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