Cotton Candy and Bubble Gum

Hello Everyone :)

Just a quick little hello before I jet off to Greece for a week!!
Tomorrow is Easter... and it doesn't even feel like it at all. In America, you would always have an Easter egg hunt/some family gathering or a trip to the church for a service (even if you don't go all year).... but here... I'm getting on a plane and going to Greece on Easter Sunday morning. I think that in itself... tells you something about the importance of the holiday. When I expressed my feelings to my brothers that it is kind of a bit weird we are leaving for a school trip on Easter Sunday they responded by saying... "Ya, that is Europe." So... Welcome to Europe my faithful followers! I will just have to wait until next year to celebrate this holiday as well :) Fine with me. I'm not complaining too much that I'll be spending the day traveling to Greece ... life is good.

My week has been full of sunshine and smiles! The weather is like summer here and everyone is outside enjoying it. It is more hot than it should normally be for the end of April... but nobody really cares! Seriously.... I don't know where all these people have been hiding during winter because I have never seen so many people out and about before. Everyone just knows how to make the most of sunny blissfullness in Belgium... since we have not seen the sun in an abnormal amount of time....!!

Wednesday I went to the mall to run some errands before my trip. I don't know what it is... but I love getting all cute and going places alone. I just love having that time to myself while being productive...it makes me feel so old and independent. Does that make sense? Before I left, Francois was like, "So, who are you going to the mall with?" And I was like, "Ummm me!" I don't care if it is weird... I love it :) I was so productive and spoke so much French!! I was so proud of myself! I got my hair cut and the man who cut it was Iranian and so nice. He kept complimenting my French and was really curious about how the Rotary program works. He told me I have to come back to cut my hair there before I leave... haha Meeting nice people is the best. After I cut my hair, I went shopping for a new swimsuit. And then I ended up buying a beach bag and a pair of shorts. They were necessary! Promise :) I normally wear Burberry perfume but I have run out since I actually where it to school instead of just on weekends like I did in America. So, I had to buy a new perfume. Here, they have whole stores just devoted to perfume! I was a little intimidated but the night before I looked up some perfumes so I had an idea of where to start. I found a nice lady who worked there and she helped me find an amazing perfume... that I love. She didn't even know I was American until I used my Visa to pay! I felt so Belge :) Turns out I bought the same perfume as my (great) Aunt! I knew it smelled familiar haha I love it and I'm so proud of myself that I did it all alone :) It was a good day!
Thursday I went into town around noon to meet up with my Belge friends to celebrate one of our friend's birthday. A lot of them have been out of town so it was fun to spend a few hours with them :) Miss them! It made me excited for this upcoming week! After lunch around 2, I met up with Margaret and Mollie who got back from their 10 day trip to Greece with Rotary. I hadn't seen them in so long so it was nice to catch up and here all the drama that went down on their vacation. After chatting for a bit, we went to the park in Liege and met up with some other exchange students. It was nice to just chill and catch up with cookies in the park :) I went home around 5 because my host-dad bought the boys and I tickets to a "football" game!! The team name of Liege is "Standard". Standard de Liege. The boys have never been to a soccer game and Alain the other day said, "My boys have never been to a soccer game in their lives and now a girl comes in the house and we are going to a soccer game!" It was cute :) Alain follows Standard religiously (so European) and the boys are pretty into it as well. In Europe, it is kind of weird if a girl plays soccer so I'm kind of weird for actually wanting to watch soccer games on TV with the boys and Alain and to actually want to go watch a game. Alain thinks it is great that I like soccer so it was one of the things I had to do before I changed families :) It was surreal... I have been wanting to go to a soccer game in Europe every since I got here... and here I was in the stadium in between my two brothers, behind the goal, and chanting french with everyone! It was a dream. We sat in the section that stands the whole game and waves flags and is just crazy singing the whole game. Francois helped teach me the chants that the crowd was singing and then Benoit would make fun of me... It was great :) I learned some new french cuss words! I loved every minute of it. The weather was amazing also! Like a summer night that you would go to baseball games in... it was perfect. I'll never forget how much fun I had. Anddd we won! 3-0! We got to watch the first goal right in front of us... so epic. It was one of those nights that just felt perfect... one of those nights I will never forget. I love my family :) We got home around 11 (the game started at 8:30) and went straight to watch the highlights on the TV... whenever the camera would flash across our section with the crazy fans we would try to find each other.... it made me smile :) Have I mentioned already that I'm going to be a mess when I move families?
Yesterday was great. I met up with Mollie at the train station around 1 and we went to Verviers to meet Margaret... then we all three got on a train and went to Spa. Spa is a city in Belgium that is the reason we call Spas ... Spas! I went here my first day in Belgium with the Gaier's (my first family) but I was so out of it I wouldn't even consider it a visit. Spa is about 35 km (22 miles) southeast of Liege and is the famed site of healing hot springs. Spa has been a popular watering-place ever since the 14th century! Although other sources of healing hot mineral springs have become famous throughout the world... it is the town of Spa which has become eponymous with any place having a natural water source that is believed to possess special health-giving properties...as in a SPA. The word "spa" comes from the word "espa" in Walloon (the old language of Belgium) which means "spring fountain". Spa is also known for the production of bottled mineral water that is very popular in Belgium and other countries of Europe. We went to the famous Spa at the top of the cliff called "Thermes". It is so legit and so Belge that they even have the King and Queen of Belgium's pictures to greet you when you enter the building.... classy. We were able to get 3 hours in the pool/sauna/steamer/outside pool for just 16 euros! It was soooo nice and soooo relaxing. We spent an hour in the outside pool in the beautiful sun and then some time in the inside pool. Have I mentioned that the water is not clorinated or salted? It was just the natural water of the area rich with minerals and goodness for the skin. How amazing is that!? We were all pruny and smiley as we just sat back and relaxed with good conversation and good friends :) I tried for the first time the saunas and steamers! The steamers were so intense! They smelled like mint and it felt so good to be sweating out all the toxins while breathing in the fresh smell of mint... I'm a fan. We might have even had a nice dip in the hot tubs in the nudist part of the building!! Out motto before we did this was, "Hey, It's Europe". No regrets... why not? So much fun with my girls :) I'll never forget how relaxing it was and how European we felt! After getting dressed we had dinner outside at a quaint, little restaurant. We felt so old with out glasses of wine and pizza just sitting and enjoying the weather. The town reminded me of a town in America that would be on the East Coast not far from the beach... but not big but definitely one of the older towns in America. It was so cute and calming. After dinner, we had 2 scoops of ice cream at the local ice cream parlor. I enjoyed a scoop of cotton candy and a scoop of bubble gum :) It was heaven. Classic Mallory combination :)
We hopped on a train back to Marge's house around 9 and got home around 10. It was a glorious day.
Today we went on a long run together and I got home around 1:30. It has been a good, sunny Belgian day. I think it is about to rain though... which to be honest I haven't seen rain in so long I think it would be a welcomed event here!! I'm going to stay in tonight and pack my suitcase for tomorrow... the boys are doing the same. So pizza again tonight!

Life is good :)
Life is cotton candy and bubble gum ... sweetness overload for some, but perfect for me.

All for now! Get ready for the next blog about the multitude of Mallory Moments in Greece!
Mallory

100 jours

Hello Everyone

I have come to the awareness that I led all of you on... and I'm very sorry. Belgium has surprisingly kept me more busy than I thought it would last week.... and now I'm just now getting everyone up to speed! Terribly sorry, and I have no other excuse than that life is keeping me away from my computer :) I actually turned down plans with my Belge friends to go into town today just so I could write this... now my brother thinks I would prefer to be on the computer than be in town! Oh the little sacrifices I make to keep everyone updated ;)

Now you must all endure a disgustingly, long blog entry about how happy I am and how the weather is pretty much paradise.... once again, very sorry.

April 16th was my 100 days in Belgium... which means that now I have less than 100 days in Belgium. How sick is that? It seems so short that I can now put my time left here in days!! 100 days is kind of a big deal! It is at the point in my year that my mom is now planning my first meal when I get back home... that just kind of freaks me out. Things are that close! This just means that things are going to go by faster than they already have been... which is just scary! How can thins go by faster than they already are? I have to live everyday to the fullest... even more. I think spending a week in Greece with my best friends from Belgium is the perfect way to embrace my final days in Belgium... :) and taking a trip to the North Sea...and Spain... and Ireland... and Prague?
Which brings me up to my next topic! I'm going to Greece for a week in less than a week!! I love my life. I still can't believe it is happening... that I'm just going to go chill in Greece (Crete to be more specific) with my Belge besties for a week. If someone told me I was going to be doing this a year ago... I don't think I would have believed them. Life is full of wonderful surprises :)

okokok
now the disgustingly, long part is about to come! I hope I don't bore you too much!!
Last time we talked it was last Wednesday... that sounds awful! I promise I will not go MIA like
this again!
Here are some quotes that are keeping me company these days... and might be a better transition than me apologizing again about my lack of attention to this blog :)

Happiness is never stopping to think if you are. ~Palmer Sondreal

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...
~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott, A Breath of Heaven

Thursday was not the best school day for me. I left at 1 (even though my french class doesn't start until 4) just because I literally could not sit in class any longer. It was bad. I just had this image of me sitting in the square in the sun before my french class... and I had to do it as soon as possible :) Totally worth skipping math. I got home around 7 from my class that night and my brother had his 2 good friends (my friends too) over. After school, they made their costumes for the 100 jours together so they decided to stay for dinner. It was fun to hang out with the boys. It reminded me of when I was growing up ... always being the only girl with the boys. It made me happy to play basketball with them and laugh along with their jokes... in french! Things have changed so much... when I first met Thibault and Constantin they didn't really talk to me because of my lack of French and now here I was playing basketball with them and making fun of their jump-shots...Does that make me fluent? Anyways... I forgot how well I used to play basketball! The boys were really impressed by it too :) They were like... "If we would have asked another girl from the neighborhood to play with us she wouldn't and if she did play she would suck." I think they were impressed that girls can actually play sports! Oh Europe... please let it be socially acceptable for me to play field hockey, soccer, and basketball like a normal teenage girl should be able to! Despite a few sexist jokes and bruises ... it was a fun night. Almost felt like summer :)
Friday was our 100 jours!! Ah!! Big deal! We couldn't wear out costumes to school because we had to go to our first class but then after our first class we all went to change into our outfits. Totally stupid... and weird. But I just went with it. All the girls got ready together in the gym. We were all doing each others make-up and helping making things run smoothly if something went wrong with our fairy wings or ballet shoes or a run in our tights... it was a happy buzzing of excitement. Everyone's costumes were so intense! My costume fit in perfectly :) Around 10:30, we all went to the little open area in the middle of the school and had a time where we called up the younger kids and teachers to do silly things and take pies in the face! It was crazy and reminded me of Sion. Then all the girls did a dance to a few songs ... and when the song ended the boys all went crazy shooting the audience (younger kids) with water guns and shaving cream. It was hilarious! The kids had no idea how many water guns we had prepared... so everyone was drenched! Even I got sprayed and hit with some shaving cream. It was great... you had a feeling that the rhetos (seniors) have wanted to do this so bad since they first go sprayed their first year of school. So great. Then after we cleaned everything up, we had a little barbeque. It was sunny and everyone was happy. It was one of those things I'll never forget. I was on this "Belge High" of happiness to be sharing this experience with my friends. After the barbeque, the whole class and I went to the park in Liege to continue the festivities. I love this park and it was great to be in it with 200 of your classmates all in costume. Pure happiness. Things even got crazy with shaving cream! Around 5 we all headed into town and stayed until midnight. It was great :) Such a great night! My friends and I all stayed at a friends house and just had a great night together. I'll never forget how much fun I had. It is days like this... that remind me why I came to Belgium.
Saturday was rough. I was completely exhausted. Marge and I had planned to hang out Saturday night ... so I took a shower and a nice nap and I was ready to go again! On any other occasion, I would have told Marge we would have to reschedule but she was leaving for Greece with Rotary on Sunday so I wouldn't see her for 10 days. We had to have one last sleepover - even if Mollie couldn't come. She came over around 4, and we went shopping for dinner supplies. We made an amazing salmon and veggie pasta... complete with brownies! I am happy to say that I could make an icing that Chef Margaret didn't know how to make... I mean it was just powder sugar and water but STILL. I'm really coming along as a chef :) We both ate so much but it was soo good. Even my brothers admitted that the brownies were good! Finally, we redeemed our cooking skills since the last few times we cooked something at my house it has always been a failure. After dinner, we watched 13 Going on 30 and painted our nails :) Such girls. It was the perfect, chill evening I needed after my ridiculous Friday.
Sunday started out by being a failure. When we looked up bus times for Marge, apparently we forgot to look up "Sunday" bus times. Marge and I literally waited at the bus stop for like an hour... classic. I felt so bad! She missed her train home and only had like 2 hours to pack for 10 days in Greece! Classic Fail. The rest of my day was pretty chill. It was so nice and sunny that my family and I had the first barbeque of the season together :) It was cute. We ate outside and it reminded me of what my family does in the Spring/Summertime. Benoit wasn't there... but it was still a nice family bonding moment. We figured out a move date for me to change families. It looks like I will be changing families on May 7th. Which is like the only reasonable time I will be able to! The next weekend (May 13-15) I will be at the beach with Marge and Mollie. Then May 23-29 I will be in Spain with Marge and Mollie. So that is the only date I will have to change families... but it seems so soon to me! I'm getting excited for a new experience but I always get a little sad when I think about not being at this house anymore... :/ bittersweet.
Monday I enjoyed my first real day of Easter Vacation. It was glorious. I went on a run and did nothing. A package from my mommy came :) Europe is a beautiful place but it is very expensive when it comes to clothes and food... and I have realized that every time the seasons change here I end up spending all my money! So, my mommy sent me some cute, spring clothes from America along with some Easter goodies :) It was the best package to open and have amazing, cheap clothes along with Whopper's Robin Eggs - my weakness. She also sent t-shirts for the boys (with the word "America" on them = cool) and Gate's barbeque sauce for the family to try. I was so happy the rest of the day and was already planning my outfits I'm going to wear in Greece! I have the best mommy :) That night the family and I (minus Francois, since he is studying for his exams... in a month) went to watch Benoit play tennis with his friend in a doubles tournament. It was cool to watch Benoit play a sport... other than ping-pong! The boy who Benoit played with was supposed to be ranked really high in Belgium and Ben was kind of nervous to play with him since he isn't that amazing of a player ... but it was actually the other boy who lost the match! Benoit played better than his friend did! We were all really impressed by him and you could tell that even Benoit was impressed by how well he played and how awful his friend played! Oh little, happy surprises :) I pulled a total Mallory Moment.... after the game we had a drink together with the opponent. There was this dog ... kind of like a pug but brown and had long hair around it's face. It was one of those dogs that "are so ugly they are cute". I love little dogs with faces that looked smashed in so I leaned over to Isabelle (host-mom) and said in French, "He is so ulgy!" I was going to follow this statement by saying that he is so cute... but the owner heard me! She was so offended and kind of gave me a lecture about how he is a rare breed, very nice, and not ugly at all... I was literally red for the whole car ride home from my stupid mouth. I felt so bad! The worst part was that I was like "Oh, no! I meant he is really cute!" She was like, "So he is a really ugly cute?" She was so offended! I really need to learn how to whisper when I'm talking about people right next to me!! Oh Mallory...
Tuesday I got up early to go on a run and then I met my friends from school (Louisa and Tersia) at the mall to go shopping. Tersia was a bit late so Louisa and I just sat and talked for like 30 minutes and then when Tersia got there we talked for another hour! It was funny. We had lots to talk about though! 100 jours was a big day! The day was spent with us gossiping instead of trying on anything... which was fine with me :) It was nice to sit and talk with my friends... in French. We enjoyed a nice ice cream along with good conversation. So Belge.
Wednesday I again got up early and went for a run and then met up with a friend in town. We had Liege's best ice cream and then went to all these amazing places of Liege that the average tourist doesn't know about. Back in the middle ages, Liege had a "citadelle" (huge walls for protection) built around the borders of the city that are still in contact today. My friend knew this secret garden hidden but open to the public until the sun goes down. You can see all of the city but you don't know it is there when you are in town because the buildings block it. It was literally amazing... full of green grass, blooming flowers, tall trees, and historic walls melting in the sunlight. It was a beautiful day :) We had good conversation and beautiful views that kept us smiling all day... When the sun went down we had pitas at the best restaurant in town and I took the last bus home. Great day. I was planning on writing my blog on this day but that damn sun always wins ... especially when mixed with secret gardens and pitas.
Thursday I hung out with the same friend again and some other friends from my french class at the University. It was another beautiful day and we ended up going on a 2 hour walk along the rivers that run through Liege. It was so much fun to just walk and talk about whatever was on our mind :) I ended up spending the night at my friends and we just watched youtube videos, played poker, and just talked. It was a surprisingly, fun night spent with friends I would have never met if I didn't come on this amazing adventure... :)
Friday I was beyond exhausted and just stayed in with Alain (host dad) and Francois. I watched a documentary on the marriage of Kate and William. I'm kind of obsessed with this beautiful, British couple so it was fun to watch a program about them. My host dad saw that it was on the TV Guide and was like, "We know what you will be watching tonight!" They know me so well :)
Saturday was such a great bonding day :) I went for a run and then had lunch with the family. After lunch, the 3 of us (Alain, Isa, and I - since the boys were too cool to come along) took an hour and half car ride to the South of Belgium bordering France to visit the famous Abbey where they make the famous, trappist Orval Beer. The Abbey of Orval was founded in 1070 and became a Cistercian Order in 1132. The Abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution (you can still see the ruins of the old church) and then rebuilt before the Second World War in 1926 (finished in 1939) in an Art Deco and Romantic Cistercian style plan. Around 1076, the Tuscan Countess Matilde visited the valley and loved to take strolls along the spring that ran through the valley. She some how lost her engagement ring in the spring when she was getting a drink of water. She went to a nearby chapel to pray since she was so desperate and sad that she lost her late husband's ring to her. While she was leaving the chapel and passing the spring, a trout came to her and gave her ring back. She was so overwhelmed with joy and the power of God that she said, "Oh! This really is the Valley of Gold!" Now, for those of you not up to speed.... "gold" in french is "or" and "valley" is "vallee"... and that is how the region became known as Orval. The trout and gold ring are now preserved by being the symbol of Orval and to this day, the spring that Matilde lost her gold, engagement ring in is still used as the source of water for the Abbey and the Brewery. Not only is the Abbey famous in a religious and architectural sense, but the Abbey is also famous for it's trappist beer. The Brewery of Orval was created in 1931 in order to finance the reconstruction of the Abbey... and to this day the revenues of the brand are used to finance social works of the monastery and maintain the buildings. There are only 7 trappist beers in the world still in operation... and Orval is one of them (in order to be called a Trappist Beer, the beer must be brewed in an Abbey by monks -or some religious order)... so it is kind of a big deal. The monks are also kept busy with making cheese in the "fromagerie" or cheese factory. The Abbey of Orval has been making "Port du Salut" cheese since 1928 from an ancient, monastic recipe from 1816. The cheese is made from fresh, whole cow's milk from neighboring farms. The neighboring farms are in a part of Belgium called Gaume - which in the heart lies Orval. The cheese is known for its smoothness and is washed by hand in order to obtain a rich taste and soft texture. Not only was this Monastic visit so interesting but it was so beautiful... I couldn't stop taking pictures! I even got to see a monk :)
I loved spending time with my host-parents and visiting a beautiful and interesting part of Belgium. We have not done tons of activities like this together as a family (since life gets busier as the days pass) so it was even more special that they took me to do this :) I will never forget my sunny Saturday spent with my parents at a interesting, old Abbey in southern Belgium.
Yesterday (Sunday) we had a barbeque to taste Kansas City's famous Barbeque sauce :) It was so cute! They planned a barbeque just so they could taste this concoction that my mother sent from America! The boys didn't even try it since they are kind of picky ... and Isa thought it was too spicy (which after being in Belgium for 8 months... it kind of was a bit spicy for me too!) ... but Alain loved it! I think he had half the bottle! I love this sauce and it reminded me of home so much... I love how certain tastes or smells just remind you of home. I'm trying to figure out if it is bad or good that 'home' is brought to memory by barbeque sauce.... I'm such a mid-western girl sometimes. Even if the family doesn't end up using the sauce on a normal basis.... it was still cool to share a part of my life in Kansas City with them :)
Today I went on a long run and the sun is shining... yet I have decided to spend a majority of my day inside working on this blog! That is what I get though for putting it off so late... no complaints from me! I just hope I summed up everything in a respectful manner, full of some humor, and thoughtful insight from the American in Belgium.... :)

Hope everyone has a good week full of sunshine and laughter (was that too hippy for even me?)
All for now :)

Bonjour April, you're very pretty.

Hello Hello Hello

Where the heck did March go?? Seriously... is this a joke? It is already the first week of April... and I hadn't even had time to accept that March was here....and now it is over?

I have decided to spice it up and put some of my favorite quotes at the beginning today... with a picture I took yesterday morning. Once again, I woke up to this and had to go searching for my camera at 6:50 in the morning. I love it :) I love how now I search for the sunrise ... I look out the window every morning hoping that one day I will see a beautiful sunrise beaming through the trees over the fields...I guess that is the optimistic person in me :) I like that I take every day ... as every day. I like that months fly by when you are living like that. I like that a friend in my french class at the University was noticing that I don't wear a watch... and he said, "Do you not wear a watch because you don't like to know the hour? You don't want to know what time it is?" I didn't know what to say ... but I guess it was true. I don't really want to know the time or the hour... I am here now and that is the moment I want to know. I like living that way... I think the word for it in Greek is living in "kairos" not "kronos"....
but when you snap out of it it is weird. Is it really April already? Are you sure?

"All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that."
- Baltasar Gracian

"Calenders are for careful people, not passionate ones."
- Chuck Sigars

"Oh! Do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated by a watch."
- Jane Austen (Mansfield Park)

I have been so busy lately, I have hardly have time to look at the time. Like... really. I can't even functionally keep up with facebook at the moment (that is saying something) nor my e-mails. While I'm super busy at the moment... I have a feeling the next 2 weeks I have off for Easter break are going to be spent by me wishing I was more busy. All my Rotary friends are going to either Italy or Greece for a week ... and I'm not going. Along with all my Rotary friends being gone a lot of my school friends are going on vacation during this time... so I'm going to be so lonely!! And bored! There might be more than once a week updates during my Easter break... to encourage my productiveness. I think I'm going to be spending my free time : running (still need to get into bathing-suit-ready-body), reading (my book for my presentation in French class at school), doing my paper for Science Sociales (over healthcare in America vs. the system in Belgium), blogging (I kind of like you, my faithful followers), going to the park (basking in the sun), and sleeping (since I don't remember the last time I felt like I got enough sleep). I guess I won't be that bored... I mean how bored can you really be when it is sunny and springy outside :)

Last time we talked it was Wednesday. Sooo... Thursday I went to french class and that was pretty much the most productive thing I did. Benoit and I made a cake for the girl's (Noemie, Delphine, and Louisa) birthdays. It was cute...:)
Friday was the girl's birthday... and everyone from the Dutch class went to Ghent (in northern Belgium) for the day. So, Benoit and I couldn't bring our cake we made to school because we forgot they would be in Ghent - and neither of us are in Dutch class. It was hilarious. So, instead the family and I enjoyed the cake during the weekend. Friday was so long though! We went into town to do a little celebrating after school and then went back to Delphine's house around 11. Her mom made us all pasta ... and it was pretty much epic. I think I ate way too much... but it was so good! Everyone was really tired though after a long day of school and a day in Ghent so it was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be... and I was beyond exhausted myself. Benoit and I left around 1 and didn't end up spending the night at her house like we thought we were going to. Oh well... it was still a good night spent with friends :)
Saturday I went around 5 to help Noemie get ready for her party. I was the official butter spreader for maybe 200 cheese/ham sandwiches. I wasn't really needed but it was nice to help out since Noemie was really stressed out. I got to meet all her family and friends - they were all so nice and friendly to me. Noemie is the girl that I'm going to be living with when I change families in a month. All night she would introduce me to people as "her future sister". It made me smile. She is one of my good friends at school and I love her :) Noemie had her party with her best friend (Kat) -who goes to another school... so the party was huge because it was both my and Noemie's school and Kat's school. I met so many new people and had a great time with my friends :) The theme was such a success!! It was "chic" and "shock" - so it was so fun to see what everyone interpreted the theme as! I ended up wearing these crazy bright, blue feather earrings with bright colored bobby pins in my hair and bright pink sneakers with a black shirt and skirt. I thought I looked so cute :) It was a great party and I didn't get home until 4 in the morning!
Sunday I got up wayyy too early to catch a train to Verviers before 1 to go to a carnival. It was a rainy Sunday morning so ... I was really not in the mood. A lot of cities have carnivals a month or so after the carnivals in March because more people will come... so it was one of those carnivals. Every carnival though is different and this one was in Stavelot (about an hour and half from Liege). The Stavelot carnival is known for having incredible costumes and the "Blanc-Moussis". The Blanc Moussis wear white robes with masks that have outrageously huge noses. The costumes are mocked after the religious wear of the monks (of an old Abbey founded in 648 near Stavelot). The monks used to mingle in with the commoners during the town's festivities (in white robes) during the Middle Ages. In the 1500's, strict sanctions were made on the monks leaving the Abbey during holidays and enjoying life... so the Stravelotians put on their own white robes and caps in memory of them. Of course, this independent act by the commoners was banned in 1502 and so the Stravelotians fought back and replaced it with a different style of a white robe and added a mask with a hilarious nose. The mask hides the identity of the the person and when they wear the robe they are not allowed to talk... in honor of the monks (and their identities). They had these balloons that had pig intestines in them... they reaked!! The Blanc-Mouissi would come up to the people in the audience and hit them with their rank ballons. It was gross. I'm not sure if the monks used to do this... but they have had this tradition since the 1500's ... so everyone is cool with getting wacked by disgusting balloons full of pig intestines. It was a bit bizarre. But the parade was so intense! Every costume was crazy good and intense... I was shocked at how much attention was given to each costume. This was another interactive parade... and Marge and I were once again very popular! Marge got stolen to go ride a "magic carpet" and I got stolen and attacked with confetti and hay! It was hilarious! One thing was different at this parade though: for your spirit in participating in the interactive parade you would be rewarded with a shot of alcohol. Hi, Welcome to Belgium. Marge and I kept being like... "This would never happen in America!" Which is true! It was a great, Belgian carnival :) So glad I got up early to go enjoy it!
Monday came way too soon.... and it was a rainy, gross day. I was really stressed out all day because I had to do a huge presentation for my french course at the University over America (yes, how do you sum up America on a slideshow?), Missouri, and Kansas City on Tuesday. I hate public speaking... and it is even worse when you do it in French because not only are they listening to what you are talking about but listening to your french. I was stressing and I also had to write a paper for my school's newspaper. I guess every year students submit writings done in their second language as a way to show how well they write and stuff... so my English teacher asked me to write a paper in French. I wrote a paper about the differences between America and Belgium and what it is like for me to be an American in Belgium. I thought I did really well :) I wrote a good closing paragraph on how the Belges know how to live life. They live life like they deal with their weather... Belges make the most of every sunny moment because they all know that tomorrow will definitely not the same. I thought it was a cute comparison :) The teacher that asked me to do the writing is also my German teacher... the one I handed in a paper to that I "wrote" in German but really my German friend pretty much wrote it. The teacher totally knew I didn't write it and called me out in front of the class... so when he read what I wrote in French he was like, "This is really good, are you sure you wrote this?" Hahaha It was funny and I was happy to say that the really, good French writing was mine :)
Yesterday (Tuesday), I had my French presentation.... and I did really well :) I wrote everything I wanted to say down so it went smoothy and my slides were good! I feel good about it and I'm glad it is over!!
Today was sooo nicee!! I had two tests in my Science Sociales class today... over Freud and nurture vs. nature. I think I did pretty well! It feels good to be able to actually try on a test and do well! I love it :) Then I came home and went on a spiritual/nature walk... it was glorious. Judge my spirituality and love of nature all you want :) I actually passed up a day in town shopping to spend time with myself and the sun. I was just walking in the meadows with the cows, sun shining on my skin, and iPod on. It was something I'll never forget. And now I'm working on this blog... !!
Such a wonderful day
C'est la vie!! (That's life!! )

all for now ;)
another busy weekend coming up! 100 jours this Friday!! 2 weeks until Greece and 2 weeks to lounge around in the Belgian sun :)

i love life.
Mallory

sunny blissfulness

How many times can I express to you, my faithful followers, that I love the sun and never want it to leave? It makes me smile.
I keep listening to this song on my iPod while I'm walking through the city or sitting on the bus or waiting for a friend.... Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield...

Feel the rain on you skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

It makes me happy... I am unwritten. My whole life is before me... and I have no idea what is going to happen but I'm writing a page of my life everyday. I'm breaking rules, following my heart, and the pen is in my hand ... and I love not knowing the ending of my book and that I am the author at the same time :)
I was listening to this song this past Friday while I was waiting for Mollie to get in town. I was just sitting on the bench by myself in the sun... content with having alone time to just think and listen to music. This song came on and I just went into orbit with how I am unwritten and that everyday should be lived with your arms wide open... I think I started smiling a little. A man in a suit and tie then stops in his tracks as he is walking past me (this is a true story) and says - in french- "you look like you are on the moon!" I come back to Earth and smile and tell him, "Juste un peu" (just a little). He smiles back and then asks me where I'm from since my accent is so American. Then we just start talking! For the next 20 minutes! We covered all the places I have traveled, he recommended me going to Bath (in England), I told him why I loved Belgium, he told me that I looked British, and then he continued on with his day after giving me his card if one day I was going to Scotland. My life is unwritten :) I think these little moments of random conversations - with people you might never see again but yet you meet them anways and they make your day (or your life) a little better- are events of happiness that you don't plan ... you can't plan them! They are unwritten... they are what happens when you stop planning and start living.
:)
Just another reason I love life.

So... last time we talked it was Monday.
Tuesday was my only day of school last week... and I only went for 3 hours of it! Hahaha I'm such an exchange student. Jerry and I went to our Rotary meeting and then hung out in town ... in the sun :) ... before our french class. It was a beautiful day to just... hang out.
Wednesday I slept in and went on a run. I went into town around 12 and met up with Marge and Mollie. Marge and I convinced Mollie to dye her hair... my color but a little darker. It was so much fun! One of those ... Why-Not-Dye-Your-Hair-With-Your-Two-Good-Friends-On-A-Random-Sunny-Wednesday moments. You know? Even though is took 3 hours, it was one of the best dye jobs I have ever seen! She looks so good and I'm so happy she finally had the courage to do it! It was great. Then we went and had a little lunch (apples and spice cake) and headed to the park in Liege with the rest of the exchange students. It was so fun to hang out with everyone in the sun :) I love exchange students!! Mollie brought her camera so we took some 'artsy pics in the park'... we messed around in a lot of them but they turned out so cute. I'm proud to say I was that girl posing for the self-timed camera .... :) I love my friends.
Thursday I went for another run and slept in - haha that seems to be the theme of my week. I had french class from 4-6 and then at 7:30 I met up with my family at school to watch the annual Talent Show (Le Tournoi d'Interpretation). It is a really big deal and these kids have been working on their parts for like the past 3 months....! My friends in the "tournament" have all been stressing over it the past month so it was great to finally see what everyone has been talking about and stressing over! The first hour was all acting and the next hour and half was singing and dancing. It was a little hard for me to follow the acting ... but I understand most of it. They were all these little skits and they were all so funny... I mean everyone else was laughing while I was asking my friends next to me to explain why it was so hilarious. The dancing was amazing and the singing gave me chills! It was so fun to watch my friends performing and then being with my other friends in the audience. It was great :) I really felt like I was a part of the school and integrated (since the other exchange students at my school didn't even know what it was/didn't want to go).
Friday - I again ran and slept in. Surprised? Then around 5, I went into town to meet up with Mollie. We had a little girl's night :) We had a pita/hung out in town then went to a party with my friends from my french class at the University - who are from all over the world, studying for a semester or two at Liege, and in between 20-25. It was so much fun! I only knew a few people at the party when we got there but after being there for a few minutes Mollie and I made so many new friends. It was a bit exhausting though explaining to people that we weren't Erasmus students at the University of Liege but instead just exchange students in high school. It was also exhausting explaining where we were from! The conversation of the night literally went like this : "Hey! Where are you from?" "Oh! Hey! We are from Kansas and Missouri." "Kansas? Who is Missouri?" "Ya...you know Chicago? It's by Texas and Canada." "Oh! Ya! Chicago! Ok!" Classic. My geography teacher would be so proud of me. It was so much fun though being at a party where the international language is English instead of French and that the average age is 22 instead of 16 - like it is at my high school parties. It made me excited for being in college... :) The night was complete with Mollie and I running to catch our bus and laughing the whole time while we were waiting for the bus since we weren't late at all. I'd say it was a successful girl's night on the town. Can't wait for the next one!
Saturday I stayed in at night... I was really exhausted and just was in the mood to watch Gossip Girl in my pjs :) It was crazy, clearly. Time well spent!
Sunday I went on a long run and caught up with e-mails and facebook. I finally brought down my clothes that were in my suitcase in the attic for spring!! It made me soooo happy to finally bring down my cute skirts, dresses, and short sleeve shirts!! Yay spring... I think this means that you have to officially happen already! Please? I mean, I think the fact that yesterday I was sweating while I was waiting for my bus is proof enough that this weather is here to stay. I have all my winter clothes in 2 bags ready to send back to KCMO... I will be happily paying for that package to go home. No complaints.
Monday was lame... I wore one of my 'new' springy skirts (from the attic) to help make me feel more in the mood for school... I think it kind of helped. We just have 2 more weeks of school then 2 weeks of Easter break and then a week in Greece :) I think I can suck it up for 2 weeks.... but it is so hard! It is so easy for me to just not come back inside after eating outside with my friends... I'll try to keep it together these next few days! The sun is just so darn tempting... stupid sunny blissfulness!
Yesterday was pretty :) Before my french class I went shopping for a costume for my 100 jours (100 days). This is a big deal my followers. 100 jours is the last 100 days before school is out ... and the seniors all wear costumes to school, play jokes on the younger kids, do little skits, have an amazing time, are so happy since they only have 100 more days of school, and then leave at noon to go romp around in town... in costume of course. It is the equivalent of America's Prom. (That kind of a big deal.) Well, all my friends have had their costumes since their first year of high school I think... so I had to go find mine! My friends are being : snakes, Cruella Deville, swans, Snow White, fairies, farmers, cowboys/girls, professional athletes, dancers, etc. As I said... these costumes are intense and well planned out. So I had to get on mine since it is next Friday! I went to the local costume shop hoping to just find something in my size...so I walked in and was like, "Hi! I'm going to my '100 jours' and I have no idea what to be!" The man was so nice and told me where to look. I found a cute batgirl costume and held it up to look at the size and the man came over and was like, "Hmm... ya, that is a bit short for the 100 jours." I was surprised! I was so out of my league. Then he turns to me and goes, "Your accent... where are you from?" I explain that I'm from America blah blah blah. He cuts me off and says, "You're American!? I have the perfect costume for the perfect American!" And that is how I walked out of the store with a red, white, and blue cheerleading uniform and pom poms to match. I love it! I was never the girl in high school who did any sort of cheerleading... so it is just hilarious to me that I'm going to be That girl. I'm so excited now that I have my costume. Vive 100 jours!
Today was a short day I just came home for lunch and went on a run... and did this blog! I'm so productive :)

This weekend is going to be really crazy busy! My 3 good friend's (Delphine 18, Noemie 18, and Louisa 17) birthdays are this Friday so we are all going into town to celebrate and then back to Delphine's for the night. Then Saturday, Noemie is having a huge party with her other good friend! The theme is 'Chic and Shock' so I have to find something 'shocking' yet 'chic' at the same time to wear... love themed parties :)

I hope everyone is doing well :)
I love life.

Mallory

Bubbly

Lalalalalalalala :)
It is so sunny out and I don't have school! I say a perfect day. I feel all "bubbly" and happy. The sun has been out so much lately and it has been so warm... I'm just waiting for it to be officially spring already. I love the sun :) I can't wait to go in the attic in a few days and bring down my summer clothes still in my suitcase and then I'll send my winter clothes back to Kansas City... I would like this day of changing out clothes to happen tomorrow! I'm so bubbly waiting for it to be constant nice weather with flowers and green grass and lazy days spent in the sun with friends :)

I guess I should apologize for being very late in updating you, my faithful followers. I wish I had a better excuse than that I'm living my life to the fullest... but I don't :) My two days I have to be productive were spent with friends instead of spent on the computer... and that is why I didn't have time to update. So sorry! I'm back! I promise I won't be MIA like that without a warning! Now, you have to read a very long blog update... I'll try to be entertaining :)

Last time we talked was on Thursday... well that night I went with my 7 closest friends from school to see Black Swan. I hadn't seen them at all over break so it was great to get together and have a girl's night. We saw the movie in English (the Belges prefer to watch good movies in the original language instead of having it dubbed - which I agree, dubbed movies are so not as good to watch as in the original language). It was a great movie and I can see how it won so many awards... but it was scary for me! My friend (Tersia) and I were grabbing on to each other the whole movie... and I might (just might) have had a hard time getting to sleep that night! It messed with my mind...! Even if it was a scary movie, it was good to hang out with my Belgian friends since I hadn't seen them in a while.
Friday, we went over to Alain's (my host dad) parent's house for dinner. It was a little family dinner to celebrate the birthdays in February and March. I even got to blow out a candle too :) They are so cute. Have I mentioned that I love my brothers? I just love how they really are my brothers. We get in fights, we annoy each other, but at the end of the day we love each other. I have never had this experience before with siblings... and now I think I understand it. I'm really going to miss them when I have to leave... :( I only really have a little over a month left with this family... so I'm trying to make every moment here count since I know I'm going to miss them like crazy.
Saturday, I went to a soccer (football) game with Alain! Liege has a professional men's team and women's team. The men's team, of course, plays in a huge stadium and is on TV every time they play and it is always a big deal when Standard (their name) is playing. So, I thought this is what it would be like to go to a Standard Femina game... but no. It was actually kind of pathetic! The girls played on the practice field right outside the huge stadium and there were maybe 20 people who came to watch them. It was so sad, since this was supposedly the professional level for girls! These girls were like my age... and played how high school girls play in America. Since no sports are associated with school, this pretty much was the highest level for the girls. I think I could have played at the same level as them if I was out there that day... and I haven't played soccer in 2 years! With the sadness said, it was so fun to have a bonding moment with my host dad. The boys don't really like to do things with their parents but I'm always saying yes to any sort of outing in Belgium... so I think Alain appreciated me going with him and I'm glad he took me. It was a fun game and we won 4-0! I think we are going to go watch another game soon :) Then that night, I stayed at home and watched a movie. My parents went to a party, Benoit was playing ping-pong, and Francois had his girlfriend over... so I had a nice relaxing night in. The only exciting thing I did that night was eat croque-monsieur (which is a grilled cheese and ham sandwich). haha
Sunday, we went over to Isabelle's parent's house for a dessert get together again for her birthday. I love it. We just ate pies and cakes and had coffee :) Isabelle (host-mom) turned 46 on Saturday so it was a little celebration for her. It was so fun to chill with the family and eat tons of rice cake and sweet bread with butter. I love rice cake :) It was a good day with the family and we came home late and just watched some TV together.... bonding moments with the fam. No biggie.
Monday was the start of school. Lameeee. I was still pretty sick all this week so getting up early was hard for me since all the week before if I didn't get a good night of sleep I could sleep in... but not with school back in motion. So, I was exhausted. But Monday was my 7 month mark in Belgium. How crazy is that?? I have been in Belgium.... for 7 months. I am over halfway done! Ah! That makes me sick. I only have 14 more weeks left. I think that if we are down to counting in weeks that means that they are going to go by disgustingly fast! I hope not... I am really starting to love my little life here more and more every moment. I can't even think about leaving without feeling sick in my stomach. I don't think anyone knows this feeling unless they have gone through the same thing... I want to stay here the rest of my life but also I want to go home and be with the people I love and start another chapter of my life but I also want to come back here but I know that nothing will be the same as being here now so I have to live it up like no other but time really flies when you are taking every moment like the last... does that makes sense? No? Ya... I don't understand either. Have I mentioned how the next 4 months are going to be ridiculously amazing?? You all know about me going to Greece with my school for a week (April 24th - May 2nd). Well have I told you that Marge, Mollie, and I are doing our own little trips... just the 3 of us :) We are going to go to the beach (Oostende) for a weekend in May for 2 nights, to Costa Brava, Spain for a week (May 23rd - 29th) AND, to Dublin, Ireland for 5 days (June 9th - 14th). I feel so grown up! I'm such a globe trotter :) I don't even care that I'm so broke right now... I will never get the opportunity to travel like this with my 2 best friends when I'm 19 on my year abroad in Europe! I would rather be broke and happy than rich and sad that I never went to sip cocktails on the beach in Spain or that I never went on a walk in the countryside of Ireland or that I never saw the North Sea while I was in Belgium for a year! I have to take these moments .... have I mentioned that I'm bubbly?? Oh, and with Rotary I will be going to Prague for a week too (June 17th - 23rd). haha So much travelinggggg and I couldn't be happier :) I love life!
Tuesday was really pretty and sunny. Before my French class, I bought an apple and sat in the square with the sun shining on me... it was glorious. I love Liege :) A lot of my friends at the University (doing a semester abroad with Erasmus) that I know through my french class don't like Liege... they think it is boring and not very pretty. I disagree! I think there are so many fun things to do but you have to go out and do them... they don't just come to you if you just sit there. You have to be active. I also think that Liege is gorgeous... yes, it has some ugly parts but what city doesn't? I love the old, cobble streets, the fountains, the historic buildings, the flowers outside the houses, the woods, the flat green areas that cows are in but also where the local kids play soccer, and the people. People are what make the city gorgeous. I don't think it is just me that every time I go out in Liege I meet a random person who just wants to sit and talk while he/she is waiting for the next bus or we are sharing a bench. I love these people in this city that I love.
Wednesday was a fun day. I went into town after school to meet up with Marge and Mollie to do some shopping. Mollie was leaving to go to Czech Republic the next day so I wanted to wish her a good trip. Then when she left, I convinced Marge to go to Brussels with me for a few hours with some other exchange students to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I love St. Patrick's Day so I had to do something special since of course nobody celebrates it here like Americans do. So, we all went to a pub in Brussels and had a fun time on a sunny, Wednesday afternoon :) It was an Irish pub and Marge and I met a nice couple from Ireland who told us all these cool places to go when we are in Ireland! It was great! It made us so excited for the trip :) I love those moments where you meet random people and you share a moment that makes your life better... like now I know the best pub to go to in Dublin and to take a 2 hour train to the south of Ireland to enjoy a different ambiance than the busy, city of Dublin. So worth it :)
Thursday I had french class and I was really tired and still feeling kind of sick.
Friday was the Rheto Soiree (the huge party that 200 plus kids came to and all the money went to our Senior Trip). After school, I hung out with some friends in town and then Marge and I got ready at my friend's (Justine) house for the party. It was so fun to get ready together.... :) The weather was horrible and rainy though.... but we still had a great time at the party! The theme was "Rich and Famous" so it was fun to see all my friends dressed up :) So many people were there and some of our teachers going on the trip too. It was a great night :) I danced the night away and didn't stop laughing the whole time with my friends!
Saturday Marge left around noon and then I skyped my parents for like 3 hours with Francois. Frans was so cute with his english and my parents loved asking him all these questions about school and if my french is getting better... it was a cute moment for us 4. Francois even got all the beer out of the fridge to explain to my dad which ones were the best... and yes, explaining why all the beer was on the living room table was awkward when the parents and Benoit came home. I love how I have a family here and at home and that they like each other :) Francois doesn't think he speaks very well so I think it made him really happy that he could have a long conversation with my parents! My head hurt though after translating for everyone when we were lost in translation haha I still can't believe it went on for 3 hours! It made me happy :) Then that night I realized that I would be home alone (Francois was going to a party, Ben was playing ping-pong, and the parents were at a party) and I was talking to Marge and she was going to be home alone too... so we had another sleepover at her house. It wasn't planned but it just worked out! I took a train then when I was in her city I took a bus to her house... it was quite the adventure :) That night we had baked mac and cheese and then watched Talledega Nights (shout out to my best friend, Liz, for sending me the movie in the mail. I love you!). It was such an "American night" for us. We went to bed early and then got up and went for a long walk in her neighborhood. It was a fun little weekend with Marge :)
Yesterday, I just realized that I didn't have school today... and that actually the only day of school I have this week is tomorrow. It was so funny because Isabelle was like, "So, what are you doing tomorrow?" and I was like, "Um, going to school?" I had no idea that we didn't have school! So that was a nice little surprise and I still have no idea why I'm not at school the rest of the week. Hhaha. Such a Mallory Moment. And last night we had Racklettes! One of my favorite meals... so it was a good day :)
Today is sooooo nice. The most productive thing I have done all day is go on a run and finally update the blog ...!! I'm very happy with having a lazy Monday to catch up with all the things I put off doing last week :) Maybe I'll start reading my book for French class I have to read and maybe start my paper for Science Sociales.... hmmmmmmmmm.... oh the possibilities!

Spring is comingggggggggggggggg :)
I have two nice signing off quotes to go with my bubble picture and the sunshine since I know you all have missed those terribly :)

“Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place. But there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around.” — E.L. Konigsburg
“All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness within.” — Horace Friess


Hope everyone is healthy and doing well :)
Life is good !!
Mallory