In our living room...
26 December, 2007
24 December, 2007
Italy and Jeff's day in Belgium
Amalfi
Amalfi Coastline
Positano
Florence
Florence
Sidewalk art in Florence
Pisa
Rome- Pantheon
Roman Forum
Dinner in Belgium
From left: Me, Philippe (host dad), Jeff (uncle), Chantal (host mom), Maxime (host brother), Kaitlyn (Canadian exchange student)
14 December, 2007
new hair.
I almost cried when I saw the hair dresser. She was probably my age, working in her mom's salon. I showed her the color sample I wanted (A dark maroon/plum) and she pointed at the brightest red and said "it's better." Being under the impression that there would be no bleach involved, I went along with it thinking the brown would keep it subtle. No no, as you can see, it is not subtle. Everyone seems to like it though, and I like the cut a lot. I figure that it will settle down in a week or so.
08 December, 2007
Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland... (Germany)
Saturday, December 1, Kaitlyn and I were dropped off in Couvin (the other main town in the area- pop 12,000). We met our Youth Exchange Officer, Louie, and another Rotarian, along with their two families. We began the car ride to who-knows-where, to do who-knows-what, because being the exchange students, we are told squat. After two hours of small talk and loud children, we arrive in Liège, the second largest city in the French part of Belgium; full of culture, history and character; unlike Charleroi, the largest. So we get to the Grand Place and they tell us, go shopping, have fun, meet us back at noon. So we did. I bought a new brown sweater.
Then we had lunch. At Quick. The European equivalent of McDonalds. Of course I got several comments on how I’d enjoy this “American” meal. No, Americans are not all fast food junkies. No, every American is not obese and unhealthy. No, every hamburger is not fast food. And yes, I hate a whole late healthier with what I was fed at home than I am here. So please, stop insulting my culture!
After that it was back in the car for another hour car ride to Germany! I didn’t catch when we crossed the border, only when all the street signs looked like “adfadskfjdskl” to me. Coming to Belgium, I had some French and had an idea what things were saying, what people were talking about. Since then, I’ve only been to England and France. I’ve never studied a Germanic language, so it was a bit fun to listen to.
We went to this tiny long town wedged between two mountains (hills). It was all decorated like Christmas. Lots of food booths, hand made German Christmas decorations, lights. It looked like something you’d see in a Christmas movie, or a fake little touristy town based off of Europe Except, this was the real deal. The original. We stopped to buy apple fritters, which, by the way, were fantastic and ALMOST beat the Belgian waffle. Almost, not quite. Maybe I’m just prejudice. God knows how we managed to order what we wanted. When else will I get the chance to use my second language to talk to a salesman in their second language? Dinner was interesting. We had the typical German meal, A plate of soggy cabbage and mustard with ham. YUCK. For once, I wasn’t the only one who found the meal repulsive.
(Germany)
After returning to the Hotel, I hit the sacks for a real nights sleep. We stayed just over the border in the German part of Belgium, which is only 5% of the country. Thankfully we were there with a baby or else it we probably wouldn’t have been in until two. I’m not kidding either, after rotary dinners I get home at one. My birthday dinner ended at three AM. I was falling asleep and my future 8 year old host sisters were awake as ever. Dinner parties can end anywhere between 12:30 and morning, depending on the size and amount of alcohol involved. They are pretty much all alcoholics, by American standards. Anyways, we woke up at nine and went down for out continental breakfast. American hotels should really learn from this, we had a huge buffet full of five kinds of homemade bread, croissants, everything. And it was all baked that morning. All this for our two families and an older couple that were staying there. I had my first good scrambled eggs since I’ve been here. The host knew that we were a party of French speakers, but I don’t think he knew that Kaitlyn and I weren’t because he kept speaking to us in French (everyone here learns Dutch, French, and English, which is the most important for them). I think he thought we were talking slower to make sure he understood, really that’s just how we speak French. It was fun. Again, I got to use my second language to communicate with someone in their second language.
Then we headed off for what they told us would be a “walk.” First we stopped at the highest point in Belgium. Its actually 695 meters, but there was a 5 meter set of stairs to make it seven hundred. As Louie said, only Belgium would do something as pointless as that. Well, Sunday we didn’t have the pleasure of sun. In fact, we had the worst weather there has been all winter. The wind was strong enough to push me over and it was pouring. I was not dressed for this weather. We took a 45 minute walk on a boardwalk over the marshes. I thought the wind was going to push me off. The rain was blowing straight into my face and I thought my bones were going to freeze into ice. Afterwards we went and ate and my feet were soaked, and the rain had somehow gotten through my two jackets and 3 shirts and sweater and scarf. It was miserable. We all had soup. Mushroom soup. The only kind of soup that I despise. Oh, and it was quality soup, as in there were huge mushrooms floating around in it. I thought I was going to be sick. Well, we finally took off and I spent the 3 hour car ride squished in the middle of Kaitlyn reading, and Louie’s sick wife who groaned the whole way home. Oh, it was marvelous.
(Highest Point in Belgium)
Then we had lunch. At Quick. The European equivalent of McDonalds. Of course I got several comments on how I’d enjoy this “American” meal. No, Americans are not all fast food junkies. No, every American is not obese and unhealthy. No, every hamburger is not fast food. And yes, I hate a whole late healthier with what I was fed at home than I am here. So please, stop insulting my culture!
After that it was back in the car for another hour car ride to Germany! I didn’t catch when we crossed the border, only when all the street signs looked like “adfadskfjdskl” to me. Coming to Belgium, I had some French and had an idea what things were saying, what people were talking about. Since then, I’ve only been to England and France. I’ve never studied a Germanic language, so it was a bit fun to listen to.
We went to this tiny long town wedged between two mountains (hills). It was all decorated like Christmas. Lots of food booths, hand made German Christmas decorations, lights. It looked like something you’d see in a Christmas movie, or a fake little touristy town based off of Europe Except, this was the real deal. The original. We stopped to buy apple fritters, which, by the way, were fantastic and ALMOST beat the Belgian waffle. Almost, not quite. Maybe I’m just prejudice. God knows how we managed to order what we wanted. When else will I get the chance to use my second language to talk to a salesman in their second language? Dinner was interesting. We had the typical German meal, A plate of soggy cabbage and mustard with ham. YUCK. For once, I wasn’t the only one who found the meal repulsive.
(Germany)
After returning to the Hotel, I hit the sacks for a real nights sleep. We stayed just over the border in the German part of Belgium, which is only 5% of the country. Thankfully we were there with a baby or else it we probably wouldn’t have been in until two. I’m not kidding either, after rotary dinners I get home at one. My birthday dinner ended at three AM. I was falling asleep and my future 8 year old host sisters were awake as ever. Dinner parties can end anywhere between 12:30 and morning, depending on the size and amount of alcohol involved. They are pretty much all alcoholics, by American standards. Anyways, we woke up at nine and went down for out continental breakfast. American hotels should really learn from this, we had a huge buffet full of five kinds of homemade bread, croissants, everything. And it was all baked that morning. All this for our two families and an older couple that were staying there. I had my first good scrambled eggs since I’ve been here. The host knew that we were a party of French speakers, but I don’t think he knew that Kaitlyn and I weren’t because he kept speaking to us in French (everyone here learns Dutch, French, and English, which is the most important for them). I think he thought we were talking slower to make sure he understood, really that’s just how we speak French. It was fun. Again, I got to use my second language to communicate with someone in their second language.
Then we headed off for what they told us would be a “walk.” First we stopped at the highest point in Belgium. Its actually 695 meters, but there was a 5 meter set of stairs to make it seven hundred. As Louie said, only Belgium would do something as pointless as that. Well, Sunday we didn’t have the pleasure of sun. In fact, we had the worst weather there has been all winter. The wind was strong enough to push me over and it was pouring. I was not dressed for this weather. We took a 45 minute walk on a boardwalk over the marshes. I thought the wind was going to push me off. The rain was blowing straight into my face and I thought my bones were going to freeze into ice. Afterwards we went and ate and my feet were soaked, and the rain had somehow gotten through my two jackets and 3 shirts and sweater and scarf. It was miserable. We all had soup. Mushroom soup. The only kind of soup that I despise. Oh, and it was quality soup, as in there were huge mushrooms floating around in it. I thought I was going to be sick. Well, we finally took off and I spent the 3 hour car ride squished in the middle of Kaitlyn reading, and Louie’s sick wife who groaned the whole way home. Oh, it was marvelous.
(Highest Point in Belgium)
02 December, 2007
The View From My Window...
If the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall, then I think we would see the beauty then, we would stand staring in awe, at our still lives posed like a bowl of oranges...
-Bright Eyes
05 November, 2007
Belgian Dining
The food is getting better, or at least I'm becoming accustomed to it. I'm beginning to know what I like and don't like. My favorite so far is the soup and the tartiflette. Belgians eat lots of soup as a first servings. It is always full of veggies and I feel so healthy afterwards. They grind it up so there aren't any chunks, but it is still delicious. They sometimes put in this bread type things that is like a crutton the size of an english muffin. It becomes soft in the soup but doesn't fall apart. Sometimes they add cheese and broil it. AMAZING.
The tartiflette is like a potato casserole, very similar to something I love at home (only, I'm sad to say, the belgians have it down a bit better than my mother. sorry mom. you've been out-cooked). It has mushrooms, pieces of bacon, onions, cream, pepper and nutmeg. On top they take this kind of cheese that looks like a full circle of brie and cut it in half and let it cook into the casserole. The skin of the cheese becomes crisp on top and it is fantastic. Chantal and I made it the other night so I'm hoping I can find the cheese in America.
The other thing I love here is a cookie called "Speculoos." It is kind of like ginger snaps but with cinnamon. They are also lighter and are sometimes served with coffee. Once dipped into a hot drink, they melt perfectly in your mouth. I'm eating it as I type this with my Starbucks coffee that Kaitlyn brought me from London. (I never go to Starbucks in the US, always the small businesses, but Euro coffee is driving my crazy and this stuff is incredible).
And of course, belgian waffles. There are waffle stands everywhere. They truly are a specialty here. They are more dense than our waffles and you can order it with pretty much anything on it. There is sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, strawberries, bananas, chocolate, whipped cream, ice cream, and more. A definite must-try in Belgium.
The tartiflette is like a potato casserole, very similar to something I love at home (only, I'm sad to say, the belgians have it down a bit better than my mother. sorry mom. you've been out-cooked). It has mushrooms, pieces of bacon, onions, cream, pepper and nutmeg. On top they take this kind of cheese that looks like a full circle of brie and cut it in half and let it cook into the casserole. The skin of the cheese becomes crisp on top and it is fantastic. Chantal and I made it the other night so I'm hoping I can find the cheese in America.
The other thing I love here is a cookie called "Speculoos." It is kind of like ginger snaps but with cinnamon. They are also lighter and are sometimes served with coffee. Once dipped into a hot drink, they melt perfectly in your mouth. I'm eating it as I type this with my Starbucks coffee that Kaitlyn brought me from London. (I never go to Starbucks in the US, always the small businesses, but Euro coffee is driving my crazy and this stuff is incredible).
And of course, belgian waffles. There are waffle stands everywhere. They truly are a specialty here. They are more dense than our waffles and you can order it with pretty much anything on it. There is sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, strawberries, bananas, chocolate, whipped cream, ice cream, and more. A definite must-try in Belgium.
Happy Belated Halloween!
Lately things have been looking very up. Fall break has ended and I've got a full 6 weeks of school before another.
My halloween was so much fun. My family took me to an "American" restaurant/grill for dinner. It was quite the experience. When we walked in there was a statue of a native american wearing an american flag skirt.
oxymoran anyone?
The food was very belgian. The whole place was dressed up in patriotic decor. The only thing American about it was that it took so bloody long to bring us our food!
My family then drove me to my friend Brianna's house in Mons (Bri is from B.C.) where I spend the night with my three exchange buddies. We went to the grand place for a night out on the town and had a blast. While in search of some sort of dancing, we found ourselves in the Irish Pub where all of the workers were dressed up. Finally some holiday spirit!
Now it is back to the usual routine. Early morings, french lectures, strict rules, but lots of good people. My french is improving and I'm getting into the swing of things. I can't believe I'm already a fourth of the way through!
My halloween was so much fun. My family took me to an "American" restaurant/grill for dinner. It was quite the experience. When we walked in there was a statue of a native american wearing an american flag skirt.
oxymoran anyone?
The food was very belgian. The whole place was dressed up in patriotic decor. The only thing American about it was that it took so bloody long to bring us our food!
My family then drove me to my friend Brianna's house in Mons (Bri is from B.C.) where I spend the night with my three exchange buddies. We went to the grand place for a night out on the town and had a blast. While in search of some sort of dancing, we found ourselves in the Irish Pub where all of the workers were dressed up. Finally some holiday spirit!
Now it is back to the usual routine. Early morings, french lectures, strict rules, but lots of good people. My french is improving and I'm getting into the swing of things. I can't believe I'm already a fourth of the way through!
27 October, 2007
17 October, 2007
Shopping in Charleroi
I've started going up to Charleroi more often to go shopping or just hang out. It provides a nice middle ground to meet my exchange student friends since its not too far from any of us. It takes me 40-50 minutes on the bus. This is my friend Emily and me on our first shopping adventure together! It's not the safest city...actually, it's pretty much the ghetto of Belgium. An exchange student actually already got jumped by eight men and had surgery this year...but it is the closest city to me and it's not so bad during the day.
Namur Boat Cruise
I don't have time to write another post, but this is from a cruise that Rotary took all 220 of us exchange students in Belgium on. It wasn't the most scenic trip, but there were a few pretty spots like the one in the picture. It was mostly just nice to talk with all of the students. And of course, we covered all the rules. We even have a points system here in Belgium. Three strikes and you're out. I'll be sure to be on my best behavior ;)
Limbourg, Belgium
Last week our Rotary club informed us that they were picking us up at school, and taking us to Southern Belgium, near Germany. We got on the bus, headed south, with no idea what we were doing other than going to the south of Belgium. I've learned that asking questions, when often are very helpful, sometimes aren't even worth it. I just go with the flow of things and enjoy ride they throw us on. So after a three hour bus ride we end up at "La Barrage." What is that, you ask? I honestly still don't really know, our tour guide's first language was dutch and she had a very strong accent. My rotarian explained it to us as "the oldest in the world, where they clean wood". It was pretty cool though. It was like a huge dam with a statue of a lion on top. I also learned that the pH of the water there is 7. Pretty interesting.
We then had a walking tour of the town, which was also amazing. It was a foggy evening at dusk and the buildings were ancient with lots of character. The town is filled with rich cultural history. We stopped at the castle/grave yard at the very peek of the rock which was fabulous. I learned that the reason castles were built right on the edge of rocks was because it was more difficult to attack.
Then came time for dinner. By the way, I despise Rotary dinners because the food, while it may be gourmet belgian specialties, is NOT by any means MY cup of tea.
The menu went as follows:
Bread, good, I like bread. I'll eat all your bread so I'm too full for the next course.
Then came something that looked almost like a creme broulet. So I thought I was in the safe, and asked what it was and discovered it was liver soaked in cream and uncooked eggs. GREAT. (lesson #1: NEVER ask what you're eating in Belgium). So I looked at it, played with it a little. Tried to ignore the Youth Exchange Coordinator tell me "It's good. Eat it. It's good." As more of a fact rather than opinion. Then nibbled on it and decided that they'd rather me not eat it than be unable to keep it down and make a mess of their 5 star restaurant.
The last course wasn't as bad, chicken with, of course, potatos (which they eat at every meal), and a cooked pear. Dessert just got better, and I was sure to finish my chocolate mousse cake.
When we finally left at 12:30am, I was exhausted. I didn't get home until 3 in the morning, after my ride getting lost in the foggy country roads on the way back to my house. School was brutal the next day. As if Friday's aren't awful enough with four hours of french and two hours of history and finishing at four pm.
08 October, 2007
Some More Highlights
Lille, France
I went up here a couple weeks ago with my host mom and brother. We spent the day shopping and wandering the streets. It's a beautiful place.
Chimay, Belgium
This is the town where my school is and my host parents work. We live 20 minutes out in a village of 400, surrounded by countless other villages. I am pretty sure Belgium is the most densely populated country in the world.
Namur, Belgium
This was the most amazing sunset I've ever seen. The picture doesn't give it credit. We went kayaking with the Rotex (Past exchange students) and about 150 exchange students, but we missed out train so my host mom had to drive us to it's next stop in Namur. It was completely worth it though because the drive was amazing. The sun was coming out and it was foggy and everything looked purple. I can't even describe it. It was beautiful.
Kayaking on the River Lesse in Dinante
This part of Belgium is absolutely amazing. It is hilly and the scenery is picturesque. We spent the entire day kayaking down this river, occasionally running into other exchanges students. It was gorgeous. At one point we hit a branch and tipped and my first thought was "GET THE BUCKET I AM NOT LOSING ANOTHER CAMERA" and then I realized that the water was freezing and I could hardly breathe. When we finally made it to the shore with the kayake I had to change out of my soaking clothes infront of a group of Flemish speaking belgians. They were nice and helped us get the water out. (everything in the bucket stayed dry, camera is safe)
A castle along the river...
La grange aux Papillons
greenhouse housing butterflies from around the world in a beautiful tropical environment, in the town of Virelles, 3km from Chimay.
07 October, 2007
18th Birthday!
My girls: Kaitlyn (Alberta, Canada), Brianna (British Columbia), Emily (Humboldt County, CA, USA), Me
Blowing out the candles...
My host mom threw me a huge dinner and invited all of my families and 3 of my exchange student friends. It was so much fun. Emily and I winged an apple pie together last minute and it was fantastic.
24 September, 2007
Just some photos...
Mini Europe (Stephanie- Host cousin, and I)
Belgian Waffles!! (Brussels)
Bruges
Host mom, Chantal
Bruges
It was beautiful
23 September, 2007
My life lately
Life has been busy busy lately (When is it not?). School started three weeks ago which has been taking up most of my time. We go from 8am-4pm, except Wednesdays at noon. It is different, more strict than even my elementary school. There are six years of secondary school here (seventh through twelfth grade in America). It is strange going to school with kids my brother's age! There are three of us and we were put in the "French-Science" section, so we have tons of french and science classes each week, plus the rest of the "core" classes like history, geography, etc.
They are so disorganized here, our schedules are different every day and we never have class in the same classroom. If I didn't have someone to follow, I would probably miss all my classes. They are letting us drop the more difficult classes in a couple weeks, which will be nice. I did not come half way across the world to spend all my time learning physics in another language! If I wanted to take those classes, I could have taken them at South. It is getting better though, the other students are warming up to us. I am having a good time at lunch and study periods! I've started playing poker with a lot of the kids at lunch, even though I have absolutely no idea how to play and am probably making a fool of myself every time.
I am also starting to understand a lot more. I've found that in class when I want to pay attention, I understand what is going on for the most part. It is more the material that I don't understand, rather than the language.
Other than that, I adore my host family. I went kayaking with 150 other exchange students and some rotex. It was so amazing. I have a birthday party to attend to right now, but more to come soon.
Until then,
Clarissa
They are so disorganized here, our schedules are different every day and we never have class in the same classroom. If I didn't have someone to follow, I would probably miss all my classes. They are letting us drop the more difficult classes in a couple weeks, which will be nice. I did not come half way across the world to spend all my time learning physics in another language! If I wanted to take those classes, I could have taken them at South. It is getting better though, the other students are warming up to us. I am having a good time at lunch and study periods! I've started playing poker with a lot of the kids at lunch, even though I have absolutely no idea how to play and am probably making a fool of myself every time.
I am also starting to understand a lot more. I've found that in class when I want to pay attention, I understand what is going on for the most part. It is more the material that I don't understand, rather than the language.
Other than that, I adore my host family. I went kayaking with 150 other exchange students and some rotex. It was so amazing. I have a birthday party to attend to right now, but more to come soon.
Until then,
Clarissa
28 August, 2007
London, Castles, Festivals and other things
Belgium so far has been...hectic, to say the least. We are always doing things, and when we aren't, I am sleeping. I have never slept as much as I sleep here in my life. Although, it is getting a little better (I didn't take a nap yesterday!).
Saturday morning at 3:15am, after going to bed after midnight and not getting any sleep, we got up and left for Chimay to take a bus to London. It was my first ever double decker experience, and very exciting! I decided they should bring them to the US because they are very practical, and much cheaper. London was beautiful, but it reminded me an awful lot of Paris. Everything was under construction or being repaired. There was literally work being done on every block. We had a tour in the bus and then wondered the streets for a few hours. Katie wanted her picture inside of an english phone booth and so our entire group of eleven stopped there for an hour or so and took a ton of pictures of just about every combination of people they could come up with (pictures to come soon!).
One of the rotarians in my club owns and lives in a castle (yes, a REAL castle). Last night they hosted a feast and play there which was, incredible. The food, not my favorite. A typical, as far as I've seen, belgian meal of a great selection of meats and a few sides. The belgians, as I've heard and now seen, love their beer. Just as our exchange coordinater handed us one he said, in his broken english, "Let me remind you of the rules, no driving, no drinking..." he started laughing and finished, "Actually I really just wanted to say that one. No driving, the rest, not our problem." They are, as I've discovered, very open here.
They weather has been pretty decent, until today. The village is adorable. Everyone literally knows everyone and their cousin. That is, if they aren't already their cousin. I swear there must be something like two families here because everyone seems to be related. I may not look different, but I sure stick out. I've found that meals really are a big thing here. Everyone seems to congregate around Mamy's (Grandma) house for lunch everyday. It is about a five minute walk, or maybe two by buggie, which my host mom uses to get around the village. I've had maybe five meals there, and it is always filled with new family members that I haven't met yet. The house is tiny, which makes it feel even more full at lunch time. The dining room takes about half the house and Mamy cooks and waits over everyone as we eat.
This weekend was the annual festival of Renlies. By night, the Salle de Fetes (party room) was an all night rave of all ages, and by day, there were carnival games and people. The main attraction was one of those fake Rodeo bulls that you try and stay on while it throws you off. I maybe would have tried, but I was wearing a skirt. There was also a horse drawn carriage tour of the town which was super cute. They raced antique cars around the village and when they passed, everyone would run out of their houses and wave. And of course the was frites (fries).
It is so different here, this morning when I got up, there was a man riding his horse down the road as normal means of transportation. My family have ten pet deer and there are also wild boar. My host dad, who is a hunter, has a head of one hanging above the computer which is kind of freaking me out. Last night one ran infront of the car and my host mom slammed on her breaks and still barely hit it. They also drive ridiculously fast. We've gone up to 160 km/hr (Katie says the speed limit in Canada is 110, and people stretch it maybe up to 130).
Anyways, I've got french lessons in half an hour. More to come soon.
-Clarissa
Saturday morning at 3:15am, after going to bed after midnight and not getting any sleep, we got up and left for Chimay to take a bus to London. It was my first ever double decker experience, and very exciting! I decided they should bring them to the US because they are very practical, and much cheaper. London was beautiful, but it reminded me an awful lot of Paris. Everything was under construction or being repaired. There was literally work being done on every block. We had a tour in the bus and then wondered the streets for a few hours. Katie wanted her picture inside of an english phone booth and so our entire group of eleven stopped there for an hour or so and took a ton of pictures of just about every combination of people they could come up with (pictures to come soon!).
One of the rotarians in my club owns and lives in a castle (yes, a REAL castle). Last night they hosted a feast and play there which was, incredible. The food, not my favorite. A typical, as far as I've seen, belgian meal of a great selection of meats and a few sides. The belgians, as I've heard and now seen, love their beer. Just as our exchange coordinater handed us one he said, in his broken english, "Let me remind you of the rules, no driving, no drinking..." he started laughing and finished, "Actually I really just wanted to say that one. No driving, the rest, not our problem." They are, as I've discovered, very open here.
They weather has been pretty decent, until today. The village is adorable. Everyone literally knows everyone and their cousin. That is, if they aren't already their cousin. I swear there must be something like two families here because everyone seems to be related. I may not look different, but I sure stick out. I've found that meals really are a big thing here. Everyone seems to congregate around Mamy's (Grandma) house for lunch everyday. It is about a five minute walk, or maybe two by buggie, which my host mom uses to get around the village. I've had maybe five meals there, and it is always filled with new family members that I haven't met yet. The house is tiny, which makes it feel even more full at lunch time. The dining room takes about half the house and Mamy cooks and waits over everyone as we eat.
This weekend was the annual festival of Renlies. By night, the Salle de Fetes (party room) was an all night rave of all ages, and by day, there were carnival games and people. The main attraction was one of those fake Rodeo bulls that you try and stay on while it throws you off. I maybe would have tried, but I was wearing a skirt. There was also a horse drawn carriage tour of the town which was super cute. They raced antique cars around the village and when they passed, everyone would run out of their houses and wave. And of course the was frites (fries).
It is so different here, this morning when I got up, there was a man riding his horse down the road as normal means of transportation. My family have ten pet deer and there are also wild boar. My host dad, who is a hunter, has a head of one hanging above the computer which is kind of freaking me out. Last night one ran infront of the car and my host mom slammed on her breaks and still barely hit it. They also drive ridiculously fast. We've gone up to 160 km/hr (Katie says the speed limit in Canada is 110, and people stretch it maybe up to 130).
Anyways, I've got french lessons in half an hour. More to come soon.
-Clarissa
23 August, 2007
Je suis, finalement, en Belgique
I am finally here, and I love it. Our first flight out of Portland was delayed two hours because the freaking president who thinks he can just shut down the entire airport, was in Minneapolis. So Lizzy, Ian and I waited and finally got there just in time to miss our next flight to Amsterdam where we met up with two kids from California, Emily and Ernie. We were put on standbye for the last flight and barely made it on, arriving an hour late for our last flight to Brussels where we spent four hours waiting and hoping our families figured out what happened. On the long flight to Europe I sat by a girl from Germany who had been an exchange student two years ago and was coming back from visiting here family in the states. Well we arrived and surprise, surprise, they lost our luggage. I went home with my family and had an amazing dinner and then went to bed.
Today has been quite the busy day. I went to the Boulangerie with my host mom and got bread and Pain au Chocolat, c'est trés bien!! We drove around and looked at the tiny surrounding villages, got pictures taken for an ID, went to the bank, and then to the school to sign up for classes with the other exchange student, Kaitlyn (which we weren't able to do, don't ask me why, everything they said was jiberish to me). Then we went to Hilde's house (Kaitlyn's host mom) for coffee and chocolate. Chantal's (my host mom) daughter, Marie, and Hilde's daughter, Jade, are on exchange in the US and Mexico. They are good friends so it works out nicely.
So far, I really like Belgium. The little villages amaze me in how close they are to each other. It takes less than five minutes to go from town to town. My host brother, Maxime has a little "boogie" (like one of those cars they ride on the sand dunes) that we have been riding around in to get places. It is so cute. He is taking me on a tour tomorrow because it is supposed to be sunny. He drove me to Mamie's (Grandma) today on the little cobblestone streets in the village, Renlies. I swear there are maybe fifty people who live here. She is cute, we had a hard time communicating. Pretty much all of my host dad's (Philippe) family live here. His brother and wife came over after dinner for wine.
My host parents are so good to me, and they love that I speak a little french. I am so so glad that I do because otherwise I would be completely overwhelmed. This afternoon I took a nap and acually had a dream in french. It wasn't long, but it was very strange. I think my language skills are getting better already. Philippe's sister in law said I had a better accent than their previous student. It is strange though, being an exchange student. When they speak slowly and animate words I don't understand, it makes since, but when they speak to eachother, it sounds like a huge breath full of nonsense. I just sit there and act attentive. It is very tiring. I really don't think Americans speak that fast. My parents are so nice and patient. They are also extremely concerned with making me feel at home. They keep saying that if I don't like their food, that they will make something else. All of it so far has been wonderful and surprisingly, the meat doesn't bother me at all. It turns out that their daughter is vegitarian and they offered to make me tofu!
Well, I am off to bed. Pictures hopefully to come soon. I don't know how to do it on this computer but they are having someone come look at mine to try and get it online. Tomorrow will hopefully be more relaxing, and saturday mine and Kaitlyn's family are going to London!
Today has been quite the busy day. I went to the Boulangerie with my host mom and got bread and Pain au Chocolat, c'est trés bien!! We drove around and looked at the tiny surrounding villages, got pictures taken for an ID, went to the bank, and then to the school to sign up for classes with the other exchange student, Kaitlyn (which we weren't able to do, don't ask me why, everything they said was jiberish to me). Then we went to Hilde's house (Kaitlyn's host mom) for coffee and chocolate. Chantal's (my host mom) daughter, Marie, and Hilde's daughter, Jade, are on exchange in the US and Mexico. They are good friends so it works out nicely.
So far, I really like Belgium. The little villages amaze me in how close they are to each other. It takes less than five minutes to go from town to town. My host brother, Maxime has a little "boogie" (like one of those cars they ride on the sand dunes) that we have been riding around in to get places. It is so cute. He is taking me on a tour tomorrow because it is supposed to be sunny. He drove me to Mamie's (Grandma) today on the little cobblestone streets in the village, Renlies. I swear there are maybe fifty people who live here. She is cute, we had a hard time communicating. Pretty much all of my host dad's (Philippe) family live here. His brother and wife came over after dinner for wine.
My host parents are so good to me, and they love that I speak a little french. I am so so glad that I do because otherwise I would be completely overwhelmed. This afternoon I took a nap and acually had a dream in french. It wasn't long, but it was very strange. I think my language skills are getting better already. Philippe's sister in law said I had a better accent than their previous student. It is strange though, being an exchange student. When they speak slowly and animate words I don't understand, it makes since, but when they speak to eachother, it sounds like a huge breath full of nonsense. I just sit there and act attentive. It is very tiring. I really don't think Americans speak that fast. My parents are so nice and patient. They are also extremely concerned with making me feel at home. They keep saying that if I don't like their food, that they will make something else. All of it so far has been wonderful and surprisingly, the meat doesn't bother me at all. It turns out that their daughter is vegitarian and they offered to make me tofu!
Well, I am off to bed. Pictures hopefully to come soon. I don't know how to do it on this computer but they are having someone come look at mine to try and get it online. Tomorrow will hopefully be more relaxing, and saturday mine and Kaitlyn's family are going to London!
03 July, 2007
2 months
It feels like Summer just began and August 20th is sneaking up faster than ever. I started this blog so that you can all keep up on my life next year in Belgium. I don't think I will use it much until I leave, but be sure to check back in a couple months for updates. I will send emails out as the date gets closer, but I wanted to have this up so that I have one less thing to worry about when getting ready to leave. I am so excited, but I will miss everyone very much. If you'd like postcards/letters be sure to send me your addresses! Stay in touch.
-Clarissa
-Clarissa
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