Day one, Brussels

Well, I should have known I was in for an adventure when I climbed on the bus in Portland and the movie showing was Disney's "earth." Given the amount of the earth I was about to cover, I thought it only fitting. My flights were fairly uneventful. I landed in London after little sleep and it was raining (shocking!). One more short flight into Brussels and I had arrived. I was very fortunate to meet up with a good friend and former client who now lives in Brussels now. Joe showed me the general way around and we had a great time catching up over some beers.

Monday morning began by meeting my fellow EUVP associates in the lobby of the hotel. The EUVP program or European Union Visitors Programme (yes, with an "e"!). The program allows for dignitaries to meet with any number of EU government officials. All meetings are set up ahead of time. There were three others participating: Matt, who is the legislative director for the association of county commissioners in Georgia, Elham, who works for United emirate states, and marco from Bolivia. Marco's english was not so good, so I dont know what he does!