Yes, More Waffles

Today was quite an interesting day... I got up after having a dream that I finished my year and went home and nothing had changed and everyone that loved me was there and that I loved was there and it was a dream of love and family and friends and wonderful ness :) And then I woke up. And realized that I was not in my own bed, not in my own house, not in my city or state or country. And I'm sure it's needless to say, it made for a bad start to my day. I did not cry, but I definitely felt down.

But I started to feel better when I opened my bedroom door and was greeted by a nice big box with my name on it, clearly from my family back home :) I immediately brought it into my room and tore it open like a little kid at Christmas! Except that I was a little bit less enthusiastic after realizing that my sister got kind of tape happy and I could not tear it. So my excitement was interrupted by the need to get scissors and by the time I got it out of the wrapping, my vigor was a little dampened... Until I opened the shoe box that contained: 1. A nice big jar of Skippy creamy peanut butter (though I prefer JIF) 2. A pack of JIF To Go peanut butter 3. A bible (Which I asked for) 4. A letter from my sister and a note from my parents and another from my Grandma 5. A PopTart that was surprisingly not a bag of crumbs 6. An old iPod to put my music on for my sister. I was so very very excited to get this package, so my sadness was melting quickly, even though I missed the people that lovingly sent it to me, although it returned as I ate breakfast and prepared for my day...

That feeling did abandon me for a couple of wonderful hours as I met up with my good friend Talia (who is from Minnesota) at the train station in Wareme and took a 20-minute ride to Liège to meet up with some other exchange students.

I'm going to side-track here for a second to talk about how much I really adore the public train system. It is ingenious and convenient and easy and I don't understand why we don't make use of it in the States! Well, yes I do, but I still think we should. Not only is it fast, but it's inexpensive and well-maintained and actually enjoyable to ride. Bottom line: I really like the train :)

Ok back to today. The majority of the exchange students wanted to chill at a local bar but Talia and Brittany and I decided to do a little shopping. My mission today was to find myself a hair straightener. But we were hungry, so we stopped in at the supermarket and grabbed some croissants, BabyBell cheese (how Belgian of us, right?) and a few pears and ate while we walked. We walked forever before we finally found some shops. Let me tell you, Liège is not an easy city to navigate through if you don't know where you're going. We never really got lost, but we did a lot of walking. Finally we found an H&M (no straighteners there) and we did some window shopping and trying on and such. I ended up buying a really nice khaki-colored coat that has a wonderful Audrey Hepburn feel to it. It was almost fifty euros, but I really needed something to keep me warm, so I decided that it was worth it. The plus side? No sales tax in Belgium! And my debit card worked! So it was a successful buy. Then we walked around some more and found a very small mall in the middle of all the plazas so we ventured inside in pursuit of a straightener. We didn't find any stores that carried them, but we did find a sort of convenience store where I stocked up on gum and got some mousse so that my hair would be at least manageable until I found a straightener. (They did carry a few, but they were poor quality)

By this time it was getting close to 4pm so we decided to start making our way back to the bar to meet the other kids cause we had to catch our train back at 5:08. On the way, we probably passed up twenty hair salons, but no place to buy anything for hair. So that was disappointing. But what was not disappointing was finding a nice little bakery tucked away in one of the strips that had fruit-stuffed waffles. I got one with apple filling. It was to die for. Belgian waffles are absolutely fantastic.

So we hooked up with the other exchange students just as they were leaving and we all headed off to a different place to chill for a little while. There, there were tons of other students just hanging out and having a good time. Talia and I stayed for about a half hour before we had to leave to catch our train, and then we headed off to the station.

While I was on the train home, those feelings of sadness started to creep back up on me. It wasn't so much of a homesickness as a feeling of being ready to go home. I just really miss my parents and my friends and family. And daddy hugs. I really miss daddy hugs. Sometimes I just wonder if this was all worth it. I'm only two weeks in and this is a 10-11 month program... I know that it is the experience of a lifetime and that I won't regret it, but sometimes, in the moment, it's awful and I just want to go home. Those feelings followed me for the rest of the day and made me very very tired, not to mention the fact that I decided to go for a run after getting back, so I'm going to turn in for the night, a bit earlier than usual. But, I have a reason. I start school tomorrow, so I must get up early!

Is everyone out there enjoying my antics so far? Hehe :) Bonne nuit.