On Sunday, I went out of Belgium for the first time since being here. I went to a small town in France, still very close to the Belgian border called Fourmies. One of my American friends, Autumn, invited me to go with her. She was going because her host mom was competing in a race there. We spent the afternoon lazily walking about the town, then sitting in a place for a couple hours after ordering fries for her and a banana split for me :) I was still sore from dance on Saturday, so I didn't really enjoy walking around; I was happy to just sit and be lazy... But I think the waitress didn't really like us she gave us weird looks because we were speaking english and, though we spoke to her and ordered in French, I said "banana split" with my normal english/canadian accent, and so I think she didn't understand at first...
Monday was just a normal school day, and I talked to my french teacher about an oral presentation I'll be doing. He's very nice, and he said it doesn't matter if I'm not talking as much as the other students, no one is expecting me to, all he wants is that I try my best and speak as much as I can to practice and get better at french. I like him, as well as pretty much all my other teachers.
Today is Tuesday, and it's a random holiday :) So I slept in until just after 11am, and then after lunch I took a shower then went to walk for 5km in the woods with my host mom. It was actually pretty nice. The weather was absolutely perfect. I wore shorts and a t-shirt, but it was really hot in the sun. But since we were under the trees and whatnot, it was pleasantly cool.
After, I went to check if I had any more money in my bank account and make a small withdrawl, then my host mom and I went to the grocery store. I got strawberry and peach flavoured yogurt :')
Tomorrow, after school (since it ends at noon) I'll be going to Brussels and meet up with some other exchange students.
Also, my Aunt (who lives in Rome) and I started talking on the computer last night, and now we're trying to arrange a time for me to visit them in Italy :) I just hope I can get permission from Rotary! That's the only thing that would be standing in my way. I've already e-mailed my YEO.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Beat the Blues
Early on this week I was feeling really down and I missed home a lot, but by the time Wednesday came around I was feeling better, and by Thursday I was in a perfect mood again. Having friends here really helps. Monday was a horrible afternoon for me, but I didn't get as sad as I could have been since I had some people there comforting me. My friends here in Belgium are awesome. They have told me that they are all there for me, and if I ever need anything or just someone to talk to, that I can go to them, and they all want to make sure I have an amazing year here. I am truly glad a fell into a place and a school with such wonderful and warm people.
This past week at school had been different. I didn't have much in the way of classes, because my french class was doing an exposition in the library all week on jewish children who were hidden during WWII. I had to summarize the story of one of these children, and talk about it to all the other classes who came during the week. Of course, all in French. It was difficult for me to get up there in front of people my own age and teach them something. I would have had no problems in English, but I totally wasn't confident with my french. I had everything written down, so I knew what to say, I just felt like I had the worst accent ever or that no one understood what I was saying. It was the worst to present to a group people who were indifferent. They weren't really paying attention, or they were looking at other things, and I just wondered what the point in me even talking to them was if they weren't going to listen. But I made it through a week of presentations unscathed, and now I have a better idea of how to prepare for next time I have to something like that.
On Thursday night, I went to another Rotary meeting. I got there at 7:30, and I got home at 11:45. These are seriously long meetings. But it was an important one because that was the night the governor was visiting. At one point, during his speech, he asked if anyone knew, in English or in French, Rotary International's theme for the year. Excited to actually know somehting, I blurted out "Reach Within to Embrace Humanity" before anyone else really had the chance. I always get very surprised looks when I actually know the answer to something. Another notable thing about this meeting was the appetizer. It was something I'd never had before, but it was absolutely delicious. I didn't understand the part during the description of it where they said raw meat, but I'm sort of glad that I didn't. Because if I had known beforehand that I would be eating raw beef, I would have said no. All I head was beef and I was like "Bring it". Anyway, it was very thinly sliced raw beef with shaved parmasean cheese on top, and I'm pretty sure there was some lime juice in there. It was amazing!! I -think- it's called Carvacio, or carpacio... I'm not sure.
On Friday night, I went to my second host sister's birthday party. I didn't really know anyone there, so I felt a little out of place, but it was good. This was the first time I actually met her in real life. But I met a bunch of new people, and I can actually remember almost all of their names! I'm getting a lot better with names now. It was hard to remember everything when I first got here because there was just so much going on in my head at once. Translations, names, faces, places, words, everything. So much new information was entering my mind at once there was no way I could have been able to remember everyone's name the first time meeting them. But now I think I know the names of every single person in my class :)
But I talked to my future host mom a bit. She's nice, and she seems very motherly, but fun at the same time. I think I will enjoy living with that family. That night, I slept at their house, in my future room. They're still using it for some storage since I won't be living there until December/January, but it's very big, and it has a big circular window :) I like it. And I don't know if I was just tired, but the bed is comfortable too.
I also met my future host dad, but I didn't talk to him too much. And I have already met and talked to my host brother via facebook, and he was at the airport with his mother when I first arrived. We also both go to the same school, so we say hi when we see each other there.
This morning I got home from my 2nd family's house and immediately went to a dance class with my host sister. This was the first dance class I've really taken (one week when I was like 7 doesn't really count-especially since I don't really remember it) and some of the girls there have been taking dance for 13 years. So I wasn't exactly awesome at it. But I think I did okay for my first time. And I know I will be very sore tomorrow. I'm probably going to go back again next week. It was enjoyable over all, and I'll probably get better each time.
Tonight I have a barbecue to go to, and I know most of the people there, so that should be fun.
And next week we have a random holiday on Tuesday, and I plan on going to Brussels with some exchange students on Wednesday.
This past week at school had been different. I didn't have much in the way of classes, because my french class was doing an exposition in the library all week on jewish children who were hidden during WWII. I had to summarize the story of one of these children, and talk about it to all the other classes who came during the week. Of course, all in French. It was difficult for me to get up there in front of people my own age and teach them something. I would have had no problems in English, but I totally wasn't confident with my french. I had everything written down, so I knew what to say, I just felt like I had the worst accent ever or that no one understood what I was saying. It was the worst to present to a group people who were indifferent. They weren't really paying attention, or they were looking at other things, and I just wondered what the point in me even talking to them was if they weren't going to listen. But I made it through a week of presentations unscathed, and now I have a better idea of how to prepare for next time I have to something like that.
On Thursday night, I went to another Rotary meeting. I got there at 7:30, and I got home at 11:45. These are seriously long meetings. But it was an important one because that was the night the governor was visiting. At one point, during his speech, he asked if anyone knew, in English or in French, Rotary International's theme for the year. Excited to actually know somehting, I blurted out "Reach Within to Embrace Humanity" before anyone else really had the chance. I always get very surprised looks when I actually know the answer to something. Another notable thing about this meeting was the appetizer. It was something I'd never had before, but it was absolutely delicious. I didn't understand the part during the description of it where they said raw meat, but I'm sort of glad that I didn't. Because if I had known beforehand that I would be eating raw beef, I would have said no. All I head was beef and I was like "Bring it". Anyway, it was very thinly sliced raw beef with shaved parmasean cheese on top, and I'm pretty sure there was some lime juice in there. It was amazing!! I -think- it's called Carvacio, or carpacio... I'm not sure.
On Friday night, I went to my second host sister's birthday party. I didn't really know anyone there, so I felt a little out of place, but it was good. This was the first time I actually met her in real life. But I met a bunch of new people, and I can actually remember almost all of their names! I'm getting a lot better with names now. It was hard to remember everything when I first got here because there was just so much going on in my head at once. Translations, names, faces, places, words, everything. So much new information was entering my mind at once there was no way I could have been able to remember everyone's name the first time meeting them. But now I think I know the names of every single person in my class :)
But I talked to my future host mom a bit. She's nice, and she seems very motherly, but fun at the same time. I think I will enjoy living with that family. That night, I slept at their house, in my future room. They're still using it for some storage since I won't be living there until December/January, but it's very big, and it has a big circular window :) I like it. And I don't know if I was just tired, but the bed is comfortable too.
I also met my future host dad, but I didn't talk to him too much. And I have already met and talked to my host brother via facebook, and he was at the airport with his mother when I first arrived. We also both go to the same school, so we say hi when we see each other there.
This morning I got home from my 2nd family's house and immediately went to a dance class with my host sister. This was the first dance class I've really taken (one week when I was like 7 doesn't really count-especially since I don't really remember it) and some of the girls there have been taking dance for 13 years. So I wasn't exactly awesome at it. But I think I did okay for my first time. And I know I will be very sore tomorrow. I'm probably going to go back again next week. It was enjoyable over all, and I'll probably get better each time.
Tonight I have a barbecue to go to, and I know most of the people there, so that should be fun.
And next week we have a random holiday on Tuesday, and I plan on going to Brussels with some exchange students on Wednesday.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
First train ride alone; successful
Not much happened during the last week at school except for the field trip to Brendonck and that us exchangers selected our schedules. I'm still in Français-Langues, so my classes are basically staying the same. But now we're more split up so I wont have all my classes with all the other exchange students (except Alejandro, from Peru). And hopefully we will be able to take a 5th year german class, since that is the first year they learn German at school (all my other classes are in 6th year).
On Friday, we went to Brendonck. At the beginning of our tour around the camp, the tour guide was giving us a the history behind the building. Brendonck wasn't built specifically to be a concentration camp; it had been a military fort and the germans thought it would be a good place to use and build on to when they invaded and took over Belgium. She had asked the class a question. The question was, who was the king during world war two? I knew the answer: Leopold III. But no one in my class said anything. I said it very quietly and I think only the guy next to me heard me say it. He looked at me in surprise that I even ventured a guess. He didn't know if I was right or not because he had no idea. No one answered, so the guide said it: Leopold III. I had been right and my classmate was very surprised. I felt proud :)
Overall, the concentration camp wasn't totally as creepy as I thought it would be, but it wasn't exactly nice; however, it was very interesting. I didn't get much of a weird vibe, I just felt weird knowing I was walking in the same places as starving jews being forced to work for nothing, or someone in the wermacht or gestapo. And I didn't like being in the torture chamber, or touching anything.
On Saturday, I woke up early and got ready to go to Mons for some hanging out and shopping with some other exchange students. My friend Greta invited me to go since it was her birthday that day. Greta and I met at La Louviere just over a week ago at our inbound orientation. She's the girl from Iowa I mentioned. Anywho, I took the train all by myself, transferred successfully, and continued to Mons. In total it took about 2 hours to get there. Near the end of the train ride to Mons, I heard some voices speaking English, so I knew it much be other exchange students going to the same place I was. I went over and said hi, then we got off the train a couple minutes later. Just outside of the train station, there was this Nutella van. And they were doing surveys about breakfast and Nutella and stuff. I eat Nutella like 99% of the time. But I hadn't eaten it that morning, I'd just had a plain croissant et un pain au chocolat. But it's okay because after we did the survey they gave us a little thing of Nutella and I ate it by itself right there in that square.
We were making our way to the grand place and the shopping area, and on the way there was a nice church, so we decided to go in an take some pictures. Then we figured out that a bunch of people were coming in for a wedding. We weren't exactly dressed properly (not to mention not invited), so we left. We got a bite to eat right by the grand place. We ate "american" food at an indian place in Belgium. But it was nice, I thought. While we were eating, we saw a lady wearing ridiculously huge green and white striped overalls and a bright red moustache/beard/braid combo wig. The few women that were with her were wearing those greek/roman (not sure which it is) leaf things that you wear when you're wearing a toga? Anyway, she came up to usand explained that she was going to be getting married next week, and that it was tradition to dress up like this and walk about the town trying to sell a little bottle with some red mystery drink that would supposedly bring nirvana. And she would sell it to someone for any price. 10 cents or 100 euros, whatever they wanted to pay for it. So two of the girls I was with bought a little bottle each for a euro.
After eating we split up into smaller groups and went shopping. I bought a coat, a shirt, and a scarf. All of which I did need. Except maybe not the scarf... but I didn't have a red scarf, and it wasn't expensive! We got ice cream, twice... and then we went to a little bar for a few minutes and met up with everyone again. Greta and I then left to catch the train back to Tournai. We went back to her house and jumped on the trampoline they have in the yard. That was a lot of fun :) A little later on we went out to celebrate her birthday.
In the morning, we went downstairs and the table was full of candy and chocolate, and there were chocolates arranged to shape a big "18" in the middle of the table, and there were chocolates around Greta's place like a sun... It was really cute :) Her host family is super duper nice :) After breakfast we got ready and then went to mass in a cathedral... which was done by a bishop, so it was a pretty important mass. I went for the architecture, the organ, and the choir. Which were all great.
I left for home from Tournai at 2:30, and I got back just after 5pm. Tournai is a really great town. There is so much history there! So I had a really great weekend. Greta and I get along really well and we were talking non-stop the whole time we were together. Except for in mass; we do have respect.
School tomorrow already!!!
On Friday, we went to Brendonck. At the beginning of our tour around the camp, the tour guide was giving us a the history behind the building. Brendonck wasn't built specifically to be a concentration camp; it had been a military fort and the germans thought it would be a good place to use and build on to when they invaded and took over Belgium. She had asked the class a question. The question was, who was the king during world war two? I knew the answer: Leopold III. But no one in my class said anything. I said it very quietly and I think only the guy next to me heard me say it. He looked at me in surprise that I even ventured a guess. He didn't know if I was right or not because he had no idea. No one answered, so the guide said it: Leopold III. I had been right and my classmate was very surprised. I felt proud :)
Overall, the concentration camp wasn't totally as creepy as I thought it would be, but it wasn't exactly nice; however, it was very interesting. I didn't get much of a weird vibe, I just felt weird knowing I was walking in the same places as starving jews being forced to work for nothing, or someone in the wermacht or gestapo. And I didn't like being in the torture chamber, or touching anything.
On Saturday, I woke up early and got ready to go to Mons for some hanging out and shopping with some other exchange students. My friend Greta invited me to go since it was her birthday that day. Greta and I met at La Louviere just over a week ago at our inbound orientation. She's the girl from Iowa I mentioned. Anywho, I took the train all by myself, transferred successfully, and continued to Mons. In total it took about 2 hours to get there. Near the end of the train ride to Mons, I heard some voices speaking English, so I knew it much be other exchange students going to the same place I was. I went over and said hi, then we got off the train a couple minutes later. Just outside of the train station, there was this Nutella van. And they were doing surveys about breakfast and Nutella and stuff. I eat Nutella like 99% of the time. But I hadn't eaten it that morning, I'd just had a plain croissant et un pain au chocolat. But it's okay because after we did the survey they gave us a little thing of Nutella and I ate it by itself right there in that square.
We were making our way to the grand place and the shopping area, and on the way there was a nice church, so we decided to go in an take some pictures. Then we figured out that a bunch of people were coming in for a wedding. We weren't exactly dressed properly (not to mention not invited), so we left. We got a bite to eat right by the grand place. We ate "american" food at an indian place in Belgium. But it was nice, I thought. While we were eating, we saw a lady wearing ridiculously huge green and white striped overalls and a bright red moustache/beard/braid combo wig. The few women that were with her were wearing those greek/roman (not sure which it is) leaf things that you wear when you're wearing a toga? Anyway, she came up to usand explained that she was going to be getting married next week, and that it was tradition to dress up like this and walk about the town trying to sell a little bottle with some red mystery drink that would supposedly bring nirvana. And she would sell it to someone for any price. 10 cents or 100 euros, whatever they wanted to pay for it. So two of the girls I was with bought a little bottle each for a euro.
After eating we split up into smaller groups and went shopping. I bought a coat, a shirt, and a scarf. All of which I did need. Except maybe not the scarf... but I didn't have a red scarf, and it wasn't expensive! We got ice cream, twice... and then we went to a little bar for a few minutes and met up with everyone again. Greta and I then left to catch the train back to Tournai. We went back to her house and jumped on the trampoline they have in the yard. That was a lot of fun :) A little later on we went out to celebrate her birthday.
In the morning, we went downstairs and the table was full of candy and chocolate, and there were chocolates arranged to shape a big "18" in the middle of the table, and there were chocolates around Greta's place like a sun... It was really cute :) Her host family is super duper nice :) After breakfast we got ready and then went to mass in a cathedral... which was done by a bishop, so it was a pretty important mass. I went for the architecture, the organ, and the choir. Which were all great.
I left for home from Tournai at 2:30, and I got back just after 5pm. Tournai is a really great town. There is so much history there! So I had a really great weekend. Greta and I get along really well and we were talking non-stop the whole time we were together. Except for in mass; we do have respect.
School tomorrow already!!!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
On second thought, I don't miss driving that much anymore...
So I don't really have time to make a whole new post on top of everything else I have to do when I come online, so this is mostly copy and pasted from an e-mail I'm sending to my mom.
So my host mom managed to run her car into a little wall on the side of her sister's driveway... and it got stuck there. The driveway is on an incline so she was reversing into the driveway and managed to hit the wall at an angle, and keep going, and then get it stuck so that she couldn't pull out. and it was on such an angle that it wouldn't work if she tried to go back and turn the wheel the other way. She had to call one of our neighbours to help us. Somtimes I don't really like driving with my host mom. But at least the strong neighbour men (who I'm pretty sure are both firefighters) managed to get it out.
And another thing that has made me newly uneasy about the road is that yesterday I witnessed a terrible accident. Thankfully it was only one car, but it was still totally awful. We were on the highway, driving back from a Youth Exchange Orientation meeting (but it was the host mom of another exchange student driving, not mine). There was a car on the other side of the highway that we witnessed hit the short wall on the side of the road. The noise that that made was what first grabbed my attention. So all a really saw was a bunch of dust and the car. Then I look behind to see if the car was still there. I expected it to still be on the road but swerving a little to try to regain control. But no. This car went tumbling over the wall and I watched it with my jaw on the floor as it rolled a few more times. We pulled over for a moment, but there were a bunch of other people pulling over, getting out of their cars, and pulling out their cell phones, so we decided to keep on going. So I don't know if whoever was in that card is even alive... it's horrible. It was a truly scary thing to witness and still doesn't seem real. I've only ever seen anything like that on TV. The only difference is this wasn't just a stunt and someone could be dead or in a coma for all I know. It seems about as real as the dream I had last night were two of my guy friends here in Belgium dressed up sort of like Jesus and we making me lay on the ground with my hands under me an flicking water at me.
Okay so my classes are French, English, German, History, Geography, Phys. Ed, Biology, Chemistry, and Religion. School is soo different here.
Friday I only had english, french and geography class. I got to school at about 7h30, because usually school starts at 8h05. I was alone for a little while, then a couple girls I knew arrived and I stuck with them for a while until a bunch of other people showed up. I already know a lot of people thanks to my host sister, so I was talking with a bunch of different people and I already knew a few who would be in my class. High school here is really a lot like grade school in that you stick with your class all day. You're with the same 25 or so kids. And its a weekly schedule, not daily, so you don't have the same classes at the same time every day. I don't exactly know what will be when, so for the first week I'm just going to follow my classmates. The first day we only went to english, french and geography, then we had a sort of mass to celebrate the beginning of the school year. I filmed the songs for my host sister because her boyfriend, Guillaume, was playing guitar. Guillaume is in my class and I guess he's sort of my friend too ( i dont really know who to call my "friends" yet because I sometimes feel like I havent made a lot of my own friends yet, and that they're my host sisters friends and not mine, but I know I'll strengthen the relationships that I already have with some of her friends and make new ones so I will have a lot of my own friends, but that will come with time) So I sat next to Guillaume in french class. And his dad is the teacher, too. He started the class by reading a story and I understood a bunch of it. I was trying really hard to pay attention the whole time. I actually have to try really hard to pay attention here when everything is in french. its not like at home in english where I can be 75% asleep and still know what's going on. Here i have to be 100% attentive 100% of the time if I want to be able to follow a conversation or a lesson. Even then I usually dont get everything, but I get the general idea or topic.
Like last night I was at a meeting thing for the jeunesse de Seloignes (a group of older adolescents/young adults in the tiny town/neighbourhood of Seloignes who plan events and stuff) and it was a meeting where they were discussing what to do for their next ducasse, what color to make this years t-shirts, and different day-trip possibilites they can do together. It wasn't extremely exciting stuff and I was just sitting there listening. But it dawned on me that I was actually understanding a good 75% or more of what was being said. I was able to laugh along at the jokes, and not just prentending to laugh, or laughing because everyone else was laughing. I actully genuinely understood a lot. I thought back to when I was with people the few days after I got here and remembered how I barely understood anything. maybe a word here or there. Its truly amazing.
I don't know if I'm going to be included in this little day trip or not they were discussing. I probably will be if I pay and/or have nothing else to do that day. I think they are planning on going kyaking somewhere here in Belgium. I think it would be nice. And its a lot cheaper than the other options they were considering, like London, EuroDisney, and Paris. I'm already in on the london trip that Rotex is helping to organize in November, and its not that hard to get to Paris. EuroDisney would be interesting though. But still it's basically in Paris so I could go there for a day with other exchange students. Maybe I'll bring it up with a few people I met at the district orientation yesterday. I met a sweet girl from Iowa. We talked a lot. She lives in Tournai, which is pretty far away from where I live, but it wouldn't be too hard to get together every once and a while by train. We exchanged cell phone numbers and are already facebook friends.
So I'm in on the London trip, and I just requested to be in the Spain trip. Italy is booked. Its been booked for a little while now. I didn't think everyone would be so proactive since the trip is in April. I really wanted to go to italy. I could have put myself on the waiting list, but in doing so, I wouldnt want to wait around forever only to not be able to go on the trip, and then miss out on both trips. I'd rather go to Spain than nowhere. and I'm sure it will be amazing too. And there's a greater possibility of me travelleing to Italy alone, or with family, or even sometime this year and meet up with family I don't know very well. Whereas I may never have the chance to go to Spain again. So I was initially dissappointed, but I'm not too upset about it.
Anyways. The 6th year (Rhétos, which is equivalent to our senior year, or grade 12) is going on a field trip next friday to a concentration camp. Breendonck. Its still in Belgium. I just wikipediad it, and it wasnt a particularly big concentration camp, but it was mainly used as until people were transported to Auschwitz. It should be very interesting. I wonder if I will feel that vibe that everyone talks about (whos been to a concentration camp) where you can feel the souls of the people that died there, or you can sense that it was an evil place or something like that.
So my host mom managed to run her car into a little wall on the side of her sister's driveway... and it got stuck there. The driveway is on an incline so she was reversing into the driveway and managed to hit the wall at an angle, and keep going, and then get it stuck so that she couldn't pull out. and it was on such an angle that it wouldn't work if she tried to go back and turn the wheel the other way. She had to call one of our neighbours to help us. Somtimes I don't really like driving with my host mom. But at least the strong neighbour men (who I'm pretty sure are both firefighters) managed to get it out.
And another thing that has made me newly uneasy about the road is that yesterday I witnessed a terrible accident. Thankfully it was only one car, but it was still totally awful. We were on the highway, driving back from a Youth Exchange Orientation meeting (but it was the host mom of another exchange student driving, not mine). There was a car on the other side of the highway that we witnessed hit the short wall on the side of the road. The noise that that made was what first grabbed my attention. So all a really saw was a bunch of dust and the car. Then I look behind to see if the car was still there. I expected it to still be on the road but swerving a little to try to regain control. But no. This car went tumbling over the wall and I watched it with my jaw on the floor as it rolled a few more times. We pulled over for a moment, but there were a bunch of other people pulling over, getting out of their cars, and pulling out their cell phones, so we decided to keep on going. So I don't know if whoever was in that card is even alive... it's horrible. It was a truly scary thing to witness and still doesn't seem real. I've only ever seen anything like that on TV. The only difference is this wasn't just a stunt and someone could be dead or in a coma for all I know. It seems about as real as the dream I had last night were two of my guy friends here in Belgium dressed up sort of like Jesus and we making me lay on the ground with my hands under me an flicking water at me.
Okay so my classes are French, English, German, History, Geography, Phys. Ed, Biology, Chemistry, and Religion. School is soo different here.
Friday I only had english, french and geography class. I got to school at about 7h30, because usually school starts at 8h05. I was alone for a little while, then a couple girls I knew arrived and I stuck with them for a while until a bunch of other people showed up. I already know a lot of people thanks to my host sister, so I was talking with a bunch of different people and I already knew a few who would be in my class. High school here is really a lot like grade school in that you stick with your class all day. You're with the same 25 or so kids. And its a weekly schedule, not daily, so you don't have the same classes at the same time every day. I don't exactly know what will be when, so for the first week I'm just going to follow my classmates. The first day we only went to english, french and geography, then we had a sort of mass to celebrate the beginning of the school year. I filmed the songs for my host sister because her boyfriend, Guillaume, was playing guitar. Guillaume is in my class and I guess he's sort of my friend too ( i dont really know who to call my "friends" yet because I sometimes feel like I havent made a lot of my own friends yet, and that they're my host sisters friends and not mine, but I know I'll strengthen the relationships that I already have with some of her friends and make new ones so I will have a lot of my own friends, but that will come with time) So I sat next to Guillaume in french class. And his dad is the teacher, too. He started the class by reading a story and I understood a bunch of it. I was trying really hard to pay attention the whole time. I actually have to try really hard to pay attention here when everything is in french. its not like at home in english where I can be 75% asleep and still know what's going on. Here i have to be 100% attentive 100% of the time if I want to be able to follow a conversation or a lesson. Even then I usually dont get everything, but I get the general idea or topic.
Like last night I was at a meeting thing for the jeunesse de Seloignes (a group of older adolescents/young adults in the tiny town/neighbourhood of Seloignes who plan events and stuff) and it was a meeting where they were discussing what to do for their next ducasse, what color to make this years t-shirts, and different day-trip possibilites they can do together. It wasn't extremely exciting stuff and I was just sitting there listening. But it dawned on me that I was actually understanding a good 75% or more of what was being said. I was able to laugh along at the jokes, and not just prentending to laugh, or laughing because everyone else was laughing. I actully genuinely understood a lot. I thought back to when I was with people the few days after I got here and remembered how I barely understood anything. maybe a word here or there. Its truly amazing.
I don't know if I'm going to be included in this little day trip or not they were discussing. I probably will be if I pay and/or have nothing else to do that day. I think they are planning on going kyaking somewhere here in Belgium. I think it would be nice. And its a lot cheaper than the other options they were considering, like London, EuroDisney, and Paris. I'm already in on the london trip that Rotex is helping to organize in November, and its not that hard to get to Paris. EuroDisney would be interesting though. But still it's basically in Paris so I could go there for a day with other exchange students. Maybe I'll bring it up with a few people I met at the district orientation yesterday. I met a sweet girl from Iowa. We talked a lot. She lives in Tournai, which is pretty far away from where I live, but it wouldn't be too hard to get together every once and a while by train. We exchanged cell phone numbers and are already facebook friends.
So I'm in on the London trip, and I just requested to be in the Spain trip. Italy is booked. Its been booked for a little while now. I didn't think everyone would be so proactive since the trip is in April. I really wanted to go to italy. I could have put myself on the waiting list, but in doing so, I wouldnt want to wait around forever only to not be able to go on the trip, and then miss out on both trips. I'd rather go to Spain than nowhere. and I'm sure it will be amazing too. And there's a greater possibility of me travelleing to Italy alone, or with family, or even sometime this year and meet up with family I don't know very well. Whereas I may never have the chance to go to Spain again. So I was initially dissappointed, but I'm not too upset about it.
Anyways. The 6th year (Rhétos, which is equivalent to our senior year, or grade 12) is going on a field trip next friday to a concentration camp. Breendonck. Its still in Belgium. I just wikipediad it, and it wasnt a particularly big concentration camp, but it was mainly used as until people were transported to Auschwitz. It should be very interesting. I wonder if I will feel that vibe that everyone talks about (whos been to a concentration camp) where you can feel the souls of the people that died there, or you can sense that it was an evil place or something like that.
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