It's alive... take three?

This feels like deja vu...

I told myself a hundred times over the course of the last year that I should update my blog, post a picture, jot down (type out?) that funny anecdote. There were all kinds of inspired ideas about being a resource for expats living in Belgium, consolidating information into one place, which was something I myself would have found immensely helpful. Sometimes it seemed seems like the Flemish government was is hoping for some kind of award for it's gnarled bureaucratic system... or maybe they hoped I would simply give up, sending me back and forth pointlessly between nine different buildings until I spiralled into madness. Well, too bad, Belgium! Guess who's got their F-card now!

Besides becoming legal in the land of fries, most notably in 2014 there occurred: three different jobs, moving to our own apartment ("Wait, this one has crow-stepped gables! CROW-STEPPED! Cost of heating, shmosht of shmeating, I want this one."), and a proper road trip down the West Coast of the US. Still not even a draft, a whisper of a post!

So finally my 2014 New Year's resolution is being honored honoured.

January was relatively quiet, as work was going through renovations. I decided to visit a friend in Barcelona for a few days while I had the chance. Because it's the off-season, Ryanair tickets were roughly $50 round-trip Brussels-Barcelona. Things like Casa Batlló and the Sagrada Familia, while lovely from the outside, were grossly expensive to see inside. But just enjoying cafés and flamenco, tapas and cava (for breakfast?!) was fantastic. Above, observe lunchtime (well, part of lunchtime... chorizo and potatoes followed the mussels).

I firmly intend to post more frequently. However, actions speak louder than words, so we'll see how loud I can be.

P.S. If anyone reading this finds themselves moving to Belgium and would like some resources and/or information, feel free to ping me and I'd be happy to help!

Stuck in Belgium... Or: It's alive, take two!

De Halve Maan, the only brewery still remaining in the center of Bruges

Let's try to rekindle this poor, abandoned blog once more!

I have spent the last six months writing the thesis which was/is to be the culmination of my graduate studies. This thesis was the main reason that the happy what was ignored for so long: I spent almost all of my energy in researching and writing. Any extra energy was spent trying to relax and maintain some semblance of sanity! Some of those months, the last few in particular, were spent in anxiety, and I am utterly relieved to be finished. I am grateful for my family, close friends, and my boyfriend, all of whom were very patient and understanding in the face of my stress.

In addition to finishing up the masters' program (I currently wait on tenterhooks to receive a grade on my thesis...), I have since moved to Bruges, Belgium, which is where I will stay for at least the next six months, if not longer. My cultural integration is already in full-swing, thanks in large part to my boyfriend and his friends. I'm working on improving my beginner-level Dutch, and enjoying tasting all of the world-class beers this country boasts (but America is trying to catch up: the first-ever American Trappist beer was recently released). We often leave Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) and visit family in Wallonia (the French-speaking region).

This blog was created in order to allow family at home in the United States to see what I was getting up to while working on my masters' degree in Denmark. Now the subject has shifted quite a bit: living, working, and enjoying Belgium for the foreseeable future... 

It's... alive!

Well, after a year and a half of radio silence, I probably lost what few readers I had... Nevertheless, better late than never!

I am now in my fourth and final semester of my program in maritime archaeology at the University of Southern Denmark (http://www.maritimearchaeology.dk/). There are no classes or lectures to attend; instead the time is meant to be spent writing my thesis. I have chosen to continue writing on the vessel I helped to excavate last summer at the International Fieldschool of Maritime Archaeology Flevoland, in the Netherlands  (http://ifmaffieldschool.blogspot.nl/... most of the posts are in Dutch, but if you sift, you can find some in English!). 

That particular field school was my first official field experience in archaeology, and it was fantastic. The vessel was in a field outside of Lelystad, and we joined the field school in it's last three weeks of operation, for a few weeks in June and July. We cleaned and recorded and drew timbers, in rain and sun. 

Then we had to return to Denmark in order to participate in our program's field school, which was held in Bagenkop, on the island of Langeland. This project was an underwater excavation, and we were also responsible for the post-processing of the data we collected. 

Bruges

Before heading back to Esbjerg for my final exam in January, I went to Bruges, Belgium, for two days.

Back in Weiden

It feels so good to be able to relax after this semester (especially with five weeks of diving!). Exams earlier this week were terrifying. The practical exam was on Monday (which, I'm sorry to say, I failed, but my performance for the entire duration of the dive course made up for it), a written exam on Tuesday (which I did very well on), and an oral exam on Wednesday. The oral exam turned out to be interesting- I answered the first and second questions perfectly (how does a second stage regulator work, and what do the marks on a EU-approved cylinder mean) but I completely choked on the third question, even though I knew the answer backwards and forwards. It was simply the stress of being put on the spot, with the proctor from the Danish Maritime Authority looking at me expectantly. Jens, my poor instructor, who knew that I knew the answer, was almost pulling his hair out and attempting to mouth the answers to me from behind the proctor's back.

But I passed! It's over! I have the little ticket that says I am a commercial diver! That very afternoon we went to the town center to walk around in the cold sunshine, and relish the freedom and our success.

Next day, Alex drove me all the way to Dusseldorf (almost on his way from Esbjerg to the Ardennes), where I got on a train and was in Weiden with Brittany by midnight on Thursday.

I'd like to be able to relax completely now that I'm on holiday break, but I do have two exams in January. Both which I will responsibly and dutifully study for... after Christmas. :)

I hear the girls (Brittany and her friend Heather, whose husband is deployed with Brittany's husband in Afghanistan) making Glühwein in the kitchen. Time for Christmas dinner!