It's hard to believe that I've been here for five weeks. I just have four more after this one.
The students at VKI (the more permanent ones) are taking a trip next week for Laucha, Germany to go soaring. My first supervisor didn't like the idea of me going and missing a week. However, my new supervisor is a lot more laid back and thinks it will be a good opportunity to meet people and have fun. So next week I'm going to be gone from work and will be soaring every day. I'm quite excited. It'll be similar to what I've been doing in the US (me and an instructor flying around), but different in that they use a winch launch. I'll post more about these things when I get back. The trip lasts from Sunday to Sunday.
Because the trip leaves Sunday, it doesn't really make sense to goto Paris this weekend. Also, no one else was really interested in going. There are some students from Paris that say they'll be driving home on a weekend soon so I think I'll go with them sometime soon.
This week has been fun. Tuesday was spent rock climbing at the gym. Wednesday we went to Brussells to watch the Turkey vs. Germany soccer match (Germany won). Thursday I worked on my landlord's bikes and then rode around. Afterwards I watched Spain vs. Russia with my roommate (Spain won). Soccer is a lot of fun to watch with other people. I'll probably goto some of the MSU games next year.
This week I've worked on creating a photo album that depicts the typical day-to-day life for me. I started when I woke up, taking pictures of the apartment, the trip to the VKI, going around work, and the night watching the soccer game. You can see the album here (with comments on the photos): http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland/DailyLife
2008-06-27
Amsterdam
Last weekend Kan and I went to Amsterdam on Saturday. We left at the crack of dawn for the first train (at 6:30). It took about 3 hours or so until we got there. We walked around the city a bit and decided to take a canal ride trip.
After the canal trip, we wandered the city some more. We went by a few sites, such as the Anne Frank house where she stayed. The prices were high and the line was extraordinarily long, so we decided that an outside view of the house was sufficient. Next we headed back to the train station to goto the nearby town of Zaandijk. No, I don't know how to properly pronounce that.
Zaandijk is an area that feels like it was built up or preserved at least just for tourists. It was still really cool to see though. It is a village with a lot of windmills and some little exhibits. There are several tourist shops around. The interesting ones were a cheese shop where they have people making cheese that you can watch. They had about 20 different types of cheese for sale, so I enjoyed having the samplers. Every one of them was good. They also had a wooden shoe making place. I tried some on and they aren't too bad.
We went back to Amsterdam, walked around, and then ate dinner. We watched the Eurocup game (Holland vs. Russia). The streets were decorated for the game and tons of fans were around all day. It was loud of packed for the game. Unfortunately Holland lost.
The red light district has these lights all around it so that's probably where it gets the name...
Okay, not really. It comes from the red lights that are lighting up the windows that the prostitutes are standing in. There "coffeeshops" (shops where you can buy small amounts of marijuna), sex shops, and bars everywhere. It was quite unreal.
Overall I'd say it was an interesting experience. It was a bit too extreme for me. Definitely worth a visit so you know what people are talking about.
All images here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland/Amsterdam
After the canal trip, we wandered the city some more. We went by a few sites, such as the Anne Frank house where she stayed. The prices were high and the line was extraordinarily long, so we decided that an outside view of the house was sufficient. Next we headed back to the train station to goto the nearby town of Zaandijk. No, I don't know how to properly pronounce that.
Zaandijk is an area that feels like it was built up or preserved at least just for tourists. It was still really cool to see though. It is a village with a lot of windmills and some little exhibits. There are several tourist shops around. The interesting ones were a cheese shop where they have people making cheese that you can watch. They had about 20 different types of cheese for sale, so I enjoyed having the samplers. Every one of them was good. They also had a wooden shoe making place. I tried some on and they aren't too bad.
We went back to Amsterdam, walked around, and then ate dinner. We watched the Eurocup game (Holland vs. Russia). The streets were decorated for the game and tons of fans were around all day. It was loud of packed for the game. Unfortunately Holland lost.
The red light district has these lights all around it so that's probably where it gets the name...
Okay, not really. It comes from the red lights that are lighting up the windows that the prostitutes are standing in. There "coffeeshops" (shops where you can buy small amounts of marijuna), sex shops, and bars everywhere. It was quite unreal.
Overall I'd say it was an interesting experience. It was a bit too extreme for me. Definitely worth a visit so you know what people are talking about.
All images here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland/Amsterdam
2008-06-20
week four
This has been a great fourth week for sure!
Sunday after returning from my mediocre weekend, I met Javier. He's my new roommate from Madrid, Spain. First impression was that he was very inquisitive about everything, trying to learn as much as he could about the VKI before starting work the following day. He is also a stagiaire in the short training program.
Monday after work we walked around the city, checking out the sites. Javier had never been. We went through some highlights like Manequin Pis and the Grand Place. We also went through the business district where they do a lot of EU business. Kan (from D.C. area) says it looks a lot like D.C., and I would have to agree.
My work project completed changed on Tuesday. The professor decided that since the part still hadn't come in from the chemical company that I should change projects to do something more useful. I am now looking at sensor data from an area to see if a power plant affects the area's temperature. It's a local warming issue. I get to study wind and the atmosphere. I will work to do mostly post-processing of the data, but at least the data is interesting to me. The answer is supposed to be "no, plant does not affect the area locally" according to my professor.
Wednesday I went into Brussels for another night of rock climbing. I think this will be a good weekly habit. It was a lot of fun once again! I looked at buying some gear (shoes and harness) so that I wouldn't have to rent while I was here. That was a fun interaction as the sales clerk didn't really speak English and my friend didn't speak French. I was able to communicate with my little knowledge of French and a lot of pointing. I didn't like any of the gear they had, so I'll be renting for the summer :-).
Thursday was spent fixing my landlord's bicycle. He told me if I fixed it I could use it. So I fixed it!
I really like my landlord. He really likes America and Americans. He is appreciative for what we did for his family during WW2. He loves American WW2 memorabilia and has lots of things in his collection. I asked him where I could buy stamps to mail some postcards. He offered to pick some up for me, and gave them to me as a thanks for fixing the bikes.
This weekend: Amsterdam / The Netherlands!
My original plan was to leave after work and goto Den Haag, but no one else was up for going. My mediocre Luxembourg trip was partially due to going alone. Also, I'm more interested in meeting people and interacting with them than I am to see a new place and check it off a list. My roommate is staying in town this weekend, so I am going to go to Brussels with him tonight.
Tomorrow I'm getting up first thing and going to Amsterdam! Woo, I'm excited :-)
Sunday after returning from my mediocre weekend, I met Javier. He's my new roommate from Madrid, Spain. First impression was that he was very inquisitive about everything, trying to learn as much as he could about the VKI before starting work the following day. He is also a stagiaire in the short training program.
Monday after work we walked around the city, checking out the sites. Javier had never been. We went through some highlights like Manequin Pis and the Grand Place. We also went through the business district where they do a lot of EU business. Kan (from D.C. area) says it looks a lot like D.C., and I would have to agree.
My work project completed changed on Tuesday. The professor decided that since the part still hadn't come in from the chemical company that I should change projects to do something more useful. I am now looking at sensor data from an area to see if a power plant affects the area's temperature. It's a local warming issue. I get to study wind and the atmosphere. I will work to do mostly post-processing of the data, but at least the data is interesting to me. The answer is supposed to be "no, plant does not affect the area locally" according to my professor.
Wednesday I went into Brussels for another night of rock climbing. I think this will be a good weekly habit. It was a lot of fun once again! I looked at buying some gear (shoes and harness) so that I wouldn't have to rent while I was here. That was a fun interaction as the sales clerk didn't really speak English and my friend didn't speak French. I was able to communicate with my little knowledge of French and a lot of pointing. I didn't like any of the gear they had, so I'll be renting for the summer :-).
Thursday was spent fixing my landlord's bicycle. He told me if I fixed it I could use it. So I fixed it!
I really like my landlord. He really likes America and Americans. He is appreciative for what we did for his family during WW2. He loves American WW2 memorabilia and has lots of things in his collection. I asked him where I could buy stamps to mail some postcards. He offered to pick some up for me, and gave them to me as a thanks for fixing the bikes.
This weekend: Amsterdam / The Netherlands!
My original plan was to leave after work and goto Den Haag, but no one else was up for going. My mediocre Luxembourg trip was partially due to going alone. Also, I'm more interested in meeting people and interacting with them than I am to see a new place and check it off a list. My roommate is staying in town this weekend, so I am going to go to Brussels with him tonight.
Tomorrow I'm getting up first thing and going to Amsterdam! Woo, I'm excited :-)
2008-06-19
namur and luxembourg
Last weekend I went to Luxembourg as planned. The hostels were full in Luxembourg, and I wanted to see more of southern Belgium, so I first went to Namur, Belgium.
I got there Saturday and explored the city. It was an important one for various historical reasons. It sits on the edge of two rivers, and has a large citadel. It was a powerful city.
There wasn't too much going on in Namur, but it was an interesting city to walk around. I went through the streets and walked all of the paths around the citadel. I went to sleep and got up early for the train to Luxembourg on Sunday.
Luxembourg City really didn't have too much to offer. I walked around and explored the city. It was fun seeing it, but I wouldn't really recommend going there.
Pictures from my trip are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland/NamurAndLuxembourg
I got there Saturday and explored the city. It was an important one for various historical reasons. It sits on the edge of two rivers, and has a large citadel. It was a powerful city.
There wasn't too much going on in Namur, but it was an interesting city to walk around. I went through the streets and walked all of the paths around the citadel. I went to sleep and got up early for the train to Luxembourg on Sunday.
Luxembourg City really didn't have too much to offer. I walked around and explored the city. It was fun seeing it, but I wouldn't really recommend going there.
Pictures from my trip are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland/NamurAndLuxembourg
2008-06-13
week three
This past week nothing too much new has happened. We are waiting on a part before the experimental work can start for my project. It has been really cold here. I didn't realize how far north I was.
Buying produce at the grocery store this week was interesting. I got in trouble for getting my own produce. Apparently they're supposed to get it for you, and they didn't like when I bagged my own potatoes and was weighing them for a label. A bit odd I think.
I had been wanting to go to one of the rock climbing gyms in Brussels. I found some people here at the VKI that go once or twice a week, so I went with them Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and a really good workout. It is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) rock gym in the world. It started in 1987. It was a bit crowded, but a lot of fun and very challenging.
I've got a rough idea of my future weekends:
june 13 - luxembourg
june 20 - amsterdam
june 27 (3 day weekend) - paris
july 4 - vki soaring trip
july 11 (bastille day weekend) - paris
july 18 (3 day weekend) - cologne
I will leave the following weekend (july 25 is my last day). I'm not sure where I will go exactly (I'm thinking about Spain or Greece). Spend a few days wherever, and then fly to Greenbay, WI where I will take a shuttle to Oshkosh for the EAA airventure show. The world's largest airshow.
Buying produce at the grocery store this week was interesting. I got in trouble for getting my own produce. Apparently they're supposed to get it for you, and they didn't like when I bagged my own potatoes and was weighing them for a label. A bit odd I think.
I had been wanting to go to one of the rock climbing gyms in Brussels. I found some people here at the VKI that go once or twice a week, so I went with them Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and a really good workout. It is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) rock gym in the world. It started in 1987. It was a bit crowded, but a lot of fun and very challenging.
I've got a rough idea of my future weekends:
june 13 - luxembourg
june 20 - amsterdam
june 27 (3 day weekend) - paris
july 4 - vki soaring trip
july 11 (bastille day weekend) - paris
july 18 (3 day weekend) - cologne
I will leave the following weekend (july 25 is my last day). I'm not sure where I will go exactly (I'm thinking about Spain or Greece). Spend a few days wherever, and then fly to Greenbay, WI where I will take a shuttle to Oshkosh for the EAA airventure show. The world's largest airshow.
Ghent and Bruges
Last weekend was a lot of fun! Vagelis (the Greek Stagiaire), Kan (other American), and I went to Ghent and Bruges. We had a lot of fun! Picture gallery here.
Kan (left) and Vagelis (right)
We got to Ghent Friday after work. We wandered around in the rain and explored the city a bit. It was one of the richest cities during the middle ages.
We went to an authentic frietkoten (fries barracks) for some Belgian fries. The popular way in Belgian means putting mayonaise on them, so I had to try it at least once. The mayonaise is better then American mayonaise, but I still think I might stick to ketchup. The fries themselves were amazing though!
The scenic picture showing Ghent:
We went to a restaurant that claims to have invented the Belgian waffle. They served it the authentic way, square with a bit of powdered sugar on top. It was good, but I think I prefer the American way of doing things.
Saturday we left for Bruges. After putting our stuff in the hostel, we headed out for dinner where we met two Australian girls who were a lot of fun!
We walked around Bruges on Sunday. Their belfry was really cool with good views. We got up there at noon as they were playing a song, so it was cool to see the bells being hit.
After walking around Bruges for a while, we took the train north to Ostend unplanned. We knew it was very close and I wanted to see it. Ostend is a big city on the North Sea.
Me and the North Sea.
No one was swimming, but it was a bit cold.
All in all it was a great weekend!
Kan (left) and Vagelis (right)
We got to Ghent Friday after work. We wandered around in the rain and explored the city a bit. It was one of the richest cities during the middle ages.
We went to an authentic frietkoten (fries barracks) for some Belgian fries. The popular way in Belgian means putting mayonaise on them, so I had to try it at least once. The mayonaise is better then American mayonaise, but I still think I might stick to ketchup. The fries themselves were amazing though!
The scenic picture showing Ghent:
We went to a restaurant that claims to have invented the Belgian waffle. They served it the authentic way, square with a bit of powdered sugar on top. It was good, but I think I prefer the American way of doing things.
Saturday we left for Bruges. After putting our stuff in the hostel, we headed out for dinner where we met two Australian girls who were a lot of fun!
We walked around Bruges on Sunday. Their belfry was really cool with good views. We got up there at noon as they were playing a song, so it was cool to see the bells being hit.
After walking around Bruges for a while, we took the train north to Ostend unplanned. We knew it was very close and I wanted to see it. Ostend is a big city on the North Sea.
Me and the North Sea.
No one was swimming, but it was a bit cold.
All in all it was a great weekend!
2008-06-12
lots of photos
Thanks to google and their picasa and its onine web albums, my photos are now online!
You can view them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland
And some more highlights:
Florence:
Pisa:
Milan:
Lake Como:
Cinque Terre:
Brussels:
I hope you guys enjoy!
You can view them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wcleveland
And some more highlights:
Florence:
View from the Florence Cathedral's Roof
Pisa:
Milan:
Weird Building (viewed from Milan cathedral)
Lake Como:
Cinque Terre:
Beautiful beach shot with great friends! (Addie, Laura Beth, Caitlin)
From the boat ride (In the background you can see Manarola, the city where we stayed)
Brussels:
I hope you guys enjoy!
2008-06-05
bicyles and weekend plans
There is an old bike at work that has been sitting there for the past 2 weeks. I asked another stagiaire who said we could use it. I brought it home with me today, or rather rode it home. The tires were a bit flat and the brakes were very loose. I asked my landlord if he had a pump that I might fix the tires a bit which he did have. He also showed me his families bikes which he said I was free to use, if I fixed them up :-).
I spent the rest of the night with his tools first fixing the bike I rode in from the VKI and then working on his bikes. The oldest one (from like 1950 or something) is also fixed and in working order now. Nothing too much wrong with it. However the bike has to be continously pedalled (even when braking), or else the chain comes off. Its a problem with the derailer I guess, or it's the older style. It got late as I was fixing the second of his bikes, and he had a broken part on the brake that I wasn't quite able to repair or fix, so the brakes are worthless for now. I had a lot of fun this evening doing that. Man I miss Douglas's bike expertise though.
Both of his bikes had a contraption on them that I hadn't seen which is pretty cool to me. It was a little device that spins (a generator) when the bike is moving and powers a headlight and taillight for the bike.
My other option for the night had he not had a bike pump or tools was to go into Brussels to on of the rock climbing gym. I'll probably do that one day next week.
Weekend plans!!
Tomorrow (Friday) Kan and I will be in Flanders (the Flemish region), this weekend. First we goto Ghent after work. We are staying in a hostel there. We will stay in Ghent for most of Saturday and then take the train to Bruges. We stay in a hostel in Bruges and will return on Sunday.
I spent the rest of the night with his tools first fixing the bike I rode in from the VKI and then working on his bikes. The oldest one (from like 1950 or something) is also fixed and in working order now. Nothing too much wrong with it. However the bike has to be continously pedalled (even when braking), or else the chain comes off. Its a problem with the derailer I guess, or it's the older style. It got late as I was fixing the second of his bikes, and he had a broken part on the brake that I wasn't quite able to repair or fix, so the brakes are worthless for now. I had a lot of fun this evening doing that. Man I miss Douglas's bike expertise though.
Both of his bikes had a contraption on them that I hadn't seen which is pretty cool to me. It was a little device that spins (a generator) when the bike is moving and powers a headlight and taillight for the bike.
My other option for the night had he not had a bike pump or tools was to go into Brussels to on of the rock climbing gym. I'll probably do that one day next week.
Weekend plans!!
Tomorrow (Friday) Kan and I will be in Flanders (the Flemish region), this weekend. First we goto Ghent after work. We are staying in a hostel there. We will stay in Ghent for most of Saturday and then take the train to Bruges. We stay in a hostel in Bruges and will return on Sunday.
2008-06-04
pictures!
okay, partial picture update as promised!
going in chronological order in italy:
Venice:
View from Rialto Bridge
Gondola Ride
Rome:
Vatican City:
The Pope! (Picture taken zoomed in and through binoculars)
going in chronological order in italy:
Venice:
View from Rialto Bridge
Gondola Ride
Verona:
Arena
Football Game
The Coliseum
About to make a quick getaway
da Vinci Exhibit
Vatican City:
Huge Assembled Crowd
The Pope! (Picture taken zoomed in and through binoculars)
Inside St. Peter's Basilica
From the roof of St. Peter's Basilica
More to come soon!
2008-06-03
one week in belgium
Sorry for my delay in updating, I'll try to be more diligent in the future.
Last Wednesday I met with my supervisor finally. She thought I was arriving the following week and apologized for the miscommunication. She explained my project to be basically optimizing a liquid-liquid extractor. It turns out that's really more of a chemical engineering job, but it should be interesting. I've spent the last week reading up on the process (or trying to at least) and some various background information.
Thursday was my first time to go into Brussels proper. Kan, the other American, and I took the bus into town. He was familiar with the area from his previous week, and played tour guide for me. He showed me the main square, Grand Place, and the nearby Manneken Pis, the icon of the area, or so it seems. Finally we met up with a friend at the movie theatre and watched the new Indiana Jones. Entertaining, but a bit over the top.
Finally we take the tram back to the train station. The tram, however, is much much slower than the subway. We get there about 15 minutes after the last train back to Rhode-St-Genese (town where we are staying). Getting off the tram we run into two boys about our age who appeared to be asking for a lighter for their cigarette, but they are speaking quickly words I can't understand and trying to distract my eyes with their hands: definitely pickpockets. I watch him and tell him to leave and I come out okay, Kan tries the same but realizes later he lost his subway ticket (with 2 rides left on it). Not a bad run-in with pick-pockets, but these weren't very good ones mind you.
So we're at the station after the last train and we have to call a taxi. Quite an expensive way to get back into town, but it beats staying at the train station until 6am for the first train or bus.
My next adventure begins Saturday morning. Kan and I head into Brussels again to explore the city. (He keeps a decent blog, with many more pictures. His post from this venture here. - My pictures are coming soon I hope.) We wander through central brussels with stops such as The Koningsplein, an area resembling an open-air, indoor mall, The Cathedrale St. Michel, a museum of Belgian history. The museum is less informative than I would like, as they are trying to serve speakers of French, Flemish(Dutch), English and German. Quite a difficult ordeal, so overall it's mildly helpful. I'm not so sure they have that extensive of a history anyways.
We head to the site of the 1958 Expo for its attraction: the Atomium. I go up into it and get a great vantage of the city. Finally we end the day by wandering the city somewhat at random and then heading back home.
Sunday I sleep in until noonish. I get a call from Kan asking if I am interested in Waterloo. It was on my list of places, so I'm definitely up for it. Waterloo is the closest place to Rhode-St-Genese. Just 2 miles or so, and is where I rollerbladed to for the acquisition of a cell phone.
We take the train to a stop just beyond waterloo to get to the site of the Battle of Waterloo, the famous one you hear about that stopped Napoleon. Erected there is the Butte du Lion, a tribute to the soldiers lost. After seeing just about everything that the site had to offer (lots of little exhibits, movies, etc that isn't really worth the money), we head into Waterloo proper. There isn't really much there, but we wander around a bit before catching the train and calling it a night.
The movies shown at the Battle of Waterloo exhbit make me realize how much of a problem it is with these multiple languages. The movie tried to convey the ideas of the battle almost completely without words. Quite a feat really, but it just left me confused mostly. I wanted a narrator the whole time.
Not too much to report from work. I'm understanding things better. The book is putting me to sleep a little bit less. I've found out there is a rock climbing gym in Brussels so I think I might go one night for fun and exercise. Waking up and exercising in the morning has begun to prove unsuccessful. Even if the sun rises at 5h30, it's hard for me to motivate myself to be up any earlier than I have to be for work.
Last Wednesday I met with my supervisor finally. She thought I was arriving the following week and apologized for the miscommunication. She explained my project to be basically optimizing a liquid-liquid extractor. It turns out that's really more of a chemical engineering job, but it should be interesting. I've spent the last week reading up on the process (or trying to at least) and some various background information.
Thursday was my first time to go into Brussels proper. Kan, the other American, and I took the bus into town. He was familiar with the area from his previous week, and played tour guide for me. He showed me the main square, Grand Place, and the nearby Manneken Pis, the icon of the area, or so it seems. Finally we met up with a friend at the movie theatre and watched the new Indiana Jones. Entertaining, but a bit over the top.
Finally we take the tram back to the train station. The tram, however, is much much slower than the subway. We get there about 15 minutes after the last train back to Rhode-St-Genese (town where we are staying). Getting off the tram we run into two boys about our age who appeared to be asking for a lighter for their cigarette, but they are speaking quickly words I can't understand and trying to distract my eyes with their hands: definitely pickpockets. I watch him and tell him to leave and I come out okay, Kan tries the same but realizes later he lost his subway ticket (with 2 rides left on it). Not a bad run-in with pick-pockets, but these weren't very good ones mind you.
So we're at the station after the last train and we have to call a taxi. Quite an expensive way to get back into town, but it beats staying at the train station until 6am for the first train or bus.
My next adventure begins Saturday morning. Kan and I head into Brussels again to explore the city. (He keeps a decent blog, with many more pictures. His post from this venture here. - My pictures are coming soon I hope.) We wander through central brussels with stops such as The Koningsplein, an area resembling an open-air, indoor mall, The Cathedrale St. Michel, a museum of Belgian history. The museum is less informative than I would like, as they are trying to serve speakers of French, Flemish(Dutch), English and German. Quite a difficult ordeal, so overall it's mildly helpful. I'm not so sure they have that extensive of a history anyways.
We head to the site of the 1958 Expo for its attraction: the Atomium. I go up into it and get a great vantage of the city. Finally we end the day by wandering the city somewhat at random and then heading back home.
Sunday I sleep in until noonish. I get a call from Kan asking if I am interested in Waterloo. It was on my list of places, so I'm definitely up for it. Waterloo is the closest place to Rhode-St-Genese. Just 2 miles or so, and is where I rollerbladed to for the acquisition of a cell phone.
We take the train to a stop just beyond waterloo to get to the site of the Battle of Waterloo, the famous one you hear about that stopped Napoleon. Erected there is the Butte du Lion, a tribute to the soldiers lost. After seeing just about everything that the site had to offer (lots of little exhibits, movies, etc that isn't really worth the money), we head into Waterloo proper. There isn't really much there, but we wander around a bit before catching the train and calling it a night.
The movies shown at the Battle of Waterloo exhbit make me realize how much of a problem it is with these multiple languages. The movie tried to convey the ideas of the battle almost completely without words. Quite a feat really, but it just left me confused mostly. I wanted a narrator the whole time.
Not too much to report from work. I'm understanding things better. The book is putting me to sleep a little bit less. I've found out there is a rock climbing gym in Brussels so I think I might go one night for fun and exercise. Waking up and exercising in the morning has begun to prove unsuccessful. Even if the sun rises at 5h30, it's hard for me to motivate myself to be up any earlier than I have to be for work.
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