Thursday, June 27, 2013

End of the year parties

Okay I think I've put off writing long enough....

On Monday I went to Brussels with Caleb. We (I should say I) bought souvenirs and walked around the city doing some shopping. After that we went into ChiChi's for some margaritas and chips and salsa. I really miss good Mexican food.  A couple days later, we did the same, but with Madeleine and Skyler and an XXL margarita. We're shameless.







A couple days after that (sorry, everything is starting to blend together so I don't know exactly how many days are in between things) I went to a party at my friend Marine's house. We played drinking games and had a BBQ before we were all to find out whether or not we passed. Everyone was incredibly stressed out, some were even crying. I was not (for obvious reasons). Mostly everyone passed. Only eleven have to take exams over again in August, and four have to redo the entire year over again.


I had to chug an entire (really disgusting) beer because of the game we were playing (I didn't lose or anything, I just had really bad luck)


After that, I went to a party at my friend Maxime's house. Everyone had to call me "Nicole Nicole" or else they'd have to take a drink. We stayed up allllll night (which looking back now, it wasn't very smart of me to do that) and it was a lot of fun. I took the bus at 7am and I got home at 8. I slept for three hours and then Keaton woke me up and I had to go meet him in Namur so we could go to Kaari's. Kaari and I got ready and then we all headed to the ball at the Château Vivier L'Agneau. It was so much fun! I saw all of my friends there and I had a great time. I was deadddd tired by the last hour though, so I sat it out and talked with some other friends, which is okay because the music got worse and worse. After that we headed back to Kaari's and went to sleep.






My principal lol 




On Tuesday, I went to the proclamation. It was the last time all of the rhétos would be together, which was really weird. I saw all of my friends go up and get their diplomas, and then my principal decided to embarrass me by talking about the exchange students at the school, and he made us go up too in front of everyone. After that, we all had to walk out and say goodbye, but I absolutely hate goodbyes and just couldn't do it so I left earlier.

The next day I was supposed to go kayaking, but AFS Namur cancelled the activity because of the weather, though it didn't rain that day. Oh well, maybe later on in life. Now I'm just waiting for the orientation this weekend, our final one. Mostly everyone should be there and it'll be great to see everyone again. After that, I'll have only four days left until I have to get on a plane back home. But worst of all, I'll have to start packing (ugh). I'll update after the orientation if I can.




À tantôt,


Nicole

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Bruges for the fourth and final time

Hey everyone. My year is quickly coming to a close. I'm trying to fit in as much as I can in these last few weeks. I bought a go pass yesterday and I went to Bruges with my friends Caleb, Claire, and Madeleine. We had a great time just wandering around the city.













I can't believe this is the last time I will go to this city for at least two years. It's such a beautiful place and I will miss it. 



I've been doing exams these past two weeks, but I'll be done on Tuesday. After that I have a few parties to go to and my bal des rhétos. I'm going to Brussels on Monday and maybe somewhere else to use up my go pass. I'll keep you updated.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Less than one month left in Belgium

As you read in the title, I have less than a month left to go... and I'm definitely in full panic mode! Everything here is getting better and better, and I've been doing so much. But without further ado, let me talk about all of those things that I've been doing.


Last Friday I went to the Lana Del Rey concert in Brussels. It was amazing! For those of you who don't know, she's a singer who lent her voice to the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby, and her most popular song is probably Video Games. She's an acquired taste for some. I'd been waiting for this concert since October or November, and it was well worth the wait!! I went to Kaari's after school, and after eating a little bit we went straight to Forest National. There were tons of people in the venue, but it was quite small. Lana Del Rey was so nice! She spent over 30 minutes greeting fans - thanking them for coming, signing autographs (even searching for a pen for over a minute from her staff), accepting gifts, and taking pictures (even taking them herself), and she never rushed through it. I was envious of the people up front, but we had a great time. She sounds just as she does on record. It was a great concert, I sang along with all of her songs.





















The next day, it was finally nice outside in Belgium so Kaari and I decided to lay out in the sun. It was the first of June, and it was really the first real sunny day that has stuck around. It's odd; the first snow was on the first of December, and the first sunny day was on the first of June. I guess it's full circle now.

On Tuesday, I had my last classes in Geography, History, French, and my main English classes. On Wednesday, I had my last two English classes, and I said goodbye to the deuxième class I had been with nearly the entire year - people I know I will never see again. At times they were exhausting, but I'll miss them. I spent the break teaching them how to say random words in English (most of them were vulgar of course, but what can you do). I went to my last class of my year in Belgium with mixed feelings. I was sad it was the end for me, because I know there's an incredible finality that comes with the end of the year. It was strange, because everyone was sad about their last class, panicking as if they wouldn't see each other in such a small country. It was different than my last day of my senior year, because I wasn't as sad this year, and I knew that everyone here would see each other again, or at least the people that mattered. But (selfishly, of course) I was thinking about how my year here is ending, and in all likelihood I won't see many of these people ever again.

 My last English class



My last afternoon of class at Institut de la Providence Champion



The next two days, my exams started. French was the first exam, and I think I did okay. I wasn't able to finish because there were so many questions, but I did as best as I could. I had my main English exam, but I did it in French. I think I did rather well on that one. She said I didn't have to do the oral exam because she knew I could speak French, so I was able to leave early. The past three days have had glorious weather, so I've been sitting outside and studying or reading because I'm more pale than I have ever been in my entire life.


 I have a few exams left (French oral exam, English + oral, geography, and socio) and then I'm completely done. I'm going over to a few Belgian friends' houses after exams, and then it's my bal des rhétos on the 22nd. After that I'm going kayaking with AFS Namur and then to the end of stay orientation. I can't believe I'm even typing that. I'm sorry if I'm sounding redundant, but I can't believe I'm about to leave. I think I'll have a huge culture shock going back compared to when I came here. Anyway, I'll keep you updated.




 À bientôt,



Nicole