Wednesday, April 29, 2009

AIESEC UPd meets in Belgium

Last weekend, Ruthie, one of my EPs when I was VP OGX (Vice President for Outgoing Exchange) of AIESEC UPd visited me here in Belgium. She did her internship in Finland then now went to an interrail trip across Europe.
She’s the first guest from the Philippines in my place.

I took her around Brussels, which I found later as challenging as I am just as clueless as her about the city. We ended up instead having frites in La Bourse (the only thing I know "Brussels-ish").

We also went to Antwerp last Saturday. I've been there thrice already but it was my first time in Antwerp with the sun still up.

Castle in Antwerp
Antwerp Castle

Antwerp is very appealing. I noticed immediately the difference between Brussels to Antwerp – the architecture, the people and the vibe. What I particularly like about Antwerp are its lively streets, interesting statues, classy architecture and shops. I also liked the part that I can practice my dutch in Antwerp. Ik ben spreek in Nederlands. But do I prefer Antwerp over Brussels? Well, that’s tough to answer but I think I’ll stick to where I live for now.

Anyway, what was fun about our trip to Antwerp were the RANDOM moments. Just to list a few:

1. Random Brides-to-be asking to write a wedding message in your own language - I wrote in Tagalog!
2. Random Grooms-to-be tied in a bowling ball selling green scissors.
3. Random Flemish people asking if we need tourist help (because we looked exotic, but it was nice)
4. Random people getting arrested in the train back for possession of Marijuana
5. Random AIESEC Belgium friends that you see. :-)
6. Random FREE HUGS people in Meir Straat. It's nice to get a hug really.:)

Ruthie in Antwerp!
Ruthie in Antwerp. UPD unite!

Also, it was a nice opportunity to recconect and to hear that she enjoyed her internship. I saw that she had a wonderful experience during her AIESEC internship. And it's rewarding to hear that as her VP-OGX you played a part in making this opportunity happen. :-)

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