I know Liège sooo well now!

I'm thinking that maybe having fun in Liège just isn't meant to happen for me. Unless of course running train stations and asking directions is fun. So what happened this time? Well I left school on the bus that goes to the closest train station. I'd done this before and therefore thought not much of it. Not until of course the bus stopped for a good ten minutes behind quite a lengthy line of cars. Turns out there was a bike racing going on and we had to stop to let it pass. Needless to say I missed my train. Luckily so did someone else I know from school so she helped me find another bus to yet another trainstation to catch yet another train. This we do with success. But once I get to Liège I have to take another train to another trainstation in Liège. No problem if you happen to know how many trainstations there are in Liège. I didn't, so I got off on too early, got a little lost but finally got to the café. We were meeting for Thiago's birthday, and I was about an hour and a half late so most people had already drank a fair amount. I was tired and frustrated and didn't really feel like drink as I had to leave and less than an hour to be sure I find my way back in time for soccer. So I wished Thiago happy birthday and left. I then found the trainstation I was supposed to get off at took it to the main one then took it to a transfer station. I left early because I wanted to as I hadn't had a chance yet due to all of my running around. But alas I should've have just stayed for a drink as when I got to the transfer station I had to 50 min. before my train came. I then went to the train station in Spa where I went straight to soccer on a bus where I learnt my coach had a heart attack earlier that day and won't be out of hospital until at least Sunday. Therefore practise was cancelled. Thankfully we still skirmished anyways just to practise so I got some needed stress relieving kicking done. Now I just some stress relieving sleeeeeeeeeep!

My first report! on time for Tom a bit late for the Blog

Although I've only been here two weeks and a half, I already love it here! Communication has been much easier than I thought it would be. Since the moment they picked me up from the airport it’s been all smiles and bisous. Which I may add are not that easy to accustom yourself to. For example a guy came up to me at soccer the other night, totally deadpan look on his face, and my first thought is of course “oh no I’ve made enemies already,” he then leans in and gives me a bisous. For those of you not aware of the meaning of bisous, it is the one cheek kiss that everyone does here. So though I’m not accustomed to it yet I’m sure when I come back to Canada I’ll so accustomed to it I’ll be offended if you don’t bisous me. So be warned.

But apart from that little side note I feel that I am fitting quite nicely with this first family. I get along with all the seven of the members pretty well I’d say. I’ve already done so many things with all the other family members as well I hardly know where to start. I’ve been to Brussels twice now. Once with my family when we dropped my host sister to the airport (she’s in Texas now). They took me on a little tour to all the major places like the “Grand Place” and “Petit Mannequin qui Pis” as well as the Tintin Boutique. And though waffles were at every corner I have yet to try one. Mainly because much to my surprise they don’t think of waffles as their national food. For them it is fries and nothing else. In fact when I told them that most people I know think fries are from France cause we call them French fries I thought they were gonna freak and break something. Just to prove how much they love fries they have a mini deepfrier to make home made fries here at my house.

The Second time I was in Brussels it was with Rotary. Albeit all the buildings were of very high interest the amount of waiting we had to do in between was tiring and made it hard to focus on what was being explained. Let’s face it politics are hard enough to understand without having to stand around waiting for a couple hours before hand. It was great to meet the other exchange students.

It was the exchange students who made the next Rotary meeting worth going to. As this one was just the district I’m in, and was essentially a huge reiteration of all the rules, though there is a new one which may be of interest. The infamous Carré that I have heard every Belgian exchange student talk about has been officially forbidden. Personally I’m not all the phased by it, there’s many other ways to enjoy a Wednesday.

Unfortunately because this meeting lasted the whole weekend I ended missing the Grand Prix. But I did get to see the Retrofolies, the biggest old carshow I’ve ever seen. And because I met some fairly amazing people at the Rotary meeting it all evens out I guess. Though it was in trying to meet these friends that I had one of my most interesting adventures yet. So the plan was to meet at the train station in Liège and just go hang at a park or café. So I was told 2 when everyone else was told 1. So I had to try and find them with only over cellphone directions. Needless to say it didn’t work out too well and I ended up spending an hour and a half walking lost in Liège. But I found them and still had a good time. And heck now I know Liège way better than before.

I start school on Monday, and though I am a bit nervous I think tonight will help as I am going to little outing where a lot of kids from my school will be. So here’s hoping that all goes well!

Retrofolies!

tables of old car parts, in fact there were tables of every old car thing you could think of.







we were all quite thoroughly confused by this one





Coolest wheels




Backtracking to the carshow.

The little guy is a cousin.

What's the best way to learn the nooks and crannies of a city... get lost in it! :D

So, had a very interesting day today. Took the train into Liège to meet up with some rotary friends. By myself, pretty proud. Get there at around 2:00 pm and no one's there (I found out later they had arranged 1:00 pm to meet at the station not 2:00 pm). No worries though I pull out the cell phone and call up a friend. He has no idea where they are, so he hands me over to Chase, the Australian who's been here for 6 months already. So he gives me directions. I follow them and after a few improvised detours eventually ended up where I thought was the right place. He told me to turn my back to the Cathedral and go to my left. I did so not knowing he meant the other side. So after walking and looking and asking if what I was waiting at was actually the Cathedral I did a complete loopdee loop and came back to the same bloody Cathedral. It was then I got my friend to get of the Café to come meet me. He didn't see me, so I finally figured out it was the other side. Of course by then it was 3:30 pm. Which means I had an hour before I had to leave, half of which was spent just trying to find something to eat. So only half an hour socialization, but at least now I know Liège better :S