This is a Beautiful Place

Daytime view of the Leuven Stadhuis

Erin, Matt, and Tim grilling


Outdoor ping pong



Group gathered enjoying a meal

Ping pong earlier in the week

“Two roads diverged in the woods, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” These words, taken from Robert Frost’s “Road Not Taken,” rolled, as many thoughts do when I head out on a long bike ride, through my mind as I trudged slowly up a long gradual hill on Ginger – my appropriately named bright orange bicycle.

There were storm clouds overhead and I was speckled with a couple of small, cold drops as I darted out of 80 Schapenstraat and headed into the center of the city on Saturday afternoon. I was in pursuit of a dart board, which Matt and I have been looking to purchase in order to save us some money from not having to go out to a bar just to play a game. However, on Saturday afternoons, the city of Leuven is as dead as a doornail (I don’t know what that means it’s an expression I picked up from my father). Anyway, the shops were closed and the city was quiet – a dart board was not to be found – and having already been out, I decided to take a bit of a bike ride.

I headed down Schapenstraat and onto the cobblestone, the rattling of my old, used bike echoing off of the stone buildings that surrounded me. I hooked a left at the road to the Stadhuis and headed away from the spire city center and north out of the city – in the distance there was sunshine, and I figured I might as well head toward that. The road was busy with traffic coming in both directions and a red path, outlined in dotted white lines, guided me. As I raced the darkening clouds, which began to drizzle when I started my climb on the aforementioned hill, I was brought to those words by Robert Frost.

Creeping slowly up the never ending hill, one creaking peddle-turn after another, my mind began to race. I pondered over Mr. Frosts intentions when writing his poem. Did he actually walk through the woods to come up with the idea for his poem? Or was it just his creative intuition that brought him to the image? How would I know if I was taking the right road? Would I ever come to that point where I could reflect and see the points in my life where the road divided and decisions were made? Could I, as the poem implies, look back on my decisions and, good or bad, be satisfied with the routes I took? And as my mind raced, and I burrowed myself so deep in my own thought that I blocked out the world around me, I looked up and had one single question: “Where the hell am I?”

No literally. Where the hell was I? I was sitting in sunshine, warmer than when I had departed from the huis – whether that was from the pedaling or the bright orange sun that had suddenly appeared, I couldn’t decide. The hills around me, decorated in corn stalks and dotted with autumn leaved trees, told me I was no longer in the city. The cobblestone road which I had begun on gave way to a much larger paved road, possibly a highway. I had wandered into the beautiful rolling hills of the Belgian countryside and frequented the Flemish farmland (say that 5 times fast). The hill which I had been climbing was much longer that I expected, but I was now on much more level ground, sitting and pedaling slowly. I was definitely no longer in the Leuven. In fact, according to the sign at the intersection I had just reached, I was about 4 km outside of the city. Instead of going back, I continued on, straight as an arrow.

I passed through a small Belgian strip mall and continued on. After climbing another hill of significant height, I stopped and looked back over my shoulder and found myself with a beautiful vantage point over the city. The sun was shining on the spires and steeples of the city, and the looming clouds had begun to disappear. And I sat there, taking in the world around me – it hit me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I recognize that Robert Frost is a man of more intellect, intelligence and ability than me, and I love his poem which serves as inspiration to me. However, I came to one revelation about the words of one of my favorite poems – it didn’t tell the story of the other road. Now I realized the symbolism involved and the intention of Mr. Frost’s words, but in terms of traveling, in that very literal sense, there are things to be discovered on both paths. Therefore, if I were able to apply an appendage to “The Road Not Take,” for students traveling abroad, I would add, that if you have the chance, go to a place long enough to take both roads.

That is what this experience in this foreign land has meant to me so far. That was my realization. That is the beauty of the Leuven program. The ability to call Leuven home for long enough to understand how it works, eats, sleeps, and breathes. Being comfortable enough to go on a bike ride with no map, no intentions, and no idea where I’m headed. Even if the road is busy and trodden, adventures still lie down it. And the best of experiences often sneak up on you when you’re not even expecting it. That bike ride, though short and uneventful, brought me to the reality of the situation I am in and the luck and fortune I have to be here. It’s not hard to see how philosophers and theologians come here to Leuven to study in the mastery of their field, there is something very relaxing and mind consuming about this quaint Belgian city. Its quiet nature and beauty brings you deep into your own thoughts, delving into your own thoughts.

As I headed back toward the city, past the “Leuven 4km” sign, I could see the skyline now entirely engulfed in the sunshine that was warming my back. The hills which I had struggled to climb moments earlier, now powered me back into the heart of the city. As the wind whipped my face, bringing cool air deep into my lungs, and the “seashell noise” drowned out the rattling the chains on my bike, my mind was cleared of everything except for one final though – “This is a beautiful place.”



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Hallo! (That’s Dutch for “hello”) I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog. I didn’t have any tales or stories or trips for this week because this past week and weekend was a lazy one for most of the Loyola crew and me. With the traveling and the expenses of Munich the weekend before, I decided to take this past weekend easy, and just enjoy Leuven a little.

Some of the highlights from the week are pretty simple. This week, Matt and I discovered that the Nachbahrhuis owns a ping pong table, and have since been playing some pretty intense games. We also discovered the aura that the “pinging” and “ponging” of a plastic ball on a wooden table creates. Without hesitation, every time we began a round or a 7-game series, we attract a crowd to the common room to either watch or want to join in. However, we don’t mind the competition and the games, especially because it helps to bring the group together. Especialy because some of the Italians are really good at doubles - so we've had some fun matches. The other day we had up to 5 or 6 country representatives gathered into the common room enjoying the game. From Slovenia to Italy to the good ole' USA everybody got a game or two in.

In addition, this Wednesday, October 14, the Loyola crew celebrated Geen Nederlands Woensdag (No Dutch Wednesday) on what we hope to be an annual tradition. Last week, Ines, our Dutch teacher, informed us that she would be absent from class this Wednesday and unable to teach, but that we would tack an extra half hour on a couple of our 2 hour Monday classes to make up for the time. In passing, I made a joke that we should celebrate the day off as a holiday.

Thus the celebration was born. For Matt and I, Dutch is our only class on Wednesdays, so to have it off, meant a whole day free for the two of us. At first the holiday was just a joke about Matt and I sunbathing in the courtyard at 10am, drinking Stella’s and taunting people as they pass on their way to class. However, slowly the No Dutch Wednesday’s anticipation grew to the point where I realized: we actually have to plan something because people are expecting us to. So I was loaned the grill from Christel and went out and bought some charcoal and we made it into a BBQ. We moved the ping pong table outdoors, and despite the cold weather, attracted a descent crowd for our Wednesday party. It turned out to be a pretty good time that I was glad that I was able to contribute to the group bonding experience.

There are a couple of pictures above of No Dutch Wednesday part and the city, though on my long bike ride that I so vividly gripped you with earlier, I forgot my camera, so hopefully my words will do it justice. I hope you enjoyed it! See you next week!