The first weekend of the month we went to Leyden, which is a city in Holland. We went to a Pablo Picasso Expo. And then we toured the city. 

The next weekend I was off to Brugges with my host mother. Brugges is one of the most beautiful and the most popular city in Belgium. It dates back to the middle ages and has the most beautiful towers and buildings and even canals. My friends and I also had a dinner party which turned out wonderfully with our group. We have another one planned before every vacation. They have really made me feel at home here. We are a group of 8 (3 girls and 5 guys) and are inseparable. They are all Belgians except for the girls. We do everything possible together.

The third weekend we headed off to Paris. It was a dream! The weather was marvelous and Paris was absolutely incredible! We took the high speed train and arrived at 8 am (just 1H and 45 min after leaving Brussels.) 

After our arrival we disposed our luggage at the hotel and headed for the Rodin Museum. I was absolutely fascinated by his work. He is definitely one of my favorite sculptors. After the museum we headed off to Les Invalids which is where Napoleon is buried. We had lunch and headed off to Notre Dame, which is located on one of the two islands in Paris. It is an incredible cathedral with beautiful tinted glass windows. I found the structure captivating. Since Paris is huge we had to take the metro to get to most of these places and I am now a more confident person when it comes to taking trains and metros because we took SOO many on this trip. By the time we finished with Notre Dame it was dark so we walked around the islands and the river until about 9:30.

The next day we headed to the Royal Museum for an expo on Mediterranean Art by artists such as Monet Matisse, Signac ,and Renoir. After about 2 hours of the expo we walked around the Champs-Elysses for a while and climbed up L'Arc de Triomphe . It was a beautiful site from up there with the blue sky and white clouds as a backdrop to the beauty of Paris. After about 45min up there, we descended and headed for the Egyptian structure whose name escapes me at the moment and the great fountain besides it. Of course it was a great risk getting there for we had to run across one of the busiest streets in Paris. But all in all it was worth it.

Following the Champs-Elysses was Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris. We took a sort of ferry tour and saw, from the Sienne, the most popular sites of Paris. It was freezing cold but worth it. By the time we finished it was again dark but I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. It tool us about ½ an hour to get there (on train and metro of course) and by the time I got up the city was full of light from all of its buildings and structures. It was one of the most incredible sights I have seen here….I was absolutely amazed with the size of Paris. I stayed up there for about one hour just gazing at the city. It was amazing. 

After the tower we headed to Le Louvre, the museum most famous for it's possession of the one and only Mona Lisa. We spent about two hours there but didn't get to see all of it because of the immensity of the place. The time that I spent in Paris made a really big impression on me. It has a sort of charm, Paris, I think that is why it is so loved. I can't wait to go back in a couple of months I am really looking forward to seeing it again.

After Paris came Christmas and presents and a bit of homesickness. It never affected me before but around Christmas you really felt the absence of your family and friends. It didn't last very long because I've always told everyone this when they asked me if I missed my family," Though I know it sounds a bit harsh I didn't come here to miss my family, I came here to experience everything that I could and bring back incredible memories that I can share." So that's what I tell myself. I think that speaking to my family and friends often makes me have this sort of outlook. Anyway I had planned to go to Italy to visit my aunt for the 2 weeks but we decided against it because she lives in the north and it was too cold to enjoy the time there. I know it sounds funny but this cold is so horrible at times!!! So we are planning my trip for the beginning of March when hopefully it will be a better for me. I am really very excited about that trip.

On Christmas Eve we went to mass and sang (in French) Christmas carols. It was all very funny. The service was nice but very different when compared to the type of Catholic masses I am used to. Here they sang gospel at mass and I found that a bit special. After mass we had a beautiful dinner of Fois Gras meaning 'fat liver' any guesses? I'll leave it to the imagination.

When we finished with dinner we opened our presents. I received a very nice necklace from my host family. But the best surprise came the next morning…..it snowed! It was all very beautiful and white! It gave me much illusion to see snow though I'd seen it before I've never lived anywhere where it snowed so much. Everything was so pretty and white. So I spent the next few days with my host brothers going to the cinema, playing with the snow. I had a very good time.

New Years came so quickly!!! I barely had time to think about everything that has occurred these past five months! On the eve of the new year I had dinner with my family and host brothers at 10:30pm and then went to see the fireworks from Brussels with my host brothers. At midnight we toasted with champagne and had a very nice time. It was all very different to what I am accustomed to but now I know how the holidays are spent in Belgium :) 

That leads up to now. I am getting for my last weekend before school starts again. I haven't mentioned that my French is going very well I am surprised by my progress at times.

Tomorrow I have an outing planned with a few friends in Brussels and the next weekend I move from Rhode Saint Genese to the center of Brussels!!! I am really excited and have already met the other families who will "keep me". Its funny because they are all related to my first host family.

And at the end of this month I am expecting my best friends to visit. Vanessa is on exchange in Germany and I am really looking forward to her arrival.

A Bientôt!!!

Patricia