Being sick in Belgium

Ok. so reality check for me this week. It turns out that just because you are having an amazing time in a foreign country, doesn't mean that you can't get sick. And on top of it all, I just had to get sick on a friday afternoon. My host mom christine continues to try to convince me to go to the dotor....but all i need is some sleep. since belgians get free health care they tend to rush into medicine quite qucikly. so this past weekend has included me, lying in bed and watching movies online (i even broke out the old "sound of music"). its all going to be ok though, because next week i am headed off to athens, greece with my parents and Herstal Rotary Club. I cannot wait!!!! It is going to be nice, and hopefully i will see the sun, which will be an unexpected and incredibly nice change to belgian rain.

This past saturday we went to Namur for a Rotary activity. We went to Parliment of Wallonie and went on a cruise touring the river. It was ok. I had a good time with all the crazy exchange students though. Wednesday we took the train to Brussels for he afternoon. One of the exchange students was leaving early and we had a goodbye party for him. I love the fact that you can just hop on a train somewhere and spend the afternoon, then be back home in time for dinner.

other good news- i am finally starting to speak french and i can actually understand people for the most part now. we had a rotary meeting on thursday and i only spoke in french the entire time. it is really nice to see progress and i have more hope now that i am not a complete failure when it comes to french.

also check out my amazing sisters blog. it makes me want to be a better person. www.kaylainkenya.blogspot.com

I Love Letters......

Pictures above are just examples of how I enjoy Rotary events, not because of the activity itself, but because of the fun things exchange students do with their spare time.

This week I recieved a package of LOVE from home. My amazing mother sent me a coat, among other things to my house. Kayla, my sister, bought me a Tulane hoodie, which she sent me and I am currently wearing because it is -3 degrees outside (Celcius). I also got two letters from friends at home. If anyone has spent time abroad they know how amazing it is to recieve tangable letters (hint, hint to all those reading this). I promise I will write back. I tend to write letters in my math class. It keeps me awake and it appears as if I am paying attention. (shhhh....don't tell my teacher)

So this has been kind of a normal week for me in the great city of Liege. Last wednesday I went with Rotary to a Fort somewhere (i forgot already). It was a military fort built after WWI in order to be prepared for the Germans in case they invaded again. It was supposed to defend Belgium against trench warfare, but by the time it was built the Germans had invented better war tactics. I am not really sure of all the details, I'm not really that into military stuff. I do like hanging out with all the Rotary kids though, and after we took a tour of the fort we got to eat delicious pie, which was quite nice. Rotary does that a lot, sends us on tours.....then makes up for the non-exciting things by feeding us. I think they want us to get fatter than we all ready are getting. Ha.

Saturday I helped my Rotary Club, Herstal, set up for a big fundraiser. It was nice to feel involved and great to help out the best host-club ever. Sunday I attended the fundraiser, which was a giant feast. It was called Le Fete de Gastronomie (I think that is how its spelled). We had lobster courses, champagne, wine, and yummy chocolate. The lobster was so good, we had three courses of lobster, each cooked and served in interesting and unique ways. I guess lobster is very very expensive here in Belgium, and the tickets to attend the event were 80 euros a piece. The Rotary Herstal raised over 2,500 euros for a homeless organization. The feast was attended by hundreds of people. It was really fun because I was able to eat with both my current and second host families.

In other news, I finally got a new camera. Its the same style as my old one, which is nice because I am already familiar with it. So I look forward to taking lots of pictures this saturaday when I go with Rotary to Namuur for the day. What else? Nothing much is new. My french is improving little by little, so hopefully i will be making conversations more fluently pretty soon. Also, I actually helped someone today with the bus schedule. That was cool because I happen to get lost all the time, although somehow I always manage to find my way home. That is strange, to consider this my home. I guess when I leave Belgium I am going to have four homes.

Just a quick update

That is a picture of my school. Its pretty tiny and kids from ages 20 to 12 go there. So bizzare. And that is a picture of my friend Pichi. He is from Mexico and we see each other on the walk to school. We also take french courses together. He's awesome. So this past week has been pretty normal for me. Nothing extra ordinary, which is what I should probably get used to since I'm sure I won't be going to France, Disneyland, or kayaking every week. Last friday I went out with some exchange students to the square. That is always a fun time because its filled with young people. Rotary advices us to not hang out with other exchange students, but its so easy to go out with them. They understand what you are going through, they don't have established friendships like everyone else at school, and they are learning french right along with you. When I ususally go out, I meet up with my friend Audrey, from Canada. We take the same bus together and then once we are there, we find other people that we know. I somehow always meet up with some of my Belgian friends which is super awesome. They are fun to be around, help me with my french, and know all the cool places to go. Saturday I helped my host sister Virginie throw a surprise party at our house for her best friend, Justine. It was fun to plan and decorate and spending time with my sister is always nice. Since I don't live with my real sisters at home anymore, its so fun to be able to again live with an older sister. I now feel like I am the youngest daughter of four girls. Its so strange to me that my family here doesn't know my real family. I want so much for them all to meet each other because I know they would have a blast together. My host parents are on holiday in Egypt this week so I've been holding the fort down with my sister and her boyfriend Laurent. He's taking care of us and making sure we are on our best behavior. My real sister Kayla went to Kenya this week. I talked to her for the last time right before she left. I hope we can talk at least a bit this year. At least now we are in the same time zones. Check out her blog at www.kaylainkenya.blogspot.com

I got homesick this week, too. For the first time. I don't know why, because I have truly loved every day spent here. I think it is just the stress of finally starting to understand french but being frustrated with my speaking abilities. I am encouraged by my family, they seem to think that I will be speaking well by thanksgiving (they would know I guess). I really just wish I had a little switch in my brain that said, "Speak French Now" and I could flip it on and off when needed. Oh, I also think I was homesick because my camera broke. I love taking pictures and a small piece of my soul died when i saw my camera smash to the ground. I am getting a new one this week I hope, but everything here is so so so expensive. Good thing I worked all year long.