Brussels in 87seconds

When most people think of studying abroad, images come to mind of students on vacation, partying, indulging in their new legal statuses. Some students take their experience as a break from their stressful, high-intensity college experience, hoping to unwind, and maybe even ‘find themselves’ in a new country. This spring semester I had the opportunity to not only take classes, but to work 25 hours a week in Belgium—a rather grey and unfamiliar country, where the people speak languages I have not even a basic grasp of. But would I change a single second of it? Absolutely not.

Most of my days in Brussels were spent at 87seconds, a video production agency specializing in digital-video formats. 87seconds has multiple offices scattered across Europe, and its recent acquisition by the Datawords group has positioned 87seconds as the creative content factory internationally within the group, according to Datawords. The Belgian office, is made up of a diverse international team of 20 or so talented creatives, from designers to cameramen to illustrators and more.

‘Creative’, perhaps, is the best word to describe the workplace that I had the pleasure of interning at for the past three months—a time which was unfortunately abruptly cut short due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Each day brought a variety of new responsibilities, and tasks that I myself had never taken on before. Lucky for me, I was not thrown into this new type of work world alone, as I was accompanied with another familiar Furman face, Autumn.

Autumn and I’s day-to-day differed slightly, though oftentimes we would work on the same sorts of projects. Some days would involve me drafting up countless possible Instagram captions for the company’s Instagram, which I was given full access to and responsibility of during the months I interned at 87seconds. Other days, I designed presentations that were sent directly to clients. These presentations directly integrated design aspects of client’s specific websites and logos, while also explaining the creative direction that 87seconds would have for the project. These presentations were accompanied by references from 87seconds archives, in order to provide more concrete examples.

While I learned so much from the work I was able to complete during my internship, the greatest lessons I learned were from talking with my co-workers during our lunch break. Our enlightening chats however, did not start right away. On our first day in the office, not only did the food bring on an aura of uncertainty (I recall one of our fellow interns eating an entire baguette and a tub of some strange orange sauce), but they spoke to each other in French. Soon enough though, my coworkers showed a strong interest in what things were like back in the United States. This connection to home was a relief to both Autumn and I. We talked about topics such as fast food, college tuition, and inevitably, Donald Trump. The one topic discussed most of all, however, was how limited Autumn and I’s travel around our neighboring counties has been versus theirs.

Autumn and I heading upstairs for lunch

Our lunches soon became a series of travel suggestions and stories. With each new week our coworkers asked where Autumn and I were off to the upcoming weekend. They told us their favorite places, things to see, and even places to skip. Our chats opened my eyes to how easy it was for our coworkers to experience other cultures and languages due to their proximity to other countries—something I feel, as an American, we may miss out on.

My time spent working with my Belgian coworkers opened my eyes to a more global perspective, while also giving me invaluable work experience that I hope to carry with me in my future endeavors. Although my study abroad experience will be considered unique, regarding the brevity of my internship and hasty evacuation from Belgium, I still would not trade my time and experience in Brussels for anything.

A photo capturing my last day in Brussels