STIMULATE 4*

In the words of Neruda, "Dies slowly he who does not relive his memories..."

At around this time last year, I had the humble opportunity of seeing the world from the other side (literally and figuratively) and was so blessed to have met incredible people that brought out the drama queen in me, just when I thought that all along, I was a rock-solid species of the bleed-dry kind (translation: shedding tears - negative). Thanks to these guys, I've had a tough time battling it all out with my Belgian withdrawal syndrome for quite a long while. Maybe for that I should blame them every now and then whenever I've got the chance...like now. How lucky can they get?!?! ;)

And so today, allow me to wind back grandfather's trusted clock a little and travel down the memory lane one more time. To make the recollection job less of a burden for me (not that it's burdensome, it's just that there's so much to amass!), I've matched up anything and everything I could fondly remember about each one of them. Formally stating his/her name and country of origin, here goes the roll...


Daisy from the Philippines. Overbaggaged; Kabayan (ask Orlando); the pasta diet; Trading off Milsa cheese tips with Irvine; Supermarket hopping with Mama Tess; Checking out Prof. Nyssen in his office and then activating the "invisible mode" button so as not to be seen, just when he's about to run into us; Picture-taking at the airports.

Happy from Swaziland. Her usual, "Hey, Christine!" greeting; Her encouraging smile; Her happiness! :)

Henock from Ethiopia. Jupiler; TV at the 2/F kitchen; Shakira's nightly unwitting victim; Bowling tips; Luz Quiroga class.

Irvine from Zimbabwe. Daily prescription of Jupiler; His favorite blue sweater he submitted to me for mending; Saving Christine's burnt rice.

Julie from Uganda. Her room that didn't exactly had the Erasmus look; Her blissful family pictures; The deep talks.

Kabyema from Zambia. His casual favor of having his picture taken in Antwerpen granted (using my camera); His videocam with my face scattered all over the clips; Splitting the 2€ salt shaker.

Mahassin, Aisha and Samira from Sudan. That day I walked with you ladies, from station Petillon to school (in Etterbeek), without ever feeling anxious about being late in class; The cheek-to-cheek greetings; Molenbeek.

Manuel from Chile. My tormentor in a doting kind of way; Coffee sessions with Orlando; His scenic photographs; WINISIS; Belgian maps; Casio scientific calculator; The free gym lessons; Roxette; Bowling at Sportopolis; Pablo Neruda; F&D Chicken (at the Grand Place) and the Friterie (in Jette)...While Orlando is the daddy, he's the uncle.

Masele from Tanzania. His HP notebook computer; Cab ride from the airport to Erasmus; His sideview pictures, his justification being, "It's realistic!". He has a point there.

Neetha from Sri Lanka. Shakira's neighbor; Her scissors I used for my milestone haircutting client; Oh, and the pink ribbons!!!

Orlando from Cuba. Mi idolo en todo!; Curse of the broken coffee machines; Coffee sessions with Manuel; Nightly Cuban 7:30 dinners; "Not yet in Jette."; "You are lost."; the orange Spanish-English-Spanish dictionary; Weekend shopping at Clemenceau and Midi; Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Our trip to the dentist; Alanis Morrisette...Oh, I have so much to tell. He's my daddy!

Rahma from Uganda. The puzzled look on her face when I asked her to pick blindly from among the souvenir pens I gave out as going-away tokens.

Sainul from India. Yahoogroup; His sweet going-away delicacy for everyone; That maroon coat-and-tie combination.

Terry from Jamaica. Cool cataloger; Her head dropping away in answer to sleep's call in class, never mind putting herself at risk of being caught by the professor. That was awesome! Ha-ha-ha!!!

Tess from the Philippines. Her confirmatory one-liners (e.g., It's getting cold, isn't it?); Super GB, Colruyt, Aldi, Del Haize, Clemenceau and Midi. I think by now you get the picture ;)

Virginia from Zambia. Her bewildered eyes whenever I broadcast the "WC" word (look at her now!); One time trip up the 3/F kitchen; Her hair-makeover after a minor surgery.

I think I did this roll calling before. Talk about deja vu.


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*Scientific and Technological Information Management in Universities and Libraries: an Active Training Environment (Edition 4). Brussels, Belgium. 2004.