Thanksgiving

I decided to try to make another food item.  It is Thanksgiving after all.  Fortunately, pumpkin pie is not common anywhere other than America.  I stress always about cooking, and the pumpkin was big and too juicy and something about it wouldn't cook fast enough, but it turned out really quite good!  My family asked for seconds!  I was proud, and they were so pleased with it!  My host mom even said this is memory she'll have of me, and thanked me for sharing a bit of my culture with them (I explained Thanksgiving is for eating lots and grossir-ing, but also that it's to say thanks for anything you want to whomever you want in any way you want).

I made the pie the afternoon.  The evening I made truffle chocolate to be rolled and made tomorrow, and speculoos dough to be rolled out and cookie-cut at a later date.  It's tradition for St. Nicholas day (december 6).  You know, the dutch holiday where St. Nicholas rides his donkey through your house to put candy in your shoes over night.  And something about lab coats, flour, mugs, and euro coins.  But it was a good night!  tired tired tired almost the weekend!

lol

I feel like this is a good image of a fair amount of my life right now, that being sweets, french dictionary, my laptop, food, and that little glass of wine.

And I even got to skype with my family for a bit! There were a lot of people at the house!
I was happy to see them! Especially my sisters

First 3 weeks of November in Pictures!

Good morning Air Pur.  It is 8  o'clock.

Last weekend of the fair

College Students doing silly things all dressed up.  Every weekend.

The pretty factory (likely metal) next to the meuse from the top of a nearby hill

This is Seraing.  If you look to the right of the really tall building, you will see two almost identically rectangular white buildings.  Air Pur is situated between the 2.

Walking Jarrod's host dog

Shoutout, Tricia Bailey.

This is the road up to Jonfosse.

This was the first good frost!  But it hasn't really frosted since.  That was a couple weeks ago. Out the bathroom window

This is the hill from which I took the other pictures of Air Pur.  I THINK.  3rd story, Air Pur.  No, I don't actually have class up there.

This is what getting out of school at 5 o'clock looks like in the middle of November

That's the tall building from the other picture.  It's an apartment building.  I get picked up on the other side of it in fact.

This is called the chapi, for chapiteau.  it's the tent.  and it's where a lot of unif parties happen.  I'm not lying when I say that I only know this because Françoise explained it to me like that.  And besides, Fanny's in unif, too.

There's a vans store coming to Liège!

This is a nice little curvey road next to another pretty church I found!  St Denis.

Just look.

In a department store in Gallerie St. Lambert.  Right before a security guard came and said "NO PHOTOS."
But hey, christmas decorations are starting up!

St. Denis by Day

Happy 1000th freaking birthday, St. Denis.  (that's 3 zeros)

Here's anOTHEr church!  I want to learn all their names.  This one is near Sauvenière.
Eglise St Jean 

St Martin.  On top of the hill.  you can see it in the pictures I have from  pont d'avroy

At this point I was legitimately lost!  I was so excited!  But then I walked 10 more metres, and knew where I was...
imagine my disappointment

Stairs down to boulevard de la sauvenière next to that hotel

A train at Jonfosse with graffiti

Somewhat obsessed with finding that hill

Seraing (sortof)

This sortof looks like a photo for a murder investigation

Seraing

So night pictures either happened weekends or wednesdays.  School pictures are during the week.  Not terribly exciting things happening, but my french progressed enough to have another day or two of confidence a week or 2 ago!  And then this week has been a really bad week.  As though I've forgotten everything again.  But that means it's working I think.  It's just frustrating for those around me who can no longer understand me because stopped making sense.  There are probably other things to say, but as usual, it's too late at night.  Good sign?  I hope

lol

The fight for my sleep schedule!

I'm trying to get ready for bed faster.  It's only 8 and I'm in bed lights out.  BAM
though I'm missing out on tv time with francoise and alain.
I feel kinda bad about that.
But I REALLY need to stop being tired at school.  It's keeping me from talking or anything with other belges.  Anyway.
Let's hope I don't spend too much time "surfing the culture" instead of sleeping (internet).
lol

Congé de Toussaints

      We get the whole week of Toussaints off.  It's All Saints Day, and we celebrate those among us who have died.  People visit with family and go to cemeteries and that sort of thing.  Me, I went on a crazy crazy walking tour of Liège by myself (see 2 posts ago).  We don't have a fall break or thanksgiving break or whatever, so this is it!  I took a bazillion pictures. Here they are (some of them).
     We'll start with Monday, Halloween, on which I went to Anvers (Antwerp) with some Latino exchangers.  The shopping is brilliant, but I didn't shop.  We just walked about without a plan and took some pictures.  Still getting over my illness, I wasn't terribly pleased to just be wandering around, and I really must go back to truly visit it, but I did have a good time!

Pretty colours

The gare d'anvers is amazing ! there are 2 levels of voies!

Plenty of flash mobs happen in this room.

My first ever Big Mac.  I had it in Anvers.  and it was small.

Amaya Amigo, mi amiga.

This is a chocolate café called Quetzal I think.  I got coffee with really good chocolate in it.
Isn't this well known or something?  I forget.

Speaking of flash-mobs, Thriller flash mob in Brussels-Midi station.  It was Halloween after all.
It wasn't the coolest thing though.  It was a bunch of kids with a quiet boom box and their parents all circled around them.  But cool way to end the trip.

     Tuesday, climbing, and walking (see 2 posts ago)

   Wednesday I went to Maastricht with Jarrod for a little exploring.  Again, we just walked about without a plan, so I'd like to go back, but I did get some pretty pictures.  Apparently shopping there is good and cheap.  I've officially been to Pays Bas (Netherlands, Holland).  I got back to Liège and went straight to Chloé's house where we played French pictionary, dined, sang some Grease, and watched Moulin Rouge!!  Love that one.

My first crêpe since I've been to Belgium! with Cassonade.

   Thursday I went to Ghent with Françoise and Fanny to take Fanny back to class.  We brought bicycles on the back of the car and rode them around Ghent with ALL the other cyclists there.  It is really a beautiful city, and a nice one to ride a bike in!  All the students and residents bike, so the cars are really used to them.  I got a bunch of really pretty pictures.  We even went to a museum: the Museum of Design.  it had all kinds of design: furniture, tools, architecture, and lots more.  Really neat.  It was a fun day.

they have trams.

cool cool mall, this.

zillions of beers for sale

check out how weird this roof is!

a brussels waffle from Ghent with a bit of ice cream on top

Fanny at the dorm! deuces.

  Friday through Sunday, I went to Oostende and had a really nice time by the sea!  I have many pictures, and they're edited to look pretty, but I think I left some in original form so it is clear how grey the sea really is!  Oostende is a really developed, beachy city, and I bought a winter coat there.  so fun!

it really is the coast.  the tracks end.

the station

Interesting building.

little october fair there too.

they're everywhere! Rotary wheels.

This cathedral is a copy of a larger cathedral in Cologne.  Very pretty.

that's the TGV.  This one goes from Oostende out to Cologne or Vienna if you want.

yes, that is a surfer in the back left.

Now I have school as normal.  MAJOR let down after a fantastic vacation, but fortunately, we have a day off Friday for Armistice day, so it's not a horrible week.  I do have a new school schedule now, and that's just something else to get used to.  That's is annoying, but I'll figure it out eventually.  My schedule didn't actually change that much, it's just that the first few months of school they are trying to solidify schedules and allow for changes.  Now it's solid (for everyone who's school really counts) and a few of my hours have switched locations.  No worries, but it's just something new to get a handle on, and like I said, it's annoying.
     I'm listening to Kaskade's new album, Fire & Ice.  It's good club techno, if you're into that.
     I'm always exhausted because I keep such good care of my photos and blog and email and calendar and stuff, and I forget that I only have 4 hours in between school and when I should be in bed (8, really), so that's why I often don't post.

oh yeah, I got a haircut the 3rd week of october.  you can see it in Friday's pictures at the fair with mes amies cos I got it on thursday.  That's a really important detail, I know, but I remembered it in it's entirety, so I thought I would share.  I even did it in French, but of course I had to say, I don't speak french well, so you'll have to help me etc.  Whatever, I could do it again if I wanted to!  Yay me.

lol