New Host Family

Up to date update: 28 march. Today was my second night in Seraing with the Makas!  I'm already loving my room, and got it all organised!  Unpacked my suitcases completely, and even put some stuff on the walls!  It's amazing how that gives meaning to the room!  To have my drawings, photos, and Wallonne flag on the wall.  The location is amazing too, cos there are buses all the time, and it's only 3 minutes to walk to the bus stop.  Once I get used to it all, it'll be great.
My host mom, Martine, is a gynecologist, and my host sister is at a school in Liège for after high school, but like, pre-med school sort of thing.  I'm about a week older than she is.  My host dad is her step dad, and he likes Belgian beer.

I don't know my family very well at all yet, but so far, it's been going rather smoothly.  except that I'm just so tired!
I also live on the 3rd floor.  I have a tiny window from which I can see the factory at Seraing with the flame tower, and see across the Meuse to Jemeppe.
Leaving for Paris with my French class on Friday for the day!
Leaving for ITALY with Rotary (BRESA) on Sunday for 11 days!
holla

Cross-country skiing with the Pollains on February 5th

It was just Cyril, Sylvie, and me.  They were both pretty good at it!  They were used to it anyway.

 All the photos are extra large!  I went to do cross country skiing one day!  My first ever time skiing!  There wasn't enough snow to do downhill, and it was only in the Ardennes, so the hills weren't terribly high anyway, but I still had a wonderful time!

I learned the word for a stand of pine trees here!  They are grown to be harvested, and they are called "pépiniers."
Words for everyday use.

Sylvie and Cyril in the "pépinier!"  I fell so many times that I lost count.  And always to the right over my left ski.  3 kilometers, 45 minutes.  Sunny and fresh!

And then the sledding hill!  Where more falling took place.

Little shoe skates for snow!  They were so glidey!  Don't I look like a pro!

But for real, it is the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder even than trick skiing on water!

Even Cyril couldn't really make them work!

 Baraque Fraiture was the ski spot.  One actual ski slope, a sled slope, and nice tracks for cross-country-ers.  about an hour from Villers le Temple.  I was so tired afterwords!  But then, that night was the super bowl... so...

Beginning of February!

Catching the bus at 7:13 in the dark and snow.

After the big snow, the courtyard froze all the way over at school, and I skated around in order to make my host sister worry I would fall!  

And it wouldn't get about 0 degrees celsius for about a week there.

Bois d'abbeye in between Seraing and the country.

Snow is so pretty it's still clinging to the trees!

or when it's in great huge fields!  One day I stayed at Chelsea's house, and we went to play with her host adopted guide dog.
But eventually it gets slushy and icy and black.

Marie, Fanny, and me!  Little party in my bedroom!

My current host dog, Lea.

She's a wolf.  But a gentle one.

End of January/ Transardentes

A sunny day in freezing January in Seraing.

We see the back of the church that I will be living near in my third host family on the same sunny day

The sun really did great things for my mood that day there

Even in Belgium, sometimes the sky is blue and clear!

Pont D'Avroy

St Martin

Pretty side street off Rue Saint-Gilles

Some Rotary friends!  One goes to school right in Liège, one is one of the 2 in the German-speaking region of Belgium, and one goes to school with me.

Saint Jacques

Saint Jacques

Loustique, one of the cats here at Villers le Temple.  I thought for 2 months of living here that her name was Moustique, which means mosquito.

Sun on the piano.  Obviously, the sun is an inspiring thing to me, especially since it was so cold then!

On the way into the music festival, the Transardentes!

With my host sister, Marie, at Transardentes!

5 different halls each with a style of electronic dance music.    This, the dubstep room, was my favorite!

My host sister, her friend and I were taking a picture, and 3 strangers jumped in with us.  Fun times!

Dubstep room

Since it lasted all night long, we had time to wait in line to get free glow in the dark paint on ourselves!

Marie's friend Fanny with a flower tattoo!

I didn't spend a single song in this room, but it sure had a cool deco.

The bar, really expensive drinks, even just water.  3 tickets.

Electro-dance chamber!

Crossroads: which room do I go to next to slowly lose my hearing permanently?

Boyz noize!  He was the only name I had heard of before I got there, and he had a killer set!

Found some friends from Rotary there, and made it to the front row!

Cassius had a really great house set after Boyz Noize

The dubbers at the end of the night were some British jerks who yelled at the Belges just random stuff.  "Hands up!"

Genre, mosh pit!

Walking home at 4:30 in the morning.  Crossing the river, to go stay at Marie's grandmother's house in Outremeuse.

Staying silent in the dangerous, early-morning neighborhoods of Liège.
But Marie's feet hurt from dancing, so...

Good morning noon.

Mémé Pollain has lived in the same apartment building since at least the 70s.  The neighborhood has changed demographics quite a bit.

Liège in the distance from her balcony

my messy messy room here.

view out the back window

Snow!

The orange is called "filet de poulet Americain."  Don't know what sort of american chicken filet they are talking about, but I don't know of anything that orange in regular food life.  On the right is Kwatta and coconut!  I was inspired by the snow!  Though originally, it was Sylvie, my host mom's, idea.

Bare feet!  My whole family blamed this moment for the sickness that I endured for the following 3 weeks.  But I just can't imagine it did that much
lol