SO sorry for the delayed post! As usual, things are crazy busy on the farm and it's always hard to find a good time to write, but here are some fun new updates...
I have started, and almost finished, my first novel for school. It is called "Le Bruit des Trousseaux" by Philip Claudel and it is about his experience in prison. I am very pleased that I am getting through it fairly easily, needless to say, I read with my little dictionary right next to me, but it is good and I am happy that I haven't had too much trouble!
Last weekend was "La Fete de Thimister" which is the town party for my little village! It is very similar to our Greentree Festival or a Fall Fest. It was really fun-- very American except for the fact that they have waffles instead of funnel cakes : ) There were lots of rides, gambling games, prizes to be won, and a big fireworks display! The last day of the Fete there was "Le Case du Savon" or the Soapbox Race. The main street, a giant hill, was blocked off and people work all year building a creative race car-- ages ranged from 8 to at least 50 and everyone in the town comes out on the Wednesday afternoon to cheer on the cars as they come down the hill! It's quite the show!
One evening, I went out with Nicole and Pauline and a friend Odile, and we went to my very first fashion show! It was really entertaining! There was a long runway, music, and lights- it was the real deal! Nicole kept on telling me to keep a look-out because this is the style for this winter and we want to be looking good! I'm starting to discover how to not stick out like a sore thumb now and becoming a little more Belgian everyday.
One other change that I have had to my school schedule is that I am now taking "Technique d'Expression" which is like a drama and public speaking class. I think that it will be really fun and hopefully it'll help my French as well; although, I am really happy with how my language skills are coming along. I sometimes catch myself just speaking and not thinking about how to conjugate each verb, or what tense to use, and I am surprised how quickly I am becoming so comfortable with the language. It's great though because then I really fit in!
This past Saturday, I went with seven members of my Track team, and we ran a marathon relay! We each ended up running equal parts of the mileage and as a team we came in 4th out of about 40 teams! The course was in the woods and was really muddy so it just made it that much more entertaining, and as usual, we ate waffles afterwards so it's always worth the work!! That same evening, the family and I went to Justine's, my sister who is doing her exchange in Texas right now, English teacher's home for a lovely exotic dinner. They were a very interesting couple who do a lot of work in South Africa, so it was a really nice evening.
Sunday I went to a member of my Rotary club's farm because he had all the Rotary men and their families over for an afternoon of eating, cow watching, and of course some more prairie golfing! It was a gorgeous day and I have met a lot of people who are all willing to take me to different places-- I might be going to Holland and Germany fairly soon!
Finally, today, I made the cut.... a new haircut for the year! I think that Nicole, a hairdresser, how convenient, took off about 4 or 5 inches! I like the new look and I think it kind of symbolizes me taking the plunge and being immersed in the Belgian life! I still wake up every morning and look out my window over rolling green pastures and think how lucky I am to have landed in this incredible country! I couldn't be happier!
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