Belgium First Two Weeks/Easy Languages

(That is me to the left, and my sister Karalee to the right)

Hi, I am Klarissa Meinholtz and this blog begins my journies in the foreign country of Brussels, Belgium. The trip over was a bit exhausting, but a week before leaving the United States, my Aunt Lisa and my sister Karalee and I hung out on Vashon Island in Seattle. The night before leaving we stayed at the Ramada Inn by SeaTac Airport. It was a good experience and a good way to prepare myself before leaving.

(My bags are packed at the hotel, and I am ready to go!)

Wednesday, June 8^th, 2011

The date of my departure is approaching and I am so nervous. I am trying to calm down, compartmentalize as I know that being in another country will be nice as well. A part of me is  afraid of getting lost and not having a way to call anyone. It will be a long time until I see my mom (well only two months) and then I will head out on a new adventure once more--Disney World. The real reason why I am doing this internship is that if I do not leave Montana now, I never will.

After graduation, what shall I do with my life? After leaving Missoula, who will I become? No can physically come with me on this excursion into the unknown. I have to do it alone, and I often wonder will I always be doing things on my own? Karalee and Aunt Lisa have been keeping me company the next few days before I have to head out to Europe. This experience is something I’ve never done before--going to a new place by myself with only the basics of the language with me. All of my bottled fears swim through my head, Will my French be good enough? Will I be good enough for this job? Hopefully I shall soon have the answers to these questions. Whatever happens I believe that I can and I will be able to handle it.

(The beautiful letter my sister wrote me to keep me company on the plane ride over)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

 Karalee dropped me off at the airport and for some reason I did not cry. Even though I will miss her I must move on to this new destination. Though this internship is an exciting new project, I am already thinking further into the future. I didn’t sleep last night, as I was too excited, filled with wonder at this new adventure. People have said things like, “I’m proud of you,” with such enthusiasm and I wonder if they ever had the chance to fulfill their wildest dreams of traveling as well. There isn’t anything left for me in Missoula and even though I am using my Master’s Degree money to do this internship, it is well worth it.

My fears are evading me, the closer that I get to Belgium. Even if my French is only introductory and even if I get lost I will find my way back. A lot of people want postcards when I am away and hardly anyone asks for gifts (besides my sister Karalee). It was really difficult handing over my cell phone to Karalee today. Aunt Lisa booked us an overnight stay at Ramada (which was really nice of her) and we wake up at 3 am to get to the airport on time.

It looks as if I am here extremely early and I really want to take a nap. It seems that being alone is something I am used to by now—almost. One of my coworkers that I will be meeting up with—Kate seems pretty neat. I hope that once I get to Brussels that the transition is rather smooth. The girl I will be interning with Allegra seems nice and she has studied abroad. My supervisor Ryan also seems pretty laid back, and easy to talk to. Nothing worries me much right now as I am on the plane. I hope my sister makes it back safely to Missoula, as she has to drive back there alone. Europe is the next adventure on this journey for me and I am ready to begin the new chapters of my life. A part of me is sad that I cannot see Mathilde or any of the Pilou family.

(A photo I took on my 'lost' adventure through Brussels)

Sunday, June 12^th, 2011

So here we are I am going to Brussels and I am scared about getting lost. Kate will be there tomorrow as I don’t know what to do after I arrive for my residence. This is a true test of abilities—one I am certain that I can and will accomplish as it is also more than I have ever done by myself. It’s funny that only a few (2 years ago) I headed out with my sister’s high school which proved to be a great experience. 

Packed with the little knowledge I have—the Rosetta Stone, a French English Dictionary, and my imagination, I journey into the unknown of Brussels, Belgium and of Bournemouth, England. Yes my French needs work and I am a bit lonely and scared but I will not show it to anyone because it is my job to be strong. My sister’s beautiful letter made me cry.

Yes I got lost but at least I found my way again. Already I lost my way for a few hours trying to find the apartment I am staying at. I am ready for bed and I hope that tomorrow I will get the chance to meet everyone. Despite my feelings of loneliness or worries about my French skills, I made it here alright.

Monday, June 13^th, 2011

Here I am in a foreign country and despite my fears of not having good enough capabilities, at the same time I am hoping this internship will be fun. 

Tuesday, June 14^th, 2011

Yesterday I met a lot of wonderful people in my building who have been willing to help guide me with my French skills. The people I have met here were Lorenz (from Bourgandy region of France), Pablo (from Madrid, Spain), Isabel (from Switzerland by the Alps), and Anne (from Notting Hill, England). Lorenz is one of my coworkers who has helped me practice my French, and is probably going with us to Bouremouth. Pablo workers for Easy Languages and he works with starch doing chemistry experiments on the properties of paper. Isabel works for Reporters without Borders, a company that helps journalists get their information across safely in other countries. Anne works for UPS and even though she just moved here this week from England, I think she will stay longer. Yesterday I accidentally opened someone else’s door and had to apologize because I forgot that in Europe the second floor is different than in America. Here the first floor at ground level is called floor zero and the basement is negative one.

Wednesday, June 15^th, 2011

(Here is a picture from the Botanical Gardens. It is a nice place for me to walk around a relax, especially because it is close to my residence.)

(This is an eco-friendly looking building close to work, by Art-Loi Metro Station. I like its design.)

There have been a lot of ups and downs here involving the language for me. Learning French all over again is a difficult task,  yet an interesting one at that. It has been taking me a constant repetition to understand my responsibilities here and why I was chosen for this position. Not only do I constantly worry but I also have been trying to practice my language skills every day now. I  hope that in the end it will all eventually make sense. I am losing track of time again and I am working on myself to become more comfortable in the job market and in who I am. It has taken awhile to understand the French here and I am still learning. Lately, all that I want to do is be good at my job and my responsibilities. I want good experiences to keep coming my way, meaning that I need to seek out good experiences first. The people that I have met here are my teachers in some way. At work I have been looking for documents on the company, providing suggestions, and I also established a blog. These past two days have been a lot of work to keep up. I still have a lot to do, such as check my blog and work on internship paperwork.

Thursday, June 16^th, 2011

Today I met my supervisor Ryan Reynolds and a lot of other people that I work with. All of my worries don’t matter anymore when I am here. It still astounds me at the kindness of everyone I have met here, and not only their kindness but the patience with which they have helped me understand French. When I was young, I would write mystery stories about going to foreign countries such as France and even came up with a pen name. Now that I know I shall always have the option to return, I am happy to be traveling in Belgium.

After immersing myself in this new culture here, it has been difficult to think about returning to America. After this internship I know that I won’t ever been the same again. It seems that in college although I have met many great people, I have been constantly waiting for my life to begin. It seems that change is calling my name again and maybe I left a part of my heart here when I first visited Europe. When I return to the United States I want to keep in touch with Allegra and with all of my coworkers.

Today after work we went to this place in the middle of traffic by a lot of parliament buildings and we spoke some French with each other. The place was called Place de Lux, and even though I am far from home I felt every close to somewhere familiar and welcoming. All of my worries began to fade about not fitting in, and I tried to show benevolent curiosity. Everyone is my teacher here, and everyone is an interesting subject. When I do return home I think I may want to work for a company that is involved with international travel. Even though a part of me still needs to work on my level of confidence I want to explore and take pictures of this great experience.

(This is our first group photo, and most but not all of my colleagues are in here)

Friday, June 17^th, 2011

Today, Ryan, Allegra, and I went to Le Grand Place for lunch today and had some Greek food. We had the chance to explore the city for a bit and we all ate different pitas with gyros meat and with chicken. Allegra and I met some Spanish guys that are friends with Pablo, (Gabi, Sergis, and Alberto). I was a bit tired from last night, because I was still recovering from jet lag and staying out at Place du Lux. Yesterday Pablo invited Allegra and I to a party, and we are going to go out tonight.

Tomorrow is a party for Marion because it was her 26^th birthday today. Even though I am still earning French it is easier if I just let go of my fear and get my feet wet. I really hope that I can see Mathilde again and that the money situation with my card will be figured out soon.

Saturday, June 18^th, 2011

Yesterday Allegra and I went out dancing with the Spanish guys. Tomorrow is my cousin Karinda’s wedding and I feel bad that I cannot be there for her. When I leave  Europe I am going to miss all of the wonderful people that I have met here.

Last night we went to the well renowned club Delirium (it has over 2,000 different kinds of beer there), along with another place (Celtique, a good club for dancing). Even though I have a lot of roots in Montana, I don’t think that I want to stay there much longer, at least for my own sanity. I would love to find a book here by Baudelaire either all in French or with both languages (French and English).   I need to stop getting my languages confused. I hope that I can see Mathilde for a second time soon and everything.

Today was Karinda and Mike’s wedding and I felt really sad that I couldn’t make it out there because I am in Europe. Yet being here has been such a great experience so far that I am excited for the future as it seems to be very bright.

(This is the pink elephant sign that is for Delirium).

Sunday, June 19^th, 2011

Today Allegra and I went to Le Grand Place area and we met up with some of Pablo’s friends from Spain and talked and hung out with them. We ended up going to a few pubs, Delirium included and we stayed out until 5 am. I feel that these new connections have brightened my outlook on life.

Monday, June 20^th, 2011

Today work was a bit grueling and Allegra and I were quite tired. I meant to get to a lot of things done that I didn’t such as my blog posts for IE3, but it was difficult to gather up the motivation. I slept over 12 hours because I was that tired. I don’t remember much of the day as I had to get money out of the ATM once more.

(Here is a park that Allegra and I stopped by after work. My nickname for it is the tree park)

Tuesday, June 21^st, 2011

We had a lunch with everyone in the office today and it was nice talking with the two people from the Norwegian department about education in small groups and its increasing importance in the school systems in America. I have to do laundry today and catch up on a lot of my errands and duties. Today I kept writing different blogs and I kept trying to come up with great ideas for the scrapbook. It was difficult, but I came up with some organizational ideas for the layout of the scrapbook today.

Wednesday, June 22^nd, 2011

Today I feel like we got to know a few colleagues better (Allegra and I did) as well as going to salsa after work with Kate and Inge. That was a great deal of fun, and I think that it was something that could help us all to bond with one another. Today we all grabbed lunch at a sandwich shop, (Ryan, Kate, Lorenz, Inge, Allegra, and I) and it was a great opportunity to speak with everyone. The food was delicious and not very expensive.

I tried a new sandwich called, L’Espresso, of which I enjoyed with bacon, turkey, and a combination of sorts. We worked on the scrapbook today at work, and a few more blog promotion articles. It was pretty neat to see so much progress in the work we have done here this past week and a half or so. Like my mother said to be before I left, it will pass by so quickly like a dream. I need to find more time to do things like e-mail the University and catch up with my funds and banks to make sure those accounts are alright, but time is a difficult thing to manage lately.

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011


Today is going to be my last Thursday at the office in Belgium for awhile. Tomorrow I get the chance to meet Wietske and Rebecca, the two Dutch interns that Allegra and I will be going with at different times to Bournemouth. Yesterday I started to work on a blog that is about travel and it was pretty insightful. After reading over my own posts I think that I have become a better writer not only since college but since being here as well. I am still learning all of the tricks to the trade here so to speak, but as someone who will be entering the business world in a short amount of time after I graduate htis spring I have become more confident in my abilities here. I know that I need to catch up with my family and evern some of my friends more because it has been about a week or so since I have got ahold of them, but at the same time I am interested.

Today, Allegra, Ryan, and I went to a nice restaurant called Restaurant Traiteur where there is a wide selection of mussels (about 69 different kinds or more). It was a pretty nice meal, and we also had some of the best wine that I have tasted in my life, called La Part du Colibin, Museadel Seure (2008). It is from France, but I don't remember which part. There were four different kinds of sauce that the mussels came with and it was only for 20 Euros (the mussels, not including drinks).

The different kinds of sauce consisted of a combination of tomato, cream sauce, white wine sauce, and a buttery sauce. After eating the mussels, as each came in a pot that was steamed like a soup dish, we were able to dip the bread into our left overs. It tasted amazing. The place has an old painting that they mention in Amelie, an impressionist one with a party of people that consists of only one woman who is looking directly at the crowd in the group. The ambiance was traquil so to speak, and the service was also up to par. The waiters came by to refill our wine and water reasonably and even though the food was a bit expensive it was well worth the treat.

(These are les moules from Restaurant Traiteur, which is open only seasonally in Brussels. This came with 4 pots of steamed mussels and fries for only 20 Euros, not including drinks. It was delicious).

(This is Allegra holding the menu at Restaurant Traiteur with TinTin on the menu cover! She was really excited about that.)

(There is me with a menu as well :) )

(This is truthfully the best white wine I have tasted since France two years ago).  

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Today we are having a meeting with the two girls from the Dutch offices, Wietske and Rebecca and the rest of the office about the upcoming trip to Bournemouth. I am a bit nervous about going to Bournemouth because I will be part of the first group to go there. Yet again, Wietske has been to Bournemouth three summers in a row so maybe she can help me understand all of the details.

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Tomorrow early in the morning I head out with Wietske to go to Bournemouth and meet up with the kids. It will be an exciting experience I think as there will only be six or seven students so I can get a feel for the camp and everything. Even though I am a bit nervous to get started on this new journey, it sounds like as Group Leaders we primarily get the fun part with the program by taking the kids out after their morning English classes to fun destinations such as Christchurch, Stonehenge, Splashdown, and Quasar.

(This is me with Ann Brittain, a woman who moved here from Notting Hill, Englad. We made bacon cobs, which consists of bacon, butter, bread, and ketchup. Bacon cobs are really popular in England along with strong black tea with a bit of milk. I wanted to take a picture with her as it is my last day in Brussels for about a month and she too is moving soon to a different residence. I probably won't get to see her again, but I shall remember her as the lady who taught me a lot about English slang and culture and her kindness.)