YMX 4: Walk and Talk

April 16, 2012

Map of Kortrijk

LATE! It was somewhat frustrating because as much as we want to be early, Kuya Martin and I woke up late and our hosts were in a hurry for a doctor’s appointment. So we rushed with everything from taking the shower and up to eating breakfast. When we arrived to the train station, Stijn oriented us with what we will be doing the whole day. He explained that since the places we'd be visiting are quite near it wouldn't be pratical to take a car or ride a bus, so he asked us to get our walking shoes ready. 

A panoramic shot of the city square

He gave us a quick tour around the city. Got to see the big and old churches at the same time we got to see shops selling clothes and chocolates. Also got in Leonidas, the shop that sells the most expensive and houses the best chocolates in the world!

K in Kortrijk Shopping Mall

Inside the church

In front of Leonidas

Delicious but expensive chocolates. :(

Kortrijk's City Hall

After the long and tiring walk, we went to the city hall for a short tour and to have our lunch. Tom, the city's Head of Communications, oriented us with Belgium, Kortrijk, and the city's history and government. I found out that Belgium is currently divided into 3 big communities: the Dutch (North), French/Flemish (South), and the German (East). 41 people get elected in the City Council by the people and from that council, the Mayor will be elected, who is allowed to serve for 6 years and can be reelected. Their Prime Minister is the Head of Government while their King serves only in ceremonial functions.

Tom, Head of Communications

He also shared that they dont have any corruption issues and that the common social problems that they faces are unemployment and security. But ironically, as I did some research, it turns out that Belgium is one of the countries with the lowest unemployment rates. 

The view from the topmost floor of the city hall.

After the loading our minds with information about Belgium, its politics and economy, we went to the topmost floor where we had our Belgian lunch. After 2 hours of lunch break, Stijn told us that we'll be meeting with the city's Deputy Mayor for Youth and International Cooperation. 

Mr. Alain Cnudde, shared about the city to city cooperation between Cebu City and the Kortrijk. He said that part of the cooperation is the strengthening of the city government, administration and civil society. The partnership also aims to partake in the exchange of knowledge and experiences. In 2004, the mayor first visited Cebu and in 2005, the MOA that sealed the partnership between the 2 cities was signed. 

Listening to Stijn's introduction

After the talk, we spent some time in the carnival where Sir Karl and Kuya Russel treated Arge, Kuya Martin and I with Belgian fries and waffles, and surprisingly they offer big servings compared to what we have in the Philippines. 

Sir Karl, Kuya Russel and Arge enjoying the fries and waffles.

One picture before we eat everything!

After they were all fetched by their host families, Kuya Martin and I wandered around the city and then we just remembered that we forgot to tell our host where to pick us up. So we thought, we'd stay at the train station to be sure, and luckily Barbara fetched us there. Whew! Before going home, we went to the supermarket to buy some stuff. They paid 87 euros for goods that filled the car. It made me think how an 87 pesos is just enough for one meal in the Philippines. 

First rice meal in Belgium. Nomnomnom.

At home, we ate a very special Belgian dish (pork/meat wrapped in a tomato) with RICE! Yey! The perks of being hosted by a Pinoy! While having dinner we discussed about taxation in their country. Found out that they are taxed really high, reaching to almost 50% of their income, though it also gets lower the more children that they have. Since Barbara is pregnant, we asked her how they will take care of the baby since both of them are working. They told us that they have a daycare center in Kortrijk where they can leave their baby (should be 3 months old above), and just pick the baby after work. I found this way really convenient especially for parents who work hard for their family. The couple also told us how important it is to work in Belgium to survive. With my energy drained from the long walks and the sumptuous dinner, I was ready for a great sleep! Zzzzz.

YMX 3: Hello Belgium!

The Vos family :)

After having breakfast, Mrs. Vos told us to leave some of our things and just bring the stuff needed in Belgium so that we would not have to carry a lot of things, since we'll be back with them after 9 days. After packing my things, we were ready to go and we said our 'goodbye for the meantime' messages to Robin, to Mr. Vos and to the 3 fats cats.

Mrs. Vos then drove us to a Catholic Church where we will attend mass together with the whole delegation before traveling to Belgium. When we got to the church, we were told that the mass might take longer since the church is also celebrating the first communion of some young kids that day. 

Our bus to Belgium

Upon entering the church, there was yellow everywhere. Yellow ribbons, yellow balloons, yellow mass booklets and yellow flowers. I tried reading the booklet but everything was in Dutch so pfffff, I just stopped and observed the place. I'm not a Catholic so I'm not really sure how the mass would go. So I just followed everyone when they sing, when they stand, sit and when they kneel down. During the offering part, a host mother gave us euro coins, my first euro coins to give as offering. The mass ended with the kids officially partaking their first communion. We stayed outside the church then waited for the bus to be ready. While waiting, we did what we do best: taking pictures!

St. John's Church

The delegates with Ms. Ruby, Nanda and host parents

After all things were set, we hopped in the bus and the 3-hour travel to Belgium began! With us were Ms. Ruby, Josetta and Chiel. On our way, I read my debate handbooks and took pictures of several windmills that we passed by. Then, I fell asleep along the way. Zzzzzzzz. When I woke up, I stared at the window and saw this:

KORTRIJK!

Kortrijk Police Station

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by Kim, one of the delegates from MYX last year, as she was one of the organizers of the Belgium part of our trip. It was fairly cold in Kortrijk and they have smaller roads compared to Haarlemmermeer but the roads were still fully utilized. Again, I cant stop taking photos of everything! Kim said we were just in time for a carnival was currently in their city. I saw roller coasters and other fun stalls around the city. Then I wonder, how would I survive riding a roller coaster in a very cold place like Kortrijk, I will surely die. LOL.

So we went to the train station and that was where our host families will pick us up. When everyone started to leave with their respective hosts, Kuya Martin and I got more excited! We were the last ones picked up and to my surprise, we had a PINOY host! Yes, a Filipino who just got married to a Belgian, Sydney David and Barbara Callens-David. 

Roller coaster!!!!

On our way to our house, I found out that Sydney was a graduate from the same school where I am studying, the University of the Philippines.And it turned out that they just got back from their trip to the Philippines. We even saw their bags still unpacked when we arrived. 

At home, while Barbara was preparing for dinner, we spoke to each other in Tagalog, asking him how he got to Belgium, how he met Barbara and how hard living in Belgium is like. They are both surveyors, they usually survey the prices of products, houses and other things before people put it up for sale. They have a very nice house and we were brought by Barbara to the room next to them.

The train station

During dinner, we had sausages, potatoes and hot apple shake. Its my first time to try those but they were yummy. 

While eating, we talked about how the government supports almost everyone, including illegal immigrants, which Barbara thought could be at some times unfair.

They also shared how their city was planned and how the government really comes up with policies that will benefit every citizen in the city. 

Again, the sun went down at around 9 o'clock in the evening. I was still not used to it. It was very cold inside the room. The coolness in the room made it easier for me to get a good sleep.

My first picture in Belgium

YMX 2: First Step in Europe

April 14, 2012

I woke up with a really bad headache. I guess I'm really not used to traveling for long hours. I looked at the window and the sun was almost coming out. I became more excited! The attendants from the airline served us with really great meals, when given the option, I always chose the meal with rice in it. Yeah, I will miss rice that much. So at around 6 in the morning, the plane landed and its official: I'm in AMSTERDAM!

Schipol Airport, Amsterdam

After getting our things and making sure they're complete, our adult leaders called us for a final meeting before we meet with the Dutch organizers and our host families. After the meeting and after taking pictures of the airport, we started to walk to the Arrival station where our new friends and families await us.

 

  

From left: Saira, Kuya Martin, Me and Chiel

As soon as we got out, warm greetings welcomed     us. I saw the people I will hang out and stay with for the next three weeks. At first, I had a hard time talking with them 'coz I dont know anyone while some of my co-delegates have been friends with them since last year. So yeah, I said hi to those who would say hi to me. 

Then we were given drivers who would take us to the school called Tabitha. My partner, Kuya Martin and I got to be with the De Block brothers.When I got out of the airport, I immediately felt the cold winds. Really cold winds I should say. Pffff.

On our way to the school, I started taking pictures of the buildings and the cool places I've seen only in Holland. I also learned some basic Dutch laws such as blowing of horns is not allowed especially if its not necessary and that everything in the city went under careful planning.

Nanda orienting us with the program

When we arrived to Tabitha, we met everyone and after introducing ourselves, we were assigned our hosts families, and I am blessed to have been with the Vos family. Sir Wim and Mrs. Wilma gladly took us to their car as their son Robin and daughter Birgit is waiting at their home.

When we arrived home, we were greeted by their adorable and really huge/fat cats: Puk, Sache and Dorche!

Mrs. Vos also toured us to the house, she showed us our room (Birgit's room) and there we met Birgit, Robin and his girlfriend Leoniek, who was also hosting another pair for the Pinoy delegates. We sat down and drank coffee together. I was amazed seeing sugar cubes! And I really love their coffee, back in the Philippines, I'm not the coffee person, but I got hooked to coffee after tasting the one with a Dutch flavor in it. They asked us if we were tired but Kuya Martin and I felt that the wonderful views and the warm welcome took the jet lags away. So we were up for some good conversation with our hosts.

Their supermarket with the bikes

After some talks about how they have a prescribed design for their houses and how almost everything has a fee/charge (push cart, using the toilet etc.), Mrs. Vos and Birgit decided to take us to the supermarket to buy our lunch and also to buy our food for our long trip to Belgium tomorrow. Yeah, we'll be staying for one night only for we start our trip to Kortrijk the next day after the mass. So we went out to get their bikes, which are by the way, really high! For a short guy like me, riding their bike was a struggle. So we biked our way to the supermarket!

The push carts were placed outside and I was surprised that they need to put like 40 cents to use the push cart in the supermarket. I found it really weird since its used for free in the Philippines.

So we started buying food, bread, chocolates and a rice placed in a box (yeah, really cool!). After buying the things we needed, we biked our way back to the house, which was by the way very near. I had bread with Nutella for my lunch and then Mrs. Vos allowed us to take a shower before we go to our first activity in Holland.

YMX delegates and Chiel with the windmill

After lunch, we went to see the windmills! Its my first time to see a real, old windmill, which is used in making flour, so I was very excited. When we got there, I cant help but take pictures. I also saw some wooden shoes and other Dutch products, which are very expensive, so I just took pictures of them :)

Then we went to visit a place considered as the "fort" of the city, which protected them during the war from their enemies. We also went to a dike and we passed by their home for the elderly. Its really nice to know how they are training the old people in their city to become independent and they are really housed well, I could say. 

Home for the elderly

We also passed by the "coffee shops". Its what they call stores that sells marijuana though I did not get to smell it. From there, we walked to the shopping center! It turned out that in Holland, shops close very early at around 5pm and they are closed the entire Sunday, unlike in the Cebu, where Ayala and SM sometimes even have midnight sales. 

During the long walks, I have really observed how the Dutch really walk fast. Hahahaha. Since we still take pictures and we walk very slow, we were always behind. But yeah, I learned to be fast in walking, thanks to the Dutch people! :)

         

One of the shopping centers

After the long walk, when we got home, it was dinner time. It was around 7 in the evening yet the sun is still up. It was something new for us, having dinner with the sun, its like lunch in Cebu.

I was ecstatic after seeing our dinner. It was some kind of "paella" type of meal with peanut butter sauce (Nomnomnomnom). While we were having dinner, our family discussed about the Queen's Day, they oriented us with what to expect and surprisingly the Vos family gave Kuya Martin and I orange pairs of socks as presents. It was a long and fun day and with all the things I've seen on my first day, I'm certainly looking forward to the next few days.

YMX 1: Off to Dreamland

April 13, 2012

This is it! The trip of a lifetime. I naturally wake up early if I'm excited about a special activity or if its my birthday. But there's nothing exciting about school today and I'm not celebrating my birthday either. I'm up early because I'm going to Europe today! Yes, Europe!

So I started my day by posting a pic of Belgium and Holland in Facebook as my way of saying goodbye for the meantime to my friends.

Goodbye photo in Facebook (Source: Google)

My dad and I were about to go to the airport, when suddenly, Danica, a co-delegate texted me that our flight got delayed from 10am to 4 in the afternoon. So what I did was that I went back home and double-checked my luggages and see if I'm brought everything I needed. After lunch, mom and dad brought me to the airport.

My last rice meal in Cebu

When I got there with the rest of the delegates, I was shocked with their huge luggages. I felt so unprepared during that time.

While waiting for boarding, our group decided to eat the free lunch offered by our airline. Looking at the menu, I chose the one with rice in it, as I'm not sure if I could still eat rice when I get to Europe.

After eating, we got ourselves ready for boarding. I never thought traveling outside the country would entail a rigorous process.

On our way, a mean immigration officer met us.

Before it was my turn, I was warned by the person before me to be nice to the old lady as she might been having a bad-hair day. So when I faced her, I gave her my passport and boarding pass. She looked at me with her scary eyes and with a scary tone she said: "Tanggalin ang bonnet, tanggalin and shades!" (Remove your bonnet, remove your glasses!)

Off to Singapore :)

I guess we all had our scary encounter with that old lady, but yeah, we won't let her screw our enthusiasm and excitement! We rode our plane from Cebu to Singapore.

After 3 hours in the plane, we arrived in Changi Airport in Singapore and it was one of the most beautiful airports I have ever seen.

We were all excited to get off the plane and we were given 2 hours to roam around before our flight for Amsterdam departs from that airport. So we went around and discovered a lot of great stuff in the airport. It made me want to go to Singapore!

At Changi Airport

Got into a Skytrain for the first time

With the rest of the delegation

After two hours of walking around, we then got ourselves ready for the plane we'll be riding to go to Amsterdam: SINGAPORE AIRLINES!

Off to Amsterdam!

It was my first time riding that kind of plane and hopefully after this trip, I could still ride on one. Everything was set up. We had pillows, blankets, headsets and our personal mini-TV to entertain us. I watched Sherlock Holmes 2, New Year's Eve, Carnage, Smash and of course, GLEE before I fell asleep, listening to Adele's music. Yes, a few hours from now, I will finally set foot on European soil!

Tomorrow, I will conquer Amsterdam! Zzzzzzzz.