Boy was I wrong. There was much more than I thought. And that is because things were hiding out in places that I forgotten about. Like my stack of envelopes, or my two teddy bears, or my food, or my clock. All these were things that I had to take with me, but didn't take into account when I started my packing. So, at the end of it all, I ended up with three big suitcases, another big carry-on type bag that I bought here (with a really cute vintage floral print, I might add), three shoeboxes, an H&M bag, my computer bag, and my purse. I'm definitely going to have to do some trimming down at the end of the year... Or my parents are just going to have to bring me empty suitcases :) Nah I think I'll donate some of the clothes and such and everything will be fine. After I finished packing, I spent some time on my computer since I literally had nothing else to do. Around 7 30pm, my second host parents came over for dinner. The original plan was for me to go back home with them afterwards.
They came, and we began things the way Belgians do with the "imperatif" (sp?), which is like the little chips or munchies before the meal. We sat down in the living room with those and a small glass of a sort of wine that was fruitier than the others that I have tried and I actually found that I kinda sorta liked it. Then we went to the table for the soup, which was made from peppers and had cheese in it. I really do love homemade soups. How will I ever go to back to Campbell's condensed soups?? Actually I don't think I'll have a problem, but anyways... That was followed by a salmon and vegetable quiche, which was also quite delicious. Salmon is so wonderfully flavorful. The main course came next, and it was the curry chicken over rice with cooked mangos on the side. The curry chicken has definitely become one of my favorite dishes here, though I'm not sure that everyone in Belgium makes it. But at the Crismer house, it's delicious. I need to get the recipe for that... Throughout dinner we talked and my host dad made annoying jokes about me and my faults and Ryan and all that. But you know, I find it humorous and I laugh and to be honest, that joking around is what made the first four and a half months of my exchange what it was. And I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Since it was the epiphany, we did the normal European tradition of the King's cake. What it is, is there is a round cake that is made from fragipane and filo dough. Somewhere inside the cake is a little tiny figurine. Whoever gets the piece with the figurine in it is King or Queen for the day and wears a crown. Well, our little figurine seemed to be everywhere. After the ten minutes it took to cut the cake, nobody had the little figurine. So we didn't have royalty. By my host mom did pull the guy out of another slice. It was in the form of a baker.
Turns out that I didn't get to go with them that night, because the next day (yesterday), they would be out of the house all day and I would have been left alone. So they took my suitcases, and I stayed at the Crismer's for one last night. The next day, I woke up and made sure I had EVERYTHING. I ate breakfast and lunch with my host mom and my host brother, but it turns out that Philippe had come down with the flu, so I didn't see him again before I left. Around 3pm, I we packed up the car with the remainder of my boxes and bags and I went to the gym to workout for two hours. The gym was very calm yesterday. I don't like the being the only one in there, but for a while, I was. I was also pretty tired, and today my back really hurts. But the good thing is that I can tell that I'm gaining muscle, especially in my arms. However, I'm in pain. But it's not too bad and I'll make it!
After the gym, Karine picked me up and we went to my second host family's house. We brought in all my stuff, I said my thank yous and goodbyes to Karine, and my hellos to the new fam. I took all of my things upstairs, and on the way, my host dad and brother showed me everything. I have pretty much my own floor! The whole third floor is mine. There's my room, a toilet room, a bathroom, and a sitting area. And outside the sitting area is a little balcony! Then there's also another couple bedrooms, but they are empty. And my bed is a double! I have never had anything bigger than a twin bed, so this is a nice treat! I then began unpacking my stuff, until I realized how unfunctional the armoire is. It's like one of the do-it-yourself deals from the Home Depot where you pick out your different elements and it's all made from particle board. Then you put it all together yourself? You know? Well it's like that. Except it doesn't make any sense! The little spot for hanging clothing is not long enough for even a short dress, so all my dresses are bunched up underneath themselves. Even my Rotary blazer was too long. And then underneath that there is no shelving, so there's a good three feet of open space. Talk about wasted space. Then the center section is a bunch of really shallow shelves, but they're glass and it's all open so that's more for displaying things. But then then the last section has the same shallow shelving! Maybe six inches deep. And even that's stretching it. So after a long time of trying to figure out how to make use of all this empty space (which is really the voice of my father, plus the influence of wayyyy too much HGTV), I finally got creative and rigged up some stuff with all my cardboard boxes and created a sort of shelving system. I also made use of one of my suitcases. I stood it up in that big empty section and left it open. I put my boots inside, a couple of pairs of shoes on top, and shoved my flats in the mess inside pocket, like shoe storage. Then I found there was no place for my bras, underwear, or socks, so I put all of that in two more cardboard boxes and make sort of drawers in the little cabinet underneath that television that is in my room. I doubt I will ever use that television. The walls are completely bare, and everything is either white, or a weird rustic theme (the whole house is kind of like that... Think Grandma's basement in the 60s), so I decorated with my scarves and ribbons, even my robe, and eventually I will find a way to make use of my colorful jewelry. But I have this really cool shade over my window which blocks out ALL light. Nothing gets through that thing. The ceiling of the room is kinda slanted too, like the roof, cause it's the top floor. So even though no light can get through, the rain is loud on the window.
A little while later, I went down and got acquainted with the whole family before dinner. My new host dad's name is Jacques, host mom's in Colette, and then there are 4 children: Benjamin, Amandine, Olivier, and Marie. However, they told me that Marie is hardly ever around. They are all older. The youngest is Benjamin, and he is 23. Olivier is married to another woman named Marie, and they have a little 18 month old son named Léo. I met them all yesterday, except for the sister Marie. Amandine also has a boyfriend, but his name is something I've never heard of before and I can't pronounce it, let alone spell it. So we will refer to him as AB - Amandine's boyfriend. The verdict: I LOVE THEM! My host parents are so nice and sweet and welcoming. Olivier and Marie are so wonderful and their child is beautiful and adorable and the family cannot get enough of him. Marie is really cool and a little wild and she does theater. Amandine and her boyfriend are also very very nice and Amandine actually works with Madame Gallo for her shows. Benjamin is sweet and he did an exchange a couple of years ago in Chile. So we were able to talk about our different experiences. The best part? The conversation was all real. The questions they asked, they asked because they were truly interested. I was able to talk and have a conversation because it wasn't forced. At one point, they asked me if I knew how to make pancakes. I said yes, and immediately they all yelled and told me I HAD to make them. It made me jump and I was a little scared but then I realized that it was happy yelling and I laughed with them.
For dinner, we had raquelettes, which I believe I talked about once before, because I ate that once at the de Wulf house... Before that, though we had foie gras with different jellies and some yummy spiced bread. Foie gras is starting to grow on me. But then we had the raquelettes. What it is, is there is a grill type device on the table. There is a space between the top platform, and the bottom, and in between there are these little square pans. Each person gets one or two square pans, and in that you put your cheese. We had three different kinds. One of them had herbs and spices. On the top platform, you put your meats. We had a couple different kinds. One which resembled ham, bacon and a smoked meat. I really don't like fatty meats like that, but I ate them anyways, and they weren't too bad when smothered in hot gooey cheese. We also had pickles and little pearl onions to eat with it all. When it was all said and done, we had eaten so much cheese, you could smell it all through the house. It was glorious.
And then we had dessert. We also did a King's cake, and Olivier got the little figurine. This one was an angel. I thought the cake was better than the first one. So Olivier wore the crown for the rest of the night as we talked and such. My host mom even pulled out a magazine and read horoscopes for the new year, just for kicks and giggles. We then drank some coffee and talked until about 11 30pm. Then Olivier and Marie got Léo and went back to their house, which is only a couple of houses down, and I stayed up a bit longer and talked with my host parents. Eventually, I went up to my room and continued to try to unpack and get things organized. I took a shower in my bathroom with the nozzle that doesn't make much sense, and then watched a couple episodes of Frasier before falling asleep.
This morning, I woke up around ten thirty and was eating my Frosted Flakes around 11am. I then went back upstairs, tried to finish unpacking and organizing, but came to a point where I just don't know where to put some things, like my jewelry. In my other house, I hung my necklaces off the knob on my window. But there is no knob like that in this room. Or anything for that matter to hang them off of, so I'll have to get creative again and think of something. Then I worked on a project I have to do for my English class, and then I went down for dinner. I ate with just my host parents. We talked and had some really delicious cheese to start off with, and I had a glass of red wine. Which wasn't bad, although it's still a little strong for me. Which is weird... Anyway, we had a white fish, stuffed baked potato, chicon, and a salad for dinner. It was delicious! I don't know what spices she put on that fish but it was really good. The chicon is growing on me, though I still find it bitter. For dessert, I had a sort of vanilla pudding and a little piece of chocolate. After dinner, I watched the news with my host parents for about a half hour. There is a lot of flooding here... Since all the snow melted and with all the rain, the river in Namur is getting higher and people have feet of water in their houses. It's so sad... The streets are completely under water. I can't imagine... Luckily, that never really happens where I'm living...
Now I'm up in my room, doing this blog and getting ready to go to sleep. I reactivated my Facebook today too, and I'm worried that I will become readdicted. So I must keep an eye on myself. I'll try my best! Tomorrow, I will try to post some pictures. Goodnight world! Bonne nuit tout le monde !
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