brussels, the food.

Beer. Fries. Waffles. Chocolate. Mussels.

The best fries you will ever have, ever. If you go to Brussels, please please please visit le Friterie Tabora, it's not far from Grand Place. And so worth €3.

Based off of online reviews, Maison Dandoy has very high ratings. And the waffle and cappuccino were definitely amazing. Noms.

Guys, I should be a food photographer. Haha. So many more photos after the break..

brussels, the sights.

A few weekends ago, I went to Brussels (Belgium) with Sarah and Shawn. It was partially a last minute decision, and partially something we had been discussing for a while. But we did book our trip only 4 days before we left! Nevertheless, it was a good time.

We took the Eurostar that took us through the channel tunnel, or the chunnel, and I would highly recommend taking it if you are in Europe! I took it once before with my family a few years ago to get from London to Paris. The train is way more comfortable than the plane!

We stayed at Résidence Les Écrins, which is a hostel, but I have to say it is the highest class hostel I have ever seen. It is essentially an apartment style hotel. We got pastries and bread delivered to our door as breakfast every morning, and we had a giiant comfy bed. I would totally stay there again, and would totally recommend it for future travels. It's only about a 10 minute walk from the central area, and I would say I felt pretty safe. I don't usually mention hotels/hostels that I stay at.. but this place is totally worth mentioning!!

Sarah modelling the kitchen area of our hostel.

Typical of all old European places, the architecture takes my breath away. I think my favourite thing about Europe is just getting the chance to walk and look around. We spent Saturday in the city and just walked, a lot.

Cathédrale Saint Michel

Palais royal and Manneken Pis

On Sunday, we ventured out a little further from the city centre to see the Atomium and visit Mini Europe while we were there. It was a beautiful sunny day, and nice to see some famous landmarks in miniature form! It would be a fun place to bring kids too!

Sarah and I at Mini Europe, with the Atomium in the background

But Grand Place was by far my favourite place to be. It is an absolutely beautiful square right in the middle of the city, with beautiful buildings on all four sides. It is so beautiful, especially when all lit up at night.

A 360 degree view of Grand Place at night

More about food in a separate post, as always. But let me just tell you right now, the food was absolutely the best! I like travelling with food goals in mind, and will definitely make it a habit to do so in the future.

Sorry my posts come with such a delay.. I kind of forgot I would be in school, silly me. Everything has been very interesting and exciting, but with that comes lots of work too. On the bright side, we are going to Geneva for the next 4 days!! One of the biggest highlights is that we will visit the World Health Organization.. I can't wait!!

oxford.

Last week, as a part of our first course, our class went on an overnight trip to Oxford to visit the Sobell House Hospice and the Clinical Exercise and Rehabilitation (CLEAR) unit at Oxford Brookes University to witness how various professionals worked together on their care teams and learn about their application of interprofessional collaborative practice.

Graduation Hall at Oxford University

I really liked the hospice. I wasn't sure what to expect, but their facility really promoted community and living, rather than focusing on the death part of end-of-life care. The building itself was in a circular donut shape, with an outdoor garden in the middle and each of the patient rooms has access to the inner garden, promoting a relaxing and comfortable living environment for in-patients. One of the patients called the hospice a place to live, not to die. This statement really resonated with me. It tugged at my heart, as my preconception of a hospice was to facilitate comfortable end-of-life care, and preparation for death.

The next day, we visited the CLEAR Unit at Oxford Brookes University. I was the most intrigued by the experience of the service user - he identified himself as a service user, and not a patient. He mentioned that he was in hospital for a few years, and was wheelchair bound for 5 years. At that point, he was told that he would never walk again. However, when he came to the CLEAR unit, he was asked to identify his goals and was told that they would work toward it together. Our group asked him to demonstrate his walk, and it was very impressive to see the progress that he had made. Though his walk was not perfect, it was very functional and he could walk in a straight path, getting from point A to point B. Overall, I was very impressed.

On the less school side of things, I also really enjoyed having the chance to walk around the Ashmolean museum. There were lots of old artifacts or replications that explored many different ancient civilizations and world religions. I do not know much about either, and I would definitely be interested in learning so much more!! Mostly, I was reminded of something my dad pointed out last time he was in the UK - these museums clearly depict the power dynamics of British rule and imperialism. It is both exciting to see all these cool things in one place, and it is also such a tragedy that cultures have lost them to the British.

Ashmolean Museum

We also went on a walking tour of Oxford which was lots of fun. I love walking, and I love Oxford!! It was always my dream to go there. When I didn't get my Hogwarts letter, I was convinced I'd go to Oxford instead. It's almost the same. Both the architecture and the history of the place was super interesting. I love that they keep so much tradition and still have oral exams and write exams in fancy robes. Sometimes it is the little things that count!

This hall was used as the Hospital Wing among other things in the filming of Harry Potter

I was also eagerly anticipating finally having some british pub food. We finally got a chance to do that in Oxford. We went to a place called the Three Goats Head Pub. The bartender there was really friendly and helpful. What a fun guy. He had to help me count my money.. tourist problems!! I had mushroom and chicken pie and a pint of cider (which I did not finish). I should really know better and order smaller drinks, haha! But both the food and the drink were delicious!! I'm just the slowest drinker of life.. don't worry about me. I also discovered that I really like Pimms though. It reminds me of sangria, which I love.

My pub food!

Anyway, we weren't in Oxford for long, but it was a fun trip. I would love to go back and explore some more Harry Potter sites, but other than that it was just a lovely university town that would be so charming to live in. I still wish I went to school there!! Oh well, in another life. Jks. I love my school.

Oxford

nearby sights.

On Sunday, our third (and last) day of orientation, we got to visit a few nearby sites. First we went to Pevensey Castle. As cool as it was, there was only so much to see. There was a lot of history but I don't really remember any of it (haha, oops) except that it got sieged multiple times and is now in ruins. Yep. Not a history kid.

 
Pevensey Castle (and my amazing photography skills.. not)

Then we went to Eastbourne which was quite cute. Beautiful, really. My roommate, Sarah, and I walked down the boardwalk and checked out the various international stalls (so cute) that were set up there. It was a little market type thing where vendors were selling international foods, clothing, and other various trinkets. I know I am travelling on a budget so I didn't indulge, but I kind of wish I did. But I'm okay with that cause we stopped in the cuuutest little cafe called Neate's and had lattes and scones. Well, actually Sarah got scones and I just nibbled some of it (thanks Sarah!). They were delicious!!!

Lattes and scones at Neate's!


Beautiful boardwalk and coast view from Eastbourne pier

On our way to Brighton we drove by Beachy Head which is a cliff that goes straight down. It is something like the 3rd most popular suicide location in the UK? I didn't write down the number, but it was hiigh. Three jumpers a week..!! But the cliff itself looked pretty cool. Also, the quidditch games in Harry Potter were supposedly filmed nearby. Not really sure where, but that's what we were told, haha! We also drove through Cuckmere where there was a really cool looking kayaking park. Seriously, so cool!

You can kayak in Cuckmere Haven! Looks the best!

When we got to Brighton, my group split up a big and we did very practical tasks such as buy sim cards (I have a UK number and can text now!) and others bought shampoo and whatnot. It was a cute city too, but I feel like we didn't have enough time to really shop (long lines, trying on clothes, etc) so we just wandered a little. My pictures of Brighton are super random and not really reflective of the city.. oh well.

 
Shirts in the clock tower, not sure why? And a photo taken walking down the street (raaandom!)

When we got back, our program officially started with two guest speakers and a welcoming ceremony where we got to mingle with staff and students in the other programs as well. But more on that later! I am excited to do more travelling.. we are already going on our first field study to Oxford this coming weekend! More on that after we go, haha.

bon voyage!

I fly out today, and will be at the Castle by tomorrow!!! It's all happening so soon!

As I write this post, I am still packing my bags.. Don't judge, I actually hate packing. However, I love planning my packing!! Remember this post on weekend trip packing tips from last summer? My packing strategies are not much different for my 2 month trip, except with some particular changes.

Bags: 30L backpack, large suitcase, large lulu bag/purse and small crossbody purse. You have no idea how much deliberation went into this decision!! After my program ends, I will travel out of only the backpack and store the suitcase to pick up later. It needed to be a bag big enough to carry 2 weeks worth of belongings, but small enough that I can handle it. It looks reasonable, but I will let you know how it goes! However, to fly out I am packing clothes into the backpack, and packing the backpack into the suitcase so I still only have 2 bags to handle (suitcase + purse). It is much less of a hassle to deal with less bags, and it also gives me an entire backpack of space to buy clothes/food/souvenirs to bring back from my travels!

Money: I feel awkward publishing how much cash I will be carrying so if you are actually curious you can ask me, but otherwise... I will be carrying cash, duh. I also got my credit card limit increased for just-in-case purposes, and also called VISA to let them know that I will be travelling so they don't freeze my card if I start spending in Europe all of a sudden!!

Clothing: As a general rule I do like to pack in the same colour family, but I also had to expand that colour scheme because I also tried to pack in non-cotton clothing as much as I could! Generally packing in the same colour schemes (and neutrals) reduces the amount of clothing cause you can mix and match more clothing. But because I will be backpacking/sweating/who knows how clean I will be... I also wanted to pack sweat-friendly non-cotton clothing. I packed my non-cotton socks, non-cotton bras, non-cotton underwear, non-cotton shirts and non-cotton shorts. Good to go! Cotton is not your friend!

Shoes: I'm bringing running shoes, keds, flats and flip flops. I opted to not bring rainboots because I can't wear them all the time and pretty much everyone I talked to told me they are a waste of space. My rain shoes will be my flip flops then, I guess. Not the most comfortable footwear but I definitely need them as shower shoes too. What shoes I bring backpacking is still up in the air. I don't think I will bring both runners and keds, and I won't bring my flats. But I'm not sure what I will do as of yet.

Important documents: passport, driver's licence, health card, travel health insurance, bank card, VISA, letter of attendance (to show that I am going to the UK to study). Photocopies in my bag, photocopies to my mother, and originals in my purse. That should do it.

Necessities: Bible, notebook, pens, water bottle, converter and adapter, tylenol, phone, laptop, flashlight.. I tried hard to pare down the items I'm bringing but it's so hard! I decided that these were the necessities.

And a few prayer requests before I go (thanks!!):
1. For community: to find like minded Christ followers, to find a church, and to trust that God will never leave me or forsake me- He is a God beyond all borders!
2. For ministry: to use the opportunities that I will have to share Christ's name, and the gospel / to disciple others while away!

I'm super excited, super nervous, but totally psyched to go! I will continue to post here to keep you updated. I cannot wait to embark on this adventure!

castle!

I'm going to study at a castle in the UK for 6 weeks this summer!!!!

Herstmonceux Castle

I can't wait!! I'm participating in a summer field program called Interdisciplinary Studies in Global Health and Disability (such a long name!) and taking 3 courses while I'm there: Interprofessional Collaborative Education; Disability Studies: Issues, Research, and Policy; and Global Perspectives in Community Based Rehabilitation. We will also be taking field trips to various places including Oxford, London and Geneva (to visit the World Health Organization!). And on top of that we are given local volunteering opportunities as well. I have no idea what I might be doing, but I could not say no. When would you ever get an experience like that elsewhere? I love volunteering, and would love to see how the material I am learning in class can apply in the real world. That is my favourite part about being a health student, after all.

I will also be travelling for a few weeks after my school term. I don't know too much about what I will be doing when I am away, but will keep you all posted as to what I will be up to! I can't wait to share my adventures with you!

As for now, I will be busy this week figuring out what to pack/how to pack/exchanging money/and all the other preparations for the trip! If you have any tips on packing for overseas travel/backpacking/hostels/food/europe in general/sights to see/good footwear/clothing choices/ANYTHING at all, I would love to hear it!