Weekend Apprecation Project

I really can't complain. The job is nice, colleagues fun and friendly. The weather beautiful. I go for nice lunches and after work drinks. But still: thank god it's weekend! Ivonne is in town and after taking care of some final business in the big crazy house in Schaarbeek that we really would rather avoid now but ok this final time we go, it will really be weekend.

And what am I going to do this weekend? After a year of relative neglicence, I am going to spend some time with la famille on my grandmother's 79th birthday. The theme is Spanish. My contribution:

Yes, a bit mediocre, I know you were all expecting splendid impressive extravagant cooking. I'm still waiting for that first paycheck ;-)

Have a nice weekend!

When I took the Academy to a squat

What a week(end)!

NetAca meeting Brussels
Who would have thought that, when I proposed this meeting a couple of months ago, not only it would have encountered big enthusiasm, but it would have actually taken place, in such a short time?
13-14 August 2009, the first 'real' NetCom + Academy meeting outside Agorae I have notice of. We discussed the outcomes of the NetCom meeting related to training needs, coming up with a number of new projects.
The main ones: new concept for ES1, crowdsourcing database, regional trainings, renewing the pool of trainers, furthening the already established LTC coordination.

Academy Board Meeting Paris
Unexpectadly, last minute problems with lodging came up, so we all had to search for a plan B. My friends in Paris were all out of town, no clue who could host us. "The only thing that comes to my mind" - said my friend Giovanni - is an artists squat, but I don't know, the level of cleanness was not properly fabulous, as far as I remember...". No precarious hygenic conditions whatsoever can scare out a CD house habitue', I thought, and got in touch with 'the artists'. Not only they accepted to host me, but extended the invitation to all of us. What a surprise, when we had a room dedicated to us (with AEGEE on the door!), when the last floor had a huge (former) conference room which we used for the meeting, when the terrace on the roof opened itself to Paris and the stars.
And yes, we did also work, a lot.

It's incredible to witness this whole new stream of openness and cooperation built throughout the year, but most of all in the last months. It feels like finally we are all on the same line - assessing what our members need and how are we going to provide the knowledge to them comes so natural and easy.

the Squat
But let me spend a couple of words on our lovely lodging place and the people who hosted us.
Since, if I am inspired as I am now, I owe it to them as well.
Kinda - the violinist, singing along with her on the bridges of the Seine remains my most liberating experience of the weekend
Tom - the IT artist, who built the infrastracture and connected to squat to the outer world (and thus with us as well)
Nathan - who walks on the wire (not that high - he says - only 10 meters from the ground)
the White Bearded Man - who "was born 82 years ago in Brooklyn, and from then it's a long story..."
And Soraya, and Merat, and the Lady Writer... - to you all guys, an enormous thank you!

Cultural exchange and active citizenship

1. Cultural exchange: Dutch-Belgian-Italian cooking

There is one general rule when you live with an Italian: do not attempt to cook Italian food, because you will fail. Luckily our Italian is not that strict, still we generally don't want to take the risk and just stick to other cuisines.

However with Tena scared of the mice and also rather busy last night with filling out dozens of forms, I decided that the courgette risotto should nevertheless be prepared. Pennyless as we are from time to time, I only had money for some simple Belgian sausages to add. Ivonne was appointed as sous-chef, cutting the courgettes and preparing the salad.

Courgette risotto with Belgian sausages

Tomato mozarella salad

And to complete the intercultural experience: ketchup, a raspberry beer, and a lot of salt!

2. Active Citizenship: The PO Box

Where the European Parliament has its time consuming and rather senseless move to Strasbourg every month, AEGEE has its PO Box in Etterbeek. A CD many years ago decided it'd be cool to have a PO Box in the same area as the European Parliament, about 45 minutes to 1 hour traveling by trams and metro away from the Head Office. The poor Secretary General usually wastes half a day to pick up a few letters. Brussels bureaucracy...

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So today it became somehow my turn, and it was a nice and sunny day I thought why not to go by bike. It's a bit risky in Brussels with all the traffic and hills, but what the heck, better than a sweaty full tram. Now that after Percin, also Tena and Ivonne started to get active with their squash, I can of course not stay behind. The joy of peer pressure.

Forty five scary, life risking and exhausting minutes later, I arrive sweaty and tired at the Post Office. And damn it, I realise I forgot the key. Grrrrrrrr. I call Ivonne to complain, she laughs at me, and tells me to come home.

I decide to give it a try, as luckily we are after all in Belgium, and here they do not care that much about rules and procedures. A friendly face, a vague paper having something to do with our statutes, and 2 minutes later I am outside with the mail already. No ID, no key, piece of cake. Phew.

Back to the house, where I crash on our new sofa. Active Citizenship makes you tired.