January back in Brussels

Already one month into 2026, January has flown by! It's been a quieter month with less working hours than usual and more time at home sheltering from bad weather but having lots of free time has allowed me to find lots of things I like doing nearby and I've got into a really nice routine.

I celebrated New Year in Edinburgh with all the traditions. I did the Loony Dook in Portobello in 2°C with an icy wind but clear blue skies. It was absolutely freezing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Portobello was such a vibe with a packed promenade, everyone out for New Years Day walks and loads of people walking around in dry robes throughout the day. I worked at a family ceilidh in Portobello town hall in the afternoon and it was nice to be part of a community event with everyone dressed up in their kilts. A proper Scottish do.

I arrived back in Belgium on January 5th to heavy snowfall. As such, my school was closed and so I was working from home for the week. This week I felt a bit stuck because I was home alone so much and my usual activities kept being cancelled. At least the gym remained open so I was able to start going to classes there again. After a week the snow melted, I got back to work, my flatmate came back and I was back to my usual activities so I was fine again!

I went to a Galette des Rois party to try the dessert that the French and Belgians typically eat for Epiphany. It is a sort of puff pastry pie with an almond filling. Somewhere hidden in the pie is a fève, a tiny figurine, and whoever gets the fève becomes the king for the night and gets to wear a crown. I got the fève, a little parrot, and became the king. It was interesting to experience this tradition and it was a nice evening catching up with friends and playing some games.

I also continued with Saturday board game nights

This month I started taking folk dance classes which have been good fun. It's all new dances so I'm learning lots and it's good brain work. I love the music and the folk scene generally and it's been interesting to learn dances from a different region. I've been going along once a week and each week we add dances to our repertoire as well as practising the ones we already know.

I've also been loving Scottish dancing this month. The classes have been busy with a few new people and lots of people who hadn't been in a while getting back into it. There have been more young people at the classes too which is so nice. Though the folk dancing is fun, Scottish is definitely still my favourite!

I found a library 10 minutes from my house where you can book a study space. This has been so great for getting me out of the house and doing something productive. I'm so bad at getting things done at home so it's been great having somewhere I can go to focus. I've been writing more blogs and studying Italian.

Italian has been going great this month. I've been taking lessons twice a week since I took a break in December and I feel like I'm making good progress. I've been working through the Italian textbooks I got for Christmas. The book is B1 level which I initially thought might be a bit too challenging but I'm finding I can do more than I first thought and it's good for encouraging me to go over the grammar. I also watched my first Italian film with Italian subtitles, Mine Vaganti, as recommended by my Italian teacher. It was hard but, with a few pauses to look up words, I think I was able to understand most of it. It was a useful exercise so I'm going to try and watch more films in Italian.

I went to the cinema with my flatmate to see Hamnet. A very sad film but I really enjoyed it and it was in an independent cinema just down the road which I've been meaning to try for ages. It's been nice spending a bit more time with my flatmate this month. We had a problem with mice in the flat which bonded us so we've been chatting more.

I celebrated Burns night with a Burns supper hosted by a Scottish friend. We had vegetarian haggis, neeps, tatties, cranachan, whisky and poetry. There were about 10 of us from Scotland, England, Turkey, Germany, France and Belgium so it was nice to be able to share Scottish culture. We each read a verse of Address to a Haggis which sounded spectacular in a French accent.

I went on a really nice cycle ride down to Bois de la Cambre and Foret de Soignes which is an extensive forested area in the south of Brussels with lots of cycle paths and a small lake. It was a great place for a day out away from the city centre. I also went on a day trip to Mechelen which is a small city half an hour north of Brussels. It had nice streets, very peaceful and clean, lots of people sitting outside cafes and restaurants and a beautiful cathedral.

January probably isn't the best month to come to Brussels - days are short, weather is often cold and wet and nothing much is happening. However, it's been a nice time to start new things, get to know the local area and establish new routines for the rest of my time on Brussels.