j'arrive!
This is my third time writing this entry because everytime I finish I do something and erase it! gah.
Somehow I woke up in Rocklin at 3:30am on Monday and suddenly it's 10:30pm on Tuesday and I'm in Brussels. How did that happen?! The flight from SF to Chicago was mostly spent napping, and from Chicago to Brussels I sat next to this Ukranian guy named Denys (Dennis). He was one of those people that starts talking and just goes on and on, but not in the boring way. The in-flight films were In Good Company and The Notebook, and we just kept chatting about Europe, travelling, the US, Ahhnold of course... by the end it was like we were old friends. Amazing what sitting next to someone for 9 hours can do. The annoying thing was that they repeated every announcement in English, French and Dutch, but it was fun to hear the languages. Oh, and airplane food... chicken... "chicken"??! whatever, it tasted like chicken so that was good enough.
I arrived in Brussels and was greeted by my landlord, an older balding gentleman with a salt-and-pepper beard and a sign with my name on it. He speaks some English, but his wife speaks mostly French. It was an interesting, almost comical conversation with the 3 of us trying to figure out what the other was trying to say! Thankfully, both my roommates speak English. There is a girl, Gerdine who is from the Netherlands and she's super nice. She speaks Dutch and English, so I was asking her a million questions. There is also John, a social worker who speaks French, Dutch, and English, so I'd say he's a pretty valuable source.
The apt is down a small street not too far from the main roads. For the most part, the houses here are mostly brick and fairly plain. I wandered around for a few blocks and found a lot of Turkish and Moroccan people, covered up and wearing veils. Then there was me in my flip flops, skirt, and tank top... I went to buy a soda (Fanta! I just heard about it recently in the US and suddenly, here it is!) and tried to make conversation with the cashier. He just laughed and said in English, "You don't speak French, do you!" er.. ah, I tried. I also tried ordering a sandwich at a Boulangerie. Little confusing, but what can ya do. Just smile and say "Merci!"
Tomorrow the landlord's wife, Chantal is taking me to downtown Brussels and it will be an interesting opportunity to practice my French. I'm beginning to think I didn't really learn much these last 2 quarters, although somehow I managed to pass French 21 and 22. Conjugate verbs? Past participle? I dont even know how to do it in English, let alone French! And yet they're letting me teach English to young, impressionable children...
Somehow I woke up in Rocklin at 3:30am on Monday and suddenly it's 10:30pm on Tuesday and I'm in Brussels. How did that happen?! The flight from SF to Chicago was mostly spent napping, and from Chicago to Brussels I sat next to this Ukranian guy named Denys (Dennis). He was one of those people that starts talking and just goes on and on, but not in the boring way. The in-flight films were In Good Company and The Notebook, and we just kept chatting about Europe, travelling, the US, Ahhnold of course... by the end it was like we were old friends. Amazing what sitting next to someone for 9 hours can do. The annoying thing was that they repeated every announcement in English, French and Dutch, but it was fun to hear the languages. Oh, and airplane food... chicken... "chicken"??! whatever, it tasted like chicken so that was good enough.
I arrived in Brussels and was greeted by my landlord, an older balding gentleman with a salt-and-pepper beard and a sign with my name on it. He speaks some English, but his wife speaks mostly French. It was an interesting, almost comical conversation with the 3 of us trying to figure out what the other was trying to say! Thankfully, both my roommates speak English. There is a girl, Gerdine who is from the Netherlands and she's super nice. She speaks Dutch and English, so I was asking her a million questions. There is also John, a social worker who speaks French, Dutch, and English, so I'd say he's a pretty valuable source.
The apt is down a small street not too far from the main roads. For the most part, the houses here are mostly brick and fairly plain. I wandered around for a few blocks and found a lot of Turkish and Moroccan people, covered up and wearing veils. Then there was me in my flip flops, skirt, and tank top... I went to buy a soda (Fanta! I just heard about it recently in the US and suddenly, here it is!) and tried to make conversation with the cashier. He just laughed and said in English, "You don't speak French, do you!" er.. ah, I tried. I also tried ordering a sandwich at a Boulangerie. Little confusing, but what can ya do. Just smile and say "Merci!"
Tomorrow the landlord's wife, Chantal is taking me to downtown Brussels and it will be an interesting opportunity to practice my French. I'm beginning to think I didn't really learn much these last 2 quarters, although somehow I managed to pass French 21 and 22. Conjugate verbs? Past participle? I dont even know how to do it in English, let alone French! And yet they're letting me teach English to young, impressionable children...