Every morning in Brussels reminds me that this study abroad was created to make students more professional.  I started my day off by putting on my full professional attire and descending the stairs in our Maison to have our morning coffee and reading the newspaper with our host father. Then we walked to the Euroflat hotel for our first briefing, heels clicking all the way.

We met with Diego Ruiz Palmer, policy advisor to the director in NATO, to discuss the political side of NATO before we head to SHAPE, the military portion of NATO. NATO is an organization that was created in 1949 in order to create an alliance that would stand together against aggression. History only goes in one direction, but it definitely has its patterns in slowly changing historical eras. Currently, we are in a time of transition, where there is an uncertainty in international organizations. Interaction is the big difference in this era because globalization did not exist, especially not at this scale and speed. Before it used to be the West and the Rest with the West paving the way, but now we see a change to the Rest and the West. The United States seemed to be in the position of the Reluctant sheriff where it has to be the policeman of the world, but does it truly want to be? The United States seems torn between the idea of Manifest Destiny and Isolationism. This is a pattern that we have seen before as a nation, and the decision seems to rely on the administration in power. Brexit is another key example of the West withdrawing from the world, and it could be an opportunity for the United Kingdom to shine on the global stage and to prove it is self-dependent. However, withdrawing from NATO relinquishes the security behind the “one for all, and all for one”defense that NATO supplies.

Who knows what changes will come to NATO as the world shifts uncomfortably in power, and the greatest danger NATO has is instability. In the East and the South, the insurance of safety and security is of utmost importance. NATO is not an offensive force; however, it does aim to deter, defend, and protect stability. In the South, they have set up strength training teams and a crisis management center in order to aid in becoming more resilient and speedy in desperate circumstances. They, also, created the Joint Force Command in order to communicate what is going on in the South. In addition to creating a deterrence in the South, the Wales Summit established a readiness action plan for the Baltic states to deter Russia, created a defense investment pledges, and increased the presence of cyber defense. As much planning as the Wales Summit did, the goals are coming to a close and the Allies need to vote on a new readiness initiative that would require each of them to have a number of battalions that on standby and ready to go. In order to have such speed, there needs to be the appropriate infrastructure and reinforcement in place, such as signs detailing where tanks can fit or not.

After a few questions from the students, we boarded the bus to SHAPE. We enjoyed a lovely meal at the SHAPE Club and then moved to headquarters where we were briefed by a Polish Lieutenant Colonel. He, also, stressed the fact that this was a transitionary period for NATO especially after the 2014 Crimea Annexation by Russia and we are currently in a period of “Post-Truth.” This occurs when you have information that is based on emotions and not facts and perspective is retroactively clearer after results have been revealed. SHAPE carries out orders from NATO to ensure the Allies have the militaristic portion of NATO. “Post-Truth” is a problem for NATO because in order to give orders to SHAPE all member states must be in agreement with said orders and in democratic countries often the support from the citizens are affected by media that is clouded with bias and emotions. Even though this problem is still yet to be resolved, SHAPE still provides a “bridge of defense and security.”

After a brief coffee break, we were joined by an American NATO lieutenant colonel Bryce. He gave us a brief yet thorough overview of Russia and NATO relations. I thought it to be interesting that for a while Russia was a strategic partner in not only its location but, also, the fact that they were able to aid NATO in understanding the culture and language in the Western Balkans. Between NATO and Russia, there was an agreement of the 3 No’s that was no reason, no intention, and no plan to use nuclear weapons. According to Russia, there was a fourth No that was slipped in that was no new substantial forces in new members states. According to NATO, this No was neither documented nor agreed to by all states. This No, verified or not, was violated when NATO stationed new troops in the Baltic states after Crimea. Following the Georgia invasion, Russia was forgiven, but when they invaded again in Crimea Russia and NATO relations have reached a new level of tension. Russian invasion into NATO member states is not likely since there are currently Americans, Germans, and British soldiers stationed in strategic areas, implementing the “one for all, and all for one” threat NATO has.

NATO continues to work to defend itself in 3 directions: East, South, and Homeland. In order to provide such defense, it is crucial for NATO to remain transparent to combat “post-truth.” NATO is not a universal pill, for different pains you take different medicines. Nations can choose to act individually when they want, within their realm of power. NATO cannot continue to carry on business as usual though, especially after Georgia. Russia is continuously unpredictable and NATO needs to be able to reach a consensus looking towards the future in next month’s summit. It is all fear-based politics. History seems to be cycling back into the period of the Cold War. This is quite disappointing because both found nations found out that the other never had any intention of invading it was simply for defense measures. I could not imagine repeating the Cold War, but with two very hot-headed, unpredictable leaders in power on opposite sides.

After taking pictures with Georgia Tech’s own, General Breedlove, previous SACEUR, we boarded the bus back. The entire bus ride was filled with a lot of reactions to the information that we received earlier. Two hours later, we arrived back in Brussels. After a lovely meal with my host family, we decided that the best way to decompress after a long day is to go to Maison Antoine to get some fries with mayonnaise. 

Belgium welcomed us with chilly, but open, arms on our first full day in Brussels! It was pretty cloudy, but thankfully did not rain and the temperature was really nice – although others may disagree. We began the day with a walking/bus tour of the city. Our first stop was at the Robert Schuman statue – as is expected for our EU group. We all made sure to tell our tour guide that we were great friends with Robert Schuman.

From the statue, we walked down to Schuman square, which is in the center of the EU institutions – European Commission, European Parliament, etc. in the area. We had a beautiful view of the city on both ends.

After Schuman Square, we piled into the bus again and headed to the Atomium. The Atomium is a massive structure that was built in 1958 for the Brussel’s World Fair, an international event that originated as a technology exhibition. After the World Fair ended, the Atomium was supposed to be torn down, but ended up being the only structure left intact. The structure has a great view, especially from the top, but unfortunately, we did not have enough time to actually go inside and/or make it to the top of the Atomium.

While we were there, we had a short break during the tour to get coffee and snacks. There was a waffle truck across the street that a few of us went to – and boy, am I glad I went. That was hands-down the best waffle I have ever had in my life!

After the Atomium, we headed to Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert to find lunch. This is a beautiful shopping center covered by an arched glass roof, which stretches on for miles, and has high end stores, restaurants, and theaters. Because we are a pretty big group, we split into two smaller groups for lunch and went to two different restaurants, but everyone really enjoyed their food!

When we finished eating we were able to walk around the area for a bit to wait for the other group to finish. Dr. Birchfield pointed out a nice, cozy bookstore that she loves. We all piled into it and found the English books. The selection was in a small space, but there were some really great books in the collection!

After our leisure time in the bookstore, we began our Chocolate Tour! On the tour our group went to a number of chocolate shops and for the first store Dr. Birchfield picked out different types for us to try and divided it among us. I tried the milk chocolate option and it had hardened caramel in the middle with another ingredient to balance out the sweetness. It was absolutely delicious! There was also a dark chocolate option that had vanilla in the middle. I did not try that one, but everyone who did said it was amazing as well. At the next two shops, we all were able to go into to the shop with Dr. Birchfield and pick out the individual pieces of chocolate we wanted. Both of the stores had wonderful options and the chocolates were beautifully crafted. The nice thing about the tour was we also got to see more of the city while we walked from store to store.

After the tour, we had a spontaneous visit to a beautiful cathedral. The inside had great artwork, architecture, and stained glass windows. It was particularly nice to be able to compare this cathedral to the previous ones we have seen in Metz and the many we have seen in other cities. We ended the day in a nice, semi-secluded park, pretty close to the cathedral, where we talked for a bit about the highlights of the day. I would definitely say Day 1 was a success!

Today is the day we say goodbye to our French bread and cheese and say hello to Belgian waffles and fries! On our way to Brussels, we stopped in Bastogne to visit the Bastogne War Museum. This museum is designed to show visitors a new perspective and an interactive framework on World War II through the Battle of the Bulge. We were able to follow the story of a young boy and his family throughout the war to give us a more personal story of the war. This was done through three different movie theaters within the museum. Because of the war, the young boy was sent to live at his uncle’s house while his parents stayed behind to take care of their bike shop. Unfortunately, this was the last time he would see his parents because they were both killed in a bombing. This museum gave us a better insight into the lives of civilians during the war and how they lived before, during the occupation, and after the war.

After the museum, we stopped for a quick lunch at an Italian restaurant. In addition to getting some good food, we also learned a fun fact about one of the program participants, Abbie. She does not like cheese, but her favorite food is pepperoni pizza……I know we were all questioning this too but she says as long as there is a good cheese to pepperoni ratio, she can tolerate the cheese. After lunch we hopped back on the bus to drive the remaining two hours to get to Brussels and meet our host families.

We were greeted by our host families at a meet and greet at a local restaurant. Our group was the first to arrive so we waited eagerly by the patio as our host families began to arrive. Although we were a bit nervous to meet them, we all could not be more thrilled with the families we are going to be living with for the next month! I want to give a special shoutout to me and Harper’s host family for being so wonderful and preparing us a traditional Portuguese dinner for our first night in Brussels!

Happy Sunday!

After a month in Metz, our last day is sadly here. We started our day with a tour of the Lorraine American Cemetery. This cemetery has the largest number of graves of United States military casualties from World War II in Europe. The guided tour offered some insights into three men who are buried in the cemetery. The first story we heard was about a Medal of Honor recipient named Ruben Rivers. He earned his Medal of Honor because he stayed in his tank for three days straight in order to provide coverage for his men. The death year on his grave stone reads 1944 but he did not receive his Medal of Honor until the 90s because he was an African American Soldier. The second soldier we learned about is unknown. The cemetery still has many graves with a headstone that reads “here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known only but to God.” The cemetery is actively working to identify these men and finally give peace to their families. These graves demonstrate to us that the men who fought in World War II lost more than their lives; they lost their identity. The last grave we visited with our guide is the grave of Charles Campbell. The most impactful part of his story is the last letter that he wrote to his father before he died. In this letter, he talks about his plans for after the war and his ideas about the future. Sadly, Charles would not see the end of the war but that makes his story all the more impactful because we are reminded that these soldiers were young men who were not able to live out their dreams because they sacrificed their lives to keep us safe so that we could have a future. At the end of the guided portion of our visit, our guide asked us one simple favor. She asked us that as we walk through the rows of graves to take a minute and read some of the names on the grave stones in remembrance of the soldiers to keep their memories alive.

After the cemetery, we traveled to Nancy where we were joined by Pooja and Harper who had a bit of a “prague-lematic” time getting back to France since their flight home from Prague was canceled. Before our scheduled ride on the tourist train, we had some time to explore the Place Stanislas. Known around the world for its architecture and beauty, this square is earned a spot on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The square was constructed by the architect Emmanuel Héré and the iron gates were constructed by Jean Lamour. The square is a pivotal part of Nancy because it is home to the City Hall, the Opera House, and the Fine Arts Museum. The tourist train gave us a comprehensive overview of the city and its historical significance. But, I think we would all say that the best part of the train ride was that at the end of the tour, the conductor drove us to the restaurant where we were having our group dinner!

Our day ended with a group dinner in Nancy and a quick train ride back to Metz so we could finish packing to leave for Brussels the following morning. While we will all greatly miss Metz, we are excited to move on to Brussels and see what new opportunities lie ahead.