Nothing Says 'Happy One Month Abroad' Better than a Giant Spider

Today, I've been in Belgium for one month.  It hardly seems that long; I feel like I just arrived.  I'm about half way done with my journal (an early birthday gift from Oma, thanks so much!) and I feel more and more at home here.  Even my dreams take place in Belgium now and sometimes, they're in French (but I don't understand what they say.) 

My last week was full of excitement.  School is getting better every day, and I understand more.  I don't feel so exausted afterward, and I'm getting to know some people better.  I really appreciate it when my classmates speak slowly to me and tell me about things in very simple French.  It's so much better for me than if they were to stumble through English words, though, I have to admit, I would rather talk to someone who knows a little English, because sometimes, I just don't remember a really simple French word (like 'good' or 'teach').  But that happens less now, and I'm starting to like talking again.  It's not so difficult to express my thoughts, though it's not easy and I can't say everything I want.  I can usually get the gist across, and that's really all that matters.

You can never really appreciate the sun until you live in Belgium.  This week, there were only three or so days that rained, and it was wonderful.  Of all the things back home that I miss, the sun is perhaps the most important. 

I could fill up this post with random observations--from the completely insane driving here to the amazing desserts to the fifty percent taxes--but what I really want to wright about is the Fête de Wallonie, which has got to be the best party I've ever been to (not including my Murder Mystery Dinner Party, of course).  The atmosphere of the Fête is really hard to explain, but I'll do my best.  Imagine that half a country wanted to throw a party to make the other half of the country jealous.  Then imagine that this country has more different kinds of beer than you could ever taste.  Then speak French, eat fries, and dance to music that could be discribed as techno, but with an awesome fiddler.  Oh, and take about half a dozen shots in the streets.  That's the Fête de Wallonie. 

Drapeau de la Wallonie

I left Friday after school for Namur and met up with my awesome Canadian friend, Alene (everyone should read her blog) on the train.  It's so wonderful to speak with someone in really fast English and have them understand.  She's basically just like me, only born a couple of months earlier and not into DnD, so, therefore, super cool.  We walked around the town for a while, searching for mini flags and souvenirs and just took in the sights.  The streets were lined with tents selling food, gifty stuff, or little flavored shots, and there were banners strung between the houses. It was about eight o' clock when the first random dunken person hugged us.

We met up with Alene's friends from school, including two other exchange kids, and wandered around with them.  It was so crowded that you had to push your way through the crowd, and there were so many beer cans, plastic cups, and those tiny shot glasses that, when you walked, it was like crunch crunch crunch.  But it was awesome.  We danced at the main stage until the artists stopped playing (I'm not sure who they were, but everyone kept telling me that they were really well known) and I didn't have time to sleep.  I just took the 6:40 train back to Tournai and slept all day, waking up for meal times and a beautiful classical music concert in the cathedral. 

Right now, my family is dog-sitting a sweet old dog, and it makes me realize how much I like having a dog.  I miss Remi, my sister's Yorkie back home. 

Also, I realized the importance of seperating yourself from your old life and imersing yourself in your country.  It's hard to read emails about home, like how your brother's in the hospital to get his apendix out.  I like knowing what's going on, and I want to talk to everyone back inIowa, but I have to keep my head in Belgium.  Please, family, friends, people reading my blog, if you have something to say to me, write it down, and when we skype in a month or two, you can read it to me. 

I think everyone should read/watch this link.  You can skip the bits about Russian school, but that struggle that the kids talk about...all I can say is 'welcome to my life.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/my-familys-experiment-in-extreme-schooling.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

Oh, almost forgot to say, I woke up this morning to find a spider the size of a my fist in my sink.  I killed it.  (I could even explain the situation in French!)

See you in ten months,

Greta