Final Gathering with HEC ULg Faculty at Le Vaudree II, Liege, Belgium

When we arrived in Liege in November, I began a quest for the best Belgium beer.  At Le Vaudree II a Tripel Karmeleit was recommended.  I never found a better beer (and, I certainly tried).  So, for a final gathering, on Leap Year Day I invited the Marketing faculty and students for one last beer back at Le Vaudree II. After ordering the beers, I did one last "presentation" about my experiences in "Living in Liege as a Visiting Professor."

Cecile, Stina (on her mother's lap), Michael, Marta, Simon, Candy, and Dwayne

Le Vaudree II has a great selection of beers...over 300.  I didn't get a chance to try them all.  I guess I will have to return to Liege to accomplish that goal. 

Only 290 beers left to try!

On Friday evening, Cecile Delcourt (the person who arranged my stay at HEC ULg in Liege), provided me with a list of the activities which I performed well and those which I needed to work on.  So, she treated me to a "meatloaf" sandwich for lunch at Cap Sur to help me expand my thinking about lunch options beyond my standard cheese sandwich. 

My Liege colleague and friend, Cecile Delcourt.

Farewell Sendoffs in Liege, Belgium

Candy and I each experienced some wonderful "good-byes" from several groups of people as we prepare to return to the U.S. next week.  Several colleagues of Dwayne's from HEC (and a couple of Candy's from Saint-Louis) met at Curtius Brewery (just around the corner from our apartment, at the base of the Montagne de Bueren steps) for a surprise gathering. Cecile Delcourt gave me an "evaluation" of my stay in Liege that included a list of the Belgian customs I have mastered (like greeting the women I meet everyday with a kiss) and those I have not (like eating moules).  (We subsequently went to dinner an ordered moules so I could check this activity off of my list!)

Simon Hazee, Susan Hopgood, Candy, Dwayne, Pascale Delhaxhe, Bernard Renson, Cecile Decourt, Fabrice De Zanet, Adrian Hopgood, Marta Lara-Quintanilla, and Anais Gentry. 

As part of the experience, I got to try some still more Belgian beers...on my continuing quest to find the BEST Belgian beer...

Three more beers from the Curtius "Sampler", differing in the amount of "bitterness"

Earlier in the day, Saint Louis College had a send-off for Candy, and the teachers there brought in ("American") donuts during their coffee break to honor their American friend.  They also provided Candy with a couple of huge cards signed by the students she had been working with as part of the English Immersion course.

"American donuts" during the teachers' coffee break at Saint-Louis

The night before, Candy and I were treated to dinner by Zelal Ates and Michael Ghilissen at Al Piccolo Mondo.  It was a very nice restaurant!

Candy, Dwayne, Michael, and Zelal about to dig into some excellent Italian food!

Service Blueprint Discussion and Exercise, HEC-ULg, Liege, Belgium

Cecile Delcourt asked me to be a guest speaker in her Services Marketing class and discuss the concept of service blueprinting to her 23 students.  So, I lectured for about 90 minutes (including a power outage...which is quite a challenge when using PowerPoint slides).

Cecile, on the left, with her students...they look happy to be in the photo, don't they?

After introducing the class to service blueprints, teams of 3 or 4 students were then asked the student to create a service blueprint for Revive (a hydration clinic in Chicago now known as IVme). Each team of students spent about an hour, using multi-colored Post-It notes, large sheets of paper, and colored markers, to create a blueprint.

This team is trying to make sure they have included "physical evidence" as part of the blueprint.

We had a contest for the best blueprint, and the winners received (can you guess what?)..............wait for it.................Belgian chocolate, of course!

The winning team...with their blueprint just above them on the white board.

Dinner with Some Dutch Friends Near Born, The Netherlands

The first time I arrived in Maastricht, in May 1998, a Ph.D. student met me at the train station and escorted me to my apartment (where I would stay for 6 weeks). That student, Gaby Oderkerken-Schoder, is now the Chair of the Marketing Department at the University of Maastricht. We have remained good friends to this day, and she invited Candy and I to join her family for dinner at Restaurant Hafenstube.  So, we took the train from Liege to Maastricht, and rode with her to her house in Born. From there we went to the "suburbs" of Born for a nice dinner...and, I had rabbit!

Dwayne, Candy, Gaby, Armand, and Sterre

A Chance to Use My ULg Student ID Card at Burger's Point, Liege, Belgium

When I started my Visiting Professor position at the University of Liege, I was given a student ID card so that I would be "in the system."  I was told I would be able to enjoy all of the privileges that students normally have, including discounts at many of the local stores and restaurants.  I finally got that opportunity when we had dinner at Burger's Point. Candy noticed the sign, and I flashed my card to get the discount.

A 15% discount...yeah!

Burger's Point is an American-themed restaurant that specializes in hamburgers.  I asked for the biggest hamburger on the menu, and below is what I received.

A triple-decker!  The first hamburger I have ever had to eat with a fork!

"Publishing Scholarly Research" Seminar at the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands

I returned "home" and presented the four-hour version of my Publishing Scholarly Research seminar to about 15 Ph.D. students at the University of Maastricht.  And, to my delight, one of the key characters in my story, Lisa Bruggen, was also in attendance...Lisa was able to add to my story about the Servicescape paper (entitled: "Extreme Makeover: Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Remodeled Servicescape") that eventually ended up being published in the Journal of Marketing.

The next generation of research stars...from the University of Maastricht!

After the seminar was over, we proceeded to go to Eetcafe De Preuverij to discuss in more detail the question I began the seminar with: Why do you want to publish?

Taking a break from our discussion of the question: "Why do you want to publish?"

Candy and I both have VERY GOOD memories of our 7 months living in Maastricht in 2006. I have returned more than a dozen times since then...so, this really is my "home away from home."

Almost 10 years ago Candy and I (and our two girls) were treated to drinks just before our departure back to the U.S. in exactly the same establishment!  We took a picture of all four of us in nearly this same spot...see below...

Our last day in Maastricht in July, 2006.

Working in My Office at HEC School of Management, University of Liege, Belgium

Although my posts tend to make the entire trip look quite exciting and special, at some point you have to simply sit down and do work. Research projects need to be moved forward, emails need to be answered, travel arrangements for future trips need to be arranged, etc. So, many of my days in Belgium have been spent working at the office...

Hard at work...wearing my BGSU orange sweater!