Eeek! we are really becoming grown ups.

I cant deny it anymore. While I am still hiding in student life without ever having had a "real" job or even a place for myself, everyone else seems to be becoming a real grown up. This morning, I found out that an old classmate from high school can have a baby any moment. She's just one year older than me. A couple of hours later I discovered that a girl from my bachelor degree is getting married. and she is even younger than me. Before that it was the odd person here or there that was of my age and was getting married/ having kids/ buying or renting a house/ starting a proper career. But now they seem to be everywhere!

I like to think that I am so very young, but all these people make me a bit nervous. People my age are becoming grown ups. It is scary. It is about time that I fix my own life. The problem is, I cannot even find an internship at the moment. so that means no money for getting my own place (I'm happy I can even pay the rent of my one room). I also lack the perfect man (and again the money) to make any marrying happening. And babies are simple not happening anytime soon. Playing with other peoples baby will do for now. 

So, I think the growing up will have to wait for a while..

.

NYE: overrated or not?

I'm not gonna lie. The preparation for New Years Eve have DEFINITELY been more fun than the actual party for the last couple of years. Somehow there is always something that spoils the fun. This gives me the feeling that having a fun new years party is not possible in the Netherlands. So this year I decided to celebrate it elsewhere and try my luck in Luxembourg. I will definitely avoid the mistakes I made before.

- 3 years ago (or was it 4?): We had a car available and we did have one of us who could actually drive it. That is always a good start. We paid a ridiculous amount of money to get tickets to a big party which was supposedly really great. So, what could go wrong? Well, the trend of techno/ hard style music had just reached our country and everyone seemed to love it big time. Except for us. After several hours of music without lyrics and missing out on the fireworks (we were inside before midnight), we decided we could not handle it anymore and we left. When we came outside we saw that most people where only arriving and we clearly had chosen our time wrong. FAIL.

- 2 years ago: For some reason we decided to a similar party to the one I mentioned before. But in our minds it was going to be much better now. It was indeed a bit better but I clearly had not suddenly become a fan of this music style (to be honest, I still kind of hate it). So this year was no success either.

- Last year: This year we did not have a car available, which really is a problem during New Year's Eve in the Netherlands. First of all, there were no buses back home until 10am the next day so we arranged a last minute sleep-over at the house of the sister of my friend (who was not amused by the last-minute aspect). When we were waiting for the bus to the city (and the two buses after) we discovered that all public transport had stopped at 8pm that day. Luckily my parents were nice enough to drive us so we were not stuck in our little village. Unfortunately it turned out that most places in the city would only open after midnight, so we ended up hanging out at the house of a friend of my friends sister with all of her friends(tots sups awks!) until it was time to go to the party. The party itself was okay, but after it we were forced to tag along with my friends sister before going to her home and we ended up visiting all sorts of people we did not know whatsoever. This would have been more fun if it had not been 5am...

So, this year I choose the comfort of my own residence for the midnight moment. I will celebrate with my friend Samra (who will be visiting me) and a bunch of my housemates. After that we will be able to walk to town, so no lack of public transport can stop us. Take that, NYE!

 

Let it snow

It has been snowing in Luxembourg. And not just a little. Last Friday it was so bad that I wondered if my bus would even turn up at all. Then after 10 cold and snowy minutes at the bus stop, I got a text that made my day. The flight of our professor for that day was cancelled so we were free (the advantage of having your whole day taught by the same professor). I have never had snow free before in my life so I was pretty excited. I turned around and went back into the house quickly to warm up and call some others to spread the good news. I spent the morning watching the snow fall down while drinking tea and watching a Christmas movie (my new favorite pastime). A free day definitely feels even better if you were actually supposed to have class all day.
The day after the snow was still there, but the snow storm was over. Marina invited me to come along with her and some of her housemates to go to the Christmas market in Trier. It was great fun to go on a little road trip to Germany and to visit this cute little market. There was lots of amazing foods and of course glühwein. I tasted my first gernknüdel and must say I was really excited about this. Definitely a keeper! Unfortunately I am a lot less of a cold weather fan than a Christmas food fan. After an hour or two all of us had frozen toes and faces. Even the glühwein and hot chocolate did not help anymore. So, unfortunately it was time to go home again. I love road trip, I love food and I love going out at nights so it was a great evening for me. Can't wait to do more of it!

XOXO

Snowy view

The train station

This car seller has a hard time showcasing his cars now. But at least this is a happy car!

My resi in the snow

At the market

Lovely Trier

Glühwein!

Very tasty gernknudel

Yum!

Cremant and macaroons

In Luxembourg everyone knows everyone. It's all about your network. Knowing the right people can open doors and provide great business opportunities. For all these people to meet each other, many network events are created. After every masterclass, open lecture or business seminar, there is a so called "network cocktail". No matter when this takes place, there will be food and alcohol. The Cremant (typically Luxembourgish version of champagne) is flowing richly and you seem to never finish your glass. Next to that you are given a whole dinner worth of food if you are lucky.
So no leaving quickly after the official part ends for me. I love the combination of cremant and macaroons while chatting with some fellow students. These evenings are also a great way to practise your networking skills. Approaching any randomer and have a sometimes even more random conversation in order to perhaps find a good connection. Personally, I am still a bit of a sissy. I do not dare to go alone and always need a wing man/woman. But I'm learning.
Till now, the results are mainly a lot of free drinks and food and a hand full of business cards. But one of these cards is from someone who has some research internship places. Win! Not my fave type of internship, but it shows that all these glasses of cremant actually get me somewhere. How cool is that?

XOXO

The shopping diet

Luxembourg is expensive. Even more expensive than I anticipated. This means that the shopaholic in me got massively toned down during the last two months. I feel like I have been forced into a shopping diet involuntarily by several factors. One, I can't afford half of the stuff that is out there on my student-without-student-job budget. Don't get me wrong, Gucci is probably a great place to shop if you are earning a zillion. But walking through the city center just makes me feel a bit depressed because of the total lack of budget stores, charity stores and student orientated stores. Luxembourg doesn't know such a thing as Boots, Oxfam, Etos or Primark. So instead of spending my small amounts of money there, I don't spend them.
Two, I am always in class when the stores here are open. My only after school shopping opportunity is the big supermarket. And really, a bottle of shampoo is the most exciting thing to buy there.
Three, I am not allowed to spend a lot of money. Until I find a paid internship I better keep my euros close to me so I can pay my rent and tuition fee.  

So when I went to Saarbrücken last weekend to shop in Primark, I went pretty crazy. So crazy that they had to give me three bags for all my purchases (which was only slightly embarrassing). After that it was time to buy cosmetics and kitchen things. Compared to the Luxembourgish prices it was as if they were giving things away for free! So I would like to take the opportunity to defend myself by saying that I got an internship wardrobe, many basics for the winter, a lot of cosmetics and some kitchen stuff for a price that I would probably pay for just the blazer in Luxembourg (these price ranges are open for interpretation). Technically I saved money. I am proud of myself. Now I can happily go back to the Luxembourgish shopping diet (in an upgraded outfit).

Btw, Saarbrücken is a wonderful city with lots of beautiful places. I've seen them all on the postcards in one of the stores. Perhaps next time I will take the time to go an see them in real life. But this time I was otherwise engaged.


XOXO

The Nancy student life

Last weekend I went to visit my friend Sophie in Nancy in France. I was luck, since the train ride was only 90 minutes so I could come after uni on Friday evening. Sophie has a crazy weekend planned for us. After dropping off my things at her house and having some food we went straight to a student party, which was great fun. Some attempts to speak English were truly hilarious. I think my French was even better than their English.
Next day we went for a walk through the city center and we visited one of the museums of Nancy. I ended up buying a year culture pass for students form Nancy (the woman behind the counter somehow still believed I was studying in Nancy although I clearly did not speak French) because this was the same price as the entrance fee. So now I have one more reason to go back.
After we had some lunch and we went to drink tea at the house of a friend of Sophie and I learned to make apple crumble (I'm so proud!).
In the late afternoon we went to the covered market and we found a place that sells bubble tea. Which was great, because when we were in Rotterdam we spent ages looking for one but we never found it.
Later in the evening we went to a French pub to watch the rugby game (which I don't understand at all). I met many nice French people, they have a great student life there in Nancy.
For Sunday, Sophie borrowed a car from a friend so me, her and two of her friends went on a road trip to Toul. The only problem was that Toul turned out to me the tiniest town on earth. Besides that it was a national holiday in France so even the 3 things that were there were closed. after walking around aimlessly for a while we decided it was better to go to Metz. It was a good choice. We had a drink in a cafe and after walked around and found a really nice museum. One of the galleries was pitch black. You were given a flashlight before you entered and you had to wind it up to use it to see the art. I lost everyone in the darkness, but I loved it. Such a great concept.
After the museum we tried to find the gardens of Metz (Sophie drove on the cycling path for part of the way and only noticed at the end of the road), but no such luck. All we found was lots of construction that was going on. So we drove back to the train station (which was also blocked by construction work) so I could take the train back from there.
It was an absolutely great weekend and I hope to do it again soon.



XOXO

 

You can stand under my umbrella... If it's not too windy

Today I  was visiting the rainy Luxembourgish village Echternach with my friend Magda. We spent about one hour in the bus, passing some of the most miniscule villages I have ever seen before getting there. But I guess that is normal if the capital of the country only has about 100.000 citizens.

Sadly we needed our umbrellas from the moments we left the bus. About ten minutes after we left the bus I was dealing with a severely injured umbrella already. This one managed to last me just over one month. I was forced to buy a new one on the spot, because there is much more rain to follow in my Luxembourg life. But what is the use? I can predict that it will be blown into pieces by a (not so severe) gust of wind sooner or later. Yet I keep buying umbrellas over and over again. Maybe I should just buy a rain coat next time and keep this in my bag for whenever it's gushing down again. But the thing is; I'm a bit vain. Not to mention lazy. It would be a lot of effort to put on a rain coat for a five minute walk from the bus stop to school. Using an umbrella is much easier. Plus you don't look like a 7 year old on a school trip. So I guess I'll stick with the umbrellas for a bit longer. Perhaps I should start a little emergency stock for the bad times. I will need it. Luxembourg is just as bad as England rain-wise, so no luck for me.

As far as Echternach goes; we saw a total of about five other tourists that had dared to go out with the rain as well and ended up having a long lunch in a cute tiny boulangerie to avoid being outside during a crazy rain pourdown. All in all it was a nice day. Time for more trips!


XOXO

My retired umbrella

We totally touched this holy water

Pastry time!

at smile bar you get mor

Food, glorious food

I love potlucks. You get to eat food from all over the world and you don't have to just choose one dish. It's as if you go to a super international buffet. I've been lucky enough to be part of two different potlucks in one month.
First we had a potluck with my housemates. Since are 35 people in our house, the was a LOT of food. It was way too much to finish in just one evening actually. So after trying all the great food we ended up dancing in the common room. After another little round of food and some more dancing it was time to clean up.

During the potluck with my classmates two weeks later we managed to have even more food. after we finished the buffet barely looked emptier than at the start. We were lucky to be allowed to have the potluck in school, so we had lots of space available. Some of us ended up staying till quite late, just because we could. You see, they gave us these 24-hour access cards for the building. They probably expect us to study all night though, rather than to eat all night. But hey, we're innovation students. It's our job to see opportunities and make use of them.

Hopefully there will be many more events like this, because I think it's amazing.


XOXO

Before

After

Dancing

Potluck at uni

Royal Weddings

Whatever country I choose to live in, there always seems to be a royal wedding. First there was Maxima and Willem-Alexander in The Netherlands. Then we had Kate and William in England. And last week Stefanie and Guillermo got married in Luxembourg.
I was not in the city center during all the day activities, but i did go in the evening.

First there were showings of footage of the marriage, followed by fireworks. I must say that these were the worst fireworks I've ever seen. Perhaps that is because I did not actually see them since all the buildings were blocking them. We tried to move but not with much result. So that was a bit of a fail.

However, the concert after was great! It was a really nice and warm evening and the music was nice. we managed to slowly more closer and closer to the stage without any pushing to see it from quite close.

The next day there was a flea market in the city center. As with everything in Luxembourg, this was kind of small. And since we arrived just before it was over, most people were already packing up. But we did manage to find some nice things. 

Hopefully there will be more weekends like this soon!

XOXO

Veronika, Jacqueline, me and Magda at the Place before the fireworks

Here is where the wedding was

The concert

Kidnapped by the bus

I want to begin by saying you ARE reading this title correctly. This is a true story, it actually happened. Yes, for real.
Let me start at the beginning. Every Tuesday evening me and eight others from my class take a module in Social Enterprise. Since the University of Luxembourg is inconveniently spread over three campuses, we need to take two buses to get from our "general" courses to this one. We are given a grand total of 30 minutes to do this. Hence why, straight after six hours of lectures about marketing we (almost literally) ran to the bus stop to catch the first bus going in the direction of centre-ville. There happened to be a bus there for us at the very moment we arrived; so lucky! Little did we know that by entering this but we got ourselves trapped.
When we pressed the button to open the door a few stops later, nothing happened. In our best French (something like "Ouvrir le door s'il vous plait!") we asked the bus driver to let us out. No such luck. The bus driver not only ignored us, but also refused to open the door. so there we went, further and further away from where we wanted to be.
When someone was nice enough to explain what was going on here, it turned out that nobody was allowed to go off the bus until it reached Belgium (yes indeed; WHAT!?).  The funny (or rather, unfunny) thing is that this was not a joke. The bus was by law not allowed to let people off in Luxembourg. Have I ever heard something that stupid? Probably not. So far for freedom.
After overcoming the initial shock we decided that this was to stupid to happen to us and we needed to stop it. So at the next stop we pushed ourselves trough the people who were entering the bus to use the front door as our exit. Their silent glares screamed the word rude, but what could we do? We were just escaping out kidnapper.
We ended up being only five minutes late for the class, which was quite an achievement. unfortunately, the next two hours of lecture were so dense that I could only wish I had just stayed on the bus and let it take me to Belgium. That probably would have been a lot more interesting and adventurous. Did we miss an opportunity here?

So what do I want to say with this story? Do never take a bus without checking its destination. Even if it is in bad French.
Note to self: find out why this rule exists and what the possible use of it can be.


XOXO

Interesting Introductions

Today was the end of the introduction week of my degree. After all of this I feel like I know my classmates a whole lot better.

On Wednesday we went to the Chambre du Commerce to hear lots of presentations concerning entrepreneurship in Luxembourg, followed by a nice lunch with some good good dessert (and lots of coffee since the day started quite early). After that we took the bus to Delphi, a company that develops and tests parts of cars. We got a great tour through all the testing areas and even are slightly dumb and girly questions about cars got answered. It was a great day for seeing some possibilities we have in Luxembourg for our internship and for after graduating.

On Thursday we did a very rainy treasure hunt. This ended up being more of a tour from the Luxembourgish guy in our group with some a drink in between and some more drinks after. In the evening Marina, Jaqueline and I went to explore the nightlife of Luxembourg. And I must say that for girls it is great, because we always get free entrance and at the place we went the drinks were free for girls (I had to be told several times because I could just believe it). So this as a success!

On Saturday we had our integration weekend where we had to be at the train station at stupid early to go to Trier for some rope climbing. After some team building (we were a great team, if I can say so myself) we went up in the trees. I totally failed at the climbing all and fell down, but I did make the pirate cross (ahoy!). It was pretty epic. In the afternoon we did some hiking and wine tasting, before we went back to the hostel to eat. After dinner it felt like it as midnight, although it actually was 8.30pm. Hence why most people were being sensible by going to bed early. Me and a small group however got into some good conversations and suddenly it actually was midnight. Oops.

The last day of our intro we had to get up early again to do some boat racing in a massive kind of row boat called a 'Dragon Boat'. With twenty of us rowing we went super fast. We were lucky it was sunny because we all got slashed on a lot (mainly by our own peddles). After this we took a coach back to Luxembourg and I could bare;y stay awake until I made it home. There I collapsed on my bed instantly for an epic epic nap.

All in all it was a good week.  


XOXO

At the Chambre du Cemmerce

Very important; the lunch

During the hike

Entertaining ourselves with some dancing

The view

Rope climbing in action

Treasure hunt

Hiking

Back to School

Yesterday was the day, my first day back at school again.  finally got to meet everyone from my course and find out what the exact program for the year would be. Just before leaving I found out that the girl in the room next to me is on the same course as me, so I already found a travel buddy. We managed to make our way to the LBA (not Leeds/Bradford Airport, but Luxembourg Business Academy) in time and found the right fancy corporate building after only two attempts. My degree shares one floor of the building with a Master degree in finance and we have our own small and modern lecture theater and several small group working spaces with computers and white boards. 

My fellow students are all great and I am really looking forward to get to know them better. If I believe the students from last year that came and talk to us, the other students ill become my closest friends since we all will be studying and working on projects all the time. They basically told us that our life is over. So... that sounds promising. 

But I do have to admit, the schedule looks absolutely crazy. A good kind of crazy though. I feel like I am properly going to get drilled for doing an internship. After this year I must be some kind of super  woman!  

Tomorrow we will visit the Chamber of Commerce because they are sponsoring my course and are closely connected to it. There will be all kinds of speakers, discussions and I should not forget to mention; a lunch is included! It's a bit of a shame it all has to happen so early and that I have to get up at stupid o'clock and still sound interested and interactive. But as long as I make it to the coffee reception I will be fine. 

XOXO

Guess I ill use my on methods...

All those languages!

Let me explain you something about the Luxembourgish language situation. In theory, they speak three languages here; Luxembourgish, French and German. Often they seem to ditch the Luxembourgish and print information bilingual in French and German. But because most people in this country (indeed, more than half!) are foreigners, they can't escape English. So quite often you will find this added as a third language. Because the biggest part of the immigrants are Portuguese, the information is sometimes printed in Portuguese as well (four languages surely is not enough).
In the supermarket it even gets crazier. Because there they have Dutch language floating around. On many products the language on top of the list is Dutch. And the self check out tills even have a Dutch option. Always nice to read some of my good old language.

But, you may wonder, how do you know what language someone is going to speak to you? well, that is a big mystery for me I can say. To be honest, I think that the people from here are just guessing as well. In buses the writing always randomly either German or French. Although there is this one supermarket that makes it a bit easier for us. Every till has a list of flags corresponding with the languages that the cashier speaks. So you can choose in what language you want to check out. I hope to see a little Dutch flag soon so I can make sure I won't forget my own language. Meanwhile I am practicing my German and french as much as I can. I will start my German course in October and am still looking for a course in beginners French. The other day I ordered my drink and asked for directions in French. I was super proud of myself I must say.

As far as my Luxembourg life goes, I have done all of the registration things I can do at the moment and am waiting to receive a zillion letters and cards in the mail. I have been teaching my first zumba class last week and have been to my first student party this weekend. They do do some good parties here!

XOXO

The nice little streets in le centre-ville

The bridge to the city center

a teeny tiny train track for kids, so cute!

You can walk on this bit of city wall and have a view over the valley (but the view from the bridges is lots better!)