Belgium

 Last year, I went on a BEST summer course that took place in Leuven, Belgium. I had a great time during those 10 days and met great people. This was what lead me to join my own LBG back in Almada. These people that dedicate themselves to creating opportunities for students to improve their knowledge, social skills and overall cultural experience, are simply so much fun :)

Being so close to Belgium, I saw a great opportunity to hop on a train and go visit them. So on rainy July 19th I made my way through 4h35 of train rides and "crashed" their summer course of 2012! I stayed at a friend-s house that I had met last year and he was simply the best! We had communicated several times throughou the year, to keep in touch and to share our Erasmus experiences. Having friends such as these makes it so worthwhile...

After being in a 24h awake mode and crashing their last party of the SC, we went to Beleuvenissen at the Oude Markt. There, along with other besties, we watched the concert by Hooverphonic (a new band that I learned about and kind of liked).

But a trip to Belgium also has to include some cultural sightseeing. Since this year at their SC they did not visit Brussels, some of the participants stayed behind as to not miss out on the opportunity. So, with two other besties and two participants, we made our way to the capital. Because it was a national holiday, the Manneken Pis was all dressed up!

There was also a parade with the Armed Forces, Navy, etc... Even the Netherlands flag made it's way on there somehow. Although I had been to Brussels last year, this time it was a 'take your time' visit and I got to see different things. This also included trying the best fries ever, according to the Belgians. And they were, very good by the way...

@ the way to the European Commission

This trip was of course followed by a trip from my friend to Enschede :) Just like we had agreed during our many talks...

the group in Brussels