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Four days in, and I remain filled with delight and excitement, although it must be admitted that there have been a few of the usual minor challenges you tend to get when moving into a new abode. The first of those was of my own making - namely that I rather foolishly ordered my big IKEA delivery to the entrance hall, and then had to lug somewhat over a quarter of a ton of furniture and sundries up to the fourth floor. In time I will appreciate the lovely high ceilings in this building, but for a while I was resenting every extra inch.
Another problem was also linked to the IKEA delivery, but much less my fault. There was a mix up and I received someone else's order along with my own, and just to make things more complicated, that order included pillows and bedlinen which were identical to things that I had ordered, and a couple of other things that were very similar and thus got opened by mistake. Which meant that when another delivery person came back to collect it the next day, before I'd finished opening all of the boxes and realised that I had extra copies of some things, there were some things missing and he got very arsey about it, and basically seemed to be implying that I was trying to steal from IKEA. Arguing about this in my second language quite stressful, but he eventually went away, taking the things that I had brought down. I found the rest of the things later that evening, and someone else came to collect them the following day, and was much nicer, so it's all sorted now.
The third problem, which was not my fault at all, is that the electricity in my flat had been turned off, and getting it turned back on again is taking a few days. The control panel for the boiler requires electricity to work, so as well as no lights at night, and needing to go to a café to charge my devices, I've been enjoying cold showers for the last few days. Fortunately someone is coming later this morning to do some tests, after which I believe it will be turned on, and there are no words for how much my aching muscles are going to enjoy standing under hot water.
Despite these moderate inconveniences, I'm very much enjoying getting settled in. I have constructed a bed, a sofa, a dining table, and some chairs, so it's getting reasonably comfortable. The bed for the spare room can wait until I'm expecting a guest, or at least until I'm a bit less achey, and have cleared out some of the giant pile of cardboard currently taking up space in that room. And now that I've got a better idea of the layout of the rooms I've picked out a desk and a bit more furniture for storage, but this time I shall check the weight and volume carefully before deciding whether to pay someone else to bring it upstairs for me. And the flat is lovely - loads of light, and I mentioned the high ceilings already, and probably more space than one person really needs, but it means I can host people in comfort, and that's pretty important to me. And in recompense for all the stairs, being on the top floor has the advantage that I don't have anyone clomping around on my ceiling.
On Wednesday I went over to Leuven to have my previous degree certificates checked, which means I'm now officially registered as a student. I've picked out my courses for the first year, and generated my timeable, although it won't be completely finalised for a couple of weeks. It looks fairly busy - 22 hours/week of contact time in the first semester, and 19 hours/week in the second. On the plus side, not too many 9am starts, although I was somewhat surprised to see that on a couple of days I've got classes that run until 8pm.
I'm starting to get to know the area a bit. I'm very close to "Docks Bruxsel", a shopping centre with a bunch of mid-range eateries, a cinema, and various shops, including an inexpensive homeware place which has already proved quite useful, and will no doubt continue to do so as the settling in progresses. I'm also beginning to get used to cycling on the right (wrong) side of the road, although it may take a bit longer before it's completely natural. I'm not sure I've entirely understood what the rules are about right of way, and although erring on the side of caution tends to be less likely to lead to horrible accidents, it can cause annoyance, so I should probably get that figured out asap.
I've been to my new church a couple of times, and although I haven't spoken to anyone yet (people tend to be heading straight to work after weekday mass, rather than stopping to chat, so this isn't surprising), I'm very much enjoying the experience of just being in church to worship and not having any responsibilities. On the way out the first time I paused to peruse some of the leaflets in the foyer and found a card with the liturgy of the mass amongst them, which is handy, because although the words have the same meaning as the roman rite in English which I basically know by heart, it's difficult to guess exactly how they'll be translated. There was also information about various lectures and courses and formation opportunites, which I shall be looking at with interest (although not committing to anything until I've settled into my university studies). One of the courses available was in giving spiritual direction, which obviously I don't need, but gives me a contact to follow up with if I want to look for new directees here, once I feel confident that my French is up to the job.
I am feeling on the one hand, very glad that I gave myself a decent amount of time between arriving and the course starting, because there is still rather a lot of admin to get on top of that it wouldn't have been possible to start from London, and on the other hand desperately impatient for classes to start.
Another problem was also linked to the IKEA delivery, but much less my fault. There was a mix up and I received someone else's order along with my own, and just to make things more complicated, that order included pillows and bedlinen which were identical to things that I had ordered, and a couple of other things that were very similar and thus got opened by mistake. Which meant that when another delivery person came back to collect it the next day, before I'd finished opening all of the boxes and realised that I had extra copies of some things, there were some things missing and he got very arsey about it, and basically seemed to be implying that I was trying to steal from IKEA. Arguing about this in my second language quite stressful, but he eventually went away, taking the things that I had brought down. I found the rest of the things later that evening, and someone else came to collect them the following day, and was much nicer, so it's all sorted now.
The third problem, which was not my fault at all, is that the electricity in my flat had been turned off, and getting it turned back on again is taking a few days. The control panel for the boiler requires electricity to work, so as well as no lights at night, and needing to go to a café to charge my devices, I've been enjoying cold showers for the last few days. Fortunately someone is coming later this morning to do some tests, after which I believe it will be turned on, and there are no words for how much my aching muscles are going to enjoy standing under hot water.
Despite these moderate inconveniences, I'm very much enjoying getting settled in. I have constructed a bed, a sofa, a dining table, and some chairs, so it's getting reasonably comfortable. The bed for the spare room can wait until I'm expecting a guest, or at least until I'm a bit less achey, and have cleared out some of the giant pile of cardboard currently taking up space in that room. And now that I've got a better idea of the layout of the rooms I've picked out a desk and a bit more furniture for storage, but this time I shall check the weight and volume carefully before deciding whether to pay someone else to bring it upstairs for me. And the flat is lovely - loads of light, and I mentioned the high ceilings already, and probably more space than one person really needs, but it means I can host people in comfort, and that's pretty important to me. And in recompense for all the stairs, being on the top floor has the advantage that I don't have anyone clomping around on my ceiling.
On Wednesday I went over to Leuven to have my previous degree certificates checked, which means I'm now officially registered as a student. I've picked out my courses for the first year, and generated my timeable, although it won't be completely finalised for a couple of weeks. It looks fairly busy - 22 hours/week of contact time in the first semester, and 19 hours/week in the second. On the plus side, not too many 9am starts, although I was somewhat surprised to see that on a couple of days I've got classes that run until 8pm.
I'm starting to get to know the area a bit. I'm very close to "Docks Bruxsel", a shopping centre with a bunch of mid-range eateries, a cinema, and various shops, including an inexpensive homeware place which has already proved quite useful, and will no doubt continue to do so as the settling in progresses. I'm also beginning to get used to cycling on the right (wrong) side of the road, although it may take a bit longer before it's completely natural. I'm not sure I've entirely understood what the rules are about right of way, and although erring on the side of caution tends to be less likely to lead to horrible accidents, it can cause annoyance, so I should probably get that figured out asap.
I've been to my new church a couple of times, and although I haven't spoken to anyone yet (people tend to be heading straight to work after weekday mass, rather than stopping to chat, so this isn't surprising), I'm very much enjoying the experience of just being in church to worship and not having any responsibilities. On the way out the first time I paused to peruse some of the leaflets in the foyer and found a card with the liturgy of the mass amongst them, which is handy, because although the words have the same meaning as the roman rite in English which I basically know by heart, it's difficult to guess exactly how they'll be translated. There was also information about various lectures and courses and formation opportunites, which I shall be looking at with interest (although not committing to anything until I've settled into my university studies). One of the courses available was in giving spiritual direction, which obviously I don't need, but gives me a contact to follow up with if I want to look for new directees here, once I feel confident that my French is up to the job.
I am feeling on the one hand, very glad that I gave myself a decent amount of time between arriving and the course starting, because there is still rather a lot of admin to get on top of that it wouldn't have been possible to start from London, and on the other hand desperately impatient for classes to start.
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Date: 2024-09-06 08:46 am (UTC)From:no subject
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Date: 2024-09-08 08:06 am (UTC)From:New flat sounds lovely. If you feel like sharing pictures at some point, I'd love to see them!
I'm a bit envious of your Starting A Degree moment. Hope your electricity gets connected without further delay!
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Date: 2024-09-08 10:26 am (UTC)From:I will wait until I've got the rest of the furniture delivered and assembled, and then take some photos. It really is lovely; it feels a bit like the suite in some ways. I think some people might find the white walls and parquet flooring throughout a bit soulless, but to me it just feels like a blank page full of potential.