sunshine in belgium

Tonight I am slowly being consumed by French verbs.  Last week, in English class, we had a test on irregular verbs. ENGLISH irregular verbs. I have never studied French before. I don’t know a lot of vocabulary. Although, obviously, I speak English fluently, I still cannot translate something from French to English if I do not understand the French. So. The last week I have been attempting to learn 158 French verbs. I probably knew about 20 of them to start off with. And that is a high estimate.

School is hard for me. But I am getting better. At least five people commented today on how I am improving. And I really am. Everyday I learn new words, and everyday my grammar improves. People are beginning to feel comfortable correcting me when I say the equivalent of “I want goes shop” instead of “I want to go shopping”.  I am texting people in French, and talking to them on facebook in French as well. Although I generally need a dictionary, translator, or Emma close by, I am learning.  And for me, that’s very exciting J

Today at school was a normal day. The first hour with Pére Boly we slowly struggled through a newspaper article that we all understand, as he slowly attempts to explain every word. Second hour I had chemistry.  Because I am taking French with Pére Boly the first hour of everyday, this means I am missing a class that the rest of the students in my group are attending. Today, I missed an hour of chemistry. In all honesty, I don’t mind, as I cannot understand anything in that class. However, it will be somewhat frustrating later on in the year, as this means I have half as much time in the class as everyone else. After chemistry we had our first break of the day (for you Orono people, it is a little like snack break, but you can't buy food, you have to bring your own). Then I headed off to French class. We had to switch classrooms, as the teacher wanted to do a powerpoint presentation, and wouldn't you know it, there are no projectors or computers in the normal classrooms. I've never appreciated smart boards more in my life. So, in French class I mindlessly wrote a letter to my parents sitting in the back of the room, occasionally copying notes from my good friend Mathieu sitting next to me. After French I had math, and in case anyone was worried, I did NOT get a negative score on the test. I got a one out of thirty. BUT. The average score was around twelve I think, so hey, that's not terrible haha. After math I went to lunch. I ate lunch outside today and the sun was shinning and it was beautiful, so of course that helped melt away any stresses I had been feeling before eating. Not to mention the sandwich that Emma's host mom had made for me was utterly delicious. After lunch I had two hours of English class, which I normally dread. Today, however, a boy who had spent the last year in Finland came in to talk to the class for the whole two hours. He spoke English very well, and spoke in English the whole time, so it was an enjoyable two hours. On Mondays I finish school two hours earlier than the rest of the school. So after spending the second break of the day at school, Emma and I left to find some chocolate to send to her family. After the little trip to the grocery store, we did what Belgian students seem to be best. Head to the café in La Grand Place and spend a good hour or so sitting around. We joined two Belgians, which meant we spent the time speaking in French, and it was utterly enjoyable.  After the café I took the bus home (I've just finally seemed to figure out the bus schedule) and have spent the last few hours either studying for English, talking to people on facebook, or eating dinner.  

Overall, it was a good day in Belgium :)  I have nothing extremely interesting to write about, and no deep thoughts to share. NOR do I have any pictures to post, so I've decided to just put up a few pictures of my room here; I am rather fond of it.  

My desk. This is clearly from the first day, as  by now I have a million things pilled up on it for school!

My bed? Obviously.

Here is my door, one of my mirrors, and a bunch of buckets full of stuff. Organizational bins are crazy popular, and I find myself stretched very thin to fill all of them up. It does make the room look rather pretty though :)

My sink. In my bedroom. It's very convenient :) And very cute haha. And as you've probably noticed, I have lots of pictures also! 

Well, I think that is all for tonight. I hope whoever is reading this, whether in Belgium, France, Spain, or America, is having a wonderful day :)

today I appreciate: sunshine