Today, I met my Rotary club. Which actually turned out to be quite an enjoyable event! Around 3:15, my host mom and I left the house to go to Liège to pick up the other exchange student that is in my Rotary club. His name is Christian. So we picked him up around 4:30 and then all three of us walked around the city for about an hour. We saw all kinds of different shops, explored some of the more historical things, like the justice center and and old church. Tomorrow, I will go to Liège with some other exchange students to do some shopping and such so it was really good that I went today to sort of figure out where things are so that we don't get completely and utterly lost in the big city. But we're smart girls, so even if we did lose our way, I'm sure we'd figure out how to get back on track :)
So I have said this before and I will say it again. Two words: Belgian waffles. Two more words: Belgian chocolate. Now put them together and what do you get? What may very well be the most ingenious food concoction known to man kind. Oh my... I had a Liège Belgian waffle today that was stuffed, quite literally, with sticks of Belgian milk chocolate. And because the waffle was fresh and hot, the chocolate melted into pools of absolute bliss so when you bit into the waffle it oozed lovely, sweet, chocolatey goodness :) It was heaven. Really, I'm not exaggerating.
After our wonderful experience with the Belgian culture (food), it was time to go to the Rotary Club meeting, which I have to say, I was pretty much dreading. I thought it was just going to be a bunch of old Rotarian men sitting around speaking about French politics, in French and I would have no idea what was going on. But it turned out to be more of a party than anything else! We got there, and by the way, "there" was the house of one of the Rotarians. And it was HUGE and gorgeous! They live on a farm and have lots and lots of horses. We walked into kind of a court yard that was surrounded by house, which the horses peeking out of the windows of their stalls. It is very difficult to describe, but it was really beautiful. Anyways, we got there and Christian and I met the Rotarians one by one as they arrived, giving the traditional bisous and occasional handshake. Everyone was so very nice to us and we made lovely small talk and chit chat as we had our before-dinner beverages. I, continuing with my journey through Belgian culture, decided to try a glass of white wine. Again, I didn't particularly like it, but I was ok with it. I only had one glass, though, so it was no biggie :) Rotary approved! We met all kinds of people, including the President of the club and the man who is in charge of the exchange students and his wife and son, who just got back from a year in the States. His name is Pierre.
Eventually, it was time to start dinner. There was a long line of tables and chairs set up in this "courtyard" and we all sat down to a wonderful 4-course meal. First course: Kind of a deconstructed salad. On a roof shingle. Really. Instead of plates, we ate off of slate roof shingles! Which was very beautiful, interesting presentation. A 5 on Iron Chef :) There were mushrooms, tomatoes, sprouts, noodles, a type of bacon and a type of cheese and greens all in seperate little piles on the plate. Very pretty. Second course: Rice with sauteed vegetables and shrimp in a tomato-y flavorful sauce. Served on a... hmm I'm not even sure what you would call it... Kind of a lump of hardened red clay. Again, very aesthetically pleasing presentation. That was the entree. Third course: Cheese and bread. Camembert cheese I believe. Delicious. Fourth course: Dessert. Pineapple and banana served with meringue and crème fresh. In a flower pot! Cute and tasty :)
And along with the good food, there was good conversation. Pierre and Christian sat across from me and since Pierre speaks fantastic English, we ended up talking all through dinner about the States, Rotary, different trips, etc etc. I also was able to talk to some of the Rotarians that sat close to me and spoke some great French! Overall, it was a great night. And that is all the meeting was! No formalities or awkward introductions or broken-French speeches. Just everyone coming together for a great meal in honor of the undertakings of us young people!
And now I come home and fall into bed to crash for the night. A demain!
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