The First Post from Belgium

My first post from Belgium!!
I am sorry that my writing is not at its best, but I don't want to spend all of my time on the computer, and I have opted for a longer post with more details rather than high quality writing.  Enjoy!
 

Friday morning I said goodbye to my family and for the first time, boarded a plane alone.  The flight to Philadelphia went well, aside from the stewardess giving me dirty looks when my carry-on didn’t fit under the seat.  In Philly, I easily met the other exchange students, and one random girl who didn’t want to sit alone and had “never seen anyone so excited to go to Belgium!”  The flight to Brussels was long, but I slept through most of it.   Going through customs in Brussels took a while, but that was only because the little group of exchange students I was with couldn’t figure out which line to wait in, and this spent some time waiting in all of them, before finally going to the back of the correct line.  Thanks to the Magic Blazer, we got through customs in about half the time it took everyone else, all they did was look at my passport and confirm that I was an exchange student, then let me through.  In the airport, all of the host families were held back by a barrier, waving banners and whatnot, but my host-family had the biggest banner there!

 

Clemence, me, and Gladys with the welcome flag.

 After getting acquainted with my host family, we went to the Rotary orientation that was being held in another town that day, where I met the other exchange students in my district and tried to fight jet-lag through the agonizing four hour lecture on the Rotary rules and different Rotarians all saying in different words that we must study and use French, then saying it all again in Spanish.    After the orientation, my host family brought me to their home in Bievre, and in the car I succumbed to the jet lag and passed out.  That evening, we ate bread with salami and cheese, and I went on a short walk in the back fields of Bievre with my host-mom, Sylvie and the dog, Lewis. 

Me presenting the flag to the rotary.

On Sunday, Sylvie, Lewis, and I went on a 9 kilometer walk with the rotary, where I talked for a while to a very nice woman whose daughter is in Australia.  After the walk, we joined the rest of the family and went to the Rotary-sponsored lunch, where I presented the Rotary with my flag.  After lunch, Luana (the other exchange student sponsored by the same club), Clemence (my host sister), and I were just waiting around while the Rotarians chatted.   I decided that just sitting was not in the spirit of Rotary exchange, and after failing to convince Luana to join me, ventured out alone to meet and talk to people.  I remembered that a rebound once advised me that if I was ever lost or in need of help, find a pack of old ladies, they tend to act grandmotherly and nurturing around everyone, and so I sought out the nearest group of grandmotherly looking ladies and asked to sit with them.  They gave me confused looks, but after I introduced myself and started chatting, they seemed to warm up to me, but couldn’t really understand my accent.  I wandered back to my seat and asked my host-father to introduce me to people, which he did.  After that, I got a French lesson on the back of envelopes and napkins from Luana’s host-mom, with my host-mom chiming in every once in a while. 

I don’t know if the Rotary gives all of the host families magic pills or something, but my host family and all of the other host families I have met are just fantastic.  By now, I am able to communicate fairly easily with my host family, and when I don’t know a word, they explain it to me in French.  While almost all of the family know a little bit of English, they wait for me to puzzle out what I want to say in French, and then correct any bad grammar.  My host father and brother work during the day, but they come home for about forty-five minutes to eat lunch, which is the biggest meal of the day here.  We all eat lunch, which yesterday was a typical dish for the region made of boiled cabbage, potatoes, and eggs, and was delicious.  Whenever my host mom goes on an errand or walks the dog, she invites me to come with her, and I always say yes.

One evening, Sylvie, my host-mom, Lewis, and I, all drove to this beautiful little town called Bellefontaine.  Sylvie explained that the town is very representative of the region, and we walked down a little path to a beautiful stone house with a man outside, working on a stone sculpture of a horse.  Sylvie introduced me to him, and after about a minute of me trying to speak broken French, he informed me that he spoke English, and we talked about the differences between carving stone and wood. 

We then walked to a water fountain that all of the people in the village use for drinking water.  As we headed back, I saw a couple walking up with tons of empty water bottles and it hit me that in the US, such a fountain would be very commercialized, and people would probably have to pay for the water they take, but in Bellefontaine, they just go, they take what they need, and that’s that.  It’s a simple, natural process, and I am really glad that I had the privilege to see it. 

Sylvie and I also visited the site of a battle (the name of the battle and the war I unfortunately didn’t understand) where the soldiers ran over a cliff and died.   The sight has a now ancient plaque to explain it and benches lined up for a church that occasionally goes there for Sunday worship. 

In general, I am having a great time here.  Occasionally, it is really stressful and difficult, mostly because it is difficult to communicate, but I haven’t had any real problems yet.  I now have a cell phone, but I can only use it in Europe and yesterday I got my bus card.  Tomorrow I am going to Brussels with all of the exchange students on a tour of the capital.  It will be my first time in Brussels (aside from driving through a little bit of Brussels on the way back from the airport) and my first time on the train!

Unfortunately, some of the photo's don't want to cooperate with me, so hopefully I can add them in later.

I hope everyone is doing well! 

-Rachel