Its been a year!

A year ago I left my friends and family behind, I stated to learn a new language at the time I thought it was one of the hardest things I would ever do…. I was very wrong. Saying goodbye to all the people I met in Belgium was much harder, hands down the hardest thing I have ever done!

The friends I made this year were one of two types of friendships

1.       We were both going through the same thing and could relate to each other (other exchange students)

2.       People who took the time to try to understand me, and I to them

Neither of these friends will ever be forgotten! Exchange students are one big family no matter where in the world we may be, or how many oceans separate us. And all the Belgians who took the time to listen will never be forgotten, if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t even speak French! From constantly being corrected to laughing because no one had any idea what was being said these are the friendships I cherish the most. My year may be over, but the friendships and memories will carry on!

Tomorrow we got to the airport to welcome our new exchange student to Texas.... It is still shocking that I am back in Texas, much less starting the exchange circle all over again! I remember waiting at the wrong luggage claim for almost an hour! I remember choosing my classes, my first day of school It is so crazy that is all over! I f any of my friends from exchange are ever in the USA, you better tell me! If you are in Texas, you always have a home here in Dallas awaiting you! 

I now have a home all over the world, Brazil to Australia, Peru to Canada and everywhere in between!  

Thank you to everyone, Belgian or American who was part of this year! It was an amazing year, one to never be forgotten!

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end is right, I hope you had the time of your life.

Well, do to all my computer problems I no longer can use Microsoft word so It has been awhile since I have posted. I assume this will be one of my last blogs to be written from Belgium....

Since my last Blog a lot has happened! I have been traveling a lot and saying even more goodbyes!! A lot of Exchange students are already back in "home". After this year I can truly say home will never be a building but where ever my hear is at, and a piece of my heart will always be in Belgium!

At the End of June I was at a music festival, Rock A Field. It was so much fun! WE saw some amazing bands and thankfully there were not a ton of People so we were able to get pretty close if not in the front row of almost all the bands! I went with Two other Exchange students and a Belg friend from school and his brother and all his friends. It was quite Epic!

After the festival I changed Families and am now staying with a Rotarian. They are the sweetest couple ever! I am really enjoying it here! Almost everyday I take a trip to another part of Belgium, sadly I haven't taken many pictures. It just kind of slips my mind, plus I am so use to the way Europe looks I don't really feel the need to take more pictures of it! haha

This year has taught me a lot, I have had my good days and my bad days.  I have learned a language and made friends. I have laughed and I have cried. I have become accustom to kissing strangers on the cheek, and to eating foods that whose name I cannot even pronounce. All in all it has been an exceptionally amazing year!

I am going to miss Belgium..... And Im afraid I might miss it even more then I am anticipating!

Prague, Prom and "Graduation"!

I feel like the best parts of my exchange have started with a long bus ride half way across Europe. This time the destination was Prague. One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, and that without a doubt is true! I met people from all over the world, not just exchange students but also tourists.

If people come to America for vacation they go to amusement parks and see the Grand Canyon and the world’s largest ball of string. In Europe that isn’t the culture at all; you go and see cathedrals, castles and chateaus. Prague was full of all that! We got to see the Jewish corner. When Hitler took power he planned to keep just one synagogue and it would become a museum, well the one he planned to keep was in Prague, so it was very well “preserved”. WE saw famous castles, bridges, and monuments plus like always churches and catherdrals.

We didn't just stay in Prague the whole trip we also went and saw a few other towns. Due to the lack of my knowledge of the Czech Language I can’t really tell you exactly where we were, but that’s ok because it was so beautiful!!!We saw two different towns that were very cute! They looked a lot like the towns I saw in my trip to Austria, all the buildings were colorful and bright!

At the end of the trip I said a lot of goodbye’s to exchange students that are leaving with-in these next few weeks. Exchange has been a wonderful experience and sadly is coming to an end quicker then I can even imagine!

There are a lot of things I will miss about Belgium, but it wasn't until the other night when I realized how much I will miss the people! We had our “Prom” a few nights ago; here it’s called Bal Rhéto. Imagine an American prom times ten better, and that is about what you get. To all the Belgians reading this, Bal Rhéto is better than Prom, and all of us American exchange students agree! 

Then the next day was the Belgian equivalent of graduation… all the students and their families sit in a room and the name of all of the students who passed their classes had their names called and everyone claps. Then everyone drinks some champagne and talks, then you leave… it was very different, and nothing at all like I expected!

Sadly I have a bit more than a month left on Exchange, but I am sure this last month will be just as amazing as the other 10 and a half have been! 

THE Doudou!!

I have reached a point where I understand what is going on around me. It has been a while since I have just stood smiled and felt lost….. Then I went to the Doudou Festival…… That festival my friends changed everything! I was almost killed by sweaty men after “dragon hair”, trampled by horses, and then pushed into so many random people I really almost died! Watch this video and you will understand a bit of what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E65C5qJJDM4

Watch the first 10 seconds then skip to a 1:30

What you saw in the video was: the horses that almost killed me, and a golden cart carriage like thing. Thousands of hands joined together to push the carriage up the cobbled hill to reach the collegiate church; the stakes are high. The people of Mons hold the belief that the Car d’Or must reach the top of the hill in one go around, or war will breakout with in the year… This happened in 1803, due to the French Revolution, in 1914 and in 1940, just prior to the First and Second World Wars.

I “participated in what we call the combat….. This game is played on the Trinity Sunday between 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm. It represents the fight between Saint George (the good) and the dragon (the evil). The fight is called Lumeçon. This name comes from the old French name Limaçon (old French name meaning a spectacle with horses that made circular movements.) The combat happens on the central square of Mons. The length of the dragon is about 10 meters. The end of his tail is covered with horses' hairs (mane). The dragon is displaced with the help of the white men (fr:Hommes blancs). Saint George is protected by the Chinchins who represent dogs. The dragon is helped by the devils (French: Les diables). Each devil is armed with a cow bladder full of air (the balloon in the past before plastic had been developed). With this weapon, they knock the Chinchins and the public that are placed all around the arena. The dragon fights Saint George by giving Tail attacks. The dragon gives also tail attacks in the public. So, the public is also an important participant in the fight! People try to take the mane of the tail because it gives luck for one year long. Finally, there are also the Leaf men (fr:Hommes de feuilles) that are covered with real leaves of ivy. They help the dragon by defending and supporting his tail. The combat is a high precision choreography. Saint George on his horse turns clockwise. And the dragon turns in the other direction. (This is a reference between the good against the evil). Saint George tries to kill the dragon with his lance but the lance always broke on the contact of the dragon's skin. Saint George uses a pistol and finally kills the dragon on the third try. It is 1 p.m., the participants leave the square, people rush in the arena to find the last lucky manes which have fallen on the ground. And the carillon of Mons rings.

This is a good video that shows a bit of everything… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eLFu1sr_-TQ#!

 This celebration is several days long; I only went for one day… the combat and the golden cart!! I could only see people’s heads but it was still worth it… I got Dragon hair! Two pieces at that! Due to the amount of people there I figured it was best if I didn’t have my camera out… people who have been in the combat, closer to the dragon then I was, have died… the amount of people there was unreal and unsafe for my camera! The amount of excitement was crazy! This was by far one of the coolest most unique things I have ever seen and or done!

These are some brave exchange students who made it into the combat... People even taped their shoes on so that they would be sure to have them when they came out... If you lost a shoe there was no getting that thing back!

All of us exchangers who survived the craziness of The Doudou!!

The Firsts of my Exchange!

Well I have done so pretty crazy things on exchange! I have 2 months (exactly) left on exchange and I think it’s only fitting to list all my crazy firsts I have managed to accomplish! There may be a few more, but as of now these are some of the most memorable. This year had taught me so much and has made me step out of my comfort zone in ways I never would have expected! With out this year and the wonderful Rotary Youth Exchange non of this would have been possible!

My list of many firsts!

1. Taken a bus
2. Seen a Euro
3. Used a Euro
4. Had a conversation in French
5. Had trouble locking and unlocking a door
6. Cussed someone out (was not on purpose)
7. Been afraid of pick pocketing
8. Attended mass in French
9. Found my way without a map
10. Went “exploring”
11. Trusted a stranger
12. Walked through snow well past my ankle
13. Gone to school in snow well past my ankle
14. Celebrated St.Nicolas
    
15. Thrown flour at people
16. Begged strangers for money
17. Toured a brewery
18. Drank a Belgian beer in Belgium with Belgians
19. Drank a German beer in Germany with Germans
20. Drank the World’s Best Beer
21. Drank French Wine in the French Alps
22. Drank Belgian Wine in Belgium with Germans
23. Drank German Wine in Germany with Germans
    
24. Drank Spanish Wine in Spain
25. Drank Spanish Sangria in Spain
26. Ate a Belgian Waffle in Belgium
27. Ate Schnitzel in Germany
    
28. Spoke in French in front of 80+ people
29. Been happy about making a 10 on a test
30. Visited something I learned about in History class
31. Truly tried to see things from someone else’s point of view
32. Traveled alone
33. Taken a random bus just to see where it goes
34. Rode a train
    
    
    
35. Been inside a castle
36. Took a tour in a language I didn’t understand
37. Lived on the 6ht floor of a building
38. Packed all my things in 20 minutes
39. Learned to enjoy the little things
40. Relied on the skills I learned to survive!
41. Moved houses 6 times in a year
42. Seen how there is really more then one way to do the same thing
    
43. Done something I knew was stupid
44. Climbed a mountain
45. Gone to a club
46. Walked through some of the most historic buildings I could ever think of
47. Seen Royal guards
48. Received free drinks/food
    
49. Ate



1. Mutton
2. Baby lamb
3. Veal
4. Octopus 
5. Frog
6. Deer
7. Baby Deer
8. Kangaroo
9. Rabbit
10. Pigeon
50. Been offered something for being an American
51. Been looked down upon for my nationality
52. Been truly proud to be an American
53. Lived a drama free life
    
54. Forgave because I realize there are much bigger problems then mine
    
55. Skipped a class
56. Been into the Mediterranean
57. Stayed in a hostel
    
    
58. Made friends from a country who mine "hates"
59. Chosen not to study
60. Not cared what anyone else might think about me
61. No cared what anyone else’s opinion of me might be
    62. Lived without questioning anything! Not worrying about the outcome or consequences, just doing what feels right for the moment!

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Birthday and Stuff!

Well now that I am a bit caught up!! All my trips are over and I have moved into my third families! They are so sweet and a lot of fun! Liege I know like the back of my hand, the bus system is no problem and trains are second nature now! People are starting to leave and it really puts into perspective that school is almost over and here soon I will be heading home too. This is by far one of the saddest thoughts I have ever had!

School is becoming more of a pain, if it were not for my Belgian friends I would do everything I could to not even go! But I go and see them each day! Teachers are starting to hand out exam material and there is that end of school stressful feeling that is overtaking everyone!

My Birthday was last weekend and my family was so nice and surprised me with a cake and some cute clothes! They are so sweet! They also took me and another of my good friends to a Mexican restaurant! It wasn’t quite the same but it was still good!

I love Belgium and am already dreading the day I have to leave! Belgium has taught me not only the obvious like how to navigate your way through town on a bus, how to use trains, and French, but I have also learned so much about me! I have made friends here in Belgium and friends from all around the world! I can always come back to visit but never will it be the same as this year. 

SPAIN!!

I love Spain!!! Spain was absolutely amazing!! The country was beautiful! As soon as we crossed the French border into Spain you could see a difference. We left Brussels in the evening and spent the next 22 hours in a bus driving across Europe!

We saw a million churches and cathedrals.. all their stories have ran together now and I am not really going to go and Google all the information just to put in here… pictures will have to do it! : )

Day 1: We arrived after a long 22 hours in the bus. We were left to go explore the town of Salamanca !

Day 2: WE had a guided tour of the city. We saw a lot of stork nests and also learned that the words victor that were written around the city were from old scholars who had completed their studies!

Day 3: We woke up and headed to our next city…Avilla. We had a tour of the town then were allowed to explore the city. That afternoon we were given a tour of a monastery.

Day 4: We were on the road again to Segovia were able to see one of the world’s most breathtaking cathedrals! Then saw an actual castle with a mote!

Day 5:  WE loaded up the bus yet again and made our way to Madrid! We stopped along the way to see a monastery. It was quite impressionable! At one point a royal family lived there and there is a section of the house/castle/monastery that has all the tombs. We were not allowed to take pictures but if you remember the movie Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy… it was just like the room in the movie where there are a bunch of tombs. That afternoon we explored Madrid for a bit!

Day 6:  Holey Toledo!!! Toledo was so amazing!! WE had another guided tour… our tour guide was not the sweetest! But the town was gorgeous!

Day 7: We made our way to Barcelona that next day… almost a whole day in the bus! WE went to the beach by our hotel and then had a party in the hotel and learned a bunch of Spanish dances!

Day 8: Exploring Barcelona! We saw some of the most amazing things in Barcelona!

Day 9: Exploring Barcelona Rotary style! WE were given a tour by our Rotarians who accompanied us… it was a tour of the city by foot, but was so much fun! Barcelona is one of my favorite cities!!!!!

Day 10: Well we just sat in the bus all day and headed home… I am pretty sure we all slept the whole way back!!

Spain was AMAZING!!! One of the best two weeks of my exchange!! :)