Goodbye London, Bonjour le Monde

I have left London, and I have made my way to Brussels, Belgium.
Fun fact: Flemish and French are the languages spoken here. Luckily I am fluent in both. Yeah that's not true. Therefore, I have hit my first place where English does not rule the streets. I have been here two hours, and I have learned two words. If I keep going at this rate, I will know 96 words by the time I leave, and that is only if I do not sleep. On average, an 18 month old baby can speak 150 words. I guess we are gonna have some young ones getting Smile Pins here in Brussels.







This was taken right before I boarded the bus in London. Immediately after the picture, I took off my I love London shirt. First of all, it does not match my head scarf. And second of all, I could not be "that girl" leaving London sporting the most touristy purchase of all.

I traveled from London to Brussels via bus.

One may ask, how do you take a bus across the English Channel?
I heard there was a tunnel...

This is my bus story: It was late, midnight, 0:00, and the bus stops. The bus driver says a little something in French, people start to stand up and stretch their legs and then shuffle off the bus. I wait for a few moments, but I am no follower, so I stand my ground. Then it is just me on an empty bus, so I leave. I walk up a huge stairwell and get into a dining area where there is a large buffet of food. It looks like I just walked into the middle of someones family dinner. By the time I had stared down each and every person eating at the large rectangular table, everyone I recognized from my bus had dispersed and was very busy and efficient with their actions. I was walking slow...just watching the commotion going on around me. This place was huge. Finally I hit a map! It's in French. I ask a married couple for some guidance! They answer in Arabic. Then, in the distance, I see the man in charge of this operation! I walk up to him and freeze, I didn't even know what to ask. Finally, words spill out, "I was on a bus." He looks at me, and points to the enormous glass windows that make up the entire perimeter of the space. I walk over, still rocking the same slow skeptical walk. I look outside and what do I see, water. I was on a boat. And then I found $20.

I did not find $20, but I did find the boat's currency exchange. I swapped out my British Pounds for Euros.

That experience, along with recent conversations I had with two friends that are from A LOT of places, have made me realize that beginning in London was a great idea because it gave me a sense of the world outside of the USA, however at the same time I spoke the language swimmingly, and that is huge. Now it is time to bump it up, and I am. I have finished chapter 1 and I have moved onto chapter two. And I title it, blue eyes scare people sometimes. My eyes have caused quite a stir. This morning when ordering coffee, the barista was telling me that my eyes look like stolen jewels that I should return? And I was responding repeatedly, yes I would like my coffee with milk and sugar. Welcome to Brussels Baby!

*I have not slept for a very long time. I think it shows.