The Bigger Picture

Last week I went to on my first school field trip. We visited a Belgian concentration camp used during WWII. It was a humbling experience and the weather set the tone for an enlightening view. I always had imagined camps during the war as being desolate places, but had never really grasped what it meant to actually live in one. Seeing the beds, toilets, and isolation of the people made me appreciate the sacrifice people had to bear. After we went to the camp, we also went to an art exposition in Brussels of the famous Belgian artist, Magritte. He is famous for his self portraits with the bowler hat. People also know his popular apple paintings and his clever phrases that go with his paintings, "This is not a pipe" underneath a picture of an ordinary pipe. Clever guy. Great exposition.

This past week we also got to visit the local government here in Liege. It was a really cool building, slightly boring presentation. I did get to have a few chats with the head of Rotary however, so that was fun I guess. Other than visiting and learning all about the local ins-and-outs, my week was pretty normal.

Last Friday I was with some friends from school and of course as we are speaking in french, I tune into the conversation happening in the next table over. I realize I can easily understand ever single thing being said and then happen to notice that is was because they were speaking in English. Not only English, but American English. So i walk over to their table and say, "sorry I don't want to be rude or anything, but WHERE ARE YOU GUYS FROM?!?!" They seemed happy enough to have a fellow American in their midst and we chatted for awhile. They were in Liege the past week doing a theater production with their university. Its so strange the connections you can make while all over the world. What is the chance that I would just happen to be sitting right next to a table of people from Virginia? I felt really cool being able to give them directions, advice for fun places to go, and where to find the best chocolate. I will probably never see any of them again, but it was still a fun experience, and as all exchange students know, its always nice to see a fellow patriot.

Nothing New

Friends from all over the world- Columbia, Belgium, Brazil, and of course good old KC, MO

So this week has been extremely normal for me. Which is kind of strange because I always seem to be getting into something else adventurous and exciting. I realized today that I only have about five months left to stay in Belgium, and I actually got really sad. I cannot imagine my life NOT being here and I know that I am going to have an amazing time whenever I go to college; but, I honestly can't imagine that right now. I wonder if my whole life will be set in these strange moments where I can only see myself living that life forever. I have met some incredible people here and I do not plan on ending those relationships when I leave. I am scared I will forget all the French I have been learning, so thanks to Skype, I guess I can attempt to live in Belgium my whole life.

I was joking around with my friend Niko the other day about coming to the United States and I told him he would just have to marry me in order to get a U.S. citizenship. He thought it was a great idea. Maybe I will do that here. JUST KIDDING! But so many people I meet want to come to the United States to learn English and live the American dream, but the more time I spend here with Belgians, Mexicans, Canadians, Columbians, Australians, and every other country imaginable, I realize that every place on earth has something special. A country isn't great because of its weather, its political power, or its language....its great because of its people. I plan on discovering a lot more countries very soon. Instead of dreaming about my life I happen to be living my dream.

Too Long.....

Ok, so it has been WAYYYY too long since I have updates my blog. sorry about that. also i apologize in advance for any spelling errors or lack of proper grammar, i am just going to keep typing until i write everything down.

I got to go to Brussels with the Rotary on a friday afternoon. We were able to tour the European Parliament and I got the opportunity to meet the US ambassador who represents the US in Brussels. We got to sit behind the desks of the men and women who make all the international laws concerning the EU. Plus I got to meet up with all the exchange students and that is always an adventure in itself.

This past weekend I traveled to London with my first host family. They took me as a very late birthday present. We took the train VERY early in the morning and traveled underneath the sea to get to the fun little island of England. Once we got there, we did all the fun touristy type things like walk across the London Bridge, eat fish and chips, take a ride in the HUGE ferris wheel (The London Eye), walk though Westminster Abby, take pictures by Big Ben, see all the street performers, and just take in the city. I can't imagine having a better time than I did. I love traveling with my host parents because my fist host dad Philippe always gets out his map and somehow, unknown to me, finds his way around the subway system and we always arrive perfectly to where we need to be. I took hundreds and hundreds of pictures and I love them all.

This week in Europe is Carnival. Its like Mardi Gras but a whole week long. I was sick this past week, but now I am looking forward to going out with my Belgian friends and experiencing the parades, costumes, and the Belgian way of celebrating this fun holiday. Updates will be quicker this time i promise.

Bientot

I am going to update this with A LOT really soon. I promise. Just too busy living my life!

Change

This is a picture of me with my first and second host dads wearing KC Chiefs jerseys that I gave them.

As an exchange student with one of the greatest organizations in the world, Rotary, students get the chance to live with different families while on their exchange. I recently changed families and the experience is something that I will never forget. When I first arrived in Liege,Belgium I was just a wide eyed American girl looking for an adventure. I didn't speak a word of french, and I really had no idea what my year living abroad had in store for me. I moved in with a family who embraced my ignorance in the language and they treated me as a member of their family. My first four and a half months were filled with lots of learning and growing. I immediately new that my first host family was loving, fun, and sometimes a little crazy; but, it made me love them even more. I switched into my second family just after New Years. I never imagined it would be so emotional. I admit that when I moved to my new family I was a little apprehensive because I had such an incredible first family; however, I never thought I would have a second family who was just as great. My new host family has three kids, and for the first time in my life I have both a little sister and a brother. Growing up as the youngest of three girls, I am slowly learning what its like to have different kinds of siblings.

I was driving with my second host dad past my old house and I made the comment, in french of course, "Oh look, there is my old house!" Laughing he told me if I loved it there so much he could drop me off. I smiled and said that now I just have a few different houses to call home now. Throughout my first five months here I have learned that most families are pretty similar. Parents fight with their kids, kids complain about doing the dishes, and family love is never-ending. Language barriers may prevent me from understanding everything that goes on in my new house; but, compassion is universal. I know that I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I have changed quite a bit in my first five months here: changed families, changed my hair color, and changed my outlook on the world. I have seen how important it is to learn a new language and have seen how empathetic people can be. Change is a good thing and my exCHANGE year has thus far been the greatest experience of my life.

On a sad note, all the Australians and New Zealanders left this past week. I am going to miss them so much, but I know that the new exchangers who are coming will be great, too.

New Years on the NEWS!

Seems like Belgium got a taste of how I celebrate New Years.

I was on the news! Click on the link below. It will be set to audio, click
video on the top as the choice. Select the first option, JT. Scroll dow
to "JT de 19h30 du vendredi 1 janvier" and select it. Then click the
option "la soirée de nouvel an à Bruxelles" and watch. I'm in the
beginning, screaming.



http://mediaserver.rtbf.be/sites/rtbf-media/themes/rtbfmedia/iPlayer/MediaPlayer2.php?skinURL=http://mediaserver.rtbf.be/sites/rtbf-media/themes/rtbfmedia/iPlayer/skins/white_retro/white_retro.swf&runtimeCSS=http://mediaserver.rtbf.be/sites/rtbf-media/themes/rtbfmedia/iPlayer/skins/white_retro/runtimeCSS.swf

Bonne année! (Happy New Year!)

New Years 2010 in Brussels will be a day that I will never forget.

Here is just a brief overview of my night:

1. Got ready at my house with some other exchangers
2. Ate a delicious pita
3. Got on the train
4. Had to get off the train because it was broken
5. Met some crazy Belgians. One of them was dating a guy in prison.
6. Met up with friends in the train station in Brussels
7. Had a beer. (the only drink I bought all night)
8. Attempted to get everyone to go to the Grand Place
9. Realized fireworks were in fact somewhere else
10. Met a Belgian guy who spent a year in Fresno, CA
11. Ran into a Brazilian guy I met last Wednesday
12. Counted down to midnight...
13. Met a guy from Virginia
14. Met two girls from Virginia (they did not know each other before that night)
15. Danced in a club for about 10 minutes
16. Found other exchange students by singing the "exchange student song"
17. Lost my cell phone
18. Went to a classy hotel and drank 8 glasses of water
19. Returned to the original bar and helped my friend not get attacked by scary men
20. Had a french guy think I was Belgian (after we spoke for a few minutes in french)
21. Spoke with a guy in french, only to find out that he was from England
22. Watched a girl fall down an entire flight of stairs (she's fine, just embarrassed)
23. Slept
24. Took the train home
25. Walked home in the snow because my bus was going to be another half hour

Turns out a lot more exciting things also happened. My host sister got a call from my cell phone at four in the morning from a guy. Turns out someone found my cell phone and is now making prank calls. If you know who he is, let me know. Also, two of my friends wound up in the hospital because they got roofied. Luckily they are ok, just had all of their stuff stolen. All in all, I had a great night and can't wait for New Years in New Orleans next year.