Greetings from Belgium

Since I have been here I haven't been home sick, but when I saw the photos of Thanksgiving dinner I was feeling a little far from home. I am hoping to be able to make my host family a true Canadian dinner sometime soon but finding a turkey has been proven difficult, so I have fallen back on the Quebec classic, poutine.

School is long and tiring but every week I look forward to my cooking class which is every Thursday for two hours. Today we made crepes! I find the courses like French and History the most difficult since there are both very fast paced and have so much new terminology. My French teacher also speaks with alarming speed and expects us not only to understand it but to also take notes at the same time. Luckily she is very understanding and helpful. My French is already improving and my vocabulary is becoming very well developed with all the new terms I'm learning at school and home. I now always have my mini dictionary close at hand!

This Saturday there is a boat tour down the MuseRiver which has been organised by Rotary for all the exchange students in Belgium, and on Sunday I am visiting the Liège Sunday market with my friend from Texas and her host family. I am very fortunate since through my host family and Rotary I have already been able to visit many of Belgium's popular sites. Rotary has organised some wonderful trips, we went on a great kayaking trip, a boat tour through some caves and a tour down a local mine. Last weekend my host grandparents took me to see one of the largest lakes in Belgium, it was absolutely gorgeous but coming from Canada I was surprised to find out that all the lakes in Belgium are man made. I am looking forward to doing some more travelling during the school vacations which are coming up in two weeks. There is always plenty to do and see here!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get here, this is the most amazing experience of my life!

Hope everyone is well and had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Robyn