Salut de Belgique :)

Okay, so I've uploaded several pictures, I hope you enjoy them! :) I know there are a lot but I want you to be able too see everything!

CouCou!
Today is my third day here in Belgium and everything is going well, but hey now I don't want to get ahead of myself, I'll start at the beginning.
So Tuesday morning, my family and I got to the airport around five, we ate breakfast and they gave me a Hershey's kiss necklace-which by the way Mom I haven't taken off. Anyways, after a difficult good-bye, I made my way through security and to my gate, C9. At this point I was sterting to feel really nervous so thank god when I got to the gate I saw Ashley! My fellow Belgium bound exchange student. For that first whole flight we were both just blabbering on at a mile a minute because we were both so nervous/excited we didn't know what to do! The rest of our flights were uneventful except for the fact that on our flight form Philadelphia to Bruxell there were 13 other RYE students to Belgium on the plane aith us, and somehow we were all sitting relatively close. My row of three actually was just RYErs :)
Ok, now the exciting part...the actual arrival! At this point in time I was just sooo excited!! Like WOW I'M IN BELGIUM! So I pick up my bags, and am having trouble manuvering them haha, I go through the little "walkway" to the ummm, greeting area? Anywho, the whole time I was thinking, I hope they have a sign for me so I can find them. So as soon as I come around the corner I see a huge sign-MAGGIE-and behind it was my third host Mom, brother, and sister. I was so happy I could have cried, which is not a regular thing haha. So I meet them, with kisses of course, and we go to a little cafe thing in the airport...mmmmm croisant :) They wanted to wait while their friends picked up their exchange student, Jackson from Texas. Apparently he will be like a neighbour when I live with them.

So we drove the 30 mins to their house and I got to see it, it's tiny and sooo cute! Then we came here to my first host family's house :) the reason my first host family did't pick me up is because my Mom, Mano, is working a lot this week, she works with mentally disabled people and horses and this week the people are staying here so she is with them like 24/7! So these past few days I have mostly been with my host sister Isabelle and Host brother Thomas, who went on exchange to Mexico 5 years ago. They are both being super helpful :) Everything here is so beautiful! All the houses are brick and just so different from home! My falily's house now is pretty big with a large backyard and stables and everything, Mom would love it! :) This is the view from the backyard --------------------->>



Yesterday Thomas took me to Bruxell. Oh mon Dieu! It is such a cool city! And it's only an hour by train, everything is so close here it's awesome! When I told Thomas tha to get to our capital it was like 4 hrs by plane he was blown away! Later this evening Mano is taking me to see the tourist spots around here I think it will be really nice, and of course I am bringing my camera :) I'm like the obnoxious American with her bright pink camera lol.

Now quickly before I go a bit about the language. It's so hard! I can get maybe half of what is said if they speak slowly...but when they talk to eachother, I'm pretty much at a loss. Occasionally I'll be able to catch a few key words and get the gist of what they are talking about but it's pretty frustrating. But what is even more frustrating is when they speak to me in English :( A lot of times what happens is that they will say something and I won't understand so instead of repeating it more slowly or in a more simple way they just say it in English. They did say though that they will only speak English for a little since I just got here...but I think I will just have to ask them to stop now. I imagine it is more efficient for them to just say it in English when I don't understand but I don't think it's really helping me. Now this may make it sound like they are speaking like only English, which isn't true..but Thomas does it the most, and I know it is because he is trying to help but I think that it's bad.

Whew! I'm tired, I had to write this whole thing on their keyboard....pretty difficult! :P Their wireless internet is down but Mano will fix it tomorrow I think and when she does I'll upload some of the pictures I've taken that are saved on my computer!

A bientôt mes amis :)


P.S. who knew that Manneken Pis had a sister?? --------------->