Something New, Something Old (Theatre that is!)

This week was all about routine celebrations in Brussels. We celebrated my roommate’s birthday and attended Belgium’s New Moon midnight premiere. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Twilight movies, it began with Stephanie Meyer’s four novel series. New Moon marks the release of the second movie in the sequence, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Consequently, my friend Nora and I waited in line at 11:45pm with hundreds of Belgium teenagers all yelling in French! I’m sure you wonder if the movie was in French. Although we forgot to check (Opps!), the movie was in English with French and Dutch subtitles (remember, Brussels has two official languages). Nora and I give New Moon two thumbs up and four stars – we may be a little biased though!

Continuing with the visual arts themes, my roommate and I attended a French play. Jean Giraudoux's La Folle De Chaillot was featured at Le Théâtre du Parc in Brussels. Though, this production was completely in French, and of course, without subtitles. With less than a semester of elementary French under your belt, try understanding that! Nevertheless, we managed to watch the madwoman of Chaillot, Countess Aurelia, plot to save Paris. Half bag lady and half nobility, the Countess traps businessmen who threaten to ruin the city in search of oil. Written during the Nazi German occupation of France, the play is a sentimental celebration of the common Parisians. The Countess represents the voice of the innocent French, while the play symbolizes hope while France was occupied by the Nazis.

This weekend I’m London-bound to visit Jasmine, a friend who recently graduated from Furman University. Jasmine has agreed to play tour guide – from Harold’s, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, we’ll be keeping up with the Griswold’s European Vacation! I cannot believe that is my last planned trip while I’m abroad!