Diamond Shopping in Antwerp, Belgium

A tricky subject, diamond shopping. One that you can google all sorts of advice about and in the end still feel utterly clueless.

I recently purchased my engagement ring in Antwerp. Before going, I did lots of research. Lots and lots. But it was still hard to find the information that I was really looking for. So this post is to share my experience. First, a few things about me in relation to my diamond shopping experience.

1. I knew very little about diamonds, my fiancee knew even less.
2. We were on a rather modest budget.
3. We wanted a certified diamond. This was a big purchase for us and we wanted it to be authentic.
4. We knew absolutely nothing about diamond certifications.
5. I had a very specific idea in mind about the type of ring I wanted. The ring I purchase is pretty much nothing like my original idea.

Hopefully that gives everyone an idea of where we were coming from going into this shopping expedition. I think we're a rather typical couple buying a ring. We didn't have a big budget, we wanted something nice, and we wanted the experience of being in Antwerp. That said, I didn't want to be ripped off, get an un-certified diamond, so we had to find our balance of quality, authenticity and cost.


Before you go...

Step One:

Do your homework. Doh, that's why most anyone reading this posts is reading it, right? You're doing your homework. The thing with diamond shopping though is you think you know what to look for, but you really don't, unless of course you're a diamond expert.  I did a lot of research on the 4 C's (hopefully if you're reading this you know what they are, I'm not going to explain them in detail in this post, unless it was about my experience). And once I got to Antwerp, the research I did wasn't that helpful. I price checked diamonds with an I color, thinking, oh yeah, everything I read says that a color above J is just fine. I bought an F colored diamond. The jewelers in Antwerp can help you with this, they know it better than you can learn online and seeing the diamonds in person is different than reading about them online.

My suggestion is research the jewelers you want to visit. There are a lot of shady diamond shops in Antwerp, and you don't want to just walk into the first store you see. Find as many reviews on them as you can. At the end I'll give reviews on the ones I visited while I was there. And do some price checking. I recommend www.bluenile.com. Make a chart or something easy to read that gives you a range of carat sizes, color, clarity, etc. and the price you see for that diamond on there.

Step Two:

Set a budget. Or set two budgets. We set one that was our absolute max budget, and then another that we told the jewelers. This gives you a little wiggle room if you see something you love. It also gives you more room to negotiate if you tell them your budget is lower. Also decide if you will pay cash or pay with a credit card. You'll get a better price paying cash, so make that clear to the people you're talking to. Normally this means not paying the 21% VAT.  For my American friends, if they tell you that if you pay credit, you can claim the VAT at the airport and get it back...well, technically it's true. I don't know anyone who has ever gotten it back though, so you're still better off going with cash, in my opinion.

Don't ever discuss your budget wit your partner while in the shops. The sales person will ask what your budget is, tell them a firm number, and that this number includes the diamond and the band. The cost of the band is almost nothing there, because they are more concerned about selling the diamond. Most bands should be around 500 euro if it has diamonds in it, and less if it's just gold (18kt).

Step Three:

Plan your day. If you just have one day, it starts to get exhausting. I made 3 appointments before we went and set 2 hours for each because I had no idea how long they would last. I recommend an hour for each appointment. It also makes it nice that you have other appointments and can tell them, thank you, we'll think about it and walk out without being pressured.

Now, it isn't necessary to make appointments with all of the shops. But if you like having a schedule it helps keep you moving. And you can set in some free time to pop into the shops you don't make appointments with. Though, I recommend going the appointments route, especially if you're traveling to get here. It just guarantees that they have time for you.

When you're there...

Point One:
Take your time. You're the client, don't let anyone pressure you into buying something you don't want to. Diamonds are not rare. We saw so many diamonds that were almost identical in their color, cute, size, etc. In the end we made the decision based on price, feeling comfortable with the person we were buying from, and a diamond combination with a band that we also loved. But seriously, don't let them pressure you, the diamonds will be there, the bands will be there. It is your prerogative to take your time and think about the decision.

Point Two:
Look at loose diamonds. We were informed while we were there that usually the rings you see already set have lower quality diamonds in them. And you can't see the entire diamond, so you never know. This might not always be the case, but in my mind it's better to be safe than sorry. Also, if you're being shown a band you like that doesn't have a diamond in it, have them set a loose stone in it so you can see it together. The look of the ring is completely different with a stone and you might realize that you don't like that style after all.

Point Three:
Ask lots of questions. What is the color, the cut, the polish, the symmetry. Does it have fluorescence? (I didn't even realize this was an issue before we arrived. Apparently you want no fluorescence to very slight). Ask if you can see the diamond outside in natural daylight. If it's a loose diamond that might be harder, but it never hurts to ask.  Ask to see the certificates.

Note on certificates: You want at least a GIA certified diamond. This is the American standard, and the toughest, but also one of the best known. The Antwerp diamond certification is also good. But the benefit of GIA is it has a lasered number on the diamond that you can look up on their website, that shows all the stats of your diamond, and any jeweler anywhere should be able to read it, to ensure you have the right diamond. Make them read the number and you check it on the certificate to make sure it matches.

Point Four:
Take photos of the bands and diamonds that you like. And take notes. My fiancee took notes at each shop, on the prices and stats of the diamonds so we could compare later. And we took photos of the bands on my hand with diamonds in them.

(Obviously I was not thinking about sharing this when I took it. Rogue pinky).

Point Five:
After the last stop of the day, go to a bar, have a drink, and talk about it. You'll probably already know what your decision is, but it makes it easier to sit down and discuss it with your partner. Do you have the same feeling about it? Are you agreed on the price? Maybe you want to do a little more negotiating, so talk about that.

Point Six:
If they don't insist upon this themselves, ask to watch the diamond being set and polished. It might seem silly, but you hear stories of diamonds being switched. This way you know that the diamond you bought is put into the ring. If you can, take it home that day. And another note, the banks close early and the ATMs only let you withdrawal about 600 euro per day. So either have the cash ready, or go to the bank before 4pm.


Reviews

Hearts and Arrows Jewellery
http://www.heartsandarrowsjewellery.com/

This is where we ended up buying our ring. It was one of the two places we did not make an appointment. I hadn't found much information about them, just seen a few nice reviews, so we had some time and stopped in. The man the owns that shop is very nice. Sometimes you get that cheesy salesman vibe, but he never pressured us.  What I really liked is that he showed us a lot of options. He showed us different diamonds without complaint, and he seemed to be listening to what we liked. If we said we liked a certain style, then he showed us others like that. He was conscious of our budget the entire time and gave us some good advice. (I wanted side diamonds, so a lower color makes the ring look more yellow than if it is set on a plain gold band, so we went better color, lower clarity, but still not visible to the naked eye. Also a .80 looks much bigger than a .70, but you can barely tell it apart from a .90). He also designs the bands himself, and had a lot of variety which was important to us. Some of the shops had nice diamonds, but little to no bands, so that helped us make the decision. He'll negotiate a bit. We're terrible negotiators though, so we didn't try that hard, we got a few hundred euro off and could have maybe gotten more, but we were happy with the product and the price, so it was okay by us. He also took us to watch it be set and polished, and had me carry the diamond before hand so I knew it was the one I  bought. The places for the setting and polishing are definitely back offices, and not the nicest, but everyone was friendly enough.

Our Ring:

Geretti
http://www.geretti.be/en/

This was the first place we stopped. Our train got in an hour before our first appointment and again I'd seen some good things, so we popped in. The man was very nice that helped us. He had some nice diamonds. I think the prices he gave us were a bit higher than we saw somewhere else, and a little above our budget. But we didn't end up going back, so I'm not sure if those prices would have come down or not. And they were still reasonable, within the ranges we got from other shops. He didn't put any pressure on us or try to stop us from leaving, and was very interested in what we were looking for and helpful in offering us choices.

Condes Diamonds
http://www.condesdiamonds.be/

I did make an appointment here, though I think you could walk in without an appointment. Honestly, it wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure if our budget was just lower than they wanted. But the woman that helped us, Melissa, I felt like she was a bit uninterested. Her father sells wholesale and brought bands over, though we didn't really find any we really liked. There was a lot of selection and some pretty ones, but just not what we were looking for. And I think since I felt a bit that she wasn't listening to what we liked it made it a bit harder. The prices for the diamonds seemed fair, but the bands were priced much higher than we'd seen at other places. Like I said, if you're buying the diamond, around 500 euro for the band, unless it's something exceptionally extravagant. Also, she didn't have that many diamonds to show us, so it was hard to know when we couldn't see and touch the diamonds. They also kept telling me certain styles were like Tiffany's, which is fine, just I'm not really someone that cares and it felt a bit pushy.

Diamond House
http://www.diamond-house.com/

Rob that runs Diamond House is very knowledgeable and definitely a professional. I think actually the rest of the day we referred to his as "the expert". You need an appointment here, because it's not a store, it's just an office. He did have one very beautiful ring to show us, that was our second choice. I think you're better off here though if you have a bigger budget. They design a lot of rings themselves, and they do have beautiful things. I think a lot of it was just a big above our budget. But it never hurts to look, they were very friendly and helpful. Rob also is the one that changed my mind on style. I had wanted a twisted band and he suggested going with something more classic, because you'll wear it for years and your tastes might change. But a classic ring you'll always love. He was very right. I went with a classic style and I'm so glad I did.

J. Katz Jewellers
http://www.jkatzjewellers.be/

I really liked Joe Katz. He kind of reminded me of a Godfather type figure. He was just this friendly older man who has been in this industry forever. You also need an appointment here. It's in a big building with security, so you have to give an ID to get in. Really, we wanted to buy a diamond from him, just because we really liked him. His prices were good. The only problem was that he had little to no choices for bands, and I'm picky. That was the only reason we didn't buy from him. It seemed better to us to get the band and diamond at the same place, which he agreed on a bit, since he said sometimes if you buy the band somewhere else you don't know if the stone elsewhere will fit it properly. But, I would highly recommend him.

--

I read a lot of reviews about Orsini and Phillipe Harlod also. A lot of the reviews were very mixed and some people seem to have had highly negative experiences, so I avoided going to both of these places. This was a big purchase for us and we just wanted to be on the safe side. Just my thoughts on it.

A note about coming over to Antwerp for diamond shopping. I read a lot of questions about people asking if it's worth it, and yes, it is a neat experience. But, if your budget is less than 5000 euro, I'm not sure it's worth it. If you're over here anyway, then totally give it a go. Or if you have a big budget for the ring and travel, then it's definitely worth it. I live here, so for me it was just a 10 euro, 45 minute train ride, not a $1200 flight. Just food for thought.

My last comment is that, my fiancee and I did pick my ring out together, and I cannot stress enough how happy I am about this. I had mixed feelings before. The typical American thoughts kept sticking with me, that he should pick it out, blah, blah. I remember a friend telling me once that the guy picking the right ring was the last test he was the right guy. Honestly, I think that's a load of crap. I changed my mind the first store we walked into. My fiancee was a trooper in that he took notes, followed me around, listened, asked questions, but he was so lost about most of it. Everything was blurring together. In the end, I picked the ring, with his help, and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. It's the perfect ring, and it was a great experience to have together.

I hope this has been helpful to at least someone. Enjoy the diamond hunting!

Leuven - A Hidden Gem in Belgium: Bars!

I know this is a long time, overdue, but unfortunately life sometimes gets in the way. But here it is! The best bars in Leuven, in my humble opinion. 

Where to drink in Leuven is essential to know. Whether you want to stop at a cafe during the day for a coffee, or find a spot for an after dinner drink or the best place for the evening, Leuven has uncountable options. Thankfully, there are few truly bad options. I've stumbled into a few bars that I'm not as crazy about for various reason... dirty bathrooms, slow service, limited menus. But in a pinch they'll do the job. Below though I'll run through my favorites.

Leuven also has "the longest bar in the world", the Oude Markt (Old Market in English). This is lined on both sides with bars and in the summer when the weather is nice, the best bar is simply the one that still has seats outside. You can tell which ab you're at based on the tables in chairs, each will have a different style than the bar next door. 

Oude Markt 

(Photo Credit: Me)

Ah, and for my American friends, you'll enjoy this...most of the bars don't close. There is no 2 am last call. They seem to just close when they're empty. But seeing people (mostly students) stumbling home at 6 am is not uncommon.

Bars:

1. Metafoor
This bar is located at Parijstraat 34, just behind the Oude Markt. It's a bit more spacious than a lot of the bars and has a good drink selection. Also, if your party has smokers, there is an indoor, closed smoking room. I'm not a smoker, and really can't stand cigarette smoke, but this room has never bothered me, the smoke doesn't escape and you don't notice it much. 

2. Fiere Margriet
Ah now, this is a fun bar. It's small though so you need to get there at the right time to get a table. There is a little standing room at the bar. In all the times I have been there, I have never seen the place empty. When you go in you'll find binders on the tables full of hundreds of Belgian beers. You'll find ones you know, ones you've never heard of. It's always fun to try something new though. The options are plentiful and delicious.


3. De Rector
You'll find this when you enter the Oude Markt on your left side (when you enter from the direction of the Groote Markt). It's one of the bigger bars on the Oude Markt. It's great for big groups for an afternoon drink and they have a lot of space outside as well, so it's normally possible to find a table. Their food isn't bad either for a snack. At night they usually have a DJ and inside gets pretty loud, so if you're looking for music it's a good spot, if you want to talk with friends, it's better to relocate somewhere quieter after a certain hour.

4. Seven Oaks
Every town needs to have "that" bar. The one that nights end at and it's normally a bit of a slop show by the time you arrive, not necessarily for you, but at least for everyone else. ;) In Leuven, that is the Seven Oaks. Thursday nights it's packed, but sometimes not until 1 am. There is normally music and  crazy drinking game involving a tree stump, hammers and nails. You'll find it at Hanengan 3, a small street off Tiensestraat.

5. The Professor
It's a great cocktail bar. If you want something besides beer and want lots of delicious options. This is a good spot. It's right on Naamsestraat, near the Oude Markt. They also have tasty alcoholic milkshakes.

6. Stapletons
A quintessential Irish pub. It's just off Naamsestraat, two doors down from Namaste, the Nepalese restaurant. It's a great place to go watch sports, with TVs all around. It'll usually show all the big football (soccer) games and rugby. That's what I've seen there at least, I'm sure you'll find other things as well. And it's a good place for a pint of Guinness.   

Happy drinking!

Leuven, Belgium - A Hidden Gem: Restaurants

As promised, I will continue my blog posts this week with everything Leuven. The first is about some of the restaurants I like in this little town. There are really some great culinary choices, so I couldn't list everything or you'd be reading all day. There are also some I still need to try. So maybe a second restaurant post will follow in the coming months. 

Restaurants:

Sit down:

1. La Cucaracha - Tiensestraat

This is definitely my favorite Mexican restaurant in Leuven. Okay, there aren't that many to begin with, but this place is great. The food is fantastic, and authentic, which is something you don't always expect when you're somewhere rather far away from Mexico. I'm used to a lot of great Mexican restaurants at home, so usually my standards are rather high, and this place has met them. The guacamole is delicious, it comes in a rather small portion though, but it's freshly made. I also really like the pollo con mango, something a bit different and very tasty - sweet and spicy. And you can't go wrong with a strawberry margarita.

Tip: There is another, larger Mexican restaurant in Leuven called New Mexico and is on the "restaurant street" Muntstraat. If you like real Mexican food, don't go here. First of all, the guacamole is from a can, which I think is just a terrible sin when running a mexican restaurant. The rest of the food is mediocre. I gave this place another shot recently because my boyfriend wanted Mexican and since it was Sunday everywhere else was closed. Highly disappointed, it's also rather expensive for quality.


2. De Werf - Hodeschoolplein

One of my favorite places. It's definitely a student hangout, and only open on weekdays as a result, but if you can find time during the week to go there, it's well worth it. Their "chowders" are the highlight, especially the Chili Con Carne. It's a large portion that comes served in a big bread bowl. Good chili, good bread. They have a good menu otherwise too, and it's one place to find a decent salad, something I've missed in Belgium. The wraps are good too. The atmosphere of the place is great when the weather is nice. They have a lot of tables outside, lights strung up in the trees and blankets over the chairs for you to get cozy under if it starts to get a bit chilly.

3. The Meating Room - The Oude Markt

A tasty, tasty steak house. They have all sorts of options for the types of steak you can order. I tried the Irish Angus Dry Aged last time I was there with Bearnaise sauce, mmm mmm, very tasty. Best steak I've had in Leuven, or Belgium really. It's a tiny little place though, so you might need to make a reservation. We tried to stop in one Sunday, asking for a table for 3, and we had to wait 45 minutes. Thankfully the weather was nice and it's on the old market, so we just had a drink at one of the bars, but I advise making a reservation.


4. Thai House - Tiensestraat

Another one of my favorites. Their sit down restaurant is nice. It's a completely round building, which is just pretty cool. And the food is great, as is the service. The owners are very friendly and accommodating. I went here with a friend one day and they weren't open for dinner yet, or weren't serving yet, but we were in a rush, so they made an exception. The food is always good. The Beef Thai House is my go to choice and my boyfriend is partial to the Moo Pad Prik, a rather spicy dish.

5. Pepe Nero - Muntstaat

I've been here a few times and it's one of the best Italian restaurants I've found in Leuven. Everything there has been superb. There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Leuven, so it's hard to pick sometimes. This one isn't the cheapest, but if you want a nice evening or have a special occasion, it's a great restaurant.

6. Namaste - Naamsestraat

This little Nepalese place is always good. They also do take-out if you call ahead and order. It's mostly Nepalese food, with an Indian infusion, and it calls itself a Tandoori Kitchen. I highly recommend the mixed starter. Everything I've tried so far has been pretty good, the Kukhura Nariwol and the kip tandoori are my favorites. 

Tip: It's a rather small place inside, so go early if you want to get a table. It does take a while to get the food, so make sure you go with plenty of time. If the weather is nice they'll usually have tables outside, which gives more room. 

Quick/Take-Away:

1. Thai House Take-Away - Tiensestraat

This place is right across the square from Thai House, owned by the same people. It's just a small take-away place, there are some tables inside and out. You order at the counter, pay and then can stay or go with your food. There are only a few options, but all are good for a quick lunch, also pretty cheap, so good for a student's wallet. I am partial to the Pad Tai Kip (chicken) or the Red Curry.

2. Food Maker - Rector de Somerplein (Fochplein)

This is a chain, but I still wanted to list it, because it's one of the few places to get quick, healthy meals. Their hours are rather annoying at times, because they close early, but if you can make it in for lunch it's a good place. I love the wraps, but they also have a good salad bar. And at the one in Leuven if you show a student card you can get a 10% discount.

3. Donki - Oude Markt

This is a new place, just opened on the oude markt. It's a small little burrito place, which I think Leuven was really missing. It's pretty good. They could still make some improvements, maybe visit a Chipotle in the US for some ideas, and get their processes running a bit faster, but the food is good and pretty cheap. Like 5 to 6 euro for a burrito. You pick the type of burrito and the toppings, and they have tasty margaritas. Worth a visit for sure.

4. Villa de Frit -Hooverplein

These are the best fries I've found in Leuven so far. A lot of the authentic places seem to have disappeared, but this one still is pretty good, and it has the local Belgian seal of approval from my other half. If you haven't gotten Belgian fries before, you're missing out. Now, likely, if you're not Belgian, the idea of eating just fries for a meal seems a bit absurd. Isn't that what most of us would have preferred as children? But we had to eat the other stuff too. Well, it's completely acceptable to eat just fries as a meal. And maybe a meat snack, I recommend not bothering to question what is in it, they're all pretty tasty. You can get the sauce on the side, or right on the fries. Try some different sauces to see what you like. I'm partial to cocktail and andalouise, my boyfriend goes for the spicy samurai.  

Tip from the Locals: If you want good fries, go to a fry shack run by natives. They're Belgian fries for a reason. A proper fry shack will usually serve the fries in a paper cone, not a plastic container. A true fry shack will also not be a combo: pizza, fries, kebab, etc. place. It will just be for fries and meat snacks.

Leuven - A Hidden Gem in Belgium

For the past year I have been living in Leuven, Belgium. And first, before I go any further, just to clear up any confusion for non-Europeans: Belgium is a country, not a town in Germany, or France. I have encountered quite a bit of confusion over this as I told people "I'm moving to Belgium." The general responses were "Ah, spreche sie Deutsch?" which means "Do you speak German?" which is really not relevant. Or "Ah cool, so when do you leave for Germany?" It is in fact it's own country, a pretty cool little country too. Also, not everyone in Belgium speaks French, actually about 59% of Belgium is Flemish-speaking, leaving 40% speaking French and 1% speaking German (still not relevant to ask if I speak German, since very few people are aware of this fact).

Now that that has been cleared up, I will continue. As I said, I have been living in Leuven for about a year now. Leuven is a rather small town about 25 kilometers from Brussels, a 20 minute train ride from the center of Brussels, or a 15 minute train ride from the airport. Leuven is a university town, home to K.U. Leuven, one of the oldest Catholic Universities in Europe. The population basically doubles during the school year, but it also means there is a vitality and life to the city that you can't always find. It's got a lot of great restaurants, places you might not expect, and of course, great bars, necessary in every student town.

 (center of town, St. Pieter's church, photo credit: me)

Outside of Belgium it doesn't seem that many people have heard of Leuven, every once in a while you'll find someone. But generally the cities people know are Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and maybe Gent, the bigger or more touristy cities.

One one hand it's nice, it means Leuven is rather un-touristy, which I love. It's not packed every weekend with people coming to sight see, and the prices aren't outrageous in an attempt to rip off tourists. But I do think the city is a bit underrated.  It is a small city, but definitely worth a visit. There are great places to eat, shop, and hang out.

So, over the next few posts I'll highlight some of the best restaurants to go to, things to do, bars to check out and anything else that comes to mind.

How to Furnish Your Home Abroad - Specifically in Belgium

One of the most difficult things when you're moving abroad is figuring out how to buy things before you get there, or even when you get there. It's freaking expensive to move abroad. If you're lucky, someone else is paying for it, like an employer. But if you're a student and aren't going for the tiny box room with a brick bed and something they claim is a "kitchen" but is really a sink with a half-working burner to cook soup on, then likely you need to shell out some cash and figure out where to go.

First of all, if you haven't already embraced IKEA, like Nike says, just do it. You can find it basically all over the world, and there is usually some way to get there. It's new, it's cheap and mostly you can find some nice, fashionable things. You can also get all those random gadgets you  need around your house that you never think about until you need it and don't have it. The great thing about Ikea is you walk past everything and have a few light-bulb moments where you spot something you forgot you needed. It's also great for finding a lot of things you're used to at home, but may not be common in the local furniture store. It's a pretty standardized store, you don't find that much difference anywhere you go.

The con of course is that you have to do the transportation and assembly yourself. Or, if you're smart enough, you'll convince your foreign boyfriend who lives in the city you're moving to, to go do all the heavy lifting before you arrive [Thanks sweetie! ;)].

 

(Yes, all of that is for me. No, I was not there.)

Now, after Ikea, for those of you that are utterly opposed or just don't want to have to build everything. (Though, something I forgot...if you live in a tiny apartment, it's not always easy to get big pieces of furniture into them in Europe without hiring professionals, something else to consider being ruling out the boxed wonder of furniture that Ikea offers). 

Your other options:

1. Expat sites. There should be one in every country. If little Belgium has one, well lots, but one huge one, then other countries should too. In Belgium I recommend checking out The Bulletin at www.xpats.com. It is great, lots of listings of furniture for sale. You have to be willing to travel to get it, but you can get some great deals. I got my 42" plasma TV for like 200 euro. People selling on here are usually moving out of the country and they want to get rid of their stuff, and get rid of it quickly, so you can get some good deals. Sometimes you'll even get lucky and find free stuff. You can also ask questions here if you're looking for something specific and having trouble finding it.

Tip: Act fast. If you hesitated, especially on electronic goods, they'll be snatched up by someone else. I think I asked about 5 TVs before I finally got a response saying they still had theirs available. 

2. Local second hand sites. E-bay can be a good one, there are often local versions to try your hand at bidding. And most countries will have a second hand website, similar to Craig's List, but hopefully with less creepy stalkers. In Belgium a good one is www.2dehands.be. 

Tip: Unless you speak Dutch or French, open this in Google Chrome so that you get an option popping up at the top of the browser to translate. It should translate most of the page so that you know what you're looking for. And thankfully, if you want to inquire about someone, most Belgians speak English, so writing to them in English isn't a problem. 

3. Local Shops. There will still be some decent ones out there, like the equivalent to Target. You just need to ask around when you get there and see where is good to go. It's a bit different than the U.S. at least, in that you'll sometimes not be able to find what you wanted in the type of store you were thinking, but just look around. In Belgium there are some good stores for kitchen and household items (not furniture), like Blokker. You also find a lot of great shops that aren't chains, just walk in and look around if you stumble upon something. 

Tip: Aldi has great deal every so often on various things, we just got a great Canon printer/scanner/copier for pretty cheap there, but you have to keep an eye out and make sure you get there in time.

4. Internet! You can find anything here, of course, hopefully I don't need to explain that. One site I particularly like for Belgium is http://www.3suisses.be. This is especially good for buying bed linen. If you're coming from the US, the bed sizes are different, so sheets from home don't work well. One thing to keep in mind is, in Belgium, most people have lots of duvet covers instead of lots of sheets. They change those like we change our sheets, and it's nearly impossible to buy a flat sheet. I still have to try and explain to my boyfriend what that is. Just adapt to this one, it's easier ;)

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

It has been almost a year now since I moved to Belgium from the United States. 11 months in fact. Really it's hard to believe it has been that long, time has gone so fast. And at the same time, so much has happened, it feels like I have been here much longer.

In the past year, I've started learning Dutch, almost completed my MBA, met people from all over the world, traveled to China, competed in the European Business Plan of the Year competition in Greece, road tripped through Scotland, traveled to Paris, Amsterdam and Bruges. (Details of these trips to come in a later post). I've gotten addicted to entirely too many TV shows, become a better cook, and most importantly started to settled into another country.

Moving abroad is not easy, it helps when you're busy because you don't have time to stop and think. It helps to have a reason to go abroad. If anyone happens to read this that doesn't know me, well, my boyfriend is Belgian. So I came here for him, and to do my MBA for international business. Having the MBA was great. It was something for me, to improve myself, learn new things, and build a network. Building a network when you move abroad is crucial, especially if you move abroad for someone else.

There are still points you get homesick though. It's hard, getting homesick. You want to be stronger, able to handle anything. You moved to another country after all. But when you move and know that it is for an unlimited duration, it happens. It's okay that it does. I think the worst thing you can do is pretend that you're not homesick. It'll just get worse. You start missing weird things too. I miss food, random food. Like goldfish, or types of yogurt. It's things you're used to, that you want to have to make you feel at home.

My friends here have given me a hard time sometimes for wanting to go to Hard Rock, or another restaurant with American type food. But I live in Belgium now, I get Belgian food anytime I want. I don't get to go home much and that is what I miss, the food I'm used to.

Anyways, now that my first ramblings are out. This blog will be a place for me to write, because doing an MBA basically sucks away any free time you have and I miss writing. And a place for me to talk about my life as an expat. What that means, experiences I have and anything else I feel like talking about. Probably TV shows I'm watching (I watch a lot :P). So...anyone that reads this. Enjoy :)