Over the Christmas Holidays, I had the lovely opportunity to visit my Aunt in Switzerland! It was so nice to see her again and I absolutely love Switzerland! Immediately from the moment I got off the plane and saw the Alps for the first time, I was in love. Though I was generally in the northern areas, the mountains graced the horizon with their elegant beauty. Here is a peak at my travels through Neuchâtel, Bern, and Lausanne.
It's impossible for me to explain exactly how amazing my trip to Paris was! We went for three days, one full day and two nights. There were around 70 other students on the trip and we completely filled a double decker bus! The overall dynamic of the trip was so amazing. Despite being tired from walking Paris all day, everyone was always so pumped and we basically danced everywhere we went. Waiting in a long line for the Louvre? No problem! Just whip out the portable speaker and voila! I love exchange students! All in all it was an absolutely amazing trip and I met a lot of amazing people!
The past few months have been crazy and spectacular! I'm now almost three months into my exchange and I honestly can't believe it! There's always something to do or to see here in Brussels, and if not in Brussels, then in Liege, Namur, Bruges, or any number of cities here in Belgium. I am in love with Europe's transportation system because it's so easy to hop on a train and visit another city for the day! So here's a quick update of some of the things I've done these past few months! A Weekend á la mer!My first weekend in Belgium, I went to the North Sea with my host family and Kiara, an exchange student from Australia. Though it was a little too cold to swim, we had a lovely time trying to kayak and we even got to go sailing for a bit on a family member's sailboat! We took a small bike ride to the neighboring town of Veurne. Kiara and I ventured the journey on a tandem bike which was quite interesting, yet fun, to say the least! Before leaving we casually hiked across the French-Belgian border. It was a really great way for me to meet my first host family and I had an amazing time! Pairi DaizaThe easiest way to describe Pairi Daiza would be to say it's like a zoo. However, that's far too simple of an explanation for the sheer magnitude of what is, in fact, Pairi Daiza. It's more like a mini world. It has large recreations of temples and buildings and, though most of my pictures are of the architecture, houses many animals. It was interesting because many of the animals aren't even contained. There was a small squirrel monkey that climbed around freely, landing once on a visitor and there were huge pelicans that blocked one of the paths later on. It was really neat to see! An Assortment of Other PicturesEt voila! Let the journey continue!
Hello all! I can't believe I've already been in Belgium for 4 weeks! On the contrary, I can't believe I've only been in Belgium for 4 weeks; I feel like I've already done and seen so much! I apologize, I've been having some serious photo issues, but I think they have thankfully been resolved for now. So here's the rest of that whole "I'm going to post a lot of things all at once" post that I never followed up on. This was our first organized Rotary Event! Every Rotary exchange student in all of Belgium was there!! This is just an estimate, but I think we reached the hundreds in numbers! We all met in the morning, both "newies" (people who had just arrived in August) and "oldies" (people who had arrived back in January), and the entire day was basically a giant pin trading fest! We all have Rotary Jackets and it's the custom to trade pins (which are generally designed to represent one's home country) with each other to meet new people. It's really neat because, in the end, the jacket will be bursting with pins acquired from various exchange students! The day, besides the fact that it was cold and raining, was quite lovely! I had the opportunity to meet so many new people from all over the world and I got to see some beautiful bits of Brussels as well! Definitely an A+ day in my book!
Wowzer! What a first week in Belgium! I can't believe it's only been a week though because I've already done so much. I'm going to have a couple posts all at once just to catch up with what's been happening so feel free to skim through as you'd like. Make sure to actually click on the pictures though because most of what I'll write will simply be in the captions. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble posting the panorama photos that I took (which were pretty rad because they gave a more real feeling of the setting and area that I was in), but c'est la vie. Monday 24 & Tuesday 25 aoûtSo basically, after a long overnight plane ride I was thrust into a grand day of meeting new people and seeing new places! It was a quite a shock though because right from the moment I got off the plane I had to speak French. Not that it wasn't what I'd been expecting, but the real thing is a lot different than I'd imagined. My host family does not speak much English so hopefully the full immersion will help me learn it a lot faster. As I said, for the first few days I was staying with Hubert, so after all of the touring, we went back to his house for dinner (I was able to finally take a nice nap before we ate, though). We ate dinner later than one would normally in the US (around 20h) but we ate a much lighter meal. Just four slices of cantaloupe with four slices of rolled up deli meat (I'm really sorry, the meat was definitely much fancier than just "deli meat" but I don't remember what kind or anything...). And then we just spent the evening relaxing and watching the Mentalist (awkwardly dubbed in French). Hubert and his wife were able to speak English with me which was very helpful those first few days while I was getting accustomed to Belgium. Although, quite honestly, I felt pretty at home here right when I arrived. There are definitely a lot of differences, but I still don't really feel like I've started my exchange because it just feels so natural to be here in Belgium. Wednesday 26 aoûtHubert lived right by a large university so there were a lot of shops nearby. It was really cool to go into those shops because all I'd really have to say upon entering a store was "Bonjour" and then "Merci" or "Au Revoir" when I left! So I could blend right in (well at least I thought I did, but my accent probably gave it away anyway) and it felt pretty neat to be Belgian... But it also made me really want to learn French as soon as possible!
So here's basically what I've been up to this past year...Click on the images to open a larger view. So that's basically it! This past year has been really exciting and I've gotten super psyched for next year (I don't even want to think about packing though...). I've been in contact with my first host family (I will have three total host families throughout the year) and they are really nice. I cannot wait to meet them in person! Brussels is technically in the Flemish speaking region of Belgium, but I just so happen to be going to the areas around Brussels that speak French! Donc je vais apprendre le français. I suppose that's everything for now.... If you have any questions about the program, please visit my "About RYE" page and hopefully it will help you out! I nearly forgot! I quickly just wanted to lay out a few goals that I have for this year! My goals are:
Although these are a little abstract, in general, I really want to become so assimilated and accustomed to the French language and Belgian culture that, when I return to the United States, it takes some time to be able to call Cleveland "home" again. Which may be difficult because, as of right now, Cleveland is my place! I absolutely love this city! Knowing I only have a few days left here really helps me to appreciate the things (and of course, the people) I am leaving behind. But, I know there are great things ahead so it is not worth looking back....at least not for too long! And again, it is only a year in my life. A lot will happen and a lot may change, I know this for sure. But I hope to make the best of whatever comes my way and I have high hopes that this exchange will be much more than "only a year" (hmm, I'm starting to sense some foreshadowing here).
Anyway, this post has already gotten so much longer than I had anticipated! This is my story and I plan to make it a good one! As you can probably tell by the obsessive number of exclamation marks throughout this post, I am extremely excited and look forward to whatever this year has in store for me. I hope everyone reading this is doing well and I hope you enjoy following my story! |
AuthorBonjour! I will be traveling to Brussels, Belgium as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student for the 2015/2016 year. Here is my story......Enjoy! Archives
December 2015
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