Kindly excuse her lack of posting due to the rather hectic life she’s currently leading, or the bad  internet connection she has at home.

Moreover, thesis, family time, a couple of birthdays and some travelling are also keeping her rather busy. Meanwhile, you can always catch up with her on www.rockdancejump.com, to learn what music she’s listening too.  So please, Stay tuned!!

Till then…  keep well.

Yours truly,

Cladonia  (www.thoughtsfromtheucreative.com)

From Strassen, to Petrusse and Belair, to Limpertsberg…  my new move shall be taking me to Beggen, in a ‘haunted-looking’ house for stagiares, called Socrates.  I’ve been there for a couple of hang-outs since my dear Polski, Karolina, has been living there since October. 

Never a dull moment for me !!    It’s also known as ‘looking at the brighter side of life’ !

Feeling certain of my decision to eagerly accepting an opportunity I’ve been given, resulting in extending my working experience here by a few extra months, I am still conscious of the challenges I will be facing here at work (the French language playing a major role), coupled up with thesis pressure, an exam, and some other tasks and burdens, such as surviving with my inexistent cooking skills and my expertise in ruining clothes when I do the washing   …

The ‘last’ gathering is taking place in Leuven (or Louvain), just outside Brussels.  Everywhere is white, a -3°C temperature which gets you in a mood for hot chocolate and a good book by a fireplace, at home! I like the city, very student-oriented.  I had initially intended to apply here for ERASMUS, before changing my mind and trying my luck for the European Court of Justice.  The general feeling of the meeting is also very positive, primarily revolving around knowledge sharing of the outgoing ESU Hacks with the newly elected representatives who are now taking over.  Some presentations here and there, currently preparing one on Gender Equality and why ESU gives it particular importance in relation to the Higher Education area.

But most importantly, friendships are strengthened, new friends made and I will move on with the hope that I have actually made some effective contribution to the student movement, while contributing to my personal growth and walk of life.

.. . more to come !

Why do I keep on doing this to myself, when I could be enjoying port-drinking with my dear friends at good old Maestro!??

We’re still at it  …  Motions are still being voted upon.  And apparently, there is also a farewell party!  The time is now 1:10am.

It truly is a farewell party in my case since this BM marks the end of my mandate within the Committee for Internal Development.  Very happy to say that an Icelandic representative has been elected in my place, to take office as from January 1st!!  :)

Where is Democracy? I’d like to make a statement…

This is ridiculous.!!!  I’d like to amend the amendment…  What are we voting about??? .. Where is the beer???????

These are only a few of the most commonly uttered phrases during the ‘infamous’ ESU Board Meetings.   Overtired at ESU’s 57th Board Meeting at the time of writing, which brought me to Krakow for the weekend…

Sounds amusing? Well… in circumstances where sleep is overrated, breakfast, lunch and dinner consist of sausages, EVERY conversation revolves around Higher Education Policy, and procedural motions become clichés, I’d say it’s debatable.

The clock has just struck 11:30pm.  My brain is fried, and we’re still voting on motions. But seems like we’ve moved to lighter non-political topic discussions now, such as ideas on how we can act on global warming effects and save trees .

Oh! What considerate ecological students we’re reaping nowadays!

Embracing a vision of a European higher education system which embodies the principles of equity, quality and accessibility, ESU (The European Students’ Union) is the umbrella organisation of 47 national unions of students hailing from 38 countries. 

ESU’s mission is to represent and promote the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students at a European level, in the belief that everyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, financial status or social background should be enabled to participate fully in an education of the highest quality and complete a learning path tailored to his needs. 

Amongst ESU’s main missions is the building of a stronger student movement across continents.  ESU acts as both a capacity-builder  for student organisations and as a promoter of the ‘4 pillars’ of the student movement – democracy, independence, openness and representativity, and has pledged to remove barriers across borders, particularly by being actively involved in the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education held in July 2009, towards a new platform for global student cooperation.

ESU is amongst the front runners and a key player in promoting student mobility across the globe as a right for all students and academic staff alike, leading to increased and strengthened intercultural dialogue.  Mobility creates a space where people with significantly varied cultural backgrounds come together and share knowledge, skills and competences, making of us better students, set for the challenges that our futures and careers are to hurl at us.

In a joint effort with EI (Education International), ESU worked on a mobility project and campaign entitled “Let’s Go! – Where to Now?” which culminated into the French Presidency of the EU adopting ESU’s 20% by 2020 mobility target in October 2008, a target which was subsequently endorsed by both the European Commission and the 46 members of the European Higher Education Area.  The project was also aimed at removing obstacles to mobility that exist across the globe, such as a lack of financial assistance or visa problems, and to identify solutions to ensure that they are tackled in the coming years.  It also secured mobility issues firmly at the top of the European education agenda. 

 Above all, I hope that this has helped you familiarise yourselves more with ESU and its role in this world.

Feeels Good!

Now I might be able to concentrate on the exam coming up on the 24th of the month … !  waaa

I have been made homeless. . . and I am currently crashing a friend’s place.   Very kind i think.  Had been experiencing problems with my landlady and it was blown a bit out of proportion. 

Not having a stable setting feels strange.  It feels like I went back to holiday mode, during which all your belongings remain in your luggage and you only go home for the night to sleep.   Will probably tour half Luxembourg Ville and will have acquainted myself with all the bus routes by the end of December, moving from one friend’s house to the other.   Then I may consider retiring and becoming a connoisseur and give advice on which location best fits your purposes if you plan on visiting Luxembourg, long or short term.

On a more realistic note, yesterday we spent an evening chez Lexy - the same residence I’m moving in coming December.  I love it!