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!!!
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