Things you actually learn at College/Uni

Hey guys!

I know, it's almost (or already) that time of the year again. Back to school.

For me this was (and still is) not the most fun day of the year. You feel like you've just got used to your summer eat-work-party-sleep rhythm and need at least until the end of the first quarter to get used to the going to school part. Or so you tell yourselves.

Being in college for the past 4 years now, I actually learned a bunch of stuff. Besides the actually reading material that is. And even though my first 3 years were rough (I had a lot of bad grades and stuff like that), my fourth year was great. I finally found something that suited me. This past year, I had classes on thuesday and thursday and the rest of the week to do my internship at my local library.
But I'm not writing this post to bore all of you with my past year (unless you want me to, email me!)

This post is for everyone who starts ( or has started in) college/Uni this year :) Here's a list of things you actually will learn!

1) You will learn to sleep when you have the time, wherever you are. I personally learned to take a nap on the train home (or to school in the morning at 6.30 am) with my headphones on/in. I even learned to wake up at just the right time so I wouldn't miss my stop.

2) Drinking is something you will learn too. Unless you're a musician like me, then you will teach others how to drink like you :p. Little tip, if a guy thinks he can drink more, just drink him under the table...he will shut up.(only do this if you're a) a musician or b) confident you can do this and c) either are willing to go out with him at some point during your first year or have a enemy for the rest of your years in college.)

3) How to rely on train, bus and other public transport methods to go where you want to go. Don't walk. Use the public way! You can even meet someone new on that bus ;)

4) Rain can be fun. It can be, I promise you. Enjoy it.

5) The friends you make in college/ at Uni are FOREVER. You will not be able to miss them for longer than a few months after you left college. Believe me.

6) You will always be exploring new places! If you, like me, chose a big city over your little home town, you will have the time of your life. Go out, explore. Play some pokemon go.

7) Sunny days in the middle of a snowy december? Wear sunglasses! It doesn't only look cool, your eyes will thank you.

8) Always order the cheapest thing you can find or at least keep an eye on your budget. I learned this the hard way. Being wednesday, going to starbucks for my daily latte, buy it and after that have no money for lunch. Be smart kids.

9) You will learn how to read a book in class. If you chose a course with a lot of people, you will have a crowded classroom from time to time. If it's boring but you don't want to miss a thing. Bring a book, take a pencil in your hand. look up from time to time... It will all work out.

10) You also will learn how to be very subtle with your phone. Never EVER put it in your pencil case = aka tooooooo loud! Be sure to always put it on silent!

11) Something else I learned the hard way; watching "fails of the week" is not the best idea in a classroom. It's just too funny. Train your pokerfaces!

12) Single? You will see hot guys everywhere! Deal with it. Because they are all taken. I'm serious.

13) Be nice to your teachers. Don't buy them stuff but just a simple hello when you walk by them will make them nice to you during class = less chance he/she will pick you for a difficult question.

14) If you're tired, just skip class (if that's possible). You won't be paying attention anyway so why would you irritate your fellow students & teacher? Go home, go to the park, sit in the school library and watch Glee for all I care.

15) How to look & act less hung over after a night of partying. Water, water, water, water, water and a big old coffee in the morning should do the trick ( Drink the first 3 when you get home, splash the fourth in your face the next morning and take the fifth with you to school)

16) Back to number 9, how to read a book. Now we add the part of how to look interested. Keep that pencil in your hand and look up from time to time, nod, act like you're writing something down ( be sure to have your textbook open in front of you) and continue reading your book.

17) Same thing like 16 & 9, but instead of reading a book, take an assignment from another class with you and work on that. A laptop works best for doing something like this. Don't forget to look up from time to time!

18) Last but not least, learn your ears & brain to focus on words or phrases like "Exams" , "I probably will ask this on the exam", "this is very important", "I see that some of you are writing this down, very good", "Maybe this will be a question...". If you're reading your book, your mind will be listening to the teacher but only "alarm" you when one of these words or phrases are said out loud. I know this sounds crazy but it actually works.

I really hope college will be fun for you. It is (and will probably be) the best years of my life. Of course it has its ups and downs but with the right attitude, friends and a enough spare time, you will be just fine!

And one last tip: Don't forget to take a break from time to time. Listen to some music, hang out with old friends, go on vacation. Enjoy your life while you still can!

bye!
X

Adventures With A Wheelchair 1 : Bryan Adams Get Up @ Nostalgie Beach Festival 2017

Hy guys and welcome to a new segment on this blog : Adventures With A Wheelchair!

These posts will be written by me and my friend Shannona as we go to events all over Belgium (and maybe abroad) with a lot of courage, enthusiasm, hopefully good weather and of course her wheelchair. 

Here's a bit information on why Shannona uses a wheelchair from time to time:

So umm, because of my physical disability I need to wear protheses on both my legs to be able to walk (and do other stuff, like driving, riding horses and so on...) But it takes quite a toll on me, so whenever we're talking about going big distances or standing for a long time, I definitely take my wheelchair with me.

So, this is how we're going to do this from now on: 

You guys will get a few details on when and/or where we went, what the weather was like, what we got for food, drinks... We'll try to put in a few pictures if we don't forget (no selfies though) of the place we went to, the event we saw. 

There also will be a score list on these 8 categories: 

1. Weather - Eg. What's the best weather to do this in? (/10)
2. Food & drinks (/10)
3. Event (/10)
4. Accessibility - Eg.: is the terrain in good state for someone in a wheelchair? (/20)
5. Politeness, respect,.... (/10)
6. Sanitary aka toilets and stuff - Eg. is there a toilet for someone with a handicap?(/10)
7. Information in advance - Eg. where can we park? Do we have our own exit? (/10)
8. General experience (/20)

Total on /100

Top 10 travel essentials

Hy guys!!

This post is something I wanted to do for a while now. 

And after I asked you guys on twitter, I just had to sit down and write it!

(don't mind the picture, I don't have a good space to take pictures like this)

MY TOP 10 TRAVEL ESSENTIALS (for when I go on holiday for more than 1 week)

1) My Camera, a Nikon D200

I love taking pictures, I really do. So I can't leave my camera behind for a vacation where I know I'm going to see things that I can't get with my Iphone camera.

Here are 2 of my favorite photo's from last vacation :

(Maillane, July 2017 - Newzik)

I really prefer taking pictures of people over animals or scenery. 

Especially musicians & little kids are my favorites.

Go check out the rest on my facebook page!

(Graveson, July 2017 - fête de St. Aloi)

2) My Nintendo DS and Gamboy Color

Nothing more boring than sitting in a car for 10h with nothing to do. So I bring along my nintendo and my gameboy. Both are a bit worn but still work fine.

My favorite games? Pokémon (gameboy) and Professor Layton (Nintendo)

3) A Quiz book. (the one with the 4 faces on)

For when I'm just bored by the pool and want something else to do besides lying in the sun & reading.

4) My external charger/powerbank

I use my phone A LOT. And because of it, it's battery is not in the greatest condition. It goes to 20% 2 times a day when I don't watch out. 

This charger I go for my birthday a few years ago. It can recharge my phone 3-4 times.

5) Books!

I love taking an old school paperback with me on holidays. Ofcourse I don't bring the heaviest books with me but nothing is wrong with some Harry Potter during holidays. + You can actually read them with sunglasses on IN the sun...

6) My tablet

...something you can't do with this one. I have over 100 books on my tablet to read in the car or at night. As I said, out in the sun it's really hard to read a book on a tablet!

7) Sunglasses

Just because. I actually took 2 pair on holiday with me. One pair for in and around the pool, another for daily activities. Both are from Montana

8) Ipod touch

Again an old little device. I only use it for listening to music. It has 16gb (wich is becoming a problem because I have a lot of music) but still works AMAZING. (mine is an older model but this is the closest one.

9) Sony speaker

We rent a little house when we're on vacation and often want to listen to music. My sony speaker can hold my Ipod Touch and charge it when it's plugged in. It has an amazing sound too.

10) USB Port for the car

As I told you, I need to recharge my phone a lot. And tbh, I really like playing pokemon go when we're in traffic :p So I have my double USB port for the car with me when I'm going somewhere that has a) a lot of pokemon stops b) no wifi and c) places to take amazing pictures.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this little insight in my travel essentials! 

bye! 

My life in books tag

Hy guys!

Today I did the "My life in books" - Tag.

well.. enjoy!

1. Find a book you've read for every letter of your first name.
M - Marie by Marc de Bel
A - A Thousand pieces of you by Claudia Gray
R - Romeo and Juliet
G - Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
O - Oorlogswinter by Jan Terlouw

2. Count your age along your bookshelf: what book is it?
(I did not include my comic books in this)
I'm 21 now = Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

3. Pick a book set in your city/country
Het uur nul (The hour zero ..or sth like that, it's a Dutch book) by Dirk Bracke. Set in Belgium :)

4. Pick a book that represents a destination you'd love to travel to
Ten Thousand Skies above you by Claudia Gray. I would love to visit San Francisco one day.

5. Pick a book that's in your favorite color
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Black and Orange, my two faves :)

6. Which book do you have the fondest memories of?
Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone by JK Rowling. What a book. I loved and still love every second of it.

7. Which book did you have the most difficulty reading?
Pitbull by Deflo. I hate thrillers but had to read this one for school. Not my best choice.

8. Which book in your TBR pile will give you the biggest accomplishment when you finish it?
A Million Worlds with you by Claudia Gray. Finally I will know how the story continuous.

bye!
X