Home Sick

Today I am at home in Sirault, sick. I have a sore throat and headache, and have chosen to take the day for myself. I have lots of reading, writing, and studying to do, so illness fell at a very opportune time.
This weekend was for the most part relaxed. Friday I went to a café called Les Trois Fous in downtown Mons after school, and then went home and to bed early after dinner. After sleeping in Saturday morning, I did little the afternoon and got ready for Museum Night Fever in Brussels. I won't say everything I could about it, but I'll just leave it with the positive aspects of having seen many new museums and discovering new and interesting parts of Brussels.
Yesterday I went to Bruges with Lily, my exploring Belgium friend. It was a nicer day without freezing temperatures and rain, unlike previous visits to Bruges. I got to see a whole new part of the city that I've never visited, photos of which are found below. Enjoy!

A Normal Thursday

This week has again been a slow week, with lots of work and little play. Last week on Thursday I had my maiden speech about Charleston, which went well. The highlights of my weekend were doing a rugby day and watching Sylvain and the Mons Rugby Team play against some other Belgians. They won big time (70-0). The other highlights were eating dinner at Martine's parents' house in Tournai and watching the Black Swan in English Sunday. It was a very mellow weekend.

Monday we continued organic chemistry, did listening comprehension of Hey Jude by the Beatles in English and Stein um Stein by Rammstein in German. Tuesday I had more study hall than planned, during which time I got caught up on a lot of work. Also that night I attended a Rotary dinner in Binche, I'm not sure why though. Yesterday and today were shorter days, and I am relaxing with my long afternoons, and going to bed early. :)

Het Spoorwegmuseum

Here below are some pictures from last weekend with Oom Ben and Tante Leonie at het Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht.

the entrance

an old Dutch post train

the old post train's seal

Tante Leonie tugging the train horn

platforms of old trains

Oom Ben in the luxurious old royal train

used in the days of koning Willem II and Anna Paulowna van Rusland

an 1800s British-made train

me and Tante Leonie by an old car

an old French border replica

us with an actress of the museum

It was a really nice museum, and go Holland, they have cool museums. In 2010 it was voted the best museum in Holland (leukste museum van Nederland). They had good food too, and fun train games. 

Also, here are a few photos of the village in Maartensdijk. 

de Maartensplein

the park with birds still doing well

Leonie working in the kitchen

that oh so good Dutch breakfast

I sincerely hope that  you've enjoyed the photos and have a nice weekend. :)

Six Months and a Day

Yesterday was a very important day. It was Valentine's Day, for which I wish you an


ever so sumptuous and happy Valentine's Day. 


It was also my six-month anniversary of having arrived in Belgium. Long time, no see. But the most of it it over, and I have just a little more than four months to go before my bright shining self will return home to the United States. In celebration of the date, I too many delicious fries, and tasted that Côte d'Or Noir de Noir chocolate spread that's been luring me for the past week. And indeed it was good.

I spent a long weekend in the Netherlands with Oom Ben and Tante Leonie, which was really nice. We went to the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht and visited Erwin and Irene's growing family!
Photos should be up sometime in the near future!
Au revoir,
Noah

Liège

This weekend I visited Liège. See below what I found worth sharing in the form of photos:

Lots of people in a square in central Liège

+ natives (wearing very typically jeans and black jackets)

Liège's cathedral and Grand' Place

A nice statue in a park

Lots of shopping

+ native couple

The beautiful Liège-Guillemins train station. The seventh most beautiful station in Europe, definitely worth putting up a picture of, seeing as my parents would love it. 

So, in essence, Liège is a big city in Eastern Wallonia, near the Belgian-Dutch-German border. It has lots of shopping, lots of people, lots of cafés, and some notable things to see. I wouldn't say it's as pretty as some of the other Flemish cities, but it's big, proud, and there's lots to do with friends. 

Have a nice week!

150 Days

Today makes 150 days until my return. I have 23 weekends left, and two breaks plus post-exam time, during which I will travel. This makes the past-halfway mark, and the half-way for the school year.
This weekend and earlier this week, it was really cold. It flurried, and we had sleet on Monday and Tuesday. Today, in contrast was nice weather. It was in the low forties with clear skies today, but this makes very nice winter weather for Belgian standards. I'm starting to notice the days getting longer. It's no longer dark when I go home from school in the late afternoon, and this is better. Short days are sad.
School's been busy lately. I've been having tests left and right. Of four classes in Dutch this week, three included tests. It's just not right.
Anyways, all is well and life putters on. The weekend is in sight, and I have some really nice things planned. Saturday I'm going to Liège, a city near the Belgian-Dutch-German corner of the country. I've heard it's not quite as nice as some of the northern cities like Brussels and Bruges, but it should be fun nonetheless. Afterwards I'm staying at another exchange student's house.
I hope you have fun weekend plans too. Only one more day to go!
Bonne soirée!