Here in Brussels!!

Well, this is actually the end of my second day in Brussels, but I am here! I did make it! And I'm currently helping Kristoffer with his Math homework so if this seems a little disjointed its because I'm writing in between explanations.

So to recap my trip here!

The flight to Philly was great. I had an aisle seat and there was no one in the middle seat, so the lady who was at the window and I just shared the space. It was fantastic. I had a nice layover in Philly; I had a stuffed pizza and salad, and then sat back and enjoyed a few hours of "House" on my laptop while I waited for my next and final flight.

As I was waiting in line to board the plane to Brussels, a man asked one of the airline attendants if the plane was very full. She said "Oh no, its about 60% capacity." And the man who was taking the boarding passes, laughed and said "Hah! Maybe 60% empty!" This gave me a little hope since the last time I checked my seats, no one had booked the two seats next to me in the center aisle. Low and Behold, what would you know! I had a whole set of 3 seats in the center aisle all to myself. That meant that when it came time to sleep I got to lay down across all 3 seats (since the armrests moved up), with three pillows for me to use! :)

So that flight was amazing, and even though I only got 4 hours of sleep, they were really good hours of sleep.

I got my bags without an issue (quite a difference from my experience in Sweden; the long layover helped for sure), and Kristoffer was there to pick me up, no problem.

Yesterday was spent in a jet lagged haze, but I managed to have lunch, get my work done, and with only a small afternoon nap. Last night I woke up at 4:45am and couldn't sleep for an hour, but fell back asleep and slept in till 10:30. Tonight I should go to bed on time, and hopefully won't have any wake-up problems, so maybe the jet lag is over? We'll see. :)

Today I had a shopping adventure. The apartment is located very near what seems to be a popular shopping area, so I managed to buy everything I needed (hair straightener, towel, umbrella), except for a post card for my great grandma! Postcards seem to be elusive in this city! I looked everywhere today and a post card could not be found. I will try again tomorrow.

But shopping today! So crazy. The man selling me the straightener was very nice and easy to work with. He spoke some English. HOWEVER, the Belgians have decided that VISA and Mastercard are not good enough for them, so they have their own cards that are excepted everywhere, but doom on you if you try your VISA. Eesh, I guess its cash for me. Otherwise "NO VISA, NO VISA!" being screamed at me, is what I will expect from here on out.

In general, I've enjoyed my two days here so far. A bit of culture shock to say the least (as in no customer service, rude people in the street, not being able to use my debit cards, and ridiculously expensive grocery stores), but its been a learning experience! I'm excited to get out and actually see some culture: the Grand Place, museums, and such. I will enjoy this weekend, I think.


Alright. Signing off from Brussels. More adventures to come, I'm sure!

PS-Sorry, no pictures of my own yet. The Green arrow in the map picture is where we are living.