Hamster_grrl: Belgium

After all of the bureaucratic hoops I had to jump through to get here, I finally arrived in Belgium on the first of this month. Finally! It has been challenging, both because I am in a brand new place, and especially because of the language barrier. I tend to get a little shy in new situations, and when I don't speak the language that is magnified by about 1000%.

At the moment I am shacking up at temporary housing at the dorms, they are kind of crappy, I have nicknamed the place 'the prison'. Mostly because of the bunks, the concrete slab walls and ceiling and the lack of color.

The days are short and cold, and it has snowed several times in the last few days.

See? It's got this whole post WWII depression thing going on, even with the coating of snow.

Also, my interactions with the staff have been less than ideal. The desk attendant has little patience for my trouble speaking French.

The bulk of my time these past few days has been spent getting set up with the internet, filling out paperwork and finding an apartment. My new boss has been amazingly helpful, taking me to look at places and serving as a translator when need be. I have been quite lucky with that. I was even luckier to find a super cute studio in the heart of the city, close to everything I could possibly need. Here is my street to be:

And at the end of the street is this lovely cathedral as well as a temporary ice skating rink, part of the Cite de Noel Christmas market here in Liege.

I've been going into town pretty regularly to check out the neighborhood to be and to explore the Christmas market. I had some delicious vin chaud (mulled wine) as well as tried some putein (fries, gravy, and cheese curds) from a Quebecois stall,it was delicious!