I love playing in the park. I love not having to take a jacket with you when you walk outside. I love eating ice cream to cool down while walking outside. I love watching little kids blowing bubbles and playing tag and hearing them laughing. I love love love spring!
After my Greecian adventure, it was back to Belgian life!
April 22 I had a girl's day at the Spa in the city Spa with Mallory and Mollie! The weather was magnificent and we treated ourselves to pool time, saunas, steamrooms, we even took the leap and went to the "all natural" section of the spa- we are some brave girls!! After three hours of being pampered, we went down into the city and had a lovely dinner- OUTSIDE- so great and ice cream for dessert! The girls all came back to my house and spent the night. The next morning we all went on a run together in the sunshine : )
We dropped the girls off at the train station and I went with Annie to her nephew's communion lunch at a very fancy Chinese buffet! In Belgium they think that a Chinese buffet is super exotic, which I alway giggle at, but I had fun teaching her whole family how to eat with chopsticks and what food they were eating!
The 24th was Easter, and it was one of those picture perfect easter days... sunny and warm with everything green and in bloom! We didn't have to go far for Easter dinner, Mary José, my host aunt and Annie's older sister, lives literally in the house right next door! Each family brought a pasta salad and we all just sat around outside enjoying the sun and each other's company! I was given lots of little chocolate eggs- although no chocolate bunny ( I am pretty sure that doesn't exist here, since I did not see a single one throughout the season...).
The 25th there was another Carnaval!! I love these things! This one was in Hèrve which is the town that I go to school in, and what is special about it is that evey float is pulled by worker horses!! It makes the parade goreous because all the horses are dressed up too, but I did feel kind of bad for them, since they are pulling a ton of weight and it was about 70° outside! Just like every carnaval- I had a blast! I got to hang out with a lot of friends and came home full of confetti- who can ask for a better day really?? : )
The 26th-28th I went to some of what I think will be my last days of school, so my main objective was to finish my research project!! It is complete!!! I am so happy! I did a 40 page paper in French about all aspects of the Rotary International! I was beaming all day Thursday when I got finished- so so proud!!
That weekend, starting the 29th, was the 'Outbound Weekend' for District 1630. This is the weekend where all the Belges that are leaving on exchange in August come together for information and most importantly, this is the time that they find out where they will be going the next year! The Rotary has some exchangers from each of the countries that the Belges are getting sent to come to the weekend so that we can be somewhat of the "know-it-alls" for the Belges to ask questions to. Friday afternoon we organized presentations about our country and the got the kids settled in their rooms, had dinner, and gave the presentation about life where we are from. After that, each student finds out where he or she is going- it's a really exciting moment : ) I had so much fun and there is one girl going to district 6060 (my district) in Missouri next year- I have no idea where she'll be yet, but it was exciting!!
The second day, we woke up and while the Belges had meetings, we had a session to tell fun stories about stuff that has happened throughout the exchange-- we were brainstorming stories to tell the Belges for each aspect of the exchange like the airplane, the first day at school, homesickness... any little stories. Then we had lunch and took them on an 8km walk where we dispersed amongst them to talk about the exchange- they could ask any questions they wanted or just talk- it was so fun! I loved seeing them like that because I knew that was me 9 months ago! I talked to the girl who is coming to Missouri a lot and her friend who is going to Minnesota as well- they were adorable! That night we told our stories to the kids and then did a little skit, telling the story of a year on exchange- the kids loved it and afterwards we were all hanging out together and they were storming us with questions! SO cute!!!
The next morning we cleaned up and moved out of our hotel rooms and then Mollie and I took the bus back to my house. There we went on a run and took her back to the train station to go home. That night I went to bed early, preparing to get up at 5:30 am to start my first day as a baker!
Welcome!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Poisson d'Avril
In recent news...
At school we celebrated the 100 jours or 100 days March 30th. This is supposed to mark the last 100 days for the Seniors, but it isn't really exact, they have less than 100 days left... I have hardly any at all :) It was a fun day at school; the seniors all dressed in tacky clothes and danced to music in the courtyard and played games together in the afternoon. Schools here are not as spirited as in the states, so days like those I really appreciate!
Then we hit APRIL! For those of you who are wondering, April Fools does exist in Belgium as well- it is called a Poisson d'Avril, or an April Fish :) I played a little trick on Sam, tricking him into thinking that I was coming home a month earlier- I thought it was funny, he did not. A very typical Belgian joke was posting that you are in a relationship or you and your partner break up on Facebook... oh how technical the world has become!
Saturday I went to swim practice and then I went straight with Pauline to the Bragard's house! I love going back there; it feels like I am coming home again and I feel so so happy! Pauline and I spent the afternoon together and then we all rushed around getting dressed up for Benoit's Surprise 50th Birthday Party!! It was so cute because he was showering after milking the cows and about 20 of his friends plus us and even Justine via Skype, gathered in the kitchen so that he was totally shocked when he came downstairs! We all loaded up and headed to a little bity theater where we saw a hilarious mime show; Benoit loves to laugh so it was the perfect treat! All of his family came as well and afterwards we went to this little pub next door for a drink and snacks and lots of singing happy birthday until 1am :) I slept that night at the Bragard's.
Sunday morning Christian, my host dad, picked me up around 12:45 and we rushed to the train station to pick up Mallory and then to the hospital to pick up my host mom Annie from work. We were all a little worried because it was a very rainy afternoon... but we decided to press on and we went to a carnaval in Stavelot, about 40 mins away. You would think that because we are now in the season of Lent that carnavals would be over.... but the Belgians just can't get enough! We were so very lucky though because we showed up and it stopped raining! The sun even came out :) This was a great carnaval! Mallory and I are carnaval buddies and this one was really fun because we got pulled into the parade so many times! Once I rode a magic carpet ride on a giant float where my directions were to put on my seatbelt and hold on... then Mallory got put into a giant wheelbarrow of confetti (I think she had the stuff in her underwear!) I got taken down a giant slide, danced with ballroom dancers, and we both potato sack jumped with people dressed in Scottish outfits, after which we were offered a shot of whiskey, but when the woman saw our faces filled with disgust, she gave us apple juice instead :) The finale were two huge float with "confetti canons" on the top- so it looked like a snowstorm of confetti! It was a BLAST and needless to say, I am still finding confetti on my floor and in my shoes!
Yesterday, Wednesday, it was in the 70s and sunny out, so Mollie and I met up in Liege and spent the whole day shopping for summer clothes, in particular for our Greece trip. I had realized that I didn't come with many summer clothes because I knew that it would get cold early here, but I never thought that we would be seeing spring this early! In fact, it is abnormally hot here for this time of the year, people do not really know what to do with themselves! I think that I might be in for a shock when I come home in the heat of a St Louis summer... I am so hot in the 70s- I can't imagine what the 90s feel like anymore!!
This Sunday I am off to my Greece adventure! The trip is 10 days and organized by the Rotary. We are going to be taking boat rides and staying in hotels along the beach... let's just say that I could not be more excited if I tried!!! :)
I promise to update after the trip-- I hope everyone is enjoying the start of Spring and welcoming all the fresh life that is blooming :) Love to you all!
At school we celebrated the 100 jours or 100 days March 30th. This is supposed to mark the last 100 days for the Seniors, but it isn't really exact, they have less than 100 days left... I have hardly any at all :) It was a fun day at school; the seniors all dressed in tacky clothes and danced to music in the courtyard and played games together in the afternoon. Schools here are not as spirited as in the states, so days like those I really appreciate!
Then we hit APRIL! For those of you who are wondering, April Fools does exist in Belgium as well- it is called a Poisson d'Avril, or an April Fish :) I played a little trick on Sam, tricking him into thinking that I was coming home a month earlier- I thought it was funny, he did not. A very typical Belgian joke was posting that you are in a relationship or you and your partner break up on Facebook... oh how technical the world has become!
Saturday I went to swim practice and then I went straight with Pauline to the Bragard's house! I love going back there; it feels like I am coming home again and I feel so so happy! Pauline and I spent the afternoon together and then we all rushed around getting dressed up for Benoit's Surprise 50th Birthday Party!! It was so cute because he was showering after milking the cows and about 20 of his friends plus us and even Justine via Skype, gathered in the kitchen so that he was totally shocked when he came downstairs! We all loaded up and headed to a little bity theater where we saw a hilarious mime show; Benoit loves to laugh so it was the perfect treat! All of his family came as well and afterwards we went to this little pub next door for a drink and snacks and lots of singing happy birthday until 1am :) I slept that night at the Bragard's.
Sunday morning Christian, my host dad, picked me up around 12:45 and we rushed to the train station to pick up Mallory and then to the hospital to pick up my host mom Annie from work. We were all a little worried because it was a very rainy afternoon... but we decided to press on and we went to a carnaval in Stavelot, about 40 mins away. You would think that because we are now in the season of Lent that carnavals would be over.... but the Belgians just can't get enough! We were so very lucky though because we showed up and it stopped raining! The sun even came out :) This was a great carnaval! Mallory and I are carnaval buddies and this one was really fun because we got pulled into the parade so many times! Once I rode a magic carpet ride on a giant float where my directions were to put on my seatbelt and hold on... then Mallory got put into a giant wheelbarrow of confetti (I think she had the stuff in her underwear!) I got taken down a giant slide, danced with ballroom dancers, and we both potato sack jumped with people dressed in Scottish outfits, after which we were offered a shot of whiskey, but when the woman saw our faces filled with disgust, she gave us apple juice instead :) The finale were two huge float with "confetti canons" on the top- so it looked like a snowstorm of confetti! It was a BLAST and needless to say, I am still finding confetti on my floor and in my shoes!
Yesterday, Wednesday, it was in the 70s and sunny out, so Mollie and I met up in Liege and spent the whole day shopping for summer clothes, in particular for our Greece trip. I had realized that I didn't come with many summer clothes because I knew that it would get cold early here, but I never thought that we would be seeing spring this early! In fact, it is abnormally hot here for this time of the year, people do not really know what to do with themselves! I think that I might be in for a shock when I come home in the heat of a St Louis summer... I am so hot in the 70s- I can't imagine what the 90s feel like anymore!!
This Sunday I am off to my Greece adventure! The trip is 10 days and organized by the Rotary. We are going to be taking boat rides and staying in hotels along the beach... let's just say that I could not be more excited if I tried!!! :)
I promise to update after the trip-- I hope everyone is enjoying the start of Spring and welcoming all the fresh life that is blooming :) Love to you all!
You are going to.... Latvia?
On March 24th, I woke up at 4:30 in the morning after of course having stayed up until 1am packing last minute :) I took the train from Verviers all the way to the airport, getting there at about 7:30am. This was the first time in my life that I have ever done the airport thing all by myself from start to finish so I was very nervous, but I made my flight in plenty of time! The departure time was at 9:10am, me and the other 25 maybe 30 passengers borded the smallest plane I have ever been on in my life and took off to LATVIA!
After a two hour twenty minute flight, I arrived in Latvia around 12:30 local time- greeted by the one and only EMILY! For those of you who do not know, we hosted Emily Veselova as a foreign exchange student in Kirkwood 5 years ago, we were her first host family and have kept a very close connection with her. She hasn't changed a bit! I was holding back the tears when I hugged her because it was just so great to be with her again.
We took a 40 minute bus back to her apartment in central Riga that she shares with her sister, Tatiana who is about 3 years older than Emily, who is 20. There we made a beet and chicken soup, very Russian and traditional, and incredibly delicious! Then we all took a little nap, being exhausted from the travel, and Emily worked on some homework. Around 5, Em and I went on a historical walking tour of Riga. Let me just say now that Latvia has not yet welcomed spring... we were all bundled up and the temperatures were negative with lots and lots of snow and ice... but the walk was lovely! Emily is a genius and was so informative, you could pay her as a tour guide I am sure! We went to a little shop around 8 for a Latvian pastry and and tea before going home and calling it an early night, wrapping it up with 27 Dresses :)
The next morning Emily had classes, so Tatiana and I got up and took an hour bus ride to this open air museum. The point of the museum was to see old houses the way they looked like back years ago in old Latvia, but because of the massive amount of snow, we couldn't go into the houses, but we took a snowy hike together and had fun taking pictures of the landscape! She of course speaks wonderful English, so there was no problems communicating! At one point we went past a huge frozen over lake and I was just amazed at the amount of ice fishermen out there! Can we say dangerous?? We came back to Riga and walked around to some places I hadn't seen the night before, and then met Emily back at home after her classes. That evening, Emily and her boyfriend, Lauris took me out to a rustic Latvian buffet with all the specialties! It was such a cute place and we had so much fun, plus it was really good- Emily always raved about their Latvian potatoes... I now know why :) After that we went home and dressed up to go to a Kareoke bar for her friend's 21st birthday party! It was really fun because everyone spoke English so I just mingled with all her friends and then we walked home while it was snowing at about 2am.
The next morning, we woke up at 5 am! No one was feeling tip top... but we went to the train station to catch a 6am train to Valka! The train took 3 hours, but we just slept the whole way, and when we arrived I was greeted with a bouquet of chocolates ("because it is too cold for flowers") from Emily's parents! I cannot express in words the joy I felt meeting her family for the first time. I have known her for 5 years and heard all these stories of her family, but to hug them, and see her little home, and be welcomed with such love into their lives, it was a very emotional experience. We went back to her flat, and her dad left for work, but we had a lovely Latvian breakfast, freshly cooked by her lovely mother Natasha. Then Emily and I took a very cold but fun 2 hour walk around her town and it was once again almost surreal to see where she has grown up, and then we walked right on into Valga which is Estonia!! Yay for one more country! Can't say I would know which country I was in if I didn't see the sign... but I still thought it was really cool! That afternoon Tatiana, Emily, Natasha and I walked over to Babushka's house (Emily's famous top chef grandmother)! I was SO excited!
We walked in to a little house, so rustic, and Babushka is there flipping two skillets of crêpes! She already has a massive stack of them going and she isn't halfway done! I hardly had time to take pictures before she sat us down and served the soup, while she's still flippin, we're slurping this soup down, and before I have time to wipe my mouth, she is plating us up crêpes with either sour cream, salted butter, or jam, she is still flippin them crêpes! She finally serves us some kind of delicious strawberry dessert and sits down herself for a crêpe which of course she says "these aren't even good, why didn't you tell me!" We are all stunned because we managed to easily stuff them down our throats!! :) She was a wonderful woman! I needed Emily to translate everything, but I could have talked to her forever! But alas, after a tour of the giant snow covered gardens, we made our way back to the flat where we packed up to head back to Riga. Tatiana stayed there in Valka, so I had to say goodbye to them all on the platform for the train, I cried! It was the most wonderful feeling to be there with them; their warmth and kindness is overwhelmingly touching and I feel so blessed to have had that experience.
Emily and I got back to Riga around 8:30pm where we met up with Lauris. They really wanted my last night in Latvia to be special, so even though we were really tired, we three went out walking around and found a nice little place for a tea at midnight! It was the perfect night really- low key but lovely.
The next day we went out to some open air markets, which I love to death, and then we went up in the bell tower of this gorgeous church in the center of Riga. At the top we had a wonderful view of the whole city and I realized that I might never have the opportunity to come back here, and how lucky I was to have come. It was really one of the most touching moments. We went home so I could pack up my bags, and Emily took me to the airport to catch a plane at 5pm. It was very hard to say goodbye, but I really want to think of it as just a see you later. Emily and I would have never met if it wasn't for the Rotary, and I feel so lucky to be a part of this organization that makes relationships like ours possible. I will always have a big sister in Latvia, and I feel truely blessed to say that :)
After a two hour twenty minute flight, I arrived in Latvia around 12:30 local time- greeted by the one and only EMILY! For those of you who do not know, we hosted Emily Veselova as a foreign exchange student in Kirkwood 5 years ago, we were her first host family and have kept a very close connection with her. She hasn't changed a bit! I was holding back the tears when I hugged her because it was just so great to be with her again.
We took a 40 minute bus back to her apartment in central Riga that she shares with her sister, Tatiana who is about 3 years older than Emily, who is 20. There we made a beet and chicken soup, very Russian and traditional, and incredibly delicious! Then we all took a little nap, being exhausted from the travel, and Emily worked on some homework. Around 5, Em and I went on a historical walking tour of Riga. Let me just say now that Latvia has not yet welcomed spring... we were all bundled up and the temperatures were negative with lots and lots of snow and ice... but the walk was lovely! Emily is a genius and was so informative, you could pay her as a tour guide I am sure! We went to a little shop around 8 for a Latvian pastry and and tea before going home and calling it an early night, wrapping it up with 27 Dresses :)
The next morning Emily had classes, so Tatiana and I got up and took an hour bus ride to this open air museum. The point of the museum was to see old houses the way they looked like back years ago in old Latvia, but because of the massive amount of snow, we couldn't go into the houses, but we took a snowy hike together and had fun taking pictures of the landscape! She of course speaks wonderful English, so there was no problems communicating! At one point we went past a huge frozen over lake and I was just amazed at the amount of ice fishermen out there! Can we say dangerous?? We came back to Riga and walked around to some places I hadn't seen the night before, and then met Emily back at home after her classes. That evening, Emily and her boyfriend, Lauris took me out to a rustic Latvian buffet with all the specialties! It was such a cute place and we had so much fun, plus it was really good- Emily always raved about their Latvian potatoes... I now know why :) After that we went home and dressed up to go to a Kareoke bar for her friend's 21st birthday party! It was really fun because everyone spoke English so I just mingled with all her friends and then we walked home while it was snowing at about 2am.
The next morning, we woke up at 5 am! No one was feeling tip top... but we went to the train station to catch a 6am train to Valka! The train took 3 hours, but we just slept the whole way, and when we arrived I was greeted with a bouquet of chocolates ("because it is too cold for flowers") from Emily's parents! I cannot express in words the joy I felt meeting her family for the first time. I have known her for 5 years and heard all these stories of her family, but to hug them, and see her little home, and be welcomed with such love into their lives, it was a very emotional experience. We went back to her flat, and her dad left for work, but we had a lovely Latvian breakfast, freshly cooked by her lovely mother Natasha. Then Emily and I took a very cold but fun 2 hour walk around her town and it was once again almost surreal to see where she has grown up, and then we walked right on into Valga which is Estonia!! Yay for one more country! Can't say I would know which country I was in if I didn't see the sign... but I still thought it was really cool! That afternoon Tatiana, Emily, Natasha and I walked over to Babushka's house (Emily's famous top chef grandmother)! I was SO excited!
We walked in to a little house, so rustic, and Babushka is there flipping two skillets of crêpes! She already has a massive stack of them going and she isn't halfway done! I hardly had time to take pictures before she sat us down and served the soup, while she's still flippin, we're slurping this soup down, and before I have time to wipe my mouth, she is plating us up crêpes with either sour cream, salted butter, or jam, she is still flippin them crêpes! She finally serves us some kind of delicious strawberry dessert and sits down herself for a crêpe which of course she says "these aren't even good, why didn't you tell me!" We are all stunned because we managed to easily stuff them down our throats!! :) She was a wonderful woman! I needed Emily to translate everything, but I could have talked to her forever! But alas, after a tour of the giant snow covered gardens, we made our way back to the flat where we packed up to head back to Riga. Tatiana stayed there in Valka, so I had to say goodbye to them all on the platform for the train, I cried! It was the most wonderful feeling to be there with them; their warmth and kindness is overwhelmingly touching and I feel so blessed to have had that experience.
Emily and I got back to Riga around 8:30pm where we met up with Lauris. They really wanted my last night in Latvia to be special, so even though we were really tired, we three went out walking around and found a nice little place for a tea at midnight! It was the perfect night really- low key but lovely.
The next day we went out to some open air markets, which I love to death, and then we went up in the bell tower of this gorgeous church in the center of Riga. At the top we had a wonderful view of the whole city and I realized that I might never have the opportunity to come back here, and how lucky I was to have come. It was really one of the most touching moments. We went home so I could pack up my bags, and Emily took me to the airport to catch a plane at 5pm. It was very hard to say goodbye, but I really want to think of it as just a see you later. Emily and I would have never met if it wasn't for the Rotary, and I feel so lucky to be a part of this organization that makes relationships like ours possible. I will always have a big sister in Latvia, and I feel truely blessed to say that :)
Oh la la!
Well here it comes people... I really am sorry for the delay, but I am rarely in one place long enough to sit down and explain all the adventures! Anyway, I thought that while I have a little time this evening, I would get you all up to date about my lovely life in Belgium... and many other places in Europe. I have made myself a cup of tea, and am ready to "raconter des histoires" or share some stories :)
I am going to have to backtrack to where I last left off... back in March!
Well, while I liked Amsterdam so much, I don't think it liked me back just as well because most of the week after I got back I stayed home from school sick. The doctor doesn't know what I had exactly, just a terrible cough that needed an inhaler and an antibiotic and kept me from sleeping... The break was actually very productive in that I started, and made a lot of progress on my scrapbook of the year! I love looking back and remembering all the wonderful times that I have had this year :) and after the few days of rest I was feeling much perkier!
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!! Now in Belgium so may wonder if this holiday is celebrated or not... and I would say that for the most part, no, not at all. However, I went to Brussels with Malory and met up with some exchange students in the Celtica Bar for a good toast to the Irish; the best part of that day though was running into a woman there who was from Ireland and getting tip of all the places to hit up in Ireland on a student's budget-- oh yeah, Mallory, Mollie and I booked a flight and hostel and are going to Ireland for 5 days in June... :) She was lovely- meeting people like that makes you really believe in fate!
That Friday, after school I went to Liège where I met up with Malory and some other friends. We had high spirits despite the very rainy weather; we had to walk, in the rain (I miss my car) to Justine, a friend of Mallory's from school's house, and there we got all prettied up for a soirée! I am going to miss these soirées back in the states-- we danced the night away, until 3:30 am! Then I went back to Mallory's to spend the night, or rather morning :) And then I guess Mal and I just hadn't had enough of each other for the weekend because the next night, Saturday the 19th, we both were going to be home alone, so she came to my house and we made mac and cheese and watched Talladega Nights- how much more of an all American evening can you get?? :)
On March 21st, Belgium welcomed le PRINTEMPS or SPRING with a sunny, blue sky, warm day! I heard that St Louis was hit by some late wintery weather, well all I can say is that we are enjoying the soleil here and I can't get enough :)
I am going to have to backtrack to where I last left off... back in March!
Well, while I liked Amsterdam so much, I don't think it liked me back just as well because most of the week after I got back I stayed home from school sick. The doctor doesn't know what I had exactly, just a terrible cough that needed an inhaler and an antibiotic and kept me from sleeping... The break was actually very productive in that I started, and made a lot of progress on my scrapbook of the year! I love looking back and remembering all the wonderful times that I have had this year :) and after the few days of rest I was feeling much perkier!
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day!! Now in Belgium so may wonder if this holiday is celebrated or not... and I would say that for the most part, no, not at all. However, I went to Brussels with Malory and met up with some exchange students in the Celtica Bar for a good toast to the Irish; the best part of that day though was running into a woman there who was from Ireland and getting tip of all the places to hit up in Ireland on a student's budget-- oh yeah, Mallory, Mollie and I booked a flight and hostel and are going to Ireland for 5 days in June... :) She was lovely- meeting people like that makes you really believe in fate!
That Friday, after school I went to Liège where I met up with Malory and some other friends. We had high spirits despite the very rainy weather; we had to walk, in the rain (I miss my car) to Justine, a friend of Mallory's from school's house, and there we got all prettied up for a soirée! I am going to miss these soirées back in the states-- we danced the night away, until 3:30 am! Then I went back to Mallory's to spend the night, or rather morning :) And then I guess Mal and I just hadn't had enough of each other for the weekend because the next night, Saturday the 19th, we both were going to be home alone, so she came to my house and we made mac and cheese and watched Talladega Nights- how much more of an all American evening can you get?? :)
On March 21st, Belgium welcomed le PRINTEMPS or SPRING with a sunny, blue sky, warm day! I heard that St Louis was hit by some late wintery weather, well all I can say is that we are enjoying the soleil here and I can't get enough :)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bikes, Wind, Art... Amsterdam
Thurday the 10th, I woke up early and took about an hour and a half train ride to Bruxelles to be there at 8am. I met all the exchange students in the train station and then we all loaded on a Coach Bus and made a two hour trip to Delft. On the bus we watched The Girl With the Pearl Earing which I had never seen, but I really liked it and I soon found out why we watched it. After an incredibly windy walking tour of the city, where on more than one occasion I almost got run over by a cyclist (everyone in Holland has a bike, bikes have the priority, remember that or get run over...), we went to the Vermeer museum which is the artist who painted The Girl With the Pearl Earing. The museum was more about his style and life and did not hold the painting, but it was interesting to learn about his technique. After that, we loaded back on the bus and went another two hours to Amsterdam. We went directly to the hostel which was very nice, and after a few minutes to freshen up (comb out the tangles in our hair from a day of windy whip lash), we walked to the Hard Rock Café for dinner! Rotary always takes us the the Hard Rock Café for Rotary trips :) After our meal, we took the tram to the central part of the city, and with our Rotary guys we went on a walking tour of the city at night-- including the Red Light District!! Let's just say that I am going to college... after our evening on the town we came back to the hostel and all the girls gathered around to dye Mollie's hair! We are such girls :) but we had fun and were good and in bed before midnight!
It was a good thing that we were in bed early because we woke up around 7 the next morning and after breakfast we were on our way. Our first stop was the Portugese Synagogue which was really pretty, but under construction so that we couldn't see a whole lot. After that we went across the street to see the Jewish History Museum which was nice and didn't focus on WWII and the Holocaust which was a nice change because you were able to see all that the Jewish community has done for the world. Then we took the tram to the marche aux fleurs which is a place where there are tons of flower, mostly tulip, vendors lining the sides of the canals and little cafés along the streets. Mollie and I had lunch and then walked around, and then we met back up with the group and hopped on the tram towards the Jordan Quartier. There, we were split into two groups: first I went with my group on a walk around the Jordan Quartier, the sun was shining and gorgeous and we found a park and became children again, playing on the see-saw! After an hour and a half of play time, we switched with the other group, and it was our turn to see Anne Frank's House. This was what I was looking forward to the most, and was the reason I chose to go on the trip, so I loved it. It was so moving, and incredible to see where she really was. You can see all the pictures that she hung on the walls during her stay to make the dreary times brighter, and you can just imagine being locked in that confined space for two whole years, never once leaving or even looking outside! Very moving. After that, we took the bus back to our hostel where we had a chinese dinner and then at 8:00 we took a 10 minute walk to the Van Gogh museum which was one of the coolest museums I have ever been to. The atmmosphere was very relaxed, with a DJ, drinks and desserts, and you could really tell that the point was to talk about the art and enjoy openly, rather than a typical hush-hush museum. We stayed there until about 10:30 and then walked home.
Saturday we woke up early and had breakfast before loading all the luggage onto the tour bus. We walked to the Rijks Museum which was very cool, but I was hoping to see the real Girl With the Pearl Earing but she was at a different museum for the moment unfortunately :( After waiting twenty minutes for the Rotarians to find a girl who was lost in the museum, we took the tram to the central district of Amsterdam. There we took an hour long boat ride along the canals. Fun Fact: Many houses in Amsterdam lean forward because the city is built on water so often the foundation for these old houses is wet sand and after years the house begins to sink and tilt. After the boat ride we had 3 hours of free time, in which we got lunch and did some souvenir shopping, and then for the last hour, a friend Darby, Mollie, and I went to the tour information area and asked if we could rent bikes! They said yes, of course, so we took our last hour in Amsterdam riding bikes and finally having the priority! It was such a wonderful way to end a great trip :) We took the bus back 4 hours to Brussels, and then a long train ride, so I ended up getting home, exhausted, around 11pm.
I feel so lucky to have these opportunities to travel all around Europe this year! It is just a wonderful gift!
It was a good thing that we were in bed early because we woke up around 7 the next morning and after breakfast we were on our way. Our first stop was the Portugese Synagogue which was really pretty, but under construction so that we couldn't see a whole lot. After that we went across the street to see the Jewish History Museum which was nice and didn't focus on WWII and the Holocaust which was a nice change because you were able to see all that the Jewish community has done for the world. Then we took the tram to the marche aux fleurs which is a place where there are tons of flower, mostly tulip, vendors lining the sides of the canals and little cafés along the streets. Mollie and I had lunch and then walked around, and then we met back up with the group and hopped on the tram towards the Jordan Quartier. There, we were split into two groups: first I went with my group on a walk around the Jordan Quartier, the sun was shining and gorgeous and we found a park and became children again, playing on the see-saw! After an hour and a half of play time, we switched with the other group, and it was our turn to see Anne Frank's House. This was what I was looking forward to the most, and was the reason I chose to go on the trip, so I loved it. It was so moving, and incredible to see where she really was. You can see all the pictures that she hung on the walls during her stay to make the dreary times brighter, and you can just imagine being locked in that confined space for two whole years, never once leaving or even looking outside! Very moving. After that, we took the bus back to our hostel where we had a chinese dinner and then at 8:00 we took a 10 minute walk to the Van Gogh museum which was one of the coolest museums I have ever been to. The atmmosphere was very relaxed, with a DJ, drinks and desserts, and you could really tell that the point was to talk about the art and enjoy openly, rather than a typical hush-hush museum. We stayed there until about 10:30 and then walked home.
Saturday we woke up early and had breakfast before loading all the luggage onto the tour bus. We walked to the Rijks Museum which was very cool, but I was hoping to see the real Girl With the Pearl Earing but she was at a different museum for the moment unfortunately :( After waiting twenty minutes for the Rotarians to find a girl who was lost in the museum, we took the tram to the central district of Amsterdam. There we took an hour long boat ride along the canals. Fun Fact: Many houses in Amsterdam lean forward because the city is built on water so often the foundation for these old houses is wet sand and after years the house begins to sink and tilt. After the boat ride we had 3 hours of free time, in which we got lunch and did some souvenir shopping, and then for the last hour, a friend Darby, Mollie, and I went to the tour information area and asked if we could rent bikes! They said yes, of course, so we took our last hour in Amsterdam riding bikes and finally having the priority! It was such a wonderful way to end a great trip :) We took the bus back 4 hours to Brussels, and then a long train ride, so I ended up getting home, exhausted, around 11pm.
I feel so lucky to have these opportunities to travel all around Europe this year! It is just a wonderful gift!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
"Move Like a Jellyfish, Rythm is Nothing, Ya Go With the Flow, You Don't Stop..." -Jack Johnson
Since we have last talked, this song has become my wake-up song-- I listen to "Bubble Toes" by Jack Johnson every morning on my 45 minute bus ride to school and this is by far my favorite quote. I think that it speaks to me so profoundly because I have really learned to go with the flow this year and just take in life as it comes. For those who know me well, I am a self-diagnosed perfectionist and someone who likes everything just so, but in these last almost 7 months, I have learned that in life, perfection matters little. I have more fun when baking cookies with friends and getting half way through before realizing that we have no baking soda nor enough sugar nor vanilla extract and going through with baking them anyway, than if I had had all the ingredients and not burnt anything. I have just as much fun spending an unexpected rainy day in a café drinking tea and eating a pastry as I do when it is sunny enough to walk around town. There is a time and a moment for all of these "imperfections". I wonder why it took coming to Beligium to teach me how to go with the flow and not stop... I am not certain, but what I can say is that I have taken the year as a reflexion year of how I am and how I would like to be and along the way I have found things here that have helped my profoundly... I want to be as passionate and fun-loving as Benoit is about farming and his cows. I want to be as genuine and caring as Nicole is towards her family. I want to laugh about difficult situations like I laugh when I miss a train or a bus with Mollie and Mallory. I just want to always see the world as I do today: beautiful including it's imperfections. I have never felt this happy in life; as cliché as it may be, I feel re-born with a whol new appreciation for everything and everyone that I have.
Now that I have explained my personal developpment, I will tell you about life over the pond since last I updated.
Since last time, I have added two new destinations to my list of adventures! The 26th of February I spent the day in Luxembourg which is about a 2 hour drive from Liege Belgium. We went to a famous brewery there, which the Belgians all just scoff at because that is not real good "Belgian beer" and smelled gross :) After that we went to a meat smoking and packaging factory which was actually quite disgusting and once again funny smelling (I was glad that we had lunch before). At that point we loaded the bus and went to the center area of Luxembourg which might have been gorgeous but we were hit with a gian rain storm and thus, all I really know is that the café in Luxembourg is nice and warm and serves great tea! Mollie and I came back to Mallory's to spend the night-- we made the most interesting chocolate cookies ever because of an extreme lack of ingrediants, but we had fun like we always do! The next morning Mal and I went on a run together; it's always nice to have a running buddy!
The following Wednesday I was looking for something in my wallet in the morning and I realized that I had neither my Belgian ID card nor my Visa card... I sent an urgent message to my dear mother and with the power of fast communication and incredible FedEx, both were returned safely to me by that same FRIDAY! Hard to imagine! But I was so very thankful :)
That same afternoon I went to a work out for the "Rheto Trophée" which is a big adventure race for all the Seniors in Belgium. Every school selected makes a team of two girls and four boys and competes in a big race filled with orientation, kayaking, rock climbing, archery and more! We had an orientation workout which was hard and gave me many splinters, but it was fun to be running on a team!
Friday was great because all of Belgium had a giant grève or strike, so no buses=no school! YAY! The vacation has started! That evening I made a quiche (my speciality) and Saturday after swimming I made an eggplant parmesan (another speciality)-- you guys should be looking forward to when I come home and get back in the kitchen!
Saturday night was the kick off to CARNAVAL! Which is the reason we have break, and basically Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, but here, we have Samedi Gras, Dimanche Gras and Lundi Gras as well (Fat Saturday, Sunday and Monday). There are tons of "cortèges" which are huge parades in cities all over Belgium! The carnavals are originally German so there are lots of German songs heard at parties and throughout the parades, but all the dances have movements to the words so that you kind of know the story that is being told :)
Saturday I went to a "soirée déguisée" which means that you have to have a costume to get in! I went as a hippie which was easy enough- and we danced the night away! I had so much fun with all my Belgian friends, learning all the German songs and dances! I didn't come home until almost 3 am, but that didn't mean I had time to rest! The next early afternoon, Mallory and her host parents picked me up from the house and took us to the parade in Malmedy which was my favorite of all! They do things there that would never happen in the states! There are the normal bands, floats, and clowns, but there is so much more too! There is an abundance of confetti thrown, there are oranges that they throw at the crowds (yes, dangerous), there are people dressed as bakers that come into the crowd and hit your hiney with a paddle, there are people with long clown arms that steal people's hats and put them on other's head's and mess up your hair, and there is this big pincher, wooden claw that catches people's ankle's and you have to kneel and say you have never and will never drink! It is hilarious! At one point, and man came and told me to help him carry a ladder, so I did, and he took me onto their float which was Marry Poppins themed, they pushed me into the "chimney" and poured a bucket of confetti on me! As if that wasn't enough, they decorated me with fake soot before letting me go to find my way back to Mallory and her parents on the side of the street! It was a hoot!
Monday, I went to a parade just on the border of Germany, with some friends from school. It was my friend Céline's birthday. We spent the whole day there, enjoying the parade which was a more typical American one, and then we went back to her house where we had dinner of a raclette and cake :) We did some karoke too! I was horrible because it was all old French songs which naturally I have never heard!
The next day, Mardi Gras, after a typical bus complication of it randomly being cancelled, I met up with Mallory and Mollie and some other friends to go to Binche which is a city about 2 hours away by train, but has a very famous Carnaval Parade. We dressed up with fun hats, tights, boas and whatnot, and we joined the massive crowd along the street! This world is small because amongst the thousands of people there, we ended up standing next to a family from Oklahoma, stationed for the moment in Belgium! The parade was very funny and not what we expected! There would be a group of 30 marching band, dressed in street clothes, nothing being taken too seriously, as they would just stop playing when they needed a cigarette or a beer, and then a group of 30 orange throwers which were dressed in funny white feather hats, and were chucking these oranges with no mercy at the crowd, then a group of 30 with backpacks who were the orange carriers... that sequence repeated many, many times! It was incredible how many people come out to get pelted with citrus! Oh well, the girls and I had a blast, and we ended up getting home around 11 that night, sleeping once again at Mallory's house.
The next morning we all got ready and went to the train station where we met up with Rotary and went to Bastogne. This is the WWII site and a very cool little city. We first stopped at a handicap employed farm animal shelter and got to see lots of sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas- it was so cute! Then we went to the WWII museum which told a lot about civilian life during the war and was extremely well done; I liked it a lot. Finally we went to a big star monument that had every state of America inscribed- thanking us for the work we did for Belgium. Then I came home and packed up for my trip with the Rotary to AMSTERDAM.......
to be continued...
Now that I have explained my personal developpment, I will tell you about life over the pond since last I updated.
Since last time, I have added two new destinations to my list of adventures! The 26th of February I spent the day in Luxembourg which is about a 2 hour drive from Liege Belgium. We went to a famous brewery there, which the Belgians all just scoff at because that is not real good "Belgian beer" and smelled gross :) After that we went to a meat smoking and packaging factory which was actually quite disgusting and once again funny smelling (I was glad that we had lunch before). At that point we loaded the bus and went to the center area of Luxembourg which might have been gorgeous but we were hit with a gian rain storm and thus, all I really know is that the café in Luxembourg is nice and warm and serves great tea! Mollie and I came back to Mallory's to spend the night-- we made the most interesting chocolate cookies ever because of an extreme lack of ingrediants, but we had fun like we always do! The next morning Mal and I went on a run together; it's always nice to have a running buddy!
The following Wednesday I was looking for something in my wallet in the morning and I realized that I had neither my Belgian ID card nor my Visa card... I sent an urgent message to my dear mother and with the power of fast communication and incredible FedEx, both were returned safely to me by that same FRIDAY! Hard to imagine! But I was so very thankful :)
That same afternoon I went to a work out for the "Rheto Trophée" which is a big adventure race for all the Seniors in Belgium. Every school selected makes a team of two girls and four boys and competes in a big race filled with orientation, kayaking, rock climbing, archery and more! We had an orientation workout which was hard and gave me many splinters, but it was fun to be running on a team!
Friday was great because all of Belgium had a giant grève or strike, so no buses=no school! YAY! The vacation has started! That evening I made a quiche (my speciality) and Saturday after swimming I made an eggplant parmesan (another speciality)-- you guys should be looking forward to when I come home and get back in the kitchen!
Saturday night was the kick off to CARNAVAL! Which is the reason we have break, and basically Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, but here, we have Samedi Gras, Dimanche Gras and Lundi Gras as well (Fat Saturday, Sunday and Monday). There are tons of "cortèges" which are huge parades in cities all over Belgium! The carnavals are originally German so there are lots of German songs heard at parties and throughout the parades, but all the dances have movements to the words so that you kind of know the story that is being told :)
Saturday I went to a "soirée déguisée" which means that you have to have a costume to get in! I went as a hippie which was easy enough- and we danced the night away! I had so much fun with all my Belgian friends, learning all the German songs and dances! I didn't come home until almost 3 am, but that didn't mean I had time to rest! The next early afternoon, Mallory and her host parents picked me up from the house and took us to the parade in Malmedy which was my favorite of all! They do things there that would never happen in the states! There are the normal bands, floats, and clowns, but there is so much more too! There is an abundance of confetti thrown, there are oranges that they throw at the crowds (yes, dangerous), there are people dressed as bakers that come into the crowd and hit your hiney with a paddle, there are people with long clown arms that steal people's hats and put them on other's head's and mess up your hair, and there is this big pincher, wooden claw that catches people's ankle's and you have to kneel and say you have never and will never drink! It is hilarious! At one point, and man came and told me to help him carry a ladder, so I did, and he took me onto their float which was Marry Poppins themed, they pushed me into the "chimney" and poured a bucket of confetti on me! As if that wasn't enough, they decorated me with fake soot before letting me go to find my way back to Mallory and her parents on the side of the street! It was a hoot!
Monday, I went to a parade just on the border of Germany, with some friends from school. It was my friend Céline's birthday. We spent the whole day there, enjoying the parade which was a more typical American one, and then we went back to her house where we had dinner of a raclette and cake :) We did some karoke too! I was horrible because it was all old French songs which naturally I have never heard!
The next day, Mardi Gras, after a typical bus complication of it randomly being cancelled, I met up with Mallory and Mollie and some other friends to go to Binche which is a city about 2 hours away by train, but has a very famous Carnaval Parade. We dressed up with fun hats, tights, boas and whatnot, and we joined the massive crowd along the street! This world is small because amongst the thousands of people there, we ended up standing next to a family from Oklahoma, stationed for the moment in Belgium! The parade was very funny and not what we expected! There would be a group of 30 marching band, dressed in street clothes, nothing being taken too seriously, as they would just stop playing when they needed a cigarette or a beer, and then a group of 30 orange throwers which were dressed in funny white feather hats, and were chucking these oranges with no mercy at the crowd, then a group of 30 with backpacks who were the orange carriers... that sequence repeated many, many times! It was incredible how many people come out to get pelted with citrus! Oh well, the girls and I had a blast, and we ended up getting home around 11 that night, sleeping once again at Mallory's house.
The next morning we all got ready and went to the train station where we met up with Rotary and went to Bastogne. This is the WWII site and a very cool little city. We first stopped at a handicap employed farm animal shelter and got to see lots of sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas- it was so cute! Then we went to the WWII museum which told a lot about civilian life during the war and was extremely well done; I liked it a lot. Finally we went to a big star monument that had every state of America inscribed- thanking us for the work we did for Belgium. Then I came home and packed up for my trip with the Rotary to AMSTERDAM.......
to be continued...
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Seeing Belgium through the Eyes of a Foreign Exchange.... Parent
Well, the morning of February 10th was frankly, hectic... It started with me getting to the first train station at 6 am, taking my first train, changing to my second train, figuring out it was the wrong train, getting off, finding out that the right train was just cancelled, waiting in a train station for 20 mins, hopping on the right train, running up the steps to the airport arrival area, and FINALLY seeing my mothers wonderful face and getting the best hug that I have had in six months... so it all turned out just fine :) Of course, there is no rest for the weary, so my mom and I went straight off to the heart of Belgium- Brussels. We toured some, of course treated ourselves to a warm street waffle, and then we decided to go to the Atomium. Here is the link to a picture of this museum in the shape of a crystalized Iron atom, 165 billion times it original size: ATOMIUM. You can go inside of each sphere and see different expositions as well as a beautiful panoramic view of Brussels. Once we had some souvenirs, we took a long train ride home, she unpacked, and we ate dinner with my host mother Annie and I started realizing how much my head was going to hurt! Translating at a fast past is a workout! Plus, like the title of the blog suggests, I am having conversations that I would NEVER have! Mom wants to know about the economy, how they heat their houses, agriculture-- so I have to say that I learned a lot of new, adult, vocabulary. For example, one night we were talking about heating in homes, and mom wanted to know if they use saw dust pellets for fuel... I gave her the meanest look! I DON'T KNOW THE WORD FOR SAWDUST! We laughed and laughed, and after some times of circumlocating, I learned the French word for sawdust... Thanks Mom.
The 11th, Mom and I took a train to Spa, the town, where the actual word spa originates, and we went to the bath house. It is gorgeous- you are on the top of the hill, and there are hot tubs, warm pools indoor and out, saunas, steam rooms and more! What a treat! We had lunch and a walk around the village and then came home where my host dad, Christian came for dinner which was nice because he speaks English so Mom could talk directly to him. That night I had band practice until 11, and my poor jet-lagged mother had to listen to us play the entire time, but I think she was happy to have her own private concert :)
Saturday morning, we went on a walk in the sunshine!! Then we went off to swim practice, and after that, went back to my first host family, strapped on our boots and worked on the farm all afternoon! It was great fun-- everything from a tractor ride around the town, to Benoit squirting her in the face with cows milk :) We cleaned up, and we with the Bragards to our neighbor, Norbert and Gene's house for a lovely evening of laughter and dinner- I had a headache from translating between about 10 people, but we still had so much fune, and in true Belgian style, didn't get home until 1am!
Sunday may be the day of rest, but not for us! We woke up kind of early and went with Annie and Christian to a big open-air market in Liege. After climbing the famous 380 steps during our little city tour, we deserved a cone of Belgian fries! Mmmm :) After that, we headed to the point that Germany, Holland, and Belgium meet. We had a coffee and took some pictures and then drove to the American Cemetary for all the soldiers that died here when we liberated Belgium. The cemetary is breath taking and so well loved because the Belgians feel a very strong moral debt to the Americans for what we did for them; they truely believe that without us they wouldn't exist. It is extremely touching to learn all these warm feelings, when so often we just hear about all the wrongs America is a part of.
Monday we woke up very early and took a long train ride to the city of Bruges. If you ever have the occasion to go to Belgium- go to Bruges. It is magnificent! We had a nice lunch and took a walking tour, that ended up being very long because although Bruges in beautiful, I don't think that they are famous for their map making skills... We could have spent two days in the little city, but alas, we boarded the train in the evening and went back to Herve where we went to a Chinese restaurant for a little Valentines Day date together. It was delicious!
Tuesday was the first day that we caught up on just a touch of sleep, but then we were off again, and we went to Liege where there is an exposition called SOS Planet. The exposition was really well done- all about evolution, natural disasters, and the work we must do to save our planet. After a quick snack, we came home and went to Fabienner, Nicole's sister's salon, where we both got facials! It was so wonderful, and a great preparation for Paris!!
Wednesday morning was PARIS! We took a two hour train ride, and arrived at 10 am :) We went to our little, but very cute apartment, set our things down, and were off to the Louvre! After seeing some gorgeous works of art, we went to a café called Angelina's, known for her hot chocolate, which is the most sinful dish you can consume! After a chocolate high, we decided to go up the Eiffel Tower at night because the sky was clear and the moon was full- it was incredible!! That night we went to a vegetarian restaurant, in hopes of conteracting the amount of chocolate we had just slurped up!
The next morning I ran along the Seine and came back with a baguette for breakfast and two tarts for that night :) We went to Notre Dame and climbed the 400 steps to the Bell Tour because apparently in Europe you just climb steps all the time! After that we went the the Musée D'Orsay which we both actually liked more than the Louvre because they are pieces you have known forever! That evening we went to a café close to the Bastille for a salade niçoise and then of course our tarts in our apartment :)
Friday we took the whole day to see Versailles, which is really the only way that you can see everything at that giant castle! It was chilly, but we still had a great time seeing such a grand work of art. We came home and had a nice dinner before we took the metro (our best friend throughout the trip) to see an ice show called Energia! The show was perfect! It turned out to be mostly English speaking skaters, so the few lines that were spoken were in English, the costumes were to die for, and the atmosphere delightful!
Saturday was our first rainy day, and by European standards, I think that is fantastic. We moved out of our apartment, and began the search for a hotel for our last night... we had booked one before, but it ended up being too far away, so long story short, we ended up finding the perfect hotel and getting the price knocked down 100 euros! In the midst of this, we met up with Allison Kern, Sara Kern, my longtime best friend's older sister who goes to Xavier University, but is currently studying in Paris. We spent the day with her shopping on the Champs Elysees, eating a proper 2 hour dinner, and going up more stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe when it stopped raining in the evening. It was so nice to see her and to spend our last night with her- oh and we took a picture with the Kirkwood Webster Times together at the Arc de Triomphe!
For our last day in Paris, we woke up and took a morning boat ride along the Seine river to see all the sights. Then we moved out of the hotel and left our bags in the train station lockers, and after a fancy lunch, we went up to Sacre Coeur which is just breath taking, and always populated by the best street performers in my opinion, so that was entertaining! We hopped on the train at 4pm and came back to Liege by 6. We met my two friends Mollie and Mallory there and went out to a mutiple course Chinese dinner that was delicious.
Back in Belgium, we woke up to a light dusting of snow, and then we went to the Remember Museum, about 15 minutes away from the house. This museum remembers American soldiers from WWII. I have never been to anything like it! Mom and I had a tour with Mathilde, the co-owner, with her husband Marcel. She speaks wonderful English and is the most passionate woman I have ever met! The museum is very different because it is so personal. Marcel makes all the manicans himself, and each is dressed with a real American uniform or nurses outfit and each represents a real person, so there is a story behind each person. I think it is incredible, and Mathilde knew each person's background and still has so many American connections! They have 300 Chrismas cards in their kitchen, just from Americans. Any Veterans can come stay at their home for free for as long as they need to to feel comforted. We really enjoyed the afternoon. After that we went to Verviers for some last minute shopping and came home for a long, cold walk.
For Mom's last day, we went to my school. She met my class, to whom we gave Valentines like little kids, but they loved them! She also met my teachers and pricipal and then we had lunch in the Cullinary school's restaurant. We left school and went around the surrounding town; we had a pastry and a coffee and then took the bus halfway home, walking the second half after feeling a little guilty for the pastry... That evening after she was all packed up, we went to my Rotary meeting, surprisingly similar to Kirkwood Rotary meetings just complete with a nice 3 course meal :)
Yesterday, the day had come. We woke up at 5am and Manu took us to Liege where we took two train (much lest hectic this time) to the airport. We had time to have breakfast together and then we said a teary "see you soon", not "good bye" and she left. I was sad to see her go, but we had the most wonderful two weeks together. I am so glad that she got to see my life and become a part of it here- it was very special to show that to her. I think of her so much as a friend on top of being a great Mom :)
The 11th, Mom and I took a train to Spa, the town, where the actual word spa originates, and we went to the bath house. It is gorgeous- you are on the top of the hill, and there are hot tubs, warm pools indoor and out, saunas, steam rooms and more! What a treat! We had lunch and a walk around the village and then came home where my host dad, Christian came for dinner which was nice because he speaks English so Mom could talk directly to him. That night I had band practice until 11, and my poor jet-lagged mother had to listen to us play the entire time, but I think she was happy to have her own private concert :)
Saturday morning, we went on a walk in the sunshine!! Then we went off to swim practice, and after that, went back to my first host family, strapped on our boots and worked on the farm all afternoon! It was great fun-- everything from a tractor ride around the town, to Benoit squirting her in the face with cows milk :) We cleaned up, and we with the Bragards to our neighbor, Norbert and Gene's house for a lovely evening of laughter and dinner- I had a headache from translating between about 10 people, but we still had so much fune, and in true Belgian style, didn't get home until 1am!
Sunday may be the day of rest, but not for us! We woke up kind of early and went with Annie and Christian to a big open-air market in Liege. After climbing the famous 380 steps during our little city tour, we deserved a cone of Belgian fries! Mmmm :) After that, we headed to the point that Germany, Holland, and Belgium meet. We had a coffee and took some pictures and then drove to the American Cemetary for all the soldiers that died here when we liberated Belgium. The cemetary is breath taking and so well loved because the Belgians feel a very strong moral debt to the Americans for what we did for them; they truely believe that without us they wouldn't exist. It is extremely touching to learn all these warm feelings, when so often we just hear about all the wrongs America is a part of.
Monday we woke up very early and took a long train ride to the city of Bruges. If you ever have the occasion to go to Belgium- go to Bruges. It is magnificent! We had a nice lunch and took a walking tour, that ended up being very long because although Bruges in beautiful, I don't think that they are famous for their map making skills... We could have spent two days in the little city, but alas, we boarded the train in the evening and went back to Herve where we went to a Chinese restaurant for a little Valentines Day date together. It was delicious!
Tuesday was the first day that we caught up on just a touch of sleep, but then we were off again, and we went to Liege where there is an exposition called SOS Planet. The exposition was really well done- all about evolution, natural disasters, and the work we must do to save our planet. After a quick snack, we came home and went to Fabienner, Nicole's sister's salon, where we both got facials! It was so wonderful, and a great preparation for Paris!!
Wednesday morning was PARIS! We took a two hour train ride, and arrived at 10 am :) We went to our little, but very cute apartment, set our things down, and were off to the Louvre! After seeing some gorgeous works of art, we went to a café called Angelina's, known for her hot chocolate, which is the most sinful dish you can consume! After a chocolate high, we decided to go up the Eiffel Tower at night because the sky was clear and the moon was full- it was incredible!! That night we went to a vegetarian restaurant, in hopes of conteracting the amount of chocolate we had just slurped up!
The next morning I ran along the Seine and came back with a baguette for breakfast and two tarts for that night :) We went to Notre Dame and climbed the 400 steps to the Bell Tour because apparently in Europe you just climb steps all the time! After that we went the the Musée D'Orsay which we both actually liked more than the Louvre because they are pieces you have known forever! That evening we went to a café close to the Bastille for a salade niçoise and then of course our tarts in our apartment :)
Friday we took the whole day to see Versailles, which is really the only way that you can see everything at that giant castle! It was chilly, but we still had a great time seeing such a grand work of art. We came home and had a nice dinner before we took the metro (our best friend throughout the trip) to see an ice show called Energia! The show was perfect! It turned out to be mostly English speaking skaters, so the few lines that were spoken were in English, the costumes were to die for, and the atmosphere delightful!
Saturday was our first rainy day, and by European standards, I think that is fantastic. We moved out of our apartment, and began the search for a hotel for our last night... we had booked one before, but it ended up being too far away, so long story short, we ended up finding the perfect hotel and getting the price knocked down 100 euros! In the midst of this, we met up with Allison Kern, Sara Kern, my longtime best friend's older sister who goes to Xavier University, but is currently studying in Paris. We spent the day with her shopping on the Champs Elysees, eating a proper 2 hour dinner, and going up more stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe when it stopped raining in the evening. It was so nice to see her and to spend our last night with her- oh and we took a picture with the Kirkwood Webster Times together at the Arc de Triomphe!
For our last day in Paris, we woke up and took a morning boat ride along the Seine river to see all the sights. Then we moved out of the hotel and left our bags in the train station lockers, and after a fancy lunch, we went up to Sacre Coeur which is just breath taking, and always populated by the best street performers in my opinion, so that was entertaining! We hopped on the train at 4pm and came back to Liege by 6. We met my two friends Mollie and Mallory there and went out to a mutiple course Chinese dinner that was delicious.
Back in Belgium, we woke up to a light dusting of snow, and then we went to the Remember Museum, about 15 minutes away from the house. This museum remembers American soldiers from WWII. I have never been to anything like it! Mom and I had a tour with Mathilde, the co-owner, with her husband Marcel. She speaks wonderful English and is the most passionate woman I have ever met! The museum is very different because it is so personal. Marcel makes all the manicans himself, and each is dressed with a real American uniform or nurses outfit and each represents a real person, so there is a story behind each person. I think it is incredible, and Mathilde knew each person's background and still has so many American connections! They have 300 Chrismas cards in their kitchen, just from Americans. Any Veterans can come stay at their home for free for as long as they need to to feel comforted. We really enjoyed the afternoon. After that we went to Verviers for some last minute shopping and came home for a long, cold walk.
For Mom's last day, we went to my school. She met my class, to whom we gave Valentines like little kids, but they loved them! She also met my teachers and pricipal and then we had lunch in the Cullinary school's restaurant. We left school and went around the surrounding town; we had a pastry and a coffee and then took the bus halfway home, walking the second half after feeling a little guilty for the pastry... That evening after she was all packed up, we went to my Rotary meeting, surprisingly similar to Kirkwood Rotary meetings just complete with a nice 3 course meal :)
Yesterday, the day had come. We woke up at 5am and Manu took us to Liege where we took two train (much lest hectic this time) to the airport. We had time to have breakfast together and then we said a teary "see you soon", not "good bye" and she left. I was sad to see her go, but we had the most wonderful two weeks together. I am so glad that she got to see my life and become a part of it here- it was very special to show that to her. I think of her so much as a friend on top of being a great Mom :)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Changes Are Just Opportunities to Learn
I apologize for the extreme delay again, but there has been a lot of events going on-- most importantly, the big move to my second host family (address to follow)! But don't let me get ahead of myself...
Well the economy is changing, for everyone around the world... for my family, the price rising from 1 euro 50 to 2 euros for a loaf of white bread at the bakery, not supermarket, really the bakery, was an epic event. Why do I mention this? My last week Chez Bragard (Bragard's house), I spent my time perfecting my bread making skills... teaching Nicole that yeast and baking soda are not for the same puposes, teaching them that yeast is living and that it must stay cold, and of course teaching them to use the bread machine that was conveniently entirely in English... We were determined though, and after 3 days of eating very dense, heavy bread... we came out with the perfect loaf :) It is moments like these that I love this family even more! We all sat around eating the bread, which after all the attempts, probably ended up costing more than 2 euros, but we were proud and it was delicious!
I have to take a moment to say how incredible these last 5 months and one week have been Chez Bragard. There is no place like home, I totally agree with Dorthey, but I think that I have just found a second home... she never said anything about being able to have two! I have a lot of wonderful people in my life in America, my family is incredible and my friends make me so happy, but I was more than blessed to be brought into this home in Belgium where I felt just as loved as I am in America, just as comfortable, just as joyful; I could not have possibly asked for a better first host family. Living in this home was both a blessing and a curse though because saying goodbye to the cows, my sister, and my family really stung.
The switch was Friday the 28th, I was all packed up and not ready to leave, but alas, the time had come. Nicole came into my room and quietly asked if I was ready, I said no and we both burst into tears, after a few minutes of water works we both touched up our mascara and got in the car with Benoit and Pauline. We went to a Rotarian's house for appetizers and drinks and then around 10 we moved my suitcases and bags and boxes of stuff (I have no idea how I am going to be able to go home!) into the Bultot's car and drove off!
My new family lives about 15 mins by car from the farm- it is certainly not the city, but it isn't as farmville as my first home. I live with Annie who is a nurse. She is divorced, but her husband Christian, a business man and ex-Belgian Air-Force Pilot drives me places often. There are no children in the house. Pierrick is currently living in Wyoming on exchange, Maxime is 22, did his exchange in New York and is at University, and Jean Phillipe is 26, did his exchange in New Mexico, and lives with his girl friend. The house is nice, a lot quieter than my last home, but Annie is very kind. We also have two cats, Sushi and Mr. Swiffer, the latter weighs in at a whopping 6 kilos!
It didn't take me long to find myself back Chez Bragard... that Monday it was Norbert, our neighbor and friend's, birthday, and I went with the family to give him a big surprise party-- I think Belgians love surprises-- and he was stunned! We spent the evening laughing and eating delicious little treats, and then I spent the night in Pauline's room, sleepovers on a school night! I am so spoiled!!
For the most part the week was fairly uneventful... I take the bus to school every morning which is a 45 minute ride unfortunately but I listen to my iPod and the time goes by quickly. Wednesday after school I went to Liege and met all the new exchange students from New Zealand and Australia which was a really weird feeling... I felt like I have been here for forever, like we are the exchange student experts- it was a blast :) And Friday I went to Liege all day on a field trip which we saw what they call "maison de jeunes" and I think they are a really cool idea- it is a house for teenagers where they can use computers, talk to kids, get help, or just hang out. I think that we should start them in America, especially in big cities.
Saturday after swim practice we went to the train station to pick up Mallory and Mollie who were coming over for the night for Mallory's special birthday dinne! Her birthday was Feb 7th! HAPPY BIRTHDAY :) We came back to my house and went shopping for our feast of shrimp scampi and cake and homemade chocolate ice cream :) It was a blast! Those girls are great! And then Sunday morning we got online and booked a seven day trip to Spain in May! Just the three of us- in an all inclusive on the beach :) We are spoiling ourselves silly!
So far the week has been pretty relaxed-- I am working really hard on my research project for school and I am getting really excited about it! I love that I can write a whole research paper in French and it actually looks good :) I also have been thinking about my life next year some and I think that I am going to try to double major in French and international studies- I don't know if education is still what I am meant for or not... we shall see! Also, next year I have decided to room with Abby MacDonald which I am really looking forward too! Mallory and I are really great friends but we think that if we were to room together we are just too similar and we might get sick of each other... I am still really looking forward to going to school with her though and talking in French with her so no one knows what we are saying! :)
Now I am off to bed because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning and go to fetch my lovely mother at the Brussels Airport! I can't wait to spend the next two weeks with her- traveling Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and five days in Paris! After 5 1/2 months without my mommy, I just can't wait!!!
New Address:
Le Haumont 51
4650 Grand Rechain Herve
Belgium
Well the economy is changing, for everyone around the world... for my family, the price rising from 1 euro 50 to 2 euros for a loaf of white bread at the bakery, not supermarket, really the bakery, was an epic event. Why do I mention this? My last week Chez Bragard (Bragard's house), I spent my time perfecting my bread making skills... teaching Nicole that yeast and baking soda are not for the same puposes, teaching them that yeast is living and that it must stay cold, and of course teaching them to use the bread machine that was conveniently entirely in English... We were determined though, and after 3 days of eating very dense, heavy bread... we came out with the perfect loaf :) It is moments like these that I love this family even more! We all sat around eating the bread, which after all the attempts, probably ended up costing more than 2 euros, but we were proud and it was delicious!
I have to take a moment to say how incredible these last 5 months and one week have been Chez Bragard. There is no place like home, I totally agree with Dorthey, but I think that I have just found a second home... she never said anything about being able to have two! I have a lot of wonderful people in my life in America, my family is incredible and my friends make me so happy, but I was more than blessed to be brought into this home in Belgium where I felt just as loved as I am in America, just as comfortable, just as joyful; I could not have possibly asked for a better first host family. Living in this home was both a blessing and a curse though because saying goodbye to the cows, my sister, and my family really stung.
The switch was Friday the 28th, I was all packed up and not ready to leave, but alas, the time had come. Nicole came into my room and quietly asked if I was ready, I said no and we both burst into tears, after a few minutes of water works we both touched up our mascara and got in the car with Benoit and Pauline. We went to a Rotarian's house for appetizers and drinks and then around 10 we moved my suitcases and bags and boxes of stuff (I have no idea how I am going to be able to go home!) into the Bultot's car and drove off!
My new family lives about 15 mins by car from the farm- it is certainly not the city, but it isn't as farmville as my first home. I live with Annie who is a nurse. She is divorced, but her husband Christian, a business man and ex-Belgian Air-Force Pilot drives me places often. There are no children in the house. Pierrick is currently living in Wyoming on exchange, Maxime is 22, did his exchange in New York and is at University, and Jean Phillipe is 26, did his exchange in New Mexico, and lives with his girl friend. The house is nice, a lot quieter than my last home, but Annie is very kind. We also have two cats, Sushi and Mr. Swiffer, the latter weighs in at a whopping 6 kilos!
It didn't take me long to find myself back Chez Bragard... that Monday it was Norbert, our neighbor and friend's, birthday, and I went with the family to give him a big surprise party-- I think Belgians love surprises-- and he was stunned! We spent the evening laughing and eating delicious little treats, and then I spent the night in Pauline's room, sleepovers on a school night! I am so spoiled!!
For the most part the week was fairly uneventful... I take the bus to school every morning which is a 45 minute ride unfortunately but I listen to my iPod and the time goes by quickly. Wednesday after school I went to Liege and met all the new exchange students from New Zealand and Australia which was a really weird feeling... I felt like I have been here for forever, like we are the exchange student experts- it was a blast :) And Friday I went to Liege all day on a field trip which we saw what they call "maison de jeunes" and I think they are a really cool idea- it is a house for teenagers where they can use computers, talk to kids, get help, or just hang out. I think that we should start them in America, especially in big cities.
Saturday after swim practice we went to the train station to pick up Mallory and Mollie who were coming over for the night for Mallory's special birthday dinne! Her birthday was Feb 7th! HAPPY BIRTHDAY :) We came back to my house and went shopping for our feast of shrimp scampi and cake and homemade chocolate ice cream :) It was a blast! Those girls are great! And then Sunday morning we got online and booked a seven day trip to Spain in May! Just the three of us- in an all inclusive on the beach :) We are spoiling ourselves silly!
So far the week has been pretty relaxed-- I am working really hard on my research project for school and I am getting really excited about it! I love that I can write a whole research paper in French and it actually looks good :) I also have been thinking about my life next year some and I think that I am going to try to double major in French and international studies- I don't know if education is still what I am meant for or not... we shall see! Also, next year I have decided to room with Abby MacDonald which I am really looking forward too! Mallory and I are really great friends but we think that if we were to room together we are just too similar and we might get sick of each other... I am still really looking forward to going to school with her though and talking in French with her so no one knows what we are saying! :)
Now I am off to bed because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning and go to fetch my lovely mother at the Brussels Airport! I can't wait to spend the next two weeks with her- traveling Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and five days in Paris! After 5 1/2 months without my mommy, I just can't wait!!!
New Address:
Le Haumont 51
4650 Grand Rechain Herve
Belgium
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Back in the Swing of Things!
Since I last posted, two weeks of the second semester of school have already flown by! Nothing too exciting has been going on during the school day, except for everyone in my class getting nervous about what they are going to do in June. Probably three or four out of the 22 kids in my class are planning on attending University or any type of secondary school; the vast majority are trying to decide how they will make money, where they will work, what they even want to do, which isn't easy with Belgian's economy right now. In other words, "the senior freak out" is in full effect right now and I am so glad that this time I don't have to stress :)
Wednesday the 12th I had a half day as usual, but after school I took the bus to Liege where I met up with almost all the exchange students of our district. We all got together to say goodbye to the exchange students from the Western Hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, because due to their school systems, they come in January and leave in January. It was really hard. You make such close friends and then you have to say goodbye but you have no idea when you'll be able to say hello again. I feel really blessed to have friends from all over the world; I just didn't feel so blessed to have to see them all go. After a good cry and a waffle I took a long bus ride home to the farm.
The next day my class went on an all day field trip! We took a chartered bus in the morning to Brussels which would normally take about an hour and a half but because of bad weather and traffic it took an hour longer... Once we arrived we went and toured Breendonck which is the best preserved internment camp left from the second world war. Being there in the cold, wind, and rain was very touching and a very emotional experience. I really enjoyed it because as some of you know I am very interested in the second world war, so to see that history first hand was really special. After that we drove to a gigantic military museum on the outskirts of Brussels. The museum was very interesting, but unfortunately, due to some prank that one student pulled, we were kicked out about a half hour early... highly embarrassing. With the traffic on the way back we ended up getting home at about 7pm- quite the day.
Sometimes I feel like I am living a parallel life here... Here is a shout out to my Grandma and Aunt's birthdays which were January 16th and 20th! I say this because last weekend we had two birthday parties! One was my host aunt's 40th surprise party which was celebrated in our party room, complete with a million balloons and a DJ that kept us all entertained until 2am! The next day, Sunday, we had the birthday of Manu, our close friend of the family, which was much more relaxed, just a fancy three course dinner complete with a celebratory champagne!
However, in the middle of these two events, Sunday morning, I did some charity babysitting which of course is always one of my favorite things to do! Then I was supposed to run a race with my track team, but we ran into a slight communication problem, not with the language, with the coach who forgot to tell us- yes I wasn't even the only one- that the race was moved to a different location! I ended up showing up to a vacant track center and running 8km home with my backpack and everything- finding out later of course that there were two of my friends who did the same thing... I laugh about it now :)
This last week at school has been really fun! I feel like I am becoming closer with a variety of people which feels really good since before I really only had two or three close friends. I have experienced several very difficult track practices which I am happy with because I have been invited to some races coming up. In March I might be doing the "Rheto Trophey" which is the senior class obstacle course, including running, kayaking, rock climbing etc. Apparently they have a hard time finding girls who are interested, so hopefully that will happen. Also in May I will be doing a team marathon with three other girls, followed by a half marathon I am doing in Brussels, and of course our school gym final which is a triathlon! So bring on the chocolate and waffles!!!
Thursday night after track practice, Pauline and I went to a meeting to plan the Reconstruction of when Napoleon came through Thimister and Clermont (our town and sister town) at the very start of the first World War. The show will go on in the beginning of June and I think it will be really cool actually!
Here is one little moment that made me really happy in the last weeks... I was on the bus home from school and a girl I didn't know sat down next to me. She was talking to a boy standing in the aisle and I noticed that they were arguing over the pronunciation of an English word. Just before my stop I decided that I should put an end to the argument, so I kindly let them both know that they were both incorrect and pronounced the word correctly for them. The girl was stunned and said "Wow, you speak really incredible English"- I giggled and said "thank you, I'm American"- at this she was shocked and said "Well then you speak really incredible French" :) It is a moment like this that can make you happy for a week!
Finally, here is a moment that was really odd... I have hit the 5/10 th month of my exchange. I have also hit the middle binding of my journal that I write in every night before I go to bed. I have also ran out of the shampoo that I brought with me from America and worn out my first toothbrush. These are all weird little events that make me feel like this year is flitting by! I still have so much to do, to see, to learn and I see my time limit dwindling. I have to remember to enjoy every single second of the day because if I blink I know some of these opportunities will never present themselves again!
Wish me luck as this coming Friday I start a new adventure, leaving the farm that has served as my loving home for 5 months and go to my second host family. I am very weary about the change, but like I said, will try to appreciate everything that comes my way!
Wednesday the 12th I had a half day as usual, but after school I took the bus to Liege where I met up with almost all the exchange students of our district. We all got together to say goodbye to the exchange students from the Western Hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, because due to their school systems, they come in January and leave in January. It was really hard. You make such close friends and then you have to say goodbye but you have no idea when you'll be able to say hello again. I feel really blessed to have friends from all over the world; I just didn't feel so blessed to have to see them all go. After a good cry and a waffle I took a long bus ride home to the farm.
The next day my class went on an all day field trip! We took a chartered bus in the morning to Brussels which would normally take about an hour and a half but because of bad weather and traffic it took an hour longer... Once we arrived we went and toured Breendonck which is the best preserved internment camp left from the second world war. Being there in the cold, wind, and rain was very touching and a very emotional experience. I really enjoyed it because as some of you know I am very interested in the second world war, so to see that history first hand was really special. After that we drove to a gigantic military museum on the outskirts of Brussels. The museum was very interesting, but unfortunately, due to some prank that one student pulled, we were kicked out about a half hour early... highly embarrassing. With the traffic on the way back we ended up getting home at about 7pm- quite the day.
Sometimes I feel like I am living a parallel life here... Here is a shout out to my Grandma and Aunt's birthdays which were January 16th and 20th! I say this because last weekend we had two birthday parties! One was my host aunt's 40th surprise party which was celebrated in our party room, complete with a million balloons and a DJ that kept us all entertained until 2am! The next day, Sunday, we had the birthday of Manu, our close friend of the family, which was much more relaxed, just a fancy three course dinner complete with a celebratory champagne!
However, in the middle of these two events, Sunday morning, I did some charity babysitting which of course is always one of my favorite things to do! Then I was supposed to run a race with my track team, but we ran into a slight communication problem, not with the language, with the coach who forgot to tell us- yes I wasn't even the only one- that the race was moved to a different location! I ended up showing up to a vacant track center and running 8km home with my backpack and everything- finding out later of course that there were two of my friends who did the same thing... I laugh about it now :)
This last week at school has been really fun! I feel like I am becoming closer with a variety of people which feels really good since before I really only had two or three close friends. I have experienced several very difficult track practices which I am happy with because I have been invited to some races coming up. In March I might be doing the "Rheto Trophey" which is the senior class obstacle course, including running, kayaking, rock climbing etc. Apparently they have a hard time finding girls who are interested, so hopefully that will happen. Also in May I will be doing a team marathon with three other girls, followed by a half marathon I am doing in Brussels, and of course our school gym final which is a triathlon! So bring on the chocolate and waffles!!!
Thursday night after track practice, Pauline and I went to a meeting to plan the Reconstruction of when Napoleon came through Thimister and Clermont (our town and sister town) at the very start of the first World War. The show will go on in the beginning of June and I think it will be really cool actually!
Here is one little moment that made me really happy in the last weeks... I was on the bus home from school and a girl I didn't know sat down next to me. She was talking to a boy standing in the aisle and I noticed that they were arguing over the pronunciation of an English word. Just before my stop I decided that I should put an end to the argument, so I kindly let them both know that they were both incorrect and pronounced the word correctly for them. The girl was stunned and said "Wow, you speak really incredible English"- I giggled and said "thank you, I'm American"- at this she was shocked and said "Well then you speak really incredible French" :) It is a moment like this that can make you happy for a week!
Finally, here is a moment that was really odd... I have hit the 5/10 th month of my exchange. I have also hit the middle binding of my journal that I write in every night before I go to bed. I have also ran out of the shampoo that I brought with me from America and worn out my first toothbrush. These are all weird little events that make me feel like this year is flitting by! I still have so much to do, to see, to learn and I see my time limit dwindling. I have to remember to enjoy every single second of the day because if I blink I know some of these opportunities will never present themselves again!
Wish me luck as this coming Friday I start a new adventure, leaving the farm that has served as my loving home for 5 months and go to my second host family. I am very weary about the change, but like I said, will try to appreciate everything that comes my way!
Monday, January 10, 2011
2011- Is there a Better Way to Celebrate than a Trip to Paris?
Sorry for the delay in posts-- the New Year has certainly started with a bang and I have been busier than ever, if that is even possible!
To start off, I had said that my host sister living in Texas, Justine, had been in the hospital, well she has fully recovered and they think that it was some sort of disease that she had never been exposed to until she came to the states. She is doing much better and has recently gone off all of her prescribed medications, so she feels a lot stronger.
New Years Eve was a blast! I went to a "Black and Gold" themed party with my friend Mallory and all of her friends from school. It was a party of close to 300 people, and we danced the night away until about 4:30 am! Then we had a giant sleepover at her house, going to bed around 6am and only getting 4 hours of sleep! New Years Day I took the train home in the early afternoon and went directly to my host Grandma's house. We had a big family lunch of the traditional New Year meal here... sauerkraut, sausages, and mashed potatoes. I explained that our typical meal is a surf and turf dinner and Nicole told me that she thinks the meal is sauerkraut and sausages because it is good for a hangover! The Belgians think of everything!
The first week of the year I had some pretty fun activities. I am convinced that you have to get out and do something fun more and more often when it's so cold and dark all the time. One day I went to the movies with Pauline and our friend Odile- we even had dinner in the restaurant in the theater afterwards! We saw the newest movie in the "Meet the Faukers" series and it was surprisingly very easy to follow. Another day I went bowling with the family plus Benoit's godson, Etienne. I was shocked because the whole bowling system was Brunswick!!! I couldn't get over it! Turns out that while Benoit is an excellent farmer, his bowling skills are definitely lacking :) Thursday I went into Liege with three of my friends from school. We were good and studious and went to the library first to check out books for our research projects and then of course we went shopping! It was really funny because I knew my way around the city a million times better than they did-- it was clear they were country girls coming in, so they were so happy to have me to figure out bus times and suck, and I was thrilled to have a day out and about with them :)
Friday morning I woke up early to catch a train to Liege at 7am where I met up with Mollie from Kansas, and Matilda and Dominique from Australia and we hopped on a train to PARIS for the weekend!!! :) I have to say how spoiled I felt to be able to say that I went to Paris... just for the weekend! It's so fun living in Europe for that reason! After missing our first train and being set back an hour, we arrived safely at about 1pm in Paris! We took the metro to our hotel which was situated in the district of Passy and was about a 6 minute walk from the most spectacular view of the Eiffel Tour. We checked into our little bed and breakfast, freshened up, and went on a long walk around the Eiffel Tour and Napoleon's Tomb-- with our luck, the sun started coming up which was lovely! At the end of the walk we were tired and hungry so we found a super market and bought some baguettes and cheese and fruit and went back to the hotel for a picnic dinner!
The next morning we woke up early and went on a sunrise walk. It was incredible to see the sun rising behind the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River! You couldn't have imagined a more spectacular image! We went back to the hotel for our provided croissant breakfast and then we set off on our day. We first took the metro to the outskirts of Paris where we went to antique shops and souvenir markets. We hopped back on the metro to the other side of Paris where we stopped for a crepe before touring the Catacombs! It was a very creepy experience, but a very neat experience at the same time. We decided to walk all the way up to Notre Dame after that, and although we weren't there in time to climb the bell tour, we were there in time to see a service in which all the French priests were becoming ordained! Once in a lifetime opportunity! We continued our walk, following the Seine river, past the Louvre and along the Champs de Elysees until we got to L'Arc de Triomphe where we turned back to our hotel around 7:30pm. We were exhausted and our feet were hurting, so instead of going out to dinner as planned, we decided to buy cheese and bread again and stay in for foot massages and French game shows! We also calculated how far we had walked in all that day... 22km aka a half marathon! We deserved all the bread and cheese we could get :)
Sunday, we woke up, packed up, checked out, and headed off to the train station to leave our luggage in lockers for the day. We then took the metro to Moulin Rouge to take pictures before we marched up a million steps and giant hills to see the Sacre Coeur Basillica or the Sacred Heart Church. We could see over all of Paris at the very top, and we were blessed with a crystal clear sky, bright sun, and get this... WARMTH! I even took of my jacket! We toured the beautiful church and sat on the steps listening to live street music while looking over the city. I felt like I was in heaven! After we climbed back down the stairs and walked back to the train station, it was time to say au revoir to Paris and head back to Belgium... I just felt so lucky to have been able to go with my friends and spend a very memorable weekend with them :)
I got home to the farm at about 9:30pm and shared stories and presents with the family before scurrying off to bed to get some rest before the first day of school.
Today, Monday, school is back in session. I can hardly believe that it is second semester already and my stay here is halfway over!! It is good to be back in school, if only to have a steady routine again... I also asked if I would be able to do a fun internship in May after our research project is finished and they thought it would be a great idea! Many kids do internships because it is a technical school, but I just wanted to do one for fun so I think the month of May I will be an apprentice to a baker or a chocolatier! Yeah-- that will be fun :)
I hope you all had a very joyous and safe New Year! :)
To start off, I had said that my host sister living in Texas, Justine, had been in the hospital, well she has fully recovered and they think that it was some sort of disease that she had never been exposed to until she came to the states. She is doing much better and has recently gone off all of her prescribed medications, so she feels a lot stronger.
New Years Eve was a blast! I went to a "Black and Gold" themed party with my friend Mallory and all of her friends from school. It was a party of close to 300 people, and we danced the night away until about 4:30 am! Then we had a giant sleepover at her house, going to bed around 6am and only getting 4 hours of sleep! New Years Day I took the train home in the early afternoon and went directly to my host Grandma's house. We had a big family lunch of the traditional New Year meal here... sauerkraut, sausages, and mashed potatoes. I explained that our typical meal is a surf and turf dinner and Nicole told me that she thinks the meal is sauerkraut and sausages because it is good for a hangover! The Belgians think of everything!
The first week of the year I had some pretty fun activities. I am convinced that you have to get out and do something fun more and more often when it's so cold and dark all the time. One day I went to the movies with Pauline and our friend Odile- we even had dinner in the restaurant in the theater afterwards! We saw the newest movie in the "Meet the Faukers" series and it was surprisingly very easy to follow. Another day I went bowling with the family plus Benoit's godson, Etienne. I was shocked because the whole bowling system was Brunswick!!! I couldn't get over it! Turns out that while Benoit is an excellent farmer, his bowling skills are definitely lacking :) Thursday I went into Liege with three of my friends from school. We were good and studious and went to the library first to check out books for our research projects and then of course we went shopping! It was really funny because I knew my way around the city a million times better than they did-- it was clear they were country girls coming in, so they were so happy to have me to figure out bus times and suck, and I was thrilled to have a day out and about with them :)
Friday morning I woke up early to catch a train to Liege at 7am where I met up with Mollie from Kansas, and Matilda and Dominique from Australia and we hopped on a train to PARIS for the weekend!!! :) I have to say how spoiled I felt to be able to say that I went to Paris... just for the weekend! It's so fun living in Europe for that reason! After missing our first train and being set back an hour, we arrived safely at about 1pm in Paris! We took the metro to our hotel which was situated in the district of Passy and was about a 6 minute walk from the most spectacular view of the Eiffel Tour. We checked into our little bed and breakfast, freshened up, and went on a long walk around the Eiffel Tour and Napoleon's Tomb-- with our luck, the sun started coming up which was lovely! At the end of the walk we were tired and hungry so we found a super market and bought some baguettes and cheese and fruit and went back to the hotel for a picnic dinner!
The next morning we woke up early and went on a sunrise walk. It was incredible to see the sun rising behind the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River! You couldn't have imagined a more spectacular image! We went back to the hotel for our provided croissant breakfast and then we set off on our day. We first took the metro to the outskirts of Paris where we went to antique shops and souvenir markets. We hopped back on the metro to the other side of Paris where we stopped for a crepe before touring the Catacombs! It was a very creepy experience, but a very neat experience at the same time. We decided to walk all the way up to Notre Dame after that, and although we weren't there in time to climb the bell tour, we were there in time to see a service in which all the French priests were becoming ordained! Once in a lifetime opportunity! We continued our walk, following the Seine river, past the Louvre and along the Champs de Elysees until we got to L'Arc de Triomphe where we turned back to our hotel around 7:30pm. We were exhausted and our feet were hurting, so instead of going out to dinner as planned, we decided to buy cheese and bread again and stay in for foot massages and French game shows! We also calculated how far we had walked in all that day... 22km aka a half marathon! We deserved all the bread and cheese we could get :)
Sunday, we woke up, packed up, checked out, and headed off to the train station to leave our luggage in lockers for the day. We then took the metro to Moulin Rouge to take pictures before we marched up a million steps and giant hills to see the Sacre Coeur Basillica or the Sacred Heart Church. We could see over all of Paris at the very top, and we were blessed with a crystal clear sky, bright sun, and get this... WARMTH! I even took of my jacket! We toured the beautiful church and sat on the steps listening to live street music while looking over the city. I felt like I was in heaven! After we climbed back down the stairs and walked back to the train station, it was time to say au revoir to Paris and head back to Belgium... I just felt so lucky to have been able to go with my friends and spend a very memorable weekend with them :)
I got home to the farm at about 9:30pm and shared stories and presents with the family before scurrying off to bed to get some rest before the first day of school.
Today, Monday, school is back in session. I can hardly believe that it is second semester already and my stay here is halfway over!! It is good to be back in school, if only to have a steady routine again... I also asked if I would be able to do a fun internship in May after our research project is finished and they thought it would be a great idea! Many kids do internships because it is a technical school, but I just wanted to do one for fun so I think the month of May I will be an apprentice to a baker or a chocolatier! Yeah-- that will be fun :)
I hope you all had a very joyous and safe New Year! :)
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