Ma Nouvelle Famille

I changed families! That's so weird too! So in a nutshell it's like completely starting over but being able to kinda sorta communicate.

Step 1: Packing
I literally dreaded packing for a whole two weeks or so before actually giving in and doing it. The thought was just overwelming: having to fit everything you own into two suicases and a carry-on. Actually it didn't turn out quite that nicely. I ended up with my two, definitely over-weight suitcases; my carry-on; my rotary bookbag; a giant box that I could barely lift; my over-stuffed purse; a plastic bag with all my last-minutes; and my rotary blazer and band uniform. Yeah, parents, you're gonna be taking some extra stuff back to America with you, just be warned. Oh and not to mention that I left behind a pair of jeans, my box of pancake mix, and my webcam. I need to get those at some point. I also thought I might just get away without ever falling on the ever-magical sprial staircase with no railing.... nope. I was wrong. My last day there I fell, and I have the bruises to prove it.. but they're on my bootie so... sorry, no pictures.

Step 2: Goodbyes
Yes, hard, but its gonna be so much harder in July, so I'm not complaining. Plus, I know that I'll be seeing them again. :)

Step 3: New Beginnings
Like I said earlier, changing families is like starting over completely, except this time around I can understand what people are saying and speak back. Also, Belgian culture is more or less the same. (Yes, I know I live in Luxembourg.. still, you get the point.) The food is more or less the same, the standards when you talk to people are the same, table manners are the same, and you eat at the same times. My school is the same. So really, the difference is the people I'm living with. I now have another family. :)

First Impressions
When I first arrived in Eischen, I thought to myself, "Wow, it's just like the pictures." Which is totally true. My town is placed in a valley, and I'm on the edge of it. Therefore, my house looks down on the entire village, and it's gorgeous! At night everything is lit up, too. My village is so beautiful and awesome. I haven't gone exploring through the village yet, but with good reason. Firstly, I would get very lost and never find my way home. Secondly, it's kinda sorta, just a bit chilly outside. and thirdly, the hills! Oh my, was I spoiled with Chantemelle being completely flat. On the bright side, it might keep me from gaining the extra kilos that I normally would with this food.

The food is delicious. Yes, I said it's pretty luch the same.... in the sense that we still eat potatoes at every meal and crème fraîche is a very common ingredient. Christiane (notice the e on the end), is an amazing cook. Goodness, yes, I'm definitely gonna gain a few kilos if I don't learn how to better resist the food. And so deep down, I'm grateful for the gianormous hill that I climb everyday after school.

Now I ride the bus to school. And I actually like it. The bus is warm. :) The people are nice too. But who knows, maybe they're normally mean to the core, but are just half asleep because it's early. I like the nice assumption better. In the morning the bus is almost full, and in the afternoon, almost no one rides it. I'm still slightly confused on this point, but whatever. Apparently these Luxembourg people like to go to cafés after school. Concerning the gigantic hill, I'm just happy that I have to climb it after school and not before. Then I really would die.

Differences
People always ask me which family I like better. I don't think it's a fair question, because they're just totally different. The Lempereurs were very calm people and studied very hard. The Champenois are very animated people and always doing something besides studying. I'm pretty sure they try and avoid it at all costs, but anyway their work still gets done.

Family Members
Christian - my host dad
Christiane - my host mom
Maurine - my host sister who comes home every other weekend I believe
The boyfriend of Maurine, whose name I can't remember at the moment.
François - my host brother who works in Luxembourg but lives here.
Morgane - the girlfriend of François, who's here every other weekend.
Patrick - my host brother, 18, who goes to a school that I can never remember the name of.
Pauline - my host sister, 15, who goes to a different school that I can't spell.

That's a lot of family if you ask me. Now, like half of those people also speak Luxembourgeois and English, and I think a couple speak German too, but I'm not sure. It's weird to hear the Luxembourgeois because I can't tell if it's Luxembourgeois or just me not understanding the French. François also has a Luxembourgeois accent when he speaks French so it can be really hard to understand sometimes.

Luxembourgeois Lesson
Haha, so there's no exact way to write this language, it's just written how you like. However, I did find out yesterday that dictionaries to exist.

Other Goodbyes
So for the past couple weeks our oldies have been leaving to return home to their respective countries like Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. On the other hand, this means that our newies will soon be arriving, thus making us oldies.... that's weird!

Brussels Party
It was the last Wednesday to party with our oldies, so many many people went to Brussels last Wednesday. Most with the intent of getting drunk. Well, that's life in Belgium for you. But thankfully, one of my Canadian buddies was there too, so we went out for ice cream and hot chocolate and let everyone else get completely drunk without us. We went back a while later to find, as expected, everyone drunk. We normally go to this one bar, which I'm pretty sure we get kicked out of often, so then we switch to the other major bar. The second bar serves every kind of Belgian beer, plus different beers from around the world. Of course, it's more expensive, but it really didn't matter to me, because I wasn't drinking. And we said our final goodbyes as we took our separate trains back home.

I guess that's all for now. Oh wait! Yeah, I figured out that I've been here for about 5 months now. I'm leaving in 5 and a half months. It's so weird to practically be halfway done with my exchange year. The first months were me observing the world and trying to take everything in. The holidays were hard, because you're normally with family, but that was impossible, and still I survived. And now that school has started again and everything is going back to somewhat normal (we know the exchange life isn't reality and it's just a dream, and I'll wake up some day), I feel like I know the way of life. So for the next 5ish months I'm gonna live it up! Live life to its fullest, and enjoy every moment. I want to be absorbed in this culture, so when I wake up from this dream, I won't forget it like all the others. It'll stay with me forever.

Gros bisous à tous ! Je vous aime !
Laura

P.S. Thank you so much Miss Diane for all the cards! I keep forgetting to thank you, but they're awesome, and I always look forward to opening them. They mean a lot! :)

P.P.S I can't get my pictures or videos or anything up at the moment, my laptop is having internet issues and I'm using someone else's for the time being. When I figure everything out, I'll be sure to post some photos and videos. There are tons!