Adjustment and Exposure

The European Union

Today was my first full day in Brussels. I am still suffering for jet lag, but that should be gone very soon.

With my recovery accelerated, today was the first real day of exploration. Well, for me anyway. For my boss it is rather old hat. I got to see the city and experience a few new things. There are some pretty awesome old buildings and a comic strip walking tour. It was just so fun to see a new place. Naturally, any given building is way older than the US. But it's cool.

I took public transit for the first time. An interesting experience. That will be my main form of transportation, other than walking. I cannot say that it was enjoyable. I liked it. It was clean, it was fast, and it is relatively cheap too. Its like 13 Euro for a 10 pass. Now remember that each use is good for 1 hour. I think I transferred at most twice on one use.

Today was also my first encounter with the grocery store which, in all honesty, is all too familiar. But in french. Some english, but mostly french. I played it safe this time and only got a few things. Bread, ramen, pasta, and tea. They have a lot of Twinnings tea. Even some of it is loose leaf. Anyone who knows me knows that tea is a must for me.

Also, I do not have an apartment of my own. I am in the guest room in a house/apartment. I guess the best way to describe it is a dorm. All the residence know each other (i think there are 8) and my room just happens to be the garage and garden access. It keeps things interesting. There are people constantly coming and going throughout the house. I should adjust fairly quickly

Now to work on my french.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I've been out and about, but it is best that I adjust before doing any major photoing. I'm hoping to get started with some of that tomorrow. Keep in mind, this is my 1st full day here. This is a new life for me, and i need to adjust to the changes. I went from stagnation to constant movement. That's more of a shock on my system than a new culture. I have to keep an open mind.

The adventure has barely started. Much more is ahead.