Netherfieldtrip!

CRAZINESS! 

My roommate and I woke up at 5am so that we can get ready and catch the 6:33am tram to school. We were expected to be at the school at 6:50am. The bus that we took had two levels, and the bus ride to Belgium was only an hour!

The first thing we did was go to Central Station where the fast trains are, and the buildings are absolutely gorgeous. Everything is old school - not like Rotterdam where everything is modern. There were about 100 3rd years, and I had no idea how the field trip went. Everybody received a map, and students had this book with questions they needed to answer - kind of like a scavenger hunt. I thought that the teachers would lead a group of students but to my surprise, the teachers let the students go by themselves, and the teachers all went to go get coffee at this really nice place. I was impressed at the system! Later, the teachers did have to be at certain spots so that they know students are actually going there. Also, the teachers got 15 euros each for lunch! Teachers were well taken care of!

First stop: Diamond Center and when I say Diamond Center, there are at least four streets of just diamond stores, and it's heavily protected by security and such. It was pretty intense. The Jewish community mostly handled the diamonds, but lately people from India are also starting to be in the business. 


Second stop: Jewish community! I literally felt like I was in a different world because all the men wore a top hat or head coverings....and they had the curls on the sides of their faces! It is believed that they cannot cut it! There are two types of Jews in the community: Liberal and Orthodox. It is a very closed community and they don't talk to strangers. Almost everyone wore black with long black coats. The men had long beards and we didn't really see a lot of women. I even saw a synagogue that was bombed because of Anti-Semitism. They even had a street that only sold Kosher!


Third stop: Shopping center of Antwerp. It was absolutely breath-taking because they mixed the old with the new, and it was just a pleasant view. The mall was absolutely beautiful with gold trims. If we had a mall like that in the US, I would definitely go just to admire the building. 


Fourth stop: Ruben's House. Ruben was a well known painter in the 1600s, and his house is just amazing. We couldn't take pictures, but everything looked so expensive. His wall paper was made from leather! He had several paintings by himself and tons by other people. He had his own herb garden! I bet it's beautiful during the summer. He married a 16 year old when he was 53 years old! Crazy, huh?! Ashton and I had headphones to listen to stories of the different paintings and sculptures. 


Fifth stop: Wagamama. Originally, Ashton and I wanted to eat sushi for lunch but since the sushi place was a bit confusing, we just went to the restaurant next to it, which was Wagamama! It's an Asian restaurant, and we both ordered rice dishes. We had 30 euros to spend on food, and surprisingly we still had enough money for desert! The food was totally yummy!


Sixth stop: Ben and Jerrys. Yes. :) Ashton got herself some chocolate ice cream, and I got a Belgium waffle! Both were very happy and satisfied! I highly recommend the waffles - I had apple cinnamon. Yum!


Seventh stop: The Cathedral. It was a bit overwhelming because it was just so big and so pretty. I took lots of pictures! I lit two candles for my grandparents, said a prayer, and was totally excited about everything to look at. I even bought my mom a magnet of the Cathedral, a ring rosary, and two postcards! :) Apparently at this Cathedral, rich people can be buried under if they pay enough. On the floor of the cathedral, you can see the names of the people buried there. Also, this cathedral cost people a lot of money to reconstruct and keep it going. It apparently hurt the middle class and poor...


Eighth stop: Chocolate store: I didn't even get the name of the store. :( Ashton and I had to try the chocolate because everyone kept saying how good it is...so we did...and we fell in love.  :)


Interesting thing that happened today: student was unable to walk by herself and had to be carried by two of her friends. The rumor is that she did some kind of drug and was totally knocked out. Whoa, right?! At a school function. Oh, and the kids totally smoked right after getting out of the bus this morning. Really different from the US.



So yes: Belgium: check. Totally amazing. I'm tired, but I have to go out with the teachers still. I can't wait to see just how much they party here. It should be entertaining.