sad week?

According to Kelly Horning (the director of study abroad at Saint Joseph's) statistic show that on the third week of study abroad you start feeling homesick and kind of sad. Hmmm... guess I'm not part of that statistic. My third week abroad has been anything but sad.

Finally the students at KU Leuven have arrived! Leuven seems like a totally new city. There's a lot more people which means it's louder, livelier and the parties are better.

Besides the city getting more fun, my job went really well this week (I didn't get kicked out

wuhu!). Now I have a badge with my picture that says I work in the European Parliament and can go through security without a problem. I'm not gonna lie, the badge makes me feel important. On Wednesday me and Sean were drinking coffee before our lunch break was over and I just looked around the room and realized how lucky I am. I'm live in an amazing city, I work with the EU and oh, did I mention I'm going to Amsterdam tomorrow?

Sorry Kelly Horning, week three blues did not catch on to us in Leuven.

Oude Markt >> also known as the longest bar in Europe

first day of work

Here goes nothing.

How can I explain my first day of work in the European Parliament? At the beginning it was confusing. Getting through security was wayy more difficult than any of us expected. Then we met our Member of European Parliament's (MEP) assistant, Vera. Right away she told us she was tired so I knew this office probably needed a lot of help.

Stress. That's how I would explain my morning in Parliament. She told us all the stuff we had to do but didn't explain HOW. At least I do the internship with Sean (one of the guys I knew before going abroad). Me and Sean probably looked like deer in headlights as she explained our duties for the next months. Look it all up in the website!, Vera kept repeating.

Sean's first task was going to a meeting and taking notes for our MEP. My task was to get some mail and familiarize myself with the building and of course, the website. So I figured out where the mail room was, got the mail, went up, took my packed lunch, walked around for a place to eat, found out there was a Polish festival, ate some Polish apples... not bad eh?

When I went to the Media Center Sean walked in with Alyson (my roommate) and Cody (another guy that goes abroad with us). At least I have someone to eat lunch with! So we're going to the place to eat lunch when a security guard near the entrance starts screaming at us in French. I understand a little so I figure out he wants to kick us out! I was trying to tell him that we're interns and we work in Parliament but he wasn't having it. Apparently we need our assistants with us until we get our official badges.

So, yes. I got kicked out of Parliament in my first day of work. That WOULD happen to me.

Vera is gonna kill me Vera is gonna kill me Vera is gonna kill US!

She was so stressed and now she needs to look for her two interns. However, the other assistant, Oscar got us. Oscar was in a better mood or had more patience than Vera. So we went off and had lunch far away from the entrance.

Our last task was going to a Panel that our MEP, Livia Jaroka was speaking in. So finally, before the meeting we met Livia. She's a beautiful woman with a very tranquil presence, although she has been busy all day. She signed papers in order for us to receive our badges and she said that if we wanted to we could leave. Yet, me and Sean wanted to stay. Our MEP was gonna talk in a panel about Women's Rights, why wouldn't we stay? She seemed very pleased about our interest and went in.

So I guess after getting kicked out of Parliament you can only go up. At the end we came back to the office and even Vera seemed more relaxed. I'm not gonna lie, I like that she is being hard on us. We're not gonna be spoon fed all our lives. It only means we have a lot of work ahead of us and I'm sure ready for it.

on cloud 9

I describe being Abroad as sensory experience. Usually people think that travelling is about seeing things. "Did you see the City Hall?" Yes, I saw the amazing Stedhaus of Leuven but I also heard the bells of Saint Peter's ringing. I smelled the fries they cell in the corner. Got my hands messy eating mussels. And of course, tasted some great beer.

All senses are awaken when you are in a new place, and Leuven is definitely no exception. So instead of just seeing, I'm feeling, smelling, and tasting. Through my senses I acquire new experiences and my perspective changes every day.

Those different perspectives and opinions is what I want to communicate through my blog. So if you know me, it might be good to read this in order to see how I'm changing. If you don't know me, it might be interesting to see the mindset of a 20 year old puertorican in Belgium for three months.

Sept. 11

10 years ago my oldest sister couldn't go abroad because of the terrorist attacks on September 11. The world was unsettled, confused and scared of what had happen at New York City. I remember being assembled in our school auditorium as our principal explained what happened.

Terrorist?

Those two tall buildings?

I think I have family members in NYC.

I was just a kid. I didn't really understood what was happening. Even though my oldest sister lived in Philadelphia, I was scared for her. In my mind she was at the country being attacked and I knew a plane crashed near.

All of the sudden my history teacher explained to my classroom that War was being declared. Whenever I traveled I needed to go through tough security that even doubted the integrity of a little girl. Every year I understood more and more of what had happened and the consequences this tragedy had in the United States and the world.

10 years later. I am abroad on the same day the attacks happened. What does this mean? I wouldn’t say we forgot what happened, because the memory of September 11 will follow us for the rest of our lives...

Terrorism is not over. It could happen anywhere at any time. Yet, we cannot live in fear. I understand that after the attacks it was only normal. But, our lives cannot be restricted or even manipulated by terrorist (or anyone else for that matter). If not, they have won.

Let’s be brave today. Let’s live our life to the fullest. Let’s not be scared and be proud that we can learn from tragedies and get even stronger. Let's emulate the heroes from September 11 and pray for the victims and their families.