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...