Le Premier nuit (August 21, 2011)

First day!  I slept more than I meant to.  I think I missed dinner,  but I’m not sure because I don’t understand most things.  The dictionary is going to be my friend.  I have my own room in a beautiful old house and my family is super cute and wonderful and that’s that.  I went out with Martin to basically a block party with karaoke.  We drove to it, but I don’t know what village it was in.  And we watched a soccer game.  It is as though everyone here speaks French ALL THE TIME.  Doesn’t it get hard sometimes? (shoutout: Martin Deron).  Because the internet is not connected really yet, I can’t post these until later I think.  Not tonight anyway.

The beautiful country!

first things first.  Eat a baguette.

rue de l'eglise.  that's Tinlot.

My small Brussels airplane.

            Landing and all that was really easy.  Oh by the way, it wasn’t the last time I heard English; the customs dude spoke Scottish.  But once I found the Vanrykels and had a baguette to eat with some of the Rotarians who came to meet me too, we got into the car and drove for a long while.  I fell asleep in the car, but not after some valiant attempts to make conversation in French with them.  I really can get it eventually, but it does take a while.  For now.  Then we did a quick tour, settled in a little bit, and I fell asleep in the chair that I was unpacking in, so I figured I might as well go ahead and nap.  THEIR PILLOW IS SO COMFORTABLE!  I love it.

  But as I said, I slept more than I meant to.  Immediately upon waking up, I met my sister Fanny, and Mme Vanrykel drove Martin and me to this block party thing, where I had my first Belgian French fries with mayonnaise, but I didn’t drink beer.  It’s against rotary rules.

church on church street

Belle compagne

A baby cat outside a building next door.
I almost died.

lol

Plane to heathrow (August 20/21)

The international terminal at O'Hare.  Belgium is 3rd one down on the right!

First try: Virgin America.

My internet has been broken for days.  Now that I'm back online I have some catching up to do.  I'm posting an embarrassing amount of blogs today  And because I want to go to bed, I'm not editing thoroughly.  Enjoy.

Take 2:  Virgin Atlantic.  print.

Do you ride "on a plane" or "in" a plane?  Naw man, you "take" a plane!

Chicago

     Takeoff scheduled at 6:00 arrived at airport with 2.5 hours to spare, got through no problems.  Especially since I had practiced my security choreo last night in my head, I forgot nothing on the way through security!  Takeoff at 6:28.

My seat-mate and me!  He didn't talk much...

There’s SO much to do I don’t know how I’ll ever sleep and finish everything before I land!  I found maybe 6 movies I want to watch and 5 television programs.  Not to mention all the music I must listen to!  I packed my ipod, but I don’t think I’ll need it!  LOVE the British accents of the hostesses.  A lot of the passengers too.  I’ve been talking to myself (as I often do) in various accents of the British Isles.

Apple juice in a teacup on the PLANE.  and of course, Adele.

The entertainment featured an option to preview the current
live productions in London.  WAR HORSE

For some reason I always end up sitting on the right side of everything.  I think it’s because we always sit on the right side of church.  Granny always sits on the right, so Mom did, now I’m subconsciously inclined so to do as well.  Needless to say, I’m very comfortable and pleased with my assigned seat on the right side of this plane.  Other places I tend to choose the right (as opposed to left) side of:   Seat-yourself planes,  classrooms, couches, cars, buses, 2 person bathrooms. (This is not an underhanded revelation of my political views.  Like I would talk politics in my blog. You wish!)

The Atlantic Ocean!! (it was night)

I’ll have to check in at the transit desk once I get to Heathrow to print my boarding pass for Brussels Air, but it looks like we’re going to land about a half an hour early (with 5.5 hours left in my flight), and my Brussels flight leaves at 11 in the morning, so I’ll have plenty of time for a bagel in Heathrow.  It’s a small goal of mine to eat a bagel in Heathrow.  Hopefully I’ll get a picture.

            Got to watch episodes from season 2 (before we lost Karofsky)!

After trying more positions than an advanced yoga class, I fell asleep with my V-cast playlist going and then woke up about 9 songs later because the lights came on.  Local time:5:45  Home time: 11:45.  No wonder I’m yawning.

            “Rahh, rahh, like a dungeon dragon” on my playlist and other American favorites.  And a lovely rendition of “and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true” by Eva Cassidy as well.

Dinner last night.  Airline food is so posh

            Coffee coffee coffee.  I don’t even like coffee.  But I’m thinkin it’s a good idea for this morning!  I dined last evening on beef stew that was actually quite satisfactory.  And crumbs from my egg and cheese biscuit fall all over my keyboard.

Good morning Egg/cheese biscuit

Sunrise

            Thoughts?  I have none.  That’s pretty cool. 

Sun rising at 6.

They have “Grease” in the music selections! Just the one song.

Land in 50 minutes.  It is at this point that I must put my computer away.

The Eye and Parliament

Wembley

On the ground in London

            I guess every flight has it’s crying baby.  You’d think I wouldn’t be as surprised every time we begin to descend and a tot starts to scream.  Honestly, I don’t mind it, but EVERYONE notices.

            The Rotary guidebook said “bring a camera! Use it! But don’t abuse it.”

I think I may be entering the “abuse it” category.  Pretend it’s a tumblr.

Sat with a bunch of Irish girls on the bus ride to terminal 1.  By eavesdropping, I was reminded that at 8 this morning it was 2 in America!  It’s so fun!  I mean, all travellers know that time change is simply part of travel, but few glean as much enjoyment from it as I do!

This one terminal is an entire mall in itself.  Though, I suppose it is the FIRST terminal…

Sheer shirt on a mannequin in
French Connection UK in Heathrow

I lost my baggage check ticket when I went to get my boarding pass from the Brussels Airline counter.  The woman there joked with me about it; I started sweating again.  I was about to empty backpack when I checked my JEANS pocket.  There it was.  I leaned over the counter, I said “bloody hell, here it was.”  They laughed at me a lot and, you know it was fine the whole time, they had my bag numbers in the system, I just needed the little scraps to confirm it.  Anyway, it was quite fun.

Some sort of beefeater.
 What is this guy?!

The 1 pence coins are magnetic!

Not a bagel, but really, a croissant and
English tea right in London seemed to suffice.

I run into this problem though, and that is that those people who I show my passport to, I can’t speak in an accent with because they know I’m American.  But I slip into anyhow.  I hope to convince someone I’m from somewhere in England.  And here would be the place to do it.  And I’ve got LOADS of time; they don’t even announce the gate numbers until 40 minutes before takeoff.  But I shan’t start a conversation with a complete stranger, flight attendants are always too busy, and I can only purchase so much stuff here before I go over budget (I haven’t budgeted anything for Heathrow).  So that’s the dilemma.

Could be the last time I hear English for a while… J

I think I’ll go brush my teeth now with the tiny toothpaste I got in my Virgin Airlines goody bag!

Confession time: I’m a bit of an Anglophile.  Fortunately for me, J’ADORE Français.  And besides, I already know English.

lol

le départ: Nashville à Chicago

Mom didn't know that Sepia option was turned on!

I’m sweating like crazy.  I think it’s because I’m nervous.  Not to mention I had to walk all the way to the very last gate in the building in my Rotary blazer.  And I’ve used the bathroom twice already.  But that’s how it is I guess.  When they told us at outbound camp (jokingly, but still) that if you get into trouble in the airport, just go up to a Rotarian and start crying, I worried that it might be hard to make myself cry!  But it’s not haha.  We didn’t cry the whole drive to the airport and didn’t cry through check in and didn’t cry for 2 whole pictures, but Mom started it, then I started, then Ellie started.  Not for long though.  I pulled it together by the time I was to security.  I only imagine what their drive home was like haha.

  I also love airport bathrooms.  Everything is automated and the hand dryers are like airplane jet engines.  The new dryers are called Air-Blade.  You stick your hands between the two sides and it shoots an air blade on both of your hands, drying them as you pull your hands out!  So cool!  Boarding now.

            I have the lyrics to a song by the one and only Joni Mitchel stuck in my head.  “Laughing and crying, you know it’s the same release.”  Just a thought.

            On the plane now!  My backpack is too puffy to fit completely under the seat, but when I take out my sweatshirt I’m sure it’ll be fine.  I ADORE watching the clouds out the window and WOAH I just saw another plane in the sky!  That’s so cool!  I managed to get a window seat, but every seat is full.  This plane continues on to Las Vegas, but I’m getting of in Chicago to stay the night with my aunt and uncle before the overseas flight tomorrow night.  I also really like airplane peanuts.  I most often fly Southwest and they have delicious honey-roasted peanuts.  I don’t know if I’ll have room on my tray-table for my cup of ice with water in it AND my computer…

Last view of Nashville

1 hour and a half flight.

            I really wanted to blog last night or the night before about packing or about whatever, but I was so busy getting ready!  So in the last few weeks, Martin and I have registered for his school, gone to see my friend Natalie Rankin sing at Tin Roof on Demonbreun (I felt so Nashville!), toured Curb Records, and gone to the lake, all of which were very fun, but none more fun than the lake!  It has been interesting getting a little look at our culture from his perspective.  And our food.  He has a facebook photo album just for American food.  (Which is great because our friend le chef, Jerry Arnold came over and we cooked a really good meal last Monday)

Then Martin started school and I have been more and more busy packing and thinking about and preparing for this trip.  Mostly the plane ride though.  If I think too far ahead I might stress out haha.. 

Packing was really sortof fun!  I made a big list of things to take while sitting downstairs.  I figured that if I made the list without having everything in front of me, those things (clothes mainly) that I thought of to put ON the list would be my favorites, or at least not superfluous.

Oh that reminds me!!  There were 3 things in particular I wanted to blog about whilst packing.  They are: orange ginger shampoo, the words for Ma’am and Sir in French, and…something else.  Something interesting I’m sure.

I got travel sized orange ginger shampoo from the hotel in NY that we stayed in on the school choir trip last year.  And it smells delicious.  I can’t wait to use it.

2. What are they?!

3.   ….yeah I don’t know.

That is all.

The blues brothers in Midway airport, Chicago

Back to my list.  It keeps track of EVERYTHING that I packed.  Even the Tony Chacherie that Jamie Bronder asked me to bring…  Any time I would find something on the floor that I had to throw in last minute I would add to the list.  It’s a magnificent list, trust me.  I listed everything in the checked bag, the carry-on bag, the backpack, and what I would wear.  AND with such careful planning and my conservative packing strategy, we were able to pack my checked bag in such a way that we didn’t even have to sit on it to get it shut AND it was 43 pounds on the FIRST TRY!  CELEBRATION!

We’re about to land now.  My aunt and uncle are going to pick me up at Midway.

            We came home, went out to Maggiano’s, and struggled to check into Virgin Atlantic for my flight tomorrow at 6.  It turns out I’m not allowed to carry on both my carry-on and my backpack?  Why isn’t that easier to find out.  And I still don’t believe it.  Every plane I’ve ever been on had overhead bins, even in economy class.  If I just payed 45 extra dollars for a 2^nd checked bag and I didn’t need to, I’ll be really mad.

not my photo

            So I thought of this funny idea on my flight.  It’s called “security insecurity.”  It’s like when everyone is waiting in line at security and they finally get to where they have to empty their pockets and take off their shoes and unload their laptops and take out their plastic air-line approved, transparent liquid bags, and the only thing anyone can do is think “I hope nobody sees me taking all this stuff out and putting it in bins” as though anyone else watching them will be able to tell that they don’t travel very often, or that this line makes them feel uncomfortable!  And then of course once they’re through the x-ray box, they have to gather up all their stuff as fast as possible so the line doesn’t back up behind them, which means they’re more likely to accidentally leave something, or replace an item that was so well organized all the way on the drive to the airport until security and now has to be tossed in haphazardly so it can look casual and be quick.  It’s a very insecure period of one’s life, security.

            I have this friend whom I always used to call in airports because I always wanted to be so cool as to be busy enough to have to talk to someone on the phone while power-walking down the concourse.  I made it a tradition and I thought even if I don’t talk to this friend any other time, at least I’ll call them whilst I walk around any airport!  Well, I don’t have a phone, so I was going to use a pay phone, but that fell through too.  Whatever.  We move on.

            Things left to do before I go to the airport tomorrow:

1.find out if I really did have to pay that extra frickin $45.

2.Write Grandma Betty a thank you note. <3

3.Check in at Brussels airlines

4.Choreograph my security routine

5.Bathe in orange and ginger shampoo

6.Make a playlist for the plane

7.Email the Vanrykels!

8.Post this blog.

I just remembered what my third item for bloggage was supposed to be: it is becoming a catch phrase for me to say, “I’m going to blog about that.”

lol

Tuesday, August 9.

    I am still in Nashville.  I have still to get gifts for my host families.  I have to get better about emailing my host family more regularly. For some reason, email scares me, so they stack up.  I really hope they don't think I'm trying to be rude or anything.
     I have recently found the website SumbleUpon and it is a really cool thing!

Martin and me at the Nashville
Airport

     I leave in 1 and a half weeks.
    Martin Deron got here last night, and he has such a great sense of humour!  And really really good at English which scares me because I'm not as good at French.  But let's be honest, I'm not actually scared.  I have plans to simply wing it from here on out.  I do understand him when he speaks French though, so that's a plus.
    We met him at the airport with Bob Currie (the organiser of Nashville's RYE) and his son, Kevin, and exchange student from Belgium, Charles.  Charles's last name on facebook is Lplt and I just have no idea if that is his real name or not.  They were very engaging to talk to and Charles told me about Belgian things, like the fact that the Liege accent is nigh incomprehensible.  Challenge accept.  We drew signs in colored sharpies that said "Welcome Martin" etc in funny colors and drew pictures of the American flag.  I assured Martin, "not all Americans are this tacky."

Pull out beds are for winners.

     Moved out of my room and into the bonus room so Martin can have the nice room.  It just means I sleep on a fold out couch surrounded by piles of clothes, which is fun.  No really.  I'm excited to be here!  It means I'm really going to be focusing on packing and my exchange.
     On Sunday I went to the mall just to get out of the house for a bit.  I had forgotten it was tax free weekend, so the mall was REALLY crowded.  Which I also love.
     Sorry this post is so dry, but I'm quite tired and the unenthusiastic-enthusiasm angle really tickles me right now!
lol

Final Summer: preparing

  I just graduated from high school and I am about to leave the country.  What??  I'm crazy I think.  But it all has to do with pushing my limits.  I love to get out of my comfort zone and make my "box" bigger.  I think RYE will definitely do it for me.
  I've recently realized that I've always spelled "definitely" wrong.  There is definately no "a" in that word.  Just so you are aware.

Ben Bailey
Ambassador to Belgium

  This is the summer before I leave.  To be specific, on this day, it is about 16 days till I leave.  The first leg of my flight is on the 18th, but I don't think I can do the math right now.  This summer I have gotten a Visa, a SWEET suit, a Rotary blazer with a way cool Rotary patch and embroidery on it,  business cards,  lapel pins that look like golden records and say "Nashville", and other preparatory... stuff!  Like a camera and stuff.  I've been to Rotary meetings in the Wild Horse Saloon in downtown, which I must say, are a hoot!  I love going to meet all the Rotarians, even though I feel a little bit out of place, walking around the dance floor now covered with tables and tablecloths with a plate full of food and looking for a place to sit (first day at a new school? you've been there. admit it) in a room full of people who are all much older than me.  But they are all the NICEST people and always have such interesting things to say.  Am I the only one who thinks it's funny that Nashville Rotary club meets in a saloon?  Don't worry, we keep it classy.
  Speaking of keeping it classy... in June, I went to SCRYEOC! I totally made that one up.  But South Central Rotary Youth Exchange is a real one.  The "OC" stands for Outbound Camp, which was a 5 day camp in Oklahoma at a local college (I flew by myself.  it. was. awesome.)  with all the other long-term exchangers in the South-Central US; so that's from Texas or so east to Tennessee up to about Nebraska, so Oklahoma is centrally located.
  Side note: I say long-term exchangers as opposed to short-term exchangers because Rotary also does short-term exchanges for 3-4 weeks during the summer.  But I don't actually know any of those kids... back to business.
  Outbound camp was quite fun.  I had the best roommate ever, Joseph Dobson (eat your heart out) who's going to Sweden and a bunch of other kids who are going ALL over the world, from South America, to all over Europe, and even Taiwan.  These kids are all amazing people.  Of course they're all pretty outgoing and friendly, and we form a support group for all the kids as they are abroad.  I didn't get to know half as many as I should like and I like half as many of them as well as they deserve (once again).  But seriously, I would feel comfortable talking to any one of them about practically anything just because of the shared experience we had and the one we are about to embark upon.

Unfortunately, my flight out of Oklahoma left the same time this photo was taken.
So I ripped it off of facebook.

  Camp was mostly sitting through sessions (taught by Rotarians from the represented districts) that covered everything from getting the visa, packing, flying, and first night questions, to dealing with homesickness, health issues, fitting in, local Rotary meetings, final months and even the return journey.  My favorite topic was culture shock/reverse culture shock.  So basically there will be shock upon entering the culture and stages that often appear and how to avoid being defeated by that depression, but then also there will be culture shock upon returning home!  They say it will be worse than going because you don't expect it and people knew you before, but now they kindof have to adjust to a new you as well.  They made a big deal about how this will change us.  It's not just a tourist trip where your shock is limited to the fact that you can't understand anyone, the food all looks and tastes very different, and you don't know how to tip your waiter/concierge/cab driver.  This is an exchange.  For a year.  We will literally adjust to a different culture.  So coming back we'll have to adjust again.  And I think that's my favorite because it is a sign of the fact that it will indeed change me!  I mentioned I want to get out of the box, so here's proof that I did!
  Omigoshhhh Wicked just came on my iTunes shuffle.  Score.
  And I suppose I should mention the camp "counsellors," the Rotex.  Though I don't know at all what it means or how the word was coined, they were kids who had come back from exchange within the last 5 years and had a lot of first-hand advice.  They were organized by destination, so my Rotex had gone to Belgium, the South Americans had South American Rotex etc.  We were all so appreciative of them and their deep pools of wisdom.  We would meet after dinner and have Q&A sessions with the rotex (some groups more productive than others) around the dorms.  First night, we chose to sit in the grass right outside the front door of the snack bar in the dark.  But then the sprinkler system came on.  So with wet shirts, we moved to the parking lot, and almost got hit by a car.  Fun timeeeeeeess with the Belgians.

Our talent show act was to be the Rotex.  I jumped in with team France to be Ryk,
 one of the German Rotex.  And yes, I had to steal these off of someone else's
 facebook. Thanks, Hanna Franklin!

  There was a camp talent show that everyone participated in.  The most fun talent show you've ever been to.  Reason being that everyone was supportive (loudly I might add) of everyone else no matter what random act people put together to show.  My favorite act was the  accordion (wow had to look up the spelling for that) player, Serena Caffrey.  You had to be there.  But she was so great.

 The camp concluded with a dance.  Events that I happen to ADORE.  I love love dance parties.  I wonder if I can get any pictures in this post from the said dance party.  Needless to say it was a blast.

You CAN add pictures!  Did I mention the dance was a costumed event?  It seems Brenna Paxton can't stay out of exchangers' blogs.  Thanks again, Hanna Franklin!

  I learned SO much at camp, and met so many kids that I really wish for more time with, but we are all about to leave the continent (well, not Mexico).  I really value the experience I got in quickly adapting to an environment that was completely new.  Not the same without the communication barrier, but with the right attitude, the barrier is more like a doorknob.

  So far after the fact,
I don't think I can really
 do the details of the
camp justice, but at
least there's a taste.
Soon I'll be with my
 family, the Vanrykels,
 with whom I've
exchanged several
emails with my broken
 French.  I don't think
they realize how long it
 takes me to write a
 response haha.  in
Tinlot. outside of Seraing. outside of Liege. in Wallonia.












 in Belgium.

It doesn't bother me that this one is in blue.

 in the EU.





















in Europe. in the Eastern Hemisphere. on Earth.




  That's a little zoom out for ya.

  I feel like I've had to do a lot of catch up on this whole thing.  This may end up being the most I write in this blog.  I'm afraid I might not keep up with it once I'm there.  But hopefully I will get enough down that it will flow and maybe even be entertaining to read!
  I'm going to sign off with "LOL."  But I'm going to use it to mean "lots of love" instead of the usual denotation.  ...We'll see if it catches on.

  lol

Getting Started: decision making

All of my beloved RYE friends have them, and claim that it's a very good idea to have a blog in order to remember this next year, because it's going to be gone fast.  So here goes:
  About a year ago, when all my friends were auditioning for their favorite school's music and theatre programs, stacking up applications to their Ivy's, and concentrating on writing the perfect college essay, I was freaking out.  I needed some time to figure out what I wanted to do in college.  I've always been really interested in music, theatre, and dance, but I can't decide if that would be what I wanted to pursue in college, and if yes, then on which of those three do I want to concentrate.  And I knew I needed some time to grow up and figure myself out.
  So I remembered that my cousin had gone on foreign exchange to Belgium with Rotary as a gap year a few years ago and figured that's just as good a way of spending a year figuring things out as any.  Especially since I also happen to love traveling and French :)  Since then I've learned just how beneficial and exciting this opportunity is going to be for me.  I applied to and interviewed with RYE (Rotary youth exchange) winter of 2010/2011, and was accepted as the only long term exchanger from my Rotary district (6760)[I was the only applicant :P ].  I'll be going to Belgium for one entire school year, from August to May/June/July, and staying with several different families over the course of the year that I have yet to meet!  It's very exciting and I can hardly wait to start out as a completely blank slate, taking in every detail of not only each individual family's culture, but also the culture of the country!  To Rotary I'm already extremely thankful for the chance to be a part of this.
  As it turns out, I got SOME things figured out by February and have also been accepted at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL as a theatre major.  I have deferred the acceptance for one year in order to go master French, experience a different culture, and basically have my life changed!