It’s been busy. But busy in a ‘trying to do as little as possible’ kind of way. Here in Bruxelles, I find that doing nothing makes me feel exhausted. Only the last two days, when I’ve allowed myself to think about Christmas presents and gifts instead of lectures, Sciences Po (Poli Sci) syllabi and reading notes. Not that I’m great at doing these things at the best of times, but giving myself a psychological break has been really nice: I’ve needed it.
I’ve been a little absent from the online world, including my Flickr photostream, because when I went with eleven of my best friends to Amsterdam three weeks ago, my beloved camera was stolen. It’s sad because taking photos is kind of my thing. I do it all the time and get in people’s faces in a way that sometimes bugs them but they allways thank me for later when they see the great results. They thank me because they don’t see the ones I delete. I’m no star photograher! I’ve posted only seventeen photos on Flickr since I got here to Belgium, a rather depressing fact I think. I take lots of photos because my memory is terrible and I forget things without having a photographic record of them. The photos spark me to remember.
When my camera was stolen I didn’t want to follow it up with the police and so forth because that would have meant, for at least of couple of my friends, a whole morning wasted out of a three day trip. The sad result of that is that I haven’t been able to claim any insurance coverage on the loss. I wasn’t hit by it until several days later, at which point I really was. It sounds silly something as inconsequential as a camera, but my camera was something to was like an extension of my body for a long time. I took it everywhere and it helped me save some amazing memories.
Within a month I’m going to be sitting exams. They’ll all be in French and the content, even if it were in English, would be near overwhelming. In French it’s near impossible. Christmas for me this year will not be about having a lot of fun but about REALLY improving my language skills and apparently about learning the history of the western world since 1750 onwards.
While the last couple of weeks have been trying to get work done, after C was sadly unable to come on her planned visit, the last couple of days have all been about saying a temporary goodbye to new friends. Some friends who will not be coming back after February, some friends who are just going home a few days early. While Thursday night was a bar-hopping style of night on the town (for what it’s worth, Bruxelles not being a huge party town, full of overpaid beaurocrats as it is), last night was a Spanish friends’ fancy dress birthday party or ’soirée costumée’ as it’s called here. A lot of fun and my housemates and I were some of the best made up of everyone there. Apart, perhaps, from the American guy who showed up in full snowboarding gear. He must have been roasting: it may be cold here but we weren’t in a fridge, we were in a little windowless livingroom four floors above street level.
Friends continue departing tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to everyone’s return, because I’ve met so many amazing people here. On the other hand I don’t necessarily look forward to my own return which implies the arrival of exams in French, my absolute worst nightmare. It’s what I signed myself up for though so who am I to complain.
I’ve had a lot to think about the last couple days. I hope to ‘talk’ about some of it more. Expect updates.
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