It's Only Gonna Get Better

We had another Rotary Activity on the 9th. We went to Namur (the capital of the French region of Belgium) It was great to see my Rotary friends again. I really like that I can connect with them but I also really hope that I can get really close to some of my friends from school too. After the Rotary Activity I went to my friend Emily's house. We had a great sleep over party I had a lot of fun with Emily, from Maine, Linnea, from Finland, and Rosie, from Tennessee.

I can tell I'm gaining weight and I really don't want to. I was going to start volleyball and I went to one practice and it was really good but I don't really like the idea that my team would have to rely on someone who doesn't really know all the rules or even speak the language. The coach was talking and all he cares about is winning and I don't like that attitude... I would much rather just do Zumba or Steps with some friends.

I went to France last week! I went with my school which meant I was supposed to do an assignment but I figured it was best to try to understand what was going on. We went to Reims, Provins, Fontainebleau, and Versailles. One of our assignments was to interview people and my group went up to a man and the girls started asking him questions. He said, "I'm sorry I don't speak very good French." They asked what language and he said English. I did the interview and then had to translate it all into French. The students in my class are really trying to help me learn the language it's really nice. We stayed at a youth hostel and there was lots of drama with the rooms. It felt like home... haha I learned a lot on this trip and I had so much fun making new friends!

I've tasted some new and delicious foods. We had an "inside bbq" last week. My host parents have this little grill thing and you put all the food you want to cook in a little dish and you stick it under the grill. It was really yummy and I tasted a strange version of sunny side up eggs. I cooked it a little too long but it was good. I really like cheese. (I can just imagine my family's reaction to that)

I'm gonna make pancakes for my host family tomorrow morning. :) I'm really excited.

I have had so many experiences over here where something bad almost happens to me and then immediately after I see it happen to someone else. Just this week Justine left her wallet on the train. It's so sad. She lost so many important things including her passport and money and cards. I felt so bad and I really wished there was something I could do to help. I gave her ten euros to get back home and I stayed with her as long as possible to try and comfort her. She might not be able to go to Paris next week and that makes me sad. She's my best friend over here. I love her.

Wednesday there was a big huge party in Louvain la Neuve. This is a city where only students live. There are parties all the time. This was the 24 hour bike race. We went for the parties and it was way fun! People told me that it's not as fun when you don't drink because you know too well what's going on around you. I disagree. I still had a lot of fun. There were lots of concerts playing throughout the city and I think we went to all of them for about 5 seconds. We were walking around so much trying to see everything! I witnessed some pretty crazy things. People peeing on the walls. A million people trying to get out of a train station. Lots of drugs. And a whole bunch of drunk people.

This time is going by so fast! I'm already half done with this family :( I don't wanna leave I wish I could stay here the whole year. I don't think the rotary's gonna go for that though.

I had a test in science and I got 14/15!!! I was so proud!! The only reason i missed a point was because I forgot to write the unity of thermal energy. Jewel. My teacher was really proud of me too seeing as I got 0/20 on the first test.

This year is going great and it's only gonna get better!

It's a Small World Afterall

Pictures... No More Issues :)

So I have LOTS of energy right now cause I just got back from my night class (that sentence doesn't make sense now that I think about it) hahahaha but it's TRUE!!! I always have so much energy after it! I can be myself around them and I get soo hyper and when I get home my host parents always notice! anyways just wanted to get that out there!

Pictures... I figured out that my internet is just a little slow so I have to do just a few photos at a time on facebook and it will work I still can't put them on here because it takes HOURS to put one album on cause I take so many pictures and it only lets me upload 5 at a time so you can look on facebook. If you don't have facebook, well find someone who does and ask if you can borrow it and look at my page! Even people who aren't friends with me can see my pictures so go discover the things that I've already discovered in this BEAUTIFUL, (wet) land of BELGIUM!!!!!! Can anyone else tell that I have A TON of energy right now??????? :P well I do... anyway I'm off to bed! I just hope I can be like this at school tomorrow!

It's a Small World Afterall

Pictures... issues

So I tried to put my pictures on facebook and it said 1832 minutes remaining... I don't think that's normal. So I don't know how to do pictures anymore... any ideas?

It's a Small World Afterall

Sometimes You Just Have To Give Up And Let It Happen

Things have definitely gotten a lot harder.

There are still some really good things happening though!

Friday the 24th was a teacher prep day so we didn't have school and I had a sleep over with Margaux's cousin Cindy. She is really really nice and I like spending time with her but I never know what to say or what we can do. We went to the museum of musical instruments and that was awesome I liked it a lot! They have all these different styles of instruments from different eras and different areas of the world! It was very interesting! We had headphones and could listen to them and it was so cool to hear the difference between all the different pianos. We also got to see displays of how a lot of the instruments were made.

Saturday the 25th was also really fun! We had a rotex activity. We went kyaking it was so much fun! I made lots of new friends and lots of memories! haha. Justine and I didn't fall once!!! we nose dived and filled our boat with water and we got attacked by man eating nature while eating a sandwich haha. We joined three kyaks together by having me and Justine in the middle holding on and the others paddling on the outside haha it was sooo much fun!!!

Monday was the anniversary of the creation of Belgium! We didn't have school so I spent the day with my Rotary friends. I was really glad I got to spend monday with Alyssa because it was our last chance before she left back to the states.

The reason for the title of this post:

I didn't have the best week last week.

On thursday I got a text message from Alyssa saying she was leaving the next morning... That gave me absolutely no notice to do things with her! We were able to spend some time together after school on thursday but not much. It was soo sad at the airport. I'm gonna miss her so much I wish there had been more that I could've done to help her stay.

After I spent some time with Alyssa on thursday I had to go to my night class. I forgot that we were going to a museum so I didn't have my metro card. On any other day it wouldn't have mattered! When I was coming home from the museum I just snuck onto the metro and the tram. Isn't it just my luck that the one day I don't have my card they check for cards on the tram? luckily it was only one stop before mine so it wasn't terribly hard to get home but it still was a really scary experience and I didn't know how to tell my host parents. When I tried to explain myself they didn't understand. When they finally understood they were willing to help however they could.

Friday was sad. We were all crying at the airport. We really didn't want Alyssa to leave. After the airport Justine came to my math class while I took a test and then I went to her school for her last class. Ironically she had a test too! We were on the train a lot and we only stayed at her house for about an hour before I took a train back home and she went to a friends house. When I got to the train station close to my house I got a phone call from my host dad. I had COMPLETELY forgotten about dinner! I wasn't hungry so I didn't think about it. My host family had been waiting for me and I felt awful.

I felt really bad but then thanks to a very helpful message from Candice, my amazing beautiful sister, I felt better. But that doesn't mean that everything got all better.

Saturday I got lost in Bruges and had a hard time telling my host parents where I was.

I kept feeling like everything I was doing was a disappointment.

I realized after I had a great evening with Guillaume's parents that I just needed to let go of everything that had happened. I needed to get it out of my head and forget about it.

Once I did that I didn't feel so bad.

School:

I've had some tests. History was awful! I failed miserably. Science was even worse. I didn't know the answer to a single question! I had another math test. I failed but I was about a half point away from passing and I get a chance to try again so that's okay. French was really good. I feel like I really understood all of the questions and was able to answer them all well. Social Sciences wasn't terrible but not too great. I got 8/20 which for a foreigner with no prior knowledge of the political system of this country was really good. English... I don't even know what to say... When I took the test it was soo easy... I got it back and had 15/20... some of the students in my class did better than me... This is what I don't understand: it was a listening test, the teacher told us to listen and answer the questions. It was describing a painting. The tape said things like "the people at the table are having a drink." The question said what are the people at the table doing? She said we had to use complete sentences so I wrote the people at the table are having a drink. I only got half credit! The second part of the test was looking at a picture and describing the people (the tape described them too) there was one that had the lady's name and the tape described her as "a famous singer at the Moulin Rouge. She has a pale face blue eyes and red lips." So for the answer I wrote She was a famous singer at the Moulin Rouge. She has a pale face, blue eyes, and red lips. I GOT .5/2!!!!! but then on the one that all I wrote was he is tall I got full credit!!! I don't understand and I really need to discuss this with her. I can't do great on a French test and not get 100% on an English test that I should be able to pass as a 2nd grader!!

My teachers are kinda crazy. They get really mad really easily and yell A LOT. Instead of calmly taking care of the situation they shout and tell the kids that they're acting like first graders! A lot of my teachers are great and try to help me understand: my math teacher, social sciences, French, and English. My other teachers: religion, geography, history, and science not so much. They just treat me like a fly on the wall invading their lives.

I lose interest really fast when I feel like my teachers don't want me there. I'm just gonna keep trying and not stress about it.

Thanks for everyone's support! It's too hard to get a lot of pictures on here so look on facebook...

It's a Small World Afterall