Last day of work

Yesterday was my last day at work here in Belgium, and saying goodbye to all my colleagues finally brought on the usual 'leaving symptoms'. It's the first time really that my leaving plans have actually begun to have an impact on my life. I also really don't like goodbyes - this is one case where the saying "practice makes perfect" doesn't apply, at least not for me.

As 'celebration' for having finished my job I bought myself a waffle on the way home yesterday (hey, student budget...). The Liegois certainly know how to make the best waffles in the world! They're definitely something I'll miss when I leave. I need to see if I can procure myself a lifetime's supply somehow...

I leave in 11 days, during which time I need to pack, arrange things like closing my bank account, cancelling my phone SIM card, etc. and of course say goodbye to all of the friends I've made here. Tonight I'm going to the Christmas market in town to have dinner with a group of people at one of the stalls, which should be good. The Christmas market here is really nice, in one place they've grouped huts around an ice skating rink and they serve drinks and food. The atmosphere is fantastic, unlike any other Christmas market I've been to before. I'll always remember my first Christmas market though - in 1994, in the German embassy in Beijing!

In the last week I've also been sampling the local nightlife (well, maybe a bit more than sampling). It was St. Nicolas yesterday, and in Liege the students celebrate it by going out a couple of days before the actual day. So Monday and Tuesday night were spent in the carre, sandwiched between thousands of other students (as you can see in the picture on the left). It was essentially one huge party, unlike anything you get in England. Over the weekend I also went to Bruges, to see an ice sculpting festival. It wasn't bad, although a little disappointing after the scale of the ice festival in Harbin, which I visited in the mid-90's.

Despite at the moment having some regrets about having to leave, I have to admit that it was very nice this morning to not have to get up at 6:30 to go to work!