I woke up at about 10 45 this morning, but that was after not getting to sleep until 3 30am. But I got up and got ready and went to dance for 11 20 as is customary on Saturday mornings. And it was a terrible class. I did not do well at all. I'm pretty sure it's cause my whole body is sore and tired from working out all week, not to mention that I have not been getting enough sleep (as I write on my blog at 1 30am). So things just did not go well at dance today. Afterwards, my host mom picked me up and we went back to the house quickly before going out to Liège to sell oysters with Rotary. On the way home, Karine was driving slow, as usual, but she somehow got off the road for a second and when she got back on, the car slid and did a nice 360 turn, landing in some branches, just missing a telephone pole. It was fine and we were fine and there might have been a few scratches on the car, but that was it. The Belgians really need to discover snow tires.
Anyway, we got back to the house and I ate lunch as my host mom and Benoit went out to get the other car's tires filled, since the one was almost completely flat. I had three little sandwiches on baguette: one with a soft cheese and apple jelly, one with the soft cheese and the sirop de Liège, and one with ham and American cheese and mustard. The baguette today was especially delicious. And I was pretty darn full after.
My host mom and I then went out to Liège to meet up with my Rotary club. My host dad was already there. We were supposed to be there at 3, but with the snow and the fact that there was nowhere to park, we ended up being about a half hour late. We got there and said hi to everyone and then the Rotary people tried to get me to eat an oyster, but I couldn't. I really do want to try new things here, but I couldn't bring myself to eat that uncooked, raw, slimy crustacean. Which, apparently is a shame because everyone was saying how delicious they are. But then there weren't that many people coming to the stand, so my host mom told me I could go for an hour and do my Christmas shopping. So I did, and I came across my host brother and his girlfriend in the process, but I was able to find some good gifts and I'm happy with them. But I'm not quite finished and I think I'm going again on Monday. Oye shopping.
I then returned to the stand and was able to stay in the shop that was behind it where they were preparing the food in the warmth. Which was a plus. There wasn't really anything for me to do though, and I just ended up talking with my counselor and such. Christian wasn't there. But eventually we got to talking, and I have been invited to go with him for 2 weeks on vacation in the south of France!!! We would leave the day after Christmas. Now this isn't positively for sure, but it's a good chance that I would get to go and I'm so excited!
Anyways, we stayed there til about 6 30 and I had been snacking on these little chip things the entire time. But we returned to the house again, just for a minute to pick up my host dad, and then we were off to Namur for dinner with some family friends. By this point, it was already 8pm ish. We got there and I met the couple and their daughter and her boyfriend. They were very very nice and really funny and the house was warm and cozy and a little eccentric, which I appreciated. And they had a dog. A huge one. Like a bear. Really furry too. But it stayed outside the whole time.
We first sat down in the living room where they brought out some appetizers like little bits of sausages and such. But then it started getting fancy and the wife brought out some more little pre dinner foods that had garnishes in little porcelain dishes with itty bitty spoons and other fancy stuff. There was pate with some caramelized onions, but a very tiny portion with the smallest spoon you've ever seen in your life. Then she brought out this other one which was a skewer of a special kind of Belgian meat and a piece of a warm apple. Delicious.
Then it was time for the oysters. My host parents had bought a box of them from the stand and brought them with us. So the man of the house sat with us and spent the next fifteen or twenty minutes opening the oysters. I didn't realize that that is all the preparation that goes into eating oysters. You just open them. Ew. But they were all on a plate and the shells are pretty. Once they were all opened, we moved into the dining room to eat this first course of the giant meal. I did take one oyster, but the minute I opened it and saw it, I just lost my appetite. I really do pride myself on always trying things, but the fact that it wasn't cooked... If you know me, you know I have a fear of puking, which leads to my other irrational fears, such as roller coasters. This also includes my fear of raw meat/seafood. So I just couldn't eat it. I wanted to try it, but I couldn't. My body was rejecting it before it was even in my mouth. But the family understood and we all just laughed about it.
The next course was the main one. We had some sort of meat, which I think was lamb, green beans, and cheesy potatoes. Although the meat was kinda fatty, and I had to trim it a lot, it was really good and had a wonderful flavor. The potatoes were amazing. The best cheesy potatoes I've ever had. Technically, they were potatoes au gratin, but I like saying cheesy potatoes because it's more fun. And they were cheesy, and they reminded me of home. And of course, I love green beans, so that was good too. But by this point, I had so much food in my stomach, I thought I was going to burst and I couldn't figure out how I was going to finish what was on my plate. And then everyone started taking seconds and I felt bad saying no thank you, but I was beginning to feel sick and I couldn't eat anymore. But I did manage to clean my plate, except for the meat trimmings. They cleared away those dishes and I really did begin to feel ill. Which was not good. But it passed very quickly. That's when my eyes began to droop. We must have already been there for two hours.
Then they brought out the next course. The cheese. I couldn't figure out how I was going to do this. But I took very small portions of just a few of them and the smallest piece of bread that was in the bowl and ate just enough to get the tastes of the cheese. One was a brie, the other was another similar soft white cheese, one was a gouda type with bits of violets in it, and the other was a goat cheese that was covered in different kinds of crushed flowers. We ate it with a pumpernickel type bread that had nuts and such in it. The cheeses were delicious. I wish I could have had more.
But the food didn't stop there. They cleared those plates and fifteen minutes later, it was time for the last course. The most deadly. Dessert. The daughter brought out a platter of cookies she had made, some chocolate macaroons, lemon macaroons, and other really thin crispy cookies. I took one of each, even though at this point my stomach really was full to bursting. I successfully finished my cookies without any major problems. You think that was it? Oh no. There were also two cakes. One chocolate one with raspberries on it that made me want to die and go to heaven so that I could eat that all day long. The other was a crumble with red berries inside. That one looked rich and decadent also. But I couldn't eat anymore. Ten minutes later I asked for the crumble. I took half of a piece that my host dad had taken the other half of. I was halfway through the crumble when I really started to feel like I couldn't take another bite. It was so delicious. It was a crust, then some sort of custard, then raspberries and strawberries and cherries, mixed with a red berry mousse and topped with the crumble. I let myself rest for a couple minutes and then somehow, with the help of the Lord, finished the cake. And then I stared at the half of a piece of the chocolate cake, but successfully stopped myself from taking it. By this point I couldn't believe how much food I had eaten, but it was all so good. SO GOOD.
Then we left and it was midnight and I fell asleep in the car. We got home, I took a shower, and now I'm blogging and I want to go to sleep. Goodnight all.
Host dad's pants for today: red.
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