Sisterly Bonding in Strasbourg

Saturday and Sunday, December 10th-11th, 2011

Sorry to all of you who are regularly following my blog... I have just been very busy lately, and haven't exactly had the time for a proper blog update. I am really getting to the point in my exchange where I stop looking at everything as new and different, and start looking at it as just being a regular part of my life. I'm in my new host family now, and I am just really coming to love my life here. A year ago, when I was sitting in boring all day presentations about homesickness and such, Rotary had a slide with all of these emotional parts of exchange you will go through. And I remember thinking to myself, "That will never happen for me!", but now I look back on the time I have spent here, and at the current part of my exchange, and I realize how right they were. There's the honeymoon period, were everything is just new and lovely, and then the period were everything just goes over your head and you are lost and a bit confused, but it's still ok. And then the part where you hate the country and yourself for ever wanting to leave you home, family, and friends behind, and then the bliss period where I am now. Where your new country is your home, where you are mostly comfortable with the language, and where you just want to live every moment to the fullest. I never thought my homesickness would go away, but for the most part it has. Not that I don't miss my family and friends, but as of right now I don't exactly want to go home either.

So anyhow, back to this weekend. Pascale and Eddy were nice enough to offer sometime ago to take me to visit Erin in Strasbourg for a weekend. I asked Erin when a good time would be, and they agreed to drive me to her apartment, and then pick me up at the end. They said they had always wanted to discover the area for themselves, so it was perfect. We left for Strasbourg early in the morning, and got there around 12. I swear, the De Decker family is almost worse than my own family at taking a really long time during car trips! There are always several stops for food, gas, and to use the bathroom. Most of the time, I don't mind. Getting out and stretching my legs is always nice. But on Saturday, I was just super anxious to get there and see my sister after being apart from my family for 4 months. Really, we couldn't get there soon enough.

Once we got there, I said a quick goodbye and then went into Erin's apartment. She wan't home at the time, but one of her roommates buzzed me in. But once I actually got inside, I realized I had no idea what floor she was on. So I kinda just stood there awkwardly for like 10 minutes, waiting for Erin to reply to my text about where her room was, when her roommate Rachel came out of the room and was like "Morgan, are you ok?" And so eventually I got there... I was also stupid enough to not see the elevator, and I walked up 5 flights of stairs with my suitcase and large backpack (in my defense, it was hidden behind a normal looking door that could have easily been a room...). Erin got there about 10 minutes after that, because the metro from the house she was tutoring at took longer than normal. I got settled in, and then Erin and I went out so she could show me the city of Strasbourg.

We first walked to the big cathedral in the middle of the city (about a 5-10minute walk, not bad at all...) and it was very pretty. We went inside and saw the nativity scene that they had set up for Christmas. But the thing about Strasbourg is that it is VERY well known for it's Christmas markets. Like, Erin said that the population of Strasbourg literally doubles during the holiday weekends. So the church was pretty crowded, as were the markets by it, so we decided to come back maybe a bit later and see if the crowds had lessened (neither Erin or I are very good at crowds...). I was just so happy to be with my sister, and to be in Strasbourg, that I honestly didn't mind what we did. Because I knew that it would all be fun. To avoid the crowds, Erin decided to take me to see Le Petit France. It was a ways away from the craziness of the markets, and a cool thing to look at because it's the area in Strasbourg that has really cool, old buildings that are supposed to be really pretty. I wouldn't necessarily know, because right about the time we got in the general area, we got hungry and started looking for a restuarant with tarte flambee for lunch. Our quest for food basically lead us right out and around Le Petit France... Good thing I am going back in a couple of weeks!

Strasbourg Cathedral... Truly beautiful!

Always amazed by the elaborate decorations...

Nativity Scene!

It was so big I had to cut it into 2 pictures...

Wandering around Strasbourg!

The beauty is everywhere.

Erin made me do it :)

But due to the Christmas markets, practically every restuarant was filled to the brim and we decided that it might just be easier to go to the supermarket and buy food there. We ended up getting a tarte flambee (which is basically like a pizza with really thin crust, but a million times better), some delicious cheese, and an AMAZINGGGGG loaf of bread for the price it probably would have cost us just to split a mdeium-sized tarte flambee. So we had a very Alsatian lunch (Alsace is the region of France that Strasbourg is in...), for cheap, and Erin said it tasted better than most tartes she has had at restuarants.

A tarte flambee... One of the most delicious things you shall ever eat.

After lunch, we went back to the supermarket with her roommates Rachel and Danielle to get some last minute supplies for the Christmas party they were throwing that night. After we got the food, Erin and I split off and went looking for a dress for me to wear to the party that night (even though she had told me the party wasn't formal, everyone was planning on wearing dresses and I didn't have one... :( ). We started in H&M (the best shop in Europe), and the proceeded to walk all around the mall searching for a dress that was cute and not too expensive. Then, in a desperate last chance in a search for a dress, we returned to H&M and found a really cute black dress, and I bought green tights to go with it to be festive. I really wish we would have seen the dress in the first place, because then we wouldn't have wasted almost 2 hours walking around the mall... -___-

We got back to her apartment, finished decorating the small tree that they had bought (which turned out to be the only real tree I got for Christmas this year...), and then all of her friends arrived. The were all really nice, and thankfully all spoke English (I didn't really know if their friends would be French or what) and a good time was had by all. A lot of people asked me why I was here and if I liked Belgium and just stuff like that. I made a place for myself next to the food table, because most people brought along a Christmas dish with them, and since I had no idea what Christmas would hold for me in Belgium, I decided to take advantage of the traditional Christmas foods as much as I could. Around 10, Erin and I went into her room and Skyped Maddie because that Saturday was her 15th birthday. Happy Late Birthday on my blog Maddie! :) We skyped for about 40 minutes, and it was really weird to be Skyping back home with Erin sitting right next to me, rather than her being in another screen on my computer. It was just so nice to be in the presence of real family. I had really missed that.

The only Christmas tree I got this year...

Me, Erin, and her roommate Rachel at their party!

the next morning we all woke up late, and got our mouths set on going to this New York stlye bagel shop that had just opened up. We looked on the website and everything for the hours and the menu, as to not get our hopes up. After reading the menu, my mouth was literally watering. But once we actually got to the store, it was closed (stupid internet that lies about the hours of the store...), so we went across the road and got McDonald's for breakfast/lunch (it was like 12 at this point). So we had McDonald's like complete Americans, even dressed in our sweats and pajamas and talking completely in English. After our meal, we went back to the apartment and watched Love Actually. It was nice to sit down and just watch a chick flick with my sister and her friends. It kinda felt like I was back home, and I really needed a weekend where I wasn't facing all completely new things all the time. It was like a break from my life as an exchanger.

After the movie, we went back out to the Christmas markets and beared the crowd, which was still just as big on a Sunday afternoon. And I thought we might have the chance to avoid them... :( They were really cool, and had some nice products. I can definitely tell why they are famous as far as the Christmas Markets go. But really, I almost preferred the ones in Aachen just because it was less crowded and I could actually take my time looking at things rather than be pushed along by the crowds. But then again, I bet Strasbourg would have been really nice if I could have gone there on a Wednesday like I did in Aachen. But they were still Christmas Markets, which just really give me this feeling like the whole world is a magical place. I don't know, I think it is just the holidays and the celebrations and the love surrounding it all that I love so much.

Cute Decorations!

And the same by night...

Erin and I in front of teh Strasbourg Christmas Tree!

By the time we got back from the markets, I packed up my bags and Eddy and Pascale had arrived to pick me up. That weekend with my sister, it was one of the best I had had in Europe so far. It was so great getting to see famliy, and also seeing how Erin lives from day to day. I couldn't have asked for a cooler thing to do on a little weekend getaway. Sorry that the post is so long, but we did a lot and I never feel right leaving things out.

So it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas....

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

So this day was another rotary activity, a visit to the Aachen Christmas markets!!!! I mean, a day trip to Germany. Amazing. I was stoked to go there, I heard that Christmas Markets are just adorable, and there are some pretty cool things to buy. So in anticipaticion, I took out quite a bit of money from my bank account... :)

School was boring that day, as usual, considering htat I have 4 hours of French in a row, and that's it. Then Tedde and I went into town, waited for Katie to get there, and then left on the train. We got there like an hour early, but we didn't exactly have anything better to do. Someone arrived about 15 minutes in who lived in Welkenraedt (where we were meeting up to take the bus to the markets...), and she gave us directions to a bank because Katie needed to get money out. And get a lunch. By the time we came back, basically everyone had arrived. We had to wait a bit longer for the bus, taking up the entire interior of the train station (which wasn't all that big to begin with....), and then an entire bus when we got shuttled to Aachen. Rotary was so cute, giving us all Santa hats to wear while we were there. And that's when it hit me, that it was December, and that Christmas was soon! On the bus I sat by the Aussies and talked to a new girl, Jillian. She was one of the 2 people in our district that was in the German speaking region. Which happened to be right next to Aachen, so she knew the city really well and had even already been to the Christmas markets.

When we first got there, we got dropped off a ways away from the Christmas markets, so we walked through the city a bit and got to see the sights. And then we went into this government building type thing, where they talked about the history of Aachen and stuff like that. I honestly don't remember what was said, I was too excited to get to the markets and start looking at everything! But it was a really cool building, and we had the chance to explore it if we wanted to. I wish we would have had the time! It was really a choice between that or seeing all of the markets, and well, I can go back at anytime and be a tourist. It's only like a 30 minute train ride from me!

Pretty building!!!

On the walk there... Love the holidays!

I was so excited once the talking stopped and we were released to go do as we pleased. Jillian and I were literally the first people out of the building. and to just see the little wooden house-like markets, decorated with garland and lights, it was like a mini heaven. Each little market had something different to offer! There was some really cool stuff. I had to limit myself on how much I would spend... I did get all of my Christmas shopping done though, for both my host parents and my family, and I got other cool gifts to give people once I get back home. After going to those Christmas markets, I swore that I would go to as many as I possibly could over the break. Seriously, they are just so cute and get you so much into the Christmas spirit. Looking back on the holidays, being at the Christmas markets was probably the only time that I even felt like it was actually Christmas. Really, without my family and our holiday traditions, it isn't truly Christmas.

But, yes, the Christmas Markets were awesome and I had a really fun time racing through the markets with Jillian, trying to get through all of them before we had to meet back up with Rotary. If anyone is thinking about coming to Europe within the next year, either A) Come now and visit me!!!! or B) Come during Christmas time and hit up the Christmas Markets in Germany and France. I heard that's where the are the best (the ones I saw in Belgium were lame in comparison....)

Giant Gingerbread Man!

The Markets <3

Their name in German...

Corey, Me, Jillian. Yay for Canadians! And we would go to Germany on the one day it rains... Oh well, at least I am used to it.

Becky and I! It was very cold...

I have recently realized how lucky I am to be in District 1630 in Belgium. The other districts, they never have any Rotary events and don't get to see each other unless they plan it out. Us, we have something literally about once a month, and you get to know and become really close to practically everyone. And you do this while traveling around and seeing cool things in Belgium and the surronding countries! All of the Rotary leaders are really nice too, and they really just want the best for our exchange. And, on top of it, I get the chance to learn a truly beautiful language: French. Even though Belgium wasn't my first choice, I can't imagine myself being anywhere else.

Norriture Mexicaine

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

"Mexican food is like a drug, you can only go so long without absolutely CRAVING it."

Above is literally what I wrote in my journal after making Mexican food for Pascale and her friend on this day. I was supposed to make it on Sunday for both Eddy and Pascale, but then Eddy got an emergency call to go into work and Pascale decided that it would be better if we waited for Tuesday, when her friend Evalyn was coming over for dinner and to recieve directions on how to take care of the dogs for the night while we were in Strasbourg.

I was excited to be making tacos, because I Mexican food and peanut butter are probably the two things that I miss the most out of all of the food in the U.S. It literally took me about 90 minutes to cut up everything (lettuce, avocados, tomatoes, onions, cheese, etc..), cook the beans and meat, and heat up the taco shells. Let's just say I am a VERY slow cutter, and I was taking my time because I started early and didn't have anything better to do... For the appetizer, I made the traditional Lancaster nachos with tortilla chips, cheese melted on top, and salsa and sour cream on the side. Both Evalyn and Pascale were just raving about it. They had had tortilla chips and salsa before, but never baked in the oven with cheese on top. they just thought it was a brilliant idea, and commented how they could probably both just eat a plate of chips for dinner (which I then pointed out that I do it all the time for lunch in the summer...).

The main course was just as delicious. Even though I ended up cutting up way to much veggies and cooking way too much beef and chicken, it was ok because I miss having leftovers. And Pascale liked it so much, there were leftovers that actually didn't get fed to the dogs the very next day! Successful dinner, I think so. And it was soooo nice having real Mexican food, and Taco Bell refried beans! Dang... Now it is making me crave them now!!

St. Nicholas

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Here in Belgium Christmas is a bit different than in the U.S. It's not like at home, where the lights go up on the 1st and you drive around neighborhoods just to see the crazy houses that have every inch covered in fluorescent lights and a giant blow-up Santa Claus. In fact, over the entrie Christmas season, I probably saw a total of 5 houses that even had lights on them like at home.

But one unique thing that Belgium, and I think France as well, has is St. Nicholas (pronounced Nik-o-la). It's on every December 6th. It's mostly just for the little kids... St. Nicholas comes at night, putting candies in their shoes and laying little gifts on the table. He also has a little sidekick, who is dressed in black and has black skin, that is generally the comedian. Most of the other exchange students had this, and some people got some pretty legit "little" gifts. One friend got a 70 euro ICE watch (popular colored watches here...), another got a Go Pass, which you use for the train. 50 euros, and you get 10 voyages out of it. Quite convenient, because then the tickets are only 5 euro to get all the way across the country, when sometimes they run as high as like 10-15 euro one way! Unfortunately, St. Nicholas didn't come to my house. But it's really only supposed ot be for the little kids, so that's ok.

The reason that I am writing about this on the 5th is that as I was at my Rotary meeting today, "St. Nicholas" came into the restuarant and handed out candy to everyone. All of the Rotarians were really sweet, and kept giving Eliza, Riley (she's not in my club, but just came for a visit this day), and I all of the candy on the table to eat or take with us. At this point, I had seen several different St. Nicholas around, but the costume that the Rotarians used was definitely the best one I had seen yet.

Just an idea of what they look like.. Stole this pic off the Internet!

Also at this rotary meeting we had salmon, which is definitely my favorite type of fish. Since coming here, I had not tasted one piece of salmon that I liked, or had any flavor really. I guess I was just spoiled with fresh Alaskan fish. But then, we got to the main dish, and it was some of the BEST salmon I had every tasted. Well, I don't know about ever, but definitely the best in Belgium. Finally, it was seasoned and cooked properly. That is something that I am finding really hard in Belgium food-wise, there never really seems to be enough seasoning and I always half drown my meat in sauce to give it more of a flavor. Oh, and Belgians think that mild salsa is spicy... Not that I am the biggest spicy fan in the world, but I miss things having a bit of a kick every now and then! Just a warning, Dad, when you come out and visit you might want to bring your own bottle of Tabasco to carry around with you everywhere to add flavor to the food! ;)

Woohoo, one down, a million more updates to go...

Basket-ball Belge

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011

~Started this one forever ago, but then never felt like updating it... worst blog keeper ever. Sorry guys!

Well, at least I am not a month behind anymore... And at least lately I have been keeping a journal, so I can remember what happened on each day. Which is also the reason this post has been so delayed, because I accidentally left my journal at my French classes and my friend picked it up for me, but then because of the lovely strikes and it being Christmas break, I was just able to get it back. So at least I have a bit of an excuse for the reason this post is so delayed... I simply couldn't remember the order in which things happened.

It seems like the only days that I write about are weekends. Well, that's because school is just plain boring! Even though I still have yet to completely memorize my crazy schedule, I have kind of just fallen into the routine of the way things are here. School every day, French classes on Mondays and Thursdays, Skyping with my parents on most Sundays, trying to plan as much travelling around and visiting of new and exciting places as possible, all while still trying to be with my host family on the weekends (it's the only time I get to see my host dad...). Oh, and let's not forget constantly finding myself exhausted right up until the point where I go to bed. With constantly trying to communicate in a different language, exhaustion is normal, but when I finally go to bed, it's like the one time my brain has to think in all English and it just won't stop! It's a crazy life, one that I could have never imagined myself living a year ago while going through this whole application and selection process. Even though it was something I desperately wanted to do, I didn't ever really seem to give it thought, never wondered how life would actually be. Maybe I was more like my mum in that sense, just going through the motions but thinking that in the end, it wouldn't actually be me, getting onto a plane to go to a foreign country with no one by my side for an entire year, that in the end I would not go. But in the end, I did. And I am so glad that it happened.

Life in Belgium is like the craziest rollercoaster you could imagine, times like 100. I love it, I hate it, and then once again I can't get enough of it. I am used to it, and yet everything still seems new. Honestly, I think every single exchange student out there could officially be diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. You hear everyone tell you before you leave that your exchange year will be the hardest, craziest, and yet one of the best decisions in your entire life. And after almost 5 months here, I am just now starting to understand them.

Okay, just found myself COMPLETELY sidetracked from the basketball game. A couple weeks before, Pascale had told me not to make any plans for the 3rd because she had tickets to go and see a basketball game, and we could go, of course only if I wanted to. And, well, being the sports jock that I am, of course I wanted to go!

We got there a bit ealry because Pascale said that they were tickets she got through her work, and that there was a little reception beforehand with sandwiches and such. In my mind, I was thinking that we were going to be going to her work or something like that and then all going ot the game togehter. But it turns out that the reeption was in this little side gym, the lower of the two VIP sections. And there was no oen there from Pascalle's work, so we kind of awkwardly stood around a table with one other couple with the most adorable little boys. We literally sat there in silence for like 20 minutes... Then they started talking, and I found myself the center of converstation. And for whatever reason, I just couldn't easily understand the lady and she kept talking ot me and I kept feeling stupid because I couldn't really understand.... Needless to say, I was very happy when the game actually started. We hadf seats at the top of the court... They weren't bad. I am not sure how high up these teams actually are (we were watching a Verviers vs. some other team game...), I think like the step before the bigtime. But anyhow, the arena was TINY compared to the U.S. And I swear that the amount of people actually watching the game was equivalent to that of a high school Varsity basketball game (if the students are in anyway spirited and support their teams...). The game was a fun one ot watch, and Verviers was winning by a minimum of 10 points for the majority of the game, but hten at the very end the other team came back to win, by 2 points. It was quite crushing for the home team I believe.

Just like back home, not ot be racist or anything, the starting line of both teams was all black. But for the most part the rest of the team was of different ethnicities, so a bit different than at home. And just like normal, the starting 5 played for the majority of the game. The Verviers team was pretty good at changing out there people for basketball, but I swear the other team only had 6 of the 15 guys on the bench play the entire game. I felt bad for them. Also at the game they had "pom pom girls"... If you can even call them real cheerleaders. Sure, they had pompoms, but they were really just more like slightly-innapproriate dancers that were wearing barely any clothes and had bascially no talent. Kinda feel like Belgians have a warped view of them, because sure you do get those kinds of cheerleaders, but then you get the ones that are like true athletes that do all of the tricks and stunts and at least have shirts that cover their bellies.

It was a nice experience to have, and I am missing sports so much that even basketball, which has never been my favorite sport, was amazing to be able ot watch. I think I am also going to try and catch a soccer game or two before I leave, because soccer really is the main sport in Europe.