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!