Becoming Belgian

Almost done

2009-07-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

Today I start packing...I leave on the 5th for Poland come back to Belgium the 19th and then off for redding the 25th...Its going by faster than ever...weird..

Fact of the day:
Since the last post Leigh-Ann has had a lot going on: friend came to visit, really fun! Spent some time with school friends and then went off to see Berlin, Dresden, Prague and several obscure places as well...o and rediscovered her enjoyment in biking : )

Life in Europe

2009-06-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

I spent the night in an ancient city, I ran threw an enchanted forest, i picked lots of gooseberries, and then i talked to my family on a magic mirror...
It has been quite the adventure today i must say....
: )

fact of the day: Leigh-Ann is finding fair tails are quite common and very true, just the way we think of them is a little different than the reality

Rainy Belgique

2009-05-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Its raining again out side.Now that its not -14 deg C im actually getting to enjoy the rain. I like the lush green country side with specks of cows, chickens, goats, sheep, and what ever other farm animal. Its relaxing and pretty and just makes me wanna drink hot chocolate and stay indoors all day...The past week or so has been pretty weird. People are leaving left and right including one of my two best friends here is leaving in two weeks, I cant picture being in Belgium with out either of them : / Belgium= Alexandra and Hilly. And to make it weirder im going to see my parents in 24hrs. I cant explain how i feel, im actually not really sure how i feel... its like a mix of excitedness and nervousness.. Nervous because im not sure how ill react to seeing them, im not sure if they are going think iv completely changed and just not me anymore, tho i somehow doubt that. I guess its just the idea of seeing my parents doesnt seem factual in my brain. In my brain I have my Belgain world and my home world..and because my brain has never seem them together it doesn't seem natural that they would collide. But apparently they are because i have a train ticket to see them tomorrow! I really am excited, out of everyone my parents have been one of the most quite but most deep missings. Im overwhelmed with thankfulness that they are my parents, each one has such strong roots within me and are greatly responsible in the molding of whom iv become in this life. I love them both so muchand im just so excited to see them so soon and get to show them this adventure iv been on for the past year. Its going to be great: )

Fact of the day: Belgians often put butter on their ham and cheese sandwiches...weird?

life life and not really wanting to leave

2009-04-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

hmmm catching-up in Leigh-Anns life, I just have to say that i cant speak english correctly anymore so please forgive any weird sentence structures or unreal words...God is still working on my heart like crazy, I feel kinda like im in the 8th mile of a 10 mile run if that tells you anything... Im flat out exhausted, questioned my self and my coach more than i thought possible, but in the back of my head i keep telling my self that this training run will be done eventually.. and ill appreciate it sometime AFTER its finished... but in the mean time it sucs.. As far as the rest of my life goes Im absolutely loving it! I have the best family i could ask for, all the stress brought on by the last one is wiped away and gone : D I have two very eco-friendly parents who love having people over at the house, a 21 year old sister named Anuke that i love ( she did an exchange in the states for 6 months), another 20 year old sister named Geraldine, another 17 year old sister named Olivia, and a 14(or 15) year old brother that everyone calls Moose : ) Life is calm and energetic here all at the same time, there is always someone around to talk to or something to laugh about but plenty of personal space too. Iv jumped leaps and bounds in my French which makes making new friends so much easier and funner, Im pretty much thinking in only French at the moment which is awesome. I could probably even do my homework now that i understand what my teachers are explaining, but lets not get our hopes up too high on that one ; P Right now all in all life is turning for the better and God is doing great things for me spiritually which is an amazing answered prayer ( pray that he keeps it up!) I dont understand my life at all sometimes but im glad he's there. O! i should blog about Italy the next chance i get, it was absolutely amazing, i was afraid that i was getting my hopes up to high but there is not a chance of that, it was just as amazing as i had envisioned, absolutely beautiful... If i ever get the opportunity i would love to do a short-term exchange there..

fact of the day: Alot of Belgians eat pasta with ketch-up... is that normal in the US??

Stress..

2009-03-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Life has stress. Things that bother us a lot of the time shouldn't and yet we let them build. Right now I'm learning how to figure out what and why somthings stress me.. Nothing big and terrible is going on, just somthings stick and stay in my mind when I know I should just them brush it off. I dont know, maybe the things that stress us have a lot to say about us, what we consider important in life?Thoughts??

Isn't it good if some things bother us?? Somethings SHOULD bother us. But there is a difference between being bothered and being stressed... I guess I'm just learning how to give those things to God instead of letting them boil and turn into stress, I really hate feeling stressed...I don't know why it takes me writting a blog to figure out what I already knew...lol life is funny that way I guess...ok

I love you all and am thinking about you lots

night night!

Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann gets to go to the Flanders part for a local carnival!: D

17 DAYS TILL ITALY!!!

2009-03-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yep it’s true! I cant really believe it myself but im sure it will hit me just as I drive past Switzerland....AHG im excited...Me and my friend Hilly just watched Roman Holiday in celebration of our up-coming trip. If you haven’t seen it you should pretty much just stop by Showtime Videos and pick it up now... I love old movies... there is just poetry to them in the way they tell stories...It’s like you actually should pay attention to details... If you are a girl this is defiantly a good quality girl time movie, friend(s)pop-corn, ice-cream and roman holiday= a very good night: ) if ur a boy don’t feel left out though you can always watch this with your date and let her be impressed by your good taste in movies...its a classic

Fact of the day: Boys wear scarves on a daily basis and actually try to match thier cloths....Leigh-Ann isnt sure how she feels about it....

The Blogging Groove...

2009-03-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yeah two days in a row! im on a role! I actually kinda miss bloging now that im not (as) preoccupied with being confused and stressed out of my mind...being an exchange students does that to you...I’m not even sure I could explain why or how but just all the little details of life all thrown together I guess. Being an exchange student is kinda like being reborn.... with some vague knowelge. Absolutely every detail that you can think of has the potential to be different and usually is, or at least it seems like it. Things that you would never even think twice about in your old society becomes a monumental task. But just like babies you somehow adopt, imitate, and learn and start to blend. Lol I wouldn't say that I'v been completely blended and puréed but im defiantly progressing further than I would have thought possible when I first got here, only knowing how to say "sorry, I don’t speak French".
I can’t believe how fast time is flying...I had a dinner at my first host family’s home so that I could catch-up and meet my third host family! So I had all families all together and it was a lot of fun. They all even surprised me with birthday presents: ) It was really cool, but also really weird being able to carry long and real conversations with my first host family...I knew them pretty well before I had changed families but for the first time their voices didn’t sound like adults off of Charlie Brown. I really think im going to like my next host family. It’s a big one: D Ill have three sisters, 21, 19, 17, and a host brother who’s 14 and is called moose??im not sure why lol, I actually haven’t met him or the 19 year old sister but the two sisters that I had met both seem really cool, the oldest one did an exchange in the US for 5 to 6 months so we already have some common ground! Mom, if you are reading this we need to talk ASAP about host family gifts! Im changing in less than three weeks!! OK well I need to go off to bed! Ill try to write about more interesting things from now on but we shall see just how successful that ends up!: )
Good night everyone and have a good day!
love you all
Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann has never been so white in her life!!!-not kidding. The only reason i know this is because the sun came out so that i could see just how white i actually am!

It was a cold winter!
This was my backyard : )

the b-day came....

2009-03-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

I’m old....I seriously don’t even know how it happened....I can remember very clearly being six years old and thinking that it was going to take forever before I was ten ,that was the age I decided was old enough to be a famous singer.... not kidding, it was my dream...and now here I am on the other side of the world speaking some crazy language, learning things that I didn’t know where there to learn and just being an adult, yes iv accepted that fact...last birthday I was very determined to never grow-up...well I’m still not going to, BUT I kinda cant help it.... I just am... I think this moving to Belgium thing just like launched me 4 or 5 years ahead...or at least it feels like it, that’s an exaggeration...But this year has really been an adventure....the first few months I was just trying to keep my head above muddy water and now somehow I’m starting to tread...My relationship with God has had some of the craziest ups and downs and twists and turns iv ever had in my life. All I can say is wow....this has been great. When I was 14 my little brother Jeff scrawled me a note to read Psalms 139 I think 7-10?
"where can I go from your spirit?
where can I go from your presents?
if I go up to the heavens. you are there
if I make my bed in the depths you are there
if I rise on wings of the dawn
if I settle on the far side of the sea
even there your hand will guide me
your right hand will hold me fast"

It goes on to say "If I say 'surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me' even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you" Jeff decided to leave that note for me to find after school on my dresser the day I that decided there was no way I would go to Shasta or any other public school because the idea scared me...we know the ending to that story... since then God has used this gentle reminder for just about every adventure iv embarked on. The consistency and depth of God's love never ceases to amaze me... Iv had some heavy waves come over me but through it all he has held tight even when I wasn’t sure. Im just going to say that God has been doing some painful molding in my life but I can already tell its going to turn out beautiful. It really doesn’t matter where I go or where he sends me, he's gonna be there. It’s a wonderful feeling.
love you all!

Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann had a wonderful B-day! Thank you everyone for your wishes!

Catching up on my life...

2009-02-25T03:53:00.000-08:00

wow hmm idk if i can wrap up all thats happened in the last two months...I know that there are things to write about but there are so many things that i know arnt normals back home but i just kinda forget that i guess..My French is improving greatly, i still cant write very well...but im working on it and it can come later...I'm really getting into the swing of things, other than some of the boring repetition im really really enjoying it here. This last week i went with some kids from my school to this place in France called Taize. It was quite something, God really showed me alot and flattened my pride...lol i love it when he does that...he really is doing something crazy but i cant really say what other than answering some prayers...The place aside from the life style and brothers it was really cool because of the international atmosphere. There are people from all around the world all year long who just come and go to visit and live with the Taize brothers, its a weird place, but its cool. Iv really started to hunger for more travel and learning other cultures. It exciting and fun, ill see where God takes me with it: )

seriously if you guys have questions ask cuz idk what to write about anymore...o im going to the opera and possible Gent this week with my family so that should be cool and ill let you all know about that: )
love you all
*Hugs*

Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann taught a bunch of Germans and Austrians how to play spoons...it was a good time...

Christmas Break

2008-12-30T06:46:00.000-08:00

hey everyone! so alot has gone for me this christmas break...first off i went to Luxemburg! Beautiful. Very rich, enchanting, and high tech...ill post a video of the toilet that cleans its self after you use it....im not kidding.. It was just a day trip with me and two of my other fellow american friends here. The city is really cool because it was pretty much built around the ruins of an old castle that put luxemburg on the map in like 984 or something...That was really cool I think we walked everywhere you could walk...my foot was killing me cuz its been having problems but other than that everything was wonderful. It was also christmas time so it was all decorated and we walked through the christmas market and shared one of the really long candy sour things...idk what they are called..but they are good!: )OooO and i had a real pretzel and this crusont thing with cheese mmm good stuff...Anyways so that was that and we headed home the same day, were thinking of going back and staying in a nice hostle we found. Anywho various other things went down like having an american christmas party for belgian friends and what not. My christmas here really wasnt too bad all things considered...i pretty much just pretended that it never happend so i wasnt missing anything...but my first host mom's family was supper nice and all gave my small presents so i thought that that was supper nice. I made everyone chocolate chip cookies because everyone here is in love with them, they never make thier own cookies and just buy the chips ahoy style ones lol so i can understand thier enthusiasm for them... but anyways on the 28th i switch host families and i absolutly LOVE my new fam: ) They are all supper nice and opend thier homes not cuz they had to but because they wanted to so thats a nice feeling. My host mom is supper cute and very home makey and not to mention i have a grandma from hungary staying with me right now. My host sister is really cool too, she's sick right now so she's been in bed alot but the first night she took me to hang out with her friends and then has a bunch of other things schedualed for us to do. My host dad is just hilarious to me, i think he has a bigger sweet tooth than I do..and thats saying alot... Ill try to post some pick soon of my room! Its adorble! It literaly belongs in a doll house...very frilly light green/lavander victorian style...its cute. The whole house actually, Its a tiny tiny house compared to my last one but i would say its a normal sized house back home. well anyways if you guys have questions please ask!!Id love to answer half the time i really just dont know what to write about...Love you all!

fact of the day:
Leigh-Ann's new host sister LOVEs the Nerds she gave her: )

Thanksgiving!!!!!

2008-12-16T05:23:00.000-08:00

ok so im gona tell you guys all about my thanks giving in Belgium! Me and two other Americans decided to share Thanksgiving for our families and we went all out!: ) We had Turkey, stuffing, gravey,mashpotatos, cranberry sause, apple cider, black/rasberry pie and two deliciouse pumpkin pies made from real pumpkin!! Our setting was hillarious though, my friends host parents went out and bought everything red white and blue since it was an american holliday! so it was a lil 4th of July/thanksgiving but we loved it. They also stuck little american flags in all the food.. : ) To top off our gathering two days before we bumped into an adorible old lady from dublin when walking home from the train station. She loved talking to us and even invited us to a play, she was really cute...anyways it turns out she lives just two doors down from my friends house so we invited her and she was soooo happy! It was cute.

So here is us making Pumpkin pie out of real pumpkin: )

Christinas host mommy!

Us and Marry from Dublin!

Our decor...and yummy olives (i like the green ones now!)

The Turkey!!

Little host brother likes gravey!! Iv taught him well...

And me and my family!

London and Pairs finally!

2008-11-25T10:04:00.001-08:00

WOW. sorry about the long delay...hehe..i guess iv just been lazy/forgetful/lazy...but here I am! and im writting!woot!: ) I hope you all are getting excited for thanksgiving like I am: ) yep thats right I'm having Thanksgiving in Belgium! Two other exchange students and I are gona make a big thanksgiving for our families and im really happy about it...though non of us have ever made thanksgiving before...and im not sure if any of us have ordered a turkey yet...Im gona work on that later tonight...anyways as many of you know i went to london and pairs not too long ago! I had an absolutly wonderful time in both. London exceeded my expectations by far, I have to say its my favorite place so far. Paris was pretty cool as well, the weather wasnt so great and it was just after London so I think I didnt have a great first impression but I would like to go sometime maybe in spring. Well i could go into elaborate detail about all that I did (ive tried that twice before now and both times i never finished without saving..ug) so ill just highlight and give you pictures!: )

ok London=fun.

trains station:really really early in the morning...

Bus:3 or 4 hrs

boat: about 1 hr, my first time on a boat/first time seeing the north sea!

Land:see lots of sheep! and some pretty white cliffs (not the famous ones..)

Cantiburry: stay behind to feed ducks! and then eat and shop with friends

London: night time, have to pee...let lose to look for food, look for a bathroom instead, run into big ben,Trafalgars Squar, the Eye, pay fifty pents to use the bathroom, sweet night. And a good hotel.

Next morning: get up way too early, eat, Madam Tussauds, eat, Winchester Castle (very pretty!), shop, eat, see London "By Night"( just us driving around in our bus really), go to hotel and sleep: )

Final morning: get up way too early, eat, go to the tower of london and let lose till dinner, see the crown jewles (AMAZING!) and a bunch of old REAL artifacts (they look just like the fake ones im use to), ate, snaged two friends and navigate our way to abbey road! sweet, go the Buckemham Palace (see the gards change again), walk through Green Park, attempt to walk all the way to Kensington (sp??) to see the Perter Pan statue...waaay too far and a squirle jumped on my leg(not kidding) it was cool, walk to a beatles store, go inside the sherlock homes museum (just the f first floor cuz its free), and off to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner: ) went into the vault! sweet stuff..and off to the bus and drive/float the rest of the night home...

ok PARIS! (few days later)

first morning: get up way to early (seems to be a patern..), bus, go to the top of the Effile Tower! (in a cloud...but still cool), go on a boat ride on the the Seine (pretty), go to the "hotel" for dinner (its actually a hostle..), eat dinner...not the greatest...hang out with other exchange students all night, discover our room is the size of a closet and people had slept in our sheets..not cool..but it was fixed..

next day: wake up (too early), eat breakfast their again...ug..discover thier hot chocolate machine!Yum! go to the Lueve!!amazing...its a good idea to have studied art before you go though, eat some really really yumy quiesh ( i dont even like quiesh), and off to the Notre Dame, very pretty but a lil dissapointing...there were selling suvineris in the catherdrial..ug..., go shoping, eat, hotel, talk, sleep.

Last Morning: eat, go to the palace of vercie (suppose to be free but there was an mondern art show going on so it cost money that day...), looked at the free parts and took lots of pictures, (everyone who paid said it was a dissapointment cuz the modern art ruined the rooms), talked to a Mexican/American about life, went to the hard rock cafe for lunch, went back home : )

fact of the day:Leigh-Ann had to leave her nuclear weapons outside the Hard Rock's bathroom in london...

My camera is lame....

2008-10-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

I think i just need new batteries for my camera before i can download pics from it...

but here are some pics other people have taken that i think you might like : )

This is the americans and the mexicans eating at small texmex place! It wasnt burrito bandito but it made me happy enough!!: )

i love mexican food and freinds....

This is me and my class at school:

lol idk why they put me in the midle...

Me, my favorit sweetshirt, and the famous cherry beer:

Alexandera de Iceland et Moi: )

i heart her

Breakfast/Dinner at Calebs via Skype!!

thats me kissing brittany if you cant tell...

i heart them too

I really want to get the pics from bruge up asap, I absolutly loved it, so pretty, but anyways igtg goin to bed... If any of you have questions about Belgium please ask! Im starting to get use to things and i dont always realize when it might be somthing of intrest to you all so ask away!

Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann met up with Antoine!! For those of you who dont know Antoine was an exchange student from Belgium in redding my Jr year. So it was super fun getting to see him! It wasnt for very long cuz i had to skydaddle back home to meet my host dad's mom but it was still cool. We both really miss burrito bandito : ( O and also got to meet his friend who just got back from the states in June and that was awsome getting to talk to them about reverse culture shock and all that good stuff. ok well goodnight my loves!

Side note

2008-10-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

ok today I went to Bruge and i just have to say it was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen..I dont have pictures downloaded yet and going to keep this short so i can tell you all about it when i have pictures, but i just want to say it was beautiful. Not only were the buildings beautiful but it's fall time and all of the leaves are turning beautiful colors and i was just in heaven today: )

Fact of the day: I truly dont drink as much as it seems on this blog....

im a jesus lover

2008-10-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ok well apparently you all think I suc at spelling…lol which of course completely true.. its just how I role…but I guess im gona start proof reading my blogs before I post them…Im afraid that my lack of interest in of the English grammar is even less than the average American. Ok so I just finished talking to my mommy and daddy with skype and I miss home!! But its ok im absolutely loving it here and I wouldn’t go back right now if I could. God is continuously providing for my needs just as he always does. My back had been hurting really bad (it hurt too much to walk sometimes) and at my rotary meeting I befriended a man who happens to by a chiropractor so I was able to be my back all straightened out : ) it’s still going out a lot but no where near as bad. And the best thing that he has blessed me with is a Christian community. Last night a friend from church invited me to a youth group at our friend’s house and we had a big sleep over with all the girls afterwards. They were all so inclusive and loving. It’s such a wonder feeling to be surrounded by fellow “Jesus lovers”, we don’t speak the same language and yet there is a wonderful peace of understanding that speaks for us. I can tell you how happy I am to have been brought to these girls, God just works in wonderful ways. One of the girls was telling be about how uncommon it was to be a Christian in Belgium and that I was lucky have been able to find other Christians so quickly. I guess she is the only one in both the 11th and 12th grades in her school. I actually like the term Christian here, it has a completely different connotation. In the states everyone who’s ever been to church considers themselves a “Christian” which truthfully frustrates me to no end… They should say “non-practicing Christian” or something… idk im sure it’s a bit like that here too, I know it defiantly is for Catholics here, but overall seems extremely authentic which is what iv been praying for, to have authentic Christian friends here (which I got within two weeks of school: ). I know God’s got some plans for me here and im pretty excited about it. Well other than God being awesome iv been up to fun things this week. Thursday I had dinner with Brittany, Caleb, Corey, and Hillary via Skype! : ) it was really fun to say the least…Corey even sang me my favorite song that he’s written for me: ) Well I often don’t know what to write about so if any of you have questions please comment me with them, I would love to answer them.

Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann officially ate her first Belgian Belgian waffle this week!: ) it tasted like a giant “out of the oven” chocolate chip cookie… and I would like the person from Belgium to eat a really good taco for me: ) I really miss Mexican food…

2008-10-07T09:28:00.001-07:00

Well now that school and life is settling in nothing extreamly exciting seems to happen during the weekdays... wich i guess means im getting use to belgium! : ) Its actually starting to feel a little like home for me and im liking it, however im DEFINATLY missing burito bandito...: ( and not to mention the price tags!!omg..its rediculous here...i had to buy a new pair of converce for 89 euros!! my rotary club helped me out but still.. with the doller the way it is you can do the math...rediculous...ug. But i guess the supper yumy cheap chocolate can make up for it : )
So ya other than this weekend i didnt do too much. I spent the night at my friend alexandra's place and we ate waaaaayyy to much candy and icecream...and im sure the cherry flavored beer didnt help in the calorie department...but it was fun! and i swear im cutting back! we also went to brussels with her sister to buy somthing that she needed and that is always fun, i had some belgan fries and they were definatly a bit of happieness for my toung... but igtg to a rotary meeting soon so ill ttyl! i love you all soooooooo much!

Fact of the day: my family uses thier fire place to bbq! : )

they have moca flavered wiskey...

2008-09-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

I just got done playing belgian monopoly and i lost.....o well it was fun lol. its pretty much the same but with belgian names for property and euros..I hope all is well back home! : ) i watch the presidential debates yeasterday on an english chanel and it was quite interesting....does anyone know how i can register for voting while over here?? One thing that iv noticed is that the States have been on the news everyother day since iv gotten here...We seem to be alot bigger deal than i thought, alot of people really like the states...but im starting to think that thats mebe why some people are passionate haters of the US ... like iv alwaysed known that our country has problems just like anyother country but overhere its kinda built up so id think that mebe people are just tired of hearing how great it is when they can see flaws... just an observation oppinion but idk...
i love the states flaws and all! : )

anyways so recap of this last week:

Last weekend i went to the walloon festivel in Numer with my friend hillary from my french lessons and it was alot of fun! i really dont think i would have liked the festivel at nigh tho...we showed up in the afternoon and we walk around and all. it was cool with live music everywhere and people selling different things wich was fun to look at. basically the whole point of the festival is to get drunk. They have seven or eight different flavors of wiskey in little shot glases for a euro throughout the city. They seriously have like every flavor...green apple, stawberry, moca... i guess thats the main thing that the festival is known for is all the little flavored shots. Hillary and I tryed the mocha one and i actually liked it but i guess if you have more than three your gona be out so i think us splitting it was a good idea : )But as time went on it started to get really crowded and i mean really croweded...did i ever mention drunk people are just annoying??anyways a member of hillary's rotary club had invited her and me to to a house party that was along the river where they were shooting off the fire works for the festival. So as you prolly could have guessed it was amazing! The river made me miss redding a bit. The fire works were awsome too, it went on for a long time and even played it to music like they do back home so that was cool, one song was the indiana jones theam song so it made me think of disney land : ) Anyways before the fireworkds hillary and i eventually went to get some food food and eat by the river and just talk about life and home and that was nice. She is a fellow christain so we were both supper happy just to have somone else to talk about things with. we were in the quieter part of town wich made it nice too. anyways after the party at the house hillary spent the night at my place and we went off to church in the morning. I really like everyon there they are all supper supperfriendly, and it seems like everyother one is from somewhere other than belgium...It was nice having hillary cuz she can actually speak french so instead of just sitting there i actually got to know what was being said!!: ) anyways thats basically all thats been going on...im thinking about trying to find a yogo place around here to help me with my back and just relax so we will see.. i love you all!

fact of the day: im gona eat lots of fries for the belgian in the states who's reading my blog! : )

2008-09-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

hey sorry for the delays in my blogs....i get busy during the week so i think i will make it a once a week thing, like every friday??how does that soud? Well i first just want to say everything is going wonderfully: ) last week as you all know wasnt the best but this week went much more smoothly. Iv come to terms with the fact that im going to be here for a year and im happy about it. I know its going to go by supper fast so im trying to take in every bit I can. Today i especially noticed my french improving. Im speaking it more and more and the kids at school can actually undertand me! its a nice feeling....Today durring a study hall i decided to write a random paragraph and all of my friends were really proud of me : ) Iv made friends with just about everyone in my class and im starting to make some outside of it too. Everyone here is extremly understanding and are always there to help me.
Yesterday I went with my friend alexandra (from iceland) to a nearby city and we went to a huge mall so that was pretty cool. We ate at this italian place and i ordered beer on my own! : ) its a wierd feeling being able to order that but its cool. I dont remeber if i mentioned i really like the fruit flavored beer, its really good! : ) i really dont like other beer...i actually hate it....but the cherry flavor is good. After ordering beer and walking around the mall alexandra and i had the most evpencive icecream ever....i really miss winco's cheap tubs... : (
Well tomorow im going to Namure with my one of my rotary friends and im really excited, its suppose to be some huge music festival so it should be fun.
I love you all!

Random fact of the day:
no one here has heard of banana bread! they all think the idea is grose...so..Leigh-Ann is making it for her family this weekend!

did i ever mention i hate spanish....

2008-09-15T09:11:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long pause in my blog entreys! This last week has had its up and downs to say the lest. This weeks problems mostly came from me being homesick.It wasnt that anything in particuar was going wrong i was just constantly on overload and really missing people back home. One day i started crying durring a history film just cuz I didnt know how i was getting to my french lessons in a city i had never been to and i only had 7 minutes after class ended to get to get to the train station (i originally thought id have an hour),buy a ticket and supposedly get lunch....so i was overwhelmed and then i started thinking about home...and then tears started coming...and then the teacher started talking to me and i had no idea what she was saying...she was really nice though, but it made me burst into full on crying...talk about embarecing....but that wasnt that bad...
It was my Spanish class two days later that was tramatising for me....Lets start off with me saying that the teacher ONLY speaks SPANISH durring class...so as you can guess i never know whats going...(not that i would know if it was in french..). But anyways, that day, to make things worse the girl i was sitting next to wasnt doing anything so i had absolutally no idea what the rest of the class was doing...So the teacher wasnt happy that we wernt doing anything and came over and started talking to us (in spanish or french...i have no idea...) and he seemed really angery. The girl moved and then he continued to talk to me with a very mad look on his face....thankfully a boy told me in engish that he was telling me to move next to someone with a paper...Now usually i could just shrug that kinda thing off but im kinda always on the verge of tears these days and that was just too much for me...so i sit next to someone and try my hardesnt not to cry...of course it doesnt work...and alison passes me a note saying its ok and that i just have to participate a little today and not to cry....which just made me cry more... I cant tell you why..it just did. But anyways it all would have been fine, my face was soaked and i didnt have a tissue but i could have managed..but then the teacher made me read in spanish while i was crying! It was awful...Im pretty sure i wasnt saying what i was suppose to...but i dont care...So by this time all i can think of is home and im hycup(sp?) crying and the class FINALLY ends for the schools 15 min break...and i was like whoo ok...but my friend Sam asked me if i was ok as we were walking out and it started all over again...and seriously everybody in that class came to and tryed to make make me feel better and it did. ( I had started to feel lonely that week so it was nice) They all spent thier break in the same room as i was in so they were constantly talking to me and telling me that the teacher was just a few choice words...I felt alot better as the day went on but i was full on crying and couldnt talk durring those 15mins...But i felt better as the day went on, i just want to cry everytime i think about it and i dont even know why...it really wasnt that bad...it was just overwhelming i guess
But despite all that I have had alot good go on. Im making more friends and iv become really good friends with a girl from iceland, we had pizza hut the otherday because we both have it back home,its nice having someone else going through the same thing as you. And i loved the pizza, i mean it was nothing like round table back home but when my host mom brings home pizza with shrimp and some discusing version of cheese on it, the belgian Pizza Hut was amazing: ) I also went to church this last sunday with my friend samual. I like it, its really small and everyone is really friendly and they even have an american missionary staying with them at the moment so that was cool. Im going to go again with another exchange student from california next week : )

ok igtg get ready for bed but i love you all!

fact of the day: saying "Bon apapetit" before every meal is not a sterio type....

2008-09-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Ok so iv made it to the weekend and i seem to be alive! :) My schedual is absolutally crazy and if it wasnt for the other students being so friendly and helpful I would never know where to go. Every single day we have different classes in different class rooms at different times...talk about confusing. And to top it off our "main teacher" told us our schedual oraly...so i have a bunch of wrong timesand im never quite sure when school is going to end because its different each day....idk whats with these europeans...I have a friend in Germany right now and he said its the same there. But anyways, im really starting to like school. The other students are really friendly and are allways making sure i know where to go and understand what i need to understand. Iv been having lunch with alison and her friends and i really like them, they cant speak to me but i like them. Today we had french fries with mayonas for lunch! I know mayonas sounds really gross but its was actually supper good: ) it was a heart attack in the making but deffinatly a good once in a while treat! though its really difficult to make fries an every now and then thing around here. Seriously two or three times a week we seem to have fries as a part of our meal. Belgians like their fries...Supposedly the secret to what makes theirs so much better than everyone elses is that they double fry them...but you didnt hear that from me...anyways today i got to talk to Mommy in the states!!!! We talk for quite a while, Said hi to Todd and Mario: ) I wish i could have talk to you all, i love and miss everyone
*MUAH*(that is a kiss in case you didnt know)
ttly
Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann has had to wear a sweater everyday but one!

First Day of School

2008-09-03T12:46:00.001-07:00

Ok my first day of school! I was beyond nervous to say the least....... other than kindergarden and and high school i dont think iv ever been the "new kid"....Well after staying up waaaaaaaay to late i got to wake up to a blaring alarm clock rather than my nice radio set up i had back home... I got ready, off to the train i go. I forgot to mention when i went to brussels i missed BOTH of my train rides home even though i was sitting right there.... it wasnt very clear as to what train was what...But thankfully i had met assi girl who told me wich trains to switch and what not so i made home ok.But anyways so ya me and trains dont like each other at the moment but were startin to warm up alil. Thankfully my host mom came with me today and explained wich trains to switch to and what not. Im taking one bus and two trains...if i miss school i have an excuse at lest...Anyways so i get there and my host momy tracks down the principle who passes me off to a teacher who trys to pass me off to someone else and finally passes me off to girl named Alison in my class. Very nerve racking.......but anyways Alison was super cool and she and this other boy she's friends with both spoke really good english, and they were amazingly helpful. I think alison was impressed that Im from california (but i never got the chance to say i live four hours from the beach...). But anyways She and the other boy whos name i dont know are in pretty much all of my classes which is cool. They were beyond helpful they both stayed after school to show me where to meet them tomorow so they can show me were to go and what not so all n all school was pretty good. Extreamly borring at times...I have no idea what the teacher was talking about for two or three hours but it was never ending...
Well after school i went with my host mom and her mom to lunch. I dont think iv talked about the Grandma, lol she is what one would imagine a belgain grandma to be like. Shes allways talking to me as though i know what she is saying and then pats me or kisses me or somthin. Idk if iv talked about the kissing or not but seriously everybody kisses everybody! on the cheack of course but still its funny to me. You meet someone for the first time and you kiss them, you say goodbye and you kiss them. Im still trying not to laugh when i see boys kissing each other hello...its funny.
But anyways for the first time im really starting to get tired of french...My host family is starting to less animated and are expecting me to understand what the heck it is they are saying...They know i dont speak french! It was wearing me out today.But my french is improving quite abit im comprehending more and more. I think going to school will improve it a ton as well. Ok i need sleep but i love you all!!!!!!

2008-09-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Two days ago i went to a beautiful old Abbey and it was amazing. Id show you all the pictures but my camera deleated everyone of them!!! i was not happy to say the least....But i guess im going there anotherday so ill have more photo opps... anyways school starts tomorow! Im a lil on the nervous side but excited...wish me luck!

Brussels pictures finally!

2008-08-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Its a beautiful sight isn't? I have to say the belgian chocolate lives up to its name...: ) Ok so My trip to Brussels story, well there are actually two since i went twice...The first time i went with my host family and that was alot of fun but no camera : ( The second time was with rotary. Now this was scarry because i got to get on a train all by my self and find a park for my meeting in brussels all by my self...finding the park wasnt hard because my host family showed me where the train station was and in realtion to the park so that was fine. However what they didnt tell was that there are five different stops in brussels...out of complet luck a man who happened be Canadian sat across from me on the train and asked if i was from the US b/c of my US badge on my blasser. If he hadnt sat there and told me about the five different stops have no idea what i would have done. anyways ok so i get off on the right stop...step one...start heading towards the uphill direction and reach the park, step two...now to find the meeting....I looked on the map of the park and they arnt there..hmm..ok go around in the most broken french possible and everyone tells me im where im suppose to be...go up a little further and theres everyone OUTside the park...ok i should be fine now...So i go and find my district group make friends tade pins (its what all the exchange students do) and then off to the palace.... Of course my rechargable batteries are in the plug at home...no camera...but no worries, i wouldnt of been allowed to take pictures inside anyways ( i forgot to mention my alarm didnt go off so i had less than 20 min to get everything ready) So i go in with everyone and as you would expect it was beautiful. The king of course wasnt there since they dont give tours if he is...wich would be wierd if the did...walking past the royal dining room as the king sips his coffee in his fuzzy pink bunny slippers...anyways we go through and its every thing you would expect a palace to be....Big portraits of past kings/Queens and a bunch of furnature that looks as though its never been touched. The color schem seemed to red, gold, and marbel white. After the palace it was off to the Grand Place which is a big squar where the town hall and other important buildings are. Sometimes they fill the midles with flowers and make it look like a giant carpet. All around are a ton of resterants and speciality shops. I had met and Assi (they have all been here since january because of the school time is different) and her showed me a place were i could buy some batteries, yay! After that all of the rotary students became a turist atractions. People gathered around us and started taking pictures as a hundren or so of us stood out side of the town hall in our crazy looking blazers with out country signs in the air. When we went in they gave us a welcoming in french and then served us beer! It was nasty to say the lest...The last time i went to Brussles my family gave me some and that i could actually tolorate but this was gross...to say the lest i dont think im gona become an alchoholic... Anyways after that we were free to go home or where ever so i stayed talk to a bunch of exchange students for a while. Because my camera had diedi wanted to go back and take pictues of the catherdral my family had taken me to earlier. It was absolutally gorgous and they had beautiful windows and statues. Perhaps its the dreary organ or its empty liflessness but I both times I went in I couldnt help but feel sad. They had statues everywhere and old artifacts form that particutlar church. any ways igtg i love you all!!! i hope you enjoy the pictures!

Fact of the day: Leigh-Ann ate qual for diner : )

school! fun...

2008-08-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

Today has been a lazy day. Yesterday my host mom took me to my school to meet with the principle. School hours are from 8 am to 3 or 4pm which isnt bad. Im not possitive how my schedual is going to work but im taking four classes of english (im guessing that means days) three classes of physics,chemistry,and biology, four classes of spanish, four classes of math,two classes of religion, two classes of PE, two classs of history, four classes of french....i dont know how im gona survive that one...two classes of geography and two classes of the history of art. it sounds like alot but i think it will be fine..i hope..i dont know. Anyways i think im going to go get my hair cut...im not sure so i guess ill find out!
a bientot! (see you later)

when i get back ill put up pictures of brussels! : )

Sorry.... iv been busy/lazy

2008-08-27T14:18:00.001-07:00

Hey Hey everyone ok so my host family had a family friend come over and hock my computer up so i can put up pictures! yay! I just put up a picute of a random typical belgian house with a cat in the window ( ill put up one of mine later)So here is a picure of my host family minus my dad in the back yard, Roman, Jocolyn, Pascal (my mom) and cocoette(sp?) my doggie! I seriously love my host family they are all wonderful and supper helpful. Alot of the time my host parents and Roman work so me and Jocolyn either play baseball or give cocoette a walk. I dont rember if i wrote about my town or not but its absolutally wonderful. Every building is made out of brick and surounded by beautiful green farmland. The farm animals are pretty cool..cows are alot bigger than they seem...To the left are some geese that really didnt like having there picture taken. My vocab so far largly consists of farm animals and plants but its starting to broaden. Last Monday my family took me and Roman's girlfriend to Brussels and that was alot of fun. Brussels is gorgous in my oppinion. My camera ended up dieing less than half way though wich im kinda glad for now cuz i was able to take in alot more and i got to go back on wednesday for a rotary meeting.The Grand Place is absolutally beautiful. the town hall seriously looks like a castle. I dont have anymore time to write right now but pictures are coming!

fact of the day: Leigh-Ann drank her first beer!

2008-08-23T02:14:00.000-07:00

Bonjure!!! Today has been a good day so far, I went to the bakery and butcher earlier this morning with my host mom, i wish i could up pictures right noz cuz let me tell you the bakery is a sweet wonderland of goodness...mmm. We actually ended up walking because there was road work so i got to have a close up view of my little vilage. Im living in an agricultural area and everything is beautiful and green, my bedroom actualy over looks my family´s garden : ) I really like all of the houses in my village, i dont know about the rest of Belgium but here all of the houses are big two stories and made out of brick. My host Dads job is actually restoring old homes and then selling them. I seriously love my host family, They are all supper animated and really into trying to teach me french. My host dad actually knows a tiny weeny bit of english and is really helpful, my host mom and brothers have become very good at charades(sp?) and facial expresions. I have been playing bastball keep away with host brothers and it has been one of the funniest experiences yet: My younger host brother also really liked the baseball i gave him so we have been playing base ball in the back yard as well.
ok time to go love you all!!!

fact of the day: Belgians will eat raw beef on bread for lunch (its actually not bad)

The Begining

2008-08-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

Bonjure Aimes!!!!!
How are you all doing this lovely morning? or night in your case I suppose... I just want you all to know thqt i love you and i miss you all already! Despite me being rediculously tired I am truely enjoying this grand adventure of mine. If you want hear all about my journey end experiences keep ona reading but if you get bord easily i understand and you can stop reading now and just know that i am here and safe! For the rest of you here is my story...

Ill skip the plane ride because its fairly uneventful, so long story short - no sleep : / but i did hqve Smunk to comfort me ! For those of you who dont know who Smunk is he is my monkey stuff animal Corey gave me, id put a picture a picture but im using my host moms computer so ill just say he is cute and soft and the perfect cuddling companion :)

Anyways, so i get to brussels and i hurry up to find my host family...who dont speak any english... and we do the whole kiss on the cheak ( no hugs in belgium : ( and off we go on out quest to teach Leigh-Ann french! We were seriously pointing at everything and saying it in french over and over again wich is actually alot more fun than it might seem ....

to be continued...

Fact of the day: everything in the amsterdam airport is in english!