Awesome Day!

Nothing really important happened today, it was just a really good day, and I'll tell you why.

For one thing, I actually have a definite schedule now. Yay!! By that, I also figured out that I do in fact have a biology, music, and Spanish class. I was beginning to think I didn't have those classes, but they're on my schedule! Also, I had three hours of "etude," or study hall. What's not to love?

Secondly, I talked to a couple girls in French during etude (like I was actually a part of the conversation the whole time! It was awesome.) With the help of my handy dandy french-english dictionary, we made it through.

Then it was time for this mysterious Spanish class that I didn't think I had. I went to class and the teacher asks me different questions (in French!) about how long I studied and how much Spanish I know. And I was actually able to answer the questions in French! (Note: By the amount of exclamation marks, it should be obvious that the writer is very VERY excited about this matter.) The first task of the day was to write a description of a famous person in Spanish so the class could guess who it was. (We worked in partners.) I ended up transñating the vocabulary from French to Spanish for other people! That was COOL!! The next task was to write, in Spanish or French, what we wanted to learn that year in Spanish class. Well, I obviously don't know enough vocabulary or grammar to write this in French, so I wrote it in Spanish. But, the STRANGE part was that French was coming to mind faster than the Spanish.

My overview of my language learning... Spanish used to be something that I could speak freely with my American friends, but now it's getting harder. French is much more immediate now, sometimes it comes to mind faster than English. Now, THAT'S WEIRD!!!

Basically, it was an AWESOME DAY!!

Trout, Petting Zoo, Liege, and Paris

My host dad went fishing one day and caught some trout. The next day we ate them, or the day after, I don't remember exactly. I was a little nervous because the fish was starring at me from the plate, but it was actually very delicious.

Liege is almost famous in the eyes of the exchange students, everyone wants to go there, but to anyone else, it's just another city. And the people back home, don't even know about it. It's common to go to Liege or Luxembourg to go shopping because there are a lot of shops. It's a very fun, and large city, and you might just run into people you know. I actually did. I saw two of the girls I met at the airport in Washington D.C. It was pretty awesome. Most of the exchange students live around Liege, so it isn't uncommon to see them.

Thursday, I was walking back from my special French class with Tara, my Canadian friend, and we found a "petting zoo" in a parking lot. It wasn't really a petting zoo, but rather a vendor selling animals. (Mostly chickens) They were all so cute and adorable. Then we started feeling really bad for them, because they were all cramped up inside these little cages, so we left.

I went to Paris yesterday with my art class at school. I never ever thought I would say that. Especially it being just a day trip. We left from school on our tour bus at 5:30am and arrived in Paris around 10ish. It wasn't terribly long though. I enjoyed looking at the French countryside, plus it was really early so I slept a bit.

In Paris we went to a science/art museum type place first. It was really cool. The anatomy stuff was awesome, because I actually understood what it was talking about. (Everything's in French) But it was big, and there were a million things to do. Here were just a couple things.

Afterwards we went to the Louvre Museum, which I believe is famous, or at least everyone seems to know it. It was beyond huge, and amazing. The artwork is fabulous. I didn't know any of it previously, but it was great. Here are a couple pictures.

Later, when we had some free time, a couple friends and I went to la tour Eiffel. (the Eiffel Tower) It was also quite amazing. We took the long way there because we were trying to find it by simply seeing it from far away and walking in the general direction. Bad idea. Look at a map. It took us over an hour to get there, and only about 20 minutes to get back. Yeah, haha, look at a map. What was quite skocking to me was that the Eiffel Tower wasn't the main attraction in Paris. There were plently more people interested in the museum and walking around enjoying the 'grand place.' It's so big, and beautiful. There's no way to describe it, and even pictuers can't do it justice. It's just something you have to see in person.

Twilight

I know that Twilight isn't really about Belgium, but it is a part of life in Belgium, so I'm writing about it anyway. I definitely love the saga and am dying to see New Moon. I wonder if it'll be shown in English or French? Hmm, well either way, it will still be amazing. And by that time, I will understand the French! Bella's Lullaby is a beautiful song and I don't know what else, but it's an awesome song.

I am currently trying to read New Moon in French, and it's proving to be quite a challenge. But, I'm determined to read it and actually understand. I know it will help me learn French, and I don't have an English copy so this works. (For the best, really.)

I also am reading Midnight Sun (in English), which for those of you who don't know, is Twilight in Edward's view. It's amazing to get the second perspective on things. It's just simply awesome, and I'm definitely in favor of Stephanie Meyer finishing it. If anyone ever finds out that she is, let me know!

Actually, in America, New Moon comes out on my birthday. Here is comes out on November 18th. I'm not complaining or anything that is comes out sooner, but it was kind of cool that it came out on my birthday.

So everyone: remember that you should all read the twilight saga (again, if you've already read it). That's my only advice today.

My Weekend Thus Far

Yesterday (Friday), I went to my first Rotary meeting. It was pretty cool. I mean, the French was a little over my head, but still cool. I'm pretty sure we ate dinner (for the meeting) at a hotel in Luxembourg. I wondered why we were having a meeting in Luxembourg when everyone there lived in Belgium, but anywho, that's how it was. The food was -eh- okay, but the dessert was delicious. Below are some pictures from that night. By the way, the sugar cubes were awesome. We were all half asleep, so they really helped.

Today, I woke up around 11 after having a good night's rest. I read some of Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer. Took a shower. Looked around on facebook for a bit. Checked by email. I thought I was leaving at 1:30 to go to my neighbor's house because we were doing something together that day. (At the time I had no idea what. And my host parents went to a wedding.) Then, I was informed around 1 ish that I needed to leave at that moment because the bus we were taking to the city was leaving in 3 minutes. (We were planning on going to see a movie at the cinema) So, my hair being wet, having just taken a shower, I got my things together, grabbed my hairbrush, and ran out the door. Once I made it to the neighbor's house, we ran through the field, went through a fence, and finally made it to the bus stop. We sat there for about 10 minutes and then decided mutually that we had missed the bus. So then there were two options: one, walk to the next village and catch the bus there, or two, go to the cinema tomorrow. And of course they all leave it up to me to decide, so I said tomorrow and we walked back home. They were all secretly happy that they were not in fact going to have to walk to the next village. I'm sure of it.

At the house, we watched a movie whose name I do not know, ate lasagna, and watched some more shows in French. All the while we were talking about everything. Somehow we got on the topic of Twilight and I learned that she has the Twilight books in French. So of course, I am now attempting to read New Moon in French. And it's not easy, but extremely gratifying when I understand something. I know I now have hours of good reading to do in my free time, which is something I love. And I'm learning French, too! It's just awesome. After reading for about an hour, we watched some more shows in French, and then ate this Asian food, whose name I do not know, and some fries. Actually it was pretty good. The fries weren't true Belgian fries, just ones we found in the freezer and put in the oven.

After a while, I decided I should walk back to my actual host home and get some sleep as it was late, and I knew I was doing something tomorrow. (Like going to the cinema, and NOT missing the bus.)

English Class

Today, I couldn't find my English class, which for one is strange because I'm typically surounded by all my classmates. So, I followed some other people I knew to a different English class. We watched an Australian documentary about home-schooling. It was actually somewhat interesting the first time. By about the third time I wasn't paying attention anymore. When class ended, I found out that my real English class had been canceled, and I thought, "That might be why I couldn't find it." Haha. But, talking with people was definitely better than just sitting by myself for an hour until the rest of the school got out.

--- Random note---
When I go to blogspot.com (without logging in) the page is in Flemish. I thought that was mildly interesting because I live in the French part of Belgium, not the Flemish part.

Food

Belgium is most obviously known for it's delicious chocolate. Each year Belgium exports tons of chocolate around the world. It truely is wonderful chocolate, and if you haven't tried it, you should. (Twix bars are my favorite candy of almost all time, and they taste even better in Belgium. Maybe it's the Belgian chocolate, I don't know, but they really are amazing.) There are also Belgian waffles. Now, before I came here, everyone told me to try some belgian waffles, and I always thought it was a joke. I didn't think somewhere could actually be known for waffles. However, Belgium is in fact known for their delicious waffles. American-Belgian waffles are just not the same. These you will actually have to travel to try. There is simply none other. Beer is also a big thing, but I haven't tried it, so I can't comment on it.

Now for everyday food. Each morning when i wake up for school, I go downstairs to find the table filled with an array of things to put on bread. (Bread is truely a staple in the Belgian diet.) There are different jams, cheeses, butter, peanut butter (from my kitchen at home), nutella, and sometimes other things. Depending on the type of bread that morning, I decide between the cheese, butter, or nutella. And some mornings, like this morning, I eat an apple with peanut butter. Peanut butter, I've come to find, is very much an American food. Most people outside of the US don't like peanut butter. However, my family does.

This morning I was sitting at breakfast with my host sister, and I was eating my apple and peanut butter just like I would normally, and I look up and she's looking at me strangely. So, naturally, I ask her if she wants to try. And hestitantly she puts some peanut butter on her apple slice puts in it her mouth. Surprisingly, she liked it. I was actually surprised too.

My host dad, makes us lunch every morning (a sandwich) for us to take to school, and we have the option to also buy lunch in the city and so forth, which is also a sandwich. They're all delicious, so I usually just take the ones we get from home.

When we get home from school we can eat some bread or fruit as a snack before dinner. For dinner we eat a wide variety of foods. Some pictures are below. The dessert, bottom right, is filled with ice cream and topped with melted chocolate. Messy, yes, delicious, YES!

All in all, the food here is quite amazing and fresh. American food does not even compare, although there are a few things I miss. For instance, my white rice that I ate at least 3 times a week and my crisp, salty potato chips. Yumm.