A Belgian Prom

So, Thursday was the day of the Bal Rhéto, which is basically Belgian Prom. I woke up that morning, went home, and slept for a little while longer. Once I got up, I ate lunch and then Talia came over. Together, her, Manon and I all got ready for the dance together. All three of us had our hair done by, well, me. But there was a crisis. Just before finishing my own hair, the power went out in the whole village. I don't know why, but this meant that there was no more heating device. Which, like I said, was a crisis. After waiting a half an hour and nothing happening, we decided that we couldn't wait any longer and all got in the car and went to Manon's grandma's house to finish getting ready. By this time, I only had about an hour and a half left before my date came to get me. I managed to do both Manon's and Talia's hair in about 35 or 40 minutes and even touch up my own. Then we ran back to our house to finish our makeup and get dressed. I went to the dance with a boy in my class named Maxime. He showed up around 6 30pm, just as I was finishing up. Of course, Manon and Talia lucked out and had a little more time than me. But in the end, I was ready to go and we were out the door on time, in the car, on the way to the ball.

We were some of the first people there. Everyone was dressed up nicely, chit chatting, waiting for the rest of the rhéto to get there. We got our pictures taken, took some pictures ourselves, and just socialized for a while. People trickled in and eventually we had all shown up and were making the rounds, talking, laughing, admiring one another's dresses. It was sunny but it sprinkled rain every so often, which was no fun. We stayed outside for a while, went inside, changed our minds and went back out, pretty much all night. Some of the students in the lower grades were there too, working the dance. The came around with little appetizers and drinks, serving us like the respectable adults that we are ;)

Prom in the States and Prom in Belgium are two very, VERY different things. For one, yes everyone is dressed up. But there were very few boys in tuxes and very few girls in long dresses. The majority of us wore short ones. The whole concept of corsages and boutonnieres doesn't exist. And yes, everyone goes with a date. But you don't really stay with your date the way you do in the States. There were hours of time that I didn't even see Maxime. Another thing is that we didn't eat until about 11 30pm. And we didn't have many tables to sit down at either. It was a buffet-style thing, and in the customs of Belgium, there was no line to get your food, but rather a mob. We each took a bowl (a paper one, by the way) and chose between shrimp, chicken, and beef stir-fry. Then we chose either noodles or rice to go with it. And that was the meal. We did, of course, have the appetizers before hand, which were much classier. But once we got our dinners, we stood around and ate them or sat in random chairs that just happened to be there. There were a few tables, but not enough for everyone. Another difference, obviously, was the presence of alcohol. And there were teachers there. I still find it weird to drink alcohol in front of, even with, teachers. And I do find it a shame that at an event like this, that is supposed to be classy and sophisticated, people were still drunk as anything, doing stupid things and getting sick on themselves... The music did not start until after midnight, and even then not everyone danced. During the course of the entire night, there was one slow dance, and not even half of the people there danced to it. Dessert was also in a buffet style, which is "normal". There were a few different mousse type things in little cups, one of the chocolate, one with raspberry, and one vanilla.

Overall, I did have a good time, though I found it weird to not be with my date all night. But I danced and had fun. It wasn't what I expected, and very different from at home. And I'm sorry Belgium, but I do prefer American Prom. I left around 3 30 or 4am, but since I left with a bunch of other people who had to get dropped off, I wasn't in bed til about 5 15am.

I have other updates to give, yes, but I am exhausted beyond belief and I need to go to sleep. I will continue tomorrow. Bonne nuit tout le monde !