Many a year later

Wow so I was really bad a keeping up with my blog in belgium probalby because i was too busy haveing a aweosme time!!! Now im off to my second year of college in two weeks and my baby sister is doing her exchange. I miss you belgium!!! I will try to update this for you as I start college so you know what im doing!!

Evaluation (by Frederik)

Helen's almost leaving her first hostfamily (she's comming back in april because she likes it here so much). She's going to my aunt house. She will have 2 hostbrothers and 1 hostsister. Normally she would bike 30 minutes to the train and take the train to school, but they're looking if she could take a bus. If Helen's comming back she'll be verry skinny, buy her an good bike because she'll bike everywhere.

Helen doesen't (have to) study, what sucks because I do.
During finals we go to soccer anyway, it's THE biggest game of the year. It are 2 teams from the same city (not for long because they gonna build a new stadium a bit further). The audiance is going crazy about that game. Here is an little movie of the people Helen (and me ofcourse) are going to sit (stand & sing) between

That was the soccer part.
Now her langueges, in one word a disaster.
She asked me a time ago in dutch what "change" was in english. So it's better if you arrange an english class if she's coming back.

And guess what, Helen played already a few times violon, Hoerai. She has an concert in february, I'll tape it for you and smash it on the internet.

Overhere is an short list what Helen's missing from america:

-Back massages
-Mocha
-Car
-Family
-Friends
-Catusess
-Snow
-Xeph
-Good wheater
-The "Sunnyside smell"

As you know, in Belgium is everthing smaller, so underneath this you have an picture of the Belgium "Miss Liberty" it's called "Manneken Pis"




Bye for now Helen And Frederik

this is helen's hostbrother speaking

With the fact she doesen't say a lot on this blog I took my responsebility being her hostbrother to inform you of her situation in Belgium. She's going to school, learning:
-Dutch
-French
-English
-Spanish
-German

After 1 month and 30 days i concider she's speaking dufreingspgelish a bit of everything, so if whe're lucky we can understeand a few words. She has even now blond hair but it's falling out, don't be surprises if she's coming home bald. She says it's from the water in the air but I don't believe here because the water is here in the sea; not in the air. Yes you're right Helen lives near the sea, it ain't a big sea, it's more a Belgium sea, rather small. That's what Helen says, I think Belgium is huge.(and now a short pause for frederik to blow his nose) thanks you for waiting. Helen went watching a soccer game of Cercle Brugge K.S.V. the soccerteam from Bruges (the big city she's living next to). They have the most important website from the net: www.cerclebrugge.be it's in english, french and even dutch. She is already verry populair in Belgium, she's member of the scouts (www.scoutsdehaan.be), the volleybal (www.volleydehaan.be) and from the scool (www.demare.be). and from this we can conclude that frederik spends way to much time on the internet because he has ever website memorised. (small side note from helen)When Helen is back in the USA she'll bike to everything because in the month and 30 days she's here by now she biked more then her entire life. Yes you're right, wher're biking a lot in belgium (there is not enough space for cars). But mainly because she can't drive. In Belgium it rains a lot, only it haven't raind a lot for 1 month and 30 days sow she doesen't believe us, poor Helen, she'll be verry disapointed. In Belgium we have only 1 rain season, during 12 months. So to say everything in a short way: Helen is sitting In a small country with a bike, a sea, a rain season, her one languege, a soccer team, a school, a volleybal team, a scouts, and without hair. And an veeeeeeeeeeeerry cool hostbrother. This was Frederik (her verry cool hostbrother) from Belgium


Greetings from Belgium

Frederik and Helen

School!!!!!!!

alright so sorry im not the best at posting but time seems to be less and less readly avalible over here. perhaps its because i spend almost 9hrs at school on a daily basics. wow what to say my school has stairs my house has stairs they are everywhere i dont like so much trape heh stairs in dutch. my school has 6 grades with lots of little kids running around everywhere. i stay with a class called 5set at a technical school. in one more where when the rest of my class graduates from tso they will be stertified to work as tour guides and travel adgents. there is lot of traveling involved in the class which is really cool. its kinda weird though staying with the same group of students while the teachers move classes. i dont really have many friends yet with the exception of another exchange student but i dont even see her outside of school. i really need to learn dutch and fast so i can get into converstaions because right now im about to go insane lol im not used to only being alowed one on one converstaions. im learning fast though. my host mom is really patiante with me and even though she can speak english really well will only talk to me in dutch. im learning how to make short sentences and am understanding quite a lot and i think that is pretty good considering i have only been here 3 weeks. but yeah that wow 3weeks have just flown by. at the begining i was so afraid i wouldent be able to make it through week two i was so homesick. and even now a year sounds like a really long time expecaly sence as of yet i dont really have any friends but im sure that will change. im beguining to really like belgium and when you think about it 10 months really isent that long. im almost done with one already. my host family is really cool. haveing brothers is nice but a bit odd at times they are used to haveing sister and are pretty comfortable with anything where i am not so much. oh well its part of the learning prosscess. i have aclmated into the family really well and keep busy most of the time. If i didnt stay so busy im sure i would get really home sick but belgium is beautfull oh man amazing. the history i have been to brugge a few times for sight seeing and shoping. the buildings are so old its so crazy seeing strutures older then my intire contry. anyway thats all i have time for now hopefully i will update more soon but i make no promisis.
:)

heh so im not the best at posting

well the homesickness is much better i still want to go home some times but it isent as painfull. The weather here has been pretty good but they keep telling me its normaly really crapy and everyone is expecting it to change at any momment im not really prepared for bad weather i dont think but we will just have to cross that bridge when it comes. i have dayly dutch lessons every morrning which is really good i think im learning fast but it dosent really feel like it. learning a language takes time and even though imersion is the fastest way its deffently the most demanding of you because you are unable to understand anything and i find it to be quite stressfull but im learning and i deffently count it as a good growing experincei have it pretty good though because everyone here speaks english. i have started scouts which is much biger in belgium then in america but thats all i have time for now because my host brother needs the computer hope you all are haveing a wonderfull time

a day at the beach

i live next to the beach its awesome to day was our first trip there and i got in it wasent nearly as cold as i though it would be but man is is salty so yeah the belgiums eat chocolate with breakfast that will take some geting used to but hey its choclate you cant go wrong exspecaly with belgium chocolate sorry this is another short post but i have limited internet time so thats all i can do for now hope you are all haveing an awesome time

im here

well after many hrs on a plane i have arrived although not much has happened yet i can say i live in a small town a lot diffrent from sunnyside i havent seen much of it but that is for tomarrow i really like my room though :)