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!