Every time I come back to Brussels, I crave the packaged waffles that sell for less than a Euro. Warmed slightly with nutella on top, they melt in my mouth. Finishing a day of waffles and nutella with delicious Belgian beer, some frites with mayonnaise and a kebab is pretty much heavenly. Thankfully I also walk everywhere or would have to bring muumuus to wear by the end of the visit.
The purpose of my current visit is actually not to eat. I'm here to train Francois to replace me as President of WYA. It feels so weird attempting to pass on all that I've learned, and also respecting his own opinions and plans for what he will do as President. He's also still running the WYA Europe office which doesn't leave him a lot of time to sit with me and discuss future plans.
I'm pleased with this trip though, I've been able to spend time with Francois and shout out ideas across the office. Even if we've struggled to sit together each day and work our way through all the items on our lists, we've still managed to prioritise, brainstorm and slowly accomplish all we need to. We're down to an evening and a day at this point. We certainly won't finish everything, but have progressed enough that lots more can be done via skype and email.
In the process of transitioning I'm also getting a sense of how hard it is to let go. I'm so used to planning out WYA's activities and schedules months in advance. I know what the schedule will be for staff meetings, I prepare how the regional meetings will go and I know I'll be exhausted by the end and what can and can't happen.
Instead, I have only one month left as President, the countdown is on! I'll certainly spend the first few weeks of "unemployment" finishing cleaning my files, being an ear for Francois and likely helping around the house with laundry :) I haven't woken up in the morning without something pressing for me to do for years, I'm not sure how I'll cope!
Oh well, in the meantime, I've enjoyed every minute of my stay in Brussels. I arrived to see snow in Brussels for the first time ever! Last Saturday I visited Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world, and visited the diamond museum - always good to visit my best friends :) Diamonds are a girl's best friend, right?
Tonight we have a movie night at the intern's flat with a number of WYA friends present. Tomorrow I'll meet up with a friend for supper, and possibly go for one last beer with the staff prior to that.
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