After The Storm

Last week we didn't have school, so Veronica came over on Monday to sleepover. We met in Liege, but she ended up taking the wrong train by accident, so I kinda wondered around Liege for a while in the meantime and did some grocery shopping. I bought what we needed for later because we decided to do a little bit of baking--Chocolate chip cookies and banana bread!

Here are some photos from our sleepover...

Belgian sleepovers--they use cots!

We weren't sure if we put the cot up right..

Veronica's hands after cutting all the chocolate

The chocolate after cutting it...it was more chunks than chips

The cookie dough was pretty tasty

A candid photo of me drying the dishes

Our cookies baking in the oven

For some reason, I forgot to take a photo of the final outcome. Although they didn't taste exactly the same as in the US and didn't look that great, they were actually quite good. I think with our resources, we did great :) We also made banana bread which came out perfectly despite the fact that I've never made it in my life. Wooh!

Place St. Lambert in Liege as we waited for the bus

Hey, it's us!

Lol, creeping on Belgian skateboarders..they attempted to be so punk

The best times I've had here so far in Belgium have all been with exchange students. All exchange students share something in common automatically before they even talk. We all are crazy enough to leave our families and friends behind for an extended period of time--most of us for a year--to live in a foreign country. We have to make all new friends, build a relationship with our host family, change our normal habits, and live a completely different life.

To be honest, sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision by coming here and defering college for a year. My friends back home already have their new college friends and lives, but here, it's hard to make friends. Everyone has a "group" and they've all been in the same class for a few years. It's also mostly frustating because I never really know what to say because of my French speaking abilities and just because I don't know people really well.

Let's just say, this last Monday was not at all my day. It was probably the hardest day I've had here so far. I honestly think that I'm depressed because I don't go out much, and I don't have close friends. Back in the US, I was always so busy with school and activities after school that I never had enough time to do what I needed to do, and stress was just a normal part of life for me. Here, it's the opposite. I never have anything to do. Long story short, I started crying at the dinner table because all of the feelings that have just been boiling inside of me. I'm doing a bit better now, but it's still not awesome.

I don't want to be a complete downer about this whole experience, and I'm really trying to stay optimistic. They always say that the first few months are really hard--and they aren't lying. I don't want to hide the moments that aren't as great because that would paint a false picture that my exchange is all fun and happy. That's not at all the case. As much as I'd love to say this has been the time of my life, I can't say that yet. But, it's only been about 2 and a half months...I still have 8 left. Everyone keeps telling me that it will get better, and I sure hope that they are right.

The thing is that now I really appreciate my friends back home so much more. There are all the little inside jokes and the things that are too hard to put into words that make us really close. Shout out to you guys! Love you all! Thanks for being there for me because I know that you really care.

I chose "After The Storm" by Mumford and Sons for a few reasons.

1. Mumford and Sons is probably my favorite band of all time.
2. I find that Mumford's songs fit for any mood I'm feeling. I can be angry, sad, reflective, ecstatic, and somehow, I find that I can still listen to all their songs and relate to them.
3. This song in particular basically says that times may be really hard now, but don't worry because soon enough there will be "no more tears"

Please indulge in some Mumford and Sons. Take it all in.

To all of you out there reading my blog, thank you so much! I'm sorry for my lack of posting, but I'm gonna try to do it a bit more regularly--more toward once a week if I can.

Bisouxx,
Catherine

Girls and Boys In School

I've officially had my first week of school, so I'll just give an update of how's it's going and also how my Belgian school is different than American school.

Monday I had to go to school at 10am to get my schedule made, and I discovered that there are actually 6 other exchange students from Rotary at my school. We all had to go in one by one to choose our schedules, which took a while. We actually didn't get them until like 2:30pm, so I only went to one class on my first day (which happened to be a spanish class).

For choosing a schedule, you basically choose a track that you want to do. For example, people can choose a language track where they have 3 or 4 foreign languages they take and less math, science, and history, etc. Other tracks are the opposite with lots of math and science and less languages. I chose the social science track because it is rather generic, and I think social science is supposed to be kind of like psychology? I have 4 hours of social science, 5 hours of french, 4 hours of English, 2 hours of history, 4 hours of math, 3 hours of science (biology, physics, and chemistry), 2 hours morale, 3 hours of gym, 2 hours of computer class, and 1 hour geography per week. Instead of having the same classes every day like I did in the US, here I have different classes every day, and the classes are in different rooms each day too. For example, I could have English in room C204 on Monday, and then on Wednesday have English in room A101. (just a random example). I don't think I'll ever be able to memorize my schedule though because of all the room numbers and we have about 8 classes per day except Wednesday. In Belgium, school ends around noon or one for everyone--which is absolutely wonderful! It breaks up the week nicely, and then you can go to the city and hang out with friends in the afternoon.

Actually, it's really nice for me because I also have a half day on Mondays too because all afternoon the other kids in my class have spanish. The spanish class is way too advanced for me (because I know ZERO spanish) so I essentially have a study hall or on Mondays, I get to go home :) It's really nice though because during "etude" (study hall) you can really do whatever you want, and there is no teacher who monitors what the students are doing. A Rotary exchange student at my school--her name is Lammiya--and I conveniently have a lot of the breaks together, so we usually talk or do whatever. She's really cool, and from India (!!) and it's comforting to have another exchange student to talk to.

Socially at school, I haven't really made friends yet, but I've only had four days so far so I'm trying not to worry. A lot of the people in my class introduced themselves to me on my first day during a break we had because our chemistry teacher didn't show up. It's actually so nice because if teachers are sick, they don't have substitutes--there just isn't class! It's difficult to really start making friends because everyone has been in the same class together for quite a few years. They already have their own cliques and groups, and I feel a bit like an outsider at the moment. Even if I try to talk to people, it's too hard for me to really follow what people are saying when they are in a group. Though, there are a few girls in my class who I think I'll ask to eat lunch with on Monday because I really want to start becoming a part of a group and making friends other than the other exchange students. It's particularly difficult because I don't want people to view me as a burden by having to explain stuff to me, or what not, but oh well. Unlike a lot of the exchange students who have previously gone to my school here, I know some french which the other students were surprised by. They actually always tell me how good I am at french, but I know they are just being nice, haha. Overall though, school is school. It's not more fun here at school or anything, but I definitely have to try very hard just to get the gist of what the teacher is saying. Alas, I am always pretty tired when I get home.

I had chorale practice again on Friday, and I really enjoy it. The director is so expressive, and we sing pretty modern English songs, so it's not too hard for me, haha. Everyone in the chorale has been so nice to me, and they were all saying that I was "amazing", lol. We are singing at a wedding next Saturday, and it is absolutely adorable because the groom is singing one of the verses of the songs we are singing. We are going to sing "Hallelujah" and "Feeling Good", and he sings one of the verses of "Feeling Good" by himself, and it's so romantic, I must say. I got to sight read a lot of the music that the chorale sang last year too, which was pretty cool. I went to my first orchestra practice afterward, which was a bit interesting..There are probably 15-20 people in the whole band, which is quite unusual for me, because the marching band at my school is over 150 people. We'll see though...I'm gonna give it a chance.

On weekends, my host parents usually go to visit their relatives in a town about 45 minutes away. Veronica---an AFSer also from the US---lives really close to their relatives, so I actually went to hang out at her house for a bit on Saturday. Making friends with other exchange students comes so easily because they all share similar experiences that people back home do not quite understand. She is the one person here so far I have been able to really share my feelings with and be totally myself around.  Everytime we get a chance to hang out, it is just awesome, and makes my day so much better :)

Today, we didn't have much planned, so I was kind of relaxing and on my computer, and then I heard a loud noise. I thought that my host mom had just accidently dropped something, but then like 5 seconds later, she yelled my name, and I ran down the stairs to see what happened. She had apparently tripped while going down the stairs and hurt her ankle really badly. My host dad was outside, so I went out and grabbed him, and they got ready to go to the hospital. I stayed back with my little host brother (who was taking a nap at the time ), and my host mom called her sister to come over and just stay with us and what not. Fortunately, my host mom's ankle is not broken, but I think it is just a really bad sprain, and she is actually staying overnight at the hospital tonight. She will have crutches and a cast though, so I'm not really sure what's gonna happen though. Today was really crazy due to that, and I hope that my host mom can heal quickly from the fall.

I feel like my blog titles and songs are so cliche, but oh well. Here's some Neon Trees..

 

"You're gonna miss me when I'm gone"

Today, is my official goodbye "party" before I go to Belgium.  I initially didn't want to make a big deal and have a party but my mom really wanted to make Belgian waffles, haha. So alas, I agreed (although Belgian waffles can't hurt, right?), and decided it would be a casual "get together" to say goodbye to all of my friends, not just to me.  Somehow a small group of friends grew into 15 people, but I wanted to make sure that I could say goodbye to the people who mean the most to me.

Almost all of my friends leave for college this week, and then next Wednesday is the big day! I leave the airport Wednesday morning and fly to New York. My dad adamantly wanted to drive to New York, but I convinced him that it would be much cheaper for me to fly solo. I found a ticket that was only $115, and then he came over to the dark side, mwahahaha! The flight to New York is only an hour or so, compared to driving which would be an eight hour fun filled car ride.

Most of the American exchange students who are going to Europe are flying out from New York (I think), and we are told to arrive at the airport between 12 and 4pm.  After that there is an overnight orientation at a nearby hotel, and then the next night everyone's international flights will leave. After arriving in Brussels, there will be a two day orientation with all the AFSers from all over the world who will be leaving in french-speaking Belgium. After that our host parents come to pick us up, and that starts the beginning of this awesome journey that lies ahead.

I try to be very realistic with my expectations for Belgium.  I like to think of myself as a realist rather than a pessimist, but basically, I have mentally prepared for the first few months of my exchange to be very challenging. I managed to get through AP French, but I am definitely no where close to being a fluent french speaker. The language itself is enough of a challenge, but mix in a new culture, new people, and a new life, and I can definitely say I'm in for a ride! I am so ready for a change in my life, and I'm so excited for the newness of it all as well. Keeping an open mind about everything is going to be a priority of mine over this next year

I am including so many specific details for those of you future exchangers out there :) I know what it is like to scour every blog on the internet to try to find out as much as possible about what exchange is like. I hope that people who are reading my blog can at least learn a little about Belgium and what being an exchange student is like.

Just because this song has been on the radio so much lately--and because I find it to be relevant to my situation--I'd like to post the song "Cups" by Anna Kendrick. And even though I'm usually not into "mainstream" music, I like her voice a lot.

Au revoir,

Catherine

"On Top of the World": Imagine Dragons Concert

Wow...the fact that it is already August is really taking me by surprise. My flight to Belgium leaves exactly 3 weeks from today! The interesting thing is that all my friends are actually leaving for college before I leave for Belgium.  But I'm sure than my last few days will be filled with me frantically packing and saying my goodbyes to my other friends.

I perform my last four shows of the musical I'm in this weekend, and then BAM! I'm getting my wisdom teeth out on August 5th.  Mine are pretty much as bad as it gets..impacted and in the bone...I won't go into too much detail, but it ain't gonna be pretty. Alas, after I recover from that fun filled procedure, I'll have to start packing......

I have no clue where to start...I did put a few of the winter clothes I want to bring in a pile, but that's the extent to what I've done.  The suitcase has to be under 44 pounds, which is not that much considering that 10 pounds of that is the suitcase. We shall see...Slow and steady wins the race, right?

I went to the Imagine Dragons concert on Tuesday and IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I absolutely love Imagine Dragons, and seeing them live was spectacular! I'll post pictures and a few videos below.Since I went to the Imagine Dragons concert on Tuesday, I think it'd be rather appropriate to title this post with one of their songs.

A bientôt (Until next time),

Catherine

Fly Me to the Moon

Yesterday,  I received information about AFS about my Gateway Orientation in New York.  It is on August 21st, beginning at 4pm, so I have to be in New York by then.  My parents originally wanted to drive from Cleveland to New York to save money and so that they could spend lots of "quality time" in the car with me before I left. Personally, I would prefer an hour long flight without the parents, and tried convincing them that it'd be cheaper. After all, they'd probably go shopping in New York and have to stay a a hotel. But most of the flights I found were around $430 just for a one-way ticket, which wasn't really that justifiable.  Alas, I ended up looking on travelocity, and by leaving from the Akron airport (which is only like 45 minutes away), I got a direct flight to New York for only $115!  My parents couldn't argue with that awesome price, so we booked the ticket today. :)

I never offically received information regarding the flight to Belgium, but I believe that the flight is on the 22nd, and then the arrival orientation in Belgium should be on the 23rd and 24th.  So this means that I 54 days until I leave for Belgium! YAY! I have been waiting for the day to come for soooo long.  I had been to go abroad with AFS since I was a sophomore in high school, but with the logistics of it all, I realized that the best option would be to do a gap year.  In less than two months, I'll be in Belgium!!!

A bientot
Catherine

One of my favorite jazz songs...give it a listen!