Hello my faithful readers:
Last night I had a lovely evening hanging out with my friends and fellow classmates. One of the highlights of my night was attending a reception for one of our visiting speakers, the former leader of the SDP in Iceland and Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs and External Trade. It was here where I had one of the most awkward moments in my life.
Here's how it happened (as I recall). One of my classmates introduced me and another classmate to his wife (Mrs. Iceland), as Americans. Here's a rough approximation of what I remember from the exchange with Mrs. Iceland.
Me: "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Mrs. Iceland: "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. I thought you were African because you're so dark."
Me: (with a blank expression on my face if my classmates who were there can be trusted) "No, I'm American."
Mrs. Iceland: "I've been to America and I've never met anyone as dark as you are..."
My American Classmate (who happens to be caucasian): "No we've got plenty of people like her in America, especially in the south."
Mrs. Iceland: "Are you two here together?"
My American Classmate: "No we didn't come here together."
After this exchange, I checked out of the conversation and she proceeded to chat with some of my Indian classmates. My classmates and I laughed later about the situation with Mrs. Iceland, but I finally had a reason to discuss this topic on my blog. Race and it's effect on me has been on my mind for a while now. The one thing that I noticed since my move to Europe is there seems to be more openness to just say what they're thinking, even if it could be perceived as off-putting by others.
As an American, I find that Europe is not nearly as politically correct as the United States has become. People here are likely to utter racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments in public forums -- and that's what I've personally heard in English, I can only imagine what I'd hear if I spoke French or Dutch fluently.
For example, last week in our M&A weekend, one of the speakers made the slightly offensive comment "All you'd need to do is hire a couple of cheap Indians and you can get around the security of the virtual data rooms."
When I heard this comment, in a public forum, all I could think was if they had made this type of comment in America, they would have been fired or at least strongly reprimanded. One of my other classmates from a country in Eastern Europe also noticed the comment and mentioned that he was offended as well.
I have to say that since living here in Belgium, I've run into many people who have never met an "African-American" before. In fact, most people have never interacted with a person of color before. If I'm asked by one more person to touch my hair, I think I'll scream. I understand that for most people it is not coming from a hurtful or malicious place at all; they are curious and want to know more about the different texture of my hair. Somehow, as well-intended as it is meant to be, I always end feeling like some sort of animal at the petting zoo when the topic comes up.
Most of the people of color here in Belgium are from Africa and India. Especially amongst the Africans, I have noticed that there are not many working in high paying, professional careers. I do not begin to assert that I know enough about the reasons why there are so few Africans working in white collar careers here in Belgium, but I believe that it has to have some effect on how I'm viewed and treated outside of the safety of the walls of Vlerick.
When I first moved here back in August, I set up an appointment to view a studio apartment. I confirmed with the man on the phone that I would be there and when I arrived, an older (white) woman answered the door. She didn't speak much English, but from her body language, she was telling me that I wasn't welcome. I did not even get the chance to see the place and that was within my first week of moving to Belgium. The experience was painful, but I have tried not to let it color my experiences. It is my experience that most of the younger generation are a lot more open to other races.
Being here in Europe has awakened a curiosity to find out more about my roots. In the US, they started calling us "African-American" back in the 1990's, before that I was simply known as 'black' and if I'm honest, that is still what I refer to myself as most of the time. I don't have enough knowledge about my families roots to say where my family might have been from in Africa. It makes me wonder if I can truthfully call myself "African-American?"
What many people do not realize is how much diversity there is amongst "African Americans" in the US. We all have many different hair textures, skin tones and backgrounds. That diversity is what makes us such a rich, beautiful people.
What I appreciate most about this whole experience of living abroad is how different my life is from a year ago. A year ago, I would have never imagined that I would be sitting in the same room with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade from Iceland. Although I have experienced a few awkward and uncomfortable moments since I've moved here, it's well worth it. I'm learning more about myself and growing as a person each day. Although there are days where I feel overwhelmed by the pressure of processing so many new experiences (+ my course work), I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.
The other day (before awkward situation #1046) one of my classmates said to me, "I don't see you as an African American, I just see you as an American."
I hope that one day we'll get to a place where all people will truly be judged by the content of my character and not the color of my skin and it won't matter so much.
Thanks for reading today. This is something I've wanted to get off my chest for a while. I'd love to hear what you're thinking. Sound off!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Friday, February 5, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
I was robbed!
Hello my faithful readers:
To say that I've had a rough couple of weeks would be the understatement of the year, yet I still realize that my problems are nothing when compared with your average person's issues. I have a lot to be thankful for, like the fact that I have a roof over my head, food to eat (most of the time) and the clothes on my back. That's enough to give me the foundation of Maslow's Hierarchy, although yesterday the "safety" I felt in my (temporary) home was threatened.
Yesterday, I had a break-in to my studio apartment here in Leuven. Thankfully I was not here at the time (I was at school all day doing group work) and they really only made out with my cameras and lenses. I'm really pissed off, a little afraid and even more upset about having my space invaded and having someone to go through my things. I realize that in the scheme of things this is something that won't kill me, but make me smarter, tougher and hopefully more careful in the future.
When I came home yesterday, the first problem I noticed in my apartment, was that one of my shirts was in the trash can and that I hadn't put it there. The first thought I had was that my landlord had come in for some emergency and done some work because a few of my storage boxes had been moved and a lot of the bags, clothes, papers were all over the place. Someone went through all of my papers, they rifled through my passport and my travel wallet. I know because they tossed all of this stuff on my floor.
I called my landlord to make sure he didn't have anyone doing any work in here first. He told me that someone else in our building upstairs had their lock broken in a break in attempt - this didn't happen to me, because my lock did not look like it had been tampered at all. Hearing this last night, only made me more angry because I felt like this is information that should have been shared with all of the tenants in the building.
After speaking to him on the phone, he was no help because he was in Brussels at the time, I went to the police station near my building. It was closed, so I marched back home and called one of my friends here who kindly talked me down and helped me to find the number of the police. I called them and they sent officers over about a half hour later.
The two officers came in and looked around, asked me a few questions and had me to fill in a report. I was hoping that they would do some fingerprinting or something, but they didn't and they said that it would be impossible to get good prints off my leather camera bag. This is my second experience with the Belgian police in the last two weeks. I have to say that although they have all been nice, I believe I'd be a be a much more thorough police officer than they seem to be.
Leuven is supposed to be one of the safest cities in the world. Before yesterday I felt like it was and some of my classmates have left their doors unlocked here in Leuven. Now for me, it's a place where I will be looking over my shoulders and giving everyone the side eye wondering if they broke into my apartment and rifled through my things and stole my camera. This whole experience makes me even more homesick and I realize now, more than ever, just how charmed my life has been up until now. I'm just hoping that the rest of this year will be smooth sailing from here on out.
I have to say here how thankful I am for all of the calls, texts, facebook messages of love and support I've received from everyone. You have no idea how much it means to me and it will take me a little time to get back to normal, but you are helping me to speed the process up!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
To say that I've had a rough couple of weeks would be the understatement of the year, yet I still realize that my problems are nothing when compared with your average person's issues. I have a lot to be thankful for, like the fact that I have a roof over my head, food to eat (most of the time) and the clothes on my back. That's enough to give me the foundation of Maslow's Hierarchy, although yesterday the "safety" I felt in my (temporary) home was threatened.
Yesterday, I had a break-in to my studio apartment here in Leuven. Thankfully I was not here at the time (I was at school all day doing group work) and they really only made out with my cameras and lenses. I'm really pissed off, a little afraid and even more upset about having my space invaded and having someone to go through my things. I realize that in the scheme of things this is something that won't kill me, but make me smarter, tougher and hopefully more careful in the future.
When I came home yesterday, the first problem I noticed in my apartment, was that one of my shirts was in the trash can and that I hadn't put it there. The first thought I had was that my landlord had come in for some emergency and done some work because a few of my storage boxes had been moved and a lot of the bags, clothes, papers were all over the place. Someone went through all of my papers, they rifled through my passport and my travel wallet. I know because they tossed all of this stuff on my floor.
I called my landlord to make sure he didn't have anyone doing any work in here first. He told me that someone else in our building upstairs had their lock broken in a break in attempt - this didn't happen to me, because my lock did not look like it had been tampered at all. Hearing this last night, only made me more angry because I felt like this is information that should have been shared with all of the tenants in the building.
After speaking to him on the phone, he was no help because he was in Brussels at the time, I went to the police station near my building. It was closed, so I marched back home and called one of my friends here who kindly talked me down and helped me to find the number of the police. I called them and they sent officers over about a half hour later.
The two officers came in and looked around, asked me a few questions and had me to fill in a report. I was hoping that they would do some fingerprinting or something, but they didn't and they said that it would be impossible to get good prints off my leather camera bag. This is my second experience with the Belgian police in the last two weeks. I have to say that although they have all been nice, I believe I'd be a be a much more thorough police officer than they seem to be.
Leuven is supposed to be one of the safest cities in the world. Before yesterday I felt like it was and some of my classmates have left their doors unlocked here in Leuven. Now for me, it's a place where I will be looking over my shoulders and giving everyone the side eye wondering if they broke into my apartment and rifled through my things and stole my camera. This whole experience makes me even more homesick and I realize now, more than ever, just how charmed my life has been up until now. I'm just hoping that the rest of this year will be smooth sailing from here on out.
I have to say here how thankful I am for all of the calls, texts, facebook messages of love and support I've received from everyone. You have no idea how much it means to me and it will take me a little time to get back to normal, but you are helping me to speed the process up!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Spending the holidays abroad
Hello my faithful readers:
It has been quite a while since I've blogged on this particular page (my own) since I began blogging for the FT.com MBA Blog. Never fear - this blog still lives.
There's a lot going on for me lately. This week is finals week for me and I just completed the first of three finals today in Financial Accounting. You'll read more about my thoughts on that in my FT blog later this week. Now I'd like to share a few random thoughts about celebrating the holidays here in Belgium.
Thanksgiving here in Belgium was an interesting experience for me mainly because they don't celebrate it here. On the actual day I had classes and I felt a lot of homesickness on the actual holiday. Much more than I expected to feel.
Normally my family gets together to cook, laugh and talk before the big day and it was tough not being there to take part in the preparation ritual. Never fear - I spent Thanksgiving night touring the Stella Artois brewery here in Leuven with some of my classmates. I ended the night with a late night dinner with a couple of my American friends and classmates.
We had a special "international potluck" Thanksgiving celebration on the Sunday after the actual holiday and it was a nice opportunity to taste traditional dishes from all over the world. I had a great time that day and ate just as much as if I were at home for the holiday.
This year I'm not planning to go home for Christmas. It will be the first time in my 31 years on this earth that I haven't spent the holiday with my family. Instead I'll be in Vienna on Christmas day because during my winter break - I'm planning to travel to Prague, Vienna and Budapest with two classmates and one of my friends from America.
I know that this holiday season is going to be tough for me as well as my mom because Christmas is her absolute favorite holiday. She's like a little kid again at this time and she decorates the inside of the house with a zeal that makes me think I might be adopted. She even has an animatronic Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Shocking right? Most of you who know me well realize that I have never (EVER) set my own tree up or decorated my apartment(s) for Christmas in the nine years that I've lived away from home. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for decorating at the holidays I will miss the ritual of waking up in the morning to exchange gifts with my immediate family (mom, dad and baby sis). We have a giant stocking that we stuff with little gifts and stocking stuffers that is presented to one immediate family member each year; it's funny now I can't remember who gets it this year.
After the exchange of gifts and a special breakfast at home (complete with the hot apple cider that my mom loves) then we head over to my Dad's side of the family for Christmas lunch and gift exchange. Then after spending a few hours there we head across town to spend time with my mother's huge family for another meal and round of gift exchanges. At the end of the long day after all of the food, fun and laughter then we head home (if it isn't at our house) and talk a little bit before going to bed.
I'll miss the tradition this year for the first time ever. It's a special time of the year for my family but I will be there with them celebrating in spirit. I made the decision not to go home this year because I wanted to use my only break this year to see a little more of Europe. Hopefully I'll find some new traditions to bring home with me for next Christmas while I'm here in Belgium.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
It has been quite a while since I've blogged on this particular page (my own) since I began blogging for the FT.com MBA Blog. Never fear - this blog still lives.
There's a lot going on for me lately. This week is finals week for me and I just completed the first of three finals today in Financial Accounting. You'll read more about my thoughts on that in my FT blog later this week. Now I'd like to share a few random thoughts about celebrating the holidays here in Belgium.
Thanksgiving here in Belgium was an interesting experience for me mainly because they don't celebrate it here. On the actual day I had classes and I felt a lot of homesickness on the actual holiday. Much more than I expected to feel.
Normally my family gets together to cook, laugh and talk before the big day and it was tough not being there to take part in the preparation ritual. Never fear - I spent Thanksgiving night touring the Stella Artois brewery here in Leuven with some of my classmates. I ended the night with a late night dinner with a couple of my American friends and classmates.
We had a special "international potluck" Thanksgiving celebration on the Sunday after the actual holiday and it was a nice opportunity to taste traditional dishes from all over the world. I had a great time that day and ate just as much as if I were at home for the holiday.
This year I'm not planning to go home for Christmas. It will be the first time in my 31 years on this earth that I haven't spent the holiday with my family. Instead I'll be in Vienna on Christmas day because during my winter break - I'm planning to travel to Prague, Vienna and Budapest with two classmates and one of my friends from America.
I know that this holiday season is going to be tough for me as well as my mom because Christmas is her absolute favorite holiday. She's like a little kid again at this time and she decorates the inside of the house with a zeal that makes me think I might be adopted. She even has an animatronic Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Shocking right? Most of you who know me well realize that I have never (EVER) set my own tree up or decorated my apartment(s) for Christmas in the nine years that I've lived away from home. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for decorating at the holidays I will miss the ritual of waking up in the morning to exchange gifts with my immediate family (mom, dad and baby sis). We have a giant stocking that we stuff with little gifts and stocking stuffers that is presented to one immediate family member each year; it's funny now I can't remember who gets it this year.
After the exchange of gifts and a special breakfast at home (complete with the hot apple cider that my mom loves) then we head over to my Dad's side of the family for Christmas lunch and gift exchange. Then after spending a few hours there we head across town to spend time with my mother's huge family for another meal and round of gift exchanges. At the end of the long day after all of the food, fun and laughter then we head home (if it isn't at our house) and talk a little bit before going to bed.
I'll miss the tradition this year for the first time ever. It's a special time of the year for my family but I will be there with them celebrating in spirit. I made the decision not to go home this year because I wanted to use my only break this year to see a little more of Europe. Hopefully I'll find some new traditions to bring home with me for next Christmas while I'm here in Belgium.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Paris, oui oui!
Hello my faithful readers:
It has been a while since I've written here on my personal blog. Things are quite busy for me and my workload truly seems to be multiplying. It's as if someone poured water on all my assignments and like Gremlins more and more seem to pop up each and everyday! Despite all the work I'm doing I am trying to balance it all with a little travel every now and then.
Almost two weeks ago I had the chance to travel with some of my classmates to beautiful Paris, France. Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world and believe I would love to live after graduation. I feel truly alive in Paris and it reminds me of how I first felt when I moved to New York comfortable and in my element.
People always complain that the French are rude, but even when faced with it I'm never truly bothered because they treat everyone who butchers their language that way. During my recent trip to Paris I had an experience in a bookstore with a rude clerk. I wanted to ask her if they had an English language book section. Our exchange was quite brief.
Me (in the most perfect French I could muster up): "Parlez vous Anglais?"
Rude female clerk (with the most huffy, brusque response I've heard in a while): "Non!"
She then abruptly turned away from me. I was in shock for about two seconds, then he situation ended with me and my friend laughing hysterically and exiting the bookstore. The hot chocolate and people watching I shared with my friend at a cafe made it all worthwhile.
My love affair with Paris continues and I hope before I leave Europe to get to spend more time; there maybe as a resident. My favorite moments in Paris are the simple ones -- like me sitting in a cafe, sipping on my beverage of choice and people watching for hours.
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
PS - I'm blogging two times per week for the FT.com MBA Blog- here's a link to my profile there.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Check out my blogs on FT.com
Hi folks-
I'm blogging on a weekly basis for FT.com. This is very exciting news for me because we're expected to read the "Financial Times" for class so to get close to them in anyway is an amazing experience for me. Check out my first blog for them here.
Enjoy!
I'm blogging on a weekly basis for FT.com. This is very exciting news for me because we're expected to read the "Financial Times" for class so to get close to them in anyway is an amazing experience for me. Check out my first blog for them here.
Enjoy!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades...
Hello my faithful readers:
It has been nearly two weeks since my last post and it's quite simply because I have been under the weather with some sort of cold/sinus infection/disease and studying with my friends for my mid-term in Financial Accounting. My cough (some say it sounds like I have tuberculosis) wasn't enough to stop me from spending this past weekend in Amsterdam where I had a fantastic time blowing off some steam, with some of my friends (and classmates). I finally have health insurance here in Belgium (all for 82 euros for the year) and officially I'm a Belgian resident (for the rest of my school year) after multiple visits to the City Hall Office here in Leuven. My bank account situation was straightened out a few weeks ago and I was even elected as one of four student representatives for my class. My future's so bright I gotta wear shades, right?
Ironically, with all of the good news coming my way, this past couple of weeks have been my toughest so far because I've had a burst of homesickness that seemed to hit me out of the blue. Some of the minor annoyances of living here in Leuven, like my noisy neighbors, have started to wear on my nerves more than usual. This weekend in Amsterdam I think I realized that my biggest frustration is coming to terms with the fact that I have to live within a student budget. That's tougher for me than I thought it would be, simply because my standard of living was a few notches above my current (humble) student lifestyle. I'm not sure this is my biggest issue, but I think it contributes to my feelings of discontent. I am also feeling like information overload is about to make my head explode. My classes are fantastic, but a lot of the topics I'm covering aren't my area of expertise (Financial Accounting anyone?) and that makes the control freak in me a little crazy. Overall, I'm having a great time here, but I think I'm fully entering my "crisis" mode of culture shock.
I have to say that I am so thankful to have met some of what I believe will be lifelong friends here in Belgium. Everyone has a different perspective, based on their life experiences and backgrounds. It's these friendships that will get me through the rough patches... they make me realize that I need to focus on enjoying life and living each moment to the fullest. I should also say that my family has been incredibly supportive of me coming here and my parents have been helpful in keeping my life in order back at home in the US. All these things help me to deal with the strain I'm feeling right now. My friends (old + new) and family make me happy that I decided to come to the top 10 MBA programs in the world, according to the rankings by The Economist. I have the feeling that six months from now this culture shock "crisis" will be a faded, distant memory. After such a relaxing weekend in Amsterdam - it feels like it already is becoming one!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
It has been nearly two weeks since my last post and it's quite simply because I have been under the weather with some sort of cold/sinus infection/disease and studying with my friends for my mid-term in Financial Accounting. My cough (some say it sounds like I have tuberculosis) wasn't enough to stop me from spending this past weekend in Amsterdam where I had a fantastic time blowing off some steam, with some of my friends (and classmates). I finally have health insurance here in Belgium (all for 82 euros for the year) and officially I'm a Belgian resident (for the rest of my school year) after multiple visits to the City Hall Office here in Leuven. My bank account situation was straightened out a few weeks ago and I was even elected as one of four student representatives for my class. My future's so bright I gotta wear shades, right?
Ironically, with all of the good news coming my way, this past couple of weeks have been my toughest so far because I've had a burst of homesickness that seemed to hit me out of the blue. Some of the minor annoyances of living here in Leuven, like my noisy neighbors, have started to wear on my nerves more than usual. This weekend in Amsterdam I think I realized that my biggest frustration is coming to terms with the fact that I have to live within a student budget. That's tougher for me than I thought it would be, simply because my standard of living was a few notches above my current (humble) student lifestyle. I'm not sure this is my biggest issue, but I think it contributes to my feelings of discontent. I am also feeling like information overload is about to make my head explode. My classes are fantastic, but a lot of the topics I'm covering aren't my area of expertise (Financial Accounting anyone?) and that makes the control freak in me a little crazy. Overall, I'm having a great time here, but I think I'm fully entering my "crisis" mode of culture shock.
I have to say that I am so thankful to have met some of what I believe will be lifelong friends here in Belgium. Everyone has a different perspective, based on their life experiences and backgrounds. It's these friendships that will get me through the rough patches... they make me realize that I need to focus on enjoying life and living each moment to the fullest. I should also say that my family has been incredibly supportive of me coming here and my parents have been helpful in keeping my life in order back at home in the US. All these things help me to deal with the strain I'm feeling right now. My friends (old + new) and family make me happy that I decided to come to the top 10 MBA programs in the world, according to the rankings by The Economist. I have the feeling that six months from now this culture shock "crisis" will be a faded, distant memory. After such a relaxing weekend in Amsterdam - it feels like it already is becoming one!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
Monday, October 5, 2009
Just another weekend in Belgium
Hello my faithful readers:
It's Monday morning and I have the morning free of class! I love having mornings free after the weekends; it makes me feel like we have a long weekend (especially if we get the afternoon off on the preceding Friday which was the case for me). This weekend I did some traveling with my classmates. We visited Antwerp for a short day-trip, then headed to Brussels for "Nuit Blanche" which translates into "White Night" or "Sleepless Night" in french. This is a cultural festival that intends to get people at night to enjoy the cultural aspects of the city.
Saturday was such a busy and full day for me because I started my day by leaving Leuven on the 11:05 AM train to Antwerp with two of my classmates. We were so excited to get to Antwerp that we got off one station to early and ended up at the Antwerp-Berchem train station (not in the center of the city). We were meeting up with a couple of classmates at Antwerp-Central station so once we realized our mistake we hopped on another train for the short trip to the right station.
I decided upon getting off the train and seeing the beauty of Antwerp's train station that I wanted to move there. Antwerp has a more sophisticated, urbane energy when compared to Leuven, the town where I currently live. It's the fashion center of Belgium and home to the Antwerp 6, fashion designers who studied at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts (in Antwerp) in the early 1980's. We spent the day walking around the city window shopping, taking pics and sampling some of the local food. We had as our gracious guide, one of our classmates whom I have a lot of respect for because she commutes in daily from Antwerp for classes (approximately 1+ hours each way). She met us at the train station and remained us for most of our time in Antwerp!
After our relaxing girls day out in Antwerp we were ready for some fun in Brussels. We had arrived and missed one of the trains to Brussels by just a minute. We had to wait another 20 minutes for the next train, but the station is so beautiful that we didn't mind waiting at all. I'll share the rest of my story later this week.
On another note --I have some exciting news to share! I will be blogging on behalf of my school for the Financial Times MBA blog starting later this month. Once the details are finalized and I have the link on this blog. I'm very excited because this is an amazing opportunity for me. I'd also like to say a special thank you to the classmates who helped me out by being a part of the mini photo shoot for the blog. Without such wonderful classmates I wouldn't have anything to talk about.
Thanks for reading today. I have a few new classes starting this week and a couple of papers to write so it's time for me to get back to work!
Mwuah,
Georgia Peach
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