Carnival jusqu'au 20 Fev.

Hi ,

So here is an update, when I last left off I was about to head off to Amsterdam for the last three days of Carnival Vacation. The 8,9 and 10th of Febuaray: I got up early friday morning and got onto the train to Brussels where I met up with 50 other Rotary exchange students, got on a bus and headed about 2 and a half hours to Amsterdam, Holland. We stop for the afternoon in Delft where the famous blue china is hand made and which is also the home of Vermeer, the famous painter known for his painting "The girl with the pearl earring". Allowing us free time in the afternoon me and my friend Audra from California, sat in the beautiful sun, walked around the canals and took advantage of Holland. We also went into one of the only Catholic churches left in Delft because when the Protestants came they forbid all churches of Catholisisme. So this church is hidden, and cannot be seen from the street and when you enter you follow a small hallway and then arrive in this huge beautiful sanctuary. All hand made and still in use today. Usually the huge Cathedrals amaze me but just this simple sanctuary was so beautiful. After a wonderful afternoon in Delft we arrived in Amsterdam where we stayed at a Youth Hostile. It was the first time I stayed at a hostile and I would have to say it wasn't too bad. Later that night after we had eaten we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which I would have to say is by far one of my favorite museums. Early the next morning we ate and then went to Anne Frank's House which was sensational especially after reading her diary and studying her, just to see her very diary and see the house she lived in was amazing. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures so I guess you just have to go see it yourselves. After that we walked through a Saturday market and then took a boat ride through a lot of the canals in Amsterdam. We really lucked out because it was sunny and quite pleasant for our whole stay. After eating lunch on the grand place where they make coins, we walked across Amsterdam to the Rijks Museum where we saw Rembrandt, and Vermeer and other artists. They gave us the early evening off and Audra and I walked around and found an American Store ! It was so cool seeing all the American items like mac n'cheese and yummy peanut butter. But boy was it expensive, 3,45 euros for a box of mac n' cheese are you kidding me! Then in the night time we all went and walked through the famous red light district and after that all of us even the Rotarians went to a bar/club and danced the night away ! The next day we all packed our bags then we went and visited the flower market, an old movie theater and a 1860's house and also saw the Jewish museum and a synagogue. Then we returned back to the hostile ate a quick bite and left for Brussels. All in all it was a great trip.
The first week back was ok, on thursday it was Valentine's Day, so happy late Valentine's Day to you all, and I made Valentine's for everyone in my class. Here it's only really done between lover's so everyone in my class was surprised but really appreciated it. Only Ylsa another exchange student at my school made valentine's for all her friends. The Senior class handed out pre ordered roses, white ones for friendship, and red one's for love. The week sort of went by slowly and not too great or anything exciting. My host parent's left for the weekend so I went and stayed at a friend's house Valerie for the weekend. Saturday night my club hosted a night of Blues where they had a Blue's player come and sing then ate and danced the night away . It was fun to dance, and Val was there and we did modern dance while all the other Rotarians just did their couple dances. :) . Sunday was a day full of sleeping and then Monday and today I had no school because all the teachers had workshops. So yesterday or Monday I went with Valerie to see Sweeney Todd in Brussels and today I went to Brussels as well and got a new pair of shoes. I have to say here it is quite frustrating for people like me with big feet cause they don't make big sizes for girl's in most shoes, grr. I had the best surprise today. Val and I were walking around Brussels and went into a little shop, and Geral Depardieu was there in the shop looking at some books !!! I got a autograph it was so great, supposedly he was filming a film just outside. For those of you who don't know who Gerald Depardieu is either look him up on Google, or something but he played in Cyrano de Bergerac, Asterixs and is a super famous actor ! So that is my check up for right now, hope all is well,
lots of love,
Lizzy

Long needed check up

Hi everyone,

Happy holidays and Happy New Year! Even though it's kind of belated. I'm sorry that I haven't written in a long time, every time an opportunity came up something happen and so I just haven't be able to get around to it. So I left off from my voyage in Italy which was now at least two months ago. I guess I will just give little summaries of what has been happening in my life since then.

The month of December:

This month was one of the busiest months for me. The first weekend I had my first real choir concert in a Church in Graty a town in the city limits of Silly. Just a month before I had preformed but it was a small group of people for the Saint Cecile and I got to introduce the groups, one of the most embarrassing things of my life, is messing up Marmotte and Marmutte, which is prairie dog or mammoth and everyone laugh. But anyways it was really great getting to sing in an Old Church. We sang song Christmas songs but other songs too. There was about 7 Rotarians from my club that came to hear me and even our neighbors and my counselor came. It felt great singing for them and showing them what I like to do. With two weeks into the month our exams started. Exams here are before winter vacation which in some ways is really convenient but in others just a pain. I took three oral exams in Geography, Chemistry and History. I had four written exams in Math, Biology, Physics and French. I did quite well on my oral exams but the written ones weren’t the best grades I have ever gotten. J

The weekend of the 15-16 of December I changed families. Changing families is/was probably the hardest thing for me on this exchange, especially because I loved my first host family. I also had to switch earlier than proposed because that’s what Rotary decided for me and that wasn’t very great either. But none the less, now I live in Lessines, Belgium a much larger town than Silly. I live in a huge three story house on top on a hill. I have 5 sisters including Juliette from my last family because I am now with her dad and his new wife. I live on the third story so I get a lot of exercise going up and down the stairs. I have to say that living with 5 sisters is a lot louder and hectic than I could have ever imagined. The ages of the girls range from 3 to 16. There is hardly ever quite but when there is it is appreciated. Even though it’s crazy around here sometimes we manage to have fun!

Winter break started for me the 21^st of December and it is so wonderful!!!!! Christmas quickly arrived once school was out, and with Christmas arrived the crazy holidays! I got the opportunity to go back to my first host family for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It was wonderful getting to see my first family and all their relatives all together. We first took an apero than opened presents, and then for the rest of the evening and early morning we ate, talked and laughed. Christmas day I returned back to Lessines to my second house family where we spent a pleasant Christmas day together. The following day was another celebration for Christmas and Camille’s Birthday which is the 24^th of December with Anne’s Family. Unfortunately I was really sick with a high fever for two days. After Christmas the rest of my vacation passed in a flash including going to Brugge to se an ice maze and going with friends to Anterwerp! New Years was a blast I went with friends to Brussels for New Years, and it was great, there was a bunch of exchange students there and we saw lots of people! The only sad part was there were no fireworks because the Belgian government had been getting terrorist threats.

The first day of the New Year I packed my bags and moved to my third host family, while my second family left to visit their daughter in India for 3 weeks. My third host family is a huge change from the other two, first off I have three brothers from the ages of 9 to 16, and second they live in the middle of the country. I must say that it was hard for me at first because they didn’t have internet and we were out in the middle of no where, but in the end it really showed me something. The thing is we get so enthralled with our lives and technology it is sometimes nice to take a break, and also it really shows me how great it is to have the technology that we have today, especially in communicating.

January:

The month of January was full of school and studying not the most interesting things in the world to tell. On the 26^th of January my school seniors held a ball, where they tried to imitate our version of prom to fundraise money. I have to say that it was pretty different and the tickets were a lot cheaper but it was really fun, seeing everyone dressed up in fancy gowns and dancing with friends the night away. In some ways it was a lot better than our prom back home because it lasted till 2 in the morning instead of midnight like back home. January brought on cold winds and dark mornings walking to the train station every morning. I must say the transportation here is great and it makes living far away from school a lot easier. Everyone morning I get up around 5:30 to take the train at 7:00 am. It is also a 15 minute walk to the train station. But now I really appreciate living close enough to school to walk and not have to get up super early in the morning. The 22^nd of January I had my first excursion with the school and it was amazing, we went to Brussels and we saw a film and then heard a speaker who talked to us about the Genocide in Rwanda. I have to say that it was really amazing and it made you think about your life. January the 23^rd I passed my half mark here in Belgium! I have to say that I don’t feel like coming home yet, but I am so grateful that I am here. Everyday is a learning experience and I cherish every single day that I am here.

February:

Now it is the month of February, the first week of February we have the vacation of Carnival that last one week! The first weekend of carnival aka this past weekend and just till Tuesday night I went to France with my first host family. We went to Bourgogne and to the Lake of Der. It was beautiful there, and we watched les Grues or Cranes eat in the fields and then fly back to the lake at night. We also went to the Champagne town of the world and tasted a couple of different champagnes even Rose champagne. It was really great getting away and seeing the French countryside and living in a little Gite or country house. Now I am back in Lessines for a couple of days and this Friday I leave for Amsterdam for the weekend with Rotary!

I’m really sorry for taking so long to write and I am now making it a goal to write even a couple sentences at least one or at the maximum every two weeks to keep you all informed on my life here in Belgium. I really hope that you are all well and not having too much fun in that snow in Eugene!

Warmest wishes from Belgium,

Bisou,

Lizzy