(un)common ground: T.H.I.S

For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym, the title of this blog post is "Thank HaShem [G-d] It's Shabbat!" and it seems particularly fitting, given my overall attitude last weekend. Here's the story:

I love Paris, in fact, it's in my top three favorite places in the whole world. It happens fairly regularly, though, that when I ask my friends what they envision my life to be like here they say something along the lines of "Well, you get up and look unimaginably chic. Then you stroll down the Champs Elysées munching a warm croissant on the way to class. You maybe study, but probably don't. Then, your host family feeds you an elaborate four-course dinner, you probably drink too much wine and then you go to a bar or go to bed. Right?" While parts of that description happen sometimes, none of those things have happened to me on the same day all at once. Ever.

I'm not here to complain about Paris itself - there are far too many things to praise than not, but my friends at home seem to overlook the fact that Paris is a big city and everything here requires effort and attentiveness. For example, my 40+ minute commute in the morning is not simply hopping in the car and plugging in the iPod; rather, it's being squished into a moving aluminum can next to probably 100 other people, having your personal space violated almost every day, keeping your personal belongings away from the pick pockets and knowing where you need to stand in the car to make your other two transfers in order to make it to class on time. Suffice it to say, I was getting tired.

So, I decided to take myself on a Shabbaton (definition: a weekend retreat focused on celebrating Shabbat) somewhere outside of Paris to reflect on my time abroad, which is coming to an end all too soon, to take a breath, to relax, to be on my own schedule, and to rest up for the upcoming finals and paper that begin next week. My destination? Brussels, Belgium! Mostly chosen for its convenient location and cheap train ticket prices, but exciting nonetheless!

I won't go into too much detail, but rest assured, I had a completely lovely weekend. Highlights included the Magritte Museum, the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts, checking out the Pierre Marcolini Chocolate workshop, long walks, reading for pleasure, and sleeping in. I was strangely surprised by a few things: the language (almost everything was written in four languages: Flemish, French, German, English), the lack of Belgian stuff (i.e., most foods, artists, etc. seemed to be stolen or borrowed from the French or Germans), and the friendliness of the people! Here are some photos to tide you over.