the calendar says it's christmas time

Well it’s Christmas Eve…

Blue skies, sun shining, and a temperature of about 2 degrees. Snow nowhere to be found. It defiantly doesn’t feel like Christmas this year. Sure there are Christmas decorations, a tree, presents, and a mall filled with restless shoppers trying to get the perfect gifts, but there isn’t Christmas baking, Christmas music, stockings hung over the fireplace or the traditions that I’m used to.  I know this is all a part of becoming a part of other cultures, creating new traditions and making new memories, but I have to say, being away from home at Christmas sucks!!! Maybe it’s because Christmas just came super-fast this year, maybe it’s the fact that I still had school yesterday, or maybe it’s because I’ve been so caught up in everything else going on in my life, but I looked at my calendar one day and realized that Christmas was only a week away and I hadn’t even started shopping yet.

Thankfully when my family sent my presents from Canada they also included a present for my host sister and for my host brother. That made Christmas shopping a little easier, but still I have to say I hate Christmas shopping. Spending hours in a crowded mall, over heating because you`re wearing your big winter jacket, arms filled with shopping bags, standing in checkout lines for what feels like forever.

Where is the Christmas spirit in that? After dealing with all of the hassles this year, I’ve decided that I am going to start Christmas shopping in October next year so I don’t have to deal with all that.

I don’t’ really know the plan for Christmas with my host family cause I haven’t asked, but from what I have gathered I think we are opening presents tonight at midnight, possibly after a big dinner, and then tomorrow we are having another big dinner with a turkey!!! I know that’s happening because my host mom asked me to make gravy for it! J

In Belgium Santa Claus is called Pere Noel, but he doesn’t bring presents on Christmas Eve when you are sleeping. St. Nicolas brings presents and candy and puts them in your shoes (stockings) on the 6^th of December.

Christmas is defiantly not as commercialized here as it is back home. There isn’t Christmas specials on TV, or at least that I know of.( I haven’t watched TV in a month, partially because I don’t have time, but also because the TV never works when I try to watch it…) I haven’t heard about a lot of Christmas party’s besides the one I threw! J Which turned out great, and I think everyone had a great time!  My favorite part of Christmas in Europe is all the Christmas markets. Every town seems to have one, and I love looking around seeing what everyone is selling. I even took a trip to Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen, Germany) on Tuesday with my host mom, Cat (Canada), Marina (Brazil), and Rodrigo (Argentina) to go shopping at the Christmas market. Germany was beautiful, with a lot more snow then Belgium has (which is none btw). There is so much more of Germany that I want to see, so I’m hoping to take a trip to Germany for a couple of days during Carnival in February! J

I should probably go get my day started now. It’s 2:30 and I haven’t gotten out of my bed yet today! J

Plan for the day: hang out, paint my nails and chill at home! J sounds like a perfect day to me! J

Country Count

One of the things I wanted to do this year was see as many countries as possible, and I am doing just that! :)

Countries I've been too.
-Canada (well no duhh)
-U.S.A.
-Mexico
-France
-Holland
-Belgium
-Germany
-Italy
-Vatican City (well technically it's a state)
-England
-Luxembourg(BORINGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!, lasted about 1.5 hours before we jumped on the first train back home)

Countries I want to see this year,


-Czech Republic(hopefully in June)(just not enough time, permission, or money :( ))
-Denmark(as much as i want to go, i just don't have the time or the money to go this year :'( ))
So far the country count is at 9(&and a state), by the end of my exchange I want it to be at a minimum of 10! Challenge accepted! 
Challenge Succeeded! :)
edited-december 21st
edited-april 23rd
edited-may 20th
edited-july 2nd

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas time!

In the Grand Place there is a HUGE Christmas tree, all decorated, with a nativity scene with real animals in it, and twice an hour there is a light show, that is pretty amazing!  I've probably seen it about 10 times already and every time I find myself loving it even more! It started feeling like Christmas on December the 6th, which is St. Nicolas in Belgium and a lot of central Europe. What happens is little kids (and big one’s like me! :p) put their shoes in front of the fire place before they go to bed the night before, and if they have been ‘good’ their shoes will be filled with candy when they wake up in the morning.

 I guess I’ve been good lately, because I came to the breakfast table with a pile of stuff from St. Nicolas for me the next morning!  He (aka my host parents) brought me a chocolate version of St. Nicolas, a gossip magazine in English, speculoos cookies, and some money!  I guess I must have been really good!  As  I write about this event, I find myself realizing that it’s Europe’s version of stockings for Christmas, because I asked my host dad the other day if they did stockings at Christmas because I didn’t find any in their Christmas decorate box nor have a seen any in the stores, and they don’t do such a thing. This holiday was just a part of me growing with the culture of another country and I’ve already decided that next year and from now on (Or at least as long as St. Nicolas will come) I am going to celebrate this holiday! And when I walked into my class room that morning there were oranges and chocolate on everyone’s desk from St. Nicolas!
Last week I came home from somewhere and my host dad said “Jane, you got a huge parcel today, it’s in your room’ so I ran up the stairs like a crazy person, and ran into my room to find a parcel from my family! :) Ripping it open, only to find everything wrapped, was kind of a disappointment, until I got to the bottom and found a bag of Swedish berry candies that weren’t wrapped. Sorry family but I just couldn’t wait. They were so yummy and I promise I haven’t touched anything else yet! :) ps. If anyone wants to make my day, receiving a simple present of Swedish berries would make my day!!! I’ve pretty much been able to find everything that I need in Belgium or make my own, but Belgium and all of Europe have bans on some types of sugars so finding things like my favorite candies is really hard. My friend was looking for corn-syrup the other day to make a dessert, only to find out that it’s illegal in Europe. I never knew something so simple and harmless like corn-syrup could be banned.

 And now on a serious note...

 Today I came home from school, had lunch with my host family, and then signed on to Facebook. Turns out as I was walking home from school there was a grenade bombing and shots were fired in a city called Liege about an hour east of where I live. I guess what happened was this guy was supposed to appear at the Place de Justice today for a hearing (he had previously been in prison for possession of drugs, and fire arms) and instead of showing up to court, he decided it would be better to throw bombs and shots injuring around 60 people and killing 4 including himself. There are a lot of exchange students who live in and around Liege, and I know of about 7 exchange students (a couple who are very good friends of mine) who were in Liege at the time of the attack. One friend was told to get into a hair dressers shop and had to wait there for 2 hours, just blocks away from where the attack happened and a couple other friends ran into a shop and locked the doors when they heard the gun shots. Thankfully they are all safe now! <3 

Tomorrow I don’t have to go to school because it’s the Dutch exam and learning one language is already hard enough for me, so trying to learn another in a different language didn't seem like fun, so I don’t take Dutch and instead get a free period during that time instead! :) So me, Valentina and Tasha (the 2 other exchange students I go to school with) are planning on hanging out and watching movies all afternoon, and hopefully I'll go get a new cell phone this morning. It’s been 4 days since I’ve not had my cell phone and everyday just gets harder and harder. I am legit going to go crazy if I don’t get myself a new phone really soon!!!!!!!!!!!  (worst part is, I  didn’t have a phone until I got here, and now I cant even survive 4 days without it, hey momma & daddy birthday present idea!) 

Sorry this is randomly written. I wrote it last night, and to be honest I'm just too lazy to change it from future to past tense! :) Hope everyone has a great day and try to stay safe! <3 

Exotic Diner!

This is the story of how 8 Canadian got starred at on the train for being decked out in Canadian swag. :)
Since being on my exchange, I’ve noticed that I have become a lot more patriot about being a Canadian. I’m pretty sure it’s what happens to most exchange students; wanting others to know how proud they are of their country. When I get called American I quickly try to correct the person (except for my history teacher, who even after being corrected by the entire class still thinks my name is Jennie and that I am American, who I have just given on trying to set straight), being Canadian is something I am proud of, and usually love because our country is so diverse and different. But with Canada being filled with people from all over the world, it is extremely hard to determine what foods are actually Canadian and not just ‘borrowed’ from other countries.
Yesterday ROTEX held a potluck lunch for all the inbounds in Belgium and their host families. There are a couple of things you should know before I start talking about this sweet weekend.
1. ROTEX is a group of Belgian rebounds, aka kids that have already returned from their exchanges, and they plan out activities for us inbounds throughout the year.

2. The hall that this lunch was being held at didn’t have anywhere for us to heat up food, so they suggested us making foods that could be eaten cold.

3. You can’t buy gravy packets or cheese curds in Belgium… Trust me I’ve looked everywhere!!!!!!!

The Mission

-         In groups of 4 or 5 students, get together and cook a speciality from your home country. Cooking enough to feed 45 people.

Because we Canadians are super cool, we decided to make one big group instead of two smaller ones (ps. There was more than just our group of Canadians. I think there are about 40 Canadian inbounds in Belgium this year!) So it was me, Jasmyn (from Powell River (one of the girls I flew here with), Devyn (from Vernon), Alana (from Drumhellor, Alberta), Michaela (from Ontario), Kanen (from Ontario), Jocelyn (from Ontario), and Cat (from P.E.I.) all in a group together. And because my host parents are really cool, and they love me, they let me invite my whole group over on Saturday afternoon, make a huge mess in their kitchen, take over their dining room to have dinner, stay up really late to finish cooking in their kitchen and then take over their living room for a sleep over!  Thanks hosties!

So on Saturday afternoon, Jocelyn and Cat got dropped off at my house and we walked to the train station in La Hulpe to pick up the rest of them( except not Jasmyn, because she wasn’t able to come, so she joined us the next day). Stopped at the store on the way home for pizza, and came back to my house to eat as we prepared a list of stuff we’d need at the grocery store. On the menu was Montreal-style Bagels and Maple Syrup Baked Beans.

Now I’m pretty sure the people at the grocery store already think I’m weird because I often just go there to look around at all the products we don’t have in Canada, or to buy cheese pizza and chocolate when I’m feeling home sick, but then walking in with 6 extra over excited, loud English speaking, possibly even singing the Canadian national anthem Canadians I’m positive they all rolled their eyes at us.
The recipe for Montreal-style bagels said it would take only 1 and a half hours from start to finish, but somehow we started baking at 3 pm and finally called it a night at 1 am. None of us had ever made a bagel before, but we figured that with my experience of ‘baking them off’ and Cat’s doctor/bagel making dad on speed dial we decided to give it a try. It was defiantly a challenge, and with the sketchy recipe directions I found on some Google approved blog, we are proud to say that they were edible!  Turns out you are supposed to boil the bagels before you bake them, and when I recipe says to only let them rise for 20 minutes, you really should listen to that, and not leave them out for 2 hours well your host mom has friends over for dinner in the kitchen. But with a ton of hard work, a huge mess of my kitchen and a frantic international call to Cat’s dad we survived.

Also on the menu was Maple Syrup Baked Beans. Which were a huge hit, and smelled amazingly. Way easier to make then the bagels!

In-between cooking, we had dinner which consisted of a very elegant spaghetti dinner, and a night full of junk food.  Nanaimo bars, ice cream and nacho’s and cheese sauce helped us think of home, well our new favorite snack Paprika flavour chips and Belgian chocolate added a Belgian feature to our night.  The next morning, we awoke bright and early to put the beans in the oven and then a couple of us ran down the hill to get fresh bread and pain de chocolat for breakfast before leaving for the train all decked out in Canada flags, t-shirts and tattoos.

After getting starred out on the train, we got off and met up with a couple of Australian oldies and hopped on a tram to them to ULB (a Belgian university campus) where they lunch was being held. We put the finishing touches of cream cheese and smoked salmon on our bagels and had my host parents bring the pot of beans with them we were all ready to serve.

In between serving parents our food, being asked my we didn’t make poutine and snaking food from other groups we got to hang out with our other exchange student friends. A brief appearance from St. Nicolas throwing candy around the room, and a lot of singing, it was a lot fun!

Super 7 thanks for coming over and making my weekend a whole lot better, we’ll defiantly have to do it again sometime! 

Remembrance Day in Flanders Field

                            A year ago today, I had my first interview for my exchange. I remember going to the Remembrance Day ceremony in the cold rain in the morning and then going to the Crest for my interview in the afternoon. That interview was probably one of the hardest and scariest things (besides actually going on my exchange) that I have ever done!

At the time it felt like it lasted forever. My parents, 3 Rotarians and I sitting across from each other in a conference room, asking us questions about me, my life here, my family, my hopes and dreams, what I want to do with my life, about my friends, anything you could imagine they asked out, and then they asked my parents to leave the room, so they could interview me alone. I have to say that was probably the scariest part. At this time, my parents were still my security blanket, and I always felt more comfortable with them at my side.

Trying to answer their questions with the best answers possible, well still trying to show off my personality and character was really really really hard, but I must had done something right, if I’m writing this from my bedroom in Belgium! :)
 

             Then they brought my parents back in and asked me to leave. I was sitting outside the conference room for what felt like hours! Luckily my cousin Jill and her family came out of the restaurant well I was waiting for my parents interview to be over, so they came and took my mind of things for a bit. Finally after what felt like a lifetime, I was called back into the room, and they finished up the interview, telling us that they still had 2 more interviews to do that day, but they would call me later that night with a decision.

My parents and I went to the restaurant and had lunch, and during lunch we found out who the second interviewee was.

              Later that night the phone rang and my daddy talked on it for a while. When he finally hung up he didn’t have the look I was hoping him to have. I was wanting the look of ‘Congrats Jane you did it, you got the exchange’, but instead he has a different look, a look of ‘Uhh-oh, she’s gonna be heartbroken’. Turns out they choose another student… but because of a lot of hard work from my local Rotary club, and a ton of luck on my part I am writing this blog from Belgium!

     Today is not only the 2 and a half month mark of my exchange but it is also Remembrance Day in Canada and Armistice Day in Belgium. The famous Canadian poem ‘In Flanders Field’ by John Mc Rae just happens to have been written in the Flemish region of Belgium. As today as it was a holiday we didn’t have school so me, Jocelyn (Canada), Alana (Canada) and Isa (Mexico) took a 2 and a half hour train ride to Ypres for the day; where we met our 1st friend of the day. She was from New Jersey and is going to university for the 3rd time in England, and decided to come to Ypres because it was important to her, and she was finally close enough to make the trip, to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony. It was an amazing day. 

We watched the Remembrance Day ceremony, saw the Queen of Belgium, visited Menin Gate; where we met our 2nd friends of the day, a couple from England who were tracking down her brother who had been killed in the 1st World war, Went to the 'In Flanders Field' museum, found a cemetery where "the poppies blew

      Between the crosses, row on row,"
Went for lunch and met our 3rd friend of the day. While walking out of the restaurant, a lady stopped us, and asked if we were exchange students. We said yes, and found out that she was from Nelson, BC. Then she was starting telling us how she came to Belgium on an exchange a couple of years ago, and when we asked where she lived in Belgium, her not thinking we would no of it, said "Ottignies" and we were all like "Hey that's where we live! (not really, but it's like 10 minutes away). Then walking to the Flanders Field museum we met our 4th friends of the day. It was a group of teenagers that were all carrying Canadian flags, so we went up to them and asked where they were from. Turns out they are students from Ontario at an international school in Switzerland, and came to Ypres for the celebration today, and coolest part was that their teacher used to be the RYO (Rotary Youth Exchange Officer aka the guy in charge of youth exchange) for a club back in Ontario before moving to Switzerland.

Today I got to cross another thing off my bucket list and it will be something that I will always remember. Being able to experience Remembrance day in a huge way today was something I will always remember. Today I was a part of history. 
Thank you to all the troops serving and protecting our country! <3

J' ADORE PARIS ( and not only because my hoodie says so!)

When I was choosing countries to go to for my exchange, one that was always on the list was France. I have always wanted to live in a tiny french apartment with a view of the Seine, buy fresh baguettes everyday from a cute little french bakery, work at Vogue Paris, get to wear heels to work everyday and spend my free time reading in front of the Eiffel Tower... Just like every other non European-er. Clique I know, but it has always been my dream to go to Paris and finally my dream came true! :)

             Bright and early... Well actually it was still dark out. I got up, ate breakfast, and got my host mom to drive me to the train station. Two train rides and an hour and half later I arrived in Namur with the birthday girl Marina (Brazil). On to the bus with 59 other just as excited exchange students from all over the world I went!  
   On the bus, we were given name tag's that we had to wear for the entire trip (if you fb stalk me you can see these 'styling' things in some of my pictures) and before I even got off the bus at the rest stop I had already lost mine.

       A mere 6 hours later we arrived at the Versailles; the first of many stops on this crazy 3 day adventure.
Now I'd seen pictures of the Versailles before, but going into it I really had no idea what it was or why it was so important. Turns out Louis the Fourteenth and his wife Marie Antoinette lived, and they were forced to leave when it was invaded during the French Revolution.  It was beautiful inside and out, and from the windows inside you could see parts of the HUGE gardens, but unfortunately  the gardens were closed to us. Guess I'll just have to go back again! :)
We were given 3 hours at the Versailles before we had to be back on the bus on our way to our next sight, so after looking around, most of us exchange students ended up at the entrance of the gardens. Now when you put 60 exchange students from all over the world, who all speak different languages together singing is destine to happen. Now no one really knows who or when the song was created but us exchange students in Belgium have a theme song. It's in Spanish and Portuguese with a little English part, and everywhere we go we sing it loudly!  From the time of getting a new name tag after the rest stop, to getting back on the bus at the Versailles I had lost my second name tag... Let's just say the leaders weren't liking me that much right then! So well killing time at the Versailles we broke out into it. It was soo cool seeing all the other tourist stopping what they were looking at to watch us! :)

 

             Here is a video of us singing our song on the way up the Eiffel tower. 

     After the Versailles we went and had dinner. On the menu that night was tomato and tuna salad, ratatouille and chicken with creme brulee for desert. The restaurant we were eating at was kinda fancy, so the wait staff gave us crayons and paper napkins to keep us busy so that we wouldn't break anything well we were waiting for our food, but because I am so awesome I managed to not only spill my glass, but break it all over the girl sitting across from me plate. Let's just say the waiters didn't bring my table anymore refiles after that...
After dinner the bus drove around Paris, showing us some of the famous sights at night, stopping right in front of the Eiffel tower for us to get out, and see it for the first time... in the rain! :) 
Paris at night+ Paris in the rain= Prettiest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then we went to our hotel, got our rooms assigned, and had a meeting about rules, and the plan for the next day. Had some free time to experience life as a French-y and went to bed.

 The next morning we were up bright and early, enjoying a french breakfast of crepes with nutella, fresh croissants and pain de chocolat, and french cheeses before heading out. First stop of the day was a choice between the Museum d' Orsay or a walk around Paris. After already surviving the Versailles and wanting to see all the typical Paris sights, I chose the walk. So me, Maranda (U.S.A.), Jennica (U.S.A.) and 3 cool leaders walked around Paris, seeing the National Music Academy of France, the Obelisk (that was stolen from Egypt by Alexander the Great and brought all the way back to Paris... but my question is how'd they get it to Paris, because this happened before ships, trucks, and moving sidewalks were created...?) The leaders knew that we were more interested in shopping and seeing things like The Ritz hotel, Channel, and Tiffany and Co. then being in a museum so they were really good about showing us what we wanted to see! 
Ps. Any future Belgian inbounds who go on the Paris trip! Go on the walk instead of to the Museum, a billion times better and you get time for shopping! :)
 After the walk we went to the Louvre for lunch (cheese pizza, and coffee flavored zebra cake) and then we headed into the Louvre. The Louvre is HUGE, there was so much that I wanted to see, but it was so big that I would get lost trying to find something or find something else I was interested in seeing on the way to the first thing, so I didn't get to see everything I wanted to, but I did see the Mona Lisa, and the Mummy exhibit which were on the top of my to see list. The leaders had put together a little quiz for the Louvre so me and my partner went on a quest. We wanted to win, and we did! (not only because we were the only group that handed it in, but because we got all the answers right)
In Europe they do Day Light Savings Time a week earlier then in North America, and because I only got my phone since I've been here I didn't realize that I had to change the clock back an hour manually, so I ended up leaving the Louvre an hour early, and because there was so many of us in our group. The ticket people just counted heads instead of giving us all tickets, so I has an hour to kill and no way to get back in the Louvre, so I went to the food court, found the 'classy version of MC Donalds' and WIFI and had an hour long break! :)

After the Louvre we went to a huge shopping street in Paris for awhile before having dinner at a restaurant right beside the Arc. On the menu this evening was the best mashed potatoes I've ever had, roasted chicken and ice cream. After dinner it was time for a boat ride down the Seine. The lady sitting in front of us on the boat was in Paris celebrating her birthday so we all sung for her. Not only was I on the boat with kids from all over the world, but I met a couple from Mexico, a couple from China and a family for Hungary. The boat ride just happened to finish right in front of the Eiffel tower, so we got off the boat, ran across the road, and hoped into an elevator going up, up and away... well actually to the top of the Eiffel tower!!!! :) It was so cool being up there, it felt like I was on top of the world. And well waiting in a really really really long line go to back down, we found flags and under the flag it told you how far away from that city you were. I didn't find Vancouver but I did find Seattle and it said it was 6500km away so I'm about 7200km away I'd figure...

Standing at the top of the Eiffel tower was absolutely amazing! I got to see all of Paris, and it was stunning. We'll standing at the top I realized that if it wasn't for my exchange I probably wouldn't have gotten to Europe for a long long time. I don't no what I would do without my exchange. It's still only the beginning, but I already can say that this is the best year of my live so far! :)

When you go up the Eiffel tower you have to take 2 elevators, so on the way down because we were in a rush to catch our tram (like a subway) we decided to only take the first elevator and run down the rest of the stairs. So 674 steps down, a couple of run in to's with complete strangers, and me tripping down most of them, I made it down the Eiffel tower, with no broken bones! :) We left the Eiffel tower, caught our tram, and went straight to bed at the hotel. 

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast, packed up our rooms and headed to Notre Dame, then to the most beautiful place in the ENTIRE world! The Montmartre is a huge church placed on the highest hill in Paris, and in front of the church there are stairs that look over all of Paris! Most definitely my favorite place in the world now :) Around the church are streets filled with tourist shops, and creepy old men artist who ask to draw you every time you walk past. From there we went for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe Paris. *Going to the Hard Rock is a Rotary trip tradition and it happens on every trip! :)* for Hamburgers, french fries and ice cream. Then it was time to hit the bus for a 6 hour nap on the way home. Nap aka awkward movies and random dance party's on the bus! :)


We arrived in Namur just in time to catch the train back home. It was Halloween night and the trains were nothing like I'd ever seen before. There were so many people on them, and we got asked for ID when the ticket guy was checking our tickets. The station I always get off at;which seems to be one of the safest and the quietest, but that night it wasn't. There was glass all over the place, and the windows from the bench shelter had all been broken...

Over all this was the best trip ever! I had always wanted to go to Paris, and I finally got to cross something off my bucket list!

Guess What!

ONLY 9 DAYS UNTIL PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not that anyone's counting or anything) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First Belgian Rotary Meeting

On Monday night I went to my first Rotary meeting here and it was way different then the meetings I've been to in Canada.
 It was at the golf and country club in Genval, and it was beautiful there!

TheDifference's
-there were probably only 4 women in the whole club
-the members were drinking beer and there was wine on all the tables
-a couple of the members were on their cell phones during the meeting
-the food at the meetings in Prince Rupert is way better!
-they don't do 'a good buck' here
- it was during dinner so I didn't get to miss school to attend :(


TheSimilarites
- tons of talking that I had know idea what it was about
-everyone was looking for more people to help with their part of Rotary
- they specially welcomed people from other clubs and special guest (like me! :) )
-you could totally tell who was in-charge
-all the men were dressed like they just came from the office and all the ladies (including me!) were wearing heels (don't worry Momma, I didn't break anything!)


The topic of the meeting was RYE so me and the 5 other inbounds (Mexico, USA, Brazil, Equator, and Argentina) in my club and 3 rebounds (Mexico, USA and Equator) were all at the meeting, and we all had to get up and introduce ourself (luckily my host parents had made me practice the french, and it actually went ok!)
It was almost 11pm when we got home, and me being so tired from just living here ( I sleep well every night, but no matter what I am always tired!) I forgot to set my alarm, so for the first time all year I was late for school! <-- thats kinda a big deal for me because i was late everyday last semester...

Brugge

Last Tuesday I didn’t have school because it was some random holiday here in Belgium. So my host mom and my friend Cat’s host mom took 8 of us (me, Cat from Canada, Jocelyn from Canada, Jennie from the States, Henry from Ecuador, Rodrigo from Argentina, Isabel from Mexico, and Fernanda from Bolivia) to Bruges for the day!

Bruges is absolutely beautiful!!!!!!!!!!! It is called ‘Little Venice’ and because of the cannels that run through it, and if it is anything close to what the real Venice looks like, well then I best be starting my countdown to Italy(ps. Paris is only 23 days away! )
When we were in Bruges, we went to their version of the Grand Place and it was just as cool as the one in Brussels, went on a cannel ride through the water ways and had lunch while visiting a Frites museum. Then we got to hit up all the tourist shops; where I bought the best shirt ever  and then we went a checked out all the free samples at the chocolate shops.

The best part of being in Bruges was that it is in the Flemish region of the country so they speak Dutch there, and the Flemish people don’t like people speaking French in their area so we got to speak English all day! I don’t think I’ve ever walked so much in a day (not even when I was in Las Vegas with my momma!)  or taken so many pictures before (my daddy should be proud! )

Whata weekend!

My life has started to become routine; same thing err'day.

only the coolest sticker ever!

so we didn't quiet find the museum, but we did find some other cool things:The Polish Embassy,

poptarts! and an international store :)

and the European commission !

One of my classes at school, is called History of Art, and it is possibly the coolest class I have ever taken! We get to look at art all class, go on field trips and the teacher is a total hippy :) Last weekend in Brussels, not only did they shut down the streets to cars, but they also opened up all the museums to the public for free. So as an assignment for the class we were supposed to go with a couple other students and go check out a museum.
On Saturday afternoon me and Tasha ( another Rotary exchange student from the states, who goes to my school, and is in my history of art class!) got on the train in La Hulpe and started heading to The Royal Army Museum of Belgium. My host parents had  printed me off a map, and attempted to explain how to get from the train station to the museum, but thinking we were smart enough, and knew our way around Brussels after only being there a couple of times, we decided to not get off our at stop, but first continue on to the Grand Place and explore there for a bit before going to the Army museum...
 Well lets just say that we barely made it out of the train station at Brussels center before realizing we had no idea where we were going, and got back on the train to go to the stop that we were supposed to get off to go to the Army museum. But we did get to see a cool band of Ballerina's playing in the train station! :) After getting off the train at the correct stop, we pulled out our handy dandy map, and started walking, but you see the problem with having a map is that you have to know how to read it... which I don't know!  Maybe I should have stayed at horse camp, or listened to man tracker?, because then maybe we wouldn't have gotten lost. Kay well really we didn't get lost because we knew where we were, we just didn't know where the museum was... But we did find a international store that sold cake mix, and pop tarts! (two rarities here in Belgium!)

And then on Sunday they shut down the city of Brussels, Genval and La Hulpe to cars, so a group of 10 exchange students, and our hosties (host parents) got on our bikes and biked about 15km through the city, and went to the Grand Place, Manneken Pis; which I have to say was kind of a disappointment. Like I knew it was small, but holy cow I almost had to put on my glasses to be able to see it!!!

Manneken Pis

checking out one of many sight scenes from the day

Brussels! <3


btw; only 36 days until Paris! :)

Question Time!

Sorry for not writing in awhile, but I've been so busy, that I just haven't had time... But I promise I'll start to find time to write! and lucky for you I have another blog to be posted asap


So what have I been up to since I last posted?
Well, let's see, I have been going to school, getting into a routine, going to zumba, hanging out with friends, exploring my town and just living life.
 Tomorrow I have my first scouts activity of the year, and on Sunday there is a festival in La Hulpe; which is practically where I live, that me and my hosties are going to check out. 
Today I had french lesson's with my Nun, and they are going pretty well. I have them next week too, the only problem is that she gives me homework :(, and then I had gym class, and then I had all afternoon free because my English teacher wasn't able to come to school today and my school doesn't have substitute teachers, so when your teacher isn't there, then you just don't have class! :)


When you read my blog, do you ever have questions for me? Ever wonder about my life here, how I get to school, what has been the biggest change, or whatever you think of when you read this?
Well I was talking to my momma the other day, she had the best idea for a blog! Who ever reads this, or is my Facebook friend can send me a question, and then once I get enough questions I'll write a blog to answer the questions. Sounds good?

here's a link to my facebook so that you can message me a question :) https://www.facebook.com/jbradbury14?sk=info

It's story time! 

Everyone that knows me back home, knows that I am a bit of a germ freak, and boy oh boy is Europe getting to me.
                               First of all, no where I have been yet have I seen hand sanitizer. Back home you find it everywhere, at school, in the change room, at the grocery store, the movie theater, and heck I've even found it at rest stops on the highway, but I've been in Belgium for almost 3 weeks(wow times sure goes by fast!) and I haven't found it anywhere expect for in my purse.
Second; so I don't know if it's just because my school is old and small or if that's how all bathrooms at schools in Belgium are but... The bathroom is multi-gender, nothing like fixing your hair in the mirror, with a group of guys waiting to go to the bathroom standing behind you watching or, walking to an empty stall and seeing a guy standing with their back towards you peeing, because they didn't close the door when they went into the stall. And before you go into a stall you have to remember to bring in toilet paper from a huge roll on the wall by the sink, because there is not toilet paper rolls in the stalls. My question for this is "what happens if you forget to bring it with you?, then what do you do?" Also the bathroom NEVER has soap in the dispenser, or paper towel in the holder so no one even attempts to wash there hands...GROSS;thank goodness I brought hand sanitizer with me :) Another things is that the bathroom door is always left open, so as soon as you come out of the stall people in the hallway can see you.
Note to self- always make sure your fly is done up, and you don't have anything stuck to your shoe before you leave the stall.

Now after sitting in class all morning, tiring myself from translating, and not understanding any of what is going on, I was really looking forward to having double blocks of gym class this afternoon. While looks like my slights were set a tad bit to high... You see my school doesn't have a gym, so I didn't quite no where I was going to be having my gym class at, so when the bell went for gym class to start, I followed another girl who is in my class and she started walking towards the gate, leaving the school grounds, and onto a public bus...
Turns out that you have to get on the bus, that the school hires, and drive for about 8 minutes to a HUGE sport complex, and that is where gym class is held. The complex has an outdoor soccer field, an outdoor running track, a high jump and long jump set up, at least 2 squash courts, a gymnastics area, 3 fields that you could play indoor soccer, floor hockey, or basketball on, a restaurant, a climbing wall, 4 or 5 rooms for yoga or zumba and about 10 change rooms! The only things it's missing is a hockey rink :(  
While after following a group of girls around looking for our change room, and almost getting lost in the maze of the place, going up 2 sets of stairs, across a covered walkway which is overhead a road, and then down 3 sets of stairs, we finally found our change room. For gym class we have to wear these 'lovely' mandatory school designed baseball shirts, running shoes and some form of bottoms; either shorts, leggings or pants.
I'm hoping that as time goes on gym class will become more competitive,and energetic. Today we spent more time getting changed,and waiting for the teacher to start the class, then actually doing anything gym class related, finally we stretched for a good 5 minutes, and that was gym class for the day. Then we went and got changed again, and got back on the bus to go back to school. 

Tomorrow I have Inbound Orientation for my district, so I'll be writing all about that shortly after, and there will be new pictures on facebook too! On Sunday morning my host family has asked me to make them a 'Canadian Breakfast', don't know what that will entail yet, but I'm hopeful it will be successful!

A day in the life of...ME! :)

             Before I left for my exchange I knew that things like what I would eat for breakfast, and how I would get to school would change once I got here, but I never realized how many things would actually change, and how big of an impact these changes would make on my everyday life. 

'ring, ring, ring' It's only 6:40am, and way to early to be hearing that awful sound, but nothing I can do about, time for me to get up, and have a shower. Then I get dressed, do my make up, and go down stairs for breakfast;which always consist of a nutella sandwich and a glass of milk :) then my neighbor comes to our house, and picks up me and my host sister and drives us to school, on his way of dropping his kids off at school, and then continuing on to work. 

School starts at 8:20am, so once I get dropped off I go inside, and sit with Tasha(another Rotary exchange student from the States) until the bell goes, then I go to class, and sit for what feels like forever, and finally it's recess time! For recess I have a peach, and this chocolate cookie thing that looks like a wagon wheel (which BTW I haven't found here:( ) on the outside but actually isn't, and all the students have to go outside, which is really cold! I think it's time to buy a winter coat!, and you know it must be cold, when a Canadian is complaining about how cold it is :D Then I go back to class, and sit through another 2 hours before  is lunch time.During lunch break I meet up with Tasha, and today I met another exchange student in my class, from Columbia, so she came with us today, and we go down the street to a sandwich deli, where Tasha gets a sandwich. My lunch usually consist of a Peanut Butter and Jam sandwich; but I don't know what I am going to have while I wait for my momma to send me more peanut butter?, carrot sticks, a granola bar, and a juice. Then we stop at the knock off 7-11 store and get a snack, before having lunch in the park.

Then we go back to school, and usually after lunch I have English class! Which is the best class, because I don't have to translate :) After school me and my host sister walk about 10 minutes up a really long hill! to the train station, get on the train and ride it for about 25 minutes and then walk 15 minutes home. Once we get home I usually have snack (tea and cookies) and then go on the computer, or attempt to do homework, until dinner. 
Dinner here usually is a meat that I am not used to eating in Canada, rice or pasta and a salad. I've been in Belgium for more then 2 weeks and I've only had chicken 3 times:'(, it's not very popular here, at the grocery store it gets pushed all the way to the far end, and I never see people with it in their carts. After dinner I make my lunch for the next day, and then go to bed and read.
Boring and lame day;I know, but being at school all day is tiring, and it is usually to late after school or dinner to do anything.

L' Ecole

Today was my first day of school in Belgium, and I realized that I hate being the new kid!
When we got to the school my host mom, and my host sister showed me around, introduced me to the Director(Principal I think?) and the guidance counselor. From the outside the buildings look more like a  prison then a school.
My host mom left us and we went into the multipurpose room, as I walked into the room EVERYONE was starring at me! Now I've been the new kid before, but it was in elemtary school, and I already had friends when I started but here it was so weird, and the worst part was I had no idea if any of them were talking about me, because I couldn't understand them :(. Then the Director spoke., and then they called out kids names and you would leave the room with your teacher.  Luckily for me, my host sister is in the same class as me, and sits right beside me, so she can translate for me! :) We are in Year 5 class C; which I think is just like Grade 10, and C is our room number... I think
When we got to class, the teacher started talking, but I have no idea what he was saying, because school is all in french and he talks way to fast for me to even attempt to understand him. Other than Louise, I don't know anyone in my class.
After about 45 minutes in class, the bell rang and we had lunch break. We get 50 minutes for lunch. So me and Louise started walking out of the school to go get something to eat, when a girl stopped me and asked me what we were supposed to do. Turns out she is new too! and she speaks english, so me her and Louise went to the grocery store and bought lunch. After lunch break, we went back to class and the teacher handed out a bunch of papers that we have to take home, and get signed by our parents and then bring back  to class on for Monday morning.  Then he handed out a sheet of questions we were supposed to answer about ourself. So I started filling out the parts I knew, and then Louise explained the next parts. Some of the questions thou... "If you were an island what island would you be?", or "If you were a animal what animal would you be?" (Greenland, and a horse). I have realized that I am not going to survive school without my french-english dictionary, and it's probably going to be falling apart my Christmas. (Hey Momma, stocking stuff idea!)
Then the bell went again, and we were finished school for the day! We had to race out of the school though because we had to rush to get to the train go to back home. We were walking out of the train station in La Hulpe (the station I stop at) I heard someone call my name. Turns out Tasha, a girl from the USA, who I met last week at french camp goes to the same school as me, and we are in the same grade, and we take the same train to and from school! :)

So I survived my first day of Belgian high school, and although it was so much different then highschool in Canada, I'll make it work! Tomorrow I have to do it all over again, but luckily for me  I have short classes tomorrow so it wont feel like forever!

To add to the confusing enough part of being in a class all day where I don't speak the language or understand most of it, my schudula looks crazy!

Monday-8:20am-2:30pm
Tuesday- 8:20am-2:30pm
Wednesday-8:20am-12:50pm
Thursday-8:20am-4:10pm
Friday-8:20am-2:30pm

Rotary Ceremony in Brussels

                                                                                                                        Thursday, August, 25th 2011

This is the story of how 200+ Rotary members, inbound, rebound and host family's met up in Brussels for the day, and pretty much took over the city! :)

My host mom took me to the train station, where I thought I would be getting on the train for my first time since arriving in Belgium, but turns out we were just meeting other exchange students there. Instead we got in a car and drove into Belgium.  Seeing all the old, and beautiful building was defiantly a highlight of my day!

We (me, and 3 other in-bounders) got dropped off in a park, in front of  Palace Royal where the Royal family used to live. There we met up with the rest of the exchange students. I don't think I've ever seen so many blazers being worn at the same place at a given time before, I'm sure we should have called Guinness World Records. There we got split up into groups depending on our districts; 2170 for me. There we meet other inbound students who live near us from all over the world, including an amazing group of amazing Canadians rockin' the bright red blazers with me!

Then we toured the Royal families house, and walked to the Grand Palace, where we meet up with the two other districts for a HUGE picture of all the Rotary students. Then we went into the Town Hall for a flag ceremony with the Presidents of the Rotary districts. After that we walked to a restaurant that looked tiny from the outside for lunch, but we walked in and walked up 4 sets of stairs into a big dinning room. These Belgian are sneaky! :)For lunch we had Swedish meatballs...explain that one to me? and french fries, not Belgian frites but French fries... explain that too? After lunch we walked back to the park and then made our way to the Parliament Buildings. They were really cool, and reminded me of the one's in Victoria. (oh how I miss home!</3) We went into the house of commons and a lady told us about how the government works...but considering Belgium doesn't have a proper government I don't know if it still works the same way. And not once did the lady mention the fact that Belgium didn't have a proper government. After the lady told us about the government, the President either of Rotary or of the Country, but idk came and gave this way to long speech to us, and looking around about a 25% of the people looked like they were sleeping during it. After that we went into the entrance and got a drink, then we walked back to the park where another host parent came and pick us up and drove us back home.
It was a full day of busy and tiring activities, but a lot of fun! :)

Miss you all back home and love you too! <3

Similarities Vs. Differences... Difference's Win!

I knew that Belgium was going to be different than Canada, but I didn't expect so many differences. This post is all about the differences I have noticed so far and my first of being in the country.

When I was in Canada I never thought twice about flushing the toilet, I just pushed the handle down, and forgot about it, well in Belgium I wish it was that easy. Above the toilet is a large white thing. You have to push down on it to add water to the toilet and I think (or atleast I) push the top of the thing to stop the water. But sometimes you forgot to push the top and it looks like the toilet is going to flood, so I quietly freak out and push the top as fast as I can.
Also door handles, are just something you hold and twist in Canada, well I have never been locked in or out of so many rooms before. I don't know if it is because the handles are old, or what but they turn the opposite direction of the handles in Canada and often take both my handles to turn and open the door.
When I was at both the grocery store and the movie store, I was so surprised when I saw that they sell alcohol at both.
More differences:
-my host family eats dinner late, like at 8pm which was strange for me
-I don't think I'm allowed to wear tank tops out in public without a blazer, cardigan or jacket over, even though it was 21 degress today
-the shower has to handles, one for water pressure,and the other for temperature, and I have yet to washed my hair in water that was not cold, or rinse in water that was not boiling hot...
-my house does not have WiFi, which is bad for me and my facebook addiction, but good for getting rid of my facebook addiction

More First! I tried real Belgian chocolate for the first time yesterday and it was delicious. Note to my parents, that stuff we were buying at Walmart and the Bargain Shop has nothing on the real stuff!

I got my first ever cell phone today! When I was choosing what phone to buy, I was temped to get a blackberry, but I figured that it wont work in Canada so instead I bought one of the cheapest phones there because I only need it for a year. I have no idea how to work the darn thing or how I am supposed to pay for it because it is mostly all in French, but well see how that goes, and I don't know anything about my plan so I don't know if I am able to text and call Canada or not|?

Last night we had some family friends over for dinner, and I became a true Belgian. Yes it is true, I had my first Belgian beer. It was really good! It was cherry flavored and my host sister told me that it is considered a 'girls drink' I think it was kinda like a cooler, but really I have no idea?

After dinner, we went to the video store to rent a movie. Seeing the translations for some of the movies from Canada, I was LOLing hard. Like House Bunny was called, La femme du la masion, which translates into The women of the house. We ended up getting Holes, and I don't know if it was just because I was there or what but we watched it in English with French subtitles!
Yesterday me my host mom Lawerence, and my host sister Louise went to the grocery store. I was more excited when I saw that they had Heniz ketchup, then I was when I met my host family! They also sold strawberry kiwi pop! and the same make up I use in Canada, but at almost double the price.

I don't know if this falls under a first or a difference, but last night there was a thunderstorm and I was ready to scream at the tin roof above my bed!

I'm sure there are a lot more first but I can't think of anymore right now. So until next time, au revoir <3

I made it!

I survived the flight!, customs! and baggage pick up! Well with the help of Jasmyn, Sylvie, and Vivian <3 As I walked out of the secure area and I saw my friends from Belgium who came to Canada on RYE last year, Francois and Louis, and then I saw a little boy standing in front of his parents with a sign that read "Jane Welcome Rotary" it was the cutest think I'd seen in awhile!
My host family is so nice! They are so helpful and very understanding. Their house is beautiful! Expect I know that I am going to hurt myself soon on the stairs...
When I first met them at the airport, I was so overwhelmed, but I survived it! We had tea at the airport, and then drove to their house. It was nothing like I expected, actually a whole lot better! I got a tour of the house and then went to my room and  unpacked, showered and slept for the next 16 hours... And when I woke up I was still tired... I hate jet lag, last night I did not sleep at all so I have been up for 30 hours. My host mom went to the store to buy me sleeping pills for tonight, lets hope they help, or else I might get put in a crazy hospital haha

Are we there yet?

Can’t believe I would ever be writing this post where I am right now. On a 16 hour flight (kay well maybe it’s not actually 16 hours but it feels like I’ve been on this plane my whole life!) from Montreal to Brussels.  This is the story of how I packed my room, and flew away…

Packing! :)
                You never realize how much ‘stuff’ you own until you actually have to do something with it. I started packing last Saturday, a whole week before I left. I figured I would only bring one suitcase of clothes and gifts, that way I would be able to buy a lot of new clothes when I arrived, and I thought to myself “I don’t use any of my ‘stuff’ at home, so why would I want hull it across the world with me?” So I started packing and finally by Tuesday, a whole 4 days after I started packing I decided that I was finished….

Well then I move my suitcase off my bed, so that I could actually sleep in my bed, and that’s when it happened…

I lifted it and almost killed my back! My suitcase felt like it weighed a TON! So after all my hard work and determination of only packing one suitcase, it felt like I had just wasted the past 4 days, I had to find another suitcase, and repack everything.  And for some ‘odd’ reason when I checked in this morning one of my bags was overweight and the other was close to being so too… and the worst part is I don’t even remember what I packed, guess I’ll have a few surprises when I go to get dresses tomorrow J

Flights! 

So my family kinda has a flying curse that was put on us, every time we fly anywhere at least 1 of our planes is either delayed, cancelled, or we miss it. We’ll this trip had no exceptions.  For my flight from Prince Rupert to Vancouver, I had to be at the airport bus at 5:45pm to check it. Well I could make this sound better on my part by lying and saying that I missed the bus because I was driving to the bus, but no that’s not what happened. What really happened was, we arrived at the bus stop at 5:25pm, but and when we arrived like no surprise it was raining, so we sat in our car waiting for the bus to arrive. When it came we went and put my luggage on the truck, then went back to the car to goodbye. Well I guess we took a little too long, because all of the sudden we were watching the bus pull away without us on it.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen my family do something so quickly! We all jumped in the car and chased the bus to the ferry dock, and got there just in time, thank fully.  When we got to the airport, I ran into Mr.Killbery a Rotarian from my club who is in charge of RYE, he was there picking up Prince Rupert’s inbound student Mariah. She and I have been talking on Facebook, so luckily for us we got to meet right before I left J

I woke up this morning at the Fairmont hotel in Vancouver airport. “WOW, that was only this morning, it feels like forever ago”. Anyways, only good to report there I think, except that today and last night was one of the hardest days ever! Saying good bye to my family was the saddest thing I have ever had to do! I hated it, but I know it’s so worth it, and I’m going to appreciate them so much more when I come home. Flew from Vancouver to Montreal, and during that flight I came to the realization that Canada is only lakes, and farm land… after the first 10 pictures I took, I realized they all looked the same and decided to stop, until I found something interesting… haven’t taken a picture since 12:30 this afternoon hah :)

We landed in Montreal and only had about 15 minutes before we had to board our next plane, just long enough to grab something to eat, and come to another realization, that I don’t know how I am going to survive in a country that pretty much only speaks French, if I barely made it in Montreal for 15 minutes. Uhh-oh :()

                So now I am on the plane to Brussels. I’m sitting in row 23, Jasmyn and Vivian are sitting together in row 40, and Sylvie is a couple rows behind me. The plane I’m the seats go, 2 seats, 4 seats, 2 seats, so I don’t have a wall to lay against, but I am on the aisle, which allows for easy access to the washroom :)! When I got on the plane I took a sleeping pill, because I am so tired and decided it would be best to sleep as much as possible on the plane, well the sleeping pill didn’t work, and the whole time change thing is messing me up, it’s only  8:55pm back home in Rupert, but it’s 6 am in Belgium, so I don’t know what time it is right now, because I have no idea where we are right now, all I know is that it’s dark out the windows and I’m tired but can’t fall asleep and I’m pretty sure I’m the only person awake on the plane.

I am uploading a couple of blogs right now because I haven't had time to post them,but I had time to write them, more to come!  

Do you have 5 minutes to spare?

Ever start reading something and spend a good amount of time, that you could be doing something more productive? And after you realize that it's a waste of your time, it's already to late to stop reading? Well this is that post. This post is only information on the process of a Rotary Youth Exchange... So if you could be using the five minutes it will take you to read this to do something more productive, stop reading here and get 'err done.


Only 14 more days until I leave for Belgium, and start the 2nd year of my RYE.

              Second year of my exchange? Did I read that properly, you ask yourself. And the answer is Yes, you did. See, doing a RYE is a three year process.
 During the first year I am called an `Outbound student`, and it started in October. When I filled out the first and second applications, had an interview with my Rotary club, went to RYLA South, got accepted to become an exchange student, got my guarantee form, went to Outbound Orientation.
 My second year of RYE starts as soon as I leave for Belgium, and during this second year I`ll be called an `Inbound student`.
 When I return from my exchange next summer I`ll then and forever be called an `Rebound student`, meaning I have already been on my exchange, and experienced the greatness of it, and now it`s my turn to encourage others to apply for RYE, be a mentor to future Outbound students and participate in activities with Inbound students.

Well I'm hoping now that you finished reading this post, you didn't just say to yourself  "Wow, Jane was right, I should have been doing something more productive with the last 5 minutes instead of reading this"

So, this is how it all happened

I had always daydreamed about living somewhere in Europe, but never thought it would actually be happening...
 
             I was sitting at home, surrounded by hours of homework when the phone rang. Checking the caller id, I realized it was Mr. Killberry; the Rotary member in charge of youth exchange for my club. Confused at what had already happened with my hopes of going on an RYE* and all the disappointment I had gone through, I was timid to answer it, but oh boy am I glad that I did! That phone call was The Start Of Something New... :)
        Mr. Killberry told me that my Rotary club had found a club in the next town over that was more then willing to sponsor my RYE. He then proceeded to ask me something that at the time I didn't no how to answer. He said "Jane, are you going to take this opportunity?" My head started spinning, everything was racing through my mind a thousand thoughts a minute. I had already gone through the first interview and application process, and been told that they had chosen another student to sponsor for the exchange program. I was heartbroken when I found this out, I had no idea how I was going to survive another year in the same small town with the same people I had known since kindergarten. I had looked into boarding school, other exchange programs, volunteer trips and thought of family members and close family friends I could go live with, but nothing seemed as rewarding or as exciting as a Rotary Youth Exchange. Finally after what felt like a lifetime, I answered him. "Thank you for this opportunity, and all the hard work you have done to make this happen for me, I need to discuss it with my parents. Can I give you a call in a couple of days?" 
           So it wasn't as smooth and stress free as I had hoped it would have been, but the day I got call from Mr. Killberry; the RYE coordinator for my club everything seemed to fall into place. 
 I had planned on not telling anyone except for my family until I knew everything about my year abroad, but how was I supposed to keep the biggest, scariest, most amazing thing happening to me from my best friend Amanda? I had to tell her, and once I told her it was like a domino effect of me telling people. Some people were very happy for me, other's were shocked when I told them, saying "but Jane that isn't you, your the person with the schedule, with everything planned out, and nothing ever out of the ordinary" and I even had one of my friends give me dirty looks for about 2 months after I told her because she didn't want me go to. I was too excited to keep it to myself anymore. The only problem with telling everyone was that I had no idea where I was going yet, when I would be leaving, how long I would be gone for, or any other answers people wanted. I am pretty sure people started not believing that I was actually going on an exchange, because for months I told people I was "still waiting for an email", or "waiting to hear back from my Rotary Club" Finally I received an email saying I was being hosted by the Rotary Club of Genval, an outskirt of Brussels, Belgium. 

Since receiving that phone call from Mr.Killberry and the email telling me where I am off too, so much has happened. I attended RYLA South (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) in North Vancouver in March, which is a week long camp to learn leadership skills, and the work of Rotary. Flew to Outbound Orientation in Squamish with my parents in May to learn all the aspects of my RYE, like how to deal with homesickness, how to deal with the culture shock, not only of going to Belgium but also when I come home in late July 2012. Applied and been approved for my Visa (probably the most confusing paperwork I have ever looked at! :S ), emailed my first and second host families, found out my school, got my flights booked! August 19th I leave Prince Rupert and arrive in Belgium August 21st, luckily for me I will be travelling with 3 other girls I have gotten to know quite well who are also going to Belgium on RYE, and attended a Rotary meeting for my sponsoring club, where I unknowingly was the guest of honour. (I had planned on doing a short presentation for the meeting, but when I got to the meeting they told me that they were expecting at least a 15 minute presentation. Oh how quickly you pull stuff out of your head! :) )
The countdown continues 33 days until I start the adventure of a life time! Wish me luck :)
                               More to come-- jane <3



*RYE= Rotary Youth Exchange