2-3.2.2018 - Touring the old city, getting home

I left my heavy backpack in the room and headed for the city. I took the tram to Royale, overlooking the old city. From there I walked down the streets and got to the Grand Place, a breathtakingly beautiful square surrounded by gothic buildings on all sides. Intricate carvings, golden inlays and hundreds of statues decorated the walls of these buildings. Hundreds of tourists swarming from and to every direction. I'm sure that in a few days, somewhere in eastern Asia, many people are going to wonder who is the mysterious tall person in their selfies... Not knowing where to go next, I decided to just follow the river of people flowing into one of the side streets. I found a small restaurant hidden from the masses of tourists in a quiet side road and had some great local food. I kept walking, just going by instinct. Saw some street performers, avoided a large crowd of protestors and got lost. Didn't have any better ideas so I just kept walking forward. It was an interesting experience, I got to see some of the ups and downs of the city. I finally found myself at a tram stop. After asking for some directions and a quick chat I got on the tram and went to the hotel. The next morning I grabbed my bag and headed back to the old city. I saw the famous Manneken Pis, went to a souvenir shop and ate breakfast. I had to hurry to the station to grab my suitcase before the 24 hour period ends, unless I wanted to pay extra. I went to the closest station, which was Brussels Central. There I was robbed blind... 9 euros for one ticket?!? I could get a ticket to the other side of the country for cheaper. I took the train to Brussels south, grabbed my suitcase, twenty minutes before the 24 hour mark, and took the next train in the opposite direction, since I couldn't really go anywhere else with all the luggage. Brussels Central, Brussels North and finally the airport. Now the only problem was that my flight was leaving in six hours, and the bag drop opening only two hours before. I decided to pay the 7.50€ for the airport's storage and take the train back to the city. Guess what? The ticket I had to pay nine euros for, wasn't valid anymore! It would have cost me an extra eighteen euros to go to the city and back. I decided to just stay at the airport, having just wasted the 7.50€ for the storage. I set up camp in the empty upper floor, the only place with some peace and quiet and an electrical outlet. Spent a few hours there watching videos and chatting online. Started to feel hungry so I headed to the restaurant. Got a pasta, a beer, a double espresso and a chocolate mousse to top it all off. Finally, when the time came, I picked up my luggage, dropped it off at the counter (half a kilo under the limit...phew) and went through security. After that time pretty much flew. Spent the rest of the time writing and I am finishing this just as we have landed. I am back in Finland.

A city scarred and bleeding

A beautiful park, where the only other people are a young couple taking pictures and an old man, brushing his teeth. In a slightly hidden patch of grass behind the church, a man, squatting to relieve himself. He has nowhere else to go. Under a railway bridge, with walls covered by graffiti and the ground by trash, you'd see these small huts erected, made of anything you could find laying around. Some poor souls call these places home. Two young girls, no more than fifteen, sitting under an abandoned arch, playing loud music and in their hands, burning cigarettes. A small child sitting in an alley, next to her old grandmother. Holding her hands forward, she greets everyone passing by, with a big smile reserved for those who hand her a coin out of pity. These are some examples of the people living amidst this decaying part of the city, in the shadows and dark alleys of the great and magnificent monuments and buildings that make the old city such an attraction.

2.2.2018 - Bumps in the road

I asked the waiter for directions to the nearest bus stop. Didn't find it, so I had to walk quite far, to the bus depot. Got to the station, grabbed my suitcase and bought a ticket. Very soon I was on the train. The ride took an hour or so. I did some writing and listened to music. I left my suitcase at the Brussels-south station and went looking for a way to get to the hotel. First the info booth directed me to the wrong direction whereby I ended up in the metro station underground. At least there I had Wi-fi. I checked the name of the stop from google maps abd went to the counter. I got a tram ticket and was directed to go back up to the ground level. I finally found the tram, and luckily it was the right one. My stop was about twenty stops further. All of the sudden the tram stops, and the driver announces something which causes most people to get off. I asked someone to translate and they said that apparently the tram in front of us was "kaput", as they put it... Broken. And so I had to start walking. It wasn't that bad, I mean it was only like five kilometres... When I got to the next stop, I saw the two trams going by, one pushing the other clearing the way. I decided to wait there for the next tram, since the sign said the next one was coming in ten minutes... It said ten minutes for almost half an hour. The only thing I could do is wait. The only entertaining thing was watching some french speaking kids playing and obtaining fruits from a nearby stand. They didn't seem to think paying was necessary. The tram finally came, half an hour later and it was crowded. I somehow managed to squeeze in and find something to hold on to. There were no announcements in the tram, and it was too crowded to see outside, and so, I missed my stop and had to walk back a few stations. Finally I was at the hotel. It was fully booked and so I ended up getting the best room there. It was a large suite, quite a bargain for only costing 65€.

2.2.2018 - Churches, museums and restaurants

I had planned a route through the city, where I would be able to visit many of the interesting spots in the city. My first stop was the church of the holy blood, a beautiful medieval building with religious depictions all around. By chance, I got there right as mass was beginning, and so I got to enjoy the beautiful sounds of the organ echoing through the hall. I sat down for a while, untill the mass began. At that point I left. It was way too ritualistic for my liking. From there I walked to the church of our lady, an architectural masterpiece. An archeological museum was my next stop. It was right across from the church. For some reason it seemed funny to me, that not more than twenty meters apart, were two buildings standing for such different ideologies. One with paintings depicting the creation six thousand years ago and the other telling the story of prehistoric humans tens of thousands of yeas ago. We are at a turning point. Several centuries ago even contemplating such ideas would be considered heresy and could result in death. Nowadays it is quite the opposite. In some places people bringing up religion and faith are seen as uneducated, close minded fools living in their bubble of ignorance. How have things changed. Just a random thought crossing my mind. Where was I? Oh yes, the museum... From there I walked to the Church of our saviour, the most magnificent one by far, with it's enormous artworks, vibrant stained glass windows, huge archways, intricate murals and the enormous organ looming in the back. It was definitely worth visiting. I went to grab lunch in a restaurant. It was a nice and cozy place with good food and service. There I also tasted the best beer so far, Bourgogne des Flandres, A beer brewed in a local abbey. Now it was time to head for Brussels.

1.2.2018 - Brugge

It took a little while to find the huge sign reading "HOTEL EUROP". After walking for a while in what I thought was the wrong direction, I finally got to the hotel. At the reception I heard some troubling news. Apparently my card was not accepted and so I was sent several messages informing me I must provide valid info, else they would need to cancel the booking by two o'clock. I got there around three fourty... Luckily they still had rooms available and it only cost me an extra fifteen euros. The room wasn't big nor fancy, but the only thing I needed was a bed to pass out on later in the evening. I grabbed the map and started looking for places to go. One place caught my eye, it was the Torture Museum, and it was right by the bar everyone insisted I should go to. I headed out. It was raining and a bit cold but that didn't bother me at all, I had my destination set. On the way I bought some fries, as a light snack. When I finally got to the museum, I was soaked. The entrance itself was eerily charming: A spiral staircase leading to the basement, with ominous music playing in the background. This was exciting. In the museum were replicas of torture and execution devices extremely common in europe up until only a few centuries ago. It was very educational. I learned about how torture was a large part of the legal system in medieval times, and how our collective sense of morality has changed. The visit was very interesting to me. Though I imagine that to some, seeing a person stare at these devices, grinning from ear to ear, might be slightly disturbing. I guess that says something about me. Having finished the tour I went to take some pictures of the canals and waterfront buildings. It started raining heavily so I decided to head to the pub. The rest of the evening comprised of tasting delicious local beers and trying to keep my balance walking back to the hotel. I got back around seven o'clock and passed out pretty much as soon as I sat on my bed. I slept till the morning, ate breakfast and checked out.

1.2.2018 - The journey back

I woke up quite late today, exhausted from yesterdays toils. Now I was facing the greatest challenge of all: Packing. I had to arrange everything in such a way that I could leave my suitcase at the train stations instead of dragging it to the hotel. That way, I can explore Brugge and Brussels without having to worry about my luggage. I went to eat, said my farewells to the staff and handed in my keys and left for the tram. The coastal tram is the fastest way to get from one point to another on the shoreline. It is also the cheapest, but that is mostly because the ticket booth was closed and there was no conductor, so it's not my fault... Oostende is a beautiful city. It was such a pity I couldn't stay there longer than the time it took me to get off the tram, walk into the station and realize there was no luggage storage. And so, I took the next train to Brugge. I left the suitcase in the smallest and cheapest locker. It was a tight fit, had to shove it in quite forcefully but it was worth the one euro i saved by not needing a bigger locker. Now, the four of us, me, my backpack, myself and I, took a bus to the market, a gorgeous square in the heart of the city. Brugge is the oldest city in belgium still in its original form, with some buildings dating all the way to the 11th and 12th centuries. I was eager to start exploring the city and so I headed to the hotel.

31.1.2018 - Last day of work

Grabbed a hasty breakfast (the first breakfast in a long time) and went to the evaluation meeting. We signed all the paperwork talked a little and then we realized we hit a little snag. The Head nurse had kept the evaluation papers and hadn't given them to the person I was working with. Because of that, I only got the papers later in the evening. I was supposed to go to a few other museums in the afternoon but Valerie, the person who I was going with, became ill. So I decided to go for one last bicycle ride. The one thing I forgot was to check the weather forecast... I'm sure you can guess how that went. I had just passed the town of Ramskapelle when I noticed the dark clouds coming from the west. Following that, was the five kilometre ride back, in freezing cold rain and violent winds. When I got back I was soaked from head to toe. I didn't have a single piece of clothing that wasn't wet. The rest of the evening was spent warming up.

30.1.2018 - Ups and downs

On Tuesday I went back to work. I finished some paperwork, did the rounds with the nurse and helped here and there. Today was the first and only time somebody complained about the language barrier to the nurse...she was angry because it took me a while to understand what she wanted. I mean, I understand her point: She pays moderately fir the stay in Ter Duinen abd for the services there. She deserves the best possible level of care, by someone who understands her and speaks her native language. But there is more than one side to this: Because it was rush hour, I was asked by the nurse to help one patient change their clothes and go to the bathroom. I had a little trouble understanding what she was saying so it took a little longer. Finally the nurse came to check everything was ok, and the patient starts complaining about me angrily to the nurse, while I was right there next to them and could understand almost everything she was saying... It bummed me for a bit but these kinds of things happen. On a more positive note, I got a tidal wave of gratitude from a lady I stayed a bit overtime to help. I watched some nature documentary and went to sleep.

29.1.2018 - Touring WWI museums and shopping

I was ready by 10 o'clock. I went outside and waited for my coworker to pick me up. We visited the watergates in nieuwpoort, which were crucial to halting the German advance in WWI. We visited the monument of King Albert I, which I had previously only seen at night. We also went to see the Nieuwpoort church. I was amazed by the Architecture and all the works of art inside. After that we drove along the the canals which were once the front lines of the trenches in WWI. We went to visit the Yser Tower in Diksmuide. The view from the top of the tower was magnificent. Down the tower was a museum telling the history of WWI. On the way out I got to hear the Beautiful ringing of the tower's bells. We drove back to nieuwpoort and went to a local restaurant serving the best of belgian fries and beer. With the 25€ voucher I had gotten from the new year's party, I went to buy some souvenirs from the store. We drove back to Ter Duinen, I got to my room and slept for the rest of the day.

19.1.2018 - Patien Room of the Future

I woke up early, Mrs. Remans picked me up. We drove for an hour to poperinge, a town south of Nieuwpoort. We met up with the rest of the students. They ranged form first to third year students, although they were all over 18, as are all nursing students in belgium. It was nice and cool outside, or so I thought, untill I realized everyone was staring at me for not wearing a coat. We went inside PROF. It’s an international think tank developing methonds and tools for future care. They design concept rooms with breakthrough technologies to accomodate elderly people in the future, make desings for hospital rooms, nursing homes and more, with the goal of confirming with the future needs and standards of care. We had an hour’s lecture about the subject, which raised some thoughts. They spoke about the eight keywords that need to be fufilled in all aspects of future care: Awareness, Comfort, Safety, Privacy, Loneliness, Non-stigmatizing, Intergenerationality and flexibility. These keywords resonated with me, and I personally think that they can be incorporated in everyday work, finding solutions to problems in patients’ and clients’ everyday lives. The tour that followed was very well planned and it demonstrated the different concepts they have developed. I very much enjoyed the visit and would have stayed longer to ask some questions but my ride was leaving, and so, I had to settle for what I had already learned.


For more information about the PROF project see http://www.prof-projects.com/

14-16.1.2018 – Night shifts

I had two days off to switch my sleeping schedule. I was almost ready for the night shifts. I woke up late in the afternoon, took a shower, ate, took some pictures and finally went to work. The only missing ingredient now was caffeine. It is a strange feeling walking into the office and seeing everyone else leaving. I settled down onto an office chair and started sipping my first cup of the night. The early evening was busy. I helped people calling for help getting into bed and prepared a tray of medication for the next day. The night went by quietly, we took turns answering calls. At six o’clock I went with the nurse to take blood samples. There were three patients with blood tests scheduled. The first one had very bad circulation in the extremities and even the nurse had trouble finding a vein. He settled for taking a sample from the wrist, right above the thumb. I managed to take samples from the other two patients without any problems, which surprised me since I had tried it only once before – at school. I got some feedback about the technique, which I had for some reason completely forgotten, and corrected myself on the next try. The next night was quite similar. I got to do two more blood tests. Palpating with a bandage on my finger was a little tedious, but I managed well. I had one and a half days off after the two night shifts, which I spent mostly sleeping and then on Wednesday I headed to an evening shift.

 

3.1.2018 - The first day at work

I woke up around 8 o'clock, prepared some breakfast and got ready to leave. It was a short walk, only about 20 minutes or so, despite having some difficulty finding the place. Luckily I had a map on my phone.

I got to the workplace shortly before ten. I entered the lobby and waited. After a while the manager, Jorgan, came and introduced himself. We talked a little bit and he introduced me to the head nurse Valerie. She showed me around the premises, gave me my work clothes and went over some details. I got dressed in my new uniform and headed to her office. I got my new work schedule, met some of the coworkers and I was ready to start working.

The first day what's more of an introductory day and so, I followed some of the nurses and observed their work. The work day went by quite fast. After my shift ended I went to eat with the rest of the workers and I got some food to take with me to the hotel. I also got a bicycle I could use for the duration of my stay. In the evening I went out for a stroll and took some pictures.

2.1.2018 - Finally arriving

I woke up, took a shower and went down for breakfast. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Got my stuff and checked out. I was pointed in the direction of the train station. And so, the second stage of my journey to Nieuwpoort started. When I got to the station I discovered that the only ticket machine wasn't working. Eventually, after explaining the problem to the conductor, I was able to buy a ticket from the train.

Now I was set... I was on the right train, I knew where I needed to change trains and what train to take. Though it was a bit difficult to navigate when the two languages displayed were Dutch and French. I made it to the second train and everything seemed ok. That's untill I realised that I needed to send a message to Johan so he could come and pick me up (I was going to a station 45 km away from Nieuwpoort). Now remember, I couldn't buy the prepaid card on the day before... I tried roaming, SMS, some random wifi and more but nothing worked. That's when I started asking people walking by in the train to borrow their phone. On the fourth try I was lucky, since the previous ones either didn't have a phone or were tourists... The woman who lent me their phone, as I later heard from Johan, was Dutch, so the call must have cost them quite a lot...

I got to the final station and followed the instructions Johan gave me. Managed to message him after connecting to the wifi of some tour bus.

After a while he came and picked me up. We drove to Nieuwpoort and laughed for half the trip at my misfortune. We went to quickly look at my workplace, and came to the Floreal hotel where I would be staying for a week. The check-in was only at four o'clock, so we sat down in the restaurant and went over some information regarding the work.

After coffee, I went to buy a prepaid card. I went to the beach to take some photos... Apparently swimming in the ocean is somehow crazy.. I mean it was almost 7°C, that is very nice and warm... But no.. the Belgians won't allow it.

I went to eat some pancakes and waited to get the key. The rest of the evening I unpacked and rested.

1.1.2018 - The first day of the trip

The day started with packing. Well I should say the night, since I started packing around 1:00am... I ate a hasty breakfast, showered and left for the airport.

You know how they say that you should come to the airport at least two hours before departure? Well, I did... And I had to wait one hour and fifty minutes at the gate, because I got through the baggage drop and security in less than ten minutes... That's finnish efficiency for you. And so, I did what any normal person would do, and spent the next hour in a bar, because I couldn't find a Starbucks.

The flight was slightly delayed, and took a bit longer because of strong headwinds. It was a smaller airplane... Small enough that I couldn't stand straight in the lavatory. The only thing we got for free was a glass of blueberry juice, which would have been nicer had it not only been half full. I spent the flight like I do most other times... I listened to music, wrote for a little while and slept for the majority of the flight, paying back a portion of my ever growing sleep debt..

After the plane landed and I got my suitcase, I followed the instructions I got, and went to the bus terminal to grab a shuttle to the hotel. The only thing I remembered (I was very tired) was that my hotel is the NH Brussels airport hotel. I had just missed the first one, so I had to wait twenty minutes for the next one. And so, I got on the shuttle to NovHotel Brussels airport. I got to the reception, told them I had a reservation and showed them my booking confirmation. At that point I was told I was in the wrong hotel... NovHotel, NH... That's where the two letters come from, right? And then I saw the sign... It said Novotel... No H in sight... Apparently I can't read...

And so, I had to take the shuttle back to the airport (at least it was free) and I looked for the correct shuttle stop, the driver showed me where it was. I found it, looked at the schedule and waited for it to come. After a while I started wondering why it didn't show up. I went to check the time tables again and that's when I saw the red note st the side of the info panel: "Due to the holiday season the shuttle service to the NH brussels airport hotel is not in use. Please call the hotel at (followed by a long Belgian phone number) and we will arrange transport for you"... I hadn't bought a Belgian prepaid SIM yet, so I tried calling with my finnish number, to no avail... I went back to the shuttle driver and tried to ask for help. He only spoke french. Luckily, a driver for another company was there and he spoke english. I explained the situation to him and asked if he could call the hotel to ask what to do. I was instructed to go back to the airport, and wait near the info desk for a taxi driver holding my name. While waiting there, I walked around and found the only store in the whole airport that sells prepaid SIM cards... It had closed fifteen minutes earlier.

I had waited for about twenty five minutes when I overheard an american couple asking a cab driver if he was waiting for someone going to the NH hotel...I had asked him the same question a bit earlier, to which he replied no, but that I should wait here... I kept waiting. After a while a conversation sparked between us, based in our common misfortune. I had been there for almost forty minutes waiting for the driver to show up... We decided to just share a cab to the hotel. I finally got to the hotel, two and a half hours after I got out of the terminal... At least the hotel paid back the cab ride. Got to my room, settled in and went to eat. Got back, finished writing this entry and calling it a day. And oh boy, what a day it has been.