Hello Homesickness

Today was the roughest day I've had in a long time. I really am not entirely sure why, but the interesting part is that my mother was feeling pretty blue today as well. We seem to be connected over time and space in a weird way... Not to mention I really miss my (not) boyfriend. I woke up this morning with a rumbling stomach, but couldn't eat because I just did not feel good and my body didn't want food. It took quite a bit of effort to make myself eat at lunchtime. I've just been really distracted the last couple days. And I've been a day off. It really feels like Tuesday and it's felt like the day after for a good week now. I can't understand why. Probably because there is no school and no dance to keep my internal calendar up to date...

This morning I went to the gym for two hours, but before that, my host mom dropped me off at the post office to send off my Christmas packages. By the way, the United States gets one point for the USPS. I officially love the United States Postal Service, and will forever be gracious towards everyone who does/ever has worked there. Belgium, you're awesome, but your postal system sucks. I'll get back to that in a minute. I also have a bone to pick with Rotary. I depend on my monthly stipend to go into the bank of the 1st of every month, because that was what they told me was going to happen back in November. But of course, it wasn't there today and the post office doesn't take Visa, so I had to leave my ID card at the post office and run, literally, to the town square because the ATM by the post office was out of order (OF COURSE), and in Belgium, you're lucky if there's more than one ATM in every city. So I ran there and ran back, paid to send the packages, and then went to work out for two hours. But I hadn't eaten yet and I was exhausted and distracted and just not at the top of my game. The stair climber kicked my butt.

Around 1pm, Karine came to get me and we went to another post office to pick up a package that my parents had sent from the States, because you know, the mail man can't drop it off at the house. Again, USPS guys, you rock. What happens here is when you get a package, sometimes they leave you a slip in the mailbox that says it's here and you have to come pick it up from whichever post office. I got the slip last week. But because it's Belgium, the post office is always closed. Finally, we got to go today. Oh and I had to pay the taxes. Because it's Belgium. But of course, the post office was CLOSED. It wouldn't open for another fifteen or twenty minutes, so we went home and ate lunch, which was a pasta thing that my host dad had made. Then me and my host mom went to go get my package, which was surprisingly small and I don't understand why they couldn't drop it off at the house. OH and another about the Belgian post, if the weather isn't good, they just don't bring the mail. Once again, USPS, rain or shine, blazing hot or freezing cold, tornado or tsunami, they bring you your mail. Plus one, United States.

Obviously I'm a little down on Belgium today. I didn't do much with the rest of my day. I edited some more pictures, listened to music, talked to my mother, watched some Frasier. Then I went out to that Chinese restaurant with my host parents and Benoit. It was pretty delicious. I really like their wonton soup. And I didn't have a cup with an obscene picture in the bottom this time. The dinner conversation got me a little worked up too.

Here's something the Belgians can't get through their heads: The United States is BIG. Yes, there are problems, and yes there are corrupt people. But HELLO!! That happens everywhere! But there are a gagillion people in the States, so obviously the numbers are going to be higher and the problems magnified. And things are done differently in different regions. For example, all the Rotary clubs in Belgium are run pretty much the same way. But you can fit three Belgiums inside one Ohio. So obviously, my Rotary club is going to be different from Talia's, and both of ours are going to be different from Mikayla's too, because it's too big to keep everything consistent when different ways each work fine. That's just an example. But anyway, I wish the Belgians could understand that. But of course, I still don't know enough words in French to accurately convey that, though I tried. And I did not lose my temper, though I was so exhausted that I thought my head would explode.

Then I got home, edited pictures, and now I'm contemplating sleep. I switch families in three days. It's pretty nuts. Tomorrow, I don't have any plans, but I''m sure I'll go work out and maybe get my bus pass... Finally. Anyways, goodnight world.

Red pants today.

I Ate Twice My Weight Today...

It's Saturday. I really feel like all I did today was eat. It's almost 1 30am too and I'm so freaking exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this blog. So it may be a little less detailed than normal.

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.

Sore Day And The Cookie Mountain

Can anyone guess what day comes after exercise day? You guessed it! Sore day! Ok, truth be told, it wasn't that bad. My arms were really the only part of me that was in pain. My legs ached a bit and my chest and shoulders too, but my arms were horrible. But Talia and I stuck it through and after our very easy morning, we went for day 2.

Our morning consisted of our English exam. The exchange students had to give a presentation of everything that the class had covered over the course of the semester. This pretty much included topics like why language learning is important, why English is important, the different songs they studied, "A Christmas Carol" and the presentations that some other exchange students had come to give. The prof gave us the first 2 hours of the exam time to prepare while the rest of the class was taking the first part of their exam. So Eduardo, Talia, Mikayla and I worked on the presentation. We had decided to put on a little skit where Talia was the teacher and us three were the students who were in an English class. So we wrote the script and then at the beginning of the second half, we put it on for the class. And it was a big hit! We even got some laughs. And afterwards, the prof could not stop raving about it. She thought it was absolutely excellent. She used the word "extraordinary". Go us! So I think we passed.

We finished our skit in about twenty minutes and then the three girls went over to the GB to look for a pumpkin for Mikayla. We couldn't find that, but she bought some Pringles and I got a little pasta thingy for my lunch, along with some Christmas cards and a new white out. We then went over to the café to eat our brown bag lunches and relax before Talia and I were scheduled to be at the gym at 1pm.

Around 12 20, Talia and I started heading over there. We stopped at the GB again to grab a water bottle, and then we were back on our way. We got there close to one, changed, and then had another run through of the circuit, this time with a guy showing us around. He had us do basically the same things as yesterday, with just a few changes in the exercises and adding a machine or two. At 2pm, Géraldine, Talia's host sister, came up to the gym to join us and do the workouts with us. We stayed until almost 4pm, and I have to say, I had a blast! We had fun talking and joking and laughing with the gym guy, even though I thought I was going to die from time to time due to my very sad lack of arm strength. Tomorrow, we do just cardio.

After we finished at the gym, I went home to begin my next adventure: Cookies! I decided to do cookies for Christmas gifts to my friends at school, and I spent the entire evening making two batches of my famous chocolate chip cookies. You see, in the States, every year for Christmas I make chocolates. All different kinds. Peanut butter cups, peanut clusters, chocolate covered marshmallows and pretzels with different sprinkles, all kinds. My specialty is a chocolate covered pretzel rolled in peppermint pieces. I was a pro at my chocolate making. Even my molds were special. I had all different colors of chocolates and I would make the molds very artistic. The teddy bears would get red hearts. The snowmen were white chocolate with orange carrot noses, colorful hats, scarves and buttons, and black for the eyes and mouth. I was very meticulous about my snow men. I even had little paper cups for the clusters that had holly leaves on them. And then I would take a bunch of the chocolates and put them in little cellophane bags with snowflakes or Christmas trees or holly or whatever decoration on them and tie them up with red and gold Christmas cord. They made wonderful gifts and everyone always loved them. But since I'm in Belgium and they don't seem to be really into that kind of stuff and there's no cake/confectionary store nearby, I went for cookies. Also, all the Belgians rave over my cookies, so why not? I made them a bit smaller too. And since Belgian appliances are considerably smaller than American ones, I could only make nine cookies at a time. Talk about time consuming. But I spent the time in between batches talking to my friends back in the States, catching up with my sister and trying not to raise my arms too high.

By the time I had finished all the cookies, which was after dinner (that pasta dish that my host dad makes with the shrimp... The whole ones... That you have to dismember yourself... The ones that stare at you), I had formed a small mountain from the 143 cookies that I had made. Of course, occasionally Benoit would come downstairs and steal some, and I ate way too much dough and cookies and chocolate... Kinda defeating the purpose of today's workout, but I confess and I will try harder to get back on my diet!

However, the fun did not stop there! I then spent the next couple hours making little satchels for my cookies out of red napkins and plastic wrap and tying them up with gold ribbon with Christmas trees on it. But then I ran out of plastic wrap. So I put a paper towel on top of the red napkin and wrapped that up instead so that the red was on the outside. But then I ran out of paper towels. So I used foil. But only for like two or three of them. In the end, I had forty satchels ready to take to school tomorrow. And now I'm in bed after a lovely hot shower and I'm ready to sleep.

Oh and my host dad wore his red pants today.

Bonne nuit!

Bruxelles À Noël

Today, my host mother woke me up at 8 20am to tell me that they were taking me to Brussels to see it all decked out for the holidays. Needless to say, at 8 20 in the morning, I wasn't too ecstatic about this idea. But I rolled out bed after my six hours of sleep anyway and got myself dressed and ready to go as quickly as I could. Not really, I took my time. But I still managed to get myself downstairs for breakfast around 9am. There was some wonderful bakery and cheese on the table, and the minute I left my room I was greeted by the most amazing smell of cinnamon and sugar. This was because my host parents had been hard at work making the traditional Belgian cookie, speculoos. I've talked about speculoos before. It's like a gingerbread type cookie with cinnamon and almond. And it's wonderful and the scent is to die for.

So as I'm sure you can tell, I broke my diet and ate a couple cookies along with some wonderful breakfast pastry. And some cheese on a roll. And then my host mom made me tea. I was set for the day.

By the way, my host dad wore his red pants today.

We left soon after that and were off to Brussels by car. I sat in the back and read a book on my iPod as we went. I got through almost 50 pages on the way there. I was pretty content, and it's a wonderful book (Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louis Rennison). We parked the car and ventured out into the rainy Belgian city. It warmed up a little today, so the majority of the snow was gone and it was raining instead of snowing. I have to say, I prefer the snow. I hate carrying around an umbrella.

My host mom and I separated from my host dad for a while, and we walked through the city, going into a few shops here and there and looking at all the great window displays. There were chocolate shops everywhere, all with speculoos in the windows, molded into the shapes of Saint Nicholas. Everything was so warm and wonderful and they all smelled amazing. She took me into the Grande Place and I saw the decorations for Christmas there, which featured a huge Christmas tree in the center, all lit up and sparkling. I imagine that it's ridiculously beautiful at night, all lit up and glowing. But alas, it was rainy day, so as beautiful as it was, it was still a little bit sad looking. Hopefully I'll get to go back.

We met back up with my host dad in an art gallery. Ok I'm going to diverge a little bit here. What is with the Belgians and this ridiculous level of comfort with sex and nudity??? I just don't understand! Everywhere you go, there are paintings of naked women or people just going at it or just things like that. They're everywhere! Like yesterday at the Village de Noël, there was a stand where you could buy a license plate and have it engraved. There was one that had a cartoon guy giving the viewer the middle finger while in the process of certain activity that requires a female partner. And there are things like this all over the place. And I'm so not used to it. And what was worse in this case, they were all pictures of the painter's wife. That poor woman... But I suppose that's culture, so whatever. I just find it a little discomforting with my naive American mindset. walked through another shop that specialized in kitchen and bathroom design, and marveled at all the different furnitures and such. Don't laugh at me. I enjoyed it! I like stuff like that. And when I told them that the typical American oven is about three times the size of the typical Belgian oven, they were amazed. But it's true! Belgian appliances are so tiny. I can only do one batch of 9 cookies at a time in the oven here, when in the States I could make two dozen at a time. It's a little annoying...

Anyways, we then went to this wonderful Italian restaurant for lunch. Wow! We started off with a sort of appetizer, where they brought us a big plate that had a bunch of little quantities of vegetables all around the edge and a little pile of beans in the center, all drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Some of them were stuffed with cheese, others were spiced, and some were buttery. But they were all delicious. We all just went at it with our forks and it was gone before we could blink twice. Then we made like true Europeans and sopped up all the vinegar with the bread that they brought us. That was delicious. Apparently that is very Italian. For my entrée, I decided on one of the specialties, the gnocchi with a tomato basil sauce. My host mom got a ravioli in a white marscapone sauce and my host dad got pasta that was really spiced and served with mushrooms and a sauce also. They brought us our plates and I thought it was a pretty small pile of gnocchi. Until I started eating it. It was really, really wonderful. Flavorful and authentic, but definitely heavier than I remember in the States. Although now that I think about it, it did fill me up pretty quickly there too. I also tried some of each of my host parents' meals, and they were rich and wonderful as well. I somehow managed to eat all on my plate, and I was completely stuffed. But that wasn't the end of the meal, no. My host dad insisted on getting dessert. Although he didn't have any... But my host mom and I both got the panne cotta (sp?). It was served with strawberries and a strawberry syrup to pour over it and my God... It was so delicious. Creamy and light and flavorful and just really wonderful. I don't know how I managed it, but I ate the rest of that and I was so full.

Our day did not end there. We went to buy some speculoos from the best shop in Brussels, and then we went to the best chocolate shop in Belgium. This place was nuts. You'd think you walked into a fine art gallery. This was not just chocolate, this was true art. There were two floors. And it was just... Exclusive and luxurious looking. And delicious. And my host dad insisted on buying one of the biggest boxes of chocolates you can get. All different pralines and truffles. He spent 37 euros on one box of chocolates today. Not joking. But man, they are really amazingly tasty. I tried one that was infused with Earl Grey tea. Wow. New favorite chocolate. This might be a problem when it comes to my bank account...

We then attempted to go see an art exhibition but it had ended already for the day and we were too late. So we resigned to going to the car to come home. I ended up falling asleep for the majority of the ride. And now I'm sitting in my room, really cold even though my heat is up all the way, waiting to be called down for a dinner that I'm really not hungry for. But that is ok! I had a good day, and a good week, and I'm pretty happy. Plus one! :)

La Toussaint

Today is November 1st. In the States, this is "All Saints Day". Here, it translates to "La Toussaint". This is the day where we remember all of those people who have died and we celebrate their lives.

In honor of this day, I went with my host family to my host grandparents' house. But this time it was the parents of my host dad. I really did not want to go, though, because last night I found myself really not feeling well during dinner, to the point where I stopped eating entirely because my body was screaming at me. I went up to bed and when I woke up this morning, I still wasn't feeling well. It was a really weird stomach ache that came in waves. Just the thought of doing things or going places or eating (cause I was hungry) caused my body to yell NO at me. So I wasn't feeling like going to a lunch where there would be plenty of food that just looking at it would make me queasy... But I went anyways, met the family, and had some smalltalk conversation before the meal. The crowd consisted of me and my host parents and brothers, my host dad's parents, uncle, and a cousin (who, by the way, was wearing PURPLE PANTS) and his girlfriend. I spent a lot of time talking to her. She was very nice and we talked about a lot of different things. It was kind of hard for me though, because everyone kept offering me wine and food, but the very thought of it made me feel queasy. And I felt like I was being very rude, but nobody seemed to understand that I just really did not feel well. Although my host grandmother did give me some sort of herbal remedy medication...

Luckily, by the time we were ready to eat, I was feeling decent enough to take small portions and eat a full meal. We started off with a vegetable soup. Then we had a sort of meatloaf that had bacon on top of it, cauliflower, another sort of vegetable who's name escapes me (we do not have that in Parma, Ohio), cooked pears with a sort of cherry jelly in the middle of them, and of course, frites. Overall, the meal was very good. We finished it with a cake that my host dad had made that had pears in it. That was delicious, as usual.

After dinner, we spent a little time talking, walking around the garden, and trying not to freeze to death in the cold Belgian air. Then most of us went over to the church around 3pm for the Stations of the Cross. I understood nothing, but I recognized the Hail Mary and said that prayer a few times to myself. We then went over to the cemetery, and that's where I about cracked.

Cemeteries here are so different from in the States. Obviously, they serve the same purpose. But walking into that cemetery, first of all, it was quite a bit smaller. But the graves were not. Not by any means. Every single one was raised out of the ground, with giant plaques coming out of the ground, intricately carved with the persons name and different figures and designs. Most were marble and some had huge cross statues as well. Some had the pictures of the people on the tombstone as well. They were huge and beautiful and detailed and just overwhelming. Not to mention that every single grave was COVERED in flowers. Just covered. And I don't mean people came by and dropped a single rose. I mean HUGE bouquets of flowers everywhere. People had also put plaques with messages on them on the graves. It was astounding. And nobody in that cemetery was crying. Everyone was having conversation, smiling, and praying for their loved ones. It almost made ME cry, because it was just seeing how much the people really do care about the people that they lost. They have mourned the loss, and now they celebrate the life that they lived. It was amazing. I can't even really describe how it made me feel because it was all just so new to me. I am used to going to cemeteries, walking around quietly, solemnly, grieving. Crying. Searching through tiny little stones that are flat against the ground, maybe with the occasional forgotten flower tossed towards it. This was so far from that... It truly was a celebration of life and remembrance. Overwhelming. And beautiful.

And now, I sleep well, knowing that the ones that I have lost, that I love, are happy in heaven with God. And I think fondly of them, and celebrate their lives.

The Best Sleepover Everrrrrrr

My host dad wore red pants today.

Today was an average day at school. I had quite a few hours of study because a lot of the teachers are gone on the retreats with the students. So that was pretty boring. But it was also good because I managed to write a whole 2 and a half page long letter to my French teacher back in the States. All in French! I was really proud of myself. Yes, thank you, I know I'm amazing.

Just kidding.

Also, an interesting tid bit, Mikayla found that she was wearing the same shirt as Edwardo today. Just a button down shirt from H&M, but we found it very amusing and decided that it was picture worthy.

After school, Mikayla came home with me and we stopped at a woman's house to get some fresh vegetables. It was pretty cool because it was like a grocery store in this woman's backyard. Interesting right? I thought so. Afterwards, we stopped a bakery where Mikayla and I each picked out some delicious little cakes for a snack. When we got back to my house, we ate our cake and then decided to make ourselves useful by introducing the Belgians to the wonders of pumpkin seeds. They never eat those here. My host mom conveniently had decided to make pumpkin soup part of our meal this evening. So Mikayla and I spent a while removing the goo from the seeds and then threw them in the oven for about a half hour. And they were delicious. My host family was amazed.

We then spent some time in front of the television and computer, watching MTV in French and not understanding anything, but being a little bit shocked and appalled at how disgusting MTV can be. No surprise there. We then had dinner, which was pumpkin soup, followed by a meat with the delicious Liègois sauce over rice with beetroot (I don't expect anyone to recognize that. We don't seem to have it in the States. It's a vegetable) in a cream sauce. Wonderful dinner. Although right after dinner, we discovered that my eye had turned a lovely shade of red. And was beginning to hurt. So I took out my contacts and took off my makeup and I have no idea what the problem was/is, but it's slowly returning to normal.

Mikayla and I then decided it was time to put my expertise to work and make chocolate chip cookies. Which turned out PERFECTLY. I am the best. Well, at cookies at least. Arnaud, you'll be glad to know that these won't make you cry. They are perfect slightly warm with cold milk. Even my host mom agrees. Hopefully, there will still be some there for us in the morning.

Now, we are going to figure out which movie to watch, and then it's bed time. Tomorrow, we're thinking French toast for breakfast. Yum. Bonne nuit.

Sick No Longer!

First order of business: My host dad wore normal pants today.

Second order of business: My sore throat is officially gone! It's amazing what a four hour nap can do. Normally, when I'm sick in the States, I go about my life that normal, and it takes a good week to heal. But there is in fact logic to the concept of "rest and lots of fluids". I am living proof! I've never gotten over a cold in one day! Fantastic.

Today, I had one class. Well, I also had my first class with Père Boly, but we spent that on a mission to find Talia coffee. Which we did find, and it was apparently terrible. I'm sorry dear. We also got our school pictures. I actually kind of like mine. It doesn't suck. So anyways, I thought I would have two classes today, but it turns out that my Science teacher was gone too, so I had only History. Which I was ok with, since I worked really hard on my homework and actually wanted to turn it in. After that, I went into town with Mikayla, Talia, and Edwardo. We got lunch and hit up the grocery store. And then I realized that I had left my wallet at home. Idiot, I know. But tomorrow is another day. After realizing that there really was nothing else for us to do, we retired to the café, which is normal for us, and just sat around for a while. My host mom picked me up around 1pm and I accompanied her while she took an old woman to the doctor's. The woman was very nice, but I fell asleep in the car, as I am still a bit foggy and sick ish, and slept through the entire thing. After that, we went grocery shopping, where I actually spoke up for the first time and picked out some things that I wanted, like BabyBell cheese and apples. You know, I really really enjoy grocery shopping. I don't know what it is about it, but I guess it has something to do with my incredible love for food.

Speaking of which, I have put myself on a diet, and it has only been a couple days, but I've been doing pretty well. I resist the Nutella every morning and I don't buy anything from the vending machine. I had a couple pieces of chocolate today at my house, but it wasn't too much and I had two hours of dance after.

Which was fail. I don't know why, but I just was not on in my class at all today. I think part of it was because I really am very tired still, and I'm still a bit sick. Plus I wasn't really into it today. I was zoned out. Hopefully Saturday will go better.

Dinner consisted of chicken sausages, which I found very interesting, but I don't know if I would ask for them again, potatoes, brussel sprouts, which I surprisingly enjoyed, and homemade applesauce, which I love!

Ok there wasn't much substance to this post and it was all over the place, but I just needed to have an upbeat, not so depressive one. I apologize for the sadness that had swept over my blog the last couple days. Hopefully, it's gone for a while! Bonne nuit!

Better Day. And Orange Pants.

I'm going to start a list of the interesting colored pants that my host dad owns. Today, we add orange to the list.

Today was rough. But better than last night. Last night, I had a major breakdown. I haven't cried that much since before I got here. It was pretty bad... And Belgians don't seem to believe in Kleenex so I was blowing my nose in toilet paper. Lovely, right? But I didn't do any crying today, though I came close once or twice when I got really frustrated with life.

Good news is that it is Wednesday and that means that it was only a half day. Now granted, the three hours of real courses that I did have (the first was Père Boly as usual, which doesn't count), all we did was take notes while our substitute teacher lectured. And this was incredibly frustrating for me, as she talked very fast, and everyone was speed writing and I just could not keep up, though I tried. I have found that if I just listen, I can usually understand, but the minute I start writing, my focus is split and I fall behind extremely quickly. It's not good. Plus, I'm sick. I now have a full blown sore throat and I am exhausted. Good news is that it seems to be just the throat. My head is fine, my nose is fine, I don't have a fever or a stomach ache. So hopefully this will pass soon. I slept for about four hours after school today (after a wonderful lunch of vegetable soup and omelet) and I'm sure that I will still sleep a full night tonight. After that four hour nap, I did feel much better, though I just sat around like a couch potato all afternoon and all night. Which I'm ok with.

Tomorrow, I only have to go to school in the morning because my afternoon teachers won't be there. Yay! So I will probably sleep more tomorrow night ha.

Today, I read a lot of posts on other blogs that I follow about body image. It seems to kind of be a theme for today. And it was so incredibly helpful. I'm quite grateful for it. Because that is what my entire breakdown last night was all about. It's funny how God works, eh? Through blog posts :) But I am being very cautious about what I eat now. And there is Belgian chocolate in my room and it is taunting me. I was supposed to run today, but I think the fact that I'm sick is a good excuse. Besides, it's so dang cold! But I do have dance tomorrow so we'll see how that goes...

This blog post is really spiratic and ADD but hey, that's me. It's 9pm now and I am going to do some homework and then go to bed. Bonne nuit tout le monde.

Retreat, Day Two

So remember how I said my host dad wears purple pants? Well he wore them again today, because Belgians where the exact same outfits for multiple days in a row, and I realized that they are more of a red, rosey, purpley color. Just updating everyone.

Today, I went back to the school to spend my day with les petits enfants. And I realized that yesterday I said it was a primary school, when really, I'm at a preschool. I guess my brain just didn't make that connection before. I had a good time, but it was very tiring. It's so hard for me to communicate with the kids, since they just barely speak French, and I speak English... And when I make a mistake, or my pronunciation is off, they don't understand me. And half the time I don't understand them either. I mean, even in the States, sometimes you can't understand when a child speaks, because they jumble words and don't always know how to say things. So you can imagine what it's like trying to figure it all out in French.

But I was still able to have a lot of fun with them and play games and go to gym class and do art work and of course, take tons of pictures. However, the teachers asked that we don't post anything on the Internet, so you'll just have to imagine what it was like.

There was one child that I especially bonded with today. And that is because he is in the same boat as me. He came into the room crying, this little three year old Chinese boy, because he doesn't understand anything that anyone says to him. He only speaks Chinese and he has only been in Belgium for three months. I felt so terrible, because he just cried and sat alone, and couldn't understand a word. Since I understood exactly how that is, I decided to befriend the child. And I just told him, in English, so he didn't understand me either, that I understood what it was like to be completely lost. And somehow I think he kind of understood what I said to him because after that, I put my arm around him and he just kind of clung to me for the rest of the morning. He didn't say a word, but I knew he was finally comfortable with someone. Which made me feel really good inside :)

I then went grocery shopping with my host mom, maybe found a good substitute for American cheese, bought some great Belgian chocolate, came home, took a nice nap, ate dinner, and then went to dance class, which I nailed. I have to say, these are the days when I remember why I want to be a dancer!

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I have my last day at the preschool, then I'm heading over to Talia's to get ready for a big fête in Hannut called, ready for this, KickAss. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be vulgar, but that's the name of it. In English and everything. Basically it's a big electronica dance party at a club in Hannut and everybody is going. So that will go til about 3am and then the Saturday I have to be in Namur at 8:30am for a Rotary outing! Yay for not sleeping! As for now, I wish to sleep. Bonne nuit!

The Fort, Retreat, And Purple Pants

Today, I came downstairs to breakfast to see that my host dad has a pair of purple pants. And he actually wears them. I just thought I'd share that with the world.

Today was my first day on "retreat". Except it wasn't really a retreat. I went with my two friends, Manon and Flore, to a primary school and helped out with the kids at school. Since it's Wednesday, we only had a half day today. Tomorrow and Friday, we will go back and we will have full days of school to help out with. I had a good time though! I love little kids, and they tend to love me too. The only thing with young kids in Belgium is that I don't want to speak French to them because they are so young. They won't understand anything I say when I make mistakes because their little minds don't know how to fix my errors and comprehend what I say. So I kept pretty quiet today and didn't say much. But I still had a good time and still had little cuties holding my hands and giving me hugs. It was fun!

In the afternoon, I went to a fort with Rotary. I wasn't originally going to go, because I thought I would be at the retreat all day. But then yesterday we found out that it was only going to be a half day, and I ended up being able to go after all. I wasn't really that psyched to visit and old war fort, but I figured hey, it's a chance to see the other exchange students, right? It was a very long tour that included a very very long, steep set of stairs, and I can't say it was incredibly interesting, but they fed us fruit pies afterwards and it was a good chance to catch up with the other exchange students, so overall, it was a good time.

Then came the train fiasco. Which isn't much of a fiasco, but basically we all were waiting for a train to take us back to Liège and it was supposed to come at 6:22. Well 6:22 rolls around and no train. Then before you know it, it's 6:25. And then 6:30. Finally, one of the conductor guys told us that we could get on the other train that had been sitting there for a while and it would take us to Liège. So we all piled on that one and waited another ten minutes before finally taking off towards Liège. But of course, because of this delay, Mikayla and I had missed our second train to take us back home. Luckily, a couple of the Australians knew of another train that would take us to the same place, so we were still able to get back to the station around 7:30, why my host mom picked me up and took me home. I ate dinner (chicken, salad, chocolate mousse) and now I am writing this blog. Which I realize is not as detailed as I normally do things, but I'm so exhausted and I have to get up earlier than usual in the morning, since I have to be at the school at 8:00 instead of 8:30. So goodnight and see you all tomorrow!

P.S. My host family is totally obsessed with my chocolate chip cookies. Karine is buying me more chocolate to make another batch and is using them as bargaining chips to get Benoit to clean his room.