Okay, so here's the rest of what happened today...

It took me forever to fall asleep last night, so I ended up sleeping in late -- till around 11 am here. Anne-Michele came to my room and invited me to go with her to Ikea. I decided to go, and after eating an apple and taking a fabulously cold shower (I think I was the last one to shower today, so there wasn't any hot water), we left. I don't know how long it took for us to get to Ikea. It's in a place called Hognoul (I think) and Anne-Michele told me that people come to this Ikea from France, Luxembourg, and Holland, if I remember correctly. It's the only Ikea around except for the one in Bruxelles. It was fun to walk around and watch people shop. Ikea is set up kind of weird. I've never been to one before (at least, not in recent memory), and basically, you walk around a set path with about a million other people, all jostling and walking around looking for stuff. Anne-Michele showed me around and explained the different parts of the store. I'm not usually one for shopping (my mom can attest to that) but I really enjoyed it. I liked the people-watching and catching snatches of French conversation. The more I listen to Anne-Michele, the more I understand. At the end of our day shopping, I could understand everything she said.

This morning, it was a un peu strange -- Anne-Michele started speaking English to me right off the bat. I don't think she even realized it. She started talking to the guy who was working on the house a little in English before she realized what she had been doing. It was a little funny. :) But I think that shows just how quickly people can learn to do things differently. Anne-Michele is a native French speaker, and says that she was the worst in her English class, and yet she doesn't seem to have much of a problem switching between French and English. I hope that someday I can switch back and forth between French and English like that as well.

Anyway, after we had finished shopping, we bought some ice cream and donuts at Ikea. Yes, at Ikea. Anne-Michele said that Amaury likes donuts a lot, and we were both really hot (it was SO hot in the store) so, naturally, ice cream was the thing to get. It was absolutely delicious. It was a really cool system as well. Anne-Michele paid for the ice cream and was given two ice cream cones. Not far from the cash register, there was a small machine. You put your cone in a little holder, push a button, and the machine lifts the cone up, puts ice cream in it, and then kind of throws it down. The holder goes down about... 3 inches, and then the ice cream cone falls into it. I think it's so the ice cream doesn't drip all over the place. It's also really neat because you can have as much as you want, as long as you don't eat your ice cream cone. Do they have these machines at Ikeas in the U.S.?

After Ikea, Anne-Michele and I went to Decathlon, a large sports store, kind of like a Dick's Sporting Goods in the U.S. Anne-Michele wanted to get some breeches for Amaury (he rides horses as well. :D ) but they didn't have his size. Also, she bought me my first Belgian shoes! They're rubber riding boots. :) They're English (sorry Julie) and a size 7 in the U.S. It's kind of funny -- yesterday, Anne-Michele asked me what size shoes I wear. I told her I don't know in European sizes. So, she grabbed my foot and held it up next to hers and told me that she thinks I'm a size 40 (basically the same size as her). When I got the boots today, they had my size in the European, British, and American fashion. Hence, the sevens. I tried them on in the store though, and they fit just fine. Weird, huh?

Voila, pictures of my spanking new boots. :)

(By the way, can anyone tell me how to get accents on my computer? I feel lame not using them and having to copy and paste when I do.)

Anne-Michele and I also went to JBC, a clothing store. I bought a yellow shirt. It was made in "meillleures conditions de travail" (better working conditions) and is made from "matériaux respectueux de l'environnement" (environmentally-friendly materials). So me, right? :) It was kind of cool to make a purchase in a foreign country, even if it was just a shirt that I could probably get in the U.S.

Anyway, after that, we went to the post office. It wasn't too different from the ones in the U.S.,

except people took a number when they walked in and there wasn't quite as much stuff on the

walls.

After all of the shopping, Anne-Michele and I came home and I went upstairs and read a little bit.

I may have napped for about 10 minutes, but I'm not entirely sure. Etienne called up the stairs

nd asked me if I'd like to go with him to "la commune." He said something else about speaking

English, and I decided to just go along and see what it was. Turns out, it's (la commune) a type of welfare

organization for the town. Etienne is the president. His secretary (I think) speaks English, and so

she explained what the organization does and asked if we have something like that in the U.S.

I said yes, and told her my point of view of the U.S.' welfare. She asked me how I feel about Obama,

and we talked about the BP oil spill. She told me that she tries to follow American news on CNN

and would explain what we were talking about to Etienne. He seemed interested as well, which

was nice. She (ugh, I can't remember her name!) asked how old I am. I told her 16, and she couldn't

believe it! She thought I was 18. I explained to her that I finished high school early and started

school a year early, so that's why I'm so young. She explained it to Etienne who seemed rather

surprised. He told me that his daughter, Alix (she's in Florida) is a year ahead. I think it's pretty cool. :)

Wednesday, Etienne and I are going to get my visa certified. I asked Anne-Michele if she had

called Philippe, my Rotary club guy, and she said not yet. Hopefully that gets taken care of soon,

so I can register for the activity coming up.

Food:

I realized that I've had tomatoes every day since I've been here. Don't get me wrong, I like tomatoes,

but how many can one person eat? Whenever we have fresh fruits or vegetables, Anne-Michele

or Etienne tells me where they're from. I think I've had veggies from their garden, Etienne's brother's,

and somewhere else.

I know that in French class, we learned all about the markets and how important fresh food is in

France, and I thought that it would be similar in Belgium. It is in some ways, but not in others.

Etienne is a professor at a cooking school, and everything he makes is DELICIOUS. He uses a lot

more fresh stuff than most people do in the U.S. He cooks everything right before we eat it --

no reheating refrigerated stuff. Tonight, we had lettuce (salad), tomatoes (could be combined with

the lettuce), pork in various forms, and boiled potatoes. I don't know what it is about Belgian food,

but I'll take super teeny portions (half a potato, five leaves of lettuce, two little pieces of tomato, and a

piece of pork) and still be stuffed before I finish eating. Maybe I don't eat enough at home. But I

think it's because I'm not working out as much as I did at home. I'm not working out at all, in fact.

I'm not riding horses, walking Rudi, anything. I think I've realized why exchange students gain so

much weight. We don't always do the activities we used to do. I need to work on being more active

while I'm here. Anyway, back to food. My first day here, we had breakfast at a small health food

place in the train station in Bruxelles. Then, for lunch, Anne-Michele made chicken (it was prepackaged,

all she had to do was heat it, like the stuff you can pick up at King Soopers), salad (I think I've had

it at every meal) and tomatoes with chunks of mozzarella. It was kind of funny -- when Adrien

passed me the bowl, he said, "Mozzarella!" I was like, "Oui, je sais." (Yes, I know.) He seemed

kind of surprised that I knew what kind of cheese it was. I'm a Wisconsinite. :)

I just realized that that is a really long, rambling paragraph. The point of it all was that even

though there is a lot of fresh stuff in Belgium, it's not all 100% fresh. We don't go to the butcher

shop every day, we don't get a new loaf of bread or go out and pick apples all the time. While some

stuff is fresh, some is bought at the store. It's kind of like that U.S. in that respect.

Ugh, I think I'm still not making sense. I should probably get to bed now. I need to make up for

last night's lack of sleep.

Tonight, I gave Arnaud the peanut butter (buerre de cacahuètes) he asked for. He seemed

pleased. :)

I really like my host family, my house, everything about Belgium so far. I know that I'm still in

the honeymoon period, but really, what's not to love about a place and people that take you in

and do their best to teach you and make you happy? It's my definition of paradise.

Mikayla

Amaury

I just wanted to let everyone know that my host brother, Amaury, is the coolest 11 year old ever. EVER. He's super nice about the fact that I often have no clue what's going on. He'll speak slower and slower and slower and slower and act out whatever it is that he's saying so I can understand. He always says bonjour! to me and is just a great kid. Yesterday, Amaury, Anne-Michele and I were in the kitchen, and there was a pie (tarte, en francais) and he asked if I wanted a piece. I said no, thanks, I'm not hungry, and he said, "Oh, I will save one for you," and he cut a piece of the tarte and put it on a plate. Anne-Michele had to explain what was going on, and said that he would leave it on the counter for me. Amaury was like, "NO! In the fridge!" and put it in the extra fridge so my other brothers, Arnaud and Adrien, wouldn't eat it. Amaury rocks. The end. :)

Jour 2.

It's 2 am here, so it's really Day 3 for me en Belgique, but I'm writing about my second day, so ca va. :)

Every Sunday, my host family has lunch with their extended family at my host dad's step mother's house. Today was my first experience, and it was a lot of fun, but after an hour, I thought my head would explode. There were a lot of children and lots of noise, and SO MUCH FRENCH. Obviously, that's to be expected, but after a while, my mind just couldn't take it. I didn't say much at the meal because I was so overwhelmed, but I managed to catch a lot of what they were saying. As of right now, I can understand quite a bit. If I just sit and listen to what people are saying, I can usually get the gist of the conversation very quickly. But when I'm in a conversation with more than... 2 people, it becomes difficult for me to communicate. I think it's just because I become shy, but also because I'm afraid of making mistakes. I told myself I wouldn't have that fear, but I've realized that it's natural. It's okay if I'm afraid of making mistakes, but I shouldn't let it deter me from speaking. Kind of like when there's a spider in the shower. I might be afraid of the spider, but that doesn't meant that I'll never shower again.

My host mom and I left the lunch before the rest of the family so I could nap (the jet lag finally kicked in). I took a shower after she taught me how to get hot water (WOO!) and then went to sleep for about four hours. I have yet to get a clock, but hopefully I will soon.

Rewind for a bit. Before lunch, Anne-Michele, Amaury and I went to a supermarket in Waremme, a village close to where we live. There were definitely some differences between the Belgian supermarket and the ones in the US. For one, this store was smaller than the ones in the US. It was smaller than Albertsons and King Soopers. The alcohol is just boom, right there in an aisle, you don't have to go to a liquor store to buy it. You can also buy clothes, school supplies, and other things like that at this store. It was like a Walgreens, kinda, but without the medicine and with more food.

There are European cars, but also Fords and Toyotas here, which I think is kind of interesting. I love seeing Citroens and Peugeots driving along the streets. It just makes me happy. My host family laughed at me when I saw my first Citroen. I smiled really big and said "Oh, j'adore les Citroens!" (Oh, I adore Citroens!). The police officers here drive VWs.

Something about driving: while my host dad seems to stick to the speed limit for the most part, it always feels like we're thiiiiiis close to careening off the road. The streets here are very curvy, and it rains a lot, so the roads are slippery.

People in the US complain when there aren't signs labeling the various streets, right? Well, here, the signs are about... 4 inches long and 3 inches tall and the print is REALLY tiny. The signs are on the sides of buildings, which would cause an uproar in the US, I'm sure. Honestly, the signs are so small that 99% of the time, I have no idea what street we're on.

All of the cars here are manual. The old Citroen that Anne-Michele calls Etienne's "toy" has a strange shift... It's in the dashboard and you pull it out, you don't move it up and down.

The roads: Some of them are cobblestone, some of them are paved, all of them are curvy and twisty and terrifying. The roads are also very narrow to begin with, but are made narrower by the fact that people park on both sides. And when you park, it's not necessary to park facing a certain direction, oh no. I've seen cars nose to nose, bumper to bumper, and one truck-like thing that backed up into a parking space with the front of it sticking out into the road. Anyway, I thought Colorado had a ton of roundabouts, but we've got nothing on Belgium. In Waremme, there seems to be at least three roundabouts no matter where in the city you're going. They're impossible to avoid. Also, whoever designed the roads here has a very sick sense of humor. Tonight, I went with Etienne, Amaury, and some cousins to Etienne's friend's house, and we had to turn 330 degrees to get to the road to Jean-Luc's house. It was crazy. And of course, no car has that turning radius, so we had to stop in the middle of the road, back up a little, then continue the turn. It was a little scary. Speaking of backing up, after my family picked me up from the airport, we were trying to find the train station. We were in the middle of Bruxelles, and Etienne missed a turn, so he just stopped the car and backed up about 10 feet so he could turn. IN THE MIDDLE OF A MAIN ROAD IN BRUXELLES. I thought my mom was a crazy driver. Oh, and whoever invented the stop sign neglected to introduce it to Belgium.

It's kind of fun to ride in the car though. :)

Language: I understand a lot more than I thought I would so soon. I can follow a conversation pretty well, and when people talk to me (albeit slowly), I can usually understand what they're saying and formulate a decent response. My problem right now lies in speaking. I can usually do fairly well with Anne-Michele and I'm getting better with Etienne, but I'm still struggling with my host brothers. Arnaud is very nice about speaking English to me and Amaury talks really slowly and quite loud using small words, which is nice, but I have NO clue what Adrien is saying. Ever. I've tried just listening to him, but I still have no idea what's going on. I just need to practice listening to people. And do more of the exercises in my French workbook.

The more I listen to people speak, the more I think in French. I think in it until I reach a point where I don't know the word I'm looking for. So, I throw in the English version and continue to think in French. It's easier if I imagine I'm talking to one of my host family members, because I'm going to have to speak to them in French.

As I said before, I went to Jean-Luc's house with Etienne, Amaury and some cousins. I had a lot of fun. August 15th is a celebration in Belgium (I haven't quite gathered why) and we watched the fireworks over La Meuse (a river) from Jean-Luc's backyard in between exclamations about my mental health because I love rain. Someone, I think Jean-Luc, said "Only in Belgium would it be pouring rain, and yet we still have fireworks." And it was completely true! It was pouring, but we all stood outside and watched. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. As I watched the fireworks, it kind of hit me. I'm in Europe. I still can't believe it. My favorite parts of the evening were:

1. Trying orange juice. There isn't pulp (WOOHOO!) and it's really a blend of fruit juices: orange, mango, pineapple, banana, and some others. The box (yes, it comes in a box) has some English on the front. If I remember correctly, it says "fruity and exotic." I thought it was hilarious. :)

2. All of a sudden, during the fireworks, the adults started to sing "We Are the Champions." Just the one line: "We are the champions. We are the champions. We are the champions." It was so cute!

3. Jean-Luc. It was raining a lot, and for some reason, he didn't go inside and get an umbrella. Instead, he tied a plastic bag onto his head in what I can only describe as a Pippi Longstocking-'do rag. I couldn't stop laughing, and I wish I had taken my camera so I could have a picture.

4. The music on the way home. When we got in the car, the Eurythmics were playing, followed by Colbie Caillat, then Bob Marley. After Bob was a French song, then The Cardigans. I thought it was kind of funny. I also heard Lady Gaga on the radio today before we left for Jean-Luc's. It was nice to have that little piece of home.

Well, it's past 3 now, and I'm getting tired. I'll say goodnight. :)

Bon nuit!

Mikayla

Je suis arrivee!

Hey! I made it to Belgium alive and well. I met my first host family, my second host mom and sister, and my third host dad at the airport. They had a sign with my name on it, welcoming me to Belgium, which was so great! After we left the airport, we went to the train station so that my host sister, Alix, could get her train ticket to Paris, which is where she flew from the US. It was kinda sad to say goodbye, because she was my translator for those three hours. She's just so nice and I'm glad I got to meet her. I hope she has a great time in the US!

After we dropped off Alix, we came to my host family's house, and it is SO beautiful. It belonged to my host dad's grandmother. Everything is wood: the floors, the doors, most of the furniture, and I LOVE it! My host mom, Anne-Michele, and Alix decorated my room, and it's so me it's CRAZY. My bed is HUGE (I think it's two twins pushed together) and REALLY comfortable. My bed frame is gorgeous dark wood that matches my armoire (there isn't a closet) and desk. My sheets and blankets are red, with another yellow blanket on top. The curtains are red and orange, and the towels are red and gray. The walls are pale yellow and white stripes. Anne-Michele put up lots of pictures with huge amounts of color. The pictures are of African scenes, and so pretty! They also gave me a HUGE, HUGE poster of Harry Potter. HUGE. It's amazing. Full color, and probably at least 7 feet tall by 4 feet wide. It's BEAUTIFUL. Oh, and I also met my third host brother, Arnaud.

After we came home yesterday, I called my mom to let her know I made it safely, then we had lunch. My host family eats lunch every day at noon. Sundays, they go to Etienne's (my host dad) mother's house for lunch with the ENTIRE family. It's HUGE. Anne-Michele was explaining the family to me yesterday, and it seems that everyone has four kids. I can't keep their names straight at all. I'm sure I'll learn with time though.

Anyway, before lunch, Anne-Michele told me that Amaury wanted to show me the gardens. He took me outside and we walked through the gardens, and he showed me the chickens and the pool as well. We walked up the driveway and across the street to his cousin's house, where I met three cute little ponies and his cousin (Marie?) before heading back to the house for lunch.

After lunch, I napped for about four hours. I was completely wiped out from the plane ride. After I got up, I talked to my host mom a little, and she invited me to meet some of the family. We rode around in the Belgian version of an old VW bug. A Citroen. Il est si mignon! Anne-Michele, Amaury, and I went to Etienne's mom's house and to Etienne's sister's (I think) where we got to meet a cute new puppy.

After we came home, Anne-Michele, Amaury, and I went to the living room, and I went through the first night questionnaire. She laughed when I asked if I was supposed to call her Mme Cartuyvels. She said "Oh no no no. Anne-Michele, Miche-miche, mais pas Mme Cartuyvels." I asked what I should call M Cartuyvels, and she said Etienne. So there we go. :) Anne-Michele showed me how to work their washer and dryer and said that school starts at 8:10 in the morning. Ahhh, relaxation time!

After the questionnaire, Anne-Michele told me I could go to a 50th birthday party for one of her friends. Amaury asked if I would like to take a shower before, which I thought was so sweet. Or maybe I just really smelled like airplane. I attempted to take a shower, and just about froze to death in the process. In this shower, there hot water knob is on the right with the cold water on the left. I tried to turn the hot water knob, but nothing came out of the shower. So I figured that the cold had to be turned on for the hot to work. Pas vrai. I turned the hot water knob every way I could imagine, and still, I got nothing but cold water. So, I took a cold shower. I don't mean lukewarm, I mean cold. I'm going to try again today, and if I still get nothing but cold water, I'll ask Anne-Michele for help. Honestly, I think the house is out to get me, because when I used the sink in my room to brush my teeth later, hot water came out of the cold tap. Craziness, no?

The party was pretty fabulous. Another different thing about Belgium -- the party was in a barn. Not an old, refurbished barn, but in a fully functioning barn. There was a pen full of calves right next to the tables where people were talking and sharing beer. It was a little weird, but still enjoyable. I followed Anne-Michele for a while and was introduced to a bunch of people, but I struggle to recall their names. I ended up hanging out with one of my host sibling's cousins (I know he told me his name...) for quite a while. He asked me if I wanted a beer, and when I said no, thanks, I think I pretty much rocked his world. He's pretty nice, and fluent in English, so we got along swimmingly. :) We talked about drinking ages, and he had me try his beer. I can't say I fell in love with it, but it wasn't horrible (sorry, Mom). Adrien (one of my older host brothers) came over and chatted with us for a while too, and he had me try his beer as well. I liked it more than the other, and the cousin told me that most people didn't like it as their first. Well, what can I say, I'm a crazy American. :) After the beer tasting, they told me that there are over one THOUSAND types of Belgian beer. One THOUSAND. We walked around for a while, and I petted the cows. The cousin thought I was crazy because I said that I love cows, they're so cute. The cow I was petting started to lick me, and I couldn't help but laugh. The cousin yelped and backed up a number of steps when the cow went for him. I think it's funny that everyone who knows English also knows English swear words. But anyway, we continued chatting for a while, then I was taken over by two men who spoke English. One of them wanted to practice, because he's going to Iowa on Wednesday to judge a cow show. Yep. I was a little surprised too, but hey, it's pretty cool. That man also has seven horses. If I'm not very much mistaken, he has a young horse that's fairly jumpy that he wants me to train two or three times a week. I'll have to look into that a little more. I wish I'd brought my boots. :(

Anyway, Anne-Michele, Amaury, and I (we're like the Three Musketeers, I guess) came home at about 10:30. Anne-Michele kept saying how early it was, but she was tired and so was I. I went to bed around 11:20 last night, and slept until 8 am this morning, so I feel pretty refreshed. I might attempt another shower later.

As for the language, I'm really surprised by how much I understand. If I don't know a word, I ask the person to repeat it, and they usually do, as well as explain it in French, which is helpful. I'm not yet at the point where I respond well, for the most part I say "oui," "tres bien," "ca va," "okay," or "Je comprends." I also forgot my dictionary at home, which SUCKS since I can't look up things I want to say, like "I can't figure out your shower," or "Sorry I have so much stuff, my mom made me bring an extra suitcase." But it will all come with time, right? :) The easiest person for me to understand is Anne-Michele, because she speaks slower for me and usually asks me "Tu as compris?" (You understand?) after about two sentences. I'm getting better at picking up what Etienne is saying as well, and Amaury is a perfect gentleman, speaking in mostly small words and talking at a snail's pace. The person I'm really struggling to understand is Adrien. I don't think it's his fault at all, but every time he speaks I get lost after the first two or three words. I think it's because he speaks so fast. I now understand why so many people get confused when other people speak French; it honestly does sound like bubbles if you don't know what's going on. But it's really such a beautiful language. I'm glad I have the chance to learn it.

Some interesting stuff about Belgium:

• There was litter EVERYWHERE in Bruxelles.
• If you don't drink beer, something is medically wrong with you.
• Most, if not every single one of the houses I've seen are made of stone.
• There are flies. EVERYWHERE.
• It seems that families (or maybe just les Cartuyvels) live SUPER close together. Right down the street from my house is Etienne's mom, sister, another sister, I think, and probably two or three dozen other relatives.
• People weren't lying when they said that the weather is really cloudy. I woke up this morning, and the sky was a lovely shade of gray. It could have been 4 am or 3 pm, I had no idea till I turned on my computer.
• Clocks. I don't have a clock in my room, and I have yet to see one around the house (I haven't really looked though). I need to get one before school starts though, or at least a watch, because not knowing the time is making me batty. I now understand why the guy in IQ (Walter Matthau plays Enstein) is running around his cell like crazy because he doesn't know the time. It's really quite frustrating.
• Again, the shower. That thing is really getting to me.
• Lights. There are no lights past the third set of stairs on the way to my room. I walk the last 10 or 20 steps to my room in complete darkness. It's not horrible, but just a little odd. I'll have to start leaving a small lamp on in my room.
• They really do eat fruit for desert. Yesterday, I was offered a nectarine or a peach. I think I made an idiot out of myself because I just bit into it. It was delicious, yes, but everyone else who had one used a knife to cut it up. I'll have to try that next time I'm offered. I know it's the American in me coming out, but it just seems so time-consuming to sit there and cut the fruit up before eating it. Oh well, this isn't about being American, it's about being part of the family.
• I realized that I didn't bring enough warm clothes. I have five pairs of pants, but mostly tank tops and t-shirts for tops. I'll have to get my mom to send a sweatshirt/jacket along with my dictionary.
• It's kinda weird being up so high in the house. The view is PHENOMENAL, but I can't really hear what's going on downstairs. Just something to get used to.
• There's a formal living room and a kid living room.

Well, I'm fairly hungry, so I'm going to get dressed and go get some breakfast.

A bientot,

Mikayla

Holy Cannoli!

So a bunch of new exciting things have been happening in the past few weeks!

• I got Skype! I've been video chatting with Jaclyn (another inbound, from Missouri) and my Hannah (who's back in Wisconsin) so I've pretty much figured out how Skype works. If you're interested in Skyping, add me!
  
• My visa arrived yesterday! It's so pretty, sitting there in my passport. I panicked for a second today, because it says that it's only valid until October 15th, but then I remembered that it's supposed to be valid for that long. :) I have to go to the town hall in my city within 8 days of my arrival in Belgium to verify my visa and get it extended for the rest of the year.
• My laptop arrived today! I think he's going to be named Voldemort. I'm actually posting this from him. He's taking some getting used to, but overall I like him a lot.
• I discovered that the host counselor I was given on my Rotary paperwork is, in fact, not my host counselor. The man who is actually my host counselor is named Philippe, and he and I have corresponded a little. He will be there with my first host family to welcome me at the airport.
• I received my itinerary for my flights! I fly out of DIA on Friday, August 13th (just 15 days from now!) and arrive at Washington Dulles that afternoon. After a three hour layover, I board a flight for Bruxelles, Belgique! I arrive early in the morning (Belgian time) on August 14th. I can't believe it's so soon!
• I met a gentleman named Raphael, who exchanged to my hometown about two years ago. As it turns out, he knows my host families! In a country of 10 million people, who would've thought that it's such a small world?

Au revoir,

Mikayla

Update...

I sent in my visa paperwork (finally), and the travel agent tells me it takes about 5 weeks to get a visa, while the consulate's website says one week. I'm hoping it goes through quickly and without any glitches. I can't buy my plane ticket until my visa arrives, and if it takes all of 5 weeks, I'll have a week and a half left before I'm supposed to arrive. Pas bien. So keep your fingers crossed for a quick visa and open seats on the plane!

I heard back from Host Family Number Two, the Cuyckens. They sent me pictures of their family, which is awesome! All three of my families keep telling me how excited they are for me to come, which gives me warm fuzzies inside (yes, I'm serious). My first host mom, Mme. Cartuyvels, told me that she's starting to work on my room, and she hopes I like it. I wiggle with happiness whenever I think of it!

I've been talking to my host sister, Camille, who is in Mexico with Rotary right now. She returns en Belgique on the 16th of July, so we'll get to hang out when I'm there, which is exciting! She's so sweet, and offered to help me with my French (I'll need it) as long as I help her get a better accent with English (she speaks 3 languages: French, English, and Spanish. Her English is better than mine!). I can already tell we're going to be friends. :)

I can't wait to meet all of the other kids going to Belgium. I've gotten to know a few of them already via Facebook (what would we do without it?!) and I love them. I can't wait to see what kind of shenanigans we get into en Belgique!

Bisous,

Mikayla

Less than 3 months!

I can't believe that in fewer than 90 days I'll be jumping on a plane headed halfway around the world. I'm excited, but apprehensive at the same time. I know I come off as shy, so I need to work on opening up to people. Hopefully this exchange can help me do that. Here's a list of what has transpired lately:

• I got my passport! Yahoo!
• We had the Outbound Orientation in Douglas, Wyoming. A long, long weekend full of powerpoints, speeches, and hotel beds.
• I got my blazer!
• I have to start filling out my Bokoff Kaplan plane ticket and visa information. And get all of it notarized. Yay.

It doesn't seem like much, but it really is. OH! I also have to start getting my pins put together. Can't wait for that. I already have 3 -- one from Esteban (he gave it to me before he went back to Argentina, while we were at the District Interviews), one that came with my Rotary blazer (100% polyester, made in Costa Rica), and one from Emily's mom. My blazer looks a little naked right now, but I'm sure it'll fill up fast!

I've started talking to two of my host families, too. I emailed all three, but I'm still waiting to hear back from one of them. My first family, the Cartuyvels' have chickens and a fish, and 4 kids! The third family, the Golard's, have 4 kids as well (if I remember correctly) and a Brittany spaniel. Both families are already so gracious and welcoming. I can feel that I'll be at home in Belgium, and I'm not even there yet!

One of the things I'm most excited for is meeting all of the other kids going on exchange to my district. I've already talked to a few, and I can tell that we're going to be close friends.

À bientôt!

Mikayla