My Factory of Extravagant Marvels

Muitas águas já rolaram desde meu último post, desculpe a ausência. Deixe-me tentar contar tudo num resumão... As aulas começaram mais ou menos dia 20 de setembro. Vocês devem achar estranho eu dizer "mais ou menos", mas é isso mesmo. A Universidade Livre de Bruxelas faz juz ao seu nome "livre" no que diz respeito a datas... alguns professores começaram desde a primeira semana, outros iriam começar só na terceira, e outros ainda, resolveram na última hora deixar pra começar só no semestre que vem. Bom, posso confessar que isso não me agradou em nada. Estou acostumada com as instuições canadenses, onde tudo é muito organizado e as regras são respeitadas. Esse negócio de não saber ao certo se eu estava perdendo aulas ou se or professores tinha apenas resolvido estender as férias não é nada legal. Prindipalmente se você acaba de chegar numa cidade e está doidinha pra estabelecer uma rotina e organizar sua vida, como eu estava. Bom, agora as coisas já estão se encai...

Yesterday it was very sunny so I decided to go for a bike ride in the morning to enjoy the day. I went to the Atomium , one of the big tourist attractions in Brussels, which consists of a huge metallic-looking structure representing an atom. I didn't go in because I wanted to spend the day outside and save the 8 euros of admission fee, but it was nonetheless a pleasant trip. The Atomium is very shiny on a sunny day (and at night too, thanks to the lights they turn on at sundown). Later in the day I joined Courtney (an American girl from Florida/California I met through Couch Surfing) at the Flea Market at Place Jeu de Balle. It was interesting to see how much random stuff can be together in the same public square. The prices are not cheap, specially if you are chatting in English and look like a tourist, but the view is quite peculiar. From old cameras, to China, to 70's furniture, you could find mostly anything there. One very annoying thing: many of the salesmen ...

I overheard that Belgium is one of the most bureaucratic countries in Europe but I guess I could only believe after having gone through the system myself. It took me 6 visits to different institutions to be able to open a checking account to receive my scholarship. Good heavens! I suspect that they are closing off the banks as one of the efforts to make the lives of illegal immigrants more difficult, but I feel like they are taking the wrong approach. For one: if you come to Belgium on a student visa (or mostly any long stay visa) you have to register with the Commune (city office) and get a Permis de Sejour (permit to stay). They must believe that will help keeping track of the people who come live here. Sweet delusion. Most of the people "without papers" (as they say) simply ignore that rule and never show up to register. Well, when you do have papers and go to register, they are not very friendly or smiley to start with. Then, after you registered and gave them your...

Good day to you all! I know I have been absent for a while, but you have to forgive me - from precarious sleeping places to intermitent internet connections, a bunch of things got on my way of sending news to you. I am finally settling in Brussels. Today I move into the place where I will hopefully spend the whole year. I will finally have an address and a stable home. My first couple of days on the old continent were a little messy. I arrived here on Friday at 7:30am, but for me it was like 1:30am. I really just wanted to go to bed and sleep. Dimitri, my CouchSurfing host could only receive me at 7pm, though, and wanted to go partying after that. Thank heavens that my new classmate Marta (who graciously went to pick me up at the airport with Carla) offered me her house for the day. She and her boyfriend Alberto, both from Italy, were very nice and cooked a delicious Cabonara pasta to welcome me to Brussels. I even took a nap at her place. In the evening, I went to meet my CS hos...

How awful is it that the Catholic church equates women's equality rights to pedophilia? Compare Articles 5 and 6 of the new Vatican rules. To put it in plain words, they are saying that women who are ordained Catholic priests (and those who help them do so) deserve the same type of punishment as the sick priests who engage in sexual relations with kids! I am ashamed of having belonged to this denomination for the first years of my life, albeit without my own consent. Unfortunately, many people in my family are still faithful to this disgusting institution which just uses its followers for political manipulations. I am deeply sad that so many of my Brazilian compatriots are not only catholics , but active catholics, who look for moral counseling from such idiots as the ones who implement these misogynistic policies. This is an offense to all women who diligently go to church, donate their time to the institution, and follow the doctrine. Especially because the great majority...

We left right after work on Friday June 25th. Gabriela and Paulo picked up Jon and I at home and then we left towards Black Mountain, by Lake George. The car trip, once we managed to get to the highway, was about 3 hours long. Black Mountain is located by Pike Brook Road, just off route 22 in the state of New York. Our first hike comprised a stop by Lapland Pond for a quick swim in the muddy waters, and a walk by wetlands and two other ponds before we reached the peak of  Black mountain. Paulo and Gabriela are more experienced hikers and could keep up a very decent pace. Jon, although also experienced in outdoorsy life, had injured his ankle playing basketball and had to pay attention to each step. That was good, because I was carrying a lot of wait for what I am used to and I can't say that I spent that many hours of my life hiking, being a city girl that I am. I love it though and want to keep on doing this. I like city life but there is definitely no comparison with ...

This past weekend promised lots of adventures. Jon went down to St. Albans, VT, by bike on Friday and my plan was to join him on Saturday, bringing my bike on the good old Greyhound to ride back to Montreal. We were going to visit the Hartmans and pick up our new sexy camera. Everything was going well, I got help from Aaron, Jen and Jack to prepare everything and was able to leave on time. Jack even gave me a ride to the bus station. The sun was shining and there was no rain in the forecast for the whole weekend... I was feeling lucky! The bus was not very full, I noticed. It should not take too long once we got to the border. Or so I thought. Once we got to the Vermont border, I was informed by the border patrol officer that my passport was expired. By 38 days, to be precise. And I had just not noticed. Now, do you want to know the best part of the story? The border patrol officers who let me in the USA two weeks before that - when my passport was expired by 26 days...