The Feeling of Friendship

Bonjour! This post may seem a little dramatic (it really is/isn't). Some of you may know the feeling I am about to explain, or perhaps not, or perhaps you are experiencing it with me now.
Today, after being here 10 days, I have made my first friends. I was defiantly craving the feeling. The feeling of being around people your age, with common intrests, who want to know you, as much as you do them. People who want to know where you are from, your stories, your passions. People whom you can laugh with at silly things and cry with during hardships.
I had my first Rotex meeting  today. There are probably 60+ (probably many more) kids in my distict. They are from all countries; USA, Mexico (like Dora), Venezuela, New Zealand, Canada (Canadian boys are so tall!!), and many other countries. Joisy (my 'sister'. A girl who lives in my town) and I met many new people and put faces to many people whom we have met online. They are having the same struggles as I am, as well as the same pleasures. I never knew how unbelieveable it feels to be able to talk at a normal pace, to kids my own age.
After the Rotary meeting, my host family and I went to the birthday of my host fathers goddaughter and godson. Let's just say I now have very high expectations of birthday parties. There was champagne, appitizers for appitizers for appitizers, a divine pork dish, and an ice cream cake that would put every Dairy Queen to shame. It was a family party, so I met all the cousins of Marc's goddaughter (and her sister), whom are around my age. Everyone was so polite and loving. The kids my age asked me all kinds of questions, and I them. They also helped me learn new vocabulary (and laughed along with me as I butchared it).
Friendships is (the beginning of an infinite list):

1. Greeting with a kiss
2. The moment when you look as someone as say "that happened to you too?!"
3. Using sharades in place of words
4. Wanting to be with someone, even if you don't speak the same language
5. Giving an hour of your time to teach someone the word "knife" in French
6. Drawing every animal you can think of and labeling them 
7. Love

Leave me comments of how you can personally describe friendship!

xx,
Skye

The Beginning of the End

Looking at everyones back to school posts are starting to make me upset. I think I will give Facebook and other social media a rest for a while. Although I am terrified to start school, I am more then eager to make friends. I miss friends.
After holiday my host family is not going to speak any English to me. It will be harder at first... but I know it will get better.
The last two days we have gone to a couple outdoor markets. They are comparable to the street fair during the 4th and farmers market mixed together. Although I love shopping... the massive amounts of people make it frustrating. At the market we bought fresh vegetables, ,olives, tampenade, cured ham, and little souvenirs. I am looking forward to going back to Belgium, so I can create a schedule before school starts on Thursday.

As always leave me comments and questions!

xx,
Skye

"Sometimes, you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory"

Hit and Miss

Bonjour amis!!! Today we visited Avignon. The pope lived there about 400 years ago when the churches were split. It was BEAUTIFUL just like everything here. I also recieved my first euros. It was a little dissapointing because for £100 it cost me $136. Perhaps I should have worked harder this summer... :) I also did my first shopping! I loved it!! Except I couldn't ask any question about the clothing because I can't speak quite enough French. Someday shopping will be just as enjoyable as I remember :) . The clothes here are quite a bit fancier.. I like it. Sales tax in Belgium is 21%... and here in France it is 20% -_-. 

Here are things I like better and things I miss.. along with a few goals. 

Hit:

1. The food! It is quite a bit better... I especially like lunches because there is a selection of things you get to choose
2. The streets. It is so beautiful with brick roads and buildings. All the buildings are older and have more character.
3. The history. Wyoming is just a couple hundred years old... and here things are thousands of years old. 
4. The company. I have yet to meet a rude person. My host family (including their extended family) is extremely nice. I do not feel like a guest, but part of the family. They are also very understanding with English... hopefully after our holiday we will transition into all French.
5. Fashion. Everyone dresses very nice here... unfortunatly no yoga pants and uggs so far :P haha. I hope to someday be as vogue as the women here 
6. Having younger siblings. I actually conversed with Florette today!!!! AHH. That is a complete breakthough for me. I feel very accomplished. 

Miss:

1. I of course miss my friends and family. I am still getting to know my host family, so it is interesting. They are very funny too :) I even miss school a little. Perhaps it is just because I am a little afraid of attending school in a different language
2. My room. I miss my room with all the American electrical plugs :) haha and also my bed with all my pillows. I miss my bathroom as well :P 
3. Working... just a little... and only because I miss the cash flow ;) 
4. Crossfit... I am determined to stay in shape! 

Goals:

1. Join 'Scouts'. It's just like boy and Girl Scouts in America... but apperently it is the collest thing ever. And all the cool kids do it. Hopefully I will make some friends :) 
2. Join a tennis club. I don't think my skill level will compare to the kids' here.. but I think doing something I am used to will help me adjust. 
3. Become confident in French. I want to make friends... and I think knowing their language is important

Bonne nuit amis!! 

My Host Dad is the Cleverest

My host parents often speak English to me to help me learn how to say things and also to work on their English. Last night as dinner, my host dad and his brother in law were joking around, and my host dad say "I am the clitoris". I, very shocked, look up and find him repeating 'clitoris' trying to perfect the pronunciation. What he was really trying to tell me is that he was the "cleverest". That will forever remain in my mind. :)

I have finally become adjusted to the time zone. I wake up earlier then usual, but that is okay :). One thing that I have noticed is that meal times are always later.
A typical meal-
Breakfast- Frosties (Frosted Flakes) with milk (their milk is 1000x better and sweeter). A croissant filled with chocolate and a little fresh melon.
Lunch- BREAD. At least two baguettes, with an assortment of meats and cheeses. Their sandwiches are different from in America. They only have one type of meat and one type of cheese on bread, no condiments or vegetables.  Left overs from dinner the night before.
Dinner- Soup (this is how they get their vegetables). Chicken and some vegetables. Their dinner is much smaller than their lunch.
Drinks- My host father drinks beer. My sisters like juice. I drink water (not near as good as Wyoming) or sparkling water (actually quite good), I can never seem to have enough water here (their glasses are about the size of a shot glass). I have noticed that diet coke is quite popular as well. I have not yet found any Mountain Dew :P

Good luck to all my tennis girls finishing up playoffs!! I love you all! Muwah!

Au revoir from France!
Skye xoxo

My first days in Belgium

Day one: So let us start at the beginning. I arrived yesterday at 7am. My wonderful family drove over an hour to pick me up. Customs was a battle because they could not verify my visa, so it took longer, and they finally did. On our way home from the airport we stopped in a little town to buy treats at a bakery. It was like in the movies. The pasteries were beautiful, the bread was gorgeous, ahhh and the smell :). After we got home we ate our pasteries.. delicious! I was then given a tour of the house. It is two stories tall and old, but they are working on restoring it. The yard is huge. My room is at the top of the second stair case. After the tour was over I was given a little time to unpack, then Valerie (my host mother) took me, Florette and Marie (my two adorable host sister) to the market to buy things to put on the bread we bought at the bakery. We bought ham, chorizo, sasuage, pate (liverwurst), ham tenderloin, and an assortment of cheeses. For lunch we had a green soup, that consisted of celery, onion, fennel, and anise, along with the bread, cheeses, and meat. It was delicious. After lunch we went to the city Huy (pronounced like 'oui' with an h). It was GORGEOUS. Everything is brick and old. It is exactly what you see in movies. A river runs right through it... and it's not like the rivers in Wyoming, it is much wider and calm. After our excursion into the city I took a nap before dinner (chicken, cauliflower, and fries)... after dinner I was exausted from the flight and all the adventures.. so sleep came rather easy for me. :)

Day two: I woke up earlier than the family (at 730)... so I went back to sleep. :) At nine oclock Marc woke me up to ask me if we could go to Huy to start a bank account and get set up at school. After that, we went to a specialty store (electronics of all kinds) to buy me an adapter for my American plugs. While at the store I also found a hair dryer and straightener. Upon arriving home Florette and  Marie were curious to see my new items. I straightened Florette's hair right away. For lunch we had the same as yesterday (I even tried the bubbly water... and it's good here!). After lunch I took a walk to view the Village. It is GORGEOUS. I will have pictures soon (does anyone know how to get pictures off a droid and into a specific album (not mobile uploads)??). There are cows and fields of hay and corn everywhere. GAH.  At 530 we left to go to Valerie and Roland (my last host families house) for drinks and snacks, a little meet and greet. Joisy (the other exchange student in Huy (who just arrived today and will soon become my great friend;) ) and Fredric (my inbound coordinator) arrived also. I met Roland and Valerie's daughters, Clara and Lise, and also their former exchange student George (who was a huge help with translating... and the first American person I have spoken with face to face). Their house is beautiful!! We got home from Roland and Valerie's house at 8pm. I
helped cook a late dinner of pasta (it is small enough to be rice), chicken (cooked in butter, salt, and pepper), shredded carrots, and a specialty item of France that is ground up chick peas with cumin (shaped into small ovals and then fried). It was all very delicious.



Observations: People in Belgium are not at all wasteful. They recycle all their trash, take their own bags to the market (plastic bags cost money!), eat every bit of food they serve themselves, and compost any leftovers. Also, everything is smaller here. The roads are tiny (everyone seems to drive fast), the buildings are all pressed up against each other, the cars (even the vans) are very small.

People: I LOVE MY HOST FAMILY. Everyone I have met so far is super (duper) friendly. We kiss on the right cheek whenever we greet someone (even men kiss men). My host family has two adorable little 9 year old twins. They are not identical in personality or looks. Florette is outgoing and loves pink and purple. Marie is more timid and loves the color blue. They are both always busy with something.


Food: There is no way to compare the food to America. The bread is not sweet nor salty, but it is perfect. In America the bread is very sweet. The food is always very fresh, including the meats and cheeses. Most all the cheeses are from Belgium and the meats are also from Belgian animals. My favourite  meat so far is pate and my favorite cheese is provolone (although it does not taste like American provolone). Milk is very sweet. Valerie bought my lactose free milk and it is delicious, unlike America (haha).

Language: Well my French... sucks! I feel super (duper) accomplished when I can make three or four word sentences (that they understand). Valerie and Marc are very understanding and are speaking a lot of French to me. Hopefully after we get home from France it will be all French. I try to communicate with one word at a time. I am constantly asking how to say things in French, although I forget it just a few second later :P.

Farewell

"Goodbyes make you think. They make you realize what you've lost, what you have and what you took for granted"- Unknown

Well I leave tomorrow morning at 6am. It's been a long road to this point, and truthfully, all reality has yet to sink in.

Last week my beautiful friend Abbey and her family threw me a going away party. It was hard to think that the entire summer was over. Some of my friends were embarking on their journey to college, while others were preparing for tennis playoffs. All things I could have been doing this year, but yet I decided to find myself. 

I hope that being outside my comfort zone for a year will make me a more global person. Make me appreciate the little things and learn to love myself more and more.

Au revoir for now!!

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” -Mark Twain