In France, about a month after Christmas break, all students and most adults all get some time off in February/March to go skiing. It sounds kind of silly, but seriously – that’s what the break is for.
I hate skiing, and I don’t really like the snow so I decided to go to Maastricht and Belgium to enjoy my week of freedom.
I went to Maastricht to visit Steph and Dorus and we had a really nice time. In the city there is this huge abandoned industrial warehouse that some earth-loving hippies have taken over and turned into a sort of commune. Every Monday night, they cook vegan/vegetarian meals for people anyone who would like to come (reservations required). When you get there, its like this really dark, huge scary building and then you walk up three flights of tiny, narrow stairs, and finally you enter an eclectically decorated room with hanging paper lanterns, rhythmic reggae music, and delicious aromas floating around in the air.
The ambiance there is really unique – made me feel like I was back in Santa Cruz. For 5 euros you get a delicious homemade, earth-friendly and HEALTY meal. On the menu for the night was:
Entrée: vegan fake meat mixture with potatoes pancake waffle-thingys
Plat: Baked Polenta with melted cheese and oven roasted veggies accompanied with deep fried mushrooms and a carrot salad.
Dessert: Vegan chocolate cake with a vanilla yogurt.
DELICIOUS. Really really good.
The next day I took the bus from Maastricht to Hasselt (Belgium) to go meet up with my cousin Janice. We had a really wonderful time hanging out together. The following day, we decided to go to the Saunas. This was a life changing experience.
So we drive about 25 minutes into the woods of Belgium where this beautiful fortress was waiting for us. We went to like a spa/beauty/wellness center. It has about 5 outdoor saunas, 4 indoor saunas, swimming pools both inside and outside, hot tubs, outdoor showers, indoor showers, lounges, beds to take naps on – awesomeness.
So basically, I spent my entire day walking around in a bath towel, getting naked, walking into a sauna with like 10 other strangers, sitting there for 15 mins, getting out, jumping in a cold pool or taking a cold shower, laying down, going back in a sauna or maybe a jacuzzi, and repeating this four hours. I thought I would be really nervous about getting naked in front of so many people, but it honestly was not that bad. I think I had seen just about every body type in one day – so that was interesting. But the overall vibe of the place was really calm and it was refreshing to be surrounded by a group of people who were taking some time out of their day to make themselves feel good.
After the sauna, Janice and I hauled butt to get home, have some dinner (delicious Durum) and then off to her massage class. SOOO GLAD I WENT. It was really great to watch her teach her students (in Dutch) and meet everyone. Fortunately, one of her students was missing so I got to get paired up with a student and she massaged me for like 30 minutes – not a bad way to end a day full of relaxation.
The following morning Janice offered to give me a massage, which was absolutely divine. It really topped off my great couple of days with her which are always so much fun.
That evening I met up with Steph and Dorus and some of Steph’s friends from Maastricht to go to a party at a club in Leuven. It was sooo good. We danced until about 5 am and then went home to crash.
I had a really great week away from Paris but I am certainly looking forward to going back. It’s really starting to feel like home there. Tomorrow I start my new job as an English teaching assistant at a high school in Bobigny (a suburb of Paris)!!! I hope it all goes well.
I want to apologize for the lack of blogs/updates. I sort of fell off the face of the earth but I am back and am hoping to make weekly updates =)
Ta-ta for now.
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