After a week of hard work at the RAF and the internship, I got off earlier on Friday to prepare for the International Festival. This meant lots of hopping from the RAF to Target to Harris Teeter and back to the RAF. Belgians are always well organized and prepared; that's why we had to take care of practically everything the day of the event itself!

We Belgians plan to do big things, but ended up keeping it small. We planned to bake real, fresh Belgian waffles for everyone. Then the day of the event we thought: "Wait, did anyone actually bake waffles?" .. "No?" .. "Let's buy Eggo waffles and bake some real ones for the aroma." So, that's what we did. In real 'extreme couponing' mode, I bought 100 eggo waffles for only $10. Of course we also provided whipped cream, chocolate syrup, maple syrup and powdered sugar… Moreover, we baked real Belgian waffles as well. If you were fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how they turned out) you got one of them. It was just impossible to bake fresh waffles for everyone (it took me the whole food contest to bake just ten fresh waffles).

The International Festival was super cool. First we got the opportunity to eat international food cooked by the international students from The Washington Center. There was Indian, Korean, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Brazilian… From the smell and the smiles on the people's faces, I guess it was delicious. I didn't have the opportunity to check out the food from the other countries because I was too occupied baking waffles. I still regret it! The country with the best dish was awarded a prize. And the winner is… Mexico!

After the food contest we all gathered in the Blinken Auditorium where all the international students presented their countries. The Washington Center had provided free food for everyone who wasn't completely full yet.

Next up, a fashion and talent show. We got to see local clothing from all over the world, and witnessed awesome talents. It was great to experience the festival and the atmosphere was really good. Sadly, it made us Belgians realize that we don't have a culture at all. Check out some of the pictures from international festival as well as a video of TWCers going crazy for Gangnam style. We're not only doing hard work here, we are having a blast too!

_{TWC'ers going crazy on Gangnam Style performed by the South Korean students.}

Party weekend

Once the International Festival ended, what we call a "normal" weekend started. Whoever came here to recover during the weekends made a big mistake. It started with a party at one of the TWC-apartments at the RAF (Residential and Academic Facility). We did some dancing, some singing, some talking and eventually mostly ended up eating pizza in the middle of the night. Then, we slept, followed by exploring the city. Because it was a gorgeous Saturday we took a walk to the Capitol and laid down on the grass of the National Mall while being pampered by the warmth of the sunbeams.

_{TWCers clubbing at Josephine's.}

Saturday evening was incredible. Small pre-party, followed by an amazing night at Josephine's (a nightclub in D.C.). Almost every student at the TWC decided to go to Josephine's that night and it was awesome. We basically took over the entire club, or at least part of it. After hours of un-ending amusement we grabbed a cap back to the RAF. The after-party could begin. First we danced some more and then my awesome Mexican friends made me quesadillas. DE-LI-CIOUS! (Sorry roomies for being so loud). I promised everyone that I'd stay up all night to watch the sunrise, and a promise is a promise. It was amazing. Finally, after a quick trip to the Harris Teeter we crashed in our beds at 9 a.m.

_{Waiting for a cab after a great night at Josephine's.}

Because we had a heck of a party on Saturday, Sunday was basically spent (or wasted, as I might say) by sleeping in, doing some assignments for school and watching a movie. And with that a great weekend ended.