After being asked many times and unfairly denying those of you who are curious a photographic glimpse into Brussels, I have finally gotten my act together and come up with a way for you to see some of the pictures I have taken. I have been having a very difficult time uploading them directly to the blog, and not all of you are unwise enough to get a time-wasting Facebook account, so instead I have taken a hint from my artistically-inclined Theisen uncles who specialize in photography and created a Shutterfly page.
Hopefully, you should all be able to go to the following webpage and view slideshows of a majority of the pictures I have taken here:
http://saulinbrussels.shutterfly.com/
You should not have to sign in or sign up for anything. You may have to search around a little bit, but there should be 3 albums, one for Brussels and Bruges, one for Delft and the Hague, and one for Waterloo and Villers-la-Ville.
A quick note: you must know a few things about me and photographs. 1. I am terrible at taking them, and you will notice that I do not appear in any of them. I just take pictures of what I see. 2. I have done a fairly poor job of capturing in photographs everything I've seen. For example, I have not yet taken pictures of many beautiful sites in Brussels. Trust me, those will come eventually, but you will have to patiently wait until I can be motivated enough to bring my camera. 3. I tried writing captions below many of the pictures, but in the slideshow many of them get cut off, so for a couple of the albums there are no captions. If you have questions about what you're looking at, don't hesitate to ask!
I hope you are all able to access the site and view the pictures without too much of a hassle. I'm sorry that the blog didn't work for putting them up, but hopefully this works just as well. Let me know if you have any problems/questions/angry complaints about my photography skills!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Hague and Delft
Yesterday we voyaged to the nearby Netherlands for a long but amazing day. In the morning we went to The Hague, home of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. I will spare most of the details, but essentially, the tribunal is set up by the United Nations (there are similar ones for Rwanda, East Timor, Cambodia) in order to put on trial those individuals who are allegedly responsible for causing mass terror and destruction in areas where conflict recently occurred. In the case of the tribunal we visited, the UN is in the process of trying 161 individuals who have been indicted for committing crimes against humanity (this can be mass killings, torture, mass deportations, destruction of cities and property, etc.)
We were fortunate enough to be able to observe part of one of these trials. When we first arrived, we were sent to a conference room where we received a one-hour briefing on the case from an advisor to the main prosecutor. After that, we were allowed to sit in the gallery and watch the trial proceed for about an hour and a half. The particular trial we saw was that of Ante Gotovina, a former commander of the Croatian army who is accused of ordering a military offensive that killed hundreds of innocent civilians in Bosnia. For this particular trial there is only one observatory room, in which we were allowed to sit, separated from the trial by only a glass panel. It a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe such a trial, and it was rather fascinating not only to see how it was conducted, but also to observe someone on trial for such a grave offense and only be separated from him by a glass panel.
In the afternoon we went to an art museum in The Hague called the Mauritshuis which is home to many famous Rembrandt paintings, as well as the famous Vermeer painting "The Girl With A Pearl Earring," from which a book and movie have been produced. I'm usually not one for art museums, but they actually had a pretty fascinating collection and we received a tour from someone who actually had a tad bit of public speaking skills, so it was worthwhile.
After that we went a short distance to Delft, a small, quaint town about a half hour away from The Hague. There we explored its canals and cool little streets, as well as walking through the main church in the city square that is the burial place of Hugo Grotius, the man credited with establishing international law, and William of Orange, a former king of the Netherlands. The town is nothing special, but it gave us a taste of rural Netherlands and was a beautiful place to walk around.
Although it was an extremely long day (gone from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) it was a cool experience and the only trip I have planned to the wonderful country of the Netherlands, so I enjoyed it. It's not every day that you get to sit in on an international war crimes tribunal!
We were fortunate enough to be able to observe part of one of these trials. When we first arrived, we were sent to a conference room where we received a one-hour briefing on the case from an advisor to the main prosecutor. After that, we were allowed to sit in the gallery and watch the trial proceed for about an hour and a half. The particular trial we saw was that of Ante Gotovina, a former commander of the Croatian army who is accused of ordering a military offensive that killed hundreds of innocent civilians in Bosnia. For this particular trial there is only one observatory room, in which we were allowed to sit, separated from the trial by only a glass panel. It a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe such a trial, and it was rather fascinating not only to see how it was conducted, but also to observe someone on trial for such a grave offense and only be separated from him by a glass panel.
In the afternoon we went to an art museum in The Hague called the Mauritshuis which is home to many famous Rembrandt paintings, as well as the famous Vermeer painting "The Girl With A Pearl Earring," from which a book and movie have been produced. I'm usually not one for art museums, but they actually had a pretty fascinating collection and we received a tour from someone who actually had a tad bit of public speaking skills, so it was worthwhile.
After that we went a short distance to Delft, a small, quaint town about a half hour away from The Hague. There we explored its canals and cool little streets, as well as walking through the main church in the city square that is the burial place of Hugo Grotius, the man credited with establishing international law, and William of Orange, a former king of the Netherlands. The town is nothing special, but it gave us a taste of rural Netherlands and was a beautiful place to walk around.
Although it was an extremely long day (gone from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) it was a cool experience and the only trip I have planned to the wonderful country of the Netherlands, so I enjoyed it. It's not every day that you get to sit in on an international war crimes tribunal!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
No More Stitches
Today I got the rest of the stitches taken out of my hands, a little over 10 days after I accidentally cut them. The stitches from my right hand were removed on Monday, but the ones in my left hand remained there until today. They are still not 100% healed, but they have improved to the point where stitches are no longer necessary, and I just wear a small bandage on my left hand. This means it is much easier for me to do things (like typing, taking a shower, etc.) than it has been for the last couple of weeks.
While this whole injury has been quite the hassle, there are two things about the healthcare system here that are awesome: it's extremely affordable, and they pay a lot of attention to you. Thanks to the fact that citizens of Brussels pay upwards of 50% of their income toward taxes, all of my treatment (which included an ambulance ride, an ER visit, a prescription, and 8 follow-up appointments to switch the bandages every day) cost under 150 euro. While this is no small chunk of change, a comprable bill in the U.S. would be much more, particularly if you did not hold U.S. health insurance. In addition, as I just mentioned, the doctors wanted me to come back every day to monitor the cut and to change the bandage, which is also a procedure that would probably not happen in the U.S.
Other than the excitement surrounding my hand, there is not a whole lot else new here. I've finally settled into a groove, going to classes and getting to know my way around the city. I'm having a great time learning different things about Belgian society, and I have learned how to not look so completely lost and give off the appearance that I'm possibly Belgian (as evidenced by how many people ask me for directions in French). I'm treasuring the next couple of weekends where I do not have much planned, because starting in October I will almost literally be going somewhere different every weekend until I leave.
While this whole injury has been quite the hassle, there are two things about the healthcare system here that are awesome: it's extremely affordable, and they pay a lot of attention to you. Thanks to the fact that citizens of Brussels pay upwards of 50% of their income toward taxes, all of my treatment (which included an ambulance ride, an ER visit, a prescription, and 8 follow-up appointments to switch the bandages every day) cost under 150 euro. While this is no small chunk of change, a comprable bill in the U.S. would be much more, particularly if you did not hold U.S. health insurance. In addition, as I just mentioned, the doctors wanted me to come back every day to monitor the cut and to change the bandage, which is also a procedure that would probably not happen in the U.S.
Other than the excitement surrounding my hand, there is not a whole lot else new here. I've finally settled into a groove, going to classes and getting to know my way around the city. I'm having a great time learning different things about Belgian society, and I have learned how to not look so completely lost and give off the appearance that I'm possibly Belgian (as evidenced by how many people ask me for directions in French). I'm treasuring the next couple of weekends where I do not have much planned, because starting in October I will almost literally be going somewhere different every weekend until I leave.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
NATO Headquarters
Today we went as a group to the headquarters of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, located in Brussels. For those who don't know, NATO is a military alliance consisting of 26 European countries, Canada and the U.S., bound by a treaty that essentially says that an attack on any member country is an attack on all of them. It was originally founded in 1949 in response to a perceived threat in Europe from the former USSR, and has continued in operation today by sending troops to places like Kosovo, Afghanistan, and most recently to the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia to combat piracy. Thus, the organization is quite powerful in international politics and so as a political science major it was insanely cool to be able to visit its main headquarters.
Upon entering NATO headquarters, your passport is checked, all electronics are confiscated until you exit, and you may not bring in any baggage...picture going through airport security. While we were there we received two presentations: one from a diplomat who focuses on the relationship between Scandinavia and the U.S., and another from an official from the U.S. mission to NATO. Although both presenters used a lot of jargon and did an amazing job of not really answering any of our questions (quite common for political spokespersons), it was fascinating to sit in a conference room in NATO and hear these fairly high-ranking officials give us their schpiel. In addition, hearing someone speak from the NATO perspective and and someone speak from the U.S. perspective was an interesting contrast because they were not entirely on the same page, despite the fact that the U.S. contributes more military assistance to NATO than any other member nation.
After our presentations, we got to eat lunch in the NATO cafeteria, which not only had gourmet food but provided us an opportunity to literally sit amongst military generals, diplomats, and officials from all different countries. Some of them might have just been interns or unimportant people, but it was fun to pretend that I was sitting in a room filled with politically powerful individuals. Needless to say, us American kids didn't really fit in.
I treasured the opportunity to visit the institution because it is something that would be quite difficult to do as an ordinary citizen, and hearing from people who actually work there would be next to impossible. It was one of those things that is simply cool to say I have seen!
Upon entering NATO headquarters, your passport is checked, all electronics are confiscated until you exit, and you may not bring in any baggage...picture going through airport security. While we were there we received two presentations: one from a diplomat who focuses on the relationship between Scandinavia and the U.S., and another from an official from the U.S. mission to NATO. Although both presenters used a lot of jargon and did an amazing job of not really answering any of our questions (quite common for political spokespersons), it was fascinating to sit in a conference room in NATO and hear these fairly high-ranking officials give us their schpiel. In addition, hearing someone speak from the NATO perspective and and someone speak from the U.S. perspective was an interesting contrast because they were not entirely on the same page, despite the fact that the U.S. contributes more military assistance to NATO than any other member nation.
After our presentations, we got to eat lunch in the NATO cafeteria, which not only had gourmet food but provided us an opportunity to literally sit amongst military generals, diplomats, and officials from all different countries. Some of them might have just been interns or unimportant people, but it was fun to pretend that I was sitting in a room filled with politically powerful individuals. Needless to say, us American kids didn't really fit in.
I treasured the opportunity to visit the institution because it is something that would be quite difficult to do as an ordinary citizen, and hearing from people who actually work there would be next to impossible. It was one of those things that is simply cool to say I have seen!
Monday, September 7, 2009
A Youthful Mistake, A Trip to the Hospital
So partly to quell worries of people, and partly because it is an unusual story, I thought I would post a little information about my "adventure" yesterday...
For those who don't know, yesterday was an interesting day for me. Some friends and I were attempting to play ultimate frisbee on our school's athletic fields, but the entrance was locked so we were scaling a 15 foot fence in order to enter. I know that's a terrible idea, but just bear with me on the story. On the top of the fence are rather sharp beams that protrude about 6 inches off the top of the fence to prevent people from scaling it. To make a long and graphic story short, the beams are rather effective. I ended up slipping on the top of the fence while trying to readjust my leg, and I sliced open both my hands on the metal beams.
Thanks to the calm reactions and quick thinking of my friends, I got an ambulance and made it to the hospital quickly. The injury is not terribly serious, but it required stitches in both hands and my left hand, which had the largest gash, is basically unusable for right now. Tomorrow I have to go get the bandages replaced, and I need to have the stitches in for at least a week.
One activity I participated in yesterday was not one that was on my to-do list: navigating the health care system in a country where you don't speak the language. A friend who's conversational in French came with me to the hospital, but there was little effective communication between me and the staff, which was slightly disconcerting. Basically picture being stitched up but not being able to talk to any of the people performing the procedure. That's what I did yesterday afternoon.
And trust me, I learned my lesson. The thing that makes me most upset is that I made the stupid decision in the first place to even climb the fence, since it was not only against the rules but also dangerous. I guess you live and learn, but for the hassle that this preventable accident is creating, I am frustrated with myself.
My hands should be ok...the right one only received two stitches, but my left one received 10. I will definitely keep everyone updated as the situation progresses, but I'm not in too much pain and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet since it happened. I was able to make a closed fist with my left hand, so the doctor did not seem concerned about structural damage, but once again, he also didn't speak English, so my diagnosis was a little unclear.
Moral of the story is that it that I made a bad decision, cut my hands, got to ride in a Belgian ambulance (pretty much the only part of the story that is cool) and now have the inability to get either of my hands wet (I showered with plastic bags on my hands) and a huge insurance hassle. I guess I'm coming home with plenty of interesting stories!
For those who don't know, yesterday was an interesting day for me. Some friends and I were attempting to play ultimate frisbee on our school's athletic fields, but the entrance was locked so we were scaling a 15 foot fence in order to enter. I know that's a terrible idea, but just bear with me on the story. On the top of the fence are rather sharp beams that protrude about 6 inches off the top of the fence to prevent people from scaling it. To make a long and graphic story short, the beams are rather effective. I ended up slipping on the top of the fence while trying to readjust my leg, and I sliced open both my hands on the metal beams.
Thanks to the calm reactions and quick thinking of my friends, I got an ambulance and made it to the hospital quickly. The injury is not terribly serious, but it required stitches in both hands and my left hand, which had the largest gash, is basically unusable for right now. Tomorrow I have to go get the bandages replaced, and I need to have the stitches in for at least a week.
One activity I participated in yesterday was not one that was on my to-do list: navigating the health care system in a country where you don't speak the language. A friend who's conversational in French came with me to the hospital, but there was little effective communication between me and the staff, which was slightly disconcerting. Basically picture being stitched up but not being able to talk to any of the people performing the procedure. That's what I did yesterday afternoon.
And trust me, I learned my lesson. The thing that makes me most upset is that I made the stupid decision in the first place to even climb the fence, since it was not only against the rules but also dangerous. I guess you live and learn, but for the hassle that this preventable accident is creating, I am frustrated with myself.
My hands should be ok...the right one only received two stitches, but my left one received 10. I will definitely keep everyone updated as the situation progresses, but I'm not in too much pain and it hasn't even been 24 hours yet since it happened. I was able to make a closed fist with my left hand, so the doctor did not seem concerned about structural damage, but once again, he also didn't speak English, so my diagnosis was a little unclear.
Moral of the story is that it that I made a bad decision, cut my hands, got to ride in a Belgian ambulance (pretty much the only part of the story that is cool) and now have the inability to get either of my hands wet (I showered with plastic bags on my hands) and a huge insurance hassle. I guess I'm coming home with plenty of interesting stories!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Belgian Parliament
Today for a class trip we went to the Belgian federal parliament building in downtown Brussels. The political system in Belgium is one of the most complex in the world, so I will try to explain it briefly: there are three regions (Dutch-speaking Flanders in the North, bilingual Brussels, and French-speaking Wallonia in the South) that each have a parliament, as well as three language communities (Dutch, French, German) that also each have a parliament. These parliaments make decisions in policy areas such as education, employment, environmental protection, etc. But on top of this is a federal parliament which deals with more serious issues, such as defense, and this is the establishment we visited today. Its decisions are binding over the entire country and supercede decisions made on the regional or community level. Oh yeah, and there's a king in Belgium too, but he doesn't have any political power. Confused yet?
The building is quite impressive, with most rooms lined with portraits of previous leaders and accented with gold-plated cielings and ornate furniture. The most impressive room, aesthetically speaking, is the Senate, which has a cieling plated in 18 karat gold and has three humongous paintings above where the head of the Senate speaks. This is not to mention the intricate wood carvings and busts of important figures in Belgian history that also occupy the room. The Senate is way nicer than the House of Representatives, because originally only people from the nobility served in the Senate, so naturally they had to make the room as impressive as possible.
The one downside to the visit was the unbelievably dry and drawn-out tour by our guide, who essentially gave us a lecture (lasting over 2 hours) about how the federal parliament operates, what conditions are necessary to draft and pass legislation, etc. While interesting to visit, as you can imagine, the description in broken English of how such a complex political system works was not the most invigorating part of my day. But none the less it was an impressive building, and it is cool to say I've seen it, since it is roughly equivalent to visiting the chambers of the U.S. Congress.
The building is quite impressive, with most rooms lined with portraits of previous leaders and accented with gold-plated cielings and ornate furniture. The most impressive room, aesthetically speaking, is the Senate, which has a cieling plated in 18 karat gold and has three humongous paintings above where the head of the Senate speaks. This is not to mention the intricate wood carvings and busts of important figures in Belgian history that also occupy the room. The Senate is way nicer than the House of Representatives, because originally only people from the nobility served in the Senate, so naturally they had to make the room as impressive as possible.
The one downside to the visit was the unbelievably dry and drawn-out tour by our guide, who essentially gave us a lecture (lasting over 2 hours) about how the federal parliament operates, what conditions are necessary to draft and pass legislation, etc. While interesting to visit, as you can imagine, the description in broken English of how such a complex political system works was not the most invigorating part of my day. But none the less it was an impressive building, and it is cool to say I've seen it, since it is roughly equivalent to visiting the chambers of the U.S. Congress.
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