Deck the Halls

  Decorating for Christmas is no joke here in Leuven; I will share more photos on facebook closer to

I've developed a taste for classical music; it's really nice to play while reading, especially in situations that cancelling headguesphones; like on a train, plane, or Laundromat.  Then I learned that I also really enjoy live classical concerts. My first experience was in Antwerp when I saw a small ensemble with more of a Latin feel. Then I went to Brussels to watch the International Project to watch my friend Chelsea, the harpist and her colleagues.  Now again tonight, I got an opportunity to put my Culture Card to use.

Winterconcert van het Arenbegorkest

I find it absolutely stunning the way an ensemble of over fifty living, breathing human beings can find such synchrony performing such sophisticated music. There is something about getting dressed to a "t" and going to these events and absorbing the experience. The aesthetics are amazing when you really focus. The way the conductor moves a the sea of writhing musicians may seem somewhat flippant and for show at times but then you realize there is actual precision to what he's doing, and with certain emphatic gestures the percussionists emphasize a measure as you feel the vibrations in your chest.
There were definitely some difference between the performance in Brussels and the one in Leuven. For one, the venue in Brussels was far more elegant. See someone I know play also added a certain element. The show in Leuven however was structured as much more obvious of  a story line with silhouettes projected on the backdrop accompanied by a voiceover (Dutch:/). The pieces were performed as follows:
-The Phantom of the Opera
+A.L. Webber (Arr. C. Custard)
-Jazz Suite No.2 Second Waltz
+D. Shostakovich
-Mauerische Truermusik, K. 477
+W.A. Mozart
-Eine Nacht in Venidig (A Night in Venice)-Ouverture 
https://soundcloud.com/ryan-hart-108894336/eine-nacht-in-venediga-night-in-venice-ouverture
+J. Strauss II
-The Dark Knight Rises
+H. Zimmer (Arr. R. Ford) {THIS WAS BADASS (and yes, they projected the batman symbol:)}
-Pini di Roma- III  Pini del Gianicolo & IV I Pinin della Via Appia
+O. Respighi

I left wonder whether the birds singing at the start of the last song was being produced from the PA or one of the musicians (A violinist making her instrument scream, maybe)
There was a nice reception afterward with FREE BELGIAN BEER, but as I am in the midst of a cleanse of sorts, I had to settle for the bubbly water.

12 Bar Wapenstilstand

Tomorrow is a holiday here in Belgium, here are Wikipedia's two accounts:

St. Martin's Day, also known as the Feast of St. Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, the Feast of St Martin of Tours or Martin le Miséricordieux, is celebrated on November 11 each year. This is the time when autumn wheat seeding was completed, and the annual slaughter of fattened cattle produced "Martinmas beef".^[1] Historically, hiring fairs were held where farm laborers would seek new posts.

St. Martin of Tours started out as a Roman soldier then was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The best known legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying from the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak. Martin heard Jesus say to the angels, "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me."

Remembrance Day (sometimes known as Poppy Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919,^[1] the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month", in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.) The First World War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.^[2]

The memorial evolved out of Armistice Day, which continues to be marked on the same date. The initial Armistice Day was observed at Buckingham Palace, commencing with King George V hosting a "Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic"^[3]during the evening hours of 10 November 1919. The first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace the following morning.

Here is what one Belgian native , kind enough to share with me about the holiday had to offer:

This is what children are supposed to leave
for St. Martin the eve of 11/11; a carrot in a shoe...

 https://soundcloud.com/ryan-hart-108894336/voice-0041


And some get something like this in return

Jimi Thing

 

 

  My friend Ash has rearranged the strings on this wonderful instrument and for me to play for the time being. I am beyond grateful for this gesture. :)

 

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-hart-108894336/voice-0021

  Footage (as requested by Aunt Tracey) from our most recent jam session at the above link.  Ash is playing the brilliant lead, and the rough and at times off-rhythm chords are products of my clumsy fingers on the perfection pictured above.
 
This beer (4-pack) demanded my purchase in the grocery store as it's creative label caught my eye.
This time, the cover didn't deceive: it had that light crisp, pale ale taste  with a hint of banana, maybe. (8.5% V) (also visually appealing upon pour straw colored and bubbly. )  I like what you're doing, Family Brewery Huyghe

I recently visited the Leuven M-museum recently with a group of friend, we shared some laughs and took the art in with varying interpretations.  I managed to sneak some pictures:

Right hand?

 

 

Belgian Palm Trees

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       There is definitely a major adjustment to methods in this new setting. After much deliberation, my academic schedule goes on like this:

Belgian palm trees                   :)

"A convenient passage between Tiensestraat and Naamstraat [two frequently visited streets}"

Wednesday: Medieval Philosophy 9:00 (Language & Cognition focus) Phenomenology 16:00 THursday: Modern Philosophy 11:00 Ancient Philosophy(Audit)14:00 New business development 18:00

Friday : Foundation of time seminar 11:00
After class on Thursday, I had to laugh when I came across a sign that read:
MISSING BUDDY report:
We are looking for an MA philosophy student...named Ryan born September 27, 1990...
They are experimenting with the format of the phenomenology course by adding a supplemental online course with several lectures done in video format accompanied by a discussion forum. Anyone can follow this online course for free on the First World War at:

https://www.edx.org/course/great-war-modern-philosophy-kuleuvenx-graphx#!

pine tree with berries

I stop bye the bakery about once a week for a fresh loaf of bread,
occasional stop for chocolate but usually use the one in the desk.

On my birthday, I took a day-trip to Bruges, the city was ridiculously romantic, and it was a sunny day. It has been sunny ever since that day, actually. (quite rare for this region) With that in mind, I've been doing my best to read at the park or outside the department to soak up as many rays as I can while it lasts. After class on Thursday, I had to laugh when I came across a sign that read:
MISSING BUDDY report:
We are looking for an MA philosophy...named Ryan born September 27, 1990.

Houses along the canal

 

 

                                                           

Bossin' on my C scales

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I figured I'd write some stuff. After all, there's been more and more practical tasks surfacing: banks, insurance, orientation, blah bur blah bur blah. But aside from that garbage, there's time for the reading: Atop my priorities are Critique of Pure Reason, Phenomenology of Spirit, A Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology, and Being in Time

Things are surprisingly similar to the way it was three months ago, back in Pennsylvania. On the one hand, there is something missing right now, sure, in that my people are not here with me.  But yet, the feeling is still in tact, when I sink into my reading chair, fresh tea in hand: there's a certain feeling of comfort, fortune, and gratitude, right as I kick my feet up, like "aaahhh now we're cookin'" It's bizarre how similar Belgium is to the U.S.; I was so concerned about finding the foods I like/ need but it's all here, if you look hard enough. I mostly cook no more than five different dishes, but they all take the cake and are never the same via differences in available ingredients and method. (Because I do not measure, I just know, intuit, maybe) 

 Beyond the idyllic walks through the town center everyday, there are differences here that bring remarkable simplicity unfamiliar to life back home. The most drastic, maybe obvious instance is the fact that I have yet to and may not for the next year or two, driven or ridden in any car. It's been an obvious routine for so long: when you go anywhere, you hop in the car and drive there. But now, with such a small, bike-friendly city, paired with a remarkable bus and train system, depending on my destination, I either hop on my bike or just walk. Maybe grab a bus if necessary. Another surprise was a thing called ice bags: instead of ice trays, these ice bags are common here; you just fill this bag with with water and it then freezes into maybe 15 or 20 compartments which produces ice cubes.

I also have to comment on the hand blender. I mean, maybe this isn't so much a particularly European thing, but I mean I got this uncomplicated machine this for 5 Euros, and just like that, my smoothie game is right back on track.

Anyway, there's certainly no shortage of welcoming activities and events lately. At an international student dinner, I was dumbfounded to be sitting at a table of philosophy and theology scholars in a dining hall filled with hundreds of students from all over the world, maybe 10-20 from the U.S. (I've met three)  I'm particularly impressed with the student associations particular to each faculty. As a proud new member of NFK (the philosophy student association), I look forward to the activities in the upcoming week designed to help the scholars get to know each other as we head into this academic year including a friendship speed-date at the Fakbar (faculty-specific student-run bar). 

I'm getting quite comfortable here and have positive feelings about the days ahead.

Lakes, Forests, and Books

Two things I have been really itching to find and explore were
a. the Institute of Philosophy

and
b. my nature fix
The latter came in the form of Provinciedomein Kessel-Lo, a gigantic park with a large lake and smaller bodies nearby.  There is room for days to ride my bike around and find a secluded spot to read, and I did just that on a chilled sunny day until finding my way to a spot next to a pond where I plopped down under a tree with my new friend Edmund.   This tri was useful because I learned that the farmer's market is set-up in Kessel-Lo on Thursdays, in addition to the downtown setup on Fridays.


Botanical Gardens (reminded me of Greek tragedy)

 



The philosophy set-up is its own little Neverland, somewhat hidden (it was from me anyway, until now) from the rest of town, and it has it's own library: Four cozy floors of philosophy books; someone could stumble into this place and end up stuck for quite some time. There was the only English version of a very cool book (which I've been wanting to read) stealthily hidden behind two of Hegel's other works which happened to be both enormous and old (the actual copy, anyway).

Eating, Drinking, and Looking at Horses

Art comprised of rose pedals.

On Monday, September 7th, I was a bit confused to walk outside my apartment before 10 am to see people drinking beer in the street, then to turn left and see a horse.  Apparently that day was a festival in town called "Jaarmarkt", a business-based ordeal.  A main attraction in a huge parking lot around the corner from my place called Sint-Jacobsplein where tons of people gathered to slug Stella, eat burgers, and look at horses being examined for a grade for future auctioning, a physical check-up, if you will. 

Of course I had to explore what was going on throughout the rest of town, to find vendors and swarms of people just about everywhere. I was able to piece together a decent snack from free samples.






\

 

As it were, in preparing this square used for horse examinations a couple days earlier, the police towed my bike away. After I spent the day tracking it down as well as a new lock (they cut my old one), I went on an adventure to find this lookout point:

Maintenance

The trip back to Belgium was a minor disaster. A logistic mistake on my part due to lack of attention to detail (go figure) resulted in about a 100 euro hit to the budget, as I stranded myself in a German town called Bremin, with the only option available being to buy a train ticket to Antwerp, forfeiting the dirt-cheap bus tickets I bought for my way back. Anyway, I made my way back, and upon arrival at the Antwerp train station,

rather than head directly to Bruges as planned, I called my landlord to check in on the status of the move-in date. He informed me that I could move in at the present if I so chose, but there was a catch: I had to make it by 4 pm.

Considering the condition of my bank account as well as myself, I decided to end my trip a couple days early and "get it together" in Leuven; a risk because: the next train to Leuven left at 2:46, so with the trip duration being one hour, it would be a real test of my athleticism to make it from the train station to Ivo's place by 4. If I missed him, I'd have to pay for a hostel anyhow, just not in Bruge which would've been wasteful in my opinion.  Making it would require sprinting. With a suitcase. Through the town center. Like a moron. Amidst this struggle: I kept telling myself : "thirty to fifty euros saved, plus the comfort of your own space, you got this." Upon arrival, the vision of Ivo making a step into his wife's van to leave before seeing me still lingers; I made it by the skin of my teeth, totally exhausted, drenched, drenched, and likely quite smelly. I quickly dropped my things inside and hustled to the famers market to cop some much needed fresh produce before they closed. After getting some good deals on grapes, walnuts, almond flour, dried apricots, and broccoli; I made my back to my old stomping ground at the hostel and slipped behind the crowd of incoming visitors in line to check in, without the receptionist noticing (maybe) en route to the kitchen in order to recover my couscous and pasta. It made me smile to see them both still there, probably untouched, before I slipped out the back door. I'm a smooth criminal. As I returned to my apartment, I was REALLY hungry, but realized I had no pans to cook the stir fry I had in mind (as well as sheets and blanket for the mattress) so I decided to return to the vicinity of the hostel to use the wi-fi connection I had saved on my phone in order to email John, a post-doc theology student from Pittsburgh, to see if he could hook me up with some gear. Luckily, he got right back to me to tell me he could help, but he needed to leave in 30 minutes. So I scooted my desperate ass on over there and 41 minutes & 30 euros later I was walking back across town with as much as I could carry of the "bare essentials" stuffed into a garbage bag.  The next couple days consisted of head-stirring-sorting-out of certain pragmatic issues such as apartment internet connection, , town registration, insurance, bike parking, banking, storage-rental-closure, etc.