Well this has just been a week of holidays, festivities, and new experiences!
After a bone-chilling track work out, I went with a family friend, Norbert and his daughter, Lea, to pick up Jordan from the train station! We were late because of a snow storm, so the poor girl waited there for 45 minutes, but all was wonderful in the end! We came home and discovered that Nicole speaks a lot better German than she had led on- in fact, she is basically fluent which is amazing because she and Jordan can chat all the time!
Friday morning we woke up and took the bus and the train to BRUSSELS! We dressed really warm, long underwear, and had a blast just playing around in the city. Jordan had her first Belgian waffle, and then her second which was a lot better, we saw all the famous stuff, and after four hours we were too cold, and we took the train and bus home again! That night I had to go to band practice so I left Jordan to peel apples and make pie crusts; I left band early and came home and the whole family, plus friends, came into the kitchen and worked until almost 1 am making 3 pies and tons of mashed potatoes!!! It was really fun though- everyone really started getting into the Thanksgiving spirit which just made it really feel like home :)
Saturday morning we woke up to a very white countryside, and then proceeded to go on a very snowy and icy run-- very slippery too, there might have been a little girl named Jordan who took a little tumble, but we're young, she popped right back up! Then we came home and went with Pauline and Fredo to get the turkey and some other groceries-- and we found Ocean Spray Cranberries!!! That entire day we cooked! Around three, Mallory and Mollie came over and some other exchange student from Taiwan, we worked our derrieres off until 6 when we got ready for the 25 guests to arrive!!!
The evening went off perfectly-- we had a feast of a beautiful turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, salads, roasted vegetables, green bean casserole, sauted green beans, rolls and apple, chocolate pudding, and pumpkin pies. We all went around and said what we were thankful for which was really sweet, and after dinner we all played a giant game of pictionnary- youth vs adults! It was just so nice and family focused which was wonderful; everyone left around 12:30 and Mallory, Mollie, Jordan, and I all crammed into my room and fell asleep.
Sunday we woke up early and all got ready for a Rotary function- Le Diner Exotique- which is a lunch where everyone from each country brings traditional plates from their home and your parents and friends are all invited to enjoy the flavors from around the world. It was a really cool idea-- we brought some Thanksgiving leftovers (we weren't the only ones) and of course served a lot of PB&J sandwiches... After that, I was sad to have to say goodbye to Jordan, Mollie, and Mallory-- we have so much fun together and didn't really want to leave!
Since Monday we have had some crazy weather! It has been snowing everyday and about 12 degrees F-- I am cold and think I am getting sick from running in this weather!
Yesterday I went to Germany with the Rotary! In fact, we went to Aachen, which is about 30 minutes from my house (so crazy how close I am to another country!), to see Le Marche de Noel, which are in a lot of cities right now, but they are basically lots of little shops set up selling holiday things from scarves to chocolates and everything in between! It was three long hours walking around in the cold, but I am getting used to just dealing with the cold and not letting it get in the way of enjoying everyday!
Tomorrow is my first band concert- wish me luck! We are going to be playing Christmas songs and will have a choir sing with us for some! I am hoping we go sledding sometime this weekend and maybe ice skating too! Send warm thoughts :)
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