All I ask is that I be remembered... I hope that isn't too much
Mood:  blue
Topic: My Return Home
The last time I wrote was Monday but I think it was in the afternoon because I've forgotten to recount the evening with the Fayerson family:

Monday night I went to Adriana's FIRST families house to eat dinner. Mia is still camping or something so she wasn't there and Robin was meeting a friend at the airport and wouldn't be home until later in the evening. So it was Marie (maman Bronlet/Fayerson) Lila, and me. We waited a couple of minutes for Marie's "boyfriend" to come home from work to start eating. After dinner, I went with Lila to catch her rabits to put them inside for the night (wow what a task, you have to admire the dedication that girl has to do it every night) After about 20 minutes of "rabit hunting" our mission became a success! I stayed a little while later talking and around 10 Lila went with me and Marie to drop me off. It was such a plesant evening and I'm so happy I know that family. (They made this exchange year worth staying for!)

My last night in Belgium was spent alone in my host families house, talking online and packing my bags... nope, no parties for me :( Yeah that was kind of depressing...

At 8 in the morning on Wednesday the 13th, Stephan Dor and Aurelie (his daugher who had gone to america) came to the Hubert residence to pick me up. They stayed together with my host family for about 45 minutes, eating chocolate pastry bread and enjoying the last morning. Even though the previous 2 or 3 days had been nice enough even in the morning, the day of the 13 it was gray and foggy right from the beginning. It seems justified though; I don't think it would have been easier for me to leave a sunny happy country as it was for me to say good bye to normal Grey-Rainy-Day-Liege.

All my bags had been packed since the night before with some things left out to be sent home to me (like my plush animal Stitch and Mouton) but I was still a little worried about the weight of my check in luggage.

Once my bags were loaded into Stephan's car, I said my goodbyes to the Hubert family (who I only stayed with for my last week in Belgium) but it seemed a little sad "comme meme" :( The car ride to Brussels where the airport is located, is an hour flight and in no time at all, we were pulling up to the entrance. Aurelie grabbed a luggage cart, loaded my bags onto it, and manouvered it into the airport. Went to the ticket desk, yadah yadah yadah, got in line to get my check in luggage... uh... checked in. (for lack of better airport termonology) :p And they accepted both my bags without problems of weight or anything. *phew* That was a big relief. :D I said a quick goodbye to the Dor family and went past passport checks. I didn't have any problems getting to gate B40 with only minor quick stops along the way, 1: to get my passport checked again because I was entering an area where all flights were destined for America and they have, of coarse, tightened security and 2nd: to get my hand luggage searched, shoes taken off, etc etc etc... They had me turn on all of my electronics I guess to make sure they were't bombs, then almost opened my box of italian glass for Lori but I persuaided them not to, and finally to finish, they patted me down because I was wearing baggy clothes and they thought that was suspicious. Besides that, the trip went really easily. I didn't once get lost, and there were no hassles about the forms I had to fill out or my credibility.

Computer crashed
Mood:  lyrical
Humm I've been offline for a while because the computer at my host families house wasn't working so voila, now I am at work using the laptop. When was the last time I wrote... euh...evidently it was the 7th. I guess that wasn't so long ago:p ; 4 days can seem like an eternity.

In my last entry I didn't mention my Rotary Presentation very much, but I reassure you all, it went well and without 'gros' problems. It only lasted 5 minutes or so but it didn't look bad because Justine Piette (my ex- host sister) was there and she made a short speech also and after the both of us had presented, Aurelie Dor (the daughter of my first host family who was in Pennsylvania while I was at her house) made a speech about her year in America. Accompaning us at our 'kids table' was Ludavic (ok I know that isn't the correct spelling but I gave it my best shot oki?!) the son of my host family, making him forcement, my host brother; and his friend (both who were exchange students at one point or another)

and yes Aurelie is back now and we've met on a couple of different occasions. She seems really nice to my face...like everyone here. But Adri has told me that when the Dor family came to a barbecue at the Duchesne house they didn't stop talking down on me (and frankly that doesn't surprise me after hearing the stories about Noemie...)

have I mentioned the stories about Noemie? oki well back when Adriana was still in Belgium, every time Noemie talked to her, she was completely obsessed with me. 'I know tracy doesn't like me, if she says something bad about me then you can tell me'; 'I know tracy says bad stuff about me all the time'; 'You know when tracy was at my house she was always angry and she hates my family'; 'Well you know... tracy, she ... doesn't like her dad... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!'; 'Does tracy have a boyfriend in Belgium?'; 'Can I see a picture of him?'; 'Oh he isn't cute... I mean, do you think he's cute??? he really isnt cute!'

** 20 minutes later**

... 'and tracy bla bla bla.... '

Then once Pierre invited adriana to a movie with him and Noemie (back when there were still dating) and again Noemie talked the ENTIRE time about me. Adriana called me after the movie and said 'COME QUICKLY HERE TO SAVE ME!! THIS GIRL IS GOING TO DRIVE ME INSANE!' and even after I got there, Noemie took Adriana aside and kept talking about me... how old is this girl!? baf!

... yeah, so that is the Noemie story. Now where was I? oki so On Friday I went into town with Robin which was the first time he's been into liege since he got back, he said he felt like a tourist, lol. I ran a few arrends in town then we went for a drink in the carre at La Cour St. Jean before I had to catch my bus back into Herstal to where my host family works. Woooow it really sucks that I'm leaving at just the same time that he's getting back cuz hes a really fun person to be around and I have such a good time when I'm with him! damn...

Saturday I went into town again to look at book prices and such (might as well buy now while french books are common because I have an idea I'm going to have a hard time finding a lot of french literature back in good 'ol maine. :( Puis, I walked all the way to Killans house to say bye ... euh we kinda had a falling out the other day, then my computer stopped working and I don't have any money left on my cellphone; but I was right there in town so I decided to stop up to say a last goodbye and... he wasn't there. ouf. merde. so chances are I will not see him again... I hate not saying goodbyes ... I need that closure :/

By the time I got back into town it was time for me to pick my bus and... oops, wheres my bus? come to find out the next one was scheduled to come in 40 minutes and I didn't have any money left on my gsm to call my host family. I was kinda bummed/ stressed about that and as I was looking for someone who had their cellphone with them or a telephone booth, when I see two black guys probably in their early 20ies walk past then stop really quickly, turn around and come up to me:

in french: "hello madmoiselle, would it disturb you if I talked to you?" all polite like
me: thinking: 'Great, what now?' "yeah sure, what do you want?
guy: "I think you're really beautiful", "bla bla bla"
me: still distracted trying to find a telephone booth -- I cut him off half way through his sentance "Ok look, do either of you have a cell phone?"
guy: "uh... non"
me: "ok well I'm really busy, I need to find a phone, so I'm just going to go, ok?"
guy: "non non non, madmoiselle..."

summary: the guy finds me a phone booth really quickly + pays for my phone call then asks really politely that I could take his cell phone number and call him some time, that would make him really happy. Ok thanks, bye! lol :p


And euh... I think thats about it. Still packing my bags, weighing them and unpacking... today or tomorrow I have to go into town to compare chocolate prices :p

ahhhh la vie, elle est dure hein!?

HAPPY 4th A TOUS!
Mood:  mischievious
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE!! Here in Belgium there isn't much racket being made about the 4th... which makes sense seeing it isn't their day of independance :p. A group of American exchange students were, though, trying to get a party set up on the beach for the 4th of july, with fireworks and everything, but I'm not sure how that worked out. I had planned on going but first I wanted to make a stop in Brussels with Adriana to get her diploma thingy for the school but by the time we were done doing that it was full out storming and we didn't think anyone would be at the sea... plus I had asked Ross to call me around noon and he never did, so Adriana and I returned early which turned out really good in the end.

Adriana, elle est partie le 5. Quelle horreur! C'est un choses quand tu dois dire au revoir ? ta meilleure amie, mais c'?tait encore plus pire que ?a pour moi... Adriana est devenue plus que ma meilleure amie, elle est comme ma soeur! (et c'est vrai que nous avons habit?es ensemble pendant que je sois install?e chez Duchesne)

--> Adriana left the 5!! How terrible it was! It's one thing to lose your best friend but it was even worse than that for me because Adriana is more than my best friend! She's like my sister! (and its true that while I was living at the Duchene's house, she was living there with me)

Her last night in Belgium was spent like this: First the Duchesne family made couscous and we spent the evening there eating our 'last supper' with the family until 8:30 or so then when my host family was done doing the dishes, they took us to Adriana's first host families house where we spent the rest of the evening. Around midnight Marie took us back to my house (but don't be decepted, it wasn't to say goodnight) but instead to get my bottle of a****** and by 6 in the morning that was polished off between Adriana, Robin (Adriana's host brother) and me.

^Marie Fayersn(adriana's first host mom) added a comment to this photo on Adriana's website in French that went something like this: 'H? woah you 3! How many glasses of ice water did you drink before you got that beautiful starry eyed look?' lol :) At 6 in the morning the 3 of us wandered down to my house (the Duchesne house) on this little path that leads almost directly from their back yard to mine. And for the rest of the day I spent packing with Adriana and at 2 her first host family came to get her and me and took us to the airport. Goodbyes are always sad and this one was no acception either... :( As soon as I got back from the airport, I finished packing my bags and after a quick dinner with my Duchesne fam, Guillaume came to get me to take me to my new living arrnagements.

I'm really happy how the family change worked out where I moved the same day as she left for Brasil. I couldn't have supported staying there when she wasn't there. So now I'm at the Hubert residence. Guy and Martin are reallllly nice and they have two really cute sons (who unfortunately dont live at the house any more :( lol ) I get the entire upstairs of their house to myself which is sectioned off into two rooms for their sons who obviously don't need them any more. I get a bathroom to myself and everything.

---------------

I just can not believe London won the hosting of 2012 Olympic games! I'm so sad for Paris (because I dooooo loooove paris!) And then this morning when there was a terrorist attack in London. Hummm I just don't know what to think :/
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Yesterday I woke up around noon (having finally caught up on the sleep that I missed from the night of the 4th of July (the night I stayed up with Adriana and Robin) and then went to work with my host dad until 6. He is the manager/ boss of an accounting business but I mainly stayed upstairs working on my presentation speach for Rotary that I presented today...

If I can find the cd with the 4th of july photos, then I'll put them on my yahoo album... that is if I canfind them. Everything is so almost neatly packed away I almost don't want to disturb it. :)

So many things are changing... and life goes on
Mood:  not sure
Topic: EUROTOUR
'Rob ' left yesterday. I went to the airport early in the morning to see her off. I had to be up at 6:30 to take the train at 8 and be in Brussels by 9:30. Ashley told me she would be there at 9 and that her plane was leaving at 11 so there I was and there was no sign of her. I was freaking out for about an hour when all of a sudden as I was walking past some gates I see her and Kathleen and Ross walking towards me and I hear Kathleen say: oh there she is! I was so relieved I ran up and gave Ashley the biggest hug and it turned really quickly into a big crying fest. :'( I'LL MISS YOU 'MY ORIGIONAL ROB'!!!! The reason I hadn't seen her had been because her family had been late and she had just been checking in her things. I WAS SOOO RELIEVED THAT I FOUND HER! I had visions of not finding her and not being able to say good solid goodbyes... And I think good goodbyes are important. Once she left, I went into the city with Ross and Kathleen for a half an hour or so but decided it was a better idea for me to head home to Liege (since I left early in the morning, I never mentioned to my host family where I was going and they wern't too impressed with me when I got back) but i just told them that I'd woken up around 11, and gone out into town to buy a book and no one was home when I left.

When I got back to the house, Charles, my 6 year old host brother was fast asleep ontop of the table... huh? lol tooo cute! I'll miss these kids... If I miss nothing else about this god forsaken country... i will miss the Duchesne kids :):):)


Adriana will leave me in 2 days... this is probably going to be the hardest goodbye ever! She has become my best friend during the year here and I don't know when I'll see her again. I'm sure we'll talk and do our circle journal thing but... its not the same. Nothing will be the same between us like it is here in Belgium 04-05...

TOMORROW IN OOSTANDE!!! AMERICAN PARTY!! contact Ross asap if you want in.

*bizz

EURO TOUR (outline)
Mood:  chatty
Topic: EUROTOUR

OVERVIEW:

Tuesday the 14: Mid-afternoon the FIRST family of Adriana took me into Li?ge to stay at the Youth hostel.

Wednesday the 15: (day 1) We set out on route in the morning after eating breakfast at the youth hostel around 9. Stopped at mid-day for lunch then got to Munich, Germany in the evening. Did a tour of the city before returning to the youth hostel that night.

Thursday the 16: (day 2) We left Munich in the morning and stopped an hour or so later at Dachau which is just a little bit south of Munich (the concentration camp) in the afternoon. In the Evening we arrived in Prague. They had some crazy nightlife for a Thursday night (got back to the hostel around midnight)

Friday the 17: (day 3) There was a guided tour of Prague (the capital of Czech Republic) but the tour guide spoke really terrible french with a strong accent and no one could understand him. Returned in the afternoon by bus to the hostel after eating at a nice monestary/restaurant, to do shopping and it rained for the first and only time during Euro-tour. Afer dinner, Rotary took us to a theater preformance that was all done with blacklights and special effects. That evening I went out with Holly and Anna to go 'ambiance hunting'.

Saturday the 18: (day 4) Holly and I returned to the hostel at 7:30 in the morning. Around 8 the bus left for Vienna, Austria. (Vienna is the capital of Austria) We caught up on our sleep on the long busride. The hostel wasn't in the city center so no partying Saturday night.

Sunday the 19: (day 5) was a guided tour of Vienna and at noon they set us free to do shopping or look more around the city. In the evening they had planned for us to see a famous Vienne opera but things got mixed up and I'll explain it later. Back to the hostel around 11:30 and again, no partying.

Monday the 20: (day 6) We left early in the morning to get to Salzburg (where the movie: The Sound of Music was filmed) and we arrived around noon. Took a guided tour of the famous salt mines and then got checked into our rooms in the early evening. Went out at night with Stephanie, Danni, Anna, and Holly.

Tuesday the 21: (day 7) Got back around 3 in the morning. Slept until 7 when I had to get up with my group to go sightseeing. The guided tour lasted until noon or so then we all had lunch. In the afternoon a group of us went bike riding to make another tour of the city. No partying that night.

Wednesday the 22: (day 8) woke up at 3 with 'rob' = ashley to watch the sun come up. Cute ^^ :) Came back and got a good solid 2 hours of sleep before having to eat breakfast and get on the bus for Venise. Arrived in Venise in the afternoon. Walked around the city in the evening. Stayed at the hostel at night= no partying for me.

Thursday the 23: (day 9) Woke up early but too late for breakfast. Had a guided tour of the center of Venise then most of the peeps went to the beach on the island of Lido. Got back in the late afternoon and I went to sleep until (recover) diner, ate at the hostel, then went back to sleep for the rest of the night= no partying.

Friday the 24: (day 10) Left early in the morning to head to Florence, Italy. Got there in the afternoon and had lunch at the hostel. Then we went to a small traditional Tuscan city. Had a glass of good italian wine with the girls under the hot tuscan sun :D. Ate at a restaurant. Got back to the youth hostel and most of us stayed outdoors drinking in the gardens with other residents of the hostel.

Saturday the 25: (day 11) Guided visit of Florence (Statue of David is kept in Florence) Ate lunch at the hostel then went to Sienne to visit for the day. The busdriver got us lost and we ended up eating sandwiches in the middle of nowheres (on the side of a hill) for dinner. Got home to late for me to party in the garden. I was too tired.

Sunday the 26: (day 12)Depart in the direction of France. Stop in Pisa and see the only memorable thing in Pisa there is to see: the leaning tower... of coarse! Photos photos photos, but it costed 15 euros to climb up it and so we decided that a ground's eye view wasn't so bad. Arrived in Nice later that day. Went out in the evening but got lost on the bus and came back to the hostel. Pool at the hostel. :):):)

Monday the 27: (day 13) Visited Monaco, went to the aquarium then to see the changing of the guards that happens every day at 11:55. From there the rotary promised us lunch as long as we walked to the restaurant... an hour and 15 minutes later in the boiling heat, we arrived at the restaurant. I'm surprised no one passed out, because no one had come prepared with water... but it was such a beautiful walk anways. :)

(you can see the untouched version of this picture with my other photos from euro tour in my "Euro Tour Album")
After diner, I went with a group of girls swimming in the ocean that was right off the balcony of the restaurant. In the afternoon around 3 or so we left for Cannes (where the French Film Festival was held last year) What is the south of France famous for? Like Nice and Cannes?? BEACHES! So of coarse we went swimming (after I had already been swiming earlier) it was warmer at the water infront of the restaurant. That evening we left for yet another beach. Had a barbecue on the sand and enjoyed our last days of euro tour.

Tuesday the 28: (day 14) Drove to Lyon. It was so hot but the youth hostels were really nice. Had a guided tour by night of Lyon and bought 3 bottles of rose wine to share between Ross, Kathleen and me. Partay in Rosses room our hostel rooms were right next to eachother. heh. At about 2 I piled out of there and went to Dani and pam's room. Slept there.

*na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye*

Wednesday the 28: (day 15) last day of euro tour was spend driving back to Belgium.We got to Liege around 6:30. It was raining. My host mom picked me up around 7.