Another day in Belgium

I woke up at 10 am, because i didnt manage to do it at 9 am. I looked at my clock, and remember i was the chairman for todays book review presentations. I completely forgot about it!

I dressed up very fast and had a fast breakfast, one of my dormitory friend saw me and said ‘ you look like a businessman when you go to school, does all politics students dress like businessmen? ‘ I said ‘ No, its only me ‘.

I took the bus and thought how should i be during my chairman post in the class. Should i be strict? Should i be relaxed? I like chairing debates, and when i do it, i manage to do it in a good mix of being strict and fun.

In the bus I continued reading my book ‘ Audacity of Hope ‘ by Obama. That book inspires me because he really finds a good balance between being idealistic and being practical. Many people are either do things, but they just do it out of their interest, without any ideals, or they talk about ideals and dreams, and dont do much in the end. Obama managed to find a way between, managing things and still being able to dream. Thats a kind of person that i want to be…

I could only read around 10 pages, since the bus ride takes 10 minutes only. I got off and started walking to my class, first i passed through the social sciences faculty before going to the building i have to be. This faculty was the first one when i came to Leuven and talk to the professors in May, to convince them that i m a good prospect for a student. So this place was where it all started. I always remember my first entrance here whenever i come.

I went to my class, saw some classmates in the building, they were chatting, since there was still 10 minutes to the class. I told them i have to go up and prepare myself. I went up, the teacher was already there, i asked him if anything has changed, or if i m still the chair.

He confirmed that i m the chair and i went to the presenters, quietly asking them which book they will present, and who is the author. After writing down the names, and my classmates came, i started the class, telling about the books and authors since i knew them for ages.

I was quite strict about their time limits, and was warning them quietly when they had 5 minutes left, and each time me and my classmates were laughing after my warning towards them. There were 4 presenters, and almost all of them were perfectly on time, apart from 1 girl, who took a little bit of time, and i had to stop her last sentences by saying ‘ thank you Heleen ‘ and politely interrupting her.

After the presentations, my colleagues and our teacher congratulated me on my chairing and one friend advised me to be the ‘ Chair of for the United Nations ‘ in the future. She put another career prospect in my head. We all hanged around outside the building for 10 minutes, chatting. It was a good opportunity for me to relax and talk to my colleagues, which i dont have much chance to do so because of a very busy schedule. During the chat, i got an invite to a football match they would play in the day, at 5 pm. I gladly accepted it, since i really missed playing football.

But i also had a meeting with my thesis promoter at 4, so i had to arrange my time well, since i had to bring my gear for football, which is consiting jersey, shorts and shoes. So i decided to go to my dormitory and pack my stuff. On the way i read a little bit more of my book. I came, cooked Chinese noodles with salad and minced meat, and of course my favourite, soya sauce and had a nice lunch before i was about to get bitchslapped by my thesis promoter.

I took the bus again to meet my thesis promoter, i entered his more than messy room, with a wonderful view of Leuven. Books everywhere, papers everywhere, a total chaos. I thought this is how you must turn out after reading thousands of books.

I knew he found my style too colloquial, and he repeated it, saying that i should have a more academic tone, that i put too much my own opinion and use moralistic statements. He was right, i know that it is hard for me to remain neutral to cases.

I asked him if he read all the books here, and he said yes, saying that he uses here as a depot for books, and he has his real library at home. I wondered how much information does he contain in his mind from all these books. When someone asks me the books i have read, and when i count them the ones i did, which can easily be counted, they mostly get surprised in a positive manner, and congratulated me.

I wonder what would their reaction be if they asked him the books that he had read, which would take a few days for him to tell each book one by one.
After leaving his room, a bit angry, not because of his attitude, since he is very polite, but the fact that i have to rewrite things, i headed for the football field. I appreciate my university a lot, because they provide everything for students, including the sports facilities, ranging from big green footbal fields to basketball courts, from tennis courts to gyms.

There is even a spear throwing field and a fake beach for beach volley. You can see people playing beach volley on March in Leuven. Thats what i appreciate about this university, as well as many Western Europe facilities and universities, that they pay attention to people’s social well being, as well as ‘ academic ‘ well being. I remember when i was in Istanbul, narrow streets, and we were trying to play football on those concrete streets, using neighbours windows as goals, and getting scolded by the neighbours constantly. That time even a green pitch was a dream. It was similar in my university year, while we had to pay for the football fields. But here, the only thing we have to do is to gather people and play. It is truly amazing.

After meeting my classmates, we had a very nice footbal match, where i realized that i should play more football to keep my agility. Thanks to my trainings i do daily, i m quite good in stamine and power, but agility is something i have to work on. The match finished 2-2 if i remember it correctly, and i had the honour of scoring one goal despite my below average play throughout the match. All in all, it was a good exercise and a good way of socializing with friends.

After that i went back to my dorm, took a shower and started studying for my economy class, i have never took economy and law classes before in my life, and i m not sure if i m very happy about it. I like what i learn though, learning something new is always fine.

I just heard the news that the President of the European Commission send a patronage letter to my name to support our project WDEE. It is always good to end the day with a great honour.

Another day in Belgium…