27/07/2013

First Week

Hello my dear readers,
shall I call you so or is  it a bit too early? 
I know some people read the blog regurarly. Thank you. Knowing that you are doing so makes me feel much closer to all of you. 


My first week has just passed and I believe I can draw the lines. It has been surreal. Bath seems very far away now and here it doesn't feel like home. I am once again in the uncertainty of not knowing what is going to happen next. I feel like I'm trying to balance myself between the old and the new life, ready to jump into the unknown and make it all change. I haven't jumped yet but soon I will and then it'll all be fine.

I have some exciting news. I have finally found a flat! It is very nice; just on the corner between the Sablon (once of the most chic areas of Brussels) and Rue Haute, apparently also a very chic-alternative street. I have been very lucky to find this place. One of my colleagues is going back to France and she is subletting her room till the end of September. Even though it is just for a couple of months I am moving in anyway. The area is definitely better than where I am staying now, the room is cheaper and I will also live with other people which will make the all experience far more interesting and fun. So I am leaving the B&B on thursday. 

The job, on the other hand, is hard. I have never worked in the press office and I don't even know where to start. Every morning I turn my computer on and I literally don't know what to do next! My job is basically contacting journalists and newspapers and offer them our stories. The problem is that my area of 'expertise' is Italy and (sorry for all the Itallians) but it is so hard to make them listen to you. Some people are just so rude and arrongant that it is so difficult to communicate. Sometimes when I am about to dial a number my eyes fill with tears because I know it wiill be another failure. I know I will learn some day and I had some rewarding moments even though it was just my first week. I am trying, seriously, trying really hard. 

I use the words 'hard' and 'difficult' too much but this is all I can say about my first week; adjusting is hard and difficult. The positive aspect of this first few days is that I understood I definitely want to work for international organisations, not too sure if I want to work in their press office though. This is the reason why I want my boss to notice me. I think I am so pushy that we reached the point where every morning before going to his office my boss stops by my desk to let me know that he is very busy!! I am sorry but I just want him to understand that I am doing the best I can. 

My colleagues are very sweet. They are all trying to help and they involve me in everything they do. We have lunch together every day. The first day we went all to have a drink and they made a welcome toast for me. I am really impressed by how friendly they are. It is nice. It makes you want to get up for work in the mornings.

My weekend is a bit boring though. I am afraid I am now in the 'worker mode', meaning that you spend alll your weekends sleeping, cleaning, doing your laundry, ironing, shopping etc. Also my laptop decided that it was a good time to stop working. Therefore, today with 150 degrees I walked for more than half an hour to find a place that sells Apple products to find out that they ONLY sell Apple products and that the centre for reparations is in another city, it's open only during the week and you can reach it only by train! My mom has found another that might repair macs so I am going to call them next week because they are even further than the one I went to today and I don't want to go there for nothing!!

I have also tried the launderette around the corner. I can't use the washing machine in the B&B and so for the first time today I went to the self-service one. I hated it!! I am sorry, I know I sound like a spoilt brat but the idea of sharing a washing machine with someone else it just doesn't make sense to me. I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to cleaning and I find it disgusting! I didn't even know how to operate them and I found a very kind man who helped with everything! I am really lucky in that sense; I always find someone who is willing to help me! They probably feel sorry for me!

I couldn't wash everything because I didn't have enough money so I had to choose between they whites and the colours. I might go again tomorrow but I still think it is better to wash them in the sink with the soap. It is so much of a hassle though that I will probably end up ging to the launderette anyway! I just find so funnty how I am such a snob but I always get myself in to these situations that are not at all compatible with my nature! I don't know how this keeps happening!!

Anywyay, there is another problem I have here. Everything is so expensive that I keep feeding myself salads, bread, eggs, pasta, vegetables and cheese (but only the cheap ones). The result is that I am always hungry, I have to watch the quantities also , and that I am afraid I will gain too much weight because of all the carbs I eat!! I don't understand how people can say that England is expensive. I paid 4.50€ for half a pint of beer! You never pay that much in England unless the pint is made of gold!!!


You probably sense that I am not very happy. I will try to explain how I feel. Two trains of thought are goign on in my mind at the moment. One is that I am simply shocked. I love England, it is my home and I miss it. Here it is Europe and in many ways it is like Italy and I left Italy because I didn't like it. I find difficullt to understand their pace of life: they come to the office when they want (9.30 in the morning is just me and a couple of Americans), businesses work less during the weekends when the people who work all week need them etc. The job is new and everything is just complicated because I don't speak the language and I don't know the city. The second train of thoughts is that I am satisfied with myself. I am proud of what I achieved just by using my brain and with hard work. It is rewarding. Just by working my way through I made it where I wanted to be and it just makes me feel so well and so happy with myself. I know there is still loads to do but I am doing it and so far it has paid well. 

So this is all for now. I am sorry it is all depressing and very deep. I just reflect and think about things a lot. I like analysing everything that is happening it too. I believe I do it because it makes it easier to cope with the new situations I have to face. 

OMG what a scary moment! There is a thunderstorm at the moment here now and they have a strange pipe system going around the all house so you hear like water pouring in every room!! And I am alone in the all building because the owners are away for the holidays and the place is closed!!

You will hear for me if I survive I guess!!

This is all for now!

Good Night

23/07/2013

First Day At Work And Some Other News

Hello everyone!
Today was a special day for me. Very special. It was exactly the first day of my working life!! In other words this was the first real working day of my life.
I will try to summarize my feelings in one word: SHOCKED!!!  I feel really strange; like thunderstruck! I keep repeating to myself that this life does not suit me, that I can't leave my house at 8.30AM to come back at 8.30PM and not having time to do anything else. I suppose it is just the first day when everything is so new and despite the fact that the job is really interesting,  it also seems very difficult to adjust to. It is hard, it burns like a disappointment: you dream of doing something all your life and then you don't even understand if you like it when you eventually start doing it for real!

The people in the office are very nice and everyone seems to be extremely friendly. My colleague L. who's also doing an internship, is very easy to work with and welcoming. So as for the working environment I have no complaints. I suppose I just need some time to settle down and learn to love my job. I am sure I am going to love it because it is all I wanted to do and studied for. It will be a fantastic experience. I don't remember it but on my first day at school I might have had the same impression and a strong desire to go back to kindergarten.

Everything else is going as usual. I am still at the B&B because my attempt to find another place did not work out as planned. I am sure I took the right decision but it was hard.

I promised to tell you what happened on the flat-hunting front and I will. I am not going to disclose the names of the people involved but I am going to summarise what happened anyway.

A few weeks ago my mom realised she knew someone from Brussels. We met this couple in Bath and they kindly offered to help once I arrived in Belgium. H is English  and K Belgian.  They invited me to lunch on Saturday. They live in a beautiful neighbourhood a few bus stops from Louise, a really fancy and posh area of Brussels. On Friday H called me to explain how to get there exactly but despite his help I got lost anyway and arrived late. He was waiting for me at the bus stop to make sure that I actually made it. I think he could sense my lack of orientation skills!

Once I apologised and I had given him my 'present', a lousy and touristy Godiva truffles selection (everything was shut on Saturday: welcome to Catholic Europe!), we started walking towards home. The house H and K live is by a lake and surrounded by a beautiful garden. K was there waiting for us with his cousin, a nice lady who used to work for the EU. We had lunch; a very French lunch with salad, fish in a white sauce and raspberry tart (yummy!!).

Once the lunch was over and K's cousin left to join a friend for a tennis match, we three went to see this flat just a few steps from the Louise that K and H bought to move in by the end of the year. Their idea was to let me live there for a while. Once we got there I realised that it would have been impossible. Don't get me wrong here, K and H are lovely and generous people and I am glad that I got to know them because I know I can always ask them for help. My problem was that they were too kind and generous and the flat was so big and nice that living in there knowing that it was theirs with their furniture, the plates and cutlery and sheets etc that they would have got for me was too overwhelming. Accepting their offer would have felt like taking advantage of their kindness but also being in debt with people I don't really know.

What I regret it is not giving up the stunning view from the terrace (yes it also had a terrace!) but probably disappointing them because I felt they genuinely wanted to help and when I was with them I felt really safe like I have known them for a long time. They took it very well but they were so excited about it that I felt bad refusing. Deep in my heart I knew it was an absurd offer, too generous and too kind to take, especially from people that I don't really know.

So now I am back to square one. I am going to see some real estate agencies this weekend to see if I can find a nice studio or a room. I am sure that I will be fine and that if I need anything I can always refer to K and H.

So everyone these are the latest news. As you probably understand I am bit lost here but it will get better in a few weeks and I try to think that I went through worse and I survived. We are all tougher than we think and I am no different from anyone else.

Would you allow me one more complaint? Here is so fucking hot that I want to cry. I feel disgusting and my hair looks horrible!!





21/07/2013

Belgium National Day

My third day in Belgium falls exactly on National Day; a day celebrating the unity and the successes of this country and its people. This year is a even bigger celebration due to the fact that King Albert has abdicated and has been succeeded by his son Prince Philippe. So with today Belgium has a new king! I have just one thought on it though: is it actually more a celebration for the French community? I have a feeling that this monarchy represents more the French-speaking part of Belgium. I don't want to be judgemental here but I don't see much excitement or participation. I have a sense that this is just a constructed rhetoric in order to keep the country together.

Beside my reflections on the subject I must say I didn't participate much to the ongoing celebrations. I intended to but I didn't. I woke up to a lovely blue sky and I decided to go to Parc de Bruxelles, the biggest park in the area and the one in front of the Royal Palace. I checked the news while having breakfast just to see what was going on and I realised I had just missed the abdication ceremony at the Cathedral. So I got dressed, went out only to discover that the heat was unbearable!! Despite the fact that I was melting, I walked up to the Grand Place anyway. There was literally no one in streets and not a single sign of celebrating in the square! I really wanted to stick to my plan but on the way to the park I found a little supermarket that despite the bank holiday weekend was open and bought some food. My fridge was so empty that last night I had to skip dinner!! I got myself some gazpacho (typically Belgian uh?) and quickly ran home to eat it. When I got there I was so tired and sweaty that I couldn't even think of stepping out onto the street again to go to the park. Instead I turned the day into a very lazy afternoon in which I tried to regain my strengths after two very stressful days. 

Unfortunately, my adventure about finding another place to stay is far from over and so I can't really tell you anything yet! I saw the place where I am supposed to live and it is very nice but the lovely couple I am dealing with are too overwhelmingly kind so I still have to decide if I want to get myself into that or not. It is a very complicated story and I know you don't have a clue of what I'm talking about but trust me if everything goes as planned by tonight or tomorrow afternoon maximum everything should be over and I should have made a decision about my next step. Once the all situation has been settled down I can tell all about my (a bit) surreal day yesterday. Just to give you an idea I left home at 10 in the morning and got back at 7 in the evening so now you can understand why I am tired!!!

Sundays are always a bit sad and melancholic and today I realised how Brussels is going to be different and new, that I am going to face difficult moments and that I have to build everything from scratch again: friends, relations and habits. I know it is an exciting experience and it is going to be great. I have a feeling that these six months are going to change my life completely or at least I want them to but you know, sometimes you just have a bad day and I guess that when you live on your own you've just got more time to think and meditate. Life is just not easy but I believe this is what makes it more exciting: the challenges, the disappointments that make the conquests and successes even more rewarding! 

I leave you with this thought and I hope to come back to you with more interesting and exciting news!! 



Some Belgian tricolour flags on the Grand Place this morning



19/07/2013

First Post From Brussels

Hello everyone!!
I have finally got to Brussels after a not too long but tiresome journey. For the record I had to carry a suitcase weighing 30 kilos, another 7 kilo bag, my purse and my laptop case containing also ipad and chargers! As a matter of fact I have to start all my journeys always on perfect timing and so I decided it was a good idea dragging all my stuff across Europe during the hottest heat wave  since probably 1600!!!!!

I have to admit it was a bit stressing: I had to run for the taxi at Paddington and prayed for the traffic to move on my way to St Pancras but I met really nice people who helped me carry my stuff so no complaining there. I was so tired when I got to Brussels that I decided to take a cab to get literally 500 meters further! My arms still hurt now!!

The place where I am staying is really nice. The only downside to it is that is just a temporary solution. How I ended up here? Well that's another story but to make a long story short: I stayed in Brussels a couple of weeks ago hoping to sort out accommodation for once I had to settle down properly but getting to know the city was really hard. I asked the couple who ran the B&B I was staying at for some tips and they offered me a room for the time they are on holidays in August!! I have to move out when they get back but it is still a good and cheap solution!!

Having told you that, let's move onto my first day in the EU capital! Strangely enough I already feel quite at home. I don't think I like the city much but it has an atmosphere that feels quite familiar to me. Today I did the usual stuff you do as soon as you move abroad: got a new sim card for my phone (still think Mathieu ripped me off a little but my plan is to go back there once I speak French to make things right!!) and first trip to the supermarket. I find supermarkets very interesting. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not obsessed with food but I think you really get a place and its people once you've seen what they eat and also you can learn lots of useful vocabulary!

I wouldn't describe my trip to the supermarket a great success but I got what I wanted and I had a tasty dinner; so far so good! It was a bit strange though. The shop provided a wide choice and most of the brands I like but the way goods were displayed together with the noise and the confusion made me feel like I was back in Italy. People who know me well are aware that feeling always makes me a bit nauseous! 

I feel really tired now. It has been a long and too emotional day. When I saw from the train the profile of Bath Abbey disappearing I felt a lump in my throat as a part of me was being ripped away violently. I miss Bath and its quiet life, its alleys and the light on its beautiful Georgian buildings. The chaos and confusion of Brussels makes it all feel so far away now! Yesterday night we went with my parents for a lovely walk up to Lansdown Crescent (Bathonians who haven't been there yet should really check it out) and I thought it was a nice farewell to what it is now my hometown. We were able to catch the essence of Bath: the quiet streets, the friendly people, the views and the stunning architecture. 

Now I really need to rest. Tomorrow I am trying my luck to find another and possibly better place to live. It is another long story but I want to wait to see how it ends before telling you. This time tomorrow we will all know already!! 

I attach here some photos of my new place. I am sorry for the quality but the light is not great in here. 

Good Night to You All from Brussels!!







Some people will always be with you no matter what :)

17/07/2013

La Ragazza Con La Valigia

Here I am again, trying to write another first post on another blog! I think I'm going to stick to this one this time. I figure it will be a different way to write a diary and keep in touch with friends and family. They say third time is a charm, for me it is probably the fifth or sixth.

So here I am again on the verge of starting a new adventure, moving to another city, another country. This time I'm going to Brussels for six months. I will be working for a big human rights organisation. 
It is probably the fourth or fifth that I have to move and so for my first post I will just share some pre-departure thoughts with you.

I am going to get my suitcase down from the attic in a minute. This is raising the typical little panic attack I have every time I have to pack:WHAT DO I REALLY NEED?
By the time I give myself an answer I have already packed all the superfluous stuff and already reached my final destination. So far I have probably written down 1300 lists; all included the essential (or what I think the essential is) plus a 'small' table easel with all my colours, pencils and brushes to paint wonderful watercolours of the lovely Belgian countryside! I'm sorry I don't know how to renounce to my hobbies.

An empty suitcase not only makes me think of all the stuff I have to bring with me but also of everything I am going to leave behind...Sometimes is friends, love or family or a bit of everything. So because I can't pack people I will just pack photographs. To be completely honest with you this time is a bit different because as university ended most of my friends left and if I don't leave as well I will be the one left behind this time. Also I will still have a link with Bath as my family lives here allowing me to call this Somerset gem my home. 

I decided to call this blog 'on the run' because often I feel 'on the run', moving from place to place and not yet have found a place to settle down and begin my life for real. I know this is the life I have chosen for myself so I can't complain as it is exciting and stimulating (otherwise I would have already stopped!). Today I was at the hairdresser's having my hair cut one last time (I tend not to trust foreign hairdressers sorry!) and I was thinking how everyone has his/her local hairdresser, pub, shop or restaurant they always go to.  It is the same for me here in Bath but now I have to rebuild all this in a new environment and that gave me a sense of nostalgia but also a thrill that makes me want to leave immediately and explore Brussels in every little corner.  For example I always go to the same park for a jog, it is five minutes from home and  I learnt to love it and now I have to find another park in Brussels or more likely another sport as there will be no park five minutes from where I will be living in Brussels. Tomorrow I will go for one last run as my personal way to say goodbye to Bath. 

On friday I will get into my 'la ragazza con la valigia' mode.I love the phrase, it is very catchy despite the fact that the character played by Claudia Cardinale in Zurlini's film 'Girl with a Suitcase' doesn't really reflect me!

This is probably it for now! I will soon let you know how my arrival in the capital of the European Union was so I can seriously start my blogging activity!!