So it seems to be becoming a pattern for me to not blog on the weekends for the simple fact that I just don't have the time because I don't spend much of them at home... Which I have to say is a good thing because it means I'm being social and spending time with Belgians! Yay!
This weekend was honestly the best weekend I've had in Belgium. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? (This is going to be a very long blog)
FRIDAY:
Friday, I spent the day at the preschool again, for the last day of the retreat. Friday was less fun than the other days, for the pure fact that there was nothing for us to do. The other days we had gotten to play games with the kids, do crafts, and help with the little chores around the classroom. But we were in a different class on Friday and there just weren't things for us to do. So we spent the day observing and watching the kids play. Of course, if it weren't for the language barrier, I would've gotten down on all fours and played with the kids. But they don't understand a word I say and I barely understand them, even though my French is improving immensely (I'll talk more about that later). However, they played outside a lot and there were many accidents involving little kids falling down, kids bullying other kids, and lots of tears. And I felt awful because I couldn't really help since I didn't know how to say what I would've said in English.
After school was over, my host mom picked me up and I went home for a couple hours to run, shower, and pack up my stuff to spend the night at Talia's. However, before I left, I made... Ready for this?? GRILLED CHEESE. I was so excited! We had found a Laughing Cow cheese that came just like Kraft singles and the package said "with cheddar". However, that was not cheddar cheese. That was good old fattening American cheese. And I made my wonderful grilled cheese sandwich on delicious Belgian bread. If only I had had applesauce...
So anyways, Karine then drove me over to Talia's, where I got ready for the giant techno party called KickAss. Talia and I got all dolled up, ate dinner (spaghetti), and around 9:30pm, Talia's host mom drove us into Hannut for the party. When we got there, there weren't a whole lot of people there, so we hung around outside for a bit and then went in where the DJ was set up on the stage and strobe lights were going. Nobody was dancing yet and it was kind of that socially awkward stage when everyone is just standing around. But our friends trickled in and before we knew it, the whole sixième class was there and we were dancing and having a great time. Every hour, they switched DJs, so the style was changed up a bit. Talia and I spent the time going between the dance floor and outside, talking to friends, meeting new people and taking TONS of pictures. The Belgians dance very differently than Americans and they aren't very wild about it. So Talia and I had to contain ourselves a little, but it was still so much fun. I absolutely love dancing! Of course, we're in Belgium, so just about everyone was drinking, but it was nowhere near the type of intense drinking like people were doing at the Fête de Wallonie. But because it was a dance party, beer was sloshed out of cups left and right and it basically covered the floor. Not to mention I ended up getting splashed more than once with beer and stepped on multiple times, so by the end of the night, my feet were gross and beer had dried on my legs. Which is, yes, disgusting. But I didn't let that stop me from having a fantastic time! Most of our friends left around 1:30am, but Talia and I stayed until 3am with some others that we knew, and some we had just met. At 3am we met up with our friend Gregoire, who's mother graciously gave us a ride home. We creeped into the house around 3:30 and headed up to Talia's room where we immediately crashed (after washing off my legs, of course).
SATURDAY:
Saturday morning, Talia and I had to wake up around 7am for a Rotary outing in Namur. Which means that we got about 3 hours of sleep. We very quickly got dressed, grabbed our lovely Rotary blazers, ate some breakfast, made our lunches and then we were out the door, in the car, headed to meet up with Gaby to go to Namur. I didn't even have enough time to throw makeup on my face or do something to make my hair presentable, so I did my makeup in the car and just left my curls from the night before. And I have to say, I'm pretty skilled at car makeup and I found that I can do my mascara blind and not get it all over my face. I was impressed with myself.
After driving about twenty minutes, we met up with Gaby and her host dad on the side of the road, as is the Belgian way. We then got into Gaby's car and we all went the rest of the way to Namur. We met the other exchange students at the train station, and then all walked about fifteen minutes through the streets of Namur, which I know very well by now, to the city commune. We checked in there and then all went inside and waited for things to start.
During this time, I met a couple new exchange students, one who was from Argentina, and another from Finland. I can't get over the fact that all the exchange students that aren't from the States or Canada speak English so well. It makes me feel like us Americans aren't ambitious enough to learn more languages than just English... Once everyone was finally settled in, Rotarians talked to us about a number of different things, including rules and the trips that are happening throughout the year (again).
After that was all finished, we headed outside where they gave us something to drink and we just chilled for a while. I went outside to meet up with Rèmi and Talia, and proceeded to get yelled at for something. I have no idea what I did wrong, but all of the sudden one of the men there was yelling at me to get out. I was dumbstruck and just kind of said uh uh huh? And he yelled again, saying, "I asked for one thing, you go out now!" And I just said "Uh, uh, ok ça va," and went back inside. I was very upset about that for about five minutes, and then we all left that building and went to take a group picture. Group pictures always take longer than necessary.
Finally, it was lunch time. They gave us a little over an hour to either eat what we brought, or go buy food. Of course, we decided to do both. So I went with Rèmi, Talia, and another boy from Ohio named Matheus, and we all walked into town. All of us except Matheus had brought sandwiches, so we ate those on the way, and since I'm a nice person, I shared with him. We then searched for a place for other food. We came by a bakery where Rèmi got a really delicious pastry that came with a cool little wooden spoon that we were all amazed at, cause, ya know, we're all just 4 years old inside. We then went to seek out some substantial food for Matheus. We scanned just about the entire city when we finally walked back the way we came and saw that there was a sandwich shop that was right next to the bakery that we had stopped at earlier. It was definitely a "here's your sign" moment. So we stopped in there and Talia and I decided that we were still hungry so I got a sandwich too for us to split. She asked me to choose so I went with brie cheese, sirop de Liège, and pearl onions. If you don't remember, the sirop de Liège is the molasses type syrup made from apples and pears. It's very tasty, but very strong and it's best when it's with other things. It's a bit sweet also, so with the brie, it hit the spot. Of course, we're in Europe and it is typical for there to be music when you are just wandering the streets. There was a man playing the accordion outside the shop, and it was like a movie moment. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, we were standing in a little cobblestone square of town outside a cute bistro with accordion music. It was wonderful. We even danced a bit. After the accordion player finished, we went to check out the inside of an old church, and then proceeded to make our way back to meet with the rest of the exchange students.
We all met by the river and boarded a ferry for a ride along the river. It was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect, the river was calm, and the scenery was to die for. We spent the time talking and taking pictures and just really having a wonderful afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. After maybe an hour or two on the ferry, our time with Rotary was over, and I went to go search for something to occupy myself with. I met up with Brittany, Hadley, and Oakley, and ended up making plans with to join them for bowling with Brittany and Hadley's Rotary club, and then stay the night with Hadley.
We had some time before we had to catch the train, so we did a little shopping in Namur. As I promised last time, I didn't spend a single penny. But it was fun to go with them. Actually, that is a bit of a lie... I did buy makeup remover wipes, but that is only because I was out of them and that is really beside the point and you didn't need to know that... But that was the first time that I was given attitude for not speaking fluent French. The man at the register was not nice to me.
Anyway, we then made our way to the station, but stopped for a few minutes to watch some streets performers dance, which was really cool. Upon arrival at the station, the drama of the evening commenced. I had no cash on me, and there wasn't at ATM in sight. We had to get the train right then because otherwise we would miss it, so I was forced to buy a ticket on the train. Somehow, the ticket from Namur to Liège is around 8 euros, and it is another 3 added on because I am buying the ticket on the train. Normally, they don't actually charge you that extra 3, especially once they find out you don't speak French. However, this controller was in an awful mood and made me pay 11 euros for the ticket. Which is outrageous and something must've been wrong there, but I couldn't figure it out and besides, I don't speak French. Also, this was 11 euros that I didn't have. Now Brittany had lovingly given me a ten to pay with until I could find an ATM. I had thought it would for sure cover it, and there was no way that this short ride could cost more. But there I was, with 10 euros, having to pay for an 11 euro ticket. Luckily, there were a bunch of other exchange students standing right there with us and Jonathan, from Texas, was able to lend me the other euro. Crisis averted. We then found out that Oakley had been charged extra also because she had forgotten to fill out her GoPass before we got on the train. The fine is normally 60 euros, but he only made her pay about 8. So I suppose that was lucky for her too. Finally, we made it to Liège and I went to find an ATM. This is where I found out that Rotary had not given me my allowance for the month yet, and I couldn't withdraw anything from my account. So I was forced to use my Visa, and I am anxiously awaiting to find out what kind of ridiculous fees I will be charged. By this point, I am super frustrated with life. Then we find out that our host parents had talked to one another and changed our plans around, so I was staying with Brittany. This wasn't really a big deal at all, but we were extremely confused on how this had happened. We then went to catch our second train to Vervier. I decided that I didn't want what happened on the Liège train to happen again, so I quickly ran downstairs to buy a ticket. As Oakley and I were heading back up to the platform, the others were running down, saying they had changed our train. So we hurried to another platform, where we waited, and I found out that I had bought the wrong ticket, and the stop we were getting off at was actually Welkinrodt (spelling is wrong, I know). So I hadn't paid for enough zones and the controller could fine me. So we decided that when the controller came around, I was going to pretend to be sleeping, since they hardly ever wake people up. However, we lucked out and nobody ever came to check the tickets.
Brittany's host dad was there to pick us up at the station, and we headed over the bowling alley. It was the nicest bowling alleys that I have ever been to! There was the part for bowling, of course, but then there was also a nice bar, a place to sit down and eat, a part with some games and pool table, and then a glass wall which separated all that from another part of the building with a giant structure of tubes and slides for children to play on. Plus, there was no smoking allowed in the building, so it was really nice. We didn't even have to pay for our game because Rotary was hosting the event. When we got there, we met up with one of Brittany and Hadley's friends, Antoine, and then another girl, Laurie, met us later as well. Thais, an exchange student from Brazil, was also with us. (Poor Oakley was with all of us French speakers, and she is in the German part of the country, learning German, so she was lost all night) We donned our lovely bowling shoes and headed over to our lane to play. We didn't have much time, and we only got to frame 6, but I won with 59 points. I know, impressive. But we had a great time! After our hour of bowling, Rotary treated us to dinner. So we went over to the restaurant part of the building and sat down to a pizza dinner. I got Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple. I have recently discovered how brilliant it is to put pineapple on a pizza. After we finished eating, we spent a couple hours just telling stories, speaking French and laughing a lot! Oakley and Hadley left early, and then Brittany and I and the others left around 11pm. We swung by Hadley's quickly to pick up some of Brittany's things, and then headed to Brittany's house. Everyone had fallen asleep in the car, and Brittany and I were exhausted when we got up to her room, seeing as how we had each gotten about three hours of sleep the night before. So after quickly setting up a place for me to sleep and getting some pjs of Brittany's to wear, we crashed for the night.
SUNDAY:
Sunday morning was much more reasonable. Brittany and I awoke around 9:30am and went down to breakfast. It was the first time since I've been here that I lounged around in my pajamas. Breakfast at her house is wonderful. There was melted chocolate for baguettes (which beats Nutella), pain au chocolat, breakfast rolls, sirop de Liège, more chocolate, and the cheese de Herve (which is the city where she lives). I was a total piggy and had some baguette with chocolate, a roll with the sirop and cheese, and a pain au chocolat. With coffee and orange juice. Oh and when her host mom offered me a piece of chocolate with hazelnuts, I had that too. I mean, it would be rude to say no, right?
After breakfast, Brittany showed me around the house and then we went outside and picked up walnuts that had fallen off the tree in their front yard while telling stories and just having some girl chat. In our pajamas, by the way. Who knew picking up walnuts could be so much fun? We then went back inside, ate some of the walnuts, and watched a ton of YouTube videos. She introduced me to a new comedian, Eddie Izzard. If you don't know his work, you need to go look him up. He's a British man who dresses in drag for his act, and he's absolutely hysterical. We also took a look at the bus and train schedules and decided that I would catch a 3:08 bus to Liège and a 4:20 train to Huy. So that was all taken care of. Her host mom then called us for a light lunch outside. I met Brittany's host grandmother at this point, and sat outside and ate together. It wasn't really a meal. There were bowls of cashews, chips, cheese, mussels, mini sausages, carrots, and cauliflower, and we drank champagne. They do this every Sunday because of eating such a big, late breakfast. Brittany's host family is very very nice and they were pretty impressed with my level of speaking. So I felt pretty accomplished. After lunch, Brittany and I went back inside and continued watching videos until about 2:50 when I decided it was time for me to finally change and get to the bus stop. I went outside to say goodbye and thank you to her host parents, but they wouldn't let me leave without giving me some cake, so I sat down for a couple minutes and had a small piece of cake, which was delicious. Brittany and I left the house a couple minutes after 3, and had plenty of time to get me to the bus stop.
More drama commences. I got to the stop around 3:04 and waited. And waited. 3:15 rolls around and still no bus. So Brittany and I head back to the house to figure out what the problem was. Turns out we had been looking at the wrong schedule and the bus had come at 3:01. So her host mom helps us and we find the right schedule. Now I have to catch the 3:58 bus. Ok no worries, but I can't take the same train. So we look at that schedule and there is a 4:50 train to Huy, and then next one after that isn't until 5:50. Now it's a 45 ride on the bus, so I will have to book it to make the train. But we figure that's the only option, so I'll go with that. So Brittany and I chill for about another half hour and then go back to the bus stop. The bus shows up at 4:02, and I get a little worried that I'm not going to make it in time to catch the train. But I trust that God will get me there, so I just put in my earbuds and try to relax.
The bus gets to the train station at 4:52. I was super angry. I ran up to the platform to see if maybe the train was late, but alas, it had come and gone. And now I was stuck. So I look at the schedule and find that there is a train leaving in a few minutes for Waremme, which is also close to my house. So I call my host mom, run down to buy a ticket, then run to the platform. But I find that platform 5 is not running a train to Waremme like the schedule says. So I run back down the stairs and find that they had changed the train at the last minute, and my train is now on platform 2. Thankfully, I made it in time, though I didn't completely trust myself and was afraid that I was on the wrong train. But I did make it to Waremme in one piece, completely shaken, but alive and well.
My host mom picked me up from there, we stopped at Talia's to pick up my things from the night before, and then went home where I ate some apple pie, worked out, had dinner, and now am waiting for the shower.
So, to wrap up a ridiculously long, dramatic blog post, this was a fantastic weekend, despite the mishaps. I had a great time, I spoke a lot of French, and realized that my French is rapidly improving. Everyone I talk to says that I speak very well, my accent is good, and I can obviously get myself through tough situations. I met some great people, and I had A LOT of fun! Tomorrow, I have school, of course, and things will go back to boring. I hope you all made it through the post, and enjoyed my antics. Until tomorrow! Bonne nuit!
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