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)