Liverpool

Liverpool was definitely an experience in itself as was trying to make it there/home! Trying to use the trains here is much more difficult when you don't have anyone to assist you along the way. We were a little crunched for time but somehow we made it to our 1055 am flight. We left our dorms before 6 and made it there by about 10. Was awfully hectic. Turned out when we got there check-in was at 1055 and our flight didn't leave until 1125 so we didn't need worry nearly as much as we had.

We landed in Manchester, England after a really quick flight. Liverpool has their own airport but Ryanair doesn't fly from Brussels-Liverpool for some reason, wish they would that would have saved us a lot of time/money in the long run! After we gathered our wits and watched pigeons in the airport for a little, we caught a 45 min charter to Liverpool and finally made it! It took us forever to find The Nightingale Lodge. We finally asked a lady "where's Upper Parliament & Catherine?" and she told us we were standing there! Thankfully we found the hostel and got settled in. That was real nice to be able to communicate directly to the people again and definitely made things much easier!

We went out to some bars on Friday, met some interesting people. "We love you f****n Yanks!" was one of our friends favorite sayings. There were a lot of couples there that talked to us and told us how much they like Americans. That was nice. Came across a man, Dennis, who claimed to have smoked the peace pipe with one Bill Clinton back in the day. Not sure if I believe him but he also had a lot of other historic information on Liverpool, was a pretty cool guy. Met the "Bolivarian Ball Buster"; a crazy old man who was wasted and just dancing. He had balloons, puppets, and all sorts of accessories he was playing with while he was dancing to the live karaoke. After we went to O’Neil’s, a favorite spot, we attempted to walk home BUT we managed to get lost and for some reason thought that going to the Police Station would be a good idea. Luckily they didn't give us much grief and just got a taxi for us to take, apparently we were completely lost and way off from where we thought, whoops. Hey but it makes for a good story!?

Friday we went to Albert’s Dock where we walked around and had some lunch, which was pretty cool experience. After that we went to The Beatles Story, a museum/tour of The Fab Four. It was pretty cool, had a lot of Beatles stuff never knew/seen before and definitely fun. Even to this day the boys draw crowds to little Liverpool, pretty amazing. We spent the afternoon walking back and just taking in Liverpool. It's cool to think how much history there was there and we were actually in the town. There was a church nearby that was bombed to high hell during WW2 but was still standing and a historical monument of Liverpool that we walked by frequently. I thought I had lost my passport Friday morning and was a little nervous throughout the day. When we were about to go to dinner/bars for the night I put on my jacket and found it in my sleeve. Not sure how it got there, but thankfully I found it! That caused a lot of stress through the day, was a big relief to find it. We hit up some other bars and went back to O’Neil’s to watch some live music where to our surprise, "THE BBB" was there again, frog and all. This time he was in rare form and played the guitar/rubber chicken while he sang and dance to the band's music. It was like he was traveling with us, only he was there for the bars and entertainment strictly.

Saturday. We went to John, Paul, Georges, & Ringo's old houses of Liverpool. That was pretty sweet. John & Paul's are bought and owned by The National Trust and you have to get on a tour that only 7,000 get on per year so we only saw the outside, but it was still really cool to do. We walked to Strawberry Fields and inside there. Was a very cool thing to do, neat to have the actual image in my head of what is referred to in the song. Did more sightseeing on that side of town and ate some Fish & Chips on Penny Lane. That just sounds cool and was a really good meal actually. Decided we would take it easy that night since we had to make an 805 flight the next morning; then the chaos began. Discovered that there were no trains, coaches/buses that go to Manchester Airport early enough for us on Sunday morning. Also taxis would cost 2 arms and 2 legs to make it there. After some debating and consulting we opted to leave a night early and head to the airport Saturday night around 1115 pm. We caught the train were doing good, surviving, and then we missed our stop...great. Not knowing what to do we thought getting off at the next stop and taxing back to our missed stop would work BUT we got off in probably one of the rougher areas and there was not a sound/site around when we left the station. GREAT. After we cautiously walked around for about 10 or 20 mins we finally found a taxi and had to take that to Manchester Airport, we were out of ideas/options at that point and frankly a little worried. Taxi wasn't the best option but it was our only one so we took that and made it safe in sound after a while. It was pretty frustrating our blissful trip was quickly spiraling out of control! Kind of a bummer that things became some helter skelter and everything. We had to sit at the airport from 1230 until our 8 am flight and it was torture. If you've spent time like that in the airport you'd understand. We made it home, flight went well and all that. We had to train from Brussels to Hasselt and that was another pain in the ars but somehow we got it done again.
Then we couldn't even take the bus home from the train station in Hasselt, so we had to walk another 20 minutes to our dorms.

All and all Liverpool was an experience, historically and educational one too. Learned a lot travelin'. Hopefully the next ones go smoother! (Just saw how long this was, wow..)Welp until next time, ciao.

Blog-olution No. 9

Hello world. Figured it was time to give another little update on the adventures. Nothing too crazy or exciting going on in Hasselt lately. A lot more school work these days which is a downer but the plus side is that classes are all finished within the next 2 or 3 weeks. Not a bad little deal huh? Semester abroad, 9 week semester...I think I like the sounds of it! It's been raining almost every day here a little bit. Its real nice weather up until 3 or 4 (yep) and then a little drizzle or down pour usually comes in daily. Can't complain though, still am in Europe...

Made a trip to Eksal, Belgium, it's where me amigo Ruben is from. Had a pretty crazy weekend there. Played some racquet ball there which was fun but real annoying. There are some pretty big differences between our game and theirs so it was annoying. And the ball they used was the size of a ping pong ball. Let's just say I enjoyed hating it. We lost Ruben Saturday night and were staying at his house so it was a little bit awkward when his friends, who we never met before, had to take us home to his parents, who we never met before; and they had to explain to them that we needed to stay there but....Ruben wasn't with us..again, awkward.

Other than that I've just been doing the school thing. Have 3 presentations to give next week, not looking forward to that but oh well. Got's to do what I got's to do.

Initially we were going to go to Switzerland Thursday-Sunday this week but it was pretty expensive to do so. There isn't a lot of direct transportation there from Belgium and we started planning it too late. I'll definitely make it there though. As a consolation, we're going to go to England! Summer and I are heading to Liverpool, so I'm pretty stoked for that. Get to see the ol' Beatles stomping grounds and what have you. It was much cheaper than anything else we could find and we didn't feel like sitting around Hasselt again so..

Welp, getting pretty late and the journey starts early tomorrow.

"Some days wouldn’t be special, if it wasn’t for rain; Joy wouldn’t feel so good, if it wasn’t for pain"

Adios.

living on both sides of the gun

So I experienced my first European concert, Reversuz. Wasn't everything I thought it would be but was definitely not disappointing. Lasted from 10 pm until 7:30 am and made some very interesting stories, pictures, & videos.
Hasn't been much excitement since Rome besides Reversuz. Trying to finish up the schooling, our very time consuming Marketing class ends in about 2.5 weeks so that's exciting. Myself and the other Americans got together and did a little bit of travel planning. Got some winners picked out hopefully.

I've definitely settled into my comfort zone now. Been doing a lot of reading in my room, some homework, and just walking around town at night taking it all in. Weather has been kind of gloomy lately but bearable. However, as I write this it is snowing once again, so that's no good. It's not even good snow, just the rain-snow. Belgium sort of feels like home on day to day basis but when I get to thinking about it, I miss Maryville & Lee's Summit for some reason. Just feels weird not being there during the Spring time.

I've got some pictures upload to the computer but am having difficulty in the um "censorship"/"organizing" fields...but I'm about to just send them out so that you people can finally see some. Let me know if you want me to e-mail them to you.

Until next time, Ciao!

Rain in Rome

Happy 55th Mark Henry!

A late Thursday night transitioned into a rough Friday morning, but we made it to Brussels airport safe and sound and ready to go to Rome! Once we landed we tried finding our hostel, Pink Floyd Hostel, which we walked by two times before we actually noticed it. It was pretty funny. Didn't waste much time after we got in. We walked around town, got our bearings and all that jazz. Grabbed a quick bite to eat, which was actually disappointing by all means. Pizza tasted cheap and my pasta wasn't...good? for the lack of a better term. Based on our first meal we were all a little skeptic about what Rome was really like.

Even though we were down about the food, we decided we would give Rome another shot, since it has a couple other things to offer besides the pizza & pasta. First we went to the Coliseum and Roman Ruins. We took a lengthy and detailed tour inside both areas. It was simply amazing actually setting foot inside that place. There were about ten or fifteen men dressed up in Gladiator attire and had characters they played. Summer had to stand up in front of everyone and play along with our tour guide. The ruins were pretty insane. It took about 10 minutes to walk across what used to be the royal rooms. There were trees in the middle of the house too. Saw old royal thrones, places where Mussolini & Hitler met, and streets that Napoleon Bonaparte destroyed/replaced! One of the more fascinating things was just how damn big all of their buildings were as well as how much detail they put into every little piece of work. It all made for a very full and lengthy day.

Friday night we went out for drinks and pizza and just enjoyed some night life of Rome. It was a little different with all four of us being the tourist and no one really speaking the language at all. But, we survived.

Saturday we made our way through the down pouring rain over to the Sistine Chapel and Roman History Museum. It was ridiculous how many Indian people there were trying to sell us umbrellas along the way. They were quite annoying and at first I resisted but by about 3 p.m. I gave in and finally bought one for a couple Euro...then I lost it about 10 hours later...

Well, after another fun night in Rome where we had amazing pizza in a little alley, we found a little place that sold Duff beer!(from The Simpsons) Naturally, we American's had to have it and Ruben being Ruben had no problem stopping for a few more drinks! It was a nice night, actually met some people from California & Georgia who both lived in Rome. One of them decided she needed to "reset" so she picked up and moved to Rome a few months back, thought that was pretty bold and cool on her part.

Then came Sunday morning. Our flight was at 8:55 and we needed to be there about 7:15 or so with a 30-45 minute trip to make it. Our intentions were to get up and checked out of Pink Floyd by about 6:30 or so...but being the young crazies we are, we didn't wake up until 7 am! Made it to the bus a.s.a.p. and found out that we couldn't take that bus because it was a different company?!? WHAT...quickly we unloaded our bags and flagged down a Taxi who took us all the way to the Airport. Strangely, the cab ended up costing less then it would have for us all four to get tickets for the bus. "Fate".

SO! Those are the cliff notes of my trip to Rome! It was quite the experience. Didn't get to do everything I wanted to do in Italy, but, I don't think I really have any complaints! I'm sure there are some things I wanted to say but I forgot...oh well!

Ciao,
P.J.

...i said tuesday, january 20, 2009

So today is Obama’s inauguration and I’m in Belgium? “What a bummer” you’re sayin…

As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend!” Summer, Jamie, and I were interviewed bya local t.v. station about what Obama’s election means to us as Americans. It was a pretty cool experience!

Got to go do laundry, 4:32 pm…be back later to finish…

…5:03 pm back…first attempt at using the buses failed! We missed the one bus we needed by about 1 minute and waited about 25 but then decided to come back!

Even though I thought today was going to be a bummer, because our snowboarding got postponed, it turned out to be pretty cool cause I was on TV.

NFL Playoffs..!

It's been another week in Hasselt now. Sometimes it seems like I've been here forever and then two seconds later it feels like I just got here. The more things change the more they're the same. Classes are getting a little more involved but they're isn't anything real bad yet. I'm translating a couple groups work into more correct English language so that it is presentable information.

Went to a couple new bars and a couple new restaruants this week. Have consumed alot of pasta, it's the only thing that I am for sure about on the menus, but even the pasta is very different from American style. The Lasgne at De Orangie was scrumptous!

Worst part of last week was going to the Irish Pub in town and trying to keep pace with Ruben, I've never hated a beer more than I now hate Guiness. However drinking Guiness appearently gives you and your friends the ability to do karioke. Rumor has it there are pictures of a couple of us singing Destiny Child-Bootylicous. Not my proudest moment!

Got to talk to Danny & Jake on Skype this week. Was really fun to get to see some people from back home. If anyone has a Skype account, give me a call on it sometime, love getting to talk to people back home.

I found a little park right next to the dorms that has a little trial. With some encouragement from a friend I think I've been convinced to run another marathon this Summer so I've started doing some running. Definately been a while since I've used the legs, but it feels really good. Plus it's cool to say you "ran in Europe" , still pretty far-fetched.

Traveling is yet to intiate so to speak. I think I'm going snowboarding up North in The Netherlands on Tuesday this week and then going to Rome next Friday-Sunday to do some sight seeing! I'm pretty excited to get some pictures and stories to tell!

I've recently found a radio podcast on iTunes from ESPN...basically I found a link back to US sports, and it is awesome! Haven't been caught up on it in weeks and I turned it on today to find out the NFL Conference Championship games were on today back home! My excitement prompted the title for this blogging.

We'll hopefully this entertains you guys for a while! Hope all is well, love ya, take care!

Ciao, PJ!

Week Numero Uno: My First Waffle

Well, I made it through the first week alive & well!! It was real different being that new kid but think I'm going to really enjoy my time here. The rest of my classes went pretty well later in the week too.

Logistics seems pretty laid back. We're going to do a "mock" business and learn how to use a couple logistics software programs that are modernly used.

European Studies was a little slow but interesting to me. There are about 20 people in that class, only 2 Americans, and 1 male...myself. It's more a historic overview of the European Union and that sort of stuff. Our teacher could probably get through the material in an hour but naturally, just as my regular teachers do, he drags it out for the full period.

Managment game was just that. We are playing a hypothetical game to see which team, each team is a company, can produce the most profit with a business plan they create. Everyone has the same guidelines for the GPS Producing company but the operations and decisions rest upon the actual companies themselves. I'm working with a French student but cannot remember her name at the moment.

Survival Dutch was interesting. Wasn't real sure what it even meant based on the title but it is just learning essential Dutch language. Stinks that it is on Friday from 2:30-4:30 but the teacher said if all 11 students can find another time that works for everyone we can move it. They're real laid back like that. According to Reuben, a Belgium native friend of mine, we absolutely butcher the language. But I think it's alot of fun to learn. J=y, there are double-value rules, etc, etc. but at least its interesting.

It felt like to me that they are very into the hypothetical situations; all my classes we are "playing a game", using company software, or creating a business plan (Marketing Project). Alot different then typical lecture-note Amerikkan classes...

I bet it sounds like it has been all work an no play with as much writing about school as I am doing, but no.

Thursday night we went to a local club called Versuz, insane. Don't know how many hunderds of people were in there just dancing like there was no tomorrow. I like my music loud but I have never had anything compare to about 4 and half hours of straight dance (techno)/rap music. It was insane. Even if I spoke fluent Dutch it would be hard to hold a conversation with someone. We were out until about 5 or 6 in the morning because when they go out here, they don't go out until about midnight or 1. It was an experience and I'm sure I'll be back. They're party nights on Thursday, Saturday, & Monday. Weird?.. The worst part about the whole thing was trying to wake up and go to class to learn a new language after I long beir-filled night!!

Lastnight, Vrijdag, Summer, Jamie, Reuben, & I went and got a Bicky Burger in town for dinner after Dutch class. It's basically a burger with a special Belgian invented sauce, and they put onion-crisp on it too. They're good and filling! We walked through the town, looked at shops and kind of learned where more things were. I stopped and had my first Belgian waffle. To be honest it will probably be my only one. They're extremely sweet, too sweet, for me. But can't disagree, they do taste good. Then we went to a couple bars, Export, walked around town, went to a fry shop, Fritz & Co. and just kind of laid low. Wasn't a whole lot of energy flowing after Thursday night. Haven't really had whole lot of Belgian food its all kind of international stuff that is just adopted and changed to fit Belgian style.

Well it's Saturday morning and I think we're going to go to town and maybe even do some sight seeing today. That will be cool. I know that I am going the European Union Parliment and on a couple different field trips coming up. Yeah I'm getting credits for taking field trips and then writing about them...European school rocks! haha I heard about the BCS games, haven't seen anything in sports since I've been here until lastnight; I heard LSN is gaining some creditablity thanks to some classy individuals and their fire arms. It's hard to find out what's going on back home so if you got any big news, fill me in. Until next time.

Ik ben Patrick. Ik woon uit Lee's Summit maar ik ben geboren in Kansas City. Ik been 20 jaar student. Dank u voor het lezen mijn blog.