Day 2: July 4th

Today we got to see even more of Brussels. We started the day off with an early breakfast at the hotel. I was really happy that the coffee was so strong...after 2 and a half cups, I was ready to go! We took the subway to a nearby station and our first stop was the European Commission headquarters. There was an hour lecture from a local professor that was surprisingly really interesting. He had a great way of breaking down and explaining the complexities of the EU and had a quirky sense of humor, making it easy to pay attention. Following the lecture, our tour guide Svetlina took us to an area where there were a ton of restaurants. We ended up eating a quick meal at a small Turkish place and walked around a park where tons of people were hanging out. During this time, I got to know Svetlina and learned more about her life and plans to move to London for graduate school.

Our next appointment was at the headquarters of the European Council...NOT to be mistaken for the Council of the European Union, which I learned is a completely different entity. The titles of all the branches are very confusing but I finally started to understand how the EU operates and learned more about different policy areas such as immigration. The room where we heard a lecture about the Council was large but intimate and had a seat for each member state's representative. I sat in Denmark's seat, the country that will hold the next 6-month presidency of the Council...this is a rotating position and the current country in office is Poland.

After our visits to these appointments, we had free time to spend in Brussels. This was the best part of the day. I bought a scarf in a touristy shop and had some chocolate at one of the many chocolatiers. The name of the shop I tried today was called "Chocoholic" and I had a champagne dark chocolate, a crunchy dark chocolate and a strawberry dark chocolate. This was not enough...I had to stop myself from getting another piece, but there's always tomorrow...

I got to know my classmates really well today since we spent so much time together. We are all a lot alike and sat at an outside table to have beers near a busy area of the city. After this we went to another restaurant and had dinner then enjoyed the nightlife of Brussels for a little while. We couldn't stay out late because we have to be up for breakfast before 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. I really wish my friends and family could be here...looking forward to more adventures! Stay tuned!