lalalaawesomeness

I feel like the only word that can describe my life is ... drum roll please... "lalalawesomeness". I think it is the perfect way to describe my emotions other than "life is kind of awesome" because I feel like I have over-used that statement by now.

This whole week home has been really busy so I, once again, apologize for my tardiness my faithful followers.

But before I get to my adventures in Spain... I have to tell you how my move went! :) Last time we talked, it was literally minutes before I was leaving the Brans to go to the Henssens. We all packed my suitcases and random bags into the car (I have no idea how I'm going to get home without being over the weight limit... things need to start disappearing before July 25th) and drove over the the girl's house. Yvonne was so cute when I got there and again was like, "My third daughter!" I couldn't stop smiling. It was kind of weird for Benoit and Fanny to have their parents sitting around in the same room making small talk (since they are dating). It was more funny for Fanny and Benoit because their parents weren't together for them but for me haha. We had these fancy little cakes and coffee :) It was so cute! We all sat around talking for a few hours and sharing funny stories ... like that one time I called a dog ugly and the owner heard me? Francois wasn't there since he was studying for his finals ... but it was still so much fun to be with my old family and my new family :) Yvonne said to Isa, "Are you sad she is leaving? You're going to be the only girl in the house now!" Isa looked at me and kind of had a sad face and said, "I miss her already. She has a life with us and it won't be the same to not have her around. " It almost made me cry! I love my families. A little later it was time to say goodbyes and I only had to say goodbye to Alain and Isa because Benoit was staying for dinner. Haha Of course my first night at my new family he would stay over until midnight. It was like we were both just hanging out at Justine and Fanny's... not that I would be staying and he would be going. Which made things easier to deal with. I don't know if he did it on purpose... but it made things much more comfortable for me to have him there that night (since, I was kind of really emotional). When Isa and Alain came to pick Benoit up after their movie I went to say goodnight to them and gave them a kiss on the cheek... Benoit was laughing at me since I was in my pajamas but I had to say goodnight! It was cute. When I opened the door they thought they would see Ben but they saw me instead and were like "Oh!! Mallo!" It was a perfect first night :) It took me forever to fall asleep though.. :/
The next day was great too :) I just did my own thing and the girls were studying for their finals so I had time to unpack and get used to things. You know how I normally hate bikes? Well that day, I went on 2 bike rides with Yvonne. And... I loved it! We biked next to the Meuse (the river that runs through Liege) on a beautiful sunny Sunday... :) Liege has an outdoor market one Sunday every month, so we biked there just the two of us and went shopping. It was so much fun and it felt like I had been doing this every month with her... it felt so natural. She really is just like my mom it is scary. She was so cute and bought me all the things I love (peanut butter, honey, yogurt, pasta, and bananas). It was such a great bonding moment and we brought all the food home for lunch and then went on another bike ride after lunch. It was the best first day :) I just feel so natural here and it just feels like a really long sleepover with Justine and Fanny! Hhaha which is perfect by me :) Have I told you that my life is kind of lalalawesomeness?
Then that Monday, I didn't go to school but met Mollie in town to start the unforgettable voyage to this little, spicy country named ... Spain! I must say it was kind of a bittersweet parting from my new family... I really wanted to stay more than 2 nights with them and didn't want to pack up my suitcase again but I was also really excited to be going to Spainnnnnn :)
So, I met Mollie in town at 10:30 where we then waited for another 30 minutes for her host-grandmother to take us to Verviers - please note that Mollie has never met this host grandmother or told her that I was coming in the car with them... so things were very awkward. We somehow made it to the train station in Verviers where we had to wait another hour for Margaret to get there. It was the time for the greyhound bus to come get us so we were kind of getting nervous since we didn't see it... so then right when we all start getting nervous that we missed it this man in a button-up shirt and green tie (the color of our company we were traveling with - Voyage Leonard) comes up to us and is like, "Going to Spain?" We said yes and then without thinking we get in this car with this man who didn't even ask our names or anything. It was probably the sketchest thing ever. We were all three freaking out when we realized we were in a car with a man we don't know and the idea that we were going to be in this car all the way to Spain! Seriously, we were about to call the company and see if this is what we really signed up for! Then right before we get out the calling information we see "Voyage Leonard" on a building maybe 200 km away... and are like ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh he is taking us to the bus. It was classic. So, we all happily boarded the bus and spent a wonderful 20 hours on the bus. Yes, 20 hours which is 8 hours longer than we thought we were going to be on the bus for. Mis-read that tid bit of information! This was one of the cheapest ways for us to get to Spain... but I think I would have loved to pay for a plane ticket because it was absolutely torture to be on that bus. Since we are 3 and not 4 or 2 people... I always am the one sitting happily alone but this time I got to sit next to a random, fat girl for 20 hours. I was not a happy camper. We finally made it to Lloret del Mar at 8:30 in the morning on Tuesday... and couldn't check into our hotels because our rooms weren't ready so we went exploring around the hotel and the city - I was pretty much in a coma at this point.
Lloret del Mar is a Mediterranean coastal town in Costa Brava known for it's "young crowd", late nightlife, and its beachs. It is 75 km north-east from Barcelona and is the second largest town in the county of Catalonia. For decades Lloret del Mar has attracted summer visitors and is considered as one of the most important resorts in Costa Brava. Lloret del Mar's main beach (length: 1,630 meters and with white, pebbly sand) is one of the most popular beaches in Costa Brava and is consistently awarded the Blue Flag for cleanliness. When we went exploring on our first day we ran into the most famous monument in Lloret del Mar : Monument to the Fisherman's Wife. It is a bronze sculpture at the end of the beach erected in 1966 to commemorate Lloret del Mar's Millennium. It is considered to be one of the town's most emblematic symbols and legend says that touching the sculpture's foot while looking out at the horizon will make your wishes come true. Also while we were investigating, we found a castle off into the distance (that we later hiked to) called the Castle of Sant Joan. It is a medieval castle from the 11th century that used to defend Lloret against attacks from the sea (such as the Genovese fleet in 1356 and during England's war against Spain and France in 1805). The fort was supposedly still in use until the 17th century. Only the castle's tower remains in condition (restored in 1992) and you can see all of the surrounding area from the top. Lloret del Mar is a tourist town full of hotels and souvenir shops... and I think I learned/spoke more German in this past week than I did Spanish. This is because all the German schools are finished with exams and they go to LLoret del Mar to celebrate (like Americans go to Cabo for Spring Break)... so the town was full with German speaking teenagers. Which was fine with me :)
After we did some exploring we went back to the hotel around 11 and just took a wonderful nap before lunch. Then after lunch, we went to the pool and just chilled until dinner. It's a rough life ;) Around 6 we went back to our room to shower and get ready and headed to dinner around 7:30. It was so nice to have meals included... it made things so much less stressful. And the food at the hotel was so good!! I have to say it was much better than in Greece.... Oh! And our hotel had 5 beautiful pools... once again Margaret needs a round of applause for her skills. After dinner we all went back to the room and enjoyed Spain from our balcony and around 10 we headed out to the beach! It was so nice to hang out on the cold, pebbly sand and since there were lots of other students on vacation we met tons of people just by sitting on the beach. Good times. And... we found out you pronounce "Macadonia" with a "k" not a "c". Did everyone know that or what it just us 3 that have been saying it wrong?
Wednesday we all woke up to go on an organized hike that the hotel had planned but we couldn't find the meeting point so we went on our own hike! We hiked to the castle we saw off in the distance the day before (Castle of Sant Joan). It was kind of far away but the city built this beautiful path for tourists to take so it was so nice to hike along it in the morning sunshine. There were these huge rocks right on the water that you could climb on so I'm pretty sure we took a 30 minute stop just to climb on the rocks and enjoy the views. Then we hiked farther and got to this huge cliff - it was one of those views that we all had to sit down and enjoy the moment in silence. It was a view you normally only get to experience as your screensaver on your computer... so we had to enjoy it in real life! Then we finally made it to the castle... and of course it wasn't open. We read the nice little description of the castle then saw a sign pointing to a beach 15 minutes away. So then we just went to the beach! We didn't have swimsuits but just went swimming in our running shorts and sports bras... it was so much fun! It was so hot out so it was the best feeling ever to be swimming in the slightly chilled waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Then after our swim we hiked back to the hotel to have lunch. After lunch, Margaret and I went for a run along the boardwalk while Mollie decided to read her new book at the pool. While Marge and I were running we noticed another castle at the other side of the beach... so we ran to it! And of course it had a little plaque outside that said this was a private residence created in the style of a castle... hi, welcome to Spain. Someone would create a house in the castle style to trick passing tourists! But the "fake castle" had a little path around it so Marge and I went on it for like 15 minutes. Marge was so impressed that this rich family built such a nice walking path for us tourists... and then we finally got the view of the coast and realized this path went all along the coast! It was hilarious! We totally thought they had built it but it was another thing the city built since it was such a beautiful walking trail. Hhaha We got a good laugh at this "great wall of Lloret del Mar". After this we had dinner and then went to Bingo Night at the hotel! We were totally the youngest people there... and we were proud of that! I pulled such a Mallory and after the first round of Bingo was won I missed the announcement that the next round was if you had all your numbers called... so I totally yelled ''Bingo" and went up to the nice man who shouted numbers in 3 different languages and was kindly asked to return to my seat since I didn't have all of my numbers called. So embarrassing!! I was so excited and just got so denied... I did get a nice pity clap from the pro-bingo players. I really let down the young crowd! Lesson learned - Bingo is not for those under 50. After this we went out to enjoy the nightlife of Lloret del Mar. We ended up dancing in this German club - even the DJ spoke German. It was just ridiculous that we go to Spain and we end up in a German club. So funnyyyy! We danced until 3 and then headed back to our hotel.
Thursday we went on a Catamarran boat ride! It was like this huge sail boat and maybe 30 of us were just hanging out on it :) It was so much fun! We road along the coast of Costa Brava and stopped in this little cove to go snorkeling... which was kind of a fail of a snorkeling adventure since there really is not coral in the Mediterranean so we just enjoyed swimming and laying out. The crew had a barbeque lunch prepared for us and I ate so much! It was so good! Then on the way back this little 4 year old boy was dancing to these rap songs in front of everyone and 5 songs later the whole boat was dancing! It was hilarious and everyone was dancing while we were just sailing along... it was so much fun. We got home around 2 and we took a little nap before we headed to our massages a the spa in the hotel. Yes, we got massages :) Actually Mollie got an hour massage and Marge and I got a half hour massage, with a half hour session of pressotherapy, a Scottish Bath session, and access to the gym, pools, and saunas. It was relaxing... and hilarious. Marge and I were together the whole time and it was just sooo dysfunctional at this place. The ladies who worked there only spoke Spanish so half the time we had no idea what was going on. I was like in this coma for 4 hours since we took naps before then I took a nap in the pool while we were waiting for our massages then I was practically sleeping when I was getting my massage and then when I did the pressotherapy thing (which was like an electrical pant suit that squeezed your legs and butt to circulate the blood) I fell asleep after like 5 minutes. Haha so I was just really out of it. Then we did this Scottish Bath after all of this. Which ... I think may be considered torture in several countries. It was funny because after my pressotherapy thing the lady told me to go to the pool and wait. So, I was just relaxing and I heard this lady keep yelling things with another person and I was kind of getting annoyed with it since it is supposed to be a relaxing place and 2 seconds later Margaret walks out of the room looking like she just witnessed a murder and I was so surprised since I had no idea where she was! I was like... ugh?? What are you doing!? All she said to me was that is was "my turn". So, I walk into this 4 by 4 room covered in white tile. At one end there is this shower type thing that I was supposed to stand in and at the other side of the room I see this Spanish lady standing there with a water hose and she starts spraying me with this high powered hose! It was hilarious. I could see Marge outside the door and I couldn't stop laughing. It hurt though too!! It was just ridiculous and I couldn't stop laughing over the fact that this was really happening and was considered "therapeutic". Let's just say... Margaret and I couldn't stop laughing when I walked out of there! Good times... :) That night, after dinner, we went to a little cultural flamingo dancing the hotel was holding. It was so cool to watch these ladies dressed up in traditional dresses and stomping places and clapping. It was really a good experience. After this, we went out to the clubs and stayed out until like 4 in the morning. It was a great time ;)
Friday we slept until 10 and went to Barcelona at 2. You know how every city has a word that describes them perfectly? (like London - traditional, Paris - glamorous, Rome - sexy, etc.) Well Barcelona's word ... is "extravagant". Seriously, there was something architectural, historical, touristic, or artistic going on pretty much every block in this city. It was crazy! We did this tour called the "Gaudi Tour". For those of you who only know a little bit about Antoni Gaudi - like I used to - let me do a little historical explaining about this very well-known artist. Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) was a Spanish Catalan architect and the best-known representative of Catalan Modernism. Modernism in its earlier stages was inspired by historic architecture, as for those who practiced in the return to the past as a response to the industrial forms imposed by the new technological advances that the Industrial Revolution produced. The revival of Catalan culture that began in the second half of the 19th century, brought more Gothic forms into the Catalan "national" style that aimed to combine nationalism and cosmopolitanism while at the same time integrating into the European modernizing movement. Gaudi's works are all situated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona and in the neighboring towns. Architecture, nature, religion, and his love for Catalonia are all marked in his works. He would study every detail of his creations and integrate into his architecture "crafts" such as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging, and carpentry. Under the influence of the neo-Gothic art and oriental inspiration - Gaudi became part of the Catalan Modernista movement which was at its peak at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. Gaudi's work has widespread international appeal, and there are innumerable studies devoted to his way of understanding architecture. Between 1984-2005 seven of his works were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
So, our first stop on the Gaudi Tour... was the Park Guell. Park Guell is a complex garden with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel just outside Barcelona. It was built during 1900-1914 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi Guell (whom the park was named after) and was inspired by the English garden city movement - hence the original English name "Park". The park has since been converted into a municipal garden. The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. When we were all three walking through this park... it was the perfect welcome to the city of extravagance! Everything had a touch of Gaudi to it... from the columns to the ceramic dragon on the stairs. Pictures don't do this park justice... it was so beautiful and unique every time you turned your head. Our next stop was the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family - also know as the Sagrada Familia. This is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona and although it is incomplete the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in November 2010 it was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. The construction of the church started in 1882 and Gaudi took over the project in 1883 where he transformed it with his architectural and engineering style - combining Gothic and curvilinear, Modernism forms with ambitious structural columns and arches. A the time of Gaudi's death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Familia's construction has progressed slowly since it relies on private donations and the construction just passed the mid-point in 2010 (with an anticipated completion date of 2026 - the centennial of Gaudi's death). When we got to this church we were all three so overwhelmed. This church is huge and has a dark appearance but then you can see little bits of Gaudi by having colorful fruits on the spires and weird things that stick out to the observer only if you take the time to look at it carefully. We didn't go in since we didn't have time nor enough money... so we went to the park across the street and got to enjoy the church as a local, along with the old men playing habachi ball near us. It was a beautiful moment :) Then we hopped back on the bus and went and enjoyed dinner in a famous square in Barcelona (which I have forgotten the name). There was a huge protest going on in the square full of young, angry people. I didn't really understand exactly... but I think they were mad at the bank and government for the high employment of young people without benefits. So, that was fun to see the city come alive with this protest. We ate a nice little restaurant right outside the square and then boarded the bus again to go see the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. Yes, we went to see a Magic Fountain as ridiculous as that sounds... but it was pretty magical when the sun went down and the fountain lit up and danced along with music. It was so epic! The Magic Fountain of Montjuic is situated below the National Palace on the Montjuic hill and near the Spanish Palace. The fountain, like most of the surrounding developments, was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. The light and music performances by the fountains take place in the Summer on Thursdays through Sundays every half-hour between 9 and 11 at night. We went on a Friday night... so we got to witness tons of light shows during our hour there! It was so cool! Once again, this was a beautiful extravagance that Barcelona was happy for us to enjoy in as well. It was a quick day spent in a city that deserves way more time than just a day to enjoy... but it was a great taste-test :) I can't wait to go back one day and enjoy the beautiful city for more time! It made me want to speak Spanish... or at least learn.
We got home around 12 that night and the girls were too tired to go out so we stayed in... then we got up around 9 Saturday morning to get packed and check out of our hotel. We did some souvenir shopping, had lunch, and then headed to the beach until 6 at night. It was so nice to spend our last hours on the beach under the sun. It was beautiful :) Then we hopped on the horrid bus ride home of 20 hours and got home Sunday afternoon around 3. I was sad that Spain was over.. but I kind of missed my little city of Liege and my new family!
Monday at school was fun. I really missed my Belge friends! So, it was good to catch up. This is the last week of school before finals so... I have decided to not skip any school this week :) So far so good!! Today we have a day off school for some religious holiday... I think something about Jesus going up to Heaven? Nobody will give me a straight answer when I ask why we don't have school. Cool. So... now I have time to catch everyone up on my life :)

I'll be going to Ireland in a week! Woo!!
The adventures have just begun my friends!

all for now :)
as happy as a clam

Mallo

Dear May, your'e almost over? What?!

Wow. Well... this is awkward.
Awkward as in that May is almost over and I'm still in the mindset that we are in March.
And Awkward as in I haven't updated in a really long time... which means my faithful followers that you are in for one of the most disgustingly, long blogs in the history of this blog. Hope you enjoy :) A lot has been going on!! I'll try to keep things interesting but I know that the only person who will actually read the entire blog are my parents... so! Here We Go! Buckle Up for the best skim reading of you life!

The last time I updated was the 4th of May a Wednesday... so that Thursday we didn't have school because the teachers went on strike for some reason regarding their paycheck (yes, students were informed about the strike a week before the "strike" so it was a lovely day off from school. So unamerican). I went to Maastrict in Holland with some exchange student friends. Maastrict is only like and hour from Liege by train so we all took the train around 11 and just hung out in the sun and did some shopping :) I didn't go shopping since I'm trying this new thing where I try not to spend any money. It was just fun to hang out with everyone since I hadn't seen anyone really since before the Rotary kids went to Italy or Greece. So it was some good bonding time with my fellow Rotarians.
Then that Friday, I was not in the mood to go into town with my friends from school since I was still exhausted from my week in Greece, so I went over to Margaret's house for the night. It was a chill night complete with stir fry vegetables, shrimp, and skyping. We were early to be and early to rise the next morning since Marge had a Rotary activity to be at in Brussels. So, I came home early on Saturday. Saturday was supposed to be the day I was going to change families to go to my friend Noemie's house... but we had postponed it to the 21st since my counselor still had to do a tour of the house. Saturday night we had a little barbeque with Alain's family (his parents, his sister and her son). It was so nice out and we ate outside :) It was just a nice, chill night with the family and some soccer being played by the 4 of us young folk. It made me kind of happy I was moving in 2 weeks so that I was able to have another memory with the family :) So cute.
Sunday I met with my counselor to talk about Noemie's family. Long story short... her family wasn't found fit to have an exchange student live with them. I'm not going to get into the drama or give more details than that... so let's just skip that part. Within a few hours after having coffee with my counselor my family and I were on the phone with another friend of mine (Justine , whose younger sister, Fanny, is dating Benoit) and after some phone calls back in forth I had a new family to live with :) Even though this was a really stressful few hours for me... I have never felt so loved. Everyone wanted me to be happy and it was the silver lining to things not working out exactly as they were planned to. Noemie was really sad I couldn't be her "sister" but she will always be one of my "sisters" I have in Belgium... and I'm really excited to move to Justine's house. Her mom (Yvonne) reminds me of my mom so much... physically and just the way she is. It makes me miss my mommy kind of... but in a good way :) I'm also really excited to have 2 sisters soon !! haha going from 2 brothers to 2 sisters should be an experience! After all this drama was worked out all before lunchtime... I went to watch Benoit and Francois play tennis with Isabelle. It was such a sunny, nice day! I loved just sitting and watching the boys play while talking about tennis rules with Isabelle (since I'm still learning the rules to Tennis). It was a cute little bonding moment for us on Mother's Day :)
Monday and Tuesday were normal days at school... I don't really remember all that went down besides awkwardly having to explain to my friends why I'm not going to Noemie's house and instead going to Justine's.
Wednesday I went to Brussels after school with my exchange student friends. It was fun to spend time with them and catch up with a beautiful day as the backdrop to our conversations. And! Wednesday was my best friend Blakelee's birthday! 19! I was kind of sad I couldn't spend it with her and really missed her... but I thought it was fun that I sent her a little birthday gift in the mail :) I was a bit homesick this day... I think that I'm so close to leaving but at the same time I still have 2 months in Belgium. It is messing with my head!!
Thursday I had french class and after I came home to have dinner with Isabelle's parents and Manon (Francois's girlfriend). I had forgotten that they were coming over during the day so I had a nice little surprise when I came home. I love family dinners like this (more than the fact that we get dessert when we have company over). Francois and I were sitting across from each other at dinner and we kept making weird noises back and forth at each other and having staring contests. His girlfriend was like, "You guys are so weird. It is like you have your own language with each other." It made me laugh. I guess we do have our own language. I know if I meow in the same room as Frans (yes, I meow on a normal basis here) that it will always be answered by a woof from him. I'm really going to miss that. And him saying my name with a heavy, french accent on the R... MallorrRrry. So Belge. After everyone left around 11, we were all sitting around watching TV and Benoit and I were messing with each other (making fun of each other and doing little pokes and slaps) and it turned into a wrestling match. Yes, I was wrestling Benoit in the middle of the living room. It was hilarious. He obviously beat me... but it was so funny. We were laughing the whole time and it reminded me of when I would play-fight with my dad when I was younger. Alain was like, "Don't hit a girl!" Benoit's response was, "She's not a girl. She is my sister!" It made me smile :) Love them.
Friday I didn't go to school because I caught a train with Margaret and Mollie to the North Sea for the weekend! :) We stayed in Oostende which is like 2 hours and a half from Liege by train. Oostende is the largest town and oldest settlement on the Belgian coast, with a history going back to the 10th century. Long a pirates' hideout, Oostende has hosted many a famous rogue and adventurer, and it was from here that Crusades also set sail for the Holy Land. In the early 17th century, when villagers backed the Protestant cause, Oostende withstood a Spanish siege for 3 years. Oostende was also where one of the Continental Europe's first railways was built between Oostende and Mechelen in 1838 (and Belgium became a country in 1830 by the way). A hundred years ago, the town was at its epoque height, with a boom of neoclassical buildings dripping with ornamentation. Elegantly dressed ladies shaded under parasols strolled along the Promenade on the arms of gents in spats (yes, "spats" my faithful followers). But during the WWII many of the buildings were bombed, times changed, and the glammour dimmed.
Although it might never quite relive its heydey, Oostende has regained much of its grandeur during recent years. Historic buildings have been embellished, dikes renewed, and there's been a revival of cultural activities. The weekend we were in Oostende they had a kite festival! It was a beautiful surprise and welcome to the city :)
It was just so fun to be with the girl's for the weekend (and with my ex-3rd-host family's grandmother - now that my friends is complicated) Friday was full of investigating where we were in the city... our hotel was a 3 minute walk from the beach/boardwalk and on the major commercial street of Oostende. It was the perfect location (thank you Marge, for your incredible skills). We ate ice cream, had a cocktail on a terrace overlooking the beach, and had chinese that night! Our first night we just had deserts out on the hotel terrace (terras) and enjoyed watching MTV... in English! Oh, how much I have missed my MTV. Saturday was a big day!! We woke up with a continental breakfast that was at the hotel then we went on an hour run on the boardwalk in the sun :) After the running, we took a little pit stop before returning to the hotel by playing frisbee (with the frisbee that Mollie brings to too many places) on the beach! Then we went home to shower and headed out in the city again...we had pizza and ended up renting a 3 person bike (2 people peddled and one person enjoyed the scenery) for an hour and went up and down the boardwalk. As you know, I am not really a fan of the bike, but I went along with it because the girls were really excited about it. I ended up sweating, stressed out, and fussy after this little adventure. Those damn bikes will get me every time... but with a nice scoop of ice cream I was ready for the next adventure. Later that day, we went to meet up with my original 3rd host family's (who cancelled on me back in September) grandmother who lives in Oostende. She is also the great aunt of Laurent (first host-dad) so it was fun to have a little chat with her while we were in her city. She was so cute and active for her age... I was impressed. After this rendez-vous, we went to the grocery store to save some money (since the lunch was a bit pricey) and bought a baguette, bree, apples, chocolate, and wine. We were so cute :) We had a little feast on our hotel beds while watching some trashy tv shows on Mtv. It was the besttttt. Around 10, we went to the beach to watch the kites lit up at night - called "mystic kites". It was kind of lame but we took our wine and enjoyed some good conversation while we watched the moon and kites on the beach. It was like a movie scene of the 3 best friends... classic. We were walking back home around 11:30 when I noticed (there is a Casino right on the boardwalk-about halfway home) that there was some sort of party going on at the top! Being Mallory, I was like Oh! We have to go! The girls were kind of tired, and were like, "Do you want us to go with you?" 5 minutes later we were all 3 walking right through the club doors, no questions asked, and spent the next 2 and a half hours dancing our butts off and singing along with the latest songs. It was so much fun! The club was full of middle age men and women, a bachelorette party, and teens sipping on cokes. It was such a crazy mix of people and since we didn't plan on even going to the night club - we totally were the party, crashing Americans. So much fun. It was the type of spontaneous thing that I love ... and live for! Best night... :) Sunday, we got up a bit later than normal... ;) and enjoyed another continental breakfast at the hotel. We had check-out at 11 so after we packed everything up and left it in a special baggage room we went out to have a pita, ice cream, and do some shopping! It was fun to just roam around the city a little more on our last day. Then we took a train home at 2 and were home by 5. I took a bus and went straight to watch Benoit playing tennis (yes, with my luggage) with Alain and Isabelle. It was so cute because Ben didn't know I was coming so he was really surprised to see me show up with my oversized bag for 2 nights. And he ended up winning!
Monday was a big day. I skipped the last few classes of school .... sadly not to go into the city but to come home and START my Science Sociales paper which was due that Friday ( a week and 4 days more time than my Belge classmates had to work on theirs) . Yes, yes, yes... I started my 7 page research paper 4 days before it was due. I don't even care! I haven't done anything legitimate in the school department since I graduated high school in America... so I had some issues remembering how to start being productive. I can proudly say that I turned in a 7 page paper comparing the Healthcare of America with Belgium - complete with an analysis of the histories of Belgium and the US on the subject, an analysis of Republicans, Liberals, and the Tea Party on the issue, and the new reform going on in the US. Oh... and if that subject isn't impressive/complicated enough did I tell you it was all in French!! Bam! I was so happy Friday when I turned it in. Now I can actually relax! Benoit of course reminded me, being the brother he is, that this is the only thing I have put effort in for school since I have been here for 9 months... and that I shouldn't be that proud of that. But... I am!! haha Yay Mallory! You are still a productive member of society!
Tuesday I had an oral french exam at the University... it was kind of easy. I just answered some questions and talked normally with the teacher. She was like, "You probably should have been in a harder class... you speak so naturally!" It made me happy. I'm actually starting to consider myself as being fluent now... but I'm worried about this constant traveling I'm going to be doing in the next month (Spain 23-29 of May, Ireland 9-14 of June, and Prague 17-22) and that since I'll be speaking English the whole time I might lose a bit of my progress. You win some you lose some.... that's life. I was finished by 5 so I just hung in town with Jerry and some other exchange students until 7... Standard (the football team of Liege) made it through the Belgium play-offs and played Tuesday for the #1 spot in the nation again Gent (a town in the North of Belgium). The winner of the game goes to the European Cup - which is with the #1 teams from all over Europe. So, it was kind of a big game. The city set up this huge screen in the middle of Place St. Lambert (which is the same place I went to the concert at the beginning of the year) and thousands - literally over 20,000 people - came to watch the game on the big screen. It was craziness! All my friends from school went and we all wore red and chanted along with the songs. It was the best ambiance :) So many people all in the same place to watch a game... that is incredible. I can't even begin to explain how crazy everyone went when Standard scored the first point. Sadly, Standard tied Gent 1-1... which means they aren't the #1 team of Belgium... so there was a lot of disappointed people. But that is okay... it was such a fun night. I felt so Belge!
Wednesday I skipped my Science Sociales class to sadly come home and work on my paper for that class... so not okay. Then around 5, I went over to Justine and Fanny's house with Benoit. Benoit had planned on eating dinner with them (his girlfriend is Fanny) a week ago and then it turned into me going along too to see my room and get all the details worked out for the move. It was soooo much fun :) I was smiling the whole time! When I walked through the door, Justine's mom (Yvonne) greeted me with a bisous and said, "My 3rd daughter!" It made me so happy. They showed me my room and were all worried because it used to be the storage room... but honestly, it was so cute! It looks like Harry Potter's room! And... I actually think it is bigger than the room I have now... and I have my own little closet. It was perfect :) We ate spaghetti together and Benoit was being so cute. The family kept asking me all the these things about me (like what I like to eat, what time I go to bed, what I do in my spare time, etc.) and Benoit kept answering all of them. It was so funny. He knows me so well... after 5 months! Justine was kidding around and asked Benoit was is one thing that I do that is annoying and he was like, "Well... she is a morning person." It was so cute :) It made me smile. I'm so happy to be going to this family... actually today in a few hours!! They are so nice to me! Justine is such a good friend of mine ever since the beginning, Fanny is just so cute, Yvonne is so much like my mom, and Bernard is so nice and quiet! I can't wait to spend these next weeks (yep, we are down to weeks) with them. I'm kind of sad I am traveling so much this next month... but they are really understanding of it and are already planning things for when I'm in town.
It is a bittersweet feeling... and obviously by the amount I have talked about this family just in this blog alone that I'm kind of really emotional about it. Yesterday, I came home (instead of going out with my friends from school again) to pack up my room. It was so weird to actually be packinggggg. Around 7, we all 5 went out to dinner for my last night. We went to this little pizza shop that the boys grew up in and just sat around talking and laughing. Francois kept doing weird things that he knew I would laugh at and Benoit kept getting my attention by kicking me under the table... it was a perfect dinner. While we were waiting for our food, Isabelle brought our a little gift for me. As I was opening she said, "This is so you will think of us from time to time." It was a silver necklace with 3 hearts intertwined. She explained that they didn't have 4 hearts (for all of them) so she got 3 hearts to represent Francois, Benoit, and me. I can't even explain the emotions I had when I put it on ... I love this family. Today while I was finishing packing, Alain came home with a Standard (the football team of Liege) scarf... :) He said it was the "boy present" for me since I got the "girl present" last night. It almost made me cry. It made me feel so loved and I couldn't stop smiling. I will think of this family every day of the rest of my life... that sounds intense but it is true. They are my family, and I am their family. To say the least... I am kind of really emotional today. The boys are kind of being weird too....

wish me luck! next blog - ESPAGNE!
all is well :)
Mal

Crete, Greece

lalalalalalalala my life is a dream.

Greece was (ofcourse) amazing. It was everything I thought it was going to be and nothing at all like I thought it was going to be and yet still better than my dreams. I was on this "wait, I'm in Greece?" type feelings the whole week and ... it was beautiful. I can't believe this is my life! I love my Belge friends... I'll never forget the memories I made with them this past week. They are my best friends and have made my life. When I think about what my year would be like without these people... I don't think I would be where I am or who I am. Belgium (along with the beautiful people it has as citizens) has made my life, saved my life, and changed my life. Thank you.

But first before I get all emotional about how much I love my Belge Besties... let me talk to you a little about this place called "Crete".... :) I know, my faithful followers, you are dying to know a little more information - Mallory Style.

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek Islands (80+ isles). It is also the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea - and maybe the most beautiful? Crete is impressively one of the only Greek Islands that can support itself not just by tourism. Crete has a cultural heritage like Greece while also maintaining its own local cultural traits - dialect, poetry, and music. The Greek spoke in Crete has a distinct Cretan Greek dialect with an extended vocabulary that is very specific. My good friend, Constantin, was actually born in Greece and speaks fluently since he goes home atleast 3 times a year... he said that sometimes it is hard to communicate with the Cretes because they have a different vocabulary and dialect than the mainland (much like the Belgian French). Crete also has its own distinctive Mantinades poetry... and Mantinades-based music.
Crete is extrememly mountainous... which is something I wasn't expecting at all. The terrain is very different than the stereotypical terrain of the Greece mainland you always think about. Crete is characterized by a high mountain range crossing from west to east that forms three different groups of mountains. We stayed near Heraklion, the largest city and capital of Crete, and went on two day trips to visit the beautiful, Greek city of Heraklion through out the week. The city is modern, old, touristic, and the quintessential Greek city all wrapped in one. You would have the touristic streets filled with all the stereotypical things being sold by people that don't look at all Greek and then down the next street you would find a Starbucks where you could hear Greek chatter from teens sipping on cold drinks and then if you walked a little further you would find an old, Orthodox Church from the Byzantine Empire relaxing in the sun with candles burning and chanting on the inside seeping through the stained glass windows. I love cities like these... :) I enjoyed a Greek Coffee with my 9 good, girl friends at a local restaurant while we watched the traffic flow along in the sun and the beach as the background scenery. It was perfect. This city also has a museum with relics from the Minoan Age... it was pretty boring for everyone since the descriptions for everything was in English or Greek... but I loved it! It was so interesting to read about the ancient culture :) Chania (about 3 hours from where we were staying) is the second largest city - that we also visited - and it has about 53,000 inhabitants. This city was beautiful...like every city in Greece. It was like all those screensavers you have on your laptop with the old, stone city next to the clear blue water... it was beautiful. The 9 of us girls ate calamari at a restaurant pretty much on the water and then after we went walking on the old stones of the ancient port... it was beyond beautiful. Pictures nor words can capture the beauty.
Cretans are fiercely proud of their island and customs... I wish I could say I was exaggerating at the amount of tattoos I saw on men/women that said "Made in Creta". They are very proud that they are Greek ... which is something I would be proud of too if I was Greek! Customs are taken very seriously and the traditional, everyday dress for men is knee-high black riding boots, black shirts, and a black headdress that is like a fishnet-weave kerchief worn around the head and shoulders (don't think that everyone wears this... ! but I did see a good number of old people dressed this traditional way). Black is the color of the mourning... and since the Cretan family is considered to be so extended as to include great-grandparents, great-great grandchildren, and too many cousins to have a number system for - one is theoretically justified to be in continuous morning for some relative or other, however distant. I found that to be really cool... not that they are always mourning but because they consider even the 21st cousin that they have never seen to be part of the family. It was so cool to see old men dressed like this just sitting outside their houses - dressed in the traditional Cretan attire.
Crete was also the center of the Minoan civilization - 2700-1420 BC - the first civilization in Europe. The Minoan civilization built the first palace of Europe in Crete at Knossos (which we visited!). The Knossos Palace (located near Heraklion) was discovered in 1878 and is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and was the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace was built gradually between 1700 and 1400 BC. The Palace covers 6 acres with 1,300 rooms, a theatre, a main entrance on each of its four cardinal faces, and extensive storerooms. The palace had at least three separate liquid management system - one for supply, one for drainage of runoff, and one for drainage of waste water. Aqueducts brought fresh water from springs about 10 km away and water was then distributed by a gravity feed through terracotta pipes to fountains and spigots (there was also a sewer system). The Palace is known for its frescoes which are very sophisticated, colorful, portray society, and conspicuously non-militaristic. One feature of their art is the color-coding of the sexes: men with ruddy skin and women as milky white. The pictures are all of young adults (rarely children or elders) linked to activities/athletic feats. The centerpiece of the "Minoan" palace was the Throne Room. The throne is flanked by the Griffin Fresco, with two griffins lying down facing the thrown... their are many theories about the "Griffins" and the actual use of the room. It is speculated that the throne was actually made for a female! I loved this visit... but once again my friends were just not into it. It was hard to keep my 'cool' with my Belge friends while also being really interested in what the tour guide was saying... :)

In between touring cities and going on little scholastic visits ... I lived it up :) I gained back the 4 pounds I lost before going by eating cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta cheese along with greek yogurt with honey (which all my friends made fun of me because I was pretty much eating honey with yogurt - have I already mentioned I like things disgustingly sweet?) and just feasting on the greek goodness in buffet style at our hotel. I also spent a fair amount of time basking in the sun... rotating my time between the pools at the hotel and the beaches surrounding the hotel. It was beautifullll!! Must I continue saying this? As a big group (there were a total of 102 of us on the trip) we would go on hour walks through the little city our hotel was located in... We also enjoyed playing tennis and having beach volley ball tournaments! I forgot that I have some skills on the volleyball court! One day we took rented bikes 2 hours to another coast (called SiSi) and enjoyed the beach there! I hate biking... and I didn't realize how to switch gears until the 2 hour bike ride home (remember that Crete has little mountains?) so I was beyond miserable on the bike ride but the moment I got off and looked around me at where I was... the pain just kind of became numb. We biked to this little secluded town nestled in between a huge cliff and the clearest water I have ever seen. Sadly... that is the day my camera broke.... but it will forever rest in my memory. My nights spent in Greece ... hmm well anybody who knows me knows that I didn't spend my time sitting in the hotel and whining about my sunburn and sand in my bikini! We all went out every single night and every single night I would dance my butt off and meet new people and smile like I've never smiled before. It was the time of my life... hands down. Let's just say this week... I have been beyond exhausted. Our last night there, we stayed out until 4 in the morning and had to be up for breakfast at 9 on Sunday and then we hopped on a plane that night... didn't get home until 5 in the morning Monday... and (ofcourse) it was obligatory to go to school that day! Benoit and I only made it until noon! haha We tried! To say the least I have been exhausted this week...! But - so worth it.

Now I'm enjoying my even deeper friendships with my Belge Besties now that we only have 5 more weeks of school together... and now we are all planning things for summer! I'm so glad I'm staying to enjoy summer ... :) I miss my family and friends a lot back home... but I am happy I'm staying to spend time with my family and friends here. I love my life here.
I'm changing families this soon (it is supposed to be this Saturday but I don't know if it will work out) to go to my friend's house (Noemie)... I'm kind of sad to leave my brothers. This week they have been really sweet and I just feel so a part of this family... it will be sad to leave. I'm trying to tell myself that I'll see them... it's not like I'm going home to America! I'm just moving ... they will still be my family and my brothers even if I have a different address. Isabelle told me today that my room is now "Mallory's Room" and that I can come back whenever... it almost made me cry. Yesterday she was telling me she was talking to her co-worker who son is going to do an exchange trio too. The lady was asking her about her experience with me and Isabelle told me she told her how it was the best experience and they are so lucky to have me be a part of their family and that things are going to be weird for her and the boys when I leave... I love this family. But life is about changing and adapting... and I'm ready for my new adventure! I will forever have this family <3

All for now :)
Love life
Mallory