Over 5 months in Belgium!

Hello everyone! Wow, it's been so long since my last post. I enjoyed my Christmas, New Year's, and 19th birthday here in Belgium. It was a little hard being away from my family and friends from California but at the same time it was AWESOME because I was celebrating these fun holidays in a foreign country!

New Year's Eve I went to my friends house with about 30 other Belgian friends from my school. We danced all night and drank champagne. I have a feeling that 2012 will be a great year :)

For my 19th birthday my host family took me to a yummy Italian restaurant where I ate penne pasta and tiramisu. My friends at school made me a birthday cake and Saturday night I had some friends come over for dinner and a sleepover! We also went to a karaoke bar and sang "Lady Marmalade" Haha such a great song :)

Right now, I am living with my second host family. It was hard to leave my first family but I will be able to see them again soon and I still see my sisters at school. I am leaving for Switzerland in a couple weeks and after that Amsterdam! Can't wait :) I love traveling...and I get to spend my spring break in beautiful Italy! So ready for pizza, pasta, and gelato!

So basically my exchange year is halfway over and I am really depressed. I don't want this to end. Who knows when I will ever be back in Europe and especially Belgium? What am I going to do without this delicious chocolate and fries? And beer and cuperdon's and taking trains to different cities whenever I feel like it? And speaking french and shopping at amazing stores and meeting people from all over the world? Ok well I am just going to enjoy the rest of this year as much as I can. I LOVE YOU, BELGIUM! And all of my readers too :)

Making a special wish for my 19th birthday :)

New Year's Eve with my friend Kamo!

Euro Disney in Paris with Nana, Kamo, and Tiarna! Such a beautiful and memorable day.

XOXO

Liege, December 13th

Please pray for the people that lost their lives in Liege yesterday. I was not there but some exchange students were and they witnessed the bombs going off and the shootings. It is very scary to think about and I hope everyone is staying safe!

Here is a link with the info:
 http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-belgian-attack-rises-4-154123200.html

Final Exams

I just got home from my French exam. My teacher had me write an essay on Christmas in America. So easy! I'm beginning to really like exams here :)

Last Friday I had my English exam. I read two different articles in English then replied to questions in French. After, I had my oral exam where I spoke in French about taking a gap year. This Wednesday is Geography. I have been studying and last night my host mom helped me with the concepts that I couldn't understand. It's a little difficult when the book is in French ;) But actually I find this subject to be interesting and I'm looking forward to see how I will do on the test. Friday I have another oral exam for English. I will be speaking about some topic in French. Next Monday will be my last exam! It's English again, I will read articles and write about them in French.

Christmas break is almost here! I'm going to Euro Disney in Paris on the 20th, hanging out with exchange student and school friends, and spending time with my host family before I switch families in January!

My class at school :)

Family

This picture just made my day :) My parents went to San Diego and Los Angeles over Thanksgiving break with Ohm, the exchange student from Thailand that is living at my house. Whenever I hear from my family it makes me feel not so far away....Love them so much!!

A Great Weekend

Last Friday night was the Soiree des Rheto's at my school. (Rheto's are the name for the students in the last year of high school here, like "seniors"). Basically a huge party with dancing, drinking, and hanging out with friends. It was a lot of fun and I danced all night :) It's so crazy that kids can drink at a school event...and the teachers were the ones selling the drink tickets at the bar! Haha not like America at all.

On Saturday morning I woke up really early and went to Brugge with my host mom and exchange student friend, Kamo. Brugge is in the Flemish part of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. I have been wanting to go to Brugge for a long time so I was happy that my host mom invited me. It is a beautiful city and everything was already decorated for christmas so it really put me in the holiday mood. I bought some Godiva chocolate that was so delicious :) It seemed like every other shop on the street was a chocolate shop!! My favorite. Next time I go to Brugge I would like to rent a bike and explore the city that way. Oh and it's so interesting to hear another language other than French. The main language is Dutch in the Flemish part of Belgium.

Sunday was a Rotary event in Brussels, called The Exotic Dinner. All the exchange students got in groups and made a dish from their country. I brought hot dogs, very American. Of course I ate the Mexican food though! Pico de gallo and guacamole mmmmmm. I miss it so much. I enjoyed the Australian food too...meat pies and pavlova.

Now it's another week at school. Time to get ready for the exams! Rotary exchange students only have to take four exams at Christmas so I chose French, Geography, and my two English classes. I will do the English exams in French though! Students here study so much for the exams and they take them so seriously so I can't really hang out with the Belgians on the weekends. So I think this Friday I'll go over to Maisa's house, my friend from Finland.

I will update soon with information on Saint Nicholas Day, a christmas holiday celebrated in Belgium on December 6th.

Bye for now :)

Soiree des Rhetos with Claudia :)

Trois mois!?

I've been in Belgium for three months already! So crazy. Oh and sorry I haven't been updating often but I can never find the time. I will try to be better from now on though :)

Here's some things I've been up to recently:
London, North Sea, Liege, Anvers, Brussels, Ypres, Tintin museum, Namur Nature Film Festival, Oxfam breakfast, Kraft mac and cheese for my host family, chocolate chip cookies for my english class, french lessons, crepes for dinner, Pizza Hut, seeing movies in French at the cinema and trying to understand what's going on, cheerleading exercises for my gym class, meeting amazing exchange students, becoming better friends with the Belgians, watching Grey's Anatomy and Glee with my host sisters, trying not to be depressed that I'm not going to have a Thanksgiving this year, receiving letters and packages in the mail :), eating some of the best food I've ever had in my life, buying lots of scarves and gloves, improving my french everyday...

The weather here has been beautiful lately! My host mom said in November it's usually gray and rainy but it's been clear skies and sunshine! I feel so lucky but I still want snow! Hopefully for Christmas :)

I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving and think of me when you're eating! XOXO

Take me back to London!!

Time needs to slow down!

Hello, my followers! This Monday will mark my first month in Belgium. Time is going by way too fast, but at the same time it feels like I've been gone for 10 years.

I made it through my second week of school. I absolutely love it! Everyone is so friendly and I feel like I belong there. Most of my teachers understand that going to school in a foreign country and speaking in a foreign language is difficult, so they aren't too demanding. My French teacher assigned L'Alchimiste (The Alchemist) for me to read instead of a more challenging book the rest of the class has to read. Thankfully I read The Alchemist a few months ago so I know what it's about :) I'm still going to read it in french though because it's good practice. Oh and I was actually able to complete my first math assignment, with a little help from my friends :)

This weekend is the Fete de Wallonie in Namur. There are various shows and some pretty famous Belgian singing groups performing. I went last night and hung out with some friends from school and other exchange students. Tonight I'm going back to watch Suarez perform, a Belgian group :) I can't wait!

A few nights ago I made dinner for my host family. I made penne pasta and a tomato sauce with sausage, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Also I made a salad with different kinds of vegetables, croutons, and cheese. They really enjoyed it. Next time I'm going to make them grilled cheese :)

All in all, I have had a wonderful first month in Belgium. The chocolate, waffles, beer, fries, people, and sights are amazing. I feel so lucky to be here :) Time needs to slow down though. I still have so much I need to do! I hope everything is well in California.

Bisous bisous

Fete de Wallonie avec mes amis :)