Report Cinq

The month of December was an interesting one. It started fairly slow with exams and all, and then bam started to race off with the start of the holidays.

So first I will explain exams here. So the students here mostly had around 7or 8 exams, but some had more, and some (like myself) had less. Each exam can take from 2-4hours. The 4 hour ones are separated in two with a break in between. As this year doesn’t count for us the Belgian rotary asks us to do at least 2 or 3 exams. As I am at a school well known for it’s discipline and difficulty level, I had to take three. I took social sciences, French and math. Social sciences went very well, I think, but unfortunately that teacher does not give me points, so I don’t know how I did. French, I PASSED! By only a few points, but that’s still better some of my classmates did, so I figure if I do better than some francophone’s in a French exam I can be proud. Now math gave me some real troubles, something rather frustrating for me as it was my best subject back in Canada, but that was part of the problem. The math here is a bit more advanced, so it was like I’d missed a month or 2, so the first couple months I was quite lost. Now I should’ve been able to catch back up, but seeing as I have no study habits in math seeing as I never studied for it back in Canada, it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Though I definitely improved, I definitely failed. I once again can not be sure as that teacher didn’t give me marks either. So essentially, I passed French, all my courses that don’t have an exam (religion, phys. Ed., Hist. of art) and besides that I don’t know.

The holidays started and so did a compilation of little fun get-togethers. First off, I had Christmas Eve with the mother’s side of the family (the big side). It was interesting as that is the same day the “big” side of my family gets together. So I skyped my family when everyone was there and the sides met. It was a very nice and for many an emotional evening. It was then that the feeling of alienation started for me. It lessened a bit for when we met up with the father’s side of the family, as there are less of them and I know them better, another lovely evening. This feeling peeked for when we met up a few days later for the big celebration of the grandparents’ 50^th wedding anniversary. Once again another wonderful evening full of laughs and smiles, except this time it was my turn to be emotional. Just looking around seeing the beautiful, sublime, happiness this family felt when all together, I found it very touching, but once again felt a slight alienation imposed by myself and by the fact that I could look around the room and say that for the most of them, this is the last time I would see them. Those feelings were quite nicely distracted by all the cars stuck in the snow that we had to push out. In one day I pushed more cars in Belgium, than in my whole life in Canada.

Christmas day itself was very interesting. I started the day off by making some banacks, bacon and eggs for a Mireault/Howells style family breakfast. I also presented the kids with the mini sticks I’d be hiding in my room this whole time. The breakfast and the sticks were a success. I then left for Bruges to spend the night and see Christmas in that beautiful town with my cousin, who happened to be doing a euro tour with her friends.

But soon all the Christmas feel was gone, and the ominous day of my changing families arrived. It arrived solemnly, but without tears. Which was a good thing for the moment I arrived at my new family’s house, I had to get ready to leave for the New Year’s party which they were the organizers of. As I decided to help them as much as I could with set and clean up, I arrived at 6:00 in the evening, and then left at 6:00 in the morning. A great New Year’s was had by all I think.

Then the 5^th of January I returned to Bruges this time with Rotary. We did a little tour, and had the traditional tart/cake. The special thing about this cake is that in each one there is a little figurine. If your slice contains this figurine then you’re the king or queen of the little celebration. I then met up with some friends I had made in Bruges the last time I was there.

As for sports, there haven’t been a lot as it has been off season for a while. However I did get to see an indoor soccer tournament, practice in snow up to my knees, and try out for a possible new team.

I hope everyone back in Canada had a fantastic Christmas and New Year’s!

Report Quatre

This month has had several cultural experiences that will surely never be forgotten. But before we get to that I’ll just fill in where I left off.

My host mother returned from Egypt safe and sound, with stories to tell and a little gift for each of us. I received a red Egyptian soccer jersey. That weekend I got to play two soccer matches, one for the Junior team (age group up), and one with the “scolaires”. We lost with the Juniors, 4-2, but I scored my first Belgian goal! I then quite happily went on to win a game with my team the next day. A crushing match of 4-0 in an absolute mud pit of a field. I then of course went back to school. But only for two days, cause then I was off to Ypres to experience the Armistice they hold there.

It was just me and another Canadian the first day, then we were joined by some others the next. It’s hard to describe what I felt; certain amount of it was certainly a simple lack of capacity to take in all that I was seeing. To look at a well kept green space, looking at the simple beauty of the white stone, and know that over eleven-thousand dead men, some barely a year old than me, lay beneath my feet. We went to see the cemeteries by bike, the best way I think, though we ran out of time to go all the way out to Passchendaele. We came back just in time to grab a bite to eat, watch the parade, then stand with the countless others and listen to the ceremony beneath Menin Gate. That night we went back to another town to explore and stay at a youth hostel with three other Rotary students. The next morning we returned to Menin Gate to take part in the 82 year old daily tradition, of the playing of The Last Post. Once again the place was filled with people. Countless heads staring up at the countless names of lost soldiers engraved upon the walls of Menin Gate. After we stopped for a bite to eat then took the train back.

My next great experience was going to see the Opera of Liège. It was a Rotary event, and therefore jampacked! This was only made even more interesting by the fact it wasn’t actually held in the Opera house, but in an Opera tent. The actual Opera house of Liège is under construction at the moment. The show itself was La Bohème. I was very glad of this as it is one of the few that I actually roughly know the story of. It was extremely well done, with amazing costumes, great scenery and some great booming voices. But alas I was very, very disappointed at the end. For if you know La Bohème, you know, “MIMIIIIIIIII!!!”♪. It didn’t really happen. Not a good way to end a show. Nonetheless I had a great time with some great friends from all over the world.

Next great experience would have to be the Lutins hike. Scouts are a big thing here, and most do them or have done a form of them. Similar to the other one I did, it consisted of an evening, two nights, a day and a morning. All of these filled fun, smiles and laughter. Except for me. My Sunday morning consisted of much barfing and regretting every little snack I ate the night before, blaming each one for my sorry state. Putting aside the messy end, it was a great weekend that really helped with my acceptance among the little Lutins.

The next was St. Nicholas. Now this is celebrated in many different ways and places. It starts with little candies in your shoes every morning for a couple weeks at the end of November into December. This goes on until the day of St. Nicholas itself (December 4 this year) when St. Nicholas brings you presents and platefuls of candy. Seeing as I stayed at my third host family the night before then went back to my first the morning of I scored double on the candy front. The next celebration is at school. The Rhetos (grade twelve equivalents) all gate personalized shirts or lab coats depending on the school. They also prepare a big spectacular show with plenty of audience participation. But from the moment you get to school that day, they do something a little special. They chase everyone around the school trying to face paint/makeup on them. As I decided not to resist and rather embrace it, I got covered. The Rhetos then afterwards go for a party. It was one of the greatest school spirit events I’ve been to and only wish I could stay another year to be part of it.

The last big cultural experience was going Aachen to the Winter Market with Rotary. It was a beautiful day/evening, perfected by the snow and chilly weather. Oh, did I mention that, WE HAVE SNOW!!!!!!! TONS OF SNOW!!!!!!!!!! It’s irritating for the people here, BUT I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! But back to Aachen. It was great to finally leave the country, even though Aachen isn’t that far out. We saw many great artisan items, but unfortunately they were all too fragile, expensive, or non-European for me to justify buying anything.

Well that has been my most culture filled month so far I think, can’t wait to experience the next!

Hike... BLAAAAAGH!

Two weeks ago now, I went on a hike with Les Lutins. This is the scout group I am leader of. The name is rather unsuiting considering we did a total of zero kilometers of hiking. It wasn't even in the agenda. It was more like a fun two night sleepover. So the first night we didn't do a whole lot, just got everyone settled, explained a few things then said goodnight. The other leaders and I then went down to the kitchen to celebrate one of the other leader's birthday. Which was rather interesting as her birthday "pie" was in the car, and when Marie (chief leader) went to get it, Justine (b-day girl) ran after her because she didn't want hergoing out alone. So that meant I had to follow and try to distract Justine. Thankfully she dropped her cell and so I just leaned in and tried to seem really interested in the scratches while Marie sneaked the pie out of the car and intomy hands behind my back. We succeeded and it was a great surprise for Justine.

The next morning we started the main game. The theme for the weekend was superstars. So we created a sort of big version of Cluedo. They were told that Michael Jackson had died and that they had to find the killer, the weapon and the scene of the crime. They were all given lists of possibilities for each section. They then had to cycle through the leaders and complete a challenge at each one. If they succeeded (they all always did) they got the chance to suggest a scenario. Now the leaders had printed out little pictures, one for each possible option (except the correct options), that were then dispersed to the leaders. So when the kids suggested a scenario if they mentioned one of the pictures we had, we would show it to them, and they could mark it off as not the answer. This took up most the day and was very entertaining.

Later in the evening they all dressed in their superstar outfits for a name the song test and to show us their group dances and chants. Before that I had a rather interesting surprise. At suppertime we had mashed potatoes with sausage and applesauce. One of the other leaders took the big serving spoon and smeared mashed potatoes on my face. So I what I could, then wiped the rest off on her with a bisous.

The next day I was sick and therefore slept for the whole of the day. But a fun time nonetheless.

MIMIIIIIII!!!!!!!!

As the more operatically savvy of you have no doubt already guessed, this post is about me seeing La Bohème. It was another Wednesday Rotary trip. We all (and I mean all, the place was packed with exchange students) went off to Liège to see the Opera. My first thought of course, brought on by the misleading pictures of the Liège Opera that they showed us, was the we were going to a great, big and marvelous opera house. Turns out said "house" is under construction, and therefore we were arrived at a great, big and marvelous opera tent. When we arrived most of us hadn't eaten, so Diana (my oldie from Australia), Denise (girl from Mexico/Texas) and I went to find something to eat. We found a nice little panini/pizza/pasta/boulangerie just a block away from the "tent". I had one of the biggest paninis I have ever seen. Denise was still hungry after and had a hankering for some fries, something fairly common here. So quickly grabbed some fries and went back to the opera to make sure we weren't late. So there we were, waiting outside the opera, with our best duds on, eating some greasy, salty, irresistible fries. The looks we got were absolutely priceless.

The opera itself was great. The set was really well done and well used. As some of you may know, La Bohème is what the rock opera RENT was based on. It is very evident, not only in the names but in several of the scenes and songs. Though the dragqueens and drugs were a little lacking. Surprisingly, for an opera, it seemed short, possibly because the entire second act was Mimi dying. Which I had no problem with, the only problem I had with the entire show... was the ♪MIMIIIIIIIII!♪

Mainly because, it didn't happen. I waited the entire show to hear the famous last word belted out in an operatic splendour, and he didn't do it. Instead he did two little mimis.

But besides the horrible betrayal of my expectations, it was a great show and I would gladly see it again. As long as they assured me a real MIMIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remembrance Day in Ypres

So I did something special for Remembrance day. Something I will never forget and hope to do again. Another Canadian and I went to Ypres, to explore the cemetery's and see the official ceremony.

We started off with the In Flanders Fields museum. Belgians definitely have a talent for museums, and this one was no exception. It was the perfect thing to do to get yourself in the appropriate mood for a Remembrance day visit.

We then rented two bikes from a local hotel to go see the cemeteries. I think it's the best way to do it. Though it is a fair distance and we did run out of time in the end, you just wouldn't get the same feel speeding by in a car. We visited several cemeteries, in a coincidentally ascending order in the size's of the cemeteries. Seeing all those numbers, all those statistics my whole life about all those who died, after seeing all those photos every year, one would think that there aren't many more surprises. But nothing really sums up the devastation of those wars, like seeing the rows upon rows of tombstones. So many you can't even fit them all into a single camera shot. And as you walk between them knowing that you are walking over all these men, and then looking and seeing just how many have no name, how many will never have a family visit them, how many will just fade and conform into the background. Over eleven thousand were buried in the last cemetery we visited. How many will continue to have poppies laid upon them? How many will only feel the rain?

Report Trois

Where to start. Well, the last report I left off as being sick, which I was, but only for a day. It just so happened that on week later I was sick again. Except in a different and slightly worse way. Seeing as these were both Mondays, I was really feeling Garfieldish. But alas once again it did not last and I was in again in fine form the next day.

To be completely honest, the last month has gone by so fast, I’m having trouble remembering what happened when, so if you can bear with me, I’ll try to give some highlights.

Sports: I finally started playing soccer! I’ve played three matches now. The first we lost 6-2. So pretty bad. But I got myself the nickname the bear from Canada, so not all was bad. The second which was against the top team our league we tied 0-0, so a definite improvement. The third we won 2-1 and I had an assist! As you can see our team is on the rise, unfortunately a little too late as we’ve already lost too many to make it to the championship. On a happier note however, I have been asked to play with the next age group up as well as my team this weekend as they need some extra players, so I’ll be having a jampacked nonstop soccer weekend! The guys on my team are great, and we have a lot of fun.

School: Though still very tough, I do believe I’m starting to improve and perhaps reach the level required. As before my friends are all just as supportive and helpful, though I am now making more and more, so much so that even one of the Belgians was impressed. An interesting little something we did in school say goodbye to our principle, we did this with the whole school dancing a pre-choreographed dance to Mika’s Love Today. It was a fun and interesting way to say goodbye.

Rotary: A rather uneventful month for Rotary, I had one meeting with my local host where I had to do a little presentation about my arrival. It went over very well, and I had several compliments for my French.

Scouts: I did two big things with scouts this month. One as a leader with the “lutins” where we went around town selling clown noses for an organization of clowns who go to children’s hospitals and retirement homes to entertain and bring happiness to places that can be rather sad at times. I made sure to keep one to pin on my blazer, as you never know when you might just need to make someone laugh. Two weekends later I joined in with my host brothers’ scouts group for a hike weekend. The hike itself was quite brutal. In total I would say around three hours of hiking, if not four. Out of this three, around two was spent in field/marsh/swamp. This wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t already almost 7:30 when we started, so this was all in the dark. Never been happier for light pollution. It was a fun weekend though, as they gave it a little Halloween touch.

Now I can only really think of to talk about is my last week. This past has been holidays for me. Don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell ya. But as my host mother has left for Egypt, alone. All my host siblings, and I have been distributed to several different family members for care. I am with Baudouin with their grandparents in Verviers. Though there is not a whole lot for “youth” to do here in Verviers, I got to some nice sightseeing with the grandparents, have fun with the little cousins who came over for three of the days, make a traditional Canadian dinner (which was a success!), and help destroy and rebuild a driveway.

Though I would love to tell you all about the various things I’m very excited about for the next month, I wouldn’t want to spoil the next report. So until then, keep enjoying Ontario’s feel good town!

Les Clowns!

One of the many things I do here in the lovely town of Spa is help with their version of scouts. I am a "lutin chef". So I help look after the girls ranging from 8-12? I think. This every Saturday, and this Saturday we did something a little special. We split the girls into five groups and went around town selling clown noses! It was 2 euros a nose and all the money went to an organization of clowns who go to hospitals and retirement homes to entertain the sickly. After we sold almost all our noses, we met up on "the clown bus". A normal city bus decked out with balloons and some of the kids clown art, equipped with megaphone for singing of silly songs. There we learnt songs, at a snack, and the girls who made the best clown art pieces won prizes! And not mediocre here's water squirting flower prizes. The first group (the girls made the clown art in groups of six) got a free helicopter ride! The second group got a free movie outing. Now seeing as helicopter rides are little hard to organize, and half the girls were terrified at the idea, we've decided to sell them and go to something together as a whole group instead. It was great fun, and I now have to clown noses to sew onto my blazer! Not to mention to use in ridiculous pics.