This past week as been a flurry of activity as HEC (the management faculty) and the ULg (Université de Liege) have been trying to get all the first years and exchange students off the ground.
On Monday the HEC campus hosted several presentations, a tour of their campus, and a free BBQ. The first presentation, an introduction of the ESN (Erasmus/Exchange Student Network) team, detailed the events they have planned for the welcoming weeks as well as the services they provide such as helping to find accommodations for newly arrived students. This came with a fairly decent welcome package courtesy of all the ESN sponsors, although it did include a few rather strange items such as a chalkboard coffee mug and a carton of pumpkin soup. The tour didn't take very long as the campus is not very big but the building can be a bit of a maze so I'm glad I attended. The second presentation, by the HEC international student director, was more informative and provided good information on what to expect from classes, how to register, and who our contacts are if we have issues. Following this presentation was the BBQ and a huge mingling of all the international students. It is truly amazing how far and wide people have come from. It is also amazing how many uses the Europeans have a for a baguette. I usually think of French bread in the context of garlic toast with pasta. Here they are used predominantly as buns for sandwiches and sausages. Such a silly detail but so be it.
On Tuesday we had an orientation of the Sart-Tillman campus. This is the main campus for the majority of students. It is a 20 minute bus ride outside of town and is surrounded by a huge forest. Whereas the presentations at HEC were done in English, the Sart-Tillman Campus is predominantly French speaking. I found it absolutely fascinating at just how much of a difference the various speakers made. There was one woman who I caught about 85% of what she was saying. From the next presenter I caught about 8% max. I'm struggling to put my finger on exactly what made the difference but holy crow did it make a difference! After a couple more speakers and introductions the director of the university spoke. He is an extremely entertaining man. He encouraged us to get out, meet the locals, congratulated us on making such a fantastic decision to go on exchange, and in Liege in particular, and joked about the sub tropical climate. I appreciated the weather comments. If it is even possible, the weather changes more rapidly and less predictably than even Alberta's! He finished with an amusing comment, something to the effect of, "For those of you with significant others back home... don't worry. You'll find everything you need here". His whole demeanor was extremely pleasant and his welcoming message was extremely well delivered. After the presentation we were free to explore the different booths of activities offered at ULg and a free lunch was served. Unfortunately, because they were orienting Erasmus and first year students on the same day, everything was SO crowded. It was impossible to get through the crowds and lineups took forever. Chelsa, Bryanna, Kiersten, and I ended up leaving after lunch instead of staying for the guided tours because even at HEC the day before when crowds were a quarter of the size, the groups were still too big to hear the tour guides properly. We have decided to go back and explore on our own on a different day and at our own pace. It didn't help our motivation any that Bryanna is the only one with classes on that campus. Around 17h00 I went for a run with TK (Taiwanese Kevin) and we sure motored! We went down a similar route to the one I had run the previous week - it's about 7 km and follows the river. He found a way to incorporate more of the park paths into his route though. It was extremely lovely and I can't wait to go again!
Mercredi, le 14 septembre. Aussi mon anniversaire! J'ai vingt ans! Finally entered into a new decade and I couldn't be more motivated. Even though it was another orientation day, my friends still managed to make it special. At 11:30 am we met up and found a nice Italian restaurant with outdoor seating to sit down at and people watch. They surprised me with a beautiful chocolate cake which we unfortunately ran out of time to eat! Wednesday afternoon was another orientation at a different city center campus building. This one was Erasmus specific again. We were told that there are about 500 Erasmus students in Liege this semester. Quite a large group! This presentation, of similar information to the others, was followed by guided tour of the city. Unfortunately, since we have been here for almost 3 weeks already, we found the tour a little redundant and not altogether helpful. As such, we slipped out after the first half hour and found our way to a shoe store. I picked up some fantastic high heeled boots. Joyeux anniversaire à moi! In the early evening I was invited to a BBQ at one of the ESN team member's houses. When I said I wanted to learn French, I never thought it would be via French language drinking songs! However, they didn't pick on me too much. Probably because I was being super boring and sticking to water. They did however obliterate the friend who brought me. Poor boy! Additionally, the ESN team had picked Wednesday night as a Welcome to Liege Party at a cafe in Le Carré. After our group had had their fill at the makeshift BBQ we walked to Point De Vue Cafe and joined up with the rest of the Erasmus students. It was so packed! Immediately as we walked up I got accosted by a group of friends from Poland (the same group I went to Brussels with). They had picked me up a beautiful grey tube scarf as a birthday gift. I felt very loved. We danced the rest of the night away and even though I was one of the first people to leave, it was still 1:30 am!
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| My beautiful cake was picked out by Bryanna and Chelsa. Despite the chocolate waves on top, the inside was actually not chocolate! It is hard to put a finger on it but I thought maybe cinnamon. |
Yesterday, was awful. For the last week and a half I've been fighting a really harsh cough and sore throat. In the past few days it has turned into a non stop runny nose, an even harder cough, and unfortunately, and too much information I'm sure, you wouldn't believe the junk I'm coughing up from my lungs. Yuck. I woke up thinking I was getting an ear infection too. I think being out late and having a few consecutive nights of poor quality sleep from being sick is just making me sicker. I'm not the only one though. Most of the North Americans are having an absolutely awful time with harsh coughs. It makes me begin to question the air quality actually. All the Europeans seem fine. Yesterday I just took it easy. Had a nice afternoon nap and watched a movie at Chelsa's in the evening.
Today I had the option of going to Ostende, a coastal town, with the Polish group but declined. Tomorrow there is a group of people who want to go to Amsterdam and consecutive days of travel are not appealing to someone as stuffed up as I am. The plan is to leave in the morning, sight see all day, sample the night life, and catch the 3 am train back to Liege so we don't have to stay in a hostel. I'm not entirely convinced I feel up to such a long day. I'm sure I'll decide at the last minute. C'est ma vie belge.
Love and laughter,
Jacqueline
PS: The most random occurrence of the entire trip is the fact that Kiersten and I actually went to the same elementary, junior high, and high school. We were never close because she was in the year above me but my jaw pretty much hit the sidewalk when I ran into her for the first time in years in the middle of Liege!
[UPDATE - 11:02 pm]
Tomorrow we are day tripping to Maastricht, Netherlands instead! Exciting!
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