A young environmental engineer and tour guide took us around the old customs hall at the Royal Depot and La Gare Maritime, two refurbished and repurposed buildings, as well as a community park, a sustainable shopping center, and a converted trade center. All four focused on renewable energy, sustainability, and accessibility. We loved getting to learn about the businesses that operated in these centers and see how we can bring our new knowledge back to Los Angeles.

After our sustainability tour, we headed to the center of Brussels to explore the area around "La Grand Place" (yes, I know the word "place" is feminine but it's complicated). In this historic and beautiful part of the city, we ate lunch, shopped, enjoyed the architecture and people watching, and some of us tried Belgian waffles!

After lunch, we took the metro to the European District and visited la Maison de l’Histoire Européenne, where we saw a temporary exhibit, Jeter, which recounted the history of waste. We found it interesting to see the rise of disposable products, the dumping of waste in European cities, etc, and how they connect to world history. Once we left the exhibition, we went to the European Union experiential learning center, an interactive exhibit, which featured the stories of European citizens and the history, goals and current projects of the European Union.

After an intense week-long course, we headed home, flying from Brussels to Amsterdam to LAX. It was a fitting end that brought to the surface another theme of our trip: European integration and the idea of different nations coming together to solve problems that transcend borders. We thank Valeria (Spanish nationality, working in Paris with a German professor after studying in the UK and France) and Elias (a Flemish-speaking Belgian who addressed us in English and French who also studied in Spain and Denmark) for their inspiring examples.