As you probably noticed, I didn't blog much in October. But I'll be honest here, October was a tough month, everything seemed to have plateaued off, especially my enthusiasm...which is why this last weeks vacation couldn't have come at a better time :D
To start it off last weekend I went to visit a fellow RYEer who is living in Cottemweg, conventiently located between Oostende and Bruges! It was my first real "venture" into Flanders, and it was wonderful! Not only was it nice to be able to just "hang out" and tour the gorgeous city of Bruges, it was also a somewhat eye-opening experience. I think most of you know that Belgium is a very divided country, I have even heard rumors of talk of seperating Flanders and Wallonia alltogether, but I really had no idea how it could be so severe until I went there. Literally it was like another country. The cities seemed different, the people were different, and obviously the language was different. I really realized all this when I was sitting on the train there and it occured to me that if I wanted to talk to someone else on the train, I wouldn't even know which language to use, French, Dutch, or English! I am amazed that such a small country can be so completly diverse, I mean look at the US, you can fit about 12 Belgiums in the state of CA alone and yet we all speak English...so basically, I now have a much better grasp on what exactly this country's political leaders are struggling with.
Next, on Tuesday I got together with most of the kids in my class and we all went out to eat Belgian fries (:P) and ice cream! It was so much fun and even though I ate way too much I went home feeling great :D
And finally (best for last) I went on a trip with the Rotary to London. It, was, AM-A-ZA-ZA-ZING! I can't even describe to you the impact it had on me. The city is such a beautiful mixture of history and modern day and so totally...alive, the atmosphere is wonderful and completely unique. On one of the days we just walked through the city for three hours and I never once wished to be doing something else...even though my feet were killing me and I'm not a big fan of walking in the first place! I know that it's not the right city, but I literally think I left my heart in London, and I can't wait to go back!
Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy to be spending this year here in Belgium. I was even a bit comforted to be surrounded by French again this morning waiting for my train home.
So hopefully this month I'll be a little bit more on top of my blogging, talk to you soon :]
Oh and I'm planning on uploading all the pictures from London and Bruges to my web album :]
Aren't vacations nice?? It's always good to have a break from the routine. And I remember for me it was eye-opening on my exchange coming back to my host country--it felt, as you expressed, comforting and homey. I also remember that after being away from Spanish and then coming back to it, I could see and enjoy my own improvement in the language.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had such a great time in London. It is a pretty cool city. ;)
XXOO, Opie
Great to see another post Moe! I guess this means I have to say, I posted more than you did in October (though not much) ;p I am very happy that you got out and changed your world a little. You could have just curled up in your bed and been a victim. But no... you "Captain Morganed" it and went out with friends, asked a friend to hang out, and went to London. By the way, how did you get there? The Chunnel??
ReplyDeleteLove you, and so so proud of you sweet heart!!
Dad