Words make life taste better.

La chanson du jour.

I'll be home in 2 short months!

Chez Golard.

Je suis bien arrivée chez ma troisième famille, les Golard. J'ai fini mes valises aujourd'hui, et j'ai jeté beaucoup d'affaires. Je suis fière de moi. :)

Vers 19h35, Malou et moi sont parties venir ici. Nous sommes arrivées, et nous avons bu un verre avec ma nouvelle maman d'accueil, Fabienne, et ma nouvelle soeur, Pauline. Puis, Malou est partie, et voilà ! Le dernier stade de mon échange commence. Il me reste un peu plus que deux mois ici, et je vais profiter !

Les blogs sur la Grèce et Paris viennent bientôt, je vous promets. :)

Bisous,

Mikayla

Oops.

I haven't been able to blog about Greece and Paris yet, and I'm sorry! I'll do it soon, I promise. I'm changing families tomorrow night, so I probably won't have it done this weekend, either. I'll try to get it done by next weekend, okay?

Stay cool.

I'm back!

I have loads of pictures to upload and stories to tell, but I just don't have the time at the moment. I have off of school tomorrow, so I'll try to do it then, okay? But for now, a super quick update:

I'm switching to my last host family next week, the Golards. I'll have three sisters and a brother: Kaki (who went on exchange to Wisconsin), Camille (went to Mexico), Pauline (she's a junior at school with me), and Quentin. I'll be there until the beginning of July when I come back to the Cuyckens' house for the last two weeks of my exchange.

Greece was amazing, especially the island of Hydra. Words cannot describe the beauty that exists there. The whole trip made me miss home, though. There were mountains everywhere, like in Colorado, and we were constantly surrounded by water, like in Wisconsin. I'm ready to come home now.

Paris is beautiful, truly. I can't believe I was there. It's just mind-blowing. I actually screamed the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower (tourist much?).

My host family and I are going... somewhere... this afternoon, so I have to go get ready for that. I'll be back soon, though.

Mikayla

I'll be gone for a while.

Tomorrow night, I leave for Greece! I'm super duper excited. I can't wait to see the beautiful beaches and embrace all of the history that it has to offer. Not to mention delicious food! I promise I'll post pictures when I get back. :)

I come back on the 20th, and then I leave less than 24 hours later to go to Paris with Amandine and Florian. :D <--- that shows about 1/23rd of my excitement. I can't WAIT. I'll finally get to see everything we learned about in French class... L'Arc de Triomphe, LA TOUR EIFFEL, Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge, Le Louvre.... I get chills just thinking about it! IAM SO EXCITED!

So yes, I shall be gone for a while. But I promise to share all of my stories and such when I get back. Until then, enjoy the wonders this world has to offer, my friends!

xo,

Mika

My Belgian Bucket List

I got back from Greece this afternoon, and I'm leaving for Paris in the morning. I'm in the middle of a washing machine crisis, so I don't really have the option of posting real info at the moment. I promise to fill you all in when I get back on Sunday. But for now, here's a post I wrote a few weeks ago that I've been saving. Enjoy! :)

At the beginning of the year, I made a Belgium Bucket List. I haven't paid very close attention to it, just randomly crossing things off if I remembered they were on it. But tonight, after a conversation with the ever-wise Jordan, I took another look at it, and I'm surprised by everything I've done. So, here's my list (slightly modified). I've marked off everything I've done so far, and crossed off some random things that I've changed my mind about... Some of them just aren't important to me anymore.

Belgium Bucket List

1. Have a party with Arnaud

2. Understand lui and leur (French object words)

3. Get above 80% on a science test

4. Try 7 types of Belgian beer and list them here:

1. Jupiler

2. Kriek

3. Maes

4. Pecheresse (Lindemans)

5. Chimay

6. Desperados (technically not Belgain)

7.

5. See the whole Waterloo thing (exhibit)

6. Go to an opera

7. Musée des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) to see La Mort de Marat (the Death of Marat)

8. Read and understand Voltaire

10. Smile every day

11. Take pictures!

12. Go to the ocean with Amandine and Florian

14. DANCE!!!

15. Drink fire

16. Make friends with someone I wouldn't normally be friends with

17. Try Chichi's Mexican

18. Anvers (Antwerp)

19. Learn 12 words in Dutch

20. Stay out all night

21. Learn the bus system

22. Learn the rock

23. Get a haircut

24. Try all the fry sauces

25. Go to a football (soccer) match

26. Climb the steps of Liège

27. Understand a French movie

28. Learn to make waffles

29. Learn to dance like a Belgian

30. Learn to cook a traditional Belgian dish

31. Be able to tell the difference between a French and a Belgian accent

32. Go to a fancy dinner party

34. Go to Germany

35. See the peeing statue (the classier name for this is the Mannekin Pis)

36. Go swimming

37. Make a skirt

38. Make good chocolate chip cookies myself

39. Convince someone else to apply for an exchange

40. Find Chinese food

42. Try canned hotdogs

43. Enjoy Christmas

44. Journal in French

45. Go to a French concert

46. Go sledding

47. Forget English

48. Wear heels

49. Go to a party at someone's house

My original list has 50 things on it, but I don't want to share them with the world, so I left them off.

The things in blue I've already done.

Like I said before, some of these things are not important to me anymore. Those things are in pink.

The ones that are left... well, I still have 3 months left. I just don't want to go home saying, "I could have..."

Carpe diem!

Today I am thankful for:

new headphones

meeting Miako and her brother

Italian opera singers

4.981 kilos

gaufres

talking on the bus

longer hair

a queen sized bed

random internet music playlists that speak to my soul

my mom

being American

sunshine and pretty weather

the Greeks

Rotary

Belgian best friends

sleep

trains, buses, cars, and planes

Dr. Seuss

truth

open minds and free spirits

saying YES!

seeing in color

good books

the freedom to fly

quiet babies

wishes

eyelashes

a healthy dog

guardian angels

nature

horses

pianos

running water

leaves and trees

love

playing cards

hugs

scents

zippers

cowboy boots

clean sheets

A bit of humor for today.

When in Belgium...

Do as the Belgians do!

I've done many things here that I've never done before. I was thinking about that today as I perused other exchange student blogs, so I decided to make a list of new things I've done here. I do love lists, don't I? So. Let us begin.

1. ridden a train

2. taken public transportation by myself

3. used public transportation consistently

4. ordered an alcoholic drink at a bar (this is Belgian custom, NOT me breaking the rules!)

5. applied and been accepted to college

6. gone biking in gym

7. done rock climbing in gym class

8. eaten caviar

9. eaten potatoes. every. single. day.

10. learned to make a kiwi/mozzarella dish that is TO DIE for.

11. had a big brother (and a little one)

12. gone to a non-pro hockey game

13. seen a live comedy show (thanks Madame Gallo!)

14. touched the sea!

15. seen the films A Clockwork Orange, The Sixth Sense, and Mar Adentro (if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT. In the original Spanish, with your native language subtitles)

16. met someone who has never seen (and doesn't like) the Lion King

17. seen the location of the battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon failed

18. eaten rabbit/hare

19. eaten mussels

20. danced the rock

21. been to the following countries:

1. Belgium

2. England

3. The Netherlands

4. Germany

5. Luxembourg (which is technically a duchy, but it still counts)

6. France (I've only driven through it, but I'm going back in a few weeks, so it counts)

Coming soon!

7. Greece

8. Italy (driving through)

9. Czech Republic

I'm stoked. :)

I'm sure there are many more, but for the moment, that's my list.

I was wrong.

I haven't changed at all since I've been here. I'm the exact same person I was on August 13th.

I think the change is just an illusion. We think we're becoming someone else because of all of the struggles we go through as an exchange student. But at the core, we're all still the same.