Boxing Day

This Christmas has been interesting. My last exam this week was scheduled for Monday but moved to Tuesday on account of a foot of snow that fell the preceding night. Thus, I took my history exam Tuesday and failed miserably.
Wednesday was my last day of school, during which all of the kids and some teachers in my grade left to watch a surprisingly good concert by a local band named Suarez. It was rather pleasant.
On Christmas Eve Spiri cooked an exquisite four course meal with appetizers, endive and salmon soup, stuffed quail with potatoes and roasted chestnuts, and a Bûche de Noël for dessert. It was really tasty, and finishing around midnight with a full tummy, I slept well for Christmas morning.
Christmas Day was all white with snow lasting from the past weeks. I received three books from the Rossis, a very nice gift and helpful French learning tool. That afternoon we all headed down to a cow pasture and went sledding with other people from the village. There I discovered for myself that sledding really is fun... and wet. For christmas dinner we went to some friends of Bruno and Spiri's where we were entertained with a seven course meal over a little more than seven hours. It was very nice, and I again ate well.
Today, Boxing Day, I stayed mostly at the house. I made a wine cake at the unforeseen request of the Rossis, but I nonetheless made it with my American ingredients from my suitcase. We dropped off Andrea at Gembloux just not very long ago, and upon returning I called it a night.
The holidays have been pleasant and I wish everyone out there a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas Time

This past week has gone by in a blur. All week I had exams: French, German, Dutch, and English. They all went well with the expected exception of French. 

Thursday was marked by the visit of my exchange friend Lily from Florida, staying north in Noduwez, Beglium. It was a pleasant afternoon, I showed her around Mons, seeing the Grand' Place, Christmas market, and all the other sites that my Belgian home town has to offer at this time of year. 

Yesterday I went to Cologne (Köln am Rhein) in western Germany for the day. I went with a Canadian exchange friend named Shae who's staying nearby Mons. We went with a bunch of others in a travel agency's double-decker bus.  

After a three-hour ride, we got off at the Neumarkt, one of Cologne's many Christmas markets. I would soon realize that it is indeed true that German Christmas markets are the best in the world. It was amazing, the vendors' stands were ornate with beautiful decorations, and the whole atmosphere of the place was fantastic. Our day was spent walking around the city through the snow, visiting lovely churches, more Christmas markets, and seeing old and prominent city sites. One such site was the old Eau de Cologne house, where real cologne used to be made. Another was the Rathaus, or Cologne's City Hall. 

The day was wintry but highly enjoyable, and I had a great time seeing this old city along the Rhine River.

This coming week I finish exams and have various things planned for those days that I won't be taking exams. I will also start preparing for Christmas, and enjoy the last full week with my current hosts. 

Winter is setting in well, and now we're having on and off freezing temperatures.

My weekend was relaxing, I got a lot of sleeping and studying in, and Sunday was punctuated by an early dinner at Bruno's brother's house in Estinnes-au-Mont. We had a long, drawn out meal with appetizers, then couscous and lamb, cheese and fruit, then pie. It was rather pleasant. I also saw what I was told to be the largest wind farm in Europe, right in view from the house there. 

Today I took my Math exam, and I hope to have passed. I think I did alright, but we shall see the results at the end of next week. The rest of the week will be exam half-days with tests in the morning and study time in the afternoons. It's a good way to do it, I think.

And since Friday is my English exam, requiring no studying, I am going to show an American friend around Mons a bit on Thursday afternoon after my Dutch exam. 

It's a happy time of year, enjoy the pre-Christmas festivities!

Exam Time

Today was my first day of exams, and I had Biology. It went well.
Exams is a good thing, because this means I have no more actual school lessons until the New Year, beginning on the 10th of January. Next week I have Math, French, German, Dutch, and English, and I finish next week with History. After that I don't have to come to school anymore, which means it turns out that I don't have to go to school on Christmas Eve. Hooray!
Christmas is coming up fast, December always turns into such a short month.
This weekend I have no plans, but rather I will stay home studying, sleeping, and relaxing. I just took a siesta and it was very refreshing. Sleep is the key to happiness.

I heard about Aaron William's passing yesterday, and I feel very sad. Keep him and his family in your prayers.

Saint Nicholas Day

Sorry for not posting of late, I've had a killer week. Lots to do.

Starting Friday, the mid-year exams will be administered, but there's a plus! Here you only have to take the exams in the morning for a few hours then you're free for the rest of the day. I start with Biology, then next week I have all my languages, math, and history. We'll see how it goes. 

Now that  I'm done with handball practice for school, I have a fortunate schedule change. I move a Friday class to Thursday, which makes my Fridays not unbearably long and I still have most of Thursday afternoon off. Win win. 

I had a great weekend, I took a trip to Brussels on Saturday with my two best exchange friends: Lily from Florida and Aditi from India. We went to see the Christmas Market on the Grand' Place and walked around a lot. Later we saw Harry Potter in English and made a quick stop at the Atomium before catching our trains back to our respective Belgian cities. 

Sunday I went for the second time to Bruges, but this time with my host parents. It was very pretty, and the Christmas Market was there too spectacular. All the façades on the Grand' Place were lit up for Christmas, ice rink and vendor stands included. 

Today Bruno and Spiri started decorating for Christmas, which is nice. However I will note that the country in general is with little Christmas spirit. I am disappointed in the lack of decorations, which is found nearly everywhere. 

Oh, I almost forgot, here today is la Fête de Saint Nicolas, which is Northwestern European Christmas (but without Jesus and only for little kids). Nevertheless, I wish you a happy Saint Nick Day!

It's Snowing in Saint Denis!

This past weekend has brought some very cold weather to Belgium. We've had down to -4 Celsius (about 25F), and it's been predicted to get down to -9 (16F) later on this week. And today it began to snow.

See here a photo taken from my bedroom window down Rue Frébutte.

This weekend I did some pretty cool stuff. Saturday I went to Brussels with some Rotarians for the day, making my first trip to the Belgian capital to actually see the city. We first visited the Magritte Museum, with surrealistic paintings by Magritte on display. Then we walked to the Grand' Place with the Christmas tree and creche (with real sheep) on display, as well as the Manneken Pis and wife-statue Jeanneke Pis. Before leaving we had the oh so famous waffle with bananas and chocolate with hot cocoa. When I got back to Mons, I went with other Rotarians to a soccer match. It was very cold, and Mons only tied this time, but it was nonetheless enjoyed.
Sunday I was again up early to head to Dordrecht again. There I rang a peal, my first of Lincolnshire. My hands hurt a bit afterwards, but it's always well-worth it. After tea and stroopwaffels I came back to Mons to start another school week.
And it's snowing outside, in November. This is going to get really cold, I am sort of scared.

Happy Thanksgiving

Even though I will not be celebrating Thanksgiving this year, I wish all my readers a most excellent holiday.
In Belgium the week surrounding the third Thursday of November is just a plain week. Noteworthy news for my week consist of the following

• it snowed last night and should snow again this weekend
• I went shopping yesterday with Spiri and reserved a spot for a trip to Cologne, Germany 
• during the above time, it hailed!
• I received two wonderful letters from Lexi McClure and Allison Millar
• I am being forced to take a French test administered byt eh Communauté Française de Belgique, with an outcome that will only lower their standards
• a had a great skype session with my parents and sister all together yesterday which was really nice to all see each other at the same time

My weekend plans include:

• Saturday- Brussels with Rotary people going to see abstract and surrealistic artwork + the city
• Sunday- back off to Dordrecht for another round of Dutch change ringing

Wishing you all well, eat lots of turkey, gravy, and sweet potato pie for me!

Thursday finished my school week, as Friday was a teacher workday. That evening I ate dinner with the Rotary at the regular meeting place, followed by a conference on Native Americans (they call them Amérindiens here). It was cool, I learned some cool stuff about the different cultures of Native Americans and ate well.
On Friday I went to see Harry Potter with some school friends at the Mons Imagix. Even though it was in French I understood almost all of it. I still prefer the book though.
Friday night I went out with the Rotary again and we had dinner at the Mons Tennis Club, followed by my first Belgian soccer match: Mons vs. Dour. Mons won so everyone was really pleased.
Today I am just sort of hanging around the house, watching the Office and sending emails, etc. This evening some of Bruno and Spiri's friends are coming over before we go to have dinner at some sort of banquet thing.
And tomorrow is Antwerp with my American friend. We might be going to the zoo, it should be great!
Until next time,
Noah

November November

I've been strangely tired lately, and eight and a half to nine hours doesn't seem to cut it these days. I think it may be due to the dark and cold weather. I have been doing some studying, having tests at school, all the regular weekly business. Yesterday I played hockey in the school entrance hall in PE, that was a first. In math class we are learning about equations and things, all stuff I already knew in English, but now I'm just relearning it with different names and in odd notations.

Grades come out next Monday, and I am failing some of my classes, but it's okay. I at least tried.

Friday is once again holiday on account of a teacher workday, so I think I am going to see Harry Potter in French at the Imagix in Mons with school friends. (That is to say, if it isn't already sold out.)  But it will be the last sweet day of vacation until Christmas break, which begins on Christmas Day (yes, I have school on Christmas Eve... heresy).

My weekend plans include: going to a basketball game with the Rotary Friday night, a dinner with the Rossis Saturday, and Sunday in Antwerp with my new American friend Lily, from Florida.

And here are some Bruges photos:

Bruges

So, today I went to Bruges, and in essence, it was amazing. Although deemed here the "Venice of the North," I found it very different. There were less canals, and more Flemish/Dutch architecture. It was absolutely wonderful nonetheless. I took two hours of train each way in the process of getting there, which turned out to be totally worth it. On the train I joined a friend, and in Bruges we met up with more exchangers for the day trip.
We walked around the city, took photos, and ate, among other activities. It was a glorious day, and like Paris, it was depressing to the common American to see such things old, ornate, and so uniquely European that they could not possibly exist in the New World. The intricacy with which these buildings were made, the style, the architecture, it is all overwhelming. And beautiful.
I love Belgium.

Wednesdays

Today is the last school-day of the week for me, as November 11th is a big deal here. So we are making "le pont" = the bridge so we have vacation tomorrow and Friday into the weekend. This makes me happy, because despite the fact that we just had a week of vacation, I am still tired from school.
Today to celebrate the long weekend I went into the city with friends after school to a café. There I spoke someone who obviously longed to practice English for about an hour, but I enjoyed it.
I also came home to a n expected and highly enjoyable mail parcel about "the size and weight of a brick." It consisted of lotion, American toiletries, and Halloween candy; all that I could wish for.
Tonight with Andrea I will be going to a school dance sort of thing. I'm really not sure exactly what it'll be, so I shall just have to find out.
For the weekend, I hope to be going to Luxembourg and Bruges, but I don't now if either will actually come to pass. We will see.
I wish you all a happy Wednesday, and hope that all your endeavors go well.

In Holland

Wednesday morning I left for Holland by train around 9 o'clock. In Brussels where I was to connect to Rotterdam, the train never came, so I took the one coming an hour afterwards. But it was alright, and from Rotterdam I switched to go to Utrecht. There I met Tante Leonie and Oom Ben with whom I have been staying. Then we drove to their home in Maartensdijk. Shortly after I had arrived, their daughter Yvonne's family of five came to stay for their Belgian Fall break too, making it a whole family occasion. We went for a walk in the woods nearby in Lage Vuursche, had a big family dinner that night and caught up with each other. It was nice to talk with my relatives in Dutch.
The next day we had a Dutch breakfast then embarked for a day-trip into the city of Utrecht. We shopped, ate dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant, then did some brief site-seeing, going to the Domplein, old Post Office, and VVV. It's a really beautiful city with old Dutch-style houses, and canals. Before we left we went to the Domtoren, which is the Netherland's tallest tower. We climbed all the way to the top with a guided group, and from there we had a splendid view of the city all lit up in the mid-evening. After that we returned to Lage Vuursche, but this time we went to one of the many traditional pannekoeken huizen (pancake houses). As you might expect, we ate Dutch pancakes. They are thinner than ours, more like crêpes, and the size of a medium pizza. I got mine with bacon of the Ardennes, and Dutch cheese. It was amazing. Then we had vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Friday and today I have been staying mostly in the village of Maartensdijk because the weather has permitted little opportunity to explore. I have also been helping out with my first cousin once removed, Erwin, and family, who are currently in the process of moving within the village. I have gotten to go around the village some though, and I've taken lots of pictures.
Tomorrow I am going back into the city of Utrecht, and then back to Dordrecht again before I return to Belgium by train. Monday will begin school again.
I have quite enjoyed my Fall break, and speaking Dutch was a major bonus too. I have learned a lot of new words. The weather is less than desirable though, and I know it will only get worse through the course of this winter. I will live though (with heavy woolen clothing, scarves, gloves, and an umbrella).

Tot ziens!

Paris

Paris was all that I had expected, and just as beautiful as everyone says. It's a magical place.
We were 50 or so on the trip, with Rotarians from Namur as chaperones. We toured a lot by bus, and spent a good amount of time visiting all of the aforementioned places. The disappointing exception is that of the Versailles Palace. This just means I will have to visit it another time. Most of my time was spent in the company of Americans and Canadians, and I made many exchange friends on the trip.
The weather was pleasant, warmer than I have been used to since October in Belgium. We are having a spell of warmer and drier weather in Northwestern Europe, and I am liking it.
Today is my day of rest and to-dos. I have a long list of things to do, and I am getting lots done. This afternoon I shall prepare for the remainder of my Fall holiday which will be spent in Holland. Tomorrow morning I leave by train to Utrecht where I'll stay with the Dutch family. And then Sunday I will make a stop in Dordrecht before coming back for school Monday.

Fall Break

Today was the last day of school before my Fall Break. I have the whole All Saints' Day week off, so tomorrow to begin it's off to Paris. On the visit list are:

• Versailles
• le Louvre
• Musée D'Orsay
• Montmartre
• Notre Dame 
• the Eiffel Tower
• river cruise on the Seine

It should be a fun weekend, despite the lack of Halloween activities. We will take the bus tomorrow morning, and the return is scheduled for Monday night. I hope that this will only be the first of many trips to Paris, I doubt that I'll ever have seen it all. 

Today is Wednesday. All is well.
Today I my day began by walking in the near-freezing rain to the bus-stop for school. Classes started at 8:10, but I was late because of Mons traffic, there was no trouble at school though. I had English, study hall, Dutch, Math, French, and religion. I got out around 1:30 and hurried down to the Mons SNBC to catch my bus several minutes later. When I got back in, went to talk and pet the chicken, then upon Spiri's arrival, we set out together to do some grocery shopping. We bought lots of cheese, fruit, sandwich meat, etc. Then at home I helped her make stuffed cabagge- basically meatballs wrapped in cabbage leaves. Then I skyped with my parents for a while and went down for dinner. It was tasty, as always. Spiri knows how to cook.
Friday begins my Congé de Toussaints, where I get full week off of school. The first weekend (Halloween) I am going to Paris with other Rotary kids. Then I get back on Monday and will (hopefully be able to) sleep all of Tuesday. Wednesday I leave to go to the Netherlands to visit family for the rest of the week near Utrecht. Then I will switch Dutch hosts during the second weekend of vacation and finish my stay in Holland in Dordrecht. I am looking forward to a break from school, these have been long weeks.

Weekend of Relaxation

For the only weekend this month, I am grasping the opportunity to rest a bit. It has been long weeks at school, with a new and final schedule change, and I have been singularly worn out by this week. Today I slept for nearly 11 hours, which did very well for me. I am really happy to just be able to take the weekend to get things done, study a little, and sleep.
I finally uploaded all the Bratislava photos, which you can see at: http://s1037.photobucket.com/albums/a456/noahidsmith/
 Enjoy!

Bratislava

This weekend I went with my Rotary club and Rebeca to Bratislava. We left Friday morning to fly from the Charleroi airport with RyanAir. We got in during the afternoon, settled into the hotel, then did a tram tour of the city. We visited Bratislava Castle which overlooks the city and is used for presidential meetings, a large Baroque-style church, and other important sites of the city. Then it was quickly back to the hotel before eating at a Slovakian restaurant set in an old wine cellar. There I had some absolutely amazing duck.
I watched television with Rebeca that night before turning in.
Saturday morning we ate continental breakfast at our hotel, and then we all got onto the bus to go the the Devín Castle outside the city. Here there were ruins of a rather extraordinary castle literally built into the side on a mountain. Though we couldn't enter much of the ruins, we read about tunnels inside the mountain carved out in order to connect the rooms. Afterwards we went back into the city center for a tour of the Royal Palace before lunch in the city, where I ate roasted goose with potato crêpes for the first time. That afternoon we just toured the city, went to the Blue Church, took more pictures, and had a bit of free time before dinner at an Argentinean restaurant downtown. Afterwards I slept well having had a very long but enjoyable day.
Sunday morning we left after continental breakfast to a Slovakian porcelain and earthenware furnace, where we saw people make traditional pottery, ornaments, and dishes. Next we visited a few small villages, took pictures, and went for lunch where we had lamb and rice. The afternoon consisted of a visit the the Red Stone Castle before dinner at a small village restaurant. There I had goose pâté with crêpes as well as roasted goose with crêpes again. There were lots of geese and crêpes to be had this weekend.
Monday morning we ate a big breakfast at the hotel. There was a quick city tour round two in which we tried to visit the city cathedral (but it was closed) and went for last minute souvenir shopping. I took the last chance to snap some good city shots. We took our bus back to the airport at noon, and took our flight at two.
It was a quite enjoyable weekend, and I will have the photos up soon, so if you read this now,  check it again within the next few days, and hopefully I will have posted a link with all the photos.
A+
Noah

Busy Week

This past week has been very busy for me. Friday after school I went into the city quickly with some friends before meeting with Rebeca in the Grand Place. We were then taken to the ethias trophy tennis tournament of Mons. We watched three matches over the course of six hours, all of which were singles. We saw:

• Dustin Brown (Jamaica) against Igor Sijsling (Netherlands)
• Steve Darcis (Belgium) against Denis Gremelmayr (Germany)
• and Marc Gicquel (France) against  Kristof Vliegen (Belgium

The former of each listed won the respective match. It was long, but entertaining nonetheless. After all the matches had finished Rebeca and I were dropped off by a Rotarian at Rebeca's house in town, where I spent the night. 

Saturday morning we woke up early in order to catch our train at 7:00 to Namur. All went well and we were received with all the other exchange students from Belgium at the station, whereupon we left and trekked across the city by foot to visit the Walloon Parliament. Afterwards we all went out in little groups to have lunch in the heart of the city. Afterwards we took a boat ride along the Meuse (Maas) River that flows through Namur. We went all the way down to Wépion, where I saw the Chinese restaurant Chez Chen that I had eaten at with the Rossis before dropping Andrea off at Gembloux earlier in September. Afterwards they let  us go, and we walked around the city, went to a café and then took the train back to Mons. That night we went to ethias trophy again for a gala, with a really nice dinner. Afterwards, I went to the Rossis.

Sunday I went to a procession - la procession de Saint Denis, which went to little chapels around the village. Sunday evening we went back for the last time to ethias trophy to see the final match of the tournament for singles: Steve Darcis (Belgium) vs. Adrian Mannarino (France). The Belgian unfortunately lost. 

Yesterday I began my sixth week of school. Today I was invited by some nice Belgian girls to lunch for the first time with them, and I enjoyed myself, they were very nice and inquisitive. 

À la prochaine! 

Week Five of School

Things are going well. I am settled at school, still making friends, enjoying classes, and whatnot.
There's nothing really new to tell you all, so I will make a brief list of all the new food I have tried here in Belgium as of my arrival.

• pumpkin soup
• double-fried french fries with:
• samuraï sauce - not Japanese, just spicy
• Andalouse sauce - its orange and good
• Americain sauce - not American at all
• mayonnaise 
• *note: they don't really eat fries and ketchup
• pain au lait
• Italian pastries
• pain au chocolat
• rabbit:
• in a sauce with polenta
• baked in the oven
• fresh apricots
• French yellow prunes
• chicons (we don't have these)
• rhubarb jam
• cherry jam
• gooseberry jam
• pineapple yogurt
• pâtes au sucre (pasta with sugar)
• Bruno's classic Italian Bolognese (with olives)
• olive and eggplant sandwich spread
• countless Belgian cheeses
• countless French and Dutch cheeses
• lots of goat cheeses
• almond pie
• pain perdu (kind of like French toast, and no maple syrup)
• Greek vegetables
• Greek pastries and sweets
• tiny shrimp from the North Sea
• fish
• fried frog legs
• horse = (French) cheval :
• cheval steaks
• cheval as sandwich meat
• cheval in pasta sauce
• cheval sausage
• boiled wheat - the actual kernels of wheat, not ground
• potage de trouffe - truffle soup 
• mango shrimp
• rum ice cream
• filet of York
• boudain blanc - traditional white sausage with herbs
• boudain rouge - blood sausage, one of the few things I try and don't like
• ChaCha bars - chocolate and wafer candy bars
• Galler chocolate pieces
• mortadella (donkey)
• wild forest mushrooms
• cultured, white mushrooms
• and many other things I will have to think about and list another time

And also, here is a link to a video about Belgium if you are interested about the catastraphe of a government, but,

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED, contains rude humor, and a spot of foul language

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceg6NQKHd70

Tuesday was back to school, whereupon I started a long chain of visits to the school office, continuing every day throughout the week. I was in the process of changing my "options" at school from science to language. I was failing math, and having received a 20 on my first test, I thought it best to reconsider where I should be. So now I am taking easier math and sciences, with the addition of a German class. But I will remark that this was not easy, and consisted of lots of paperwork and a total of five visits to the office. For now though, my schedule is not without flaws, I currently have 7 hours of Dutch and English with the kids a grade below me. I went to have it straightened out with a certain Madame Cubert, but she doesn't have time for this sort of thing right now, so I will have to wait until mid-October when the new schedules come out. Though now, I am happy with my classes.
Thursday I had my first "après-midi sportif," where we play handball all afternoon. I still don't really know what handball is, but from what I have so far gathered, it is like soccer but you throw the ball. I have yet to been explained the rules, so for now that's all I can honestly say about it.
Thursday night I had a Rotary meeting at the Trois Fontaines in Bel Œil, as our Mons-Buyères Rotary Club had been invited by the Saint Ghislain Rotary for the evening. There I met an Australian girl named Julia who is being hosted by the Saint Ghislain group, and she, Rebeca (the Mexican in my club), and I had a really nice time at our end of the table through our five-course meal filled with "aperitifs." It ended just at midnight, where there began a nasty chain of events about which I will not go into to much detail. To make it short, I was locked out of the house, then I went to sleep at a Rotarian's, then I ended up going back to the house, and finally went to sleep around 2 AM. Needless to say, I was quite tired Friday.
I began my first German lessons on Friday at school. Thereafter I came home to take a bike ride and have dinner. Andrea and I went downtown to the Marché that night despite the rain, and we went to our respective groups of friends, all of which were driven inside to the bars in light of the weather. It was a good night, and we came back around 1 AM to go to sleep.
Yesterday I slept in before having the house to myself for a while while Bruno and Andrea were at the doctor's and Spiri at work. I took the bus into the city, where I met Rebeca for our afternoon to Tournai with other Rotary kids in Belgium. We took the train and met up with all the others around 2. From there we walked around the city, went to the Tournai cathedral, and ascended the Middle Age Tournai bell tower (Europe's first). Afterwards we went to the Grand Place for a waffle and drinks, enjoying the company of other exchangers. Around 6:30 we headed back to the train station, but beforehand on account of out later train to Mons, I went with a few Americans and Canadians to a friterie for some Belgian double-fried fries. They are so delicious. I was happy to have gone, and it was nice to meet other exchange students from around Belgium. Upon my return to Mons, I took the day's last bus back to Saint Denis, and enjoyed a "gourmet" at dinner, which here is when you grill little pieces of meat on an electric skillet at the dinner table while you eat. It was pretty good.
Today is Sunday, and I enjoyed sleeping in a bit to catch up on this week's lost sleep. We ate a late breakfast, and this afternoon I believe we are going to an orchard to pick apples. It's been a good week overall.  

For the Ringing End of My Weekend

For the ringers out there, the ringing was fantastic this weekend. I got to ring lots of Surprise Major, and there was a visiting band from Lancastershire and near Manchester. I rang three quarters on Saturday, of 1250 Yorkshire Major, 1250 Superlative Major, and 1280 Bristol Major. And Sunday I rang my third peal - 5088 Yorkshire Major (in a brief 2 hours 41 minutes).
I much enjoyed both the ringing and the company of ringers. The 't Klockhuys has a peal of 8, with a tenor weight of 1-2-7. Though they're quite light, Paul de Kok, the ringer who started change ringing there, has the bells nicely counterweighted so once you get used to them they're very nice to ring.
I took only a few pictures, and a short video as well, find below a link to my photobucket with pictures:

http://s1037.photobucket.com/albums/a456/noahidsmith/Dordrecht%20Ringing%20Photos/

Also, there are links on Campanophile to the quarters I rang if you want the details.

Weekend to Holland

On Thursday I packed up my things for my trip to the Netherlands for the weekend. I took my bag with me on Friday and left school early to go to the train station. There I took the train to Halle near the Wallonia-Flanders border, where I met Clive Smith, a ringer, who drove us up to Dordrecht. I did lots of ringing at the Dutch change ringing tower- 't Klockhuys throughout the weekend. On Friday upon my arrival I had some free time as I was not involved for a ringing event at the tower. I spent the time going around taking some photos, trying to speak Dutch with locals, and profiting from my time in Holland. After that I went back to ring a bit before we had dinner followed by lots of delicious Dutch cheeses. I slept the night at Paul de Kok's, a Dutch ringer I met during my last visit to the Netherlands. His house is outside Dordrecht, in Alblasserdam. Saturday I woke up, ate a Dutch breakfast consisting of a wonderful spread of make-your-own sandwich materials. We went into the city for ringing all day, and I got to do some new things, so I would say I am very satisfied with the ringing. On Saturday I had a few more chances to walk around the city, and see the sites. I went to the cheese market to buy my host family some oude kaas, and I am happy to say that I successfully purchased it and talked with the cheese vendor in Dutch. I also got to speak with some locals asking directions around in Dutch, so I am happy I had the chance to practice. Saturday night we had a catered dinner in the church tower, which was delicious, there was pork with mustard sauce, rabbit and mushroom stew, among other tasty dishes. My feet were some kind of sore by the end of the day, it was long but pleasing. Sunday we had a bit of a lie in, and it was Thirza's (Paul's daughter's) birthday. We did more ringing in the city and I had a last chance to walk around and take pictures. In the afternoon Clive took me back to the train station in Brussels, where I took the train to Mons, then the bus back to Saint Denis.
Today was holiday, so I have been enjoying it. I slept in late again, did homework, went for a bike ride, and I wrote a bit. Andrea has gone back to Gembloux for the week, and I start school again tomorrow. Today we had a really good lunch, with mushroom-filled pasta, and lamb chops. And for dinner Spiri fixed me a special Belgian dish- pain perdu, which is sort of like French toast.
See here some of my photos from Holland.

Saint Denis Tour d'Animaux

So this week has gone well so far. I had a few tests which went as well as could be expected. Today was a half day, as Wednesdays shall always be, and after lunch with Spiri I took a siesta in the afternoon, as I require much sleep to be my best. Lately Spiri has been working on repainting the dining and living room, and from what I understand, I think they will be redecorating the living room and changing many things. Spiri keeps saying that she is looking forward to her "nouveau salon." So I suppose they will be making some changes. Michael came over today for a little while, he makes us all laugh. Tomorrow he will be staying for dinner, so needless to say it will be an enjoyable evening. Spiri will be going tomorrow to a pharmacy meeting in Brussels until late, so it will be Bruno, Michael, and me for Thursday dinner. It's becoming a new tradition.
This week and last weekend I have taken to going on bike rides, during which time I have taken photos of all the animals of Saint Denis. There are deer, kangaroos, chickens, cows, horses,and lots of little cats. (There are also geese, a few dogs, sheep, and goats, but I have yet to take their photos.) Every morning at 7:20 when I leave the Rossi residance there is a black cat that darts across the street and stares at me from under a blue Citroën. And on my way home from school, without fail another black cat sits at the end of the path leading to Rue Frébutte. None of these cats allow me to pet them though, save for one white and brown with blue eyes (in the last photo).
See below the fruits of my bike rides; the animals of Saint Denis.

Grazing cows.

Three kangaroos (one isn't in the photo).

Doe and kangaroos.

Cat in road coming home from the bus. 

Another herd of cows. 

Horses. You can see the yellow TEC busstop sign.

This is where I get off the bus every afternoon.

And this is the tunnel I go under on the way home... 

Random cat 1

Random cat 2 on the side of the street

The nice cat.

I really miss my dog Daisy at home, but I can sleep well at night knowing that my parents have loved on her, pet her, and treated her with all the love and care that she needs. I was happy to have skyped with her along with my parents last week, even though I don't think she understood. 

I love you, Daisy.