Busy busy busy

I can't believe March is already half way over and that I leave in less than four months! Next week I'll be moving in with my third host family.  I'm not really nervous, but it will be weird to move again and have to re-adjust and become comfortable in another home.  Manon (third host sister) and I have decided that we will go on a diet together. Haha, we'll see how that one goes.  I can do diets, I just can't lose weight, apparently.  But it might also be easier because the weather is getting nicer, so I can go outside and move around.  Not like how all winter I was never motivated to be active. I just wanted to stay in bed because the weather sucked.  Now the weater is becoming fairly beautiful and I was actually able to get a slight tan sitting outside for a few hours this week!

I've been pretty busy since my last post.

On the 21st, it was Mardi Gras and I went to Binche with some other exchange students to experience carnaval.  It was really cool.  There was confetti everywhere, and I collected a dozen oranges that the gilles had thrown.  The gilles are the guys who are dressed up in huge ostrich feather hats, wooden clogs,  and have bells around their waists.  They slowly march through the streets followed by drums and brass instruments and toss oranges to the crowd, banishing winter.

The gilles 

Then the Friday after that, the 24th, I went to a club in attempt to win a contest with my fellow Rhétos.  The objective was to get as many people as possible to come an represent your group, and whoever had the most people there in their name would win 1000 euros! and WE WON :)

That weekend I spent visiting my first host family, because my current host family was out of town getting sauer kraut!

The next week, on Wednesday the 29th, all the 6th years went on retreat for two and a half days.  My group was 19 people, most of whom I didn't know at all.  But on retreat I got to know them, and on a level that would have been impossible at school or other social gathering.  So I'm very happy for that.  The retreat turned out to be very successful.  But towards the end of the retreat, my throat was incredibly sore and I was coughing every couple minutes.  I spent that weekend sick at home, with the exception of a visit to the doctor on Saturday, and I stayed home from school the following Monday.

But I was in decent health again by Thursday, just in time for the Chimay Spring Festival that weekend!  That was something I would have been very upset over missing.  It was a lot of fun.  Especially the Friday.  On Saturday night I had to work most of the time.  After all, it was us Rhétos who were organizing the whole thing.  I think we made a lot of money (this festival was a fundraiser for our Rhéto trip), because there were a lot of people that came.  But more came on the Saturday, because that's the day that we had all the artists, bands, etc.  That's the day we really advertised for.

I've basically been exhausted since then, along with most of the other 6th years.  With all the activities we have to organize or participate in, we barely have time to breathe!  But it's alright, I'd much rather spend my exchange doing things and being out every weekend than sitting at home.

The weather in the past week has been fairly glorious.  It was sunny almost all week!  On Thursday and Friday I spent about 4 hours each day just sitting out in the sun outside the Rhéto club at school.  And as a pleasant surprise I got a little bit of a tan! I am super pale, and very excited about changing that.

On Thursday after school, Autumn came home with me, and then a little later on my host mom drove us to a Rotary meeting.  The meal was the best one I've had at a meeting there so far.  It was delicious! The appetizer was chicory and scallops.  I've tried cooked chicory here before, multiple times, and I've always hated it.  But the chef made it in such a way that it wasn't disgusting and I actually enjoyed it! It's a miracle.  I told her afterwards that I really liked it and I think that she said that she made it sweeter by doing something with oranges... I don't know exactly. But usually chicory is very very bitter, and that's probably why I hate it.  But since it wasn't very bitter, it was much better. The the main plate was a piece of beef with a sort of garlic butter sauce and a little bit of broccoli and carrots on the side.  The garlic butter was amazing! And for desert we had a small banana milkshake.  It was perfect.
After the meeting, Autumn and I were picked up by her host mother, and I spent the night at Autumn's house and we went to school together the next morning.

On Friday I was very tired because we didn't get home from the meeting until midnight, and then we still had to set up the extra bed for me and all that jazz.  The next morning we had to wake up at 6:30.  I almost fell asleep later on that day in English class.
That evening I went out again to what could probably be best described in English as the pre-carnival at Froidchapelle.  Everyone was in costume, some were better than others, and we basically just filled the bars and main street of Froidchapelle with music and dancing and good humor.  My night wasn't bad, but it wasn't as great as it could have been.  I was very tired and my feet hurt.  I'm glad we didn't stay too late.  But I slept for a long while that night, and was still tired the next morning.  If ever I wake up from a long night's sleep after a night out still tired, my host dad thinks that I'm hungover.  But I wasn't even! I did have a couple drinks that night, but only a couple, so I didn't even have enough to be slightly impaired by the alcohol, nevermind feel it the next day.

Despite everything, I still had enough energy to go out again on Saturday night for a friend's birthday party!

And now, on Sunday, which is supposed to be a day of rest, and all I want to do is just that, I have a bunch of homework to do and I am putting it off by writing in my blog! Tonight, I'll be going to bed early.

The next month will be very busy as well.  I'm going to be so exhausted.  But I will also be very happy.

Next Wednesday afternoon I go to Brussels with Autumn and Paloma to do a little much needed shopping.  On Thursday, all the exchange students in Belgium will be going to Verviers to meet the President of Rotary International.  On Friday, I have another birthday party to attend.  Next Sunday is an "adventure day" organized by Rotex.  On the following Wednesday, I move. And on the Sunday after that I go to Spain for 10 days, then the day after I get back, I go to Croatia for 6!!!