My First 10 Days

I have been in Belgium for about a week and a half now and I have already experienced so many new things. I took my first flight, saw my first foreign country, and started my first internship. From the very beginning the program has been different than what I expected. The Irish Institute where I and my classmates are staying is absolutely beautiful and the staff is fantastic. Leuven, the town in Belgium where I am living, is historic and European but has a youthful feel because it houses 50,000+ college students this time of year. We have tried many Belgian specialties like beer, waffles, and chocolate and they definitely live up to the hype. I take four classes in the internship with professors from the local university, KU Leuven. The European style of teaching is very different than how we are taught at home but all of the professors are fantastic and so knowledgeable. We have each class once a week for two and half hours, which is definitely different than my schedule at CUA. Twice a week I go to my internship at the European Union parliament in Brussels. I take the train there and back and unfortunately it is not as easy to understand as the DC Metro. The Parliament itself is very different than the US Congress. Unlike most interns who work on Capitol Hill, interns in the EU Parliament are expected to brief their members, go to committee meetings and take detailed notes, research bills, and many more hands-on responsibilities. I love this program and have already grown close to the 14 other people in the program. The 10 days has gone by so quickly I know I need to value my time here and experience as much as possible during this once in a lifetime opportunity.



The town hall in the Leuven center square.



Local shopping, restaurants and bars in Leuven.