MY RETURN TO SPAIN

 22/11

This week hasn´t been an easy one for me, since it`s my last one here and I will miss the Belgian way of doing things 

Thursday was my last volleyball practice. I was really sad. I baked some cookies for all of my teammates, so we ended the training session early. 

Thursday was also my last day of school. During the last class my teachers arranged a small farewell party for me. We ate together and the Erasmus teacher gave me some presents. All my class signed some postcards for me too.

When I finished school I had to say goodbye to all my friends. It was really hard for me. I miss them a lot already. We bought some bracelets together, so that in some way we would never be apart. 

Yesterday I took the plane to come back to Spain. I woke up at 5 am to have breakfast because we had to leave the house at 6:15. Two hours, and several traffic jams, later we arrived at Brussels' airport. My flight was delayed so I waited with my host mum in a café for about an hour. I was really upset when I had to say goodbye. 

My flight took off at 11:50. It was a smooth flight, except for the landing when there was some turbulence. 

When we touched down I ran to see my parents. It was really nice to see them after all this time. 

When I got home I decided to unpack my bags first and then pay a quick visit to my best friend. 

I am really happy to be back here in Spain. However I know that it's going to be really difficult to move on from this incredible experience I've had. 

FOOD IN SPAIN AND BELGIUM

18/09

One of the biggest differences I've noticed between Spain and Belgium is the meals. 

Here in Belgium we only eat a hot meal at dinner time, around seven o'clock. I have lunch at school, so I usually make myself a sandwich to bring. We have lunch at 11:35. In my opinion it's really early. 

In Spain we usually have hot meals twice a day, lunch and dinner. In Spanish schools we don't usually have lunch at school. We have lunch at home at around three o'clock.

I also prefer Spanish cuisine. Belgium is well known for its fabulous desserts, such as waffles or chocolate. Another popular Belgian dish is chips, or as they like to call them: "frites". 

A VISIT TO LE HAN CAVES

 09/11

My younger host sister is participating in an erasmus programme aswell. She is going to travel to Italy. So this week her Italian exchange student is coming to stay with us here in Belgium. 

Since the Italian girl is only staying for a week, her schedule is full of activities. Today was family day, so we all decided to visit the "Le Han" caves with her. 

We booked our tickets for 4 pm but we arrived early so my host dad looked up some nice walks to do in the mountains. We ended up doing a 9km uphill trek. 

After the walk we went into the caves. We followed a tunnel down into a big open space within the cave. It was really cold there, but the visit was worth it. The caves were beautiful and there was even a small light display.

We stayed there for about an hour before heading back to the car.

HOLIDAYS

 03/11

I didn't do anything special on the last days of the holidays. I woke up, studied, and I played with Peppa (my host family's dog). I did have a volleyball match yesterday. We lost but we played very well. Afterwards we were all really frustrated. 

Our match finished late, so when I got home I went straight to bed. 

This morning was the first day back at school. I had to get up at 6 am. It was hard for me because I had been waking up late for the last 2 weeks.

My host sister and I left the house at 7:10 and we caught the bus ten minutes later.

I was sorry that the holidays were over, but I was also looking forward to seeing my friends.

DURING THE HOLIDAYS

 30/10

My usual morning routine here during the holidays is a bit boring. I usually get up late, have breakfast and then I study or I watch a film. However yesterday was different. 

Yesterday my host sister's grandfather asked us if we wanted to visit Autoworld, The Belgian National Automobile museum. I'm not really keen on old cars, but I was so bored I jumped at the chance.

That day I woke up earlier than usual because we had to take the 10:15 train to Brussels. 

When we got there we went straight to the museum and started our tour. I have to admit that the museum surprised me in a good way. Everything was clean and organised, and I've learnt some interesting facts about cars. Like, for example, that the first electric car ever made was built in the 1830s. My host sisters' grandfather was also knowledgeable and he taught us a lot about the exhibits.

The tour lasted 3 hours and I enjoyed every bit of it.

After that we went straight to the station because we thought we were going to miss the train. 

When we arrived home we had dinner and soon after we got in the car because we wanted to watch a volleyball match.

It was an exciting match. From the bleachers you could feel the energy the players transmitted on the court. There was a great atmosphere. The crowd was chanting and cheering. In the end, the local team lost 3-0. We were a bit disappointed. But I'm looking forward to seeing another match like this one soon.

FALL HOLIDAYS

 25/10

Belgium teenagers have different holidays than Spanish teenagers.  In Spain we have longer summer holidays than Belgium teenagers, while they have almost two weeks off around the end of October.

During my first week of holidays here in Belgium, I've been studying for my classes in Spain as well as baking with my host sister.

On Wednesday my host family and I decided to take a road trip to the beach. We went to Bray-Dunes, which is a French village close to the Belgian border. 

We stayed there for 3 days. We slept in a small, but cosy, apartment next to the beach. 

The first day we went on a 15 km walk along the beach. We were all really tired after, so we all went to bed early.

The next day there was a massive storm. We tried to go out but it was impossible: the wind was too strong and outside there was sand everywhere. I've never seen anything like it. Since we couldn't go out, we decided to play board games and watch a movie instead.

Throughout the last day the wind wasn't as strong as the day before, but it was still difficult to be outside. However we went for an hour long walk in the dunes. It was so much fun! After that we got into the car but we didn't go straight home. First, we went to collect my host family's son and then we went to another town to collect a parcel. We spent a total of 6 hours in the car.

When we arrived home I was really happy to get out of the car. We had dinner and I went straight to bed. I was so tired but I enjoyed my days at the beach! 

MY AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITES

 19/10

Here in Belgium teenagers don't really go out with their friends on weekdays. They do sport and other activities instead.

My host family is no exception. They have a really busy schedule, and since I have a lot of free time in the afternoons I decided to join them in some of these activities. 

Both my host sisters play volleyball in the same club and they asked me if I wanted to join one of their teams. I joined the P1 and P3 teams. "P" stands for province, which means that I play in first and third division of the province.

I train 3 days a week and I have matches on the weekend.

Playing in these teams has really helped me improve my French and I've also made really good friends. 

THE GENERAL STRIKE IN BELGIUM

 14/10

Today was a weird day because there was a big strike throughout Belgium. 

It seems to mee that strikes are more common in Belgium than they are in Spain. 

Big strikes like this one often involve public transport. Today we were unlucky because most bus drivers were on strike, so there was an even more irregular bus schedule than usual.

Today the bus I usually take didn't pass my stop, so I had to take an earlier bus. In the end I ended up arriving one hour early to Namur.

Most of the teachers didn't come to class today, so I had many hours of free study time, which I used to read a book.

During the last 15 minutes of every class there were small protests in the playground. A teacher would scream some chants and we had to repeat after her.

There wasn't any buses after school either, so my host mum came by car to pick us up.

MY BIRTHDAY

 05/10

Last Friday was my 15th birthday. I was a bit sad because I thought I was going to celebrate my birthday alone, now I realise how wrong I was.

When I got home, I saw my mother and my aunt in my  host family's living room!

At first I was shocked, then I hugged them and we talked for hours.

After many phone calls with my relatives to wish me happy birthday, we decided we would visit Namur the next day.

Sunday came and we met at the train station. We visited the cathedral, we walked around the city a bit and we ate a delicious brunch.

After all that we went back home and we had dinner with my host family and their grandparents. 

Today was my mum and my aunt's last day here. They came to my host family's house and we all went together to the train station so they could take their train to Brussels Airport. 

I had a great time with them, and this weekend made me realise how much I miss them.

MY FIRST ESPACE-TEMPS

18/09

I've been here in Belgium for almost a month now but it wasn't until last Thursday that I had my first "Espace-temps".

I have espace-temps every Thursday from 14:00 to 15:35. It's a special class where we get to choose an activity. This semester we could choose between yoga, crochet in Dutch, manga drawing or playing ultimate frisbee. My friends and I chose yoga.

During the last class of the day we went to the gym with other 10 students and we meditated.  It was really relaxing. We did some breathing exercises,which I found really helpful to avoid stress.

I couldn't take pictures of the class since the use of electronic devices is prohibited inside the school. However I'm going to upload some pictures I took throughout the week.

THE WALLOS

23/09

Last weekend there was huge festival in Namur called "Les Fêtes de Wallonie". Or as young people prefer to call it "Les Wallos"

This is the region's important festival. People from all over Wallonie and Belgium travel to Namur to meet their friends, drink with them and to assist to some of the many concerts they have in the afternoons.

I went to Namur the Sunday after lunch to see the Echassehurs.

The Echasseurs is a sport only practiced in Wallonie during the festivals. The people who do this sport use giant slits to run and walk. There are two teams, the red sticks and the yellow sticks.

Th objective of the red team is to nock of their slits the other team members, and viceversa. The game stops when one of the teams is eliminated. After that the remaining team divides in to two other teams until only one person remains. He is the winner. 

Here are some pictures I took: 

SOME EVERY DAY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPAIN AND BELGIUM

I can't believe I've already been here for three weeks. 

I can't help but notice some small differences between my day a day here and in Spain. These are a few of them:

• Everyone is really polite here, even the younger children. For example, you have to say good morning to the driver when you get on the bus, and also say thank you and goodbye when you get off.

• There is a lot of respect to the teachers in general. When they arrive me must be standing behind our tables and we aren't allowed to sit down until they tell us to.

We aren't allowed to call them by their first names either.

• During classes we must ask permission to drink water or blow our nose.

• The dress code is really strict also, we aren't allowed to show our shoulders nor our legs. Wearing sport clothes during normal classes isn't permitted either.

• All of the meals are really early. Lunch is at 11:30 and we have dinner around 19:30.

• People here are used to the bus' irregular timetable. Some days it may arrive really early, but most of them come really really late.

Besides all of this, nothing really special has happened during these last weeks.

There was a party last Saturday in the town hall, and I went there with my fiends.

Here are some photos I took last week:

FIRST WEEK IN NAMUR

This first week hasn't been as dreamy as I had imagined. It hasn't been easy to adapt and make new friends, but somehow I've managed to do it. 

By far, my biggest difficulty has been with the language. Translating everything all the time is way more tiring than I'd expected. Nonetheless, I've been following the classes the best way I can, taking notes and participating when possible. 

Over the weekend my host family took me on a tour around Wepion, the village where we live. I find it really beautiful and charming. 

I am attaching some of the pictures I took yesterday to this post. 

MY FIRST DAYS IN NAMUR

 The 23 of August I arrived in Namur, a village in the south of Belgium.

During the weekend we did a lot of different activities: we baked cookies, we played volleyball and we even went swimming my host family's swimming pool. 

Today, Tuesday the 26th, was my first day of class in Les soeurs de Notre Damme middle school. My school here isn't really big. However it does have two buildings with 4 floors each one. 

I only had two classes today: Economics and Dutch. It was the first time I took both these classes. Economics wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. On the other hand, I wasn't prepared for the complexity of the Dutch language. My class took an exam to see the level they had. I just tried to translate some words from the exam with a dictionary.

And that's all for today!!

This is a photo of my time table (which I find really different from the one in our school).

THE DAYS PRIOR TO THE TRIP

This is my first entry in the blog plus I am still learning how to use this tool.

When I first knew that I was going to study in Belgium for 3 months I was really nervous. However, right now, the closer my departure date is, the more excited and exhilarated I feel.

I've manteined contact through out these months with my host family and they are very nice. They even came to Logroño last week and we arranged a meeting with them.

A few weeks ago, Martha and her family were doing a road trip in the north of Spain. So as I said before we arranged a meeting. They are extremely kind and generous.

I leave to Namur tomorrow, I am really excited to start this new adventure!

This is a picture of my luggage:

The next entry will be sent from Belgium!!!