more than waffles: Dimanche en Bruxelles and Other Thoughts

Last Sunday, my host family and I took a day-trip to Brussels. Even though I stayed in Brussels with AFS when I first arrived in Belgium, I didn't have the chance to walk around and explore the city. It's about an hour away from where we live, so we drove in the car. We started the day by walking though the government district of the city. My host parents are very knowledgeable about politics and government, so whenever they ask me about United States government (which I don't know very much about) I feel embarrassed because I never have any answers. Maybe I should touch up my knowledge on these things!
After that, we went on a hunt for Belgian chocolates! In fact, I had not tried the "authentic Belgian chocolate" from a chocolate shop, I have only had the bars of chocolate that you buy in the grocery stores. We decided to go to Pierre Marcolini, which is supposed to be "the best". It turned out that Belgian chocolate deserves all of the hype! It's amazing. But then again, it's hard to find bad chocolate.
Next, we visited "La Grande Place", which is a very famous little spot in Brussels that is tourist central. However, it is tourist central for good reason! The buildings are beautiful and the atmosphere is fun and inviting. The rest of the day, we went to several more places including the Cathedral of St. Michael, a really cool restaurant, the Manneken Pis (the famous peeing baby statue), and a movie theater to see Skyfall. It was a fun day filled with new things and new places!

I have realized that I have not talked much about school or my daily life very much. To be honest, I don't enjoy school very much because it's much more difficult than in the United States and sometimes it's very frustrating. The school that I go to is the best school in Namur, and so in addition to not understanding French very well, the material is very hard. Obviously, I don't receive very good grades yet. Not to sound arrogant, but that is a bit difficult for me because I used to be a fairly good student. Being an exchange student is a very humbling experience, but I am grateful for what I'm learning. I always have to remind myself that I came to Belgium to learn French and have a great experience, not to be an outstanding student. While studying is important, school is not the reason why I came!

Overall, good things take time. I love everything about my exchange so far except for school, and I think that it's pretty natural to feel that way. There are some times when I am overcome with homesickness, but it quickly passes. If anything, I miss my family and friends the most. I'll be honest, it's hard to connect with people on the level that you want to when there is a language barrier. However, it has only been three months. I think I have progressed in French quite a bit, and I know that with time, things can only keep improving!

Until the next time!
Skyler