A Week's Worth Of Blogging...

I'm a bad blogger...
Alrighty, so. In my crazy attempt to update everyone on Spain, I have fallen about a week behind on my blog, and that week includes my birthday celebrations in Belgium. So here we go. You have a week's worth of blog to read about, so get ready!

Wednesday, after I got home from Spain, I rested for a bit, but I went back out that night after showering and eating with my host family. Also, Manon gave me what is possibly the most awesome gift ever! A full-size Belgian flag with the signatures of all the rhéto on it! I couldn't be happier with it, really. Ben picked me up and we went and got a bottle of champagne and then headed over to Olivier and Marie's house. We spent a few hours together, talking and catching up and having a good time. And then it was time for surprise number one. Marie came out of the kitchen with a raspberry tart with nineteen candles on the platter and sang Happy Birthday to me (in French of course)! I hadn't been sung to yet for my birthday or had cake, so that was a very nice surprise! And it was delicious. But I love raspberries, so I'm biased. We ate together and then Ben's phone alarm went off around 9 30 or 10 (I don't remember exactly) and informed me that it was time for us to get moving. But get moving to where? I had no idea. He told me to go pick out some music so with the help of Marie, i rummaged through their CD collection and picked out a few tunes (including Norah Jones). We said our goodbyes and Ben and I got in the car and that was the start of surprise number two. We ended up in a little clearing just outside the villages as it started to get dark out. He parked the car and we put in the Norah Jones CD and then he told me we had to go find the moon. But it was still too early, as the sun was just barely setting, so the moon was nowhere to be seen. In the meantime, he pulled out a big blanket, the champagne, two glasses and a telescope and asked me if I had ever seen a lunar eclipse before. Well, I have never seen a lunar eclipse. But there was going to be one that night, so he had it all planned out that we were going to watch it to celebrate a little bit my birthday! We got all situated, toasted with champagne, and watched the sky as it got darker. Disappointing part: We never did see the eclipse. It happened while the moon was too low in the sky and by the time we could see the moon at all, it was already coming out of the eclipse. But we watched as it grew back to full size and flooded the countryside with light. Honestly, it was the most beautiful moon I've ever seen. Why it didn't even matter that we didn't get to see the eclipse: The sky was still gorgeous and full of stars and, even without the moon, we were together and had a great night. Probably the best post-birthday celebration I've ever had.

Thursday was Manon's birthday. All the Belgians were still in exams, so they had to be at school all morning. I, however, along with the other Americans in Hannut, had already finished my exams so I could sleep! But I did go into Hannut after the exams were over to say hi to everyone and catch up. Yes, everyone was jealous of my Spain adventure. Around noon, Manon and I went back home and ate lunch with the family and then Manon went to study. That night, we all ate dinner together and then Manon and I both shared in a little birthday celebration with my host family, again involving cake, candles, and singing. I received two pairs of beautiful silver earrings from my host family as well. That night, I went to dance, as usual for Thursdays. We are getting ready for our show that we are putting on in a week and a half. When I got home from dance, I was surprised by the presence of Talia and Alex in the house, who stopped by for Manon's birthday. They hung out for a while, eating cake and talking. After they left, it was back to studying for Manon and sleep time for me.

Friday was yet another exam day for the Belgians. Again, I didn't have any exams to take, but I did ride my bike up to Hannut afterwards to meet up with everyone and have a drink. We all hung out for a while, but eventually the crowd dwindled out and I left as well on my bike. I passed by Ben's to say hi. We watched "The Matrix", which believe it or not, I had never seen before. I ate dinner there and then went home to get to bed early because I had an exciting weekend ahead of me!

Saturday, I left in the afternoon to catch a train to go the North Sea that borders Belgium. It's one of those things that you have to see, and I hadn't been there yet. But by 5pm, I was there, the wind whipping at my hair and sand flying up into my face! We found a little hotel in the city of Blankenberge (Flemish), dropped off our things, and then headed back to the shore to look for a place to get dinner. But we were looking for something specific. You see, there are a few things that are very stereotypical Belgian. You all know about the beer, the waffles, and the chocolate. But the thing that I still hadn't tried yet was the mussels. And this was the day. We found a little place that looked really nice (all old people. You know it's good when it's all old people) and I sat down to my first ever dinner of Belgian mussels and fries. The mussels were cooked in white wine with plenty of vegetables, all hot and simmering in my own little personal pot, overflowing with the big shells. Eating mussels is not the easiest thing in the world... For one, sometimes your fork just pulls right through it and you don't actually end up with anything in your mouth. Instead, you have a strand of dismembered crustacean hanging out of the shell... Second, when you get to the bottom of the pot. they are extra hot and swimming in the broth, so you may burn yourself and/or have the mussel slip right out of your hand. Third, you find yourself chewing on the shell sometimes, when they are more brittle than you thought. And fourth, even though you may want to inspect each and every one, it's a bad idea to look at the mussels you are eating or even to think about it too much. Because eventually you realize that you are eating it all. Whole. The brains, the organs, everything. But once you get past these minor details, it's really an enjoyable meal. And of course, we had them with your typical fries. One word to wrap it all up? YUM.

After eating, we headed down towards the actual sea, slipped off our shoes and walked along the beach. One thing about the sea in Belgium... The wind!! It is STRONG. But I liked it a lot because you could see the sand floating over the shore and the waves crashing and even though it was cloudy, the sun was shining through the clouds and I just found the whole thing beautiful. But, eventually, the wind gets to you and you have to go back up by civilization. We went to get a drink afterwards and just sat and talked for a while before heading back to the room for the night (typical European, there was a communal bathroom and shower, just saying).

Sunday, we got up and checked out by 10am and headed out into the town in a failed attempt to find some breakfast. Again, Europe. Bob Evans breakfast all day doesn't exist here, sadly. But we got a tea and chilled out for the morning. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city, exploring all the different paths and even checking out a couple churches. We went to the boat docks, where people have their "yachts" (they weren't really yachts, more like sailboats), and walked out onto a giant pier that had a restaurant at the end of it. Again, the wind was strong and there were a few guys deep sea fishing off the end of the pier. The waves were beautiful and they came up and crashed against the supports of the pier, spraying us every so often with their mist. We walked and talked, got lunch, looked in shops, got a waffle, just chilled out all day. Around 5pm, we went back to the train station to catch a train home, and I was home by 8pm, in my bed not much later.

Monday was the last day of exams for my classmates. They had their math exam. Afterwards, everyone went to the bar to hang out and I was going to go join them, but in the end, getting there was way too complicated and I ended up just staying home and working on my Spain pictures. But that evening, my whole class came over to the house for the class barbecue (since my house is actually Manon's house). This includes Madame Gallo. I still find it odd to party with the teachers... Regardless, everyone was here by 7 30pm and the guys went at it to attempt to start the barbecue. I'm not gonna lie, Americans do it way better. But they did eventually get it and we did eventually eat our sausage sandwiches! We spent the evening talking, goofing around, taking pictures, talking, and sometimes just being plain ridiculous. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time hanging out with the people that have made this year absolutely amazing! I love my class, I really do, and I really do think that I was incredibly lucky to fall into such an awesome group of Belgians, along with an awesome teacher! As is typical for a Belgian party, a few people got sick as the night wore on. Evening quickly turned into night, but by 2am, mostly everyone who wasn't sleeping at the house had gone home and the rest of us were setting ourselves up in the living room to sleep.

Note to self: When you have a bed to sleep in, don't think it's a better idea to sleep on the ground with everyone else just because you don't want to be alone.

We woke up the next morning, yesterday morning in fact, tired and some of us cranky. We didn't move for a couple hours, but instead just stayed on the ground and on the couches, talking and retelling stories from the night before. Eventually, it was down to me and Manon and Talia and Maxime and we cleaned up the mess and got the house back into semi-order. Talia and Maxime left and then Manon and I took to cleaning up ourselves and recovering from the party. This meant sleeping all afternoon. That night, I had jazz, earlier than usual, and it made me feel pretty lousy. Dancing is getting harder and harder for me the longer I stay in this country and yesterday it seemed to really take a toll on me. Hopefully once I get back into my habits next year, it'll all go back to normal... After dance, I met up with Manon and a bunch of people from school in Hannut to celebrate Manon and Iris's birthdays together. Ben stopped by too and I eventually ended up going back with him and his friends and we hung out for a while in that same clearing with a bonfire and a guitar, just chillin.

This morning, I went to go back to my house early, but sadly, nobody was home and the house was locked. Needless to say, I was stranded outside for about two and a half hours before I managed to get a hold of my host sister who had been sleeping after working a night shift. I finally got into the house, ate lunch, and am now blogging before sleeping away the rest of the day. This blog also took longer than I thought it would... But like I said, a whole week's worth, involving some exciting stuff! But there you go, world. All the updates! It's naptime now. Goodnight!

ITALY!!! Part IV

Alright here we go. The last in the series of posts about my magnificent ten days that I spent in the beautiful country of Italia.

Day 9: We woke up nice and ridiculously early on the morning of Day 9, had our breakfasts, and packed up the bus once again for a morning of driving. Once again, we took packed lunches from the hotel and got ready for a fairly long drive. We spent the majority of the morning sleeping, watching movies, and just basically recuperating from the last several days. Most of us were already getting sick, and by the end of the trip, it would spread through just about all of the exchange students. But that's besides the point. We stopped around noon to eat, but this time we stopped at a random little gas station on the side of the road next to a Holiday Inn. And we just chilled in the parking lot, half in the middle of the road also, and ate the really gross lunches that we were packed. I admit, I picked the meat off of my sandwich and just ate the bread. It seemed like a very American moment, just vegging in the middle of the pavement...

The afternoon, we found ourselves on the shore once again, goofing around in souvenir shops, ready to take another boat over to the island of Murano. We would spend the rest of the day visiting that island, and another called Burano. They are both parts of Venice. But this time the sun was shining, the water was incredibly calm, we did not have far to go, and luckily it was a lagoon rather than the open waters of the sea, so this boat trip went actually very well. I was calm, there was no freak out, and I enjoyed myself. We took pictures, took advantage of the sun, and goofed around a bit. Finally, we made it to the Murano, where we were given some free time to explore. Murano is known and famous for it's glass (Venetian glass) so that was the big item that we were searching for in this part of our journey. The island is very cute. There are colors all over the place and we stayed mostly on the pier, so there is water everywhere. And it's not weird green murky water. It's clear, bright, turquoise water. The kind that you just want to gulp down. Anyways, we were going into all the shops, admiring all the glass work, and looking for the perfect thing to buy to remember our time there. I finally decided on a really pretty gold necklace, all in glass beads. I decided that it would be something that I would wear even as I got older and it's just gorgeous. The beads are actually pieces of gold that are surrounded in crystal that are surrounded in glass. All hand made. A lot of people bought watches where the face is surrounded in colorful Venetian glass patterns and colored bands. We didn't have a whole lot of time before we had to get back to the boat, so we hurried back to meet Rotary and then we were off to see the second island, Burano.

Burano was bigger than Murano and there was much more to actually see, rather than just shopping. We went farther into the island and we were given more time. Burano is famous for their lace. So this time, the goal was to find something lace to take back home with me. Burano is beautiful also because there are, again, the canals that run through it and the houses are all different colors. It's all very much the way you picture a Venetian landscape. Of course, these islands are touristy, but it's pretty to see. We spent the next couple hours of free time going from shop to shop, looking at different things, trying to pick the right souvenir. I had been debating over a salmon colored lace scarf, which I did eventually end up buying. But the big purchase of the day had been completely unexpected...

You see, the big purchase that I wanted to make in Venice was a Venetian mask. I have wanted a Mardi Gras mask forever and since they are a specialty in Venice, I knew that this would be the place to get one. But I was planning on waiting until the day that we went to the actual island of Venice to look for one. I had looked at some of them on the other islands but I hadn't quite found exactly what I was looking for. I knew I wanted something elaborate, unique, with bright colors and music on the face. Then Jordann told me to go look in one of the stores. By this point, I was overwhelmed by masks because they were literally everywhere. But the minute I walked into this store, my eyes were glued to one that was on the wall. It was gold with a big fan surrounding the face. The fan was actually sheet music. There were rhinestones lining the eyes and gold fringe hanging off a few different parts of the mask. There was a gorgeous design painted on the face and the whole thing was lined in lace. I knew that that was my mask and I had to get it. I ended up paying about 50 euros for it too, which in the end, I found was actually a terribly wonderful price. And I never saw another one like it on either of the islands.

By this point we were running late, so we hurried to take a couple pictures, I went quickly to buy the scarf I had been debating over, and we went to meet Rotary. We all got back on the boat and headed back to the mainland, where we got back on the bus to head to our last hotel of the trip. We got to our hotel on the beach and were told that we had a nice long couple of hours before we had to be down at dinner. So we took advantage of this and went to the beach! And what did we do? Well we took pictures of course! I have a beautiful series of dance pictures from that evening. And we also goofed around and had a great time. But eventually, the time came for us to go back to the hotel. So the last couple of us started walking back, but about halfway there we realized that the key had fallen out of Savannah's pocket. So we went back to look for it but couldn't find it anywhere and assumed it had been taken by the sea and was out in the water somewhere. So we had no choice but to go back to the receptionist and tell her what the problem was. They told us that we would have to pay three euros to replace the key, which we expected and was no big deal. We went up to the room with our new key to get our money, but found when we got up there that the door was open and our missing key was sitting on the bed. Some kind soul had found and returned our key! So we were able to return the new one and didn't have to pay a cent.

We went down for dinner that night and discussed what we were going to do for the evening. Again, since it was our last night we really wanted to go out. Some exchange students started parties in their rooms, but Savannah and I decided that was lame so we went out to go try to find something to do. But of course, Rotary knows what they're doing and had booked a hotel in a city with zero nightlife. So we went back to the hotel and met up with some of the exchange students and the Rotary adults in the hotel bar. We had a drink together and then a song that Savannah knew a dance to came on over the speakers. And she got up and started doing the dance. And I decided that I wanted to learn said dance so I got up too. Before we knew it, we were all dancing, they had turned out the lights, turned up the music, and we were having a dance party! One of the Rotary ladies even joined us while the Rotary men looked at us all like we were completely mental. But they thought it was funny and they knew it was good wholesome fun so there were no problems. So we did get our dance party after all. Then it was bed time and sleep time.

Day 10: Day 10 was another early morning. We packed up the bus for the last time and had our breakfast. I took a bunch of packets of those wonderful biscotti cookies that tasted like the GirlScout shortbread cookies for the road. We piled on the bus and were off to take that boat once more to the island of Venice. Again, there were no problems on the boat. We were each given a map with the different meeting points on it and once we got to the island, we split back up into our four language groups. Mr. Lemoine was, as always, in charge of my group and we spent the morning touring the important buildings of Venice. We saw the beautiful canals, the churches, the buildings, etc. Venice is gorgeous. Truly a beautiful, beautiful place. But also a confusing place where it is ridiculously easy to get lost... And of course, a few of us found ourselves split off from the group and completely lost. We ran around through the little alleys and back streets of Venice to find the Rotary guys to give us our money for lunch. Well, we were late to get to them, but we did manage to find them in time and we each received ten euros. We then spent a good while looking around for a place to actually spend the ten euros since everything was looking expensive. Finally we found a nice looking place that had a lot of seafood on their menu. I didn't get any of the seafood, but one of the girls got a pasta dish where the sauce was made out of cuttlefish ink. It came to the table black. Literally, black noodles. We all tasted it and it was surprisingly good. It just tasted seafoody and salty. I got gnocchi and a salad and Savannah got a pizza and a salad and we split as usual. I love gnocchi. And real Italian gnocchi is incredible. I'm so glad I had the chance to try it. Along with the black pasta :)

The afternoon was given to us as free time, and we had lots of it. Savannah and I spent the first part of it with our group of friends, looking around and shopping, but we eventually got separated from them because we went looking for prices for a gondola ride and couldn't find them again. P.S. we never got to actually do the gondola ride :( But it's on my bucket list. Anyways, we got some gelato (mint chocolate chip, yah baby) and walked around some more, made our final gift purchases and realized that we had so much time left. So, knowing us, what do we do? We start our final dance photo shoot. We found a nice bridge over one of the canals and a little pathway that went ride along side the river and started there. I put on my pointe shoes and the fun began. We did plenty of different kinds of things and immediately people started staring at us. But not in a weird way. More of in a very impressed, "oh look at that!" kind of way. I'm not gonna lie, it was really cool. And it was an amazing way to discover the island because we just walked around looking for places to take the pictures. And we got some incredible shots. This series was not only beautiful dance wise, but artistically too, the pictures are fabulous. Plus, something really cool happened. Of course, there were a lot of people taking pictures of us taking pictures, but one of them was in the middle of the road. And he had a huge camera with an amazing objective lens. And he starts taking shots while Savannah is taking them too. After we were finished and started walking away, he ran after us asking if we wanted to see the picture. Well of course I did! So he showed it to us and it was gorgeous! Then he asked me if I wanted it. I said definitely and he gave me his card and told me to email him. Turns out he was an amateur photographer in France! How cool is that! Other highlight of this adventure: There was a little girl and her mom who were walking through one of the alleys that we were in and the little girl stopped as soon as she saw me and just stared at me. Her mom was speaking to her in Italian, obviously, but since I had been there for ten days, and thanks to my knowledge of French, I could kind of pick up what she was saying. Along the lines of, "Yes look, a real ballerina!" The little girl was so adorable. She just stared at me in awe. So I asked if she wanted to take a picture with me and her mom was saying "yes yes!" but she was too shy. We all giggled about it and I ended up just showing her how I went up on my shoes and such. We talked a little with the mom, who spoke very good English and she told us that her daughter wants to be a dancer. I just thought that was one of the cutest things... There were one or two other little girls like that too. It was too adorable :)

Well Savannah and I got a little wrapped up in our project and eventually we realized that we had to meet Rotary to go to dinner. Well again, Venice is big and confusing. And we were in some little random alleyway. So we ran around Venice for the next hour or so, asking around, completely lost. Eventually, though, we managed to figure out where we were going after getting the help of some very nice and fluent English speaking Italians. We were late for the meal, but it was no big deal. One cool thing about the restaurant: The door to the bathroom was activated by a little square on the wall that detects your hand. But you don't even have to touch it. So it's like Star Trek. You just hold your hand up in front of the sensor and the door opens. It was awesome. Anyways. We met up with them, ate our final meal in Italy (pasta, followed by a meat and potatoes dish that was disappointingly nothing special) and then we were headed off to go back to the boat to go back to the bus to go back to Belgium. We took our final pictures and then we were on the boat going back to the mainland as the sun set. A beautiful end to a beautiful trip. I couldn't have asked for more.

We drove the entire night and the entire morning of the next day and got back to Liège, where I saw some of the kids coming back from Greece and my host dad picked me up. From there, I've missed a few days up until now, which we will catch up on tomorrow. As of now, this is the end of my Italy blog. It's been a long and detailed one, I know. But it was such a wonderful ten days, I couldn't help but tell you all every last detail. I love that country and I definitely want to go back. Thank you, to Rotary for organizing such an incredible experience for us. It's something that I will never forget, and it will always be a highlight when I look back at this exchange year. Viva Italia!! :)

ITALY!!! Part III

Ok here we go again. Picking up at Day 6.

Day 6: This was the day that we went to the island of Capri! This was probably the low point of the trip, which doesn't say much, cause it was still incredible. But I did have some issues... So to get to Capri you have to take a boat across part of the Mediterranean Sea. I mean, you don't really have a choice. Well, I have a fear of puking. It's my phobia. I'm scared to death of it. So anything could potentially cause me to throw up causes me great panic. So I was all prepared that day with my Dramamine that I took at breakfast and my instant relief pills also. Of course, I was still a little bit shaken up for it. And of course, the only day we have to take a boat, it's gross outside. It was cold and the sky was threatening to empty itself onto us. So needless to say, I was kinda freaking out. But I had no choice but to get on the boat with everyone else.

I tried very hard to keep calm. I had given my camera to Jordann to take pictures since my memory card was freaking out and we put hers in my nice Canon. I was sitting on the top of the boat talking to people and trying so very hard to stay calm. And to be honest, everything was fine for the first half hour. I was talking to people, laughing, having good conversation, and not feeling anything from the boat. Then all of the sudden, it started to move. All over the place. Ok it wasn't THAT bad, but still, it was rocking. So I, being the crazy that I am, jumped out of my seat and started jumping and running around the boat, thinking that the more I moved, the less I would feel the boat moving. But that only lasted so long before I started to REALLY freak out. So I went downstairs and ended up with the Rotary people who were trying to calm me down. And I was doing ok, but I could feel a nice anxiety attack coming on. It got worse with each rock of the boat, even though my stomach really was fine and it was all mental. Before I knew it, I was in the heat of a terrible anxiety attack and I was crying and hyperventilating a bit... One of the nice Rotary ladies gave me some anti-stress drops and we soon arrived on the shore of Capri.

The next thing on the schedule was for everyone to get on yet another boat, a smaller one, and do a tour around the island. But I knew I couldn't do it. You see, my parents had been there before and they had done that tour. And when they did it, there was a little Japanese woman on the boat who was oh so very ill, getting sick over the side of the boat the whole time. Well I had this story in my head, the anxiety attack going on in my body, and knowing the fact that I would be stuck on that boat for an hour and a half with no way of getting off, I could not do it. There was another girl, Justine, who was also sick, so one of the other Rotary ladies stayed with us on shore while the others went on the tour. We found a cafe, drank tea, and just tried to calm down. Once everyone else got back, I was sure I had made the right decision, even though I was so upset to let something like my own thoughts stop me from doing that. But apparently it was ridiculously rough and it was a very good thing that I didn't go.

We then got into more little buses and were driven up to the village of Anacapri on the island to visit. We were given free time to walk around, eat, shop, etc. We started off in a nice shop full of clothing where I bought a silk dress and a wrap gypsy skirt, despite my turning tummy. We ate at a lovely little place, even though I could not even imagine eating, even hours after I had gotten off the boat. I ate just some bread and a little bit of a salad, even though my tummy was growling. I couldn't bring myself to stomach anything else. We spent some more time just walking around and taking pictures and enjoying the beauty of the island, even though the weather wasn't very nice. We also had an encounter in a café where Oakley was charged 7 euros (or some outrageous price like that) for a Coke because we had sat down and they charge you for that. Well she didn't drink it, didn't pay for it, and we saved another woman from making the same mistake. Regardless, Savannah ended up drinking and paying for a hot chocolate.

Eventually, we met back up with the rest of the Rotary to get back in the buses and go down to another village on the island. We had more time to walk around and explore. This time, we couldn't even go into the stores, they were all so expensive. We're talking Gucci and Dolce & Gabana. But we did come across some Italians with "Free Hugs" signs, and of course we stopped to hug them all. Which was wonderful! The guys weren't too bad looking either ;)

By this point, it was time to get back on the boat to go back to the hotel... And of course, I had plenty of time to psych myself out. I made myself eat some more bread, take two "knock out" pills (to attempt to sleep through the ride) and tried very hard to stay calm, even though the weather was starting to kick up again and it was beginning to get windy. But we got on the boat, this one bigger and more stable, and I stood right in the back by the motor. It wasn't so bad. Obviously, I wasn't feeling so well and I was not tired enough to sleep, but I somehow made it through. And went back to the hotel and everything was ok.

We had dinner at the hotel, though I didn't eat much, and some of the other girls and I were so tired, we just decided to have movie night in my room. We pushed all the beds together and put on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and crashed for a couple hours. We then went right to bed to be ready for the next day.

Day 7: Day 7 started out with us packing everything up and getting ready to go towards our next destination. We had our breakfast, took packed lunches from the hotel, packed up the bus and were off. Today, we started off with a visit to Pompeii. We all fell asleep on the way, but we went through the guided tour as energetically as we could. Though this guide was even harder to understand than the last one... The accent was impossible. But of course, Savannah and I and Jordann ended up kinda getting split off from the group so we amused ourselves. After Pompeii, we did a little shopping, I bought a ring for 30 euros (originally 45, I bargained it down) that he told me was all real and I have since found otherwise, and we got back on the bus for an afternoon of driving. This time, we all really fell asleep on the bus, only to stop at a rest stop on the highway for a break and to eat our packed lunches. Not gonna lie, they weren't very good... But I don't like fatty lunch meat. Anyways, we then got back on the bus to go to towards Tuscany and settle down at our next hotel.

We got there fairly early, at dinner, this time with four courses. We started off with little finger food appetizers, followed by pasta, of course, and then a meat and vegetables course. I wasn't very hungry and I could barely finish the pasta. And it wasn't at the same level as the other hotels. Dessert was an ice cream cake type slice of something... But I won't go into detail because it wasn't amazing like the rest. But that night, since we had time, we all decided that we wanted to go out. We had to be back by 11 30 and Rotary told us that if we were all back on time, we would get a surprise the next day. Well this was a Saturday night. So we figured there would be a club or something that we could go to. So we all got dolled up, I wore my new Capri dress and heels, and went out on the town in search of something fun to do. Well news flash, there was NOTHING. We found one bar, but way high class, too expensive, and no dancing. So we basically ended up walking around all night, looking for something to do. We did come across a discotech, but by that time it was too late to pay the 10 euro entry fee since we had to be back at 11 30. Then we found an outdoor concert type thing with a bar, but nobody wanted to stay there because the Rotary guys were there. So finally, Savannah, Minna, Maddie, a few other people and I decided to just go back to that first bar. We had a drink, had some fun, and were back in the hotel on time, ready to go to bed. We got ready for bed, disappointed, but knowing we at least had fun ourselves.

Day 8: As usual, we started off with breakfast at the hotel, and then we got on the bus and were off to Florence (Firenze), in the region of Tuscany for the morning! We got there, and wow is it beautiful. We spent the morning with Rotary, doing a tour with Andre in our four groups. We saw a lot of beautiful buildings, including one gorgeous church where various saints are buried. Of course, this started some very philosophical conversation between exchange students, which was a very good thing to have. Bonding time :)

We saw a lot of statues, including a replica of the David statue, people pretending to be statues and then making you pay them if you interact with them, government buildings, fountains, and these really cool chain barriers that were COVERED in locks that people had put, like in Rome in the first day, with the name of them and their boyfriend/girlfriend. I just love the whole concept of that... Next, we were each given 10 euros by Rotary to go find lunch and have free time. I went with Savannah and Maddie and we walked around the whole city looking for something cheap but authentic to eat. But a word to the wise, Florence is not cheap. We finally found ourselves at a nice little place, our bellies rumbling. We started off with, of course, bruschetta. This one was just tomatoes and basil and olive oil. But still, I don't understand how they make tomatoes taste SO incredible. I don't even like tomatoes... We also got a salad and a pizza to share. The pizza had ham on it too, which I typically don't like if there is not pineapple involved, but this was really delicious. Overall, we had a fantastic meal, even though it took forever to get the check... But regardless, it was wonderful.

We spent the afternoon walking around, looking around at the street vendors and making some more gift purchases. We also got gelato, of course. But I couldn't finish mine in the end, and gave it to someone else to finish. I also found a pin for my blazer that day. However, as beautiful as it was, we did have to leave eventually to meet back up with Rotary and go to our next stop: Pisa.

We drove for a while, but finally got there. They warned us that the moment we got off the bus, we would be attacked by street vendors trying to sell us jewelry, sunglasses, and who knows what else. Well they weren't kidding. That was the worst it was. But we got through the crowd to the shuttle bus to get us to Pisa. We got safely there, only to quickly realize that there really is only one thing in Pisa: the leaning tower. And the whole road that leads up to it was lined with more vendors and people calling out to us, calling us to come buy things. They called us Lady Gaga too, which I thought was especially odd as we look nothing like her... Well we did get to the tower and we definitely took our share of touristy pictures, holding up the tower, hugging it, I even did one where I have my leg around it... Classy, I know. And really, it's leaning. Like, crazy leaning. But it was cool to see, especially since it was such a nice day and it was up against a blue sky. We did not have much time there though, so we had to book it back to the shuttles to catch one back down the bus.

We then drove back to our hotel for dinner. And Rotary told us what our surprise was. Or what it was supposed to be, rather. They had planned on taking us all out to a discotech together. But the problem is that it was Sunday night and the law in Italy states that minors cannot go out on Sunday nights. And at least half of the exchange students are minors. Plus we didn't have much time. They told us that if we were majors, we could go out if we wanted to, but had to be back semi early and had to wake up at 5 30am the next morning. So in the end, the majority of us decided it was not worth it and we had a second movie night. This time, the feature film was "John Tucker Must Die". However, we had to stop it for the last ten minutes because we were so exhausted.

Part IV, the final chapter, coming soon to Emma's blog.

ITALY!!! Part II

Ok so here we go, Part II of my amazing trip to Italy. Now where were we? Oh yes, Day 5...

Day 5: This was probably my favorite day of the entire trip. We started off with our breakfast, as usual, and then we were off. We had to take different buses than the other days because of the size of the roads in that part of the country. See, we were on the coast again and in the mountains, so the roads narrow and winding. So we had two different buses, one for the anglophones and one for the francophones. I took my Dramamine, and we were off. The program for the day was to see three Italian villages along the coast of Italy. The first was Sorrento. And let me tell you, the drive there was even amazing. The whole drive we were pretty much on the edge of the mountains, almost hanging off the road. And what we below us? A gorgeous blue sea that stretched out forever. And above us? A brilliant shining sun that lit up the trees and flowers that lined the mountain side. Really, it was absolutely breathtaking. And we weren't even out of the bus yet! The ride was also a little bit scary, as the driver was, of course, Italian, and tended to be a little crazy. But we had full confidence in him, and he got us through all the winds and curves of the road safely, even if at times it looked like we were going to crash into things. As we went, our Rotary man (Bernard De Boyer) gave explanations of a few things as we passed them.

Then we got into the village. Wow. I really don't have many words for the things we saw. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. A whole city built up on the side of a mountain with colorful houses and beautiful scenery everywhere. These cities are also amazing because there is barely any car action going on. So we had a few hours to just explore on our own and walk through the backstreets and discover the village. It was still early morning, but everything was open and busy. And as much as I expected it to be, it was not that touristy of a place. The best thing about it, and most of Italy, is that even though there are obviously tourists EVERYWHERE, it's not the way it is because of the business. It's just really like that. There is ivy growing up the buildings and music in the streets, fountains in the middle of pathways and little alleys that lead to who-knows-where.

So we spent a few hours taking pictures, seeing the shops, and just having fun. And I found my Italian bathing suit :) It's purple and has all kinds of stones on it that were put there by hand, in Sorrento, by a man who makes costumes for Italian theater and film! Great find! The other thing that is typical of Sorrento is an Italian lemon liquor called limoncello. And BOY is it strong! We sampled some in one of the stores (yes, at 9 30am) and yes, I gave in and bought some to take home, along with some lemon chocolates that they had as well. It was splurging day for me, don't judge.

After our time was up, we met back up with Rotary and got back in our buses to go to the next stop, Amalfi. Again, the drive was just as lovely as the things that we had seen and were about to see. I honestly have no words to describe it all. You just have to believe when I say it's gorgeous. Plus, unfortunately, photos cannot even begin to do it justice. Anyways, we drove for a while, admiring the views and having a splendid time imagining what it would be like to live there. Finally, we got to Amalfi and got out of the buses for some more exploring. This time, they gave us each ten euros and it was time to go find lunch. And of course, Savannah and I managed to find amazing little restaurant. And what did we get? I'm glad you asked. This lunch featured a wonderful bruschetta, topped with tomatoes, basil, mozzarella cheese and just the right amount of salt. Oh my goodness, I love bruschetta so much I can't handle it. We also got a really wonderful pizza that actually didn't have any sauce on it, but instead just fresh tomatoes, arugula, and parmesan cheese. It was definitely the real deal when it comes to authentic Italian pizza. And so delicious. We topped it off with a glass of red wine shared between the two of us. Talk about a lovely meal.

After lunch, we went looking around the city and found ourselves in the center at this giant church that was really quite incredible. But eventually, it got to be time to go back down to meet everyone else and our exploring had to come to a close. But we managed to go back in time to have a little time on the beach! Even though it wasn't very hot, we still took off our shoes and ran across the beach (even though the sand was rocks) and put our feet in the water. And of course, me being me, I decided it was dance picture time. So we went up on the pier and took some really beautiful pictures as I jumped around and made kind of a fool out of myself. The Rotary guys probably thought I was completely insane. But that's ok. I only fell once and it was no big deal :) Oh and Jordann lost my flip flop in the sea... But we got that back, so whatever. Anyways, the next destination was Positano, yet another lovely village, so it was back into the bus for us.

This last leg of driving was kind of difficult. The fact was that we were all tired, the scenery was quite calming, and many of us found ourselves dozing off. But we quickly woke up when we saw the city ahead of us. Here, the roads got even smaller and the turns tighter. When you see the city from a distance, it looks like it has literally just sprouted out of the ground. Everything is completely vertical... It's really incredible. This time we had to pass through a sort of tunnel to get into the city, but as soon as we did, we called it gelato time and I got some tiramisu gelato. And we went over to a little ledge to look out over the sea as we ate. And this is where things get a little bit more... Interesting.

All of the sudden, someone comes up to me, a man, with another man, middle-aged, and the one says to the other, can you take a picture with my friend please? And I looked at him, and for some reason, I just said "Ok!" really enthusiastically and took a picture with him. But the other guy was like, "No you need to get closer." "Ok now laugh." Kind of weird stuff. But don't worry, it wasn't creepy. It was actually really funny. After I was done laughing my head off, the one taking the pictures was like, "Ok who's next?" And they took pictures with three or four other exchange students that were there with us. We could tell that the one who was in the pictures was embarrassed because he was laughing just as much as we were. And I kept asking who they were and what they were doing. Eventually, we found out that they were just two random guys from the States who were in the city too and they had been eating lunch and got into a conversation about how you meet people. And they both realized that they didn't really know how to go about meeting random people. So they wondered if this tactic would work. And obviously it did! Their names were Randall (the one taking the pictures, the really funny one) and Jonathan (the embarrassed one) and they were just on vacation. They were cousins actually. Randall was from St. Louis and had never left before. Jonathan was from the Big Apple. But regardless, we talked with them and laughed with them for a while and eventually took a group shot with the 10 or so exchange students that were there. And I said that they could totally be in a reality show called "Randall and Jonathan Meet People" and it would be a huge hit. So that became the running joke for the rest of the day.

We spent the rest of it just walking around, and we honestly didn't have that much more time left after our adventure with Randall and Jonathan. But that was not the end of our experiences with people. As Savannah and Jordann and I were getting ready to go back to the bus, we passed by a fountain and we wanted to fill our water bottles. Well there was an old man standing there and he immediately engaged us in conversation. He was Italian and spoke Italian to us, and I have to say, he was missing teeth, so it was kind of hard to understand him to begin with. But I also have to say, I'm so proud of myself because I was able to follow along! He told us all about when he was younger and was in the army and about where the water came from that came out of the fountain. He even had old black and white photos on his person of him when he was in the army. It was sweet in a weird kind of nostalgic way. And again, it may sound creepy, but it really wasn't. In fact, it was cool.

Well from there it was back on the bus to go back to the hotel. Again, we fell asleep on the bus. We had some time that night and were trying to figure out how to go out, but it never ended up happening. A couple of us had walked around the city looking for something to do, but all we found was this little bar where we got a drink before dinner, but that was it. So I went to bed early. But then I heard in the room next to me someone knock on the door, clearly not an exchange student and he said with an accent, "I am the gigolo that you ordered." My eyes shot open and he went on, "I am gigolo that you ordered." Then the person in the room said, "I did not order gigolo, I ordered three women, one black." By this point I was a little freaked out. The "gigolo" said again, "No you order gigolo. I am here. Will you let me in please?" After that it was over. I don't know if it was legit or a joke, but it kinda made me feel weird... Anyway, that's when I fell asleep.

Well Day 5 was obviously huge. Again, favorite part of the trip. Part III coming soon! And stay updated for pictures as well!

PARIS

Ok so here we go... Last Wednesday, about two weeks ago, I left for three days to go to Paris with the quatrième class at school (the sophomores). Tuesday night, I had had dance and I slept over Romane's house, since she was going also. We had to get up super early the next morning to be at school at 5 45am to get the buses. We got there with all our luggage, super tired, and met up with everyone. Of course, I knew almost nobody that was going except her and Eduardo, but Eduardo and I were on a different bus than Romane. We got all ready to go and started our nice long drive towards Paris. We stopped on the road to grab food and use the restroom, but we were soon back on the road again. Slowly we realized that we actually knew more people than we thought and we quickly began meeting new people. Before we knew it, we were in Paris and I saw the very tip of the Eiffel Tower over the roofs of other buildings. And I took a picture, of course, since it was the first view of the Eiffel Tower that I ever had in my entire life. We started off our crazy busy journey with a nice little walk through the city towards a science museum. We spent the morning there and then got a few hours in the afternoon to walk along the Champs Elysées. Eduardo and I took the opportunity to stroll down it and take in the wonderful sunlight that was beating down on us. We took lots of pictures and saw the famous stores, including Louis Vuitton and Cartier. We also went into a few shops, the cheaper ones of course, on the lookout for sunglasses for me.

At the end of the Champs Elysées, there is the Arc de Triomphe. We went and saw that also, and oh my is it huge!! I did my best, but I couldn't get it entirely into the picture frame. But we took pictures regardless and spent a good half hour just looking at it. It was six euros to go to the top, but we decided not to and instead just jumped around excitedly since we were in Paris! And of course helped other people take pictures also. It was really convenient having Eduardo there to take my pictures after I took his.

After our Arc de Triomphe adventure, we ended up running into a couple other kids that we knew and we walked a bit together, looking at Ray Ban sunglasses and going into a couple other stores like H&M. I have decided that I really want a pair of real Ray Bans. But at the end of my exchange, when I'm not broke after two weeks of traveling ;). We also got me a sandwich and went into the Disney store, only to be disappointed after finding out that it was actually just a store for babies...

We met back up with the rest of the students and made our way to our afternoon activity: La Louvre. And I must say, it is the most beautiful museum. Ever. I could spend weeks in that museum. Of course, with school we only had a couple hours, which wasn't nearly enough. But Madame Noel was our guide and she showed us around to the important things that the students needed to know about for their other classes. So we saw things like the Sphinx, the Venus sculpture, and of course the Mona Lisa. Everyone had told me not to expect much out of it and that it was small and not that awesome so I was really expecting this tiny painting, but I guess it was a good idea that everyone told me that because I still thought it was cool and really kinda creepy the way her eyes follow you... After we saw all the things that we needed to see, we had a little bit of free time to look at what we wanted. Eduardo and I walked through a couple of the Greek and Roman rooms with all the different statues. Seriously, I wish we had had a couple of days there. It was so incredible to see all the history that was in those rooms. And it's really cool and kind of weird to see the paintings and sculptures that are in all the history books and that was have studied in our classes, and then to see them in real life is kind of surreal... But I definitely loved it and would go back in a heartbeat.

After the Louvre, it was time to grab dinner and head back to the hotel. We ate in a little restaurant on a back street in Paris. We had chicken and fries and of course everyone complained about it being gross, but I thought it was fine. We had a little chocolate mousse thing for dessert also. We were all so tired though. After dinner we had a little bit of free time but then it was time to pile back on the buses and go to our hotel. On the way, all the kids started screaming and chanting, and Eduardo and I were so tired and found it pretty immature and I'm not gonna lie, we were really annoyed, especially because Madame Noel was trying to give explanations of all the things that we were passing in the process. But we ended up talking to a couple people and made a few friends. And honestly that whole phase didn't last long. Before we knew it we were being just as loud and obnoxious and them and we enjoyed ourselves! And then we saw it. The Eiffel Tower all lit up for the night. It even twinkles at one point. We stopped and got off the bus to take a couple pictures, and I was annoyed cause I couldn't seem to get a clear one. And then Eduardo and I almost missed the bus because we ventured closer to get better pictures... But we did get back on the bus and everything was ok!

Once we got to our little hotel, we were put into our rooms and I was put with a couple of girls that I didn't know at all. Of course, this didn't bother me either because at this point, being an exchange student, we are used to meeting new people and living with people we don't know. The rooms were really tiny with nothing in them except the beds and a sink and a little tiny table. There were communal bathrooms in the hallways with the toilets and showers and they were also co-ed. And kinda gross. But I don't like to complain... I washed my hair in the sink anyways.

The next morning we woke up nice and early and I attempted to shower, but the water was so hot that I couldn't put my skin under it. Somehow I managed and still got downstairs to have my free breakfast at the hotel. Nothing fancy like pancakes or anything, just some bread and jam and cereal. I had a nice conversation with a couple of Aussies though who were trying to find some cold milk for their cereal, though there was only hot milk. Then we started off for our day. We spent the morning at Versailles, which is the giant palace in Paris. It was a hot day and we had to wait outside for a while until our tickets were valid, but it was fun because we talked with the Belgians and took lots of pictures. And again, just soaking up the sun was wonderful since it doesn't seem to really exist in Belgium... Finally it was time for us to go in and we spent the morning walking through it, guided again by Madame Noel. It is so beautiful. There are rooms up on room that are painted from floor to ceiling with intricate murals and covered in gold. The sculptures and architecture are just to die for. After we went through the whole palace we got some free time on the grounds where we could just walk around. Eduardo and I walked around the entire main courtyard and took pictures, though I wish we would have had time to walk through the gardens, cause I'm sure they're gorgeous. But regardless, it was sunny and warm and the grounds are just as lovely as the palace itself.

Afterwards, we walked just a little ways from the castle to eat lunch at this little restaurant. Eduardo and I sat with a bunch of other kids outside and we had a few courses for lunch. We started off with crepes that were stuffed with a sort of cheese sauce. It was ok, but you could definitely tell that it was something boxed that they just had to reheat. The main course was a kebob of mystery meat and a potato with the same cheese sauce. Again, it was ok. We were most amused by this boy Axel and the hat that he made out of his napkin. And joking about the fact that one of the girls at the table paid three (or four I don't remember) euros for a Coke. We had chocolate eclairs for dessert also. Afterwards, we had a little bit of free time, which we spent just chilling cause we were all exhausted and it was hot. We then piled back on the buses and made our way back into the center of town to see the Grevin Wax Museum. Normally, I really don't like wax museums because I think they're creepy. But this was still cool to see. They had all kinds of figures, like George Clooney, Mika, Elton John, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Obama, etc. Eduardo and I took pictures with all of them. Which means I have a ridiculous amount of pictures with fake people... Then we had some more free time in which Eduardo and I looked for shorts for him for the voyage rhéto. We didn't find any, but he bought some sunglasses! We also had some other free time after that where we went to the Repetto store, which is the big company of dancewear in Paris. It doesn't exist outside of France at all and I just had to go there. I bought a bag for my dance things that says Repetto Paris on it! The store was absolutely gorgeous too. I would love to have the chance to go back and get my next pair of pointe shoes...

After that, it was dinner time, where we went to a buffet style restaurant, and then it was boat time. We got back on the buses and drove for a bit until we found ourselves beneath the Eiffel Tower! Again, it was lit up for night and we took pictures and video. It was the first time since we got there that all the groups were rejoined together and I saw Romane again. Then we all got on a boat for a nice little trip down the river. It was nice to just feel the wind on a nice calm boat and see the city that way. Every time we passed people sitting on the edge, they would wave to us and we would wave back. There was even one guy who made his hands in the shape of a heart and pointed at me. I of course pointed to myself asking "who, me?" and he nodded and blew me a kiss. It was cute. After the boat ride was over we went back to the hotel and settled in for a good night's sleep.

The next day was the same morning routine. We woke up and went down to the same breakfast, packed up the bus with our things and headed off towards Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. We climbed up all those steps with the people trying to sell us things left and right. There was a guy at the top playing harp music and people painting the landscape too, along with other people dressed up as statues. The whole atmosphere was really nice. We were given free time to visit the church and the other things around it. Eduardo and I went inside the church and saw that and then went back behind it to explore the little village around it. We saw some sculptures, the artists, the paintings that were everywhere. We even went all the way back down the steps to finish our souvenir shopping since everything there was cheaper. And I bought my sunglasses that I had been searching for the entire trip. And we ran back up all the steps in about 5 minutes to get to the meeting point on time. We were panting by the time we got up there, and of course nobody else was on time. But it wasn't a big deal. We amused ourselves. We then met up with everyone else and walked down into town again. We passed through the not-so-great part of town, including the celebrated Moulin Rouge. Which I thought was pretty cool. Then we met back up with the bus, went to lunch (I had Lebanese food) and after, drove some more until we reached our final big destination: Notre Dame de Paris.

Madame Noel gave us the explanations outside the church and we walked around to see the sides of it and such. It was really hot out and kind of difficult to keep the focus, but the building is just so big and beautiful, you can't help but take it all in. Then we got in the long line to go through it, but it went fairly quickly. I'm not going to lie though, the inside was much less extravagant than I imagined it to be. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful. But the other Notre Dames that I've seen just made me think there would be much more to it, especially because the outside is so intricate. Nonetheless, it was great to see. Afterwards, we had even more free time and Eduardo and I did a little shopping. We were still on the lookout for shorts for him, but no luck. However, we did find that one store that I had talked about when I went to Lille during Carnaval. Remember? I found awesome jeans there but I forgot my wallet? Well, lucky me! I found them again! And yes, I bought them. It was my last Paris purchase. Because after that we had to run back to meet the group on time. We then took a group photo and then it was back on the bus to go home. We stopped once for food, but mostly we all slept. It was a wonderful trip. We made great friends and we were singing and chanting and screaming with them by the end of it. We got back around midnight and I went home from an amazing three day trip. And I went right to bed.

Of course, after all the good, of course there must be some bad. The next day was a little hellish because I thought I had lost all 550 pictures that I had taken. I had put the memory card in my computer and downloaded all the pictures. It then asked me if I wanted to erase the card. Well I always say yes so I said yes this time too. Well then the program froze and I had to force quit. And none of my pictures were there and only a few were still on the memory card. I freaked out. I could not find these pictures or figure out how to get them back. I spent the next few hours frantically searching the internet and looking everywhere for these pictures. I even made an appointment to call Apple and figure this out. But finally I looked in a folder marked "All Images" and there they were. Among everything else. Thank God. So I was able to transfer them back into iPhoto and everything was fine. But I was having a nice little heart attack for a few hours there. And that night we had visitors who came for dinner. We had a lot of really good food and conversation, but I was so tired for the trip and I had also gotten all ready and packed to leave the next day again that I wasn't really in any of the conversation.

The next day I left for Italy. But that's for another day and another blog post. I will try to write all about that adventure tomorrow. For now, it's bedtime. Bonne nuit !

By the way, pictures will be up in a separate post I think tomorrow... I hope!

I'm Here I Promise!

I know it may seem like I dropped off the face of the planet. I haven't posted since Tuesday... I'm afraid that I'm becoming lazy with blogging... And I refuse to let that happen!

However, I'm not posting a real post tonight. It's one am exactly and I didn't get to sleep until 5am last night (morning) and I'm just really exhausted. But I have a lot to write about so tomorrow's post will involve some great stories and fabulous pictures :) Look forward to it and make sure to check back in tomorrow!!!!

Bonne nuit

:)

15 days...

There are now 15 days until I leave. And I don't have much to say, but I think that I must post for the sake of the countdown. My friends and I are trying to plan one big last blowout fun night before I leave. It's going to be epic! I can't wait! I think we're trying to plan for Monday to Tuesday. But that is really all I have to say right now. I'm getting more and more scared. GAH