Goodbye, Ghent: Friends, Self Exploration and New Cultures
10:16
― Pascal Mercier, Night
Train to Lisbon
I like to believe you
discover places, or people for a reason. Each new discovery is a lesson in
itself. 2016 was a year of exploring, both new countries or continents for that matter and exploring myself. I found myself living in Ghent, Belgium.
Belgium is a country that
was completely alien to me before I arrived and that’s what was so amazing
about it. There’s something so tantalising about something unknown is there
not? The language was a mystery, its people were so European, more so than what
I was used to. It is a country full of beautiful
buildings with an old world quality to them. Very easily I can imagine what it
must have been like centuries ago. I swear, though I walked the same path into
Ghent city centre every single time, it never looked any less beautiful. Street
art everywhere you look, intricate buildings with arches and slanted roofs.
Ghent was a gate way to other countries. In less than three
months, my friends and I were in France, The Netherlands and Germany. I
travelled to the top of The Netherlands, four trains in all to see my friend
and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I know now that I want to see as much
as I can while I’m young. Absorbing these new cultures has changed me as a
person. I have loved seeing myself buying clothes I would never usually wear. I
want to learn more languages and broaden my horizons. Every single person I
have met in Belgium is multilingual and it amazes me how they can switch
languages so easily.
My Erasmus was full of moments that I won’t forget: cycling
to raves in the middle of the night with rain streaming down us, getting lost
on a seemingly never ending path while on a night out in Amsterdam, going to
France on a train, dancing in an Irish pub, going to a reggae night in a city
at the top of The Netherlands, visiting a Holocaust memorial in Berlin. I have
experienced so many different things that I never imagined I would. All because
I decided to take the plunge and study in Belgium. As well as learning a lot
while studying there I learned more about myself.
I really believe Belgium was
the country that I finally realized my own self-worth and that I deserved to be
happy. I decided to be happy and made a conscious decision to find that
happiness, in whatever way I could. Through people, through places and most
importantly, myself. I think if 2016 had not been the year I travelled from
Ireland to America, from America to Belgium and beyond I would not be in the
position I am now. Excited for what’s to come with a healthy bit of caution.
As a student, Ghent has everything I could want. A multitude
of bars and clubs to choose from on a night out, some of them are five minutes
from where I used to live, in Overpoort. It’s a real student city, with little
cafes dotted all over the place. Even places that are strictly gluten free,
which I think is fantastic. Gent Sint Pieters, the train station is a mere 15-minute
walk from the main student accommodation for Ghent University. The city centre
has all the clothes shops you could want, from Primark, H&M, Zara, Berska
and many more. If you really didn’t want to, you wouldn’t have to leave the
city as it has all your basic requirements.
A few days before I left I went down to my favourite part of
Ghent, perhaps it’s my favourite part of Belgium, and sat down by the water. Graslei,
right down beside the river where tourists can get boat tours from €6.50. It was
absolutely freezing, I won’t lie haha, but the sun was shining and I felt
really peaceful. It never mattered whether I was in the city by myself or with
friends, it was almost a rite of passage to go and sit beside the water. I always feel at peace by the water, despite not living by the sea. So, when I went to sit there on the 17th of January it struck me how fast time was moving. Not only had my
Erasmus flown, but also my life was moving along really fast. 2017 is my 22nd
year of life and while I know that is still incredibly young, I have so much
that I really want to achieve. I’m excited for 2017 and it has been a long time
since I’ve been excited for my own future.
Part of that is down to all the travel I’ve been doing from
America to Belgium. Europe really made me happier, seeing all these beautiful
places that I never knew existed. That was I needed and a quote from the film “American
Beauty” kind of solidified what it means to go through a dark period, but also
realize that there is SO much good out there. I remind myself all the time.
“I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much; my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold onto it. And then it flows through me like rain, and I can’t feel anything but gratitude—for every single moment of my stupid, little life. You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure; but don’t worry .. you will someday.”
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