What I’ve Learned in My First Week in Leuven

#

There were quite a few cultural differences that I did not expect. Many things are quite trivial: having to pay for water at a restaurant, fast bikers, etc., but the smallness of this country also creates some cultural phenomena that has led me to some interesting reflection. The culture of going out during the week and returning home on the weekend for Belgian students suggests both less individualism in college as students more frequently visit family as well as a stronger recreational culture as people are willing to party even when they have school tomorrow.

Leuven is in my eyes a model city. As someone interested in urban planning, it is fascinating how Leuven contrasts with most American cities I’ve visited. Unplagued by traffic and allowing free movement on foot, the city feels very traverseable and navigable. The fact that I can walk from one side of the city to the other in under a half hour is a foreign feeling and one I quite appreciate.

What I’ve Learned

#

Europe has a culture of cooperation and reliance on one another. I was impressed by how robust the EU is in its processes, how it divides responsibilities with nation states, and how actors within it are seeking to compromise. While it is undoubtedly a slow and complicated process that can seem like a black box to many Europeans, its ability to make progress and keep Europe relevant through collective regulation and economic negotiation is remarkable.

Contribution to Phase 1 Deliverable

#

My contributions to our deliverable were threefold: I came up with our concept for using logistic regression to predict inequality, I located the necessary feature datasets from World Bank and OECD, and wrote a majority of our API demonstration.