Yellow

Salut!
Tardy again... yikes! Some weeks it is so hard to find time to update!

Things are going good! I went to the Foire (Fair in Belgium all during the month of October) with my friends from Rotary for the first real time today... yes the real time because last time it was completely empty and was nothing like it was today. It was cool to just walk around and see all the pretty colors with the smell of cotton candy and hot dogs - which aren't hot dogs here but "saucisses" on a baguette. I like them better though! I decided to splurge and spent 2 euros on a "petite" cotton candy which was huge with my friend from Kansas! It was so yummy :) Good choice. I also got my (host) family a little present - candied nuts. They seem to like them ... and I do too!

French is coming along... nothing really to add about that. I'm kind of getting upset with myself that I am not fluent since I have been here for 2 months but that is life... I am trying to speak French every chance I get - even if it is horrible. I just need to talk even when I don't know how to say something the right way. My brain still hurts from switching back in forth from French to English - maybe if I just speak French all the time this would be better? Yes, yes it would be a lot better. I will keep you updated on how this goes... I am really making an effort now! I will be in London for 2 weeks and I am worried I will lose all my French... yes... ALL my French. Crazy things happen in London, especially to those who miss speaking their mother tongue way too much.

SO this week - and last week oops :)
I never how to organize this so I'm just going to start writing...
Last Wednesday, we finished at noon and instead of hanging out with my friends I had to go home and do college applications. It was nauseating. Not only did I have to redo my entire Common Application but also I had to write an essay. Like - honestly that was the last thing I wanted to do and I was dying! I have not written an essay since May - let alone do any sort of homework - so my body was in shock. It was awful but I think I threw up a pretty decent essay. Thought of sending it to Mrs. Wilcox but talked myself out of it... I really isn't as good as I thought it was. I think my mind would think any sort of sentence on a blank sheet of paper would be good... like that is how out of it I feel. When I do do homework it is in French (or German) so ya... I'm not overreacting on that statement. Here - University is free and everyone is accepted if they pass the high school with a certain grade. Wish I was Belgian sometimes...
Friday we had no school because we had a memorial for one of the teachers at my school who passed away. His name is Mr. Closkin and he was probably my favorite teacher at the school. He taught geography and drew a map of the United States to explain to people that Kansas City is in Missouri not Kansas (and that I don't come from Misery but Missouri). Everyone loved him and he was a great teacher. He will be missed.
So instead of school, I slept in (11:30 - gasp!) and went to Jerry's house with some other friends. It was nice to just chill and catch up with things. I left early to go take a test at the University (yes - a test on a Friday night) but it was pretty much a fail. I literally left in the middle of the test after 30 minutes because I realized it was for Erasmus students - and not me. So that was a super... not.
Saturday was fun. I went to a Teutonic order in Flanders (the dutch speaking region of Belgium in the north) that was pretty legit. It was huge! They had really nice French gardens that when we walked through them it was the only sunny part of the entire day. It was really cool... got some good pictures. Some flowers were still in bloom and they were this dark royal purple - they looked so pretty against the bricks. Might be the last flower I see until Spring. Then we went to Hasselt (pronounced A-Celt) which was such a nice city. It was so clean and the typical European city with old buildings but modern upkeeep. I love the mixture of the two. You rarely see things like this in the States. It rained all day and I was absolutely freezing... I think it was the coldest day since I have been here. Then at night, I hung out with the family. They found marshMALLOWS and we made a fire and roasted them :) Like S'mores but without the chocolate and crackers. I suggested it but they didn't understand which was fine I was content with just eating Marshmallows all night. We roasted them while listening to the top 40 French songs over the last 40 years. Which was hilarious - some of the singers had good songs but you could tell they hadn't sung the song in 30 years so it was realllly bad. But entertaining! Good bonding :) I love moments like these. Where you have a good time just by doing simple things... I have really begun to appreciate these things.
Sunday I went with Larry to a World War 2 Museum about 30 minutes away from us. On the way to museum, it was so sunny and the leaves on the trees looked so pretty. Everything is turning yellow (reason for my title) and it is so pretty with all the forests here. Larry was like you are very quiet and I was just watching the trees as we went along in awe... for some reason I couldn't stop staring. We stopped along a creek because it was so pretty but right when we got down to the water the sun went away (typical Belgian day) So we waited a good 10 minutes for the sun to come back out so we could see how pretty it was when the sun hit the wet rocks and the yellow leaves. It was worth the wait. Then we drove to the museum (with another stop in between to see another look-out point over the valley) which was so interesting. There was a "tigre" - which was pretty much the biggest and best tank from WW2 that is legit invincible. When the battle ended it stopped on the random street in the town (la Gleize) and they made a museum right where it stopped - a few years later. So when you walked the streets - that is where the actual battle was ... I couldn't help but touch the stone walls along the street after because they had seen so much. It was intense - for me. We watched a movie there that was all with original footage of the war. It was such a different perspective and really raw. I had never seen anything like it...the tour guide said it is the only video made all from original archives. After we went to this huge cascade that is called the Coo (pronounced like co in co-ed) It was so cool! I was freezing though and just looking at the booming waterfall made me chatter... but it was cool to see. I guess there is a theme park at the same spot and it is the place to be in the summer. Keep that in mind for your summer vacations!

This coming weekend/week should be very fun! I will tell you about my plans because I have a feeling my next post won't be for awhile... fair warning my faithful followers.
This Friday, I am going to a party at a friends house and then Sunday is Halloweeen! Oh gosh. This month has really flown by. It is somewhat ridiculous! Here Halloween is not as big of a deal at home - which is depressing. I love Halloween. Ever since I was little, I loved dressing up and pretending to be something/someone different for a day! Nobody dresses up here! It is just for the kids - but I think I might dress up a little :) I can't help myself!
We have the next week off for Fall Break.... which I really need! I will be leaving though on Thursday for a Rotary Trip ... yay!

All for now!
Mallo

en automne

Bonsoir!

This week was one of my favorite weeks so far :) I have officially been here for 2 months! Time is really flying by... Time goes by so fast and when you come up to breath it is half over. Life is funny like that. I'm doing my best to live in the moment - every moment. But it takes practice - as my daddy says. I'm doing my best and I'm tyring to live each moment to the fullest - even the crappy moments or the boring because that is what life is about. Enjoying the crappy and the amazing. Sorry - that was a bit deep but just some things I have been thinking about :)

I don't know the best way to organize my week so I guess I will start with Monday and go from there...

Monday was really fun! I had school until 5:10 but I got out of my last hour of school -which was gym- to go to a zumba class with Marta (somebody asked me what a zumba class was so to clarify a zumba class is like a dance class with fast pace, latin music where you do silly dance routines to break a sweat). It was so much fun! It was a class for family members of kids with handicaps or people with handicaps. I made a friend! She gave me a bracelet and told me I was going to be her best friend :) It was really cute. Yes - the bracelet is pinned on my blazer. While Marta and I were doing this Lisa (my sister) had basketball practice and after she had badmitton practice. Which she is amazingggg at. Like seriously - this is not a joke. So I decided to play with the other kids ... and quickly realized that I am beyond awful at badmitton. I lost each match ... but it was funny. I was laughing the entire time. It was nice to see Lisa doing something she enjoys and being active myself! I hope I will be able to go again tomorrow - but we will see if works out.

Tuesday was a normal day complete with a 2 hour french course at 6. My class is really easy for me so I'm thinking of talking to the teacher to switch to a higher level... hm. That is a good sign!

Wednesday was special. My entire grade got to go to a movie (on Wednesdays all the schools are done at noon) at 9 in the city. The movie was called "Illegal" and was about illegal immigrants in Europe. It was really intense and sad. I actually teared up a bit because it was so depressing and emotional. It was all in French so I guess that is a good sign that I could follow along... right? After this we all had some time to chill before we went back to school and I went with some friends to the fair. Liège has this huge fair all for the month of October - it is legit. Nobody was in it since it was like 11 but it was just fun to walk around and eat fried food with friends :) After we went back for our hour of classes then we were free. I went with some girls to get lunch at Quick (the McDonalds of Belgium). I felt so Belgian! After this I went with a friend to get my haircut... which was an effort for me to communicate what I wanted to the hairdresser. But it turned out perfect and I learned some new french vocabulary. It was really fun and nice to talk to my friend while we were waiting. Then I went shopping withthem... it was just nice to walk around the city with new friends and speak in french and I don't know - I loved it :)

Thursday was another typical day complete with a 2 hour french course where it is too easy for me. I really need to talk to the prof about swtiching ...

Friday was really nice too. My teachers decided to not come to school for some reason so I only had 2 hours of French class (actual french class not to learn french) in the morning. Then we had class pictures! Story of my life - I missed the memo that we had pictures that day and showed up to school in my normal apparel and with my attempt to wear make-up. So that was fun to see everyone else looking extra nice. It was the fastest photo-shoot I have ever been to. Maybe that is because my school was all-girls... hm probably. But school was over for me at noon instead of the normal Friday ending at 2 so I just ate in the city with friends and chilled at a friends house for awhile then went home at around 7. My family wasn't home to it was nice to just chill alone and catch up with e-mails and such.

Saturday - or yesterday - was really fun also. I should use a differnet word than "fun" for everything... sorry about that. Saturday was splendid too! I slept in and after lunch I went for a run. After the run we went to this big shopping mall in Liège that was very American. But it was still cool we just kind of window shopped and walked around. They had a huge grocery store in the mall and we went for the weekly shopping. For some reason I love doing the weekly shopping. I always learn something new and get to try a new sort of dish when we go. Larry is an amazing cook and I have happily gained 4 kilos (I will not convert this out of embarrassment of how much it is in pounds) with his cooking. When we got home I decided it was time to finally carve the pumpkin that has been sitting in the garage for a good few weeks. It was so great! Nobody here carves pumpkins here so it was really fun :) I carved the normal jack-o-lantern face on one side then we (as in Larry and I) carved a kitty on the other side. We were really professional about it and like drew it out on a sheet of paper then converted it on to the pumpkin. But it turned out soooo great!! We put it outside and ahhh it was great. Canelle (the cat - and canelle is cinnamon in french) normally stands by the window when she wants in so we put the cat face so you could see it through the window - everybody thought this was great. And it is!! I love it and can't wait to go see it when I walk downstairs.

Today was another cultural exchange. Slept in again today we all lounged around until like noon. Then I decided to bake my chocolate chip cookies! Yes - I brought 2 bags Nestlé chocolate chips to Belgium, land of chocolate. Now that I think about it - that is embarrassing. Whatever! It was cool to laugh and bake them. They didn't have enough of sugar and butter so we improvised a bit but they turned out so good! I am very proud of them :) We made like 5 dozen - so we should be enjoying them for awhile. Then I had my first cooking lesson! I made my favorite dish ever - QUICHE. I love it so much. It was so cool for me to make stuff because at home I don't even attempt to make anything... because I'm very lazy. I'll admit it. So it was interesting to actually cook and I laughd a lot :) It turned out great. Well - I thought it was great. Bien sur (ofcourse). Then since it wasn't raining or too cold here, I went for a 2 hour hike with Larry. We have woods just in front of the house and it was so cool to just walk around. I was sweating by the end of it - but you know the cold sweat when you are cold but hot at the same time. The trees are really tall and skinny here - it looks like a scene from Harry Potter! Halfway through we stopped at an old farm and I enjoyed some hot chocolate with a brown sugar crepe :)

Good week :)

Dinner is ready!

All for now!

à tantot

Mallo

Exhaustion

Hello everyone.
This Friday I will have been here for 2 months... time is the weirdest thing. It feels like I've been here for only a little over 2 weeks!

I have decided to stop appologizing for my tardiness... because let's be honest. Life is happening! I am sleeping in my down moments instead of updating you and I will not appologize for that because I'm seriously dying of exhaustion here!! My school days start at 8:30 and end at 5:10 then on tuesdays and thursday I get to go to french class from 6 - 8. Longest days of my life are becoming "normal days". C'est la vie... I'm tyring to embrace it with a smile but my body is starting to hate me. My mind also - she doesn't know what to do with the constant switching back in forth between french and english. French is coming along though!! My Belgian friends (yes - I must specify) say that I'm improving! I was so happy! I try to speak french anytime I can but I'll have to admit it is very easy to get away with speaking just english here. I know some exchange students that haven't learned a bit of French... so I think I'm doing well :) I'm not fluent but I think by Christmas I will be pretty decent. French class will help! Great - just jinxed myself. I do have exciting news about school and me learning french. I took a test in my Sciences Sociales class just to try and it was about submission to authority and all that jazz. We had to read 2 texts on the subject and respond to some questions and I got a 100%! This is not a joke. I was so happy. I was grinning from ear to ear all day - I actually did better than some Belgians! I came home and the first thing I did was show my parents and they were so impressed - so impressed they gave me a pin for my blazer. It was so cute :) I am smiling now as I remember this. I will never forget how happy I am every time I see my cute, Tchantchès pin! Happiness :)

The weather is being weird. Actually that is Belgium I think. The weather here is very bizarre. It will be freezing, rainy, sunny, then overwhelmingly hot in a matter of maybe 2 hours. It is very fast. Last week was really nice and sunny though... everyone is outside when it is sunny because you don't know how long it will last or when it will come again. Which I like a lot. Makes you appreciate the weather...

Last-last weekend (ahhh that is bad - but not appologizing!!)
Friday, I stayed home and watched my sister because a family friend unexpectadly passed away. I had no plans that night and it was good timing for me to watch Lisa... she played and I caught up with Facebook.
Saturday was special. We didn't do anything during the day but at night - for some reason - the town decided to light up the massive amount of stairs (remember?) with candles. Not only just the stairs but the old citadelle and pretty much the whole downtown was lit up with little white candles. It was so romantic and disgustingly crowded with people. It was so pretty against the warm, darkness of the night - yes that was poetic wasn't it? Marta and I were so cute, when we saw a candle blown out or knocked over we would relight it. Ofcourse I would sing the song "Go light you candle" - shout out to my Sion girls - and Marta would sing "Candle in the Wind". It was cute. I liked it. I stole a candle and was joking I was going to glue it on my blazer ... we will see if this happens. But everyone was a bit tired all night and we stopped for a good half hour at this random spot in town. I just thought we were chilling and enjoying the people watching. But ofcourse I was lost in translation and we were waiting for a fireworks show. It was the best surprise :) I love moments like this... when you just go with the flow and are pleasantly surprised. These things are teaching me to go with the flow more and not psyhco analyze everything. Which I have a tendency to do... :/
Sunday was nice. My host grandfather (the father of Larry) works as a tour guide of a very nice museum in Liège and he gave us a very nice tour :) It was all in French - but I tried to follow along. I could understand a lot of things but a lot of things were very technical terminology ... so that was sometimes a failure. It was very interesting and the museum was full of so many cool things! Not to mention it used to be a house and Napolean stayed a night there ... not a big deal (does everyone know that I have sick-obsession also with Napolean Bonaparte yet?). Then after we went to a cute little farm that specializes in goose and pears and had a fabulous lunch there. I wanted to eat there all day. I am drooling a little as I write this... it was amazing!! It was such a nice sunny day and the flowers looked so pretty against the old stones of the farmhouse. I loved it. After this my parents when to the funeral of their friend who passed away and I went to my friend's house and skyped for the first time in 2 months! I am actually really impressed that I lasted so long without seeing my parents and friends. It was so great. I loved it. It made me so happy and just rejuvenated - not homesick at all. Which is good!!

okok interruption of the merry-go-round of happiness
Last week was really hard for me. It was a mixture of a lot of things... but I was so emotional. I would feel like crying at random times through out the week for no real reason. It is not at all that I'm not happy here. I have talked to a few other exchange students and past exchange students who have all experienced the same thing. I feel a lot of the time "personality-less". This has a lot to do with lack of french fluency I think. Actually - a whole lot. In the states I am able to say what I'm feeling right off the top of my head or be funny or say something intelligent or just plain "being mallory" but here I have to put in a whole lot more effort to do any of these things with success. It is tiring... but part of the deal. I am almost rediscovering myself from ground 0... things will fall into place though. It it not unhappiness let me clarify ... but something within myself that comes with the deal of living in a different country that speaks a different language. C'est la vie. I am feeling better about things now though... I have a much better attitude towards the challenge :)

This past weekend
Friday, I hung out with school friends.
Saturday I got up at 6:30 in the morning to catch a train to Namur - a city in Belgium about an hour from Liège - for a Rotary event. It was so early... but I sucked it up and actually had a good time despite my lack of sleep. It was cool because we visited the Parliment of Walloonia - anyone following Belgium politics? I really don't want to get into what is going on with the politics of Belgium on here (my blog) because I honestly don't really understand it well enought to talk about it objectively. But it is kind of a big deal to visit it now because it might not be there in the future... it was really interesting. It was such a nice day - so sunny! We took a boat trip and I just caught up with friends I made in Brussels. There was probably 100 of us because they gathered 3 districts together. So it was nice to see people you normally don't see :) I had fun! I didn't do anything that night - I was beyond exhausted. Story of my life?
Sunday was really relaxing :) I slept in and got up for breakfast then took a run. It was so sunny and everyone was just lounging in the sun all day. But I had to make a power-point about Kansas City, my family, and my school all day. Yes - it took all day. I think it is pretty good ... but I have to present it all in French. So we will see how that one goes. I am actually presenting it tomorrow! Wish me luck - here everyone says "Bonne Merde" which literally means Good Shit but it is nice to say that to someone. I think? Then that night I watched a movie with my family... it was called "Meeting with Joe Black". Brad Pitt was in it and he was so young and cute! I loved the movie and I understood a lot of it! Success!

All for now. I need to go do some finishing touches on my presentation ...

à tantot!
Mallo

Changing Weather

Saluttt

:)

The weather is changing so fast here! Just a few days ago, I was sweating on my walk home from the bus stop and now I am shivering as I practically run home to get inside. Crazyness my friends. But I like the changing weather. I am not a summer girl and really prefer automn and winter :)

Enjoy the new fall colors design !!

Things are still going well. School is exhausting me so much it is not even funny. I feel as though sometimes I can't even enjoy things because I am always so tired and just want to go home and sleep! Oh well. Things will not be so tiring in a few weeks... right? That is what I'm telling myself. School is still hard for me and I attempt to do a lot of things without much success. C'est la vie! I am surprisingly not stressing out about my lack of success though in school and am focusing on other things ... like making friends and learning the language better. Which is improving every day... I think. Probably not. I took another placement test today for night school at the University and it was an oral placement test. The guy was so rude to me when I was speaking in French. To me... I thought I was doing well but he just looked at me like I was speaking Chinese and said "Okayyy?" - you know in a question form as if nothing I said made any sense and asking to repeat what I said would be pointless. He was super nice. Not. But whatever... I tried my best :) This phrase has become my slogan for a lot of things here.

So the weekend now!! I had a 4 day weekend! Monday was a national holiday ...

Friday I hung out with my friends from school and then after a few hours I went and hung out with my older host brother and his friends. They are both really different so it was cool to get to hang out with both groups in one night. I was so tired by the end of the night though...

Saturday I got up and went to see a very famous Fort in Belgium. It was awesome because we pretty much had our own tour guide the whole day! His name is Philippe and he is a childhood friend of Larry (my host dad) and knows so much about forts...and he could talk about it all in English. Bonus. Oh! And he did a year abroad in Southern Missouri... another bonus! He is so passionate and you can really tell he enjoyed showing us around and giving us the inside story on a lot of things that most guides don't include. So now about the Fort. This was new for me to learn about also... but Forts are made with the intention of holding off the enemy so the real military can get prepared. When you have a fort you know that one day you will have to surrender but the delay is worth it in the end. So Belgium - in between the WW1 and WW2 - invested a lof of money in forts and fortification of it's borders. The fort I saw took 7 years to build and was taken over by the Germans in 6 days. I was in shock when I heard this but it is true. The fort did it's job though in delaying the Germans and now sits empy as a very well preserved piece of history.

On the inside it was like a jail... I was so scared - with the lights on! It was just winding tunnels of cement and creepy rooms that gave me the chills. It was so scary because for maybe 2 minutes all the lights went off and I seriously almost peed my pants and almost started crying. We were so far from the entrance and so far underground... to say the least I don't think I have been that scared in a very long time! I don't know how people could live like that though... it made me appreciate the sun when I came out.

There was artwork all the place (in the captain's chamber, cafeteria, and gaurd's room) that was soo cool. It made all the cement and coldness more human. You forget walking around that it was more than just a fort - it was where 1,000 men were kept just waiting for somebody to attack and missing their families and old lives. It was a whole new perspective for me ...

Then that night I went to a party my friend from school was having. It was fun to meet new people :)

Sunday was really fun! We went to a festival and it was huge!! It was so much fun and all we really did was walk around - but I loved every minute of it. I can't describe it in English but in French you call it "ambiance" . Everybody was so happy even though it was rainy and cold and everything was in fall colors. I don't know - I just felt like I was part of my family (if that makes sense) and couldn't stop smiling. We bought a huge "american" pumpkin and we are going to carve it one of these days. They don't do face carvings or digging out the insides here - so a bonding moment through a cultural exchange is soon to come my friends! After this festival we went to another festival for my area I live in (Tilff). I was complete with 26 geants - the really tall people that are symbols of the area/city and the strong men carry them on their heads! The symbol of Tilff is a leek - don't ask why - and everybody eerily looks like the KKK in their costume but it was so unique and cool the way they get so into everything. I love the customs here :) They are so different and special and normal! I loved it! Oh and the symbol of my area (not for sure) is the devil so that was fun. Larry kept going up to people asking if I could take a picture with them and their costume with the opeing line of "she is an american" as if that is an excuse for random pictures. I thought it was hilarious... and so true! They lit up once they knew I was american!

After this we decided to go see a movie since Lisa and I didn't have school tomorrow. Three movie theatres and 2 hours later we were at home without seeing any movie. It was such bad luck! Then we decided to watch one of the movies I brought with me on the dvd player but it didn't work! By this point it was beyond bad luck and we just laughed. We ended up watching "Overboard" - my favorittttee movie - on my laptop with it dying only once! It was a good bonding night :)

Then Monday I slept in until noon and then went shopping with my friend Louisa.

I'd say a pretty good weekend :)

Oh and Mallo has stuck. At my school, for your last year of school (senior -> rheto) you get to purchase a sweatshirt with all the names of the rheto class. On my sweatshirt sleeve will be my new nickname :) yay!

All for now!!

Happenings

Hello Everyone!

So currently I am supposed to be studying for a Science Sociales test - but clearly that is not working out so good for me now. I think it is a psychology class ... which I actually understand but it is torture for me to actually do work. I need to get in the school mode again... asap would be nice. My first week of school was last week and it was beyond a shock for me. It was really rough for me to adapt to how different everything is. It is just a mixture of a lot of things and it hit me really hard. It is hard to grasp the idea that I will be in this school for a year and that one day I will understand French. Other drastic changes are that I actually have to plan my outfit for the day and put make-up on! Yes everyone - I am becoming one of those girls. It is a nice change though. I always felt like my high school years were not like how movies portray high schools to be like - so now I'm actually in a school that you think of when you think of a high school. It is fun but hard for me to adjust to. I am starting to make more friends though each day. I am trying to sit by a new person atleast once a day - so far it has been great at meeting new people!

I have had so many Mallory Moments in school it is starting to become an issue. Last week, I was passing a note (yes ... bad... I know but sometimes I get so bored) and decided to throw it instead of doing the normal passing and ofcourse hit this girl in the back of the head. It was super. Lets just say she won't be my best friend anytime soon!! Oh and my french progress ... hmm ... well I understand a lot more than people think I do but I still can not show that I understand. So, all the teachers I'm sure think I am beyond stupid and speak to me in English even when I understand. I think I am getting a lot better at speaking though. I can carry on a pretty decent conversation but at the end of the day I am sosososo tired. Like seriously - it is not normal how tired I am. I was walking to the bus the other day complaining how tired I am and this girl said that everyone is tired just as much as me and I wanted to scream .. um no! I have to do all that you do and translate it in English and speak in French and convince people I'm not stupid!! French Fatigue will be the death of me.

This past weekend -

Friday, I just hung out with friends... :)

Saturday, I got up nice and early and went with my family to Brussels. This was my fourth time in Brussels and the first time I actually saw the Atomium! It was pretty awesome to see it after hearing so much about it. For those who do not know about this unavoidable icon of Brussels/Belgium it is an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times. There are 9 spheres (18 meters in diameter) connected by 20 tubes and is supported by 3 enormous pillars that are 102 meters. It was built for the 1958 World Fair in Brussels. This was a really big deal because it was post WW2 and all the nations were in one area celebrating peace... the Atomium symbolizes/refers to the power of nuclear energy in full development at the time and which was intended for peaceful use. The Atomium continues to embody its ideas about the future and universality, half a century later. This is the most fascinating thing to me... it seriously takes your breath away the same way it did in 1958 and what it stood for and stands for are still a current theme globally.

Then after this, I went to my first wine tasting (Marta kept calling it a wine degustation)! It was really interesting and the Belgians thought it was great to teach the American girl all the fancy ways of tasting wine. You can call me an expert now. Everyone was so nice and I even got invited to go to stay in Paris whenever I wanted with this family... :)

After about 5 hours it seemed like at the wine tasting we went walking around Brussels - along with every other tourist I think. It was packed! I have never seen so many stereotypical Belgian shops in my life - chocolate, waffles, and beer galore. Nobody should be surprised that I am a whale now. Oh! And I finally saw the Manneken Pis - which is so small. I had such high expecations and it is literally the smallest thing ever. But I still thought he was cute :) Then we came home late and I went to bed pretty early.

Sunday, was another early day. I got up even before Marta and Lisa did! Very rare. We went to a mid-century castle called Franchimont. It was a lot like the castle at LaRoche but I thought it was in better condition. It was such a nice day and the sun was shining on the old stones - all I wanted to do was take pictures all day long! The ruined walls looked gorgeous against the bright blue sky. I even went into an old bunker! It was kind of scary but it was in such good condition is hard to believe. Ofcourse I had to climb maybe 100 stairs to get out of it though.

After this we went to a farm that was having an "End of Summer" party for the local area. It was like a carnival with everybody eating, drinking, and just enjoying life. I loved it. The local shops brought all their items like jam and wool products. It was so genuine and human :) Oh!! And highlight of my life in Belgium - I petted a baby cow!! For those who do not know me that well I have a sick-obsession with cows and they are everywhere here and everytime I see them I pretty much scream "Vache" with too much excitement. My family has become accustomed to this and knowsI love them - in fact they bought me a cow patterend pencil and for my house keys I have a cow keychain. But I actually petted one!! C'etait chouette (It was cool) !!

But after this I went to a concert in town that is free because of the celebration of Walloonia. Belgium doesn't have that many famous singers but they do have one guy who is actually a big celebrity named Stromae and his most popular song is "Alors on danse"; It is heard atleast 3 times a day no matter where you are. I love it - it is a mixture of pop and rap and he pretty much only says "alors on danse" the whole time but the beat is awesome. Anyways, he put on a concert (as in 3 songs) and it was so much funnn. I went with some girls from my school and I really felt Belgian :)

Then school this week :/ it is going better than last week though!!

I actually have a routine going ... !!

Oh gosh you will love this. One of my teachers could not remember my name so I said, "It is like calorie with an M" and now everyone quotes me. It is super :)
I have a nickname now also... Mallo. I think it is cute but we will see if it sticks

Talk to you soon :)

First Day of School and other excitements

Bonjour!!

First Day of School was today for me- keep in mind a week later than everybody else. It was not at all what I thought it would be like...it is hard to explain. I thought people would be more walking up to me introducing themselves since I was the new girl or like making a fuss over me. But nobody really did. Which I am totally okay with! I think it wasn't like that because I have been introduced to a lot of people at AFS ( my school) through out the month I have been here. I don't know.
School was just as awkward and confusing for me as you would think! Like seriously - I just followed random people around all day and tried to speak French and comprehend. It is so different from Sion - it was a bit overwhelming for me. I tried to keep smiling but by the end of the day I was so exhausted! Everybody is so nice though. Louisa ( my host brother's friend) has been such a good friend in showing me around and introducing me to her friends. I am proud to report that I did not eat by myself at lunch!
My courses change everyday but today I had 2 hours of Math. I was literally dyinggggg. It was horrible. I understood the graphing but I can't read cursive when it is written on the chalkboard (yes - every classroom has a chalkboard) so it was pretty much a loss cause taking notes. But i tried!! I had English today too... the teacher pretty much begged me to help be an aid. He is a really cool teacher and you could tell all the students enjoyed his class. I felt like a celebrity for a minute but then I had to stand up in front of 34 students while they asked me random questions so they could practice their English. You would think this would be easy for me but this was the most exhausting thing I did all day! I had to think really fast and respond to their questions in perfect English along with being a good representation of the United States. It was beyong stressful and I'm sure I was bright red the whole time I was up there... which was 45 minutes!! My English was being judged (which apparently is not correct English) and then my answers were being judged by people who I have never even met before. It was definately a first impression! It was weird because the students were like me when I am trying to understand French... when I responded to their questions they really had no reaction to what I said. But I knew they could understand me. It was nice to be of help to the class - I actually felt special and it gave the students an opportunity to find out more about me. My other class was French - which I didn't understand. Typical. Then I had P.E. for legit 2 hours... and I didn't bring my gym clothes or shoes so I just sat there the whole time. Which I am really happy I did because I was sooo tired. I have to do it tomorrow though :/ Then I was finally let out of school at 5:10. Longest school day of my life. I rode home on one of the most crowded buses. It was so against fire code - like seriously I was smashed up against an old man and kept nudging him whenever the bus door opened because I was pretty much standing in the entrance of the bus. Ya - it was super. All in all a good first day :)

This past weekend was a thrill ride! All the museums and historic interest places (like castles and such) are open for free or just open in general in celebration of Waloonia - my area in Belgium. Which is awesome! So on Saturday morning I got up with the fam to go to see a castle that normally is closed to the public. It is like a farm castle and was not in the best of condition - but it was still so pretty. While we were looking at some random artifacts in one of the rooms and this cute 11 year boy came up to my host dad and wanted to show us around. He lived in the castle! It was really interesting for him to show us his point of view of the castle and how he feeds the owls up in the rafts! To him the rooms of the castle are where he has halloween parties not of any historical interest... it was a cool perspective. And I found out that my host mom (marta) was raised in a Belgian castle as well when whe was young! It wasn't the most beautiful castle or the best kept up but it was really genuine and human... I didn't want to leave!
After this we went took a "sky-trolley" (I can't think of the word) in Huy to the fort. For once in Belgium I did not have to climb! It was really cook to see the view from the car. Most cities in Belgium are in valleys so you can always see everything when you are high up. It was scary but so worth the view. The fort in Huy that used to be occupied by the Germans and used as a prison. The prison was occupied by prisoners of war and political prisoners. Most of the people who stayed in the cells had no idea why they were there and some were there for no reason for 30 years. It was really depressing and it was hard to walk through the cells without being emotional ...
Very contradictory - where we went next was probably the most beautiful castle you could imagine. It was full of antiques and was in the best condition for being so old. It was really breathtaking and there were even brides and grooms walking around taking wedding pictures. The landscape was done by the same person who did the gardens of Versailles. It was heaven. Story of my life though - my camera died like after a half hour at the place. I got a few good pictures!! Then after I went to a party at Jerry's house with other Rotary people. It was really chill and I finally had a good burger I have been craving since I got here!This day was full of contradictions but it was very interesting!
Sunday morning it woke up early and then took another nap. I was really tired since I am getting over a cold... :/
We went to a museum full of all the Waloonia artifacts you would want to know. It was intense. It was really interesting because a part of the nunnery (which was turned into a museum) was remodeled in a very modern way. I guess all the museums and historic places in Belgium decided to renovate in a modern twist to add their own piece of history to the building. Which is really a new idea. With all the wars - they have been constantly rebuilding the same way but now they are accepting the present and using it with the old. It is amazing to see the mixture of new and old. It was fascinating to me. I love how they are adding to history with a piece of now - but later it will be historic! Sorry - another historic rant. I'm in heaven here.
All for now
I am beyond tired
Ma-Laurie

Septembre Scolaire

Yesssss... it has been a while since my last update! Sorry! The only excuse I have is that I am seriously having the time of my life :)

Last weekend, I went to Huy with my host Rotary District here. It was so much fun to meet everyone and hang out more than in Brussels. Plus it was a smaller group of people (100 students from all over!). At night the Rotary Club rented a dj and a keg and we had a dance party! It was literally so much fun and everyone was soaking from dancing so much - it was gross. We also got to chill and talk with Rotexs (people who went for a year of exchange over a year ago) and rotary kids who just got back this summer. It was really interesting to hear their stories. We also went over all the rules we have to follow - which really stressed me out. I also filled up a lot of my blazer with pins! I look so cool :) It is really cool to have your blazer covered with random things. So am working on being "a cool rotarian".

This week I also started my french course at the University of Liège. It is a legit course - and counts for credits! We took a placement test last monday and out of 4 levels I am in level 2. .Which I guess is for the people who "attempted" to take the test because level 1 is for the people that didn't even take the test. I am the youngest person in my class and the only one who speaks English - everyone else is from Italy or Spain and is 24. But whatever. After the written placement exam there was an oral exam and I had to explain to the professor that I wasn't a student at the University but an exchange student and was really in high school (which I guess is not normal) So ofcourse the lady thought I didn't understand the question and kept asking my major. It was beyond complicated. But my placement is perfect and I am really learning things and using them! Before when I took French it was for a grade, but here it is not for a grade at all so it is a different way to learn. I like it. It is kicking my butt though. I am currently procrastinating on writing an essay... shh!
The first day of high school was today - but I didn't go. I am actually not going all week because of my French course (which is from 9-4:30). The principal thought it would be more productive for me to go to the french course instead. So Jerry (the other exchange student with Rotary from Texas going to my high school) and I will be going to school a week later than everyone else. As if we couldn't stand out anymore! But I am very thankful for the course :)
It is now September and I am still not in school! This is bizarre! I got out of school in the middle of May and I won't go back until the middle of September! Longest summer of my life... no complaining on this end :)

In my down moments I get really homesick. Which I know nobody wants to read about - but this is my life. I just really miss my parents and the random things like calling them when I am waiting for my bus or something. Just communicating like the way I did at home? You know? I didn't appreciate that as much as I should. I am trying to stay as busy as possible... which really helps!!
It is not that I want to come home at all though! Ha that sounds worse than I meant it to be ... it is just that I am still adapting and the homesickness is just a part of the experience. I love Belgium and want to stay as long as possible here and am really enjoying doing things for myself and feeling an independence/confidence I have never felt before. Finding who you are takes some sacrifice... right?

Update on my weight - I have gained weight! My pants still fit though ... so I don't think it is too noticeable... yet! Ugh.
Update on "Mallory Moments" - I have had so many it is hard to keep track of!! The other day, I decided to go for a run (after eating too much chocolate) since it was sunny... and when it is sunny in Belgium you have to take advantage of it. So, I put on my running shoes and started to head out the door. Marta (my host mom) stopped me and begged me to take a rain jacket but I said "Oh, No! I will be fine if it rains!" . 15 minutes out from the house, it starts pouring. Probably the hardest it has ever rained in my 3 weeks of being here. It was so hard I hid under a random tree on the side of the street for like 10 minutes. I am sure the neighbors were questioning who this girl was. So, after 10 minutes I decided to suck it up and jog home. Then I got lost! I called Marta and she had to come get me on the side of a major road during rush hour while I am soaking wet. Mortifying! We both laughed so hard on the way home... classic
Update on public transportation - Success! I was so scared... but now I love it :) I feel so free and it gives me some alone time to my own thoughts after stressful days.

This weekend was seriously .... crazy busy! And I loved every minute of it :)
Friday - I had a full day of school at the University and then after I met up with my host brother (Benoit) and his friends and we just hung out. I met more people that are in school with me at Chenée. I really like them and they are fun. I am slowly getting over my phobia of hanging out with people younger than me!!
Saturday - We got up really early and went to the battle site of Waterloo. I am such a dork - but it was seriously awesome. I was drooling over Napolean information! Shout out to my AP Euro girls. Since my mother (real one) asked me what Waterloo was and if it was even in Belgium - I will take a moment to explain. This was a battle that took place on 18 June, 1815. The battle of Waterloo is regarded as one of the greatest battles in European history. It marks the final confrontation between Europe (the British and the Prussians) and France (Napolean) and the fall of Napolean which paved the way for a new era of peace in Europe. Both sides suffered extremely heavy losses. Some 9500 men from both sides died and 33000 were wounded. So ya... it was a big deal.
Their is a monument that was erected between 1824 and 1826 that is a Lion Mound. It is dedicated to the soldiers who died and Prince William of Orange who was wounded in battle - note that he was not killed. At the top is an enormous lion weighing 28 tons! So once again - I climbed the 226 steps to the top and enjoyed the view of the best preserved spot where 300 000 men from 7 nations met in battle. The lion symbolizes the new-found peace in Europe. We also went to an awesome wax museum and a huge panorama that captures the battle is such a unique way through huge paintings! C'était chouette :) - this is Belgian for it was cool. Then that night Laurent's (host dad) family came over. Everyone was so nice and we talked about history and I enjoyed my first all cheese meal! I love goat cheese! I actually could comprehend a lot of what everyone was saying ...
Sunday - I got up at 6 am to go to a theme park with my other host family (the Bran's). It was in Germany and sooooo cool! Like seriously ... it was not a joke theme park. My neck still hurts from going on so many rides! It was really fun to spend time with my other family :) They are super nice and I get along well with both François and Benoit - I think!! We were at the park when it opened until is closed. It was so exhausting to hear french all day in a noisy theme park but I think I did ok... haha
I had a swell weekend :) today was hard though. I am so tired!!

All for now
please leave comments if you want me to cover anything that I have not! Sorry for being so tardy :)

Love
Ma-Laurie