Brussels (feat. Bruges)

Gillian, Vicky

“Can I pack some sandwiches for you for the train?” - Vicky’s mom

This is the kind of hospitality that makes “Family Tourism” so worth it. Family Tourism is the term I use for staying with a family in a foreign country. Now granted, Vicky’s mom is Dutch and her dad is Danish - both are cultures I now feel quite familiar with. But there’s also the aspect of just seeing what it’s like to live with another family. And Vicky’s family is pretty awesome!

Vicky’s house and general living environment is also tres cool. She lives in the suburbs (like me) and her family is fairly well off (like mine). She took us to one of her main high school hometown hangouts - the mall - for Quick, some authentic local fast food. This might not seem like taking advantage of the chance to explore another culture, but sometimes I like to find the stark similarities instead of looking for the shocking differences. After being away from home for enough time to conceive and give birth, it’s kind of relieving. I got a bit homesick for my own hometown hangout, but at the same time it was kind of a relief. We did some shopping, watched a movie (the first one I’d seen since school ended), and ate fast food.

Which brings me to the main “tourist stuff” we engaged in here: food. We ate Giant burgers at Quick, a typical local fast food joint; our first night, we sampled spare ribs from a local BBQ guy Vicky’s family really likes; we enjoyed mussels cooked in beer with fries on the side for lunch in Bruges; after walking that off, we had glorious Belgian waffles; we bought Belgian chocolate to enjoy once we left the country (I couldn’t wait and had some on the train to Luxembourg); and every night we enjoyed delicious meals in a lovely suburban Belgian household. Yumsies! Although Gillian and I are definitely looking to take a break on the rich foods. I definitely felt like a glutton, and I know what I did was bad medicine for my malfunctioning digestive system, but it’s hard to resist when the local cuisine is so rich and the local family is so damn hospitable. So I let myself go overboard.

About the actual country itself - Belgium is very beautiful. The cities and suburbs are surrounded by lush, green forests and the architecture is very nice. I love the old buildings and they build the new ones in such a way that they blend in with the old. It always looks awkward to me to see shiny skyscrapers next to venerable churches and castles. Bruges was especially beautiful and looking like a fancy fuckin’ fairy tale with all the pretty castles, churches, and canals.

Thing is, Martin McDonagh is kind of right - Bruges is this beautiful, magical-looking old town, but there really isn’t much to do there. You can walk along the beautiful canals, marvel at the old buildings (I took a picture of some iron gates, the oldest ironwork in Belgium or Europe - circa 1290), and walk up the Belfry. Interesting note: in the movie, one of the characters is able to jump out at the top, but in actuality the Belfry’s windows are fenced-off to prevent this from happening. Also interesting: people have taken it upon themselves to inscribe their favourite comments about Bruges that are made in the movie on a corkboard wall at the top of the Belfry. My favourite: “Maybe if I grew up on a farm, and was retarded... but I didn’t!” But when it comes down to it, Bruges is still fantastically beautiful and one of the coolest sites I’ve seen. I mean, the entire town is a fuckin’ Ionesco World Heritage Site. Very cool.

So upon reflection, Brussels isn’t a city I could see myself dying to live in, not the way I’ve fallen in love with Amsterdam or Halifax or other cities. But staying at Vicky’s was so much fun, so awesome. Vicky is a hella cool friend and so warm and welcoming in a way that she doesn’t get all flashy about it. One of those “yeah, course you can stay for a while” people. Or someone who is like “yeah, course I can arrange that for you.” It’s as if being so nice, friendly, warm, and helpful is common sense to her. Which maybe it should be for everyone. After staying with Floor and Vicky’s family, it’s gonna be tough to “rough it” in hostels. But then again, this kind of hospitality probably seems so common sense because of where Vicky’s coming from. I mean, look what her mom said to Gillian and me (see opening line of this entry). It could be a mis-statement and she meant “shall” instead of “can”, but I’m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt.

How can I not love a place where the matriarch takes dinner requests and asks to make food for me?

Interlude: Brief Encounters

There was a point when I kinda wondered - what's the point of meeting up with all these people? Is it because I can? To make myself feel "connected" to people around the world?

I think it finally actually hit me yesterday, when I bumped into Lisa randomly in the park ("LISA! LISA! HEY! OVER HERE!"). Apparently I was yelling to her really loudly. But that enthusiasm is part of my point - it was really exciting to see her and it would be really cool if we both lived in the same city and could have more encounters like that, walking through the park or hanging out and eating bitterbollen with drinks on a sunny afternoon on a bar patio. Lisa's a really awesome person and I miss our hang out times at Hipolito Yrigoyen in Buenos Aires. Ditto for Kamilla and Marlies. And Anil and Floor in Cordoba/Mendoza.

In a way, it is a bit of a tease - these are people who I'd love to hang out with on a regular basis, but because of distance and circumstance, I only get to see them for a little bit - for some just a couple of hours after not seeing them for a year and a half! But I guess even those couple of hours are important. It's staying in touch, in contact. Keeping the ties.

And then I guess we can always go back to being together, again and again. Life is pretty long. If I stay healthy and no surprises come up, I've got another 55 years or so of adventures to go.

I think I could fit in a few more meetings. :D

Amsterdam

Gillian, Floor, Anil, Lisa, Marlies

Smash Cut to some wonderful momos with Gillian. Super-size me motherfucker! (You won’t get that. Only Gillian will.)

Amsterdam was really cool. And this is from a guy who didn’t spend his days in the coffee shops and his nights in the clubs. Amsterdam just has this really wonderful atmosphere. On Friday, our first full day in town, we pretty much just walked around. Took in the sights, got a feel for the city, and ate some nice food. It was also our first full day together on our whole backpacking-through-Europe trip. So it was a good start and the weather was beautiful. And Mom: Gillian always makes sure we re-apply sunscreen when needed, so no worries. No burns so far.

One thing that was really nice is my friends Floor and Anil picked us up at the airport when we arrived. We sat in a cafe, caught up with each other a bit, then went home to Floor’s place. Floor was such a wonderful host to us. We could not have had a nicer, sweeter person to stay with - she gave us so much and it was no problem for her at all. It was really cool. So now she has to come to Toronto (or Ebeltoft, Denmark) so she can stay at my place and I can give her a place to stay, show her around, cook for her, and give her the royal treatment. So Floor, if you’re reading this: come to Toronto! (and just make sure I’m there, so I can do all these things for you :D)

Friday night was really nice - Floor, Anil, Gillian, and I went out to dinner at an Argentine restaurant in Rembrantsplein, as a connection to where I first met Floor and Anil - in Cordoba, Argentina a year and a half ago. Afterwards, we walked around (I got to see the difference between the older, heftier daytime Red Light District and the younger, slimmer nighttime Red Light District) and then went to a nice bar, where Floor got the bartender to make me a nice alcohol-free cocktail. I believe it was a Nojito. At the end of the night, Anil made his way back to Den Haag (The Hague) on the night train (which I think goes to show how small and cosy Holland is).

On Saturday and Sunday, we went into Tourist Mode. We went with Floor to see the Van Gogh Museum (which was the second time for me and frankly I could go a third), which was awesome, especially because Floor hadn’t seen it before. I think it’s a really special museum because it really gives you a feel for Van Gogh as a person, not just a painter. The collection of personal letters especially illuminate is tragic life and spiral downwards, as well as his brother and sister-in-law’s undying devotion and support. I get teary-eyed just thinking of it. On Sunday, we visited the Anne Frank house, which was also nice and informative and very interesting (it’s hard to say “cool” to tour a place that was a dank, often uncomfortable, hideout from the Nazis).

Saturday night we went to the restaurant Floor serves at, which was sweet because she served us and so we ended up getting the star treatment, lots of bread, and free drinks! Just another example of how cool Floor is.

Sunday, we got to meet up with Lisa and Marlies, both of whom I met while studying Spanish in Buenos Aires (the month before I went to Cordoba). This whole Argentina reconnection thing was really cool for me because that was my first big backpacking adventure (where I met a lot of Dutch peeps), so it was like connecting the two trips together. Both girls (young women) are very sweet and fun, and they took Gillian and I to a place to try “bitterbollen”, which I don’t really know how to describe. They’re sort of a Dutch pub food, deep-fried balls of batter and I think maybe some meat and what looked like spinach? So good. Mmmm. And Gillian and I also tried Fristi, which is this pink yoghurt drink that Dutch kids (like, little kids) apparently love.

So all in all, I think Gillian and I got a really good coverage of Amsterdam. We spent time in all the major neighbourhood/areas of the town and got to hang out with some locals and do local stuff. On Monday, we visited this really nice cafe called Latei that a friend of ours recommended us and then went for a walk in the main park, which was full of people walking/lying down and enjoying the sunny weather. And where I bumped into Lisa who was with two friends (which, again, goes to show how small and cosy Holland is). Having never accidentally bumped randomly into someone I know in a foreign city before, this was really cool. And since it was this city... with the people I know here...

...really makes seriously consider job-hunting in Amsterdam when I’m done. Hmmm...

Brief comments on Gillian (I’ll write more on her later ;) - very cool travel buddy. We both have a lot of things to say about what we see, so things never get dull. We can also comfortably enjoy silence together when waiting on a bus/train or when one of us is checking our email or reading. Also Gillian belched a big burp around me the other day. Which was nice. Both for its magnitude and to show how comfortable we are around each other. Hopefully we can keep that up without killing each other. :D

So, on the train from Amsterdam to Brussels, I have a new dilemma - yet another city I want to live in and keep returning to. It makes me not want to leave, especially away from such wonderful friends, but I guess it’s kind of a good “bad thing”. I mean...

Wouldn’t it be the most awesome trip if it was like this for every city I see?

Interlude: Big Plans

So I'm finally doing it. The whole "quarter-life crisis" backpacking-through-Europe thing. Which is not an easy thing for me. I am great at making big plans - I have a lot more trouble seeing them through to the end. Even with school this past year, I'd have elaborate plans for a film project and then it would get toned down more and more from "elaborate" to finally arrive at "good enough".

Well not here - Gillian and I planned out a 5-week travel plan and we's gonna do it. We are still arranging places to stay at in certain locations, but we have things organised and, regardless, I need to be in Rome on June 21 in order to fly back home to a home I'm already homesick for to see people I already miss so much. So it would be very easy for me to say "Aaaaaccckk I can't do this!" and rush home and see friends and family and it'd be awesome and I'd have a lot of fun and feel good. But I would also be thinking "Damn I could have maybe..." And even now... But no, I'm doing this. And it helps that I have a good friend along for the ride with me. A good friend whom I'm sure wouldn't be too pleased if I just up and said "Peace".

So yeah... Europe ho!

Oslo

Andrea, Fiona, Kamilla

Well technically not Oslo - I’ve been staying with Andrea’s wonderful family who live on the other side of the fjord in a beautiful house with a beautiful view of the fjord and the air smells so wonderful.

First off: summer weather. Finally was able to break out the sandals for sandal-appropriate weather. It’s nice. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t wear socks between May and September. But living in Canada and travelling/studying in Northern Europe won’t allow that. And maybe sunny weather makes every city look nicer, but I was really digging Oslo.

Andrea, Fiona, and I had some lovely walks around the city, Andrea pointing out all the important spots - very nice. There are a lot of nice parks and streets with trees lining the sidewalks; I always like it when nature and city collide. Oslo has some beautiful splashes of green in the concrete jungle. My friend Kamilla, who I met up with for a walk says that Trondheim is prettier, but that’ll have to wait for another trip.

Other cool thing - Syttende Mai (17th of May). That’s the big national day in Norway, which is what I experienced for my first impression of Oslo. I’ve never been in another country for their national holiday, so it was cool to be in one where they put up a nice celebration - children parading with their schools, the royal family constantly waving, people packing the streets... it was really cool to see. And then at the end, Andrea and I found ourselves at her cousin’s place having a lovely dinner while dancing and laughing with her cousins, sister, brother-in-law, and their friends.

Andrea has such an awesome family. Her parents are so nice, her sister is really cool, and her brother-in-law is such a hoot. It’s always so nice, so special, when I get to spend times like these with people’s loving families. My first dinner at her house when I arrived, her dad proudly showing me his office, her mom sharing delicious cookies with us and always asking about how our day was, talking about film with her sister and brother-in-law, everything. It’s so... warming. Frankly, I don’t want to leave. But Amsterdam will also be awesome. So I guess, on to that.

And besides... I’ll see Andrea and Fiona again. Next year. And several times after that. I know it.

"We're Artists!"

In Production Management class, we watched the obligatory Hearts of Darkness behind-the-scenes doc about the crazy-ass shit that went down on the set of Apocalypse Now. And Catrine made the comment that she thought it was kind of cool that everything/everyone went crazy because out of that craziness can come something brilliant. And then Kristian Bjerre and I laughed and looked at each other saying “I’d prefer to make something brilliant without going crazy.”

Which I think is fully completely 100% possible.

I always hear the tales of the “tortured artistic genius” or the brilliant musicians/writers who were on acid, coke, or weed when they wrote their masterpieces. Which I think is bullshit. I’ve tried weed and it only made me more incoherent and I’ve been through the whole depressed/tortured soul thing and it only made my mind blank. I personally am most creative and random when I have clarity of mind and in a thoughtful, reflective mood.

Take my roommate - Jacob Møller. His 10-minute is ridiculous artsy-fartsy, symbolic, metaphysical, random, creative crap. I love it (he showed me his rough cut). And was he on drugs when he did it? No. Is he a “tortured soul” like Lars von Trier or all those “method actor” types? No. Is he weird? Maybe. But not really. He just thinks about stuff. And then writes it down and proclaims, “It’s brilliant!” Because after all, “We’re artists! Let’s just experiment and shit.”

He says that a lot, too.

Don't Be Afraid To Do Something Crazy...

That seems to be my theme for this weekend. For two reasons. First, I'll start with the "lighter" thing.

I've decided that I'm going to sleep for two nights in a small cramped film set of an underground nuclear bunker to get into character for a film this weekend. It'll be uncomfortable, it'll be weird and creepy, I probably won't like it, but it may be just what I need to give a good enough performance. Cuz it's a crazy role and I'd never done something this challenging before. And I'm going to listen to the film's soundtrack over and over again so it'll be ingrained in my brain and only have the script with me and a laptop (sans internet) to write notes on my personal script I'm working on (in case I get ideas) and The Hynek UFO Report for reading. I'll emerge to eat food, discuss things with people, but I want to spend the bulk of my time inside the set, get the feel, get the craziness into me of this trapped helpless man, and try a new approach to acting.

My friend Anna told me I shouldn't be afraid to try something crazy. And to go all the way with it cuz in the end... why not? It might work, it might not. So should I even bring a mattress? Or if I do, just a simple, thin one, with a pillow. It shouldn't be comfortable, that'll defeat the purpose, right? Is this crazy? Probably. But will it work? Something tells me yes.

My friend Michelle also gave me some really good advice that is going to help me make a really big decision, much bigger than spending a crazy weekend in a fake bomb shelter. Because it is something that I thought might also be crazy or irrational... but it might be that this one instance in my life will be my only chance to try this crazy possibly irrational approach. Even if it means pulling myself away from the people and country I love.

I mentioned to some of the staff (and some of my fellow students) that I'm considering applying to be a College Assistant and stay another year in little Ebeltoft, Denmark. This could be stupid. It really could. But it also could lead to something amazing, something wonderful, something really beautiful that I've never before experienced. Maybe one of the crazy magical possibilities that have been swimming around in my head will actually happen and come true. And if I don't try something crazy now, while I am fortunate enough to be in a free position in my life to try something "out there"... then why not take the chance before I get into a routine in life that I cannot break from. I know I'll really miss my friends and family but... I won't be away from them forever. The people I really care about, I mean who truly have a deep significance in my life... we'll stay connected. And same with the people who truly care about me and consider me to be an important part of them.

Plus, I'll be giving them a good excuse to visit Denmark or a new part of the world. ;)

So I'm gonna think carefully over the next month before I submit my application. If I get the job, I'd be able to stay here and make more film projects using free equipment, work with the same great staff, take courses I didn't get the chance to take, have free room and board, make new connections and strengthen the ones I already have, and have a really good time. I know I'd enjoy myself. And I'd have my own room with my own space and a kitchen this time around, so I'd be able to make my own delicious meals when I'm sick of cafeteria food. And I know the other people who are applying for the same job, and they'd be good people to be around. Especially one person in specific, I would really like to spend more time with because they're a really amazing person I've gotten pretty close to this year. And those kinds of friendships/bonds are really important to me. And my roommate Jacob could visit every now and then... And... ah, fuck it, I dunno. Soul-searching and serious-thinking this next coming month.

And to have just ONE of the crazy magical possibilities I've imagined to happen to me in my life... wouldn't that be so cool?

Internet, eh?

This is an article I wrote for my German friend Christoph's documentary project on the internet:

-------

People often complain about the internet reducing the amount of intimate interaction we have in life. For example, instead of calling someone to hear their voice, people send an email or chat on MSN or Facebook. And I think this does happen, to an extent. But for me, in my situation, the internet has increased my ability to communicate with the people I love and care about.

I am big on travelling. I have been studying in Denmark for over five months now. About a year ago, I travelled around South America for two and a half months. Before that, I spent four years at a university that was 2000 kilometres away from home. If it wasn’t for the internet, I wouldn’t be able to keep in touch with my loved ones back in Canada - they would have to rely on postcards and snail mail, which means they would hear from me, maybe, every few months. With the internet I can get in touch with them pretty much whenever I want.

I also have endless options. I send an email. I can call home from my computer. I can use Skype for a free live video chat (cheaper than a non-visual phone call). I can chat with them on an instant messaging program. And I can blog. The latter is my primary way of keeping the masses of my friends and family informed of my whereabouts and goings-on. I give them the link, they read it, and then respond by email. When I want to talk to my family or my really close friends, I arrange a Skype date.

I remember when I’d be on the computer back home and my dad would often say to me, “You’re spending far too much time on the computer, go do something else, grumble grumble!” And I would say, at times, he was definitely right. There are times when I just waste the day away watching TV shows online or surfing random, pointless, unnecessary, stupid web sites. But without the internet I wouldn’t be able to keep in touch with my friends from South America, Europe, the States, Canada, or anywhere else. 

I can make friends all over the world and keep them. And I think that’s pretty cool.

Det godt!

That means "It's good!" It might not even be perfect Dansk grammar. But regardless, I just wanted to make a short post telling everyone that things are pretty fuckin' sweet for me right now. I'm editing a friend's personal film project (a short film about 3-4 minutes long), doing sound operating and sound design for another longer one, will be editing a friend's 7-minute documentary project, and doing some co-editing for a short TV series project (4 episodes of 4 minutes). And in between all that, I hope to get some writing done, as we won't have any classes for the next 3 weeks and the great thing about post-production is that you can make your own hours! ;)

Hope all's well with y'all! Lemme know! Send me an email! Write me a facebook message! Comment here! I'd like to know what's up. And tell other people who you know I know who might not read this.

:D

Keeping In Touch

Having been someone who has spent most of the last 6 years living away from "home" (i.e. my parents' house in Mississauga), I have found it tough sometimes to maintain contact with what's going on. I spent most of 4 years living in Halifax, followed by a year where I spent 2 and a half months on another continent. And now here I am again, spending (pretty much) a whole year in a far off country, where I won't be able to see my friends and family, the people I grew up with, who supported me throughout all my triumphs (school plays, athletic championships, birthdays) and my setbacks (rejections, deaths, surgeries). 

There have often been times when I have felt as though the people back home could do without me. My family tells me they all miss me, which of course is the most important, and I know they mean it, so it's very comforting to know that I always have that. Them, rather. But every now and then the paranoid thought enters my head that "hey, if I were to just stay here and never come back... would that really terribly affect anyone?" All my friends back home seem to be getting along fine without me. I keep in touch with the important ones, but often a lot of them are doing really important things, are really busy, or just don't really use their email, Facebook, or Skype (my 3 means of communication with back home). So I feel as though I easily drift away.

That said, last time I returned, I was able to pretty quickly get back into "chillin" mode. Maybe this was because I came home in time for New Year's and, thus, I was home in time for parties, fun, and excitement. But maybe it's that, even though I spend so much time away and that there might one day come a time when I will permanently be living away from "home", these connections I've established with these people who I consider "home" are so strong that whenever we are together things will be like I never left. And in the meantime we just continue to update each other.

But it's tough. I have friends from back home who have never seen me interact in certain relationships outside of home that meant a lot to me - my friends back home will probably never meet the people I establish close relationships with here in Denmark. They didn't meet any of the friends I made in South America. And none of them made it out to Halifax when I was in university there, so they maybe only met briefly a couple of the friends I made there, and then only because those people are from Mississauga's suburb Toronto.

And I guess... I'm not yet sure what to make of that. Does it matter?