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Saturday 26 November 2016

Hellooo, 

So, sadly, I'm nearing the end of my six months in Belgium *cue hysterical crying*. As you can tell, I'm not overly happy about leaving but it's giving me a chance to reflect on what I've learnt during my time here and what its taught me. Let me tell you something; I've learnt a lot. I feel like every single day I discover something I didn't know about myself - a personality trait emerges or I discover a fondness for beer that I never thought I had!



1) You don't need to please everybody - it's okay to put yourself first once in a while. 
If you're on your year abroad, chances are you only have a few months in one place. For me, it was 6 months in Brussels. This means that your time is somewhat limited and you have to cram as much as you can into a short amount of time. This also means making sacrifices. I don't really want to give specific examples in case anybody reads this haha. But seriously, you'll learn this yourself anway.

2) Make the most of every possible moment...
As I said above, you're going to have a limited amount of time and you don't want to go home with regrets. Moving abroad is tiring so there will be days you don't fancy it. But the only thing you'll regret is the things you didn't do. So always try to get as much fun and as many memories as you can from every single day.

3) ...But it's also okay to have a lazy day. 
I'm sort of contradicting myself here, but the balance is essential. There are some days where you reaaally don't want to leave the house and all you want to do is relax in bed and watching crappy British soap operas and trashy films. That's okay. Don't feel guilty if you take it easy for a day, everybody deserves a break!

4) People know when you stalk them on LinkedIn.
This may sound totally random but I learnt this the hard way in Brussels. During my first month working at my new company, I created a LinkedIn account in the hope of becoming more professional and mature (it didn't work). My manager's profile came up, and I thought it would be fun to have a look. I then looked at another colleague and at the CEO, as well as my new flatmate. Well. It turns out that they all recieved a notification saying I'd stalked them. Embarrassing? Yes. Avoidable? Yes!

5) Say YES to everything! 
Whether it's scary (like skydiving or just going to a French-speaking party) or just something that you don't really fancy (like a night out or museum trip), just do it! Some of my favourite memories of my time in Belgium come from things that I never wanted to do. For example, I really wanted to go a beer tasting event. But all my friends bailed so I decided not to go - why would I go somewhere alone?? About an hour before it started, I got a message from the organiser asking if I was still coming. What did I say? YES. And it was literally one of my favourite nights in Brussels! So no matter what you think, just goooo!

6) Call your parents when you're happy, not when you're homesick. 
I'll admit that I haven't exactly mastered this one. I've gotten better, but I'm far from perfect. However, I really think that this is a good piece of advice. If you want to be independent and learn to survive (and enjoy) your year abroad, you need to learn to make yourself feel better. Not only that, but you'll worry your parents/loved ones if every time you call them your crying your eyes and saying how much you hate your life abroad. So instead, when you're feeling homesick, run yourself a bath, pour a glass of wine and read a good back. Then, when you're feeling better, chat to your parents. Trust me, you'll feel so much better.

7) You'll never be the best. 
Again, this is a life lesson that I'm still struggling to accept, but I'm getting there. At my internship in Brussels, I am by far the worst out of the three English translators. At first, this knocked my confidence massively. It also made me not try as hard, because I knew I'd never be the best. But then I changed my mindset. I thought, "You know what? Yes I'll never be the best, yes these girls are better than me, but that gives me all the more reason to work my ass off!" And that's what I've done. I've swallowed my pride and asked them for feedback on my translations, for help with difficult vocab, etc. And I have grown so much more thanks to swallowing my pride and accepting that I'm not the best.

8) Attitude is what counts.
Leading on from the previous point, I am not the best at work. However, my attitude says otherwise. I act confidently, I work as hard as I can everyday (whether that be staying late or coming in early) and I do everything my manager asks as well as I possibly can. I admit when my translations are less than perfect, come up with strategies on how to improve them and put more effort in next time. Thanks to this, my manager appreciates my hard work and we get on well. So it's not always about ability; attitude is just as important if not more!

9) You are always stronger than you think you are. 
When it comes to a year abroad/moving abroad/whatever your personal circumstances are, it is likely that you'll be terrified at some point during the experience. Whether its before you leave or after you arrive, you'll be scared. For me personally, I was convinced I couldn't do it. I thought I'd crack halway through and have to move back home. I had literally no confidence in my own ability. And what do you know? I've had so much fun, I could stay here forever. If you don't think you can do it, you can. If you think you've got no strength left, you do. Whatever happens, just keep going and I promise you won't regret it!

Anyway, they're my life lessons for now. Maybe I'll do an updated version when I get back from Peru!

Emma xxx
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Saturday 15 October 2016

Hellooooooo, 

So I have now been in Brussels for 17.5 weeks and I only have 9.5 weeks left!!! What?! I'm soooo sad about this, like I honestly want to cry when I think about leaving haha. So I guess you could say I was enjoying my year abroad so far! 

I had my weekly feedback meeting with my manager yesterday and it was really good, she asked me for a lot of feedback and what I wanted to achieve before I finish my placement. I said I'd like to try translating something from another collection (like history or coaching or something) so I'm hoping I'll get to do one of those soon! My first translations have just gone on sale on Amazon which is soooo exciting! Like I know it's super corny but I just feel really proud that I've got actual translations with my name on already at my age! So everyone go buy them so my manager thinks I'm great, thanks :)

What would a post about Belgium be without a picture of Mannekin Pis in a ridiculous outfit??
 Apart from work life is gooood. I'm still going to choir, and apart from that I just do lots of stuff with my housemates, colleagues and other friends like going for drinks (especially at Place Lux on Thursdays hehe), going out, watching films, going to the beach, etc. So life is busy and fun! 


So Belgium is apparently super religious and has these little chapel things where you can pray like everywhere! Super cute
 I've also been given my first uni assignments which (never ever tell anyone I said this pls) I'm actually sort of enjoying doing! I guess I've just missed education which I really never thought I'd say, but I do! I miss studying and learning, I guess I'm not ready for the world of work just yet haha. But I'm sure as soon as I start back at uni next year I'll be dreaming of graduation! 

Vol-au-vent aka the best meal you can physically eat in Belgium!
So that's pretty much it for this month's update! Basically, I'm happy and busy and don't want to come home (soz family)!

A la prochaine!
Emma
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Sunday 4 September 2016

Hello again!

So a few weeks ago I went on a little day trip to Gent! It's about an hour away from Brussels on the train, but Belgium has this great system where young people can go anywhere in Belgium for 10 euros at the weekend, so it's so cheap and easy to travel around! Everybody had told me how beautiful Gent is so I decided to see for myself, and I wasn't disappointed!

Gent aka the most beautiful city on the planet
 So I was supposed to go with a friend but they got ill and couldn't go so I ended up going on my own but it was still so nice!! In a way I feel like I get to see more when I'm on my own so I really didn't mind just for one day. 

When I first arrived, I pretty much arrived straight at a church (which I don't seem to have taken any pictures of sadly!) which was really beautiful so I headed straight inside and I wasn't disappointed! It was all so pretty and since I hadn't been in a church for a while I forgot how stunning they are! 

I then went for a wander around the city and the shops. There was a cute little market where a Scottish bagpipe band were playing; not sure how much the locals enjoyed it though! It was hilarious watching their faces as they tried to understand what the Scottish people were saying with their super thick accents; even I had a hard time, so I doubt everyone else understood a word!


After that I went for a stroll along the canal (I think it's a canal anyway :S) that runs through Gent. It was absolutely picturesque and I really fell in love with the city. The only thing I find really difficult whenever I go to Flemish-speaking cities is the fact that I can't speak a word of Flemish!! Well, I can say please and thank you, but I can't order food or ask for directions or anything, so I always feel kind of ignorant. But never mind, Flemish is top of my language learning list but I have to master French, Spanish and Italian first... 

Not even sure what this is but I just thought it was a nice building
One complaint about Gent; how can one city have so many names??? Gent, Ghent, Gand... does anyone actually know what to call it anymore?? This is the thing I struggle with allllll the time in Belgium - everywhere has two names. So like Antwerp is Anvers in French, Liège is Luik in Flemish... Why can't they just agree on one name? Oh and the train stations! So in French, there's Bruxelles-Midi, which means exactly what you think it does; it's like mid-Brussels station. But in Flemish, it's called Brussel Zuid, which means South Brussels - how can one station be both the middle and south? THAT MAKES NO SENSE. 

Okay so, rant over. Basically I had a great day in Gent, saw cool buildings, ate a waffle and drank beer and life is fabulous. I <3 Belgium. 

Au revoir et Ã  bientôt!

Emma 
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Saturday 27 August 2016

Helloooo,

So I'm utterly useless at writing posts because I'm sometimes busy, sometimes lazy. It also takes me like 47 hours to write anything because I keep getting used to using an AZERTY keyboard at work so using this one is so tricky, I make so many mistakes. So far everytime I've tried to write a full stop, I've written a "<" out of habit.

Bois de la Cambre with Machi, Kristi and Emi
BUT an update is needed because I want to keep track of what's going on with me and how I feel about my year abroad etc, etc because my feelings have already changed so much since I arrived and I think it'll be interesting to read this at the end of the six months!

Couleur Café with Jolien and Tom
So without further ado:

Work 
Work is pretty good! We've been working on a big project recently so I've been crazy busy and spending looooong hours in work trying to get it done but I think it's hopefully all finished now! I was also getting pretty stressed about work in the past week, but I think I'm over it now haha. I had a super early start the other day where I got into work at 7am to finish something I was working on. It wasn't actually that bad to be honest and it won me some serious brownie points so it was worth it. I still don't speak at lunch which is frustrating because I wish I was confident enough to just chat but it's really hard to speak in front of so many people. But I try and make conversation with people when I'm in a smaller group so that they know I'm not antisocial or anything, just not overly confident.
"Roulades de Printemps" (Spring Rolls) with work - very different from our small, deepfried ones!
In terms of the actual work I'm doing, I still haven't done loads of translation but I think I'll be doing a lot more this week which is good as I need to improve! My first lot of feedback wasn't bad but I have a lot of room for improvement as well. I'm hoping that the more I practice, the better I'll get. Practice makes perfect, right?

Life in general
Life is goooood! I love Belgium so so so much, it's the cutest place in history and everybody is so lovely and I'm just very happy here. I really don;t want to leave at all and if I had to choose now I would come straight back here after I graduate. There's so much to do so I'm always out at language meet ups, choir practice or just general activities haha. It makes it a lot easier to meet people. I'm not somebody who calls people friends straight away, but there are a lot of people here that I get on with v well and have lots of fun spending time with.
The queue outside Primark!!!
I also love how close Brussels is to everything, since Belgium is such a small place. So far I've visited Leuven, Ypres, Gent, Zeeland (the Netherlands) and Berlin (Germany). I'll hopefully write some posts about Berlin, Gent and Zeeland and upload them here so you can read about my escapades.

Other than that, not much to say really! My friends are finally starting to go on their year abroads now so I don't feel like the only person living in a foreign country. It's hard not to compare my experiences with other peoples, but since I'm having so much fun I don't really care. I feel like other people post more pictures with their friends, but I know that I have friends and that I'm happy so the fact that we don't have any selfies together isn't really an issue haha.


Visiting the Flower Carpet with mum and dad! 
Sampling the local cuisine and being educated in local beers!
Anyway, until next time!
Emma
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Wednesday 27 July 2016

Hello everyone!

So in Belgium there is a bank holiday on 21 July, but since that was a Thursday we ended up getting the Friday off too. I decided to make the most of my weekend and went to Berlin! I'd never been to Germany and, if I'm entirely honest, it had never hugely interested me. I'm not sure why, it's just that German culture doesn't excite me the way Spanish or Italian or French culture does. However I did a translation all about the fall of the Berlin Wall and found it fascinating that such a shocking event happened so recently. So, of course, I had to go!

Being a typical tourist at Brandenburg Gate!
 So I arrived on Thursday afternoon and went straight to my hostel to get checked in and throw my bags down. I didn't really know what to expect at the hostel as I've never stayed at one, but it was really nice! There was 12 people in our room (which I think was quite a lot, but it was fine!) and we had 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, an area with sofas and a huge balcony. 

So in the evening of the first day I just explored Berlin a little and then got an early night as I was so tired and wanted to go to an early walking tour the next day.

The Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - this consists of 2,711 concrete slabs of varying sizes that are laid out in a completely random pattern to make you feel really disorientated. It was very powerful.
 So the next day was Friday and my first full day in Berlin! I went on a free walking tour in the morning which was so incredibly good. It lasted around 2.5 hours and the guy that gave the tour was just amazing; he knew so much about the city's history but also related everything to modern society. So for example, he was explaining that so many Germans voted for Hitler because he offered something different and they were angry and scared following World War I. Voting for somebody out of fear - kind of like what happened with Brexit, no? And what is happening with Donald Trump in America too. So I really enjoyed the tour and learnt so much. I also met a lovely American guy who had been travelling Europe alone for about 3 months and we decided to go and see the Berlin wall together. 

Me and my new pal at the wall
 So it turns out that the wall is a lot further than we thought it was. After walking for like 45 minutes we finally got there, but it was definitely worth the walk! It's a couple of kilometres long (I can't remember exactly how long, sorry!) and is all decorated with the most beautiful artwork. It's not authentic stuff from when the wall was up, of course, but it's still really lovely. 

After that, things went a little bit wrong... We decided to get the metro back to the centre as we were tired of walking. Nathan still had two tickets that he'd bought the previous day but hadn't used yet so we jumped on the metro. Three plain-clothed ticket inspectors asked to see our tickets, so we handed them over, thinking nothing of it. WELL it turns out tickets in Berlin only last for one hour after you buy them, even though there is no sign anywhereeeee to tell you that. We assumed that as the tickets need to be validated, they're valid from then onward for one hour. So we were asked to get off the metro at the next stop, which I didn't think was an issue... Turns out they gave us a 60 euro fine each!!!! We argued and argued, as I really think it's ridiculous to fine tourists who so clearly made a genuine mistake, but they weren't having any of it. But never mind, onward and upward! 

After that we went to the Holocaust Museum which was incredible but so moving. It tells the stories of so many people who died at concentration and extermination camps during the Second World War. But the scary thing is that after spending hours reading all these stories, we'd barely scratched the surface. I don't the scale of the Holocaust ever really hit me until we sat watching a projection of the names of people who'd died; so many of them were only children. It was really upsetting but I'm glad I went. 

So that evening I hung out at the hostel with some people I met and we just had some drinks and played games in the hostel bar. Then we got pizza and sat on the balcony for hours, it was a really nice evening. 

Translation: Why? Why does the hatred of one frustrated and badly educated person have to cause so many victims? Why is all of France's courage and hope met with another bloody blow? Why France? Why so many innocents? Why? But please, don't make the mistake of voting for Le Pen!! Be strong.
A tribute to the victims of the Nice attack.
So, onto Saturday! I had another early start as I decided to go and visit a concentration camp (I had a fun-filled weekend, can't you tell?). I went with an organised group tour with some girls that I met the day before on the walking tour, so we all got the train to the concentration camp and then had a guided tour of the place. It was, of course, very emotional and just shocking that this really used to be used as a concentration camp; I still can't wrap my head around it. Something really suprising that I learnt there is that the buildings that used to be used to train Nazis are now used to train German police! Everyone was really shocked and its quite a controversial choice but I can understand where they're coming from in a way - everyday that the police officers train, they are reminded of what can happen when power gets into the wrong hands.

"Work will set your free" - these are the words on the gate as you walk into the camp. People entering the camp thought that this meant that if they worked hard they would be freed. It reality, it was a sick Nazi joke meaning that if they worked hard enough they would die and be 'freed' by death. 
I then spent Saturday night at the hostel with all my new pals drinking wine and gin which was great! Overall, it was a really great weekend and I had soooo much fun, even if it cost 60 euros more than planned ;) 

Adios mis amigos!
Emma

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Monday 27 June 2016




So, I've arrived! Thought I should probably write some sort of update on what the heck has been going on with my life recently. I've been writing little notes about what's been happening on my phone but just haven't got round to putting it all together into one blog post. So I'll break it down into a few different sections for ya. 

Arrival 
I arrived on Thursday 16th June in the afternoon. Erna picked me up from the airport and we went straight to the flat to unpack my things. The airport was strange; nobody was allowed in to the arrivals gate due to the attacks in March, so everybody had to wait outside in the car park! When I got to the flat, Irene (the girl who moved out of my room) showed me around. 

The flat
The flat is really nice, it's got a big open plan kitchen/living room with a TV which I've really missed having! My room is pretty small (although it's nicer than my room in Newcastle) with a mezzanine bed. So its a bit strange, but I'm getting used to it! My housemates are soo lovely; there's Mahi whose Greek, Jenny whose French and Chiara whose Italian! We speak English most of the time but sometimes Jenny will speak to me in French to help me practice. I was a bit worried at first that I wouldn't improve my French at all as I'm speaking English at home but after a 9 hour day at work all I want is to hear some English haha.



All the flats in my building are full of Europeans from so many different countries. It's really sociable; I've already been to two parties, one in our flat and one next door! Again, everybody speaks English all the time as it's the common language but a few people have chatted to me in French at parties. It's sooo difficult to understand people when the music is on really loud and I can only hear the odd word but I guess I just have to get used to it. 

Work 
Ahh, work. I really can't decide how I feel about work at the moment. The actual work that I'm doing is okay, if not a bit boring. I'll be doing translation eventually but at the minute I'm literally just rereading other people's translation. Not the most exciting job I've had but I suppose no office job is incredible. I like the fact that I have specific work to do everyday; I get to the office and I know exactly what I need to get on with rather than having to constantly ask for more work. 

But it's also really difficult. Everybody speaks French all the time, obviously and I can understand most of it but when it comes to me trying to reply it's really difficult and I sound like an idiot. It's so frustrating as in my head I can respond to everything and say what I want to, but whenever I try to actually speak out loud my words just go to shit! I'm hoping that this is something that will improve over the next few months but it's annoying that I'm having such a hard time. 

Belgian things I've noticed...



- Public transport - the public transport here is so great!!!! There are buses and trams and trains going everywhere and there's one ticket for all of them and it's just so easy! It makes me really happy haha. 

- Food - okay, the food here is amazing but all the really nice stuff is so bad :( like chocolate and chips and waffles and Speculoos and cheese... but never mind. But I'm trying hard to eat a little healthier now that I've tasted all the good stuff. My first day at work was so difficult in terms of food though; I forgot my lunch so had to go to Delhaize to buy some; where's the meal deals at?! Everyone was buying like a baguette, some goats cheese, mushrooms and paté and just making random weird food concoctions. I panicked and ended up just buying a premade sandwich with tomato on which I don't even like. I also panicked the first day I went shopping with Erna and ended up buying so much food that I never eat! Like oranges; I have never willingly eaten an orange in my life and yet I bought 4!! And cornflakes too; I don't like those but the bread options were too overwhelming so it was easier to buy cereal hahaha.



I'll be back soon with more updates but for now I really need to go to bed! This 8.30-5.30 thing is killing me!! Good night xx
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Friday 6 May 2016



It is officially less than 6 weeks until I move to Brussels!!!

Scary or what?! I'd been trying to avoid thinking about it but it eventually caught up with me thanks to all these ridiculous year abroad meetings we've been having. Don't get me wrong, I understand that health and safety is important to talk about prior to the YA, but teaching me not to hold out my purse on busy streets or to avoid living with psychopaths seems pretty self-explanatory. But anyway. These meetings have been getting me really worked up and stressed out about the amount of paperwork I need to get done and also the lack of funds I'm going to have for my first few months in Brussels. Uh oh. I'm hoping I'll have enough in my savings to fund my life up until around September when I should receive my student loan and my Erasmus grant, but it'll be tough going until then. 

I've been emailing lots of people to try and find somewhere to live and I think I may have found somewhere! I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that it goes through, but if it does I'll be living with 3 girls; a Greek, an Italian and a French girl. The flat is right around the corner from my work and there's a Lidl 15 minutes away. Winning. 


Now that it's getting super close, I've started trying to plan my travelling. I'm hoping that if I have activities planned for each weekend (whether it's with my potential new housemates or on my own), it means that even if I hate my job I'll be able to escape each weekend and see somewhere new. I think my first couple of weekends will obviously just be spent exploring Brussels and figuring out where I am. I also want to try and get the bus across to Paris, although I'll probably try and meet somebody there as navigating Paris alone doesn't sound much fun. Bruges is a definite must; I'll just get the train there as it's only about an hour away. I'd like to get to Cologne when the Christmas markets are on as it's so close to Brussels too. Maybe Luxembourg too, just because I've never been and am intrigued what it'd be like. And finally I'm hoping to get the bus over to Amsterdam and meet Emma there! I think they're the only major cities I can get to cheaply by bus/train, but if I find anyway of getting somewhere else for a cheap weekend I'll definitely do it! 

I've also started saying goodbye to my friends which is really tough. I said bye to Emma this weekend (although we've now arranged to meet up again, so it was a sort of fake goodbye haha) and it was so difficult, I cried my eyes out on the train. It's just crazy saying bye to people and realising how long it's going to be before I see them again, and the fact that when I do I'll (hopefully) be settled into a new country! Time flies by so fast... 

So again, this was a really rambly post just explaining where I'm at and how I'm feeling about the whole year abroad situation at the moment. I thought it would be nice to document all my feelings before, during and after, kind of like a diary. I'll just write stuff whenever I fancy it and it will be about anything I want, whether it's raving about a great day or ranting about a horrible week. Just my little place to share my life!

Emma
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