Another Week Flies By...Unifestival, Masquerade, Tom's birthday

Hello Friends and Family!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Our gorgeous sunny autumn weather has taken a cloudy damp turn for the worse. Today is a pretty typical example of the weather as of late: light rain with a high/low of 14°C/9°C (57°F/48°F) with wind at 12 mph. Although the air temperature is decently warm, the wind just cuts right through you in this extremely bone chilling way. Additionally, it gets really dark here really quickly. Although the sun sets at almost the exact same time as home (Calgary is on latitude 51° 03' N and Liege is 50º 50´ N), it feels like the light doesn't linger as long. I think it is probably just the effect of the high buildings and narrow streets instead of the big open landscapes I'm used to. Regardless, winter is coming.
Not that this stops Erasmus students from anything! Not even in the slightest.





Thursday, October 6, the ULg hosted the fifth annual Unifestival. This free event takes place on the main ULg Sart-Tilman campus and hosts 31 bands on 4 different stages from 5 pm - 3 am. There are all sorts of street performers, bars, student associations, and food kiosks to entertain the enormous throng of people. Last year's attendance numbered more than 10, 000 and it would not surprise me in the least if the turn out was bigger this year. Highlights for me included a percussion ensemble that equates to a drum line with oil drums, some absolutely phenomenal displays of spray painting, a praline waffle made in pocket form and filled with Nutella, the immense variety of musical acts (everything from ska to rap to punk rock to folk and more), and this delicious potato, onion, bacon dish. Food got two mentions because it was the coldest night to date and eating something warm just seemed to heighten the flavors simply out of gratitude for a heat source. Desperate chilly times, desperate heat measures! 

Friday night we went out - European men sure embrace dancing and really get into it a lot more than North American boys. There were some really impressive displays, particularly from Latin gentlemen. Seems like every guy knows some form of Salsa, Meringue, or a variation thereof. It makes me so grateful that I took a hiphop, latin, and swing dance class last year. Having the very basic Salsa and Meringue has made for a great deal more fun than North American dancing provides.


Saturday night was part girls night, part spontaneous night walk. Kiki, Bee, and I piled into Kiki's bed with pints of ice cream and the movie "The Adjustment Bureau". After a certain point, with Bee snoring gently beside us, Kiki and I grabbed a camera and videoed us waking her up. It took a lot of effort and she was not impressed with us... which of course only made it funnier! Spur of the moment texting led to me meeting up with KSweet to go to the top of Liege to sit on the war monument from last post. Although the candle night was fun, I really preferred the monument silent and dark. It really added to the majestic nature of the view to just be able to sit and appreciate it in silence without hordes of people. 


Sunday was my first experience in a European movie theater. Among the films on display were two English ones. Because our group consisted of myself, an Italian, and a German, we naturally defaulted to our common language of English and saw "Dream House". Not too many differences from home in regards to the theater but the tickets are cheaper (6 euro) and the seating is far more comfortable - really plush, cushioned seats. One of the friends I went with pointed out to me the lack of cup holders. I don't even know if I recall seeing a concession. What a fantastic change from home where the public is obsessed with eating and the industry is obsessed with trying to take your money.

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving back home. Kiki and I spent all day lamenting the lack of pumpkin pie, turkey, and family. Most disappointingly, there is a complete lack of anything pumpkin in Liege. Back home there's scones, bars, lattes, cakes, rolls, pies, cookies, muffins, cheesecakes, etc., but not a single pumpkin themed anything here. Such deprivation. However, for American Thanksgiving, all the North American students are going to come together and have a lovely dinner so at least there is that to look forward too. In the mean time, I am thankful for each and every one of you, this amazing experience I am having, and to have Canadian citizenship in this crazy world we live in.


Tuesday night was a Masquerade Party thrown by the ESN. Prior to the official party, we went to a surprise party being thrown for a friend from Britain who was turning 21. The host was another British girl who lived in the same building and somehow managed to squeeze about 30 people into her one room kot without him realizing what was going on. His sincere surprise and the chocolate cake made by one of the German girls made for a wonderful start to the evening. The Masquerade itself was absolutely packed. A fairly decent portion of the people actually participated and had bought or made masks. Some were rather obscene (two guys wore penis masks - one homemade, one store bought), some were just freaky Halloween masks, and then lots of typical sequin and feather masks. Pictures to come.


Love to you all,


Jacqueline