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.

Report deux

First and foremost I must once again apologize for the lateness of my report, but I’ve been so distracted I didn’t even think of it until I started seeing the other reports. And the past week has been quite busy full of late nights which don’t work too well for me as I am now quite certain that I am sick. But now on to the adventures!

So school has been GREAT! From the first everyone has been very accepting of me. Two in particular have been really great and been looking after me the whole time, and we have now become good friends. The schooling itself has been difficult. My school is renowned throughout my region as being very difficult and strict. So as the subject matter is a bit higher than what I am used to I have not being doing as well as I might’ve hoped. But I think it’s good for me and I’m still learning tons. I’m also learning a lot of great slang and useful French words. Like “la pois” which is perfect for describing my luck with trains and buses. When you have “la pois” it means you have bad luck… repeatedly. So though I have had my share of unfortunate incidents which have included a lot of running, asking for directions and getting a little stressed, I now know the cities and the train and bus system way better than before, and have almost complete confidence in myself with the trains now.

Soccer has been really good as well. But due to my coach having a heart attack (he is fine now) I will not be affiliated until next week, which means my first game will be two weeks from today! I feel that I have been already accepted into the team and look forward to finally being able to play with them. Especially since I have finally learnt how to properly kick a soccer ball. Which though it sounds weird is true.

My drama program in Malmedy has been great too! Mainly because it is allowing me to get to know my third host family, as the program itself can be rather slow. It must also be said that I like it because ever since I told the mother of my third family how I love almost all foods and would love to try new she has officially made Mondays our “exotic” food days. So far I have had some Moroccan couscous and Belgian boar! I felt like Asterix and Obelix while chowing down on the deliciously sweet meat. They have also made plans for me to go see the “croix blancs” in Verviers in the upcoming week. It’s a cemetery from the World Wars.

I’ve also done some fun stuff with Rotary. The first trip we visited the Mine de Blegny, an ancient coal mine now used as a museum. It was quite interesting. I unfortunately missed the next two due to complications. Such as not figuring how to sign up because I forgot they told us to use Explorer and I use Safari, and having a wedding the same day. A wedding which was far too interesting to pass up. It was the marriage between my host mother’s youngest brother and a Philippine girl. It was only the legal marriage as they are doing the religious one in the Philippines. It was very interesting though as I had just been studying the laws of marriage in social sciences at school. But even more interesting was later that day at the dinner celebration when I found I had been deliberately sat beside a lady I had never met because she had gone to Canada sixteen years ago on exchange. Not only that but she stayed in the Peterborough and Fenland Falls area so she had actually been to Cobourg before! The first person I’ve met whose heard of Cobourg! She wasn’t to happy though when I pointed out that she was there the year I was born but I thought it very interesting.

The next day I went to the University of Liège for a science presentation. It was fascinating though far too condensed to really fully understand the concepts. I then returned to school for about ten minutes before I left for Grand Prix circuit of Francorchamps. There I helped serve snacks and beverages and got to watch some of the cars whipping by. I did that until about eight thirty then left to eat supper with the Rotary members. It was a great and fascinating day.

Just yesterday I went to Namur (the capital of Wallonia) to see their parliament and go for a two hour boat ride. Though lacking in much structure and activity some good friends helped make it very fun and memorable.

Throughout these days I have been feeling a cold coming and going, but I definitely now have something a little more. But no worries as I’m sure my host mother has had more than enough experience with dealing with sick children having seven of her own. Hope all is going well in the Bourg!