Phase 1 Deliverable

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Belgium is a wonderful country. I was here in the summer of 2024, but it is exciting to come back and explore the country in an educational context. My first week here has been amazing, I love visiting the governmental instituions and learning about the context of my studies in international politics.

What I’ve learned in class

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I have learned how to find extremely effective datasets. How to look for datasets with enough data to begin but also features that are going to help our project. I have also learned to webscrape more effectively which is a powerful tool.

Outside of class

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I liked seeing how different organizations potrayed and represented themselves differently. For example NATO felt much more scripted, meanwhile the EU Commision felt more open and transparent. However in the end of the day I am aware that they are all employees working for someone else, so they don’t have complete control in how to represent themselves.

My favorite experience so far, was meeting a random local and going to a professional basketball with him. That is something that makes trip like these special.