Toussaint Vacation Oct. 27 - Nov. 5

Hi Everyone,

So we just had a week of vacation or Toussaint Vacation, which here is the day of the dead the first of November. Where people take Chrysanthemum to cemeteries and thinks of those dead. And so we get a week off of school. So early the morning of the 27th which was a Saturday, I got on the train with another exchange student from Arizona to go to Tournai , where we meet up with a bus that took us to England!. There were in total 99 exchange students that went on the trip. So there were two charter buses. From Tournai we went to Calais, France where we took the Ferry to England. And of course we saw the beautiful white cliffs of Dover and we stopped in Canterbury for the afternoon to walks around. We arrived in London at night, to have it's bright lights welcoming us. It's was really amazing and I love London now. The next day, the 28th we started of at Madame Toussaud's wax mueseum and then later in the afternoon we went to Windsor castle and the Queen was actually there, even thought I didn't actually see her or anything. We took a bus tour at night which was amaizng and none of my pictures turned out, but oh well. The last day we were in London, we had sunshine the whole day. We started off at the Tower of London, where we took a huge group picture. Then they let us have the rest of the day to ourselves. So me and three other exchange students explored London together. It was great, we were just walking on the street a little lost, but we came to a Church and we entered and it turned out to be the oldest church in England, and I touched it's first walls, which was built around 300. After we took the metro all around London, stopping at Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Hard Rock Cafe London (for dinner), British Museum, walked around London's biggest park and rode on a Double Decker Bus ( for two stops but still). Also we walked across the London Bridge! We spent the whole night of the 29th taking the Ferry and coming back to Belgium and we arrived at Tournai at 5 a.m. ! The 30th I slept the whole day. London was really expensive, because of the exchange rate, but ti truly is a beautiful city and I hope that i get the chance to return someday, maybe even encounter a British man with a nice English accent (:) kidding). For Halloween my family didn't have anything special planned. Here its a begging holiday and most of the kids go treat or treating during the day. So I took the train to Bruxelles and spent the night with two other Rotary Exchange Students and watched movies and ate candy. It makes me said that they don't have the same holidays at back home, but in another way I love celebrating new ones. November the 2nd, Nathalie and Voisin (my host parents) and I went to Koksijde, which is a Flemish town on the 50 km of Belgian Coastline. Voisin has an apartment there which he shares with his parents. It is a cute little town. Before we arrived at the apartment we stopped at another town, and ate lunch in a special restaurant. By saying special I mean more so different. In this restaurant they don't have menus, or utensils and everything is the same price, and you have one option of food, Chicken. This restaurant serves half chicken to people, who are required to use their hands hence no utensils and they give us lots and lots of napkins. I think that it's actually a great idea, and you don't have to do as much washing of dishes. Also the restaurant had Halloween decorations which made me happy. And to make it even better the chicken halves only cost 3,50 euros, how cheap is that!. After that we left for the apartment. We spent the night drinking in outside cafes and I walked on the beach at night and saw the most beautiful thing ever. The tide was coming in and with it, it brought little jellyfishes, but as the water ran over them they turned this brilliant blue, and would literally light up the beach. But as they were left in the air, they slowly died out. It was sucks an amazing site, I have never seen something so pretty in my life. Saturday we just hung out, and at night Voisin's old math teacher had aperitifs with us and his family. For dinner Voisin's Godfather came with his wife and daughter and we went to a really nice restaurant where everyone ate mussels. I tried some, but had a hamburger patty and chocolate mousse to eat. Sunday, my last day of vacation :(, my host mom and I got up early in the morning and walked about 5km on the boardwalk first then on the way back on the beach. It was really nice just walking and let your mind wander. Then we had some of the beaches famous ice cream. Inside of salt water taffy here they have what they call babeluttes which are long stick of sugar and flavored differently. Then in the afternoon we went to Brugge, the Venice of Belgium. Also if very famous for it's lace. It was such a pretty town, and i hope that I can return because we didn't get much time there. They have these beautiful canals and there is a lake at the end of all the canals called the lake of lovers, which lots of swans and beautiful reflections. So that was my vacation of Toussaint. And this week we got our bulletin grades, but here if you get more than 10/20 it is a C+ and more than 16 is impossible. Anyways I did pretty well, I got mostly 14/20 's and 11/20's, but I haven't gotten all my grades yet, but what is amazing is that one a Math test I got 18/20 which is impossible and the rest of the class got less than 5 /20. And in French class we had a test on a French book we read at home and I got 25,5 /20 with a class average of 21 and this is a junior level class here people. So I'm pretty satisfied with myself. The only class I'm really having trouble with is Chemistry class because all the elements are different and it's actually really hard. Also French class is hard, because the teacher dictates all notes, but my French is coming along. Well that's what is up with me right now, life is hard but it's coming along. It's definitely becoming winter here because I come home from school with the sunset and it's quite cold, and it snowed in some parts of Belgium already. It makes me really tired but also working hard makes everyone tired, note look at my pictures. I'm sure winter will be good though. Well I'll write later,

Bisous,

Lizzy


Pictures:

London:

London I: http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66669&l=f475c&id=803190472

London II: http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66670&l=2eaa0&id=803190472

London III: http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66982&l=7e50a&id=803190472

London IV: http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67008&l=50b6e&id=803190472


Ocean and Brugge:

http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=69837&l=7ffc1&id=803190472