Shelby's Year in Belgium: December 2015

So I fail at blogging regularly but that’s okay. It means I have been super busy (which I have been!). My host mom took me to Bastogne in the south of Belgium to see some of the US history there. We ended up doing a lot shopping and eating crepes which was fun. I did see a US Sherman tank which was pretty cool. It was really cold so we spent most of our time shopping or checking out the local goodies in the bakeries.
School that week consisted cleaning up from the Gala and quizzes to get some grades before the exams. I remember wrapping stacks of plates together for my cooking and service classes haha. It was a pretty laid back week at school.
My birthday was the 27^th of November, the day right after Thanksgiving so for my birthday, my host family and I had thanksgiving dinner together. Dinner included a pumpkin pie made by yours truly. My friend Gabby from California spent the night and had dinner with us. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday
The next day, Gabby and I went to Antwerp with a couple other exchange students. It was the first time I got to go somewhere after Paris. My grandpa was stationed in Belgium during the war so I had some old pictures I wanted to recreate and my friends helped me with that. We walked around the city and visited plenty of stores. I bought my first bath bomb from Lush in Antwerp! We had so much fun together. Gabby, Will (my friend from Brazil) and I even got to meet Saint Nicholas! It was a great after birthday celebration with a few of my exchange friends.
The next week at school was preparation for the exams. For Salle, we made all sorts of cocktails together which was really cool. In the cooking class we had to clean crawdads and I was so scared of them because they were alive. I had jumped when one came crawling towards me and the floor was wet so I slipped and fell which was slightly embarrassing but very funny now that I look back on it. Exams started at the end of the week. I had science and math which I feel pretty good about.
After my science exam, I went to Brussels to celebrate my friend Maeve’s birthday with her. Brussels was all decorated for Christmas so it was really beautiful. We ate at a Tex-Mex restaurant and went ice skating and got waffles. We also had a mini photo shoot in front of the Christmas tree! That was a lot of fun. Gabby came a little later so we got hot chocolate together and walked around the Grand Place.
That weekend I spent with Leon and Sao in Brussels. Friday night, I ate dinner with Leon’s family and met some of his brother-in-law’s family from South Africa. They didn’t know a lot of French so we spoke English together. It was really funny because they had such different accents so we joked about that. Saturday I went to Namur with Rachel, Gabby, Anastasia, Maeve and Ilham. We did A LOT of shopping and found the cutest little café with really yummy crepes, delicious waffles and chocolaty hot chocolate. It was such a fun day with them. Sunday I went to the Thai market with Sao and Leon. I tried a lot of Thai food and liked them all.
The following week at school was more exams. I studied a little but didn’t stress about them because I am here to learn French, not the things the exams were on. One nice thing about exams week is the time we finish. We finish earlier so we can go home and study. Monday night, my rotary club had a Christmas fundraiser so the exchange students came to help. It was great to see everyone! On Tuesday, I met my friends in Gent and we saw the Christmas Market there. That’s one thing I really like about Christmas in Europe. Every city has a little Christmas market where local vendors are selling things for Christmas. Also every town is decorated in its own way which is also really beautiful. In gent, we did a little shopping, explored the Christmas market and drank hot cocoa. I found probably my favorite white hot chocolate at a hidden chocolate store there. It was simply amazing.
Friday evening I celebrated Hanukkah with my host mom’s family. We had plenty of yummy food and we gave each other presents too! I even got to lit a candle! It was so fun to see all the little kids run around and play with their toys. I got some jewelry, a scarf, bath/shower stuff and a Belgian cookbook! I am so lucky to be a part of their family, even though it is only a few months. The next day, we found a Christmas tree and decorated it together. It was really fun and now the house is all decorated for Christmas!
I have 2 more exams this week before I have winter break. For winter break I am going to go visit my old host family in Lyon with Rachel. I am really excited to see them again and be back in Lyon! It should be a very fun start to my winter break! I will also be changing host families soon so I am going to be spending as much time as I can with my current host family before I have to change.

Until Next Time!

Shelby