Australia comes to Belgium

So after much - or a least some - suspense, it turns out that I was welcoming a newie to little old College Notre Dame de la Paix in Erpent. She's an Australian named Tiarna - except that with her accent it's pronounced Tiana. She's in all the same classes as I am so that I can help her out with getting settled in. She's an extremely nice girl - my age, and like me she's already finished with high school. She speaks only a handful of words in French - when I say handful, I mean you could probably count on your fingers how many, so I feel bad for her because that's gotta be so hard. I remember how exhausting and discouraging the first weeks were for me, and I could have a conversation (if an extremely limited one). But I'm doing my best to try and slip some French into our conversations, and she's certainly ready and willing to learn!

Break a leg!

Break a leg is an expression that does not translate literally into French. However, they do have their own - "bonne merde," or "good shit". You tell someone "bonne merde" before a performance, before a huge exam. More or less the same situtations as "break a leg". Apparently the expression comes from back in the day when people rode carriages to go to the theater. Those putting on a play would wish eachother "bonne merde" because the more poop there was in front of the theatre, the more horses there were, the bigger audience there was. So good shit to you all!

I am doing tres bien

I'd heard that it would happen, but I hadn't really believed that I would start to forget my English. But I am! Nothing drastic. I'm going to still be able to have a conversation in English at the end of my stay here. But I forget random words - I'll learn a new word in French and think of the translation, just to realize that, while I know I know it, I can't seem to think of it. Or I'll be talking in English and French words will slip out in an American accent. For example, I was telling my parents how I slipped on the ice in town, but the word for ice, in French is 'glace'. I didn't even notice until my parents pointed out that I really probably hadn't been walking on glass...

The second first week

As of today, I have been with my second host family for a week. Not surprisingly, I'm still settling in into a new rhythm of life with new people, but also not surprisingly, I'm really enjoying it here. The Watillons, the second family, leave extremely close to my school, making my life easier in that sense. I'm also much more able to go hang out in town now. They are a very kind family. My host mom is always worrying how I'm settling in - she realizes that while I'm extremely happy to be there, I am rather sad also to have to have said goodbye to my first family. I have a feeling, however, that it will be just as hard to leave this family...

Hoping to welcome a newie to Erpent (my school)

We're approaching the end of Christmas break... And I'm really not sure I'm ready to go back to school. I had three weeks off and somehow it still feels like we should have two more weeks to go... But I passed such a lazy break - that's why it feels so short, I'm sure. The days sort of melded together - this one we had a lot of snow - this one we went and visited the grandparents - this one I hung out with my oldie for the last time. And so on. But I am enjoying it immensely.
Side note: I referred to my 'oldie'. Within the group of exchange students there are the 'oldies' and the 'newies' - those who have been in the country for half or more of their exchange already. This is because there are people like me, all the North Americans and some of the South Americans, and the few Europeans, who arrived around August. Then there are some South Americans, Australians, New Zealanders who arrive in January. I am currently making my change from newie to oldie as the Southern Hemisphere-ers are leaving and new Southern Hemisphere-ers are arriving... The newies in your school, your host Rotary club, or in your general region are 'your' newies - basically you end up hanging out more with them since their in your area. I had the coolest oldie ever and now he's heading back to New Zealand here in a couple days!

Because..... it's famous?

Happy New Years! I have a bit of time before we head on over to the grandparents' for New Years Day family visits. We had a calm New Years Eve last night - stayed home, had a dinner of mussels - super fresh ones, too... then watched a movie until midnight. We all three made it up through - three because Erika, my oldest host sister was off at her own party, and Alexis, my host brother was hanging out with a friend of his in the garage, so it was just my parents, Bene and Amaury, and myself.
I asked Bene if here they had heard of the ball dropping for New Years Eve in Times Square because Europeans know a lot more of American traditions than Americans know of European traditions, but they hadn't. I explained that it was, a ball... dropping. But I was confronted with a blank look when I tried to explain what was so special about it, why so many people show up in Times Square for it - probably because I'm not sure I understand myself. =D