Camille.

Coucou ma belle.

Je voudrais te remercier pour tous les bons moments de cette année. Même avant d'arriver en Belgique, je savais que tu serais quelqu'un de très importante dans ma vie. Au début, quand on a commencé parler, tu m'as beaucoup aidé avec tes gentils mots et drôles histoires. Merci pour les crêpes, pour le thé, pour les rires, pour l'encouragement, pour les photos, et pour la benevolence. T'étais une grande soeur exceptionelle, et je garderai les bons souvenirs pendant toute ma vie.

Bisous, et à bientôt,

Mikayla

Goodbye

Today is the last time I'll see my group of exchange student friends.

I keep waiting for it to "hit me," but it still hasn't. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. That sucker-punch feeling in the pit of my stomach? Uncontrollable tears? Anger? Sadness? An even stronger desire to return to Colorado?

I was writing goodbye letters to my friends, and I was thinking about this. I thought about when I left Colorado. I hadn't really cried or made much of a fuss about leaving for Belgium, until the night before my flight. I bawled like a baby, and curled up in my mom's bed. I ended up crying hysterically until 3:30 am (keep in mind I had to be up at around 5), and finally fell asleep for a little while.

I cried waiting for my plane to come in Denver, and I cried for a good portion of the flight to DC. But when I got there, I told myself that that was enough; the adventure was beginning NOW, and I wanted it to begin on a good note. After that, there were no more tears. I didn't really feel a huge slap from culture shock. Life here just became my routine.

Now I'm wondering if that will happen when I return in just under two weeks (I still can't believe it's that soon!). Will I fall back into life the way it used to be? Am I different? Are my friends? What about my friends from Belgium (exchangers and Belgians alike)? Will we be able to keep in contact other than the occasional "Hey, what's up?" and a Facebook "Happy Birthday!" ?

I don't think it'll ever really "hit" me that I'm going home. I think it'll just happen, and things will continue. I've come to the conclusion that that's just how life works. Things don't come in great waves and uncontrollable bouts like in movies or books. Life just keeps trucking on, like little waves hitting the shores of a lake.

Greece IV.

Day 8

April 17

The 17th was a pretty miserable, rainy day. We spent a lot of time in the bus (comme d'habitude), and drove around to see the Tomb of Agamemnon and Mycenae. After that, we drove to the ruins of Epidaurus, home of the famous theater. This theater has AMAZING acoustics. You can hear everything, regardless of where you're sitting in the stands. Tour guides will often have the groups of visitors scatter throughout the stands and then will light a match from the stage. Everyone in the crowd can hear the sound. An exchange student from Florida, Lily, sang the Star Spangled Banner for us, and we could all hear her perfectly. It's really quite extraordinary.

Overall, it was a pretty low-key day. We didn't do anything super exciting (and we were all exhausted!) and everyone went to bed and waited for the next day.

Day 9

April 18

OLYMPIA!

On the 18th, we visited Olympia, our final stop in Greece. We saw Zeus' Temple (which used to contain one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World), Heras' Temple and the Philppieon. We weren't there for long, and after a quick visit and some pictures, we got back in the bus to go to Patras, where we were catching our ferry to Italy.

While driving down the streets of Patras to the port, we all received a rather massive shock. There were mobs on both sides of the road trying to climb into the truck in front of us, and when that didn't work, they tried to climb under our bus and into the luggage compartments.

Needless to say, some of the exchange students were terrified and with good reason. Throughout the year, we have all learned that there are many "sans-papiers" (without papers) living in Europe. Many, many immigrants come from Romania, Moldova, Turkey, Serbia, etc to live in Western Europe. They're the equivalent of illegal immigrants from Mexico in the US, except that once they arrive in certain countries in Europe (like Belgium, for example), they are given papers and benefits like social security and unemployment. There are huge political wars raging over this right now, but that's not the point of this post. The point is that it was SCARY when the bus was mobbed by people. Granted, they didn't try to harm us, but it was scary knowing that they were underneath the bus, practically dragging along the ground. It made me realize how lucky I am in life; I'll never have to experience that level of desperation, trying to make a better life for myself in another country. I'm lucky to be an American citizen.

After a few scares with people underneath the bus, we made it onto the boat and settled in for a night of sea-travel. We arrived in Italy the next day, ate at Gino's restaurant again, and finally made it home on the 20th.

And that, my good folks, is the end of Greece!

Who am I?

When I came to Belgium ten months ago, I was Mikayla, a 16 year old American girl.

That has changed. I am no longer just that Mikayla.

I am not just American. I am Korean/Australian, Canadian, Mexican, Indian, and Belgian.

I am a rhéto.

I am an adult.

I am a world traveler, and I have become a global citizen.

I am bilingual.

I am part of a bigger picture.

I am a New Yorker (thanks Em-Bem).

I am free.

I am a revolutionary.

I am a teacher.

I am a giver.

I am a dreamer.

I am a learner.

I am a laugher and a crier.

I am full of hope.

But most importantly, I am Mikayla, and I have become who I am meant to be.

Out of sync.

Hey folks.

I know my blog has become... sporadic. I have lots of posts to finish and lots of stories to share.

I need to finish:

Greece (no WAY was that 2 months ago...)

Rachel! (and our adventures)

Amsterdam

and just a regular life update as well.

I'm sorry I'm so behind, really, I am! I'll catch up soon.

I'm leaving for Prague tomorrow though, so these updates will take a while.

Mikayla

P.S. 24 days left!

It's exam time.

And it's a wonderful time to be in Belgium.

Why?

See, normally, people here get dressed up. Every day. They wear sweaters and cute skirts and boots and scarves. What girls wear to school here would be considered high-class formal wear in Colorado.

They NEVER wear sweatpants. Sweatpants are for the barraquis (the equivalent of trailer trash) and other street urchins. A respectable person would not be caught DEAD in a pair of sweatpants.

Even when people come home from school/work, they stay in the same clothes until 10:30 at night when they go to bed. People do not wear t-shirts, except for sleeping. Everything is kept presentable and classy, all day long.

Except during exams.

During exams, Belgians try to make their heads explode with as much knowledge as possible from the school year. They study 10-12 hours per day, every day, only stopping for 5 or 10 minutes to eat/go to the bathroom/have a breakdown about failing all exams and doubling (failing and retaking the year) once every 5 or 6 hours. They are so focused on studying that they don't bother to get dressed in the morning, since they'll be staying home all day. They stay in pajamas all day long, and simply fall onto their beds at night. They get up the next morning and they do the same thing.

And it's wonderful.

See, I LOVE sweatpants. They are my best friends in the world. There were many days when I went to school in sweatpants (in the US. I wouldn't DARE do it in Belgium). I will happily go just about anywhere in sweatpants (there have been weeks at a time where I wear nothing but sweatpants. It's lovely), and I think nothing of it. But here in Belgium, coming down to breakfast still in sweats is considered... not very classy. It's been killing me all year to have to be presentable all the time. A few months ago, I came up with a system to get my sweatpants fix. Here's how it works:

1. Wear sweatpants to sleep, and sleep as much as possible.

2. Wake up in the morning, complete total morning routine (shower, brush teeth, pack school bag, do makeup, etc) while still wearing sweats. Put "real" clothes on at the last possible second.

3. Eat breakfast, leave house, go to school.

4. Daydream about glorious sweatpants laying across the bed, just waiting to be worn again.

5. Come home from school, walk home as quickly as possible.

(This one serves two purposes: 1. it gets me to my sweatpants faster, and 2. it prevents my host siblings from seeing if I fall down the hill again on the way back to the house. Another story for another post)

6. Grab quick snack

7. Go upstairs, release self from evil, inhibiting jeans

8. Put on glorious, loving, soft sweatpants

9. Sit up in room for about 2 hours, doing homework, etc while basking in warm glow from sweatpants

10. Take off sweatpants

11. Change back into evil monster jeans

12. Go to dinner/hang out with host family, etc

13. Hear plaintive calls from sweatpants, begging not to be left alone

14. Finish dinner/hang out with family a little more

15. Bedtime! Run upstairs and hug sweatpants before putting them back on and falling asleep enveloped by their warm embrace

It's a great plan, I know.

Except right now, I can wear sweats ALL day long, because my host sisters are doing it.

Dear Exams:

I love you.

Fondly,

Mikayla

Yesterday was my last day of Belgian school.

Talia, Emma and I presented an oral exam together in Social Sciences, which we passed with flying colors (45/60, a GREAT score by Belgian terms). It was a pretty simple exam, but it was nice to finish on a good note like that. It's weird to think that I'll never have a class there again; that it's all over.

After we finished our exam, our super awesome teacher, Madame Gallo, drove me to my second host family's house so I could pick up a package from my mom. I ate lunch with my family and caught up with them, and then my host mom drove me home.

I spent the rest of the day bumming around, talking to my host sisters and to friends back in the States. It's nice to finally be on summer vacation!

Countdown: 29 days left in Belgium!

I have been in this country for 10 months, and I have yet to master the ability to pour liquids from boxes.

I'm learning a new language! Milestone 2.

2. The Silent Treatment

This comes right after you realize that no, in fact, you do not have any idea what's going on. It's much easier to sit in silence than to try to join in the conversation.

It's kind of like this post.

Empty.