Brussels Orientation Day 2

I woke up bright and early at 7:45 AM, which is actually later than I originally planned. I remember waking up for my 7:25 alarm, but promptly going back to sleep. I told Julia that she could poke me if I didn't wake up, and that's exactly what she did this morning to snap me into reality. She even said that she tried talking to me, but I didn't move a single bit, which is actually pretty funny.

We got breakfast at this adorable place on the way to the Fulbright office. The whole menu was in English, but I ordered in French because I wanted to keep practicing. I also learned today that whipped cream in French is simply "chantilly," and I felt silly. The furniture inside was a really cool mix of velvet plush and classroom style. There were also magazines, newspapers, and catalogues for anyone to read while they were there. Olivia and Julia got fruit waffles and Azeezat and I got the salmon bagel. It was so delicious and had a lovely salad on the side. I also got a hot chocolate (with whipped cream) that came in a glass! I was quite surprised to see that, but it tasted all the same.

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The orientation was pretty long and lots of people were asking questions that I felt were quite obvious, but I also had to remind myself that I've not only lived abroad before but worked in a study abroad office for three years. There were actually so many questions that we went over the allotted time by a significant amount, according to the program officer. The first thing we talked about was the limit on our vacation days. Since we are being paid to be here, we have 2 days a month or 18 days in total to travel outside of the country. Thankfully, this does not include travel to and from Belgium nor does it include Christmas break (December 25th to January 1st). Other travel that isn't included in these 18 days is anything grant-related. I'm definitely going to try to travel with LESC, so I was extremely relieved to hear that.

We then talked about cultural differences and compared diversity and inclusion between the EU and the U.S. Of course, comparing the two isn't perfectly done, but there are some major core points that can be addressed. For example, the history of slavery is dominant in U.S. history, whereas colonization is a larger topic in the EU. I think that lots of people had negative views on how to U.S. approaches diversity and inclusion, and rightfully so, but they also don't realize how advanced we are compared to the E.U. and other countries.

Next, we had a coffee break and got to mingle for some time. I had a cup of coffee and then got some "sencha yama," which was a nice reminder of my time spent in Japan at this exact time last year. I got to know some more people and found out that one of the Fulbrighters is going to med school at UPenn after his grant! He asked me about the safety in Philly, and I already got to kind of give me spiel on how that stereotype isn't something to be concerned about as much as one would initially believe.

The next part was the most interesting for me because we got to hear from three program alumni. They were all ETA's and two of them were placed in Luxembourg! It was really nice to hear about their experiences and I kind of missed being the one on the panel. I hope I may be able to do that someday for another group of grantees. One of the program alumni was mixed Arabic and Asian, and I really wanted to talk to her, but she had to leave early for another obligation. I still made sure to speak with one of the Luxembourg alumni to learn about their firsthand experiences. The one I spoke to the most, Sasam, agreed with our sentiment that the Luxembourg program felt like an obligatory duty of Belgium to oversee because lots of things revolved around experiencing Belgium. Before the alumni all left, I got his contact information since the other was busy chatting with others during our lunch. I'm really excited to learn more about his experience in Belgium vs. Luxembourg because I was originally going back and forth between applying for these two countries.

Lastly was a short part about the stages of culture shock. I started to tune out a bit because 1. I was extremely tired and 2. I had been given or was the one giving this talk more than once. When I saw the slide of the culture shock iceberg, I internally giggled inside because I know how popular this term/ideology is in cross-cultural communication. Some people were getting quite anxious because our program officer mentioned that people tend to feel very emotionally drained and depressed because of the lack on sunlight throughout the year. This made me really wish I brought my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) lamp. However, my doctor from the medical exam already prescribed me with some Vitamind D for the winter, which I hope will contribute positively. It seems that it is super common, because Elisabeth, Director of Programs, mentioned that as a solution to everyone.

Finally, it was time for our tour of the House of European History, and it was pouring rain. I was unfortunately too stubborn to bring a raincoat and I suffered greatly because of it. Someone gave my friend an umbrella for us to share, but it was too small for two people and my shoulders ended up getting soaked anyway. The streets were flooded so much and large puddles were unavoidable. I think I've made the most far leaps in a span of 2 miles during the walk from the office to the museum. Every time we stopped and didn't stay, my heart sank. We did so about four times. All of us were pretty miserable at the museum, which is such a shame; I would have been so delighted to be engaged and learn as much as I could, but all I could think about was to make myself feel less cold.

Once the tour had come to an end, I was ready to go home. However, Julia convinced me that the optional alumni event was still worth going to—and I'm so glad I went. We first introduced ourselves to Belgium natives, but then we went to get drinks and food and everyone already found big tables to form their groups for the night. We ended up talking to an ETA in Antwerp, who was very chill and also very similar to us.

At the end of the night, we were so tired and our feet were so bloated and achy that we knew we had to take the tram home. Thankfully, it was pretty much door-to-door and we immediately started cleaning and drying our shoes in hopes of getting out any horrendous smell that was brewing. I got very creative and found a way to dry my shoes using the hotel hair dryer, my new Fulbright water bottle, and a hair tie. I needed the bottle and hair tie because the dryer wouldn't work unless the button was pressed.

After a long, hot shower and feeling dry for the first time since 3 PM (it's now 10:21 PM), I am finally ready for bed and I can't wait to get a proper amount of sleep. I have to wake up at 7 am so Julia can meet up with her family, but I'm glad it will force me to get up early so I can call Camden. I haven't talked to him in so long and I really need to hear his voice after the time I've been through.