Prison Break
Yeah so I’ve been stuck here in Leuven for the past week. (Wow has it been a week already?!) So far, it’s been both a pleasant and well, distressing one…
Firstly, DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO LIVE MORE THAN 24 HOURS WITHOUT THE INTERNET???? I’m not even addicted to checking Facebook and the likes but let me tell you that it’s painful. Pure torture. Which leads me to my next point about having to face the 4 walls in my student residence hall which isn’t pleasant either. I have no Wifi. I have no rights to borrow a library book from the Public Library nor my own school library. Everyday FF or Beat texts me asking what I am doing, and the common reply would be “staring at the wall”. And that is not even an exaggerated statement. I meant every single word.
Secondly, I’ve raised this point up before but Asians in Europe will forever be second-class citizens. So deal with it. Thankfully for me, in Belgium it ain’t as bad, compared to how Beat is handling it in Paris right now. Generally I have met nice people along the way. I still recall the very moment my Eurolines Coach arrived at Brussels Nord Station, I grabbed my luggage and just kept walking. They said not to make eye contact, not to stop and smile at anyone. Not to acknowledge anyone’s presence. Challenge accepted.
I would have been an A-star student… Not until I stopped to stare at a board of all their trains and buses and timetables. It was totally bewildering. Like where in the world was I supposed to be looking at first anyway? They’re just a flurry of numbers and alphabets and random Dutch and French.
“Do you need help?”
I grabbed my luggage even tighter and hugged my Herschel backpack that was in front of me. Then I turned around and saw this man in a khaki colored jacket and a mini waist-pouch. “Uhm…”, I retorted. I wanted to just walk away without saying anything but at this moment, his gaze spelt G-E-N-U-I-N-E. And I was sure I saw him come out of that ticketing office just now…
“Yes I am looking for a train to Leuven. Do you know where I can take such a train?”
“Ahh you have to go the other way. From here you walk into the train station over there (gestures me the right way). The people will sell you the tickets and they can assist you.”
Great. Could you imagine if I had shrugged this man off? I would probably have been walking around in circles a few more times before finding the train station. Then upon purchasing my GoPass 10 (which is a special ticket for students below the age of 26 to ride from Point A to Point B in Belgium at a fixed rate of 5.10 euros), I managed to catch my train within the next 15 minutes. Talk about being blessed or what!
And the next 3 hours I spent pushing my 28-inch high luggage around the cobbly streets of Leuven finding the darn Housing Service place. It was tough being weighed down by a 40L backpack and a Herschel frontpack. I walked so much and carried so much my feet were covered in blisters, the back of my shirt was soaked in sweat. Then God sent me an angel. It was a girl from America whom I forgot her name (I think it was Christina) asked if I needed help with my luggage. And I was so happy she arrived out of no where. She went on to explain how she had a similar experience in Spain before and nobody helped her. So she wouldn’t want anyone to feel that way ever. :‘) Honestly, that made me want to pay her good deed forward. So the next time I see some poor soul trying to lug some baggage along the cobbly streets of Leuven, I will remember her.
With that said, I had to sit at a random bar that did not sell any food but only had beer. Just so I could use Wifi. I had to eat a sandwich though I really wanted a hot meal for lunch yesterday. Just so I could use Wifi. But it’s alright. Because I have finally found the perfect place for me to use FREE WIFI. :’)
TAHHHDAHHHH.
With that, I am still alive and kicking. Planning for my Amsterdam and Lourdes trip with le parents. Oh gosh there are so many things I wanna do with the free internet now but I have to call it a day. Did I add that their libraries open from 12pm-6pm daily???? Europeans are too chill. They need to stahp it.
Nomz,
Cam