Sunday, September 30, 2007

L’automne arrive

J’adore toutes ces couleurs d’automne. Il y en a tellement ici à Louvain la Neuve, vraiment j’adooooore :-))

Il y a un arbre juste devant ma fenêtre et j’adore observer comment il change de couleur du jour au jour. Avant, c’était tout vert, maintenent cela deviant de plus en plus rouge. Mais quelle rouge!!! C’est exatement la couleur que j’adooore
. Cela me fait plaisir, même s'il fait mauais temps.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

LLN live #2

I just realized that last two posts were maybe not so positive. And as I always try to be really positive thinking and optimistic, I should balance that a bit :-))

People are really nice here. My two kotmates are friendly and we get on well perfectly. Next week there is some kind of kot rally organized in our building. It means that we will go from one kot to another, everywhere we have a drink and finally we end up to know each other :-))

In addition, there are a lot of trips and events organized by ESN (Erasmus Student Network team). There is always something going on. It means that one is never alone if he/she does not really want to rest for a while and stay at home.

I am getting used to the weather. I do not really mind if it is raining, the attitude is the most important. And in addition, I am already looking forward to some courses, it seems to be so much interesting.

Well, actually, I do really have a nice time here :-))

Baptism in LLN

Yesterday we went to the theater, some kind of comedy written by Shakespeare. It is said that if you understand joke in foreigner language, then you can say that you really speak the language. Well, I hardly understood anything. I should work on my French though.

What I wanted to write about is more about LLN and atmosphere that is here at the moment. It is week of baptism. It means that the newcomers are being accepted to different cercles. Every time there are groups of young people doing what the older and more experienced ones tell them to do.

There is one cercle next to my kot. Newcomers called blues here are wearing green T-shirts and panties on their pants. I wonder if they are obliged to put diapers in that as well. But the point is, that I see this group most of the time on their knees or sitting on the wet and cold ground or even lie on that according to what the others say. They are doing "funny" things. Even Nancy, our coordinator, warned us. We should not take that for serious, it is just for fun.

And if I pass around a bit later, there are always some people puking all around the wall. Too much alcohol I suppose. This is probably student life here. But I suppose that I am maybe too old or to stranger to have fun doing that kind of stuff.

On the other hand, it is tradition here, way to get to know a lot of people. As it was said so many times, to open to each other and to become friends there has to be something that connects us. And I suppose that if they all go through this procedure, there is really SOMETHING that connects them.

Well, I am not judging as it could seem. I am not saying if it is good or bad. I am just trying to understand (ehm ... while avoiding pukes on my way home).

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

How are parties in LLN ... (quite long post)

In this very special moment I just want to scream very loudly ... DIRTY!!! NASTY!!! HORRIBLE!!!

Before coming here Cedric warned me a bit. But you know, when I heard that Belgians are crazy and that they party like animals, I just laughed. After today's experience I see, what Cedric was trying to tell me.

There are several cercles here. Each faculty has its own place to party, some kind of student pub, where students go and get beer for 80 cents. We heard that there is very dirty party going on in cercle des ingenieurs, beer for free. Nobody really wanted to go there, but Hanna and me, brave girls, decided to have a look inside. We heard that the place is full of water, people even puke and pee into that. I just could not imagine, how some pub can be filled with so much water reaching your knees. We put on the oldest clothes that we have here and we went there. The others were waiting outside the pub, holding our purses and jumpers.

At the entrance there was basically no water. The salle was full of drunk guys, most of then half naked, one in rubber suit :-)) We had a look around. There were some guys peeing next to the wall. Nobody puking, not yet probably. Then we realized that if we want to get some beer, we have to step into the small "swimming pool" and cross it to reach the bar. Actually, it was the space limited by stairs, filled with cold water. We did not want to get wet, so I made horrible mistake. I asked one guy, if there is any possibility to get beer without stepping inside the water. He probably called the others, as in few minutes there were some guys running after us and trying to throw us into that water. Hanna manage to escape. I did not... Firstly, they just pushed me inside. I was wet till my knees. But as it was probably not enough, they take me and threw me in that nasty water. I was TOTALLY wet!!! Even my hair was a bit wet. Can you imagine that???

Probably, it would be funny if I was drunk. But as I was not at all, I did not really appreciate that. Even though after that I got my beer. I kept the glass, I really deserved that one.

Well, going to other country is about trying to understand the others and all these cultural differences and specialties :-)) Now, after having arrived to my kot, taken off all the wet clothes and taken the shower, I feel fine :-)) I actually remember that when I got to Peru, I was so desperate about those parties, where they played only salsa (I could not dance that at all). Now I love it :-)) Maybe if you ask me in January, I will tell you that in LLN there I experienced the best parties ever :-))))

Monday, September 24, 2007

Today's classes

French classes at 10:15 am: our teacher is ill, so no classes during the whole week

German classes at 1:00 pm: our teacher did not show up

What is going on here??? Well, I was so eager for those classes, really :-))

Sunday, September 23, 2007

What does it mean to be crazy

It means...
  • to spend the whole night dancing with the same guy without having a break
  • to dance with him the special dance called "šunka" (translation of the word šunka is ham, well, this SPECIAL name comes from funny story :-))
  • to leave the club as the last ones
  • to climb fence of the park, sit on the bench and make fun of each other
  • to dance waltz in the morning in the street standing on someone's feet
  • to ask for a mineral water in the cheese stand
  • to be happy about seeing some rabbits on the way home (they were preparing this place for some kind of environmental or agricultural event, that is why they brought even some rabbits there)
  • to consider the 5 flow road romantic place hehe
  • not to sleep at all the whole night
  • to ENJOY THE MOMENT, every minute of that, knowing that probably there will be no more possibility to see each other soon ... :-))
  • to feel so happy and not to analyze anything, just take what one can get
These are exactly moments when one realizes why it is so good to be here and alive and why it is worth to enjoy every minute of that :-))

Thanks for such a nice time!

After having chatted with Palo on Saturday I decided to go to Brussels again. Unbelievable :-) We were supposed to meet some Slovak stagiares and then we wanted to go dancing. In the end just Marek and me spent the night dancing at Havana Club, the others were just too tired to join us.

We stayed till the very end, what means that we were basically the last ones leaving the place at 6:30 am. Yeah, il faut profiter de la jeunesse et de l'energie qu'on possede encore :-)

We had so much fun together, that even now, when I look back I have to laugh. In addition, at 8 am we said good bye to each other and then met again on Slovak mass at 9 am (yes, I had at least some time to take the shower in order not to feel so stinky after the whole night spent in club). Afterwards, as we were chatting with others, he mentioned something that just two of us understood. It was as having something special that connects only two of us.

Marek and his family left for London in the afternoon. I wonder if I meet him some day again :-))

Friday, September 21, 2007

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

LLN live #1

Well, what is going on now here in LLN?

When I read this question just after having written it down, the first idea that came to my mind was very simple. It is raining in LLN. Actually, to be precise, the weather is very changeable. Every day it is raining a lot, then in 15 minutes the sun is shining, in 5 minutes sky is cloudy again, and in 1 hour it is raining again. It is some kind of never ending circle.

Hmm, we are partying a lot, basically every day there is something going on. Yesterday we had barbecue with the rest of exchange students. I met several nice people there. Today there is something going on as well.

Till now none of my classes took place. The majority are on Thursday and Friday. I am quite curious about that, actually, how teachers are, the methods of working and studying. We will see. In addition, I have to choose some nice courses that I would be really interested in. Hope to make a good choice :-))

People here are nice. For the moment I am not going to write more about them, because I still do not know them very well. But it seems we will have fun together. And what is really perfect here are sports activities :-)) Will definitely go for some courses of salsa, maybe aerobic and whatever that seems to be interesting.

Do you eat Pringles?

On our way to Strasbourg in June 2007 Ožbej bought in a shop package of Pringles. At that time it was for me just ordinary brand for ordinary chips. These are actually considered to be special chips that have all the same shape and are quite expensive.


Week ago we went to the factory, where these chips are being produced. It was actually very interesting to see the whole machinery, the way how is it made, how do they add salt, pack it and warehoused it. In addition, after having visited this factory and their warehouse (imagine, they do have fully automatic warehouse there, it is unbelievable how it works without human intervention) we played the game. It was about learning how it works in supply chain management. Just perfect idea for understanding the whole process.

CEMS Blocked Seminar

We spent the first week participating in blocked seminar, the main topic was Supply Chain Management. I was a bit afraid of the content, as I have no background in SCM. But it ended up quite well. What I liked the most were company visits. It gave me a lot, I think this is the best way to understand what is really important and to see, how it works in practice.

I was quite sad when some people had to leave. But Tomek wrote me really nice SMS. And perceiving it (it = saying goodbye) from this point of view makes me feeling much better.

"An Irish friend never says goodbye. He still meets new people without putting them into the past. Let's keep our options open. ..."


Enjoying every minute of the weekend

Last weekend the whole Brussels was full of different festivals, events and parties. On Saturday I met Tomek (Polish guy that participated in blocked seminar as well). We went to techno party held at central station!!! Can you imagine that? :-)) On Sunday there were many stands at Grand Place, for example Chilean one with very good wine or Bolivian one with examples of chuno (dried potatoes, actually, the only thing that I did not like from Peruvian cuisine). As a bonus, many museums for free and Royal Palace opened to the public.

Hehe and what makes me laugh even now is Maneekin Pis pissing in a long distance :-)) I should probably explain that. I suppose that the fountain got broken and somebody came to fix it. As this man was able to regulate the pressure of the fountain, he could basically change the distance in what the small statue was pissing. So in one moment, this little boy managed to achieve three meters of pissing distance :-))

After long time I had Belgian gaufre. And of course, I tried new types of beer as well. Oh, such agreeable weekend :-))

Brussels seen with different eyes

It is quite interesting to observe, how one's point of view can change throughout certain period of time. And actually, how much it depends on different circumstances.

I remember saying that Brussels is not nice city at all. I was probably a bit fed up with my job, all these eurocrates and people focused on money. Now I see that my point of view was very limited. European institutions and people working there are not the only ones staying there. There are many interesting people as well. It is just necessary to open the eyes and meet them.

I admit that I really like to get back to Brussels now. I spent there past two weekends and probably, I will make a little trip even tomorrow, 'cause I have no courses and basically, nothing special to do here in LLN. During the first weekend I walked through places that I have never visited before. I was discovering nice streets and parks and I wondered how come that I missed it before. In addition, there were several celebrations taking place at Grand Place.

We met with Marek and we were having a lot of fun together. I have to mention that I managed to buy my pot. Marek was such a gentleman that he carried it the whole day long for me. We even named this special pot, his name is Jonatan, nice to meet you :-))

Monday, September 17, 2007

Not complete yet

I have this preserving feeling of missing something inside me. What is that?? I tried to look inside my soul, but I did not find the answer. What is inside there? Or better said, what is not there? Where is the missing part of my puzzle?

Saturday, September 8, 2007


I am really fine at the moment :-)

LLN - how is the city

Louvain la Neuve is a small town created in 1971. That is why there is no historical center and basically, any special monuments. It is purely student town with houses built from bricks.

My first impression was very good. I liked it a lot, it seemed to me very cosy. In addition, as it is really small, everything is so close, ideal for riding a bike or for walking. I did not have so much time to discover surroundings of the place, where I am staying. But there is some kind of farm with donkeys :-)) and some kind of small wood or park, perfect for jogging.

What is more, there are so many things to do there (well, now I have this impression :-) There is perfect sport center with many different sport activities. I hope to have enough time to attend several courses. The center is full of shops, restaurants, bars, there is even theater and cinema. Basically everything that students need for their life.

And as Brussels is so close and the connection is very good, I am really not afraid of being bored or having nothing to do.

I have not seen salles where classes take place. Quite curious about it :-)

Orange juice with Klemen

When I asked Klemen, what kind of woman is he looking for, he answered: "The one, with who we would help each other to grow..."

Could it be said in nicer way?

Friday, September 7, 2007

First day in Louvain la Neuve (1)

I have so many impressions in my head that it will be hard to put it in order somehow and not to forget anything.

In the morning I took train to Louvain la Neuve, place, where I will be staying till January 2008. As I supposed there was nobody from Buddy System waiting for me at the station. Luckily, using my knowledge of French I managed to get to the office of accommodation service. As I was waiting in a queue I started to talk to English speaking people waiting there as well. One of them was Hanna, Finish girl participating in CEMS as well and second one - Vincent, Belgian guy, who has already finished UCL, accompanied her.

We went for a lunch together with one American girl studying in Norway, CEMS member as well. It was really nice, we were exchanging information and our former experience.

Then I went again to accommodation service, moved in and went again to the center. Managed to register and bought package of 12 rolls of toilet paper hehe So if you are in need, just let me know, I have more than enough :-)) In the evening I took train to Brussels. Actually, it is perfect, the whole journey from my place to this place in Brussels took me only one hour. It is as going from Jižní město in Prague to Jarov :-))

A looooot of administration

Even if I was lucky and I managed to arrange all necessary stuff, there are some things that I really do not understand.

  1. registration: To register as en exchange student I was supposed to go to the third floor, where the man gave me small paper with number. Then I was told to get back to the first floor, actually, to the entrance, where I was waiting with my number. (???) I did not get the point of going to the third floor ...
  2. accommodation service: Firstly, I had to see one lady in office numeber 1 (oh, she was so nice, smiling all the time, I wish every officer could be so nice as she was). She gave me paper with permission to see the room. Then one guy drove me to see my room, meantime we had to stop in the office number 2 to look for keys. Then he gave them keys back and drove me back to the office number 1. I said to this nice lady that I like the room. She told me to go to the office number 3 to sign the contract. And then, I had to get back to the office number 2 to get the keys and signed some other papers and then, finally, I could move in. Complicated, isn't it? :-)
Luckily, this nice lady had a perfect idea. As the guy did not have anybody else to drive, he could help me and drive me to the office number 2, which is situated next to my new place. I was soo happy, you cannot imagine that. Otherwise I would have to walk 20minutes with all my luggage. I was so grateful!!!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

In Brussels again

Just few minutes ago I arrived to Brussels. I have impression as if I have never left the place. Everything is so familiar to me. The weather is cloudy, but well, that is quite normal here :-)) I feel good :-))

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Just passing by

Looking back at past weeks, I have to say that I met so many nice people. Unfortunately, the majority of them is just passing through my life, and who knows, if any of them will stay for longer time. I wish they will.

Meeting after summer break

As I was in EP today, I met some people that I got to know during my stage. One of them was Bernardo. We spoke just for few minutes... I am not proud of it, but I have to admit that I basically ran away. I did not feel like talking to him... I met Klemen as well, I would like to go for a coffee with him tomorrow, hopefully he will have some time.

I went to say hello to Vierka and to my MEP as well. It was nice to see them. I felt as if it was yesterday that I left Brussels. Actually, that is the feeling that I had during the whole day. Everything was the same as it was in July...

In the evening I met Jurij in the center. He told me that when I am in Brussels, we can go for a party. Hehe I have still in my mind the last party in Havana club. He is really party man :-)) He was drinking with Ozbej, both of them had ten shots of Vodka, maybe even more. Crazy men!!! :-)

How do I feel about EP

The answer is simple: VERY CONFUSED.

When I came back from my stage, I was telling everybody that I am really not longing for a job in any of European institutions. There were several reasons that supported my decision. Even today, when I was on my way to EP for a lunch, I was thinking about it. And to be honest, I felt so happy about not working there anymore. To specify my feelings, I think that I felt free. I had finally opportunity to walk around and I was not obliged to spend the whole day in the office.

But then I was told that one Slovak MEP is looking for a new assistant. And the moment of confusion came... Actually, I know that it is impossible for me to apply for this job. I will be studying in Louvain la Neuve, so there is no way to interrupt my studies. But if the situation was different, MAYBE I would be thinking about applying for it.

How come??? How is it possible that I am thinking about it, when few hours ago I was so sure about my attitude to all kind of jobs in EU institutions??

When I finally realize, what I really want???? I hope to be on my way to find it out...

Back in Strasbourg

Today at 6:35 am I arrived to Strasbourg with big backpack, heavy suitcase and small, but totally full small backpack. Actually, I was wondering a bit, how I will be able to get to the place, where I was suppose to stay. But luckily, Palo came to pick me up and helped me with the luggage. I was so grateful!!!

We met again for a lunch. He was busy at Parliament, but I was introduced to his friend Marek, stagiare at one Slovak MEP's office. Really nice and intelligent guy. And such a gentleman :-)) He is studying in London at the moment, living there with his parents who work at the embassy. We spent the whole afternoon together, 'cause he had no work in the office. Later I helped him with something that he had to do, at least, I had good feeling of being useful :-))

In the evening we went with Palo for a bike tour around Strasbourg. We were having nice time. Finally, we had opportunity to discuss personally several issues. I feel quite well after having these things clear...

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Maroš

Two days ago I went for a beer with Maroš and his girlfriend Tea. We went to one open air pub, really nice place with country live music.

I have not seen Maroš for ages. Actually, it is a bit funny story. We met when we were 13 years old. We went for organised trip to London with our Mums :-)) And since then, we were accidentally seeing each other somewhere in Bratislava. As this summer we met accidentally two or three times, finally we decided to meet on purpose :-))

It was nice to talk to both of them. I like to discover people's way of thinking and acting in diferent matters.