Anti-Americanism
Friday morning I was on the metro going to the film festival office when I had my first encounter with blatent anti-americanism. Thankfully it wasn't directed at me, but it was still disturbing. The train was almost empty, just me and a group of six or eight American girls (I think they must have been college students). They were chattering and laughing, not loudly, but in an empty train it was easy to hear them. We were about halfway to my stop when two men got on and stood between me and the group of girls. I noticed the men because they looked sort of intense (for lack of a better word) and were speaking to each other in hushed french. I think they were from France, not Belgium, because their French sounded a little different and their clothes were a slighty different style than what we normally see men wearing here. One of them also had a pony tail and that's definitely not popular in our conservative city. Anyway, the girls' stop came first and they stood up, walked to the doors and started getting off the train when the pony-tailed man said to them "What's next guys?." They looked confused at this question and I didn't understand why he would be asking them this. They continued to leave the train and he yelled after them "What country is next? Who are you going to carpet bomb next?" They looked shocked and I'm sure I did too. The man then turned to his friend and continued his conversation like nothing had happened. I'm not sure what he was trying to accomplish, but I'm fairly sure the girls aren't responisble for the war in Iraq and most likely they didn't even vote for Bush. It just seemed mean.
~K
Sunday, January 11
Saturday, January 10
Have you seen this man?
We have rodents. We noticed them not long after we moved in. When we're in the bedroom at night, we can hear pitter-patter of little feet in the cieling above us. From time to time, a little rustling, scratching, chewing. I think there's only a couple of mice, maybe a family. The dad actually infiltrated our apartment a month ago. Cute little guy, small enough to fit in a tablespoon measure. However, we've blocked all of his entrances, so he has been here for a long time. I don't mind him coming for a visit once in a while, but Kristen feels a little differently about it. The first time he came for a visit was one day when Kristen had been sitting on the couch reading. I came home a few hours later and found her tucked all the way into the couch with all the lights on in the house. "We have a mouse." Twenty minutes later he came running out of the kitchen and disappeared into a hole in the floor.
A mouse or two is OK with me. Rats are a different story. The first time we heard the noise up in the cieling was a few weeks after we moved in. We were woken up in the middle of the night by what sounded like a stampede. It was very surreal and I wasn't sure it was actually happening at first, but then I realized Kristen had been woken up by it too. I don't know where that many critters came from or where they were going, but our bedroom cieling seems to be a hot-bed of activity. Usually it's just the sound of our mice's little tiny feet running around, kind of an endearing sound. But then once or twice a night there is the sound of something larger. Something it sounds like they are moving around rodent furniture or wrestling with each other. Last night it sounded like there was a hot pursuit going on. I imagine this turf-war going on up there between the mice and the rats. Sort of a West Side Story re-enactment... with rodents. Unfortunately, I think we'll have to cancel the show pretty soon by notifying our landlord. Kind of a shame... they've gotten that "We Want To Live In America" number down pat!
-RP-
We have rodents. We noticed them not long after we moved in. When we're in the bedroom at night, we can hear pitter-patter of little feet in the cieling above us. From time to time, a little rustling, scratching, chewing. I think there's only a couple of mice, maybe a family. The dad actually infiltrated our apartment a month ago. Cute little guy, small enough to fit in a tablespoon measure. However, we've blocked all of his entrances, so he has been here for a long time. I don't mind him coming for a visit once in a while, but Kristen feels a little differently about it. The first time he came for a visit was one day when Kristen had been sitting on the couch reading. I came home a few hours later and found her tucked all the way into the couch with all the lights on in the house. "We have a mouse." Twenty minutes later he came running out of the kitchen and disappeared into a hole in the floor.
A mouse or two is OK with me. Rats are a different story. The first time we heard the noise up in the cieling was a few weeks after we moved in. We were woken up in the middle of the night by what sounded like a stampede. It was very surreal and I wasn't sure it was actually happening at first, but then I realized Kristen had been woken up by it too. I don't know where that many critters came from or where they were going, but our bedroom cieling seems to be a hot-bed of activity. Usually it's just the sound of our mice's little tiny feet running around, kind of an endearing sound. But then once or twice a night there is the sound of something larger. Something it sounds like they are moving around rodent furniture or wrestling with each other. Last night it sounded like there was a hot pursuit going on. I imagine this turf-war going on up there between the mice and the rats. Sort of a West Side Story re-enactment... with rodents. Unfortunately, I think we'll have to cancel the show pretty soon by notifying our landlord. Kind of a shame... they've gotten that "We Want To Live In America" number down pat!
-RP-
Friday, January 9
Update
We have narrowed our choice of schools down to two. Exeter and East Anglia. There was a while there when it seemed like we'd be adding two, instead of removing some. We had found a school in Reading and one in New Zealand. The one at Exeter is a European Film Studies program which focuses on the films from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain. The interesting thing is it is in the School of Modern Languages department. The program an East Anglia is also focused on European film studies, but they also have a film archive and give the option to learn film archiving as a part of the Masters program. Being a technical person, that really appeals to me. Plus, it would give me more options for work outside of the academics field.
So, as it stands right now, going back to school is our new Plan A. We are going to visit the two schools on the weekend of the 23rd and have already started the application process. Provided that we like the schools and the city they are in (and are accepted, of course), we will be going to England this September. If we don't like the schools or don't get accepted, we will go with Plan B: pursuing the "brewing thing" again by taking the brewing course in March and then... well, that's all we have right now.
Schools
We have narrowed our choice of schools down to two. Exeter and East Anglia. There was a while there when it seemed like we'd be adding two, instead of removing some. We had found a school in Reading and one in New Zealand. The one at Exeter is a European Film Studies program which focuses on the films from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain. The interesting thing is it is in the School of Modern Languages department. The program an East Anglia is also focused on European film studies, but they also have a film archive and give the option to learn film archiving as a part of the Masters program. Being a technical person, that really appeals to me. Plus, it would give me more options for work outside of the academics field.
So, as it stands right now, going back to school is our new Plan A. We are going to visit the two schools on the weekend of the 23rd and have already started the application process. Provided that we like the schools and the city they are in (and are accepted, of course), we will be going to England this September. If we don't like the schools or don't get accepted, we will go with Plan B: pursuing the "brewing thing" again by taking the brewing course in March and then... well, that's all we have right now.
Schools
Friday, January 2
My Name is Kristen and I'm a Drop Out
Rich has been urging me to come clean and let everyone know that I've dropped out of school. This is hard for me to admit because the words "drop out" seem so negative. Like I'm a big quitter. But, in this case it is true. I have quit school. Before I explain why I have taken such action, let me revisit the reasons we decided to move to Europe in the first place. Our main goal was to experience life in Europe, not as visitors but as residents. The only way I (a U.S. resident) could stay in Europe for more than three months was on a student visa. Rich is still a Danish citizen so he can live anywhere in the European Union without difficulty, but not me! The secondary reason was my desire to return to school and study something new that might give me some different career options besides working in TV and Film. Hence the decision to move to Belgium and attend the Brussels School of International Studies. I was interested in learning more about U.S. foreign policy from outside the country and figured the picture would be clearer from a European perspective. There are lots of international organizations here, like the European Economic Commission, the European Parliament, NATO, and every possible embassy. I thought there would be some good employment options, or at least some interesting internships. Seems logical, right? What I didn't anticipate were the problems I encountered within the school itself: few class choices, unavailable professors, horrible research facilities, no student groups or activities, disorganized administration and an appalling acceptance policy that admitted everyone who applied to the program regardless of qualifications. I also didn't expect to hate political science, political theory, international economy and pretty much everything to do with international relations.
When I go back in the blog archives and read my postings about the first weeks of school, I remember how doubtful I was at the beginning about whether the program was right for me. I only wrote about the things I liked and left out my concerns over the library, the faculty and my own decision to take on a whole new subject area. I kept going to classes and seminars, biting my tongue and keeping quiet. The only class that made sense to me was History of Conflict. Dr. Palo is a fantastic teacher and really made it come alive. But one good class didn't outweigh the despair I felt in the other two. Without realizing what I was doing, almost immediately after the semester began I had begun to look for ways to make it palatable: politics in movies, novels with political or economic themes, international relations in the media, etc. Finally, about six weeks ago it started to dawn on me that I really, really didn't like what I was studying. I began to question the wisdom of spending a year getting an M.A. in International Relations and then continuing on for three more years for the PhD in an area that left me completely cold unless it was sugar-coated in film or literature. Not to mention spending A LOT of money to do it. I stewed on this for about two weeks before I mentioned my feelings to Rich. As soon as I said it out loud, two things happened. The first was a huge feeling of relief. The second was knowing immediately that I needed to quit the program. This was a bit shocking because the sole reason we came to Brussels was so I could study at BSIS. If I quit, what was our motivation for staying? I vacillated back and forth between wanting to quit and talking myself into staying with it. Eventually I began to see the folly in spending such a huge amount of time and money learning things I wasn't interested in pursuing (thanks Mom) and informed the program director that I was leaving.
Once that bridge was burned, I felt so good! My attention and interest turned back to Film Studies and I feel like I'm back where I'm supposed to be. I still want to get a PhD and be a professor, but I have discovered that it has to be in the Film Studies area. Around the same time as my realization, Rich had his own (see the Nov. 30 blog entry below) and now we're both looking for PhD programs in Film Studies. We've agreed that neither of us is ready to return to the U.S., so the school search is focused on England and Scotland. More on this soon...
A whole different road than the one we started out on, but this looks pretty good.
~K
Rich has been urging me to come clean and let everyone know that I've dropped out of school. This is hard for me to admit because the words "drop out" seem so negative. Like I'm a big quitter. But, in this case it is true. I have quit school. Before I explain why I have taken such action, let me revisit the reasons we decided to move to Europe in the first place. Our main goal was to experience life in Europe, not as visitors but as residents. The only way I (a U.S. resident) could stay in Europe for more than three months was on a student visa. Rich is still a Danish citizen so he can live anywhere in the European Union without difficulty, but not me! The secondary reason was my desire to return to school and study something new that might give me some different career options besides working in TV and Film. Hence the decision to move to Belgium and attend the Brussels School of International Studies. I was interested in learning more about U.S. foreign policy from outside the country and figured the picture would be clearer from a European perspective. There are lots of international organizations here, like the European Economic Commission, the European Parliament, NATO, and every possible embassy. I thought there would be some good employment options, or at least some interesting internships. Seems logical, right? What I didn't anticipate were the problems I encountered within the school itself: few class choices, unavailable professors, horrible research facilities, no student groups or activities, disorganized administration and an appalling acceptance policy that admitted everyone who applied to the program regardless of qualifications. I also didn't expect to hate political science, political theory, international economy and pretty much everything to do with international relations.
When I go back in the blog archives and read my postings about the first weeks of school, I remember how doubtful I was at the beginning about whether the program was right for me. I only wrote about the things I liked and left out my concerns over the library, the faculty and my own decision to take on a whole new subject area. I kept going to classes and seminars, biting my tongue and keeping quiet. The only class that made sense to me was History of Conflict. Dr. Palo is a fantastic teacher and really made it come alive. But one good class didn't outweigh the despair I felt in the other two. Without realizing what I was doing, almost immediately after the semester began I had begun to look for ways to make it palatable: politics in movies, novels with political or economic themes, international relations in the media, etc. Finally, about six weeks ago it started to dawn on me that I really, really didn't like what I was studying. I began to question the wisdom of spending a year getting an M.A. in International Relations and then continuing on for three more years for the PhD in an area that left me completely cold unless it was sugar-coated in film or literature. Not to mention spending A LOT of money to do it. I stewed on this for about two weeks before I mentioned my feelings to Rich. As soon as I said it out loud, two things happened. The first was a huge feeling of relief. The second was knowing immediately that I needed to quit the program. This was a bit shocking because the sole reason we came to Brussels was so I could study at BSIS. If I quit, what was our motivation for staying? I vacillated back and forth between wanting to quit and talking myself into staying with it. Eventually I began to see the folly in spending such a huge amount of time and money learning things I wasn't interested in pursuing (thanks Mom) and informed the program director that I was leaving.
Once that bridge was burned, I felt so good! My attention and interest turned back to Film Studies and I feel like I'm back where I'm supposed to be. I still want to get a PhD and be a professor, but I have discovered that it has to be in the Film Studies area. Around the same time as my realization, Rich had his own (see the Nov. 30 blog entry below) and now we're both looking for PhD programs in Film Studies. We've agreed that neither of us is ready to return to the U.S., so the school search is focused on England and Scotland. More on this soon...
A whole different road than the one we started out on, but this looks pretty good.
~K
Thursday, January 1
Jaar Twee, null, null, vier
Another year under our belts. Now we're into an evenly divisible year. 2003 was an odd year... mathematically and metaphorically both. It was a year of...
...Waiting... for September when we would move to Belgium.
...Turmoil... working for a start-up company that went kaput.
...Corporate espionage... when we ****[confidential material]**** because it was the right thing to do.
...Relocation... three times (between three states and one European country).
...Personal growth... too much if you ask me.
...Job-hunting... knocking on many doors and ending up in something entirely different.
...Extremes... emotional, financial and environmental.
...Technical advancement... of GreenCard Brewery's technology (which is now stored in Hubbard, Oregon).
...Liberation... from many of our earthly possessions (cars, furniture, and countless other space-mongers).
...Decision-making... not just about which beer to drink before dinner, mind you.
...Sweating... try loading a U-Haul truck to the gills in the middle of an Arizona summer and you'll see what I mean.
...Change... of locales, viewpoints, careers, vocations, minds, fields of study, and on and on and on and on.
...Broadening horizons... new languages, new cultures, new experiences, new obstacles.
...Reconnecting with roots... Europe, Scandinavian languages, family.
...Making friends and aquaintances... comes with the territory when you move around so much.
Thinking back on it, I have a hard time really grasping it. So many things happened and so many things didn't happen, but it was all good. Or it will become good in the end (when we look back from farther away). The "golden" time was the months I spent in Oregon with Kristen's family. It was great to get to know them and I'm really happy about the strong connections that were made.
While a lot of good came out of 2003, I really hope 2004 is a little less "turbulent". I know we're in for a few big decisions, at least one relocation and, as Kristen pointed out last night while we chowed down on some super-delicious pitas, another 9 months of "killing time". We've both somehow ended up in a situation where we're doing something to pass the time while we wait to be able to move on with the next "phase". But this time we're in Europe, in a cute little country and we're going to try to make the most of it. After all, we need to do this while we still can. We're fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have a relatively small amount of crippling responsibility (careers, kids, etc.). Maybe that makes us selfish, but I think we're just lucky!
Happy New Year!
-RP-
Another year under our belts. Now we're into an evenly divisible year. 2003 was an odd year... mathematically and metaphorically both. It was a year of...
...Waiting... for September when we would move to Belgium.
...Turmoil... working for a start-up company that went kaput.
...Corporate espionage... when we ****[confidential material]**** because it was the right thing to do.
...Relocation... three times (between three states and one European country).
...Personal growth... too much if you ask me.
...Job-hunting... knocking on many doors and ending up in something entirely different.
...Extremes... emotional, financial and environmental.
...Technical advancement... of GreenCard Brewery's technology (which is now stored in Hubbard, Oregon).
...Liberation... from many of our earthly possessions (cars, furniture, and countless other space-mongers).
...Decision-making... not just about which beer to drink before dinner, mind you.
...Sweating... try loading a U-Haul truck to the gills in the middle of an Arizona summer and you'll see what I mean.
...Change... of locales, viewpoints, careers, vocations, minds, fields of study, and on and on and on and on.
...Broadening horizons... new languages, new cultures, new experiences, new obstacles.
...Reconnecting with roots... Europe, Scandinavian languages, family.
...Making friends and aquaintances... comes with the territory when you move around so much.
Thinking back on it, I have a hard time really grasping it. So many things happened and so many things didn't happen, but it was all good. Or it will become good in the end (when we look back from farther away). The "golden" time was the months I spent in Oregon with Kristen's family. It was great to get to know them and I'm really happy about the strong connections that were made.
While a lot of good came out of 2003, I really hope 2004 is a little less "turbulent". I know we're in for a few big decisions, at least one relocation and, as Kristen pointed out last night while we chowed down on some super-delicious pitas, another 9 months of "killing time". We've both somehow ended up in a situation where we're doing something to pass the time while we wait to be able to move on with the next "phase". But this time we're in Europe, in a cute little country and we're going to try to make the most of it. After all, we need to do this while we still can. We're fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have a relatively small amount of crippling responsibility (careers, kids, etc.). Maybe that makes us selfish, but I think we're just lucky!
Happy New Year!
-RP-
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