Noël in Belgium

This year, and the same with many other exchange students, was my first Christmas away from home. While it was sad at times, my Christmas in Belgium was very fun! Like most, or all, countries in Europe, Christmas Eve is more celebrated than the actual day of Christmas. So, on Christmas Eve, my family and I prepared a lot of appetizers and a meal to eat in the evening. I feel like the preparation for the meal is almost comparable to the Thanksgiving meal. We ate the meal in the evening, and we also opened gifts, instead of in the morning as I normally do in the United States, and went to the midnight mass at the cathedral in Namur. After we returned home at about 2 AM, we ate our dessert and then woke up the next morning and went to my host grandma's house (the mother of my host dad) in Rochefort. We ate a big lunch in traditional Belgian style (with appetizers and different entrées and dessert) and then afterwards we went to the parents house of my host mom in Liège to visit. As usual, I will let the photos do the explaining, because they are better at it than I am! 

I hope that your Christmas was great, and best wishes for the new year!

This is my host grandma telling a story about American and German soldiers during Christmas time in World War II. She explains how there was a farm with soldiers who were about to fight, but then stopped because it was Christmas. (Stop! C'est Noël.) At the end, she says how the things that happen at Christmastime are incredible. 

Starting off the meal with some champagne.

(December 24, 2012)

An appetizer with salmon, cream cheese, and fancy eggs on top. (Some of these photos were really dark so I had to brighten them and that's why they are a little washed out).

(December 24, 2012)

Mini bowls of cheese and nutmeg soup!

(December 24, 2012)

Scampi with cocktail sauce.

(December 24, 2012)

 Mini omelettes with mushroom, cheese, and ham cubes.

(December 24, 2012)

A slice of Italy! Tomato, mozzarella, and olive with pesto. 

(December 24, 2012)

Salad with cheese, vinaigrette, and croutons.

(December 24, 2012)

I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the meal, but here was the first plate: foie gras, salad, onion jelly, and brioche. It was my first time trying foie gras. While I wasn't a big fan, it never hurts to try!

(December 24, 2012)

I got the best gifts I could ever ask for! Some watercolor paints, brushes, and some plants (a cactus and a cool rose decoration).

(December 24, 2012)

Every Sunday morning, my host family and I have these awesome pastries. Since Christmas is a special occasion, we had them twice in one week! You eat well in Belgium. 

(December 25, 2012)

My host dad reading the newspaper at my host grandma's house in Rochefort.

(December 25, 2012)

Belgian tomatoes! The real deal.

(December 25, 2012)

Even the plates are festive.

(December 25, 2012)

My host dad and his brother.

(December 25, 2012)

Champagne: day two.

(December 25, 2012)

My host cousin let me use his fisheye lens to take a few photos! Here, we are washing dishes: a team effort.

(December 25, 2012)

Everyone around the table during dessert. It's kind of a bright photo, but I am hiding in the back next to the window. A terrific Christmas, indeed!

(December 25, 2012)

exams, chez callie, and germany

These past few weeks have been exciting, mostly because the normal school days had stopped for the exams! Exam week in Belgium is rather stressful for the students and I have been told that they are the "most dreaded weeks of the year". However, in my opinion, I am not sure why they stress so much because there is only one exam per day. For example, monday is the history exam, tuesday is the math exam, etc. Additionally, the exams only take two or four hours every day, so afterwards, you are finished. In the United States, the finals are during two days, and you have to take two or four exams per day, depending on your school. However, I can understand why the students stress because the exams are a really large percent of the final grade. Yesterday, I got my "bulletin", which is a report card. Surprisingly, I am passing almost all of my courses except for math and I am currently taking that through my school in the United States while in Belgium so "ce n'est pas grave" (it doesn't really matter). Overall, things are looking good for starting at the university next year when I return to the States, so that is a huge relief!

Last weekend, I went to a town about half an hour away named Wavre to visit my friend Callie. While I love my host family and my life in Belgium, sometimes it is really great to meet with a friend, speak in your native language, and take a little bit of a "break" from exchange student routine. We had lots of fun joking around, listening to music, and looking up pictures of outer space on Google. (It sounds lame, but if you have never searched "nebulas", you have to do it! It is unbelievable and you will be occupied for hours). We also met up with our friend Sidney on Saturday, so we went to Wavre and walked around. We bought some ice cream, so that was a tasty treat. Later, Callie's host brother taught us some songs on the guitar. Since I have a lot of free time here in Belgium, I have thrown around the idea of possibly buying a guitar. However, my host dad told me that my host cousin has one that he could lend me for the year, so I am excited to start learning how to play! Maybe I will return to the United States next year with some sweet guitar skills.

Wednesday, my host family and I went to the Christmas market in Germany in a town named Cologne. It was really beautiful and very exciting to visit Germany for the first time! I always thought German was kind of an ugly language, but when I heard people speaking German, I realized that it's actually rather nice. We looked around at the different stands and shops, walked around the city, and drank some "vin chaud" (hot wine), a Christmas tradition in Europe! I took a lot of pictures, so I will let them show what we saw! Sometimes, it just hits me that I am even here in Belgium. A year ago at Christmastime, I had no idea that I would be in another country learning another language, and suddenly, voilà! I am here. I always feel really happy when I think of that, because it shows how much things can truly change in just a year. Who knows where you will be one year from now?

My friend Callie (left) and Sidney (right) in Louvain-la-Neuve after they met me at the train station.

(December 14, 2012)

The morning light from Callie's window caught my eye. Also, I can't sleep past 9 o'clock so I take pictures while my friends sleep. 

(December 15, 2012)

Euros, euros, everywhere

Do I have enough?

...J'espere.

(December 15, 2012)

Sidney and Callie in Wavre with the cool Christmas lights.

(December 15, 2012)

La belle rue.

(December 15, 2012)

Guitar lessons by night.

(December 15, 2012)

Waiting for the tram to take us to the Christmas market.

(December 19, 2012)

Welcome to Europe, home of cool side streets.

(December 19, 2012)

A bike sitting along the Rhine. It's almost too good to be true.

(December 19, 2012)

The Cologne Cathedral which is huge! This picture doesn't give it justice.

(December 19, 2012)

A stand of little wood carvings. 

(December 19, 2012)

A stand of glass ornaments.

(December 19, 2012)

A stand of all things cats!

(December 19, 2012)

Les étoiles dans les arbres.

(December 19, 2012)

The entrance to the Christmas market.

(December 19, 2012)

Warm cashews, a snack like no other.

(December 19, 2012)

My personal favorite stand: bonsai trees.

(December 19, 2012)

I wish I could have all of these to hang in my room. They're pretty groovy.

(December 19, 2012)

We decided to make a stop at Starbucks while we were in Cologne. I used to work there in the United States, so it brought back many fun memories of coffee bean-grinding and milk-steaming. This is my host sister Christelle and her friend Alizée! 

(December 19, 2012)

My host parents, Marie and Michel!

(December 19, 2012)

Au Marché!

Being an exchange student is pretty risky when you think about it. Submitting an application to some organization and being chosen by some random family to live in their house for a year is frankly a shot in the dark. Luckily, I was chosen by a great host family! They are always willing to take me anywhere I need to go and I never feel uncomfortable around them. In addition, they are connoisseurs of food and take pride in buying things fresh and locally. Our bread comes from a bakery about five minutes away, our milk and eggs come from a farm down the road, our meat is bought from a butcher instead of a supermarket, and the list goes on.

Today, I went along with my host dad to the market in Namur. Basically, it's just a parking lot at the University that is filled with tents and stands every Saturday morning. There is a huge variety of food there; seafood, fruits, cheeses, vegetables, chicken, pastries, eggs, and my favorite, olives! There's something about the market that I really like. Maybe it's just because I'm a morning person but, for me, waking up when it's still dark and going to buy food in the freezing cold is a good time.

Christmas lights in Namur. Also, props to that person biking at 7am.

(December 8, 2012)

Rise and shine

(December 8, 2012)

Sally sells seashells by the seashore

(December 8, 2012)

Weighing the "Thon a Bruxelloise".

(December 8, 2012)

Animal activists, I apologize.

(December 8, 2012)

My grandma Burkhart always told me that brown eggs were better.

(December 8, 2012)

Rainbow of fruits

(December 8, 2012)

Goat cheese, my personal favorite!

(December 8, 2012)

Seriously, waffles are everywhere. 

(December 8, 2012)

I used to get olives for Christmas and birthday presents, so I am like a little kid in a candy shop here.

(December 8, 2012)

Bags in hand; it was a successful day.

(December 8, 2012)

Saint Nicholas Est Passé!

December 6th is an important holiday in Belgium: the holiday of Saint Nicholas! (La Fête de Saint Nicholas) Traditionally, Belgians give more gifts on the day of Saint Nicholas than Christmas. However, like many other countries, Christmas (December 25th, Santa Clause, etc.) is becoming more of a celebrated holiday. Personally, I think it is kind of disappointing that the traditional cultures are slowly beginning to disappear. I think cultural diversity is an important thing and we should try to keep it for as long as we can.

"It was the day of the science/economy exams at Saint Louis. Skyler, who did not take the course, had the chance to stay at home for the day. It started off as any other day off of school; waking up with the late morning sun and walking down the hardwood stairs in a sleepy daze. She entered the kitchen and took a mug and tea bag from the cupboard to prepare a nice hot morning drink. As she reached for the faucet, something orange caught her eye. She abruptly turned her head and looked into the dining room. There, on the table, sat an arrangement of extravagant gifts surrounded in gold ribbon; bright orange clementines, boxes of cookies and biscuits, bags of candy, and most importantly, chocolate statues of the famous Saint Nicholas! Skyler had been a good exchange student, and she had been rewarded. Saint Nicholas est passé!"

"Cat Tongues"...chocolate!

(December 6, 2012)

Saint Nicholas hanging out with all of the other Nicks.

(December 6, 2012)

Saint Nicholas is serious about giving out gifts to children. Just look at that face.

(December 6, 2012)

Clementines! My favorite fruit.

(December 6, 2012)

This entire week we have been having little snow showers. I love the snow, but it seems like the Belgians don't like it. They always complain if they hear it is going to snow!

(December 6, 2012)

Little bits o' green.

(December 6, 2012)