Update on my Belgian life…

I haven’t written in awhile because life is so busy here! There’s always something going on, and if there isn’t I can take the train to all the big cities here in Belgium. I received a new schedule for school so my classes are much better and sometimes I can finish school at 3:00 rather than 5:00. I definitely miss the fact that in America I could finish school at 1:00 and put very little effort into my classes while still receiving good grades. Still getting used to the system and the rules at school here, sometimes they just make no sense at all! Half the time one class will be in a certain classroom, and then randomly it changes, thus causing me to be the lost exchange student with no clue as to what is going on. With my new schedule I have a French class with the “Troisieme” which is equivalent to the “freshman.” It’s helping my French a lot, but I feel like Billy Madison from time to time…

I’ve learned that unlike my life in America, forgetting a house key is a VERY bad idea because all the doors here lock automatically, and there is no possible way to get into a house. I had to spend a few hours with the neighbors because of my forgetfulness.

I sometimes still have to answer ridiculous questions such as:
"Do you carry a gun on you in America?”
"Do people walk around in just their swimsuits?”
"Have you ever tried this? It’s a French dish, we cook here, we don’t eat McDonald’s.”
There are other questions but I’m not quite sure the extent of their inappropriateness.
I usually just laugh, and thank the American teenie-bopper films for portraying such a glamorous image that I have to defend. 

I always learn from the mistakes in cultural differences that I make, and sometimes I just have to laugh at myself when I’m lost in translation.

2 weekends ago, or maybe not.. I think it was the 30th?
It’s too hard to keep track of dates. I went to France with my host dad, host sister, and host dad’s friend because he is a pilot and has a small airplane. So we flew for about an hour and could see our house from the sky. It was fun, but my motion sickness ruined it slightly. It was a good day with my host family.

Halloween is definitely not the same here. For one, most celebrate on the 30th, and no one dresses up. Sometimes the little kids do but I didn’t see any. The most festive thing they did for Halloween was play “A Nightmare Before Christmas” at the pub. And of course it was on mute with other music playing in the background.

Last week I had 5 days off for vacation, on Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Paris with my family. It was amazing! We woke up at an ungodly hour (5 A.M.) to drive to Lille and take the TGV from there to Paris. Once we got to the hotel.. after about 45 minutes of walking around being lost, we went to La Tour Eiffel. At first I couldn’t believe it, I kept thinking… “Am I REALLY at the Eiffel Tower?” It was enormous, standing at 324 Meters, and there are 704 steps to just the 2nd floor. Fortunately it’s the 21st century and elevators were installed. At the top I could see ALL of Paris, it was breathtaking. It’s something that every person has to experience for themselves because it’s a feeling that can’t be described in words when you gaze across the world’s most beautiful city as far as the eye can see. After finishing lunch on the 1st level of the tower we left and walked toward “Le Bateaux-Mouches” where we went on a boat tour down the center of Paris and saw all of the main buildings and points of interest.
The following day we woke up early and went to tour Notre-Dame, it has to be the most beautiful man-made piece of art I have ever seen! The architecture on the outside is so detailed and likewise on the inside. It’s hard to believe that it’s construction began in 1163. It was also hard to believe that I was standing in front of one of the very first Gothic Cathedrals. Unlike the Eiffel Tower, the 1100s didn’t make room for elevators. So, I climbed 400 steps to the top. A spiral staircase might I add, but it was all worth it. I saw the famous bells and once again saw all of Paris from the top of it’s most beautiful building. The rest of the day included a walk through some parks, lunch at a Parisian bistro, a visit to a wax museum, and a walk around the outside of the Louvre. I saw the Eiffel Tower lit up, and after that we headed to the train station.

Last Thursday I took the train to Ashley’s house to spend the day making pumpkin pie with her and Erin from Canada. Unfortunately cooking isn’t always easy with having to convert recipes and me just being completely unlucky with all things in the kitchen so it took ALL day. It was a good day catching up on everything and bonding through pie.

On Friday I left for Normandy with my family. We stayed with my host mom’s aunt and uncle. It was a good 3 days. We walked along the beach, which was really beautiful, it looked a lot like Oregon’s coast. We visited more cathedrals which I can’t remember the name of because at that point I had lost track. I also saw the exact spot where Joan of Arc was burnt. Europe is an amazing place with so much history, I've been doing some research and it’s all so interesting. I’m really thankful to have the opportunity to live in near proximity of towns where some of the most influential events in history took place.

Going back to school after a week of vacation was definitely tough. But, Thursday and Friday there is no school so it was easy to make it through 2 1/2 days! Yesterday I went to Mons with Ashley to do some winter clothes shopping. It was definitely successful, but we both realized we had no idea how to work the local bus system.

I miss my family and friends, but I have yet to feel homesick. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in America. Maybe I’ll try to cook another pumpkin pie for my family