locker and relaxed ... read more

Nog 17 dagen te gaan waarvan nog 5 nachten te werken (jeeuuhh) en EINDELIJK vlieg ik (terug) richting Cairo!!! Ewoehoe!!! Stand van zaken voor de moment kan in 4 woorden samengevat worden: nog niks in orde: - nog geen appartement - nog geen flauw idee waar we ergens gaan wonen - hoeveel me dit gaat kosten is ook nog altijd een raadsel - een roommate komt zelfs niet meer omdat het haar werd afgeraden "o.w.v. de veiligheid" (wah???) - de stress begint op te komen omdat ik begin te beseffen dat ik (1) wel degelijk weldra weg ben en (2) dat ik de eerste dagen in Cairo met keelpijn ga rondlopen van die verschrikkelijk "voze" klanken die ik ga moeten produceren Wat is wél al in orde? - ik ben al ingeschreven voor de lessen (beginnende ... read more