Testament to just how much I’m settled into my new routine and how little energy it leaves me at the end of the week, this post is about a week later than I meant for it to be. But the fact I have a routine serves as proof that I really have settled into life in the European capital, Brussels. Or as I like to call it, the Home of Grey!
That name is perhaps a little unfair though, its not always grey. Very often I find myself rudely awoken by that ray of sunlight that determinedly finds it’s way into my eye, just as my hangover is at it’s peak. Sadly/ happily, that sunlight never lasts long – right now I can look out of my window and find half of my view filled with blue sky and fluffy white clouds, over shadowed by an enormous grey rain cloud, ready to break at any moment.
I’ll point out that the weather is getting better though, its gotten noticeable warmer here in the last few weeks and everyone at Place du Luxembourg no longer crowds inside the tents, huddled round the heaters. It seems that Thursday night at Pullman’s Bar is now apart of my routine, getting out of work at the first possible moment and heading down to enjoy happy hour which is then occasionally followed by a trip to the other side of the European Parliament, where the best chips in Brussels are served at Maison Antoine.
Work itself is becoming more routine now, I know where to look and what to do for my media monitoring in the morning. Then moving onto whatever work I’ve been given by the consultants, all the while expecting that urgent task which needs to have been done five minutes ago, to pop up at any moment.
Then there’s the events, one or two a week where myself and the other interns will greet the attendees, take their name and coat before either heading inside to hear the discussion, or chatting depending on how interesting the topic is. The evening events are often most interesting, the drinks reception afterwards allowing you to mingle. I’ve learnt to only introduce myself as a stagiere to likely fellow stagieres though. While mostly people are polite and friendly, one too many times I’ve watched the other person’s face drop as their thought processes become eminently clear, “why on earth did I shake this guy’s hand?” “how on earth can I get out of this conversation?”.
I’ve also begun to notice how I change throughout the week as well. Come Monday, I’ll set off on my 30min commute listening to podcast, BBC’s Friday Night Comedy or maybe Media Talk from the Guardian. By Friday however, its only music, something to take my mind off the work that’s likely won’t get done by the end of the day.
And of course my weeks always end in the same way. Come Sunday, I wash my shirts, ready to do the whole thing again. Speaking of which…
0 Responses to “Routine”