caring is creepy.

It's funny how quickly your mood can change. Halloween left me feeling euphoric but I've drifted from that feeling into a weird funk. I just feel a little off. Not homesick, not angry, not even sad. I suppose I don't know how I feel and that's unsettling. What's even worse is I don't know how to fix it because I don't know why I should be fixing anything. While there have been other things on my mind, I think the weather might be playing a part in all this. It's gray here all most all the time now that winter is approaching and coming from a place called Sun Valley it's no surprise that I'm having trouble adjusting to the lack of direct sunlight. For now I'll just keep listening to rainy day music and maybe I'll be able to bring out the calm, rain loving, Belgian I know is inside of me.

-Alyssa

color in your cheeks.

I realize I've been neglecting my blog and it's totally ironic that I've chosen this time to type an update because at the moment I have a little under 9 hours to type 1,703 words. This is because I made a last minute decision to participate in Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month. I will be attempting to write a 50,000 word novel in one month and I couldn't be more excited. I've already got an outline and 297 words down so maybe it's good I'm taking a little break and typing something else. And now for the goings on of my life as of late...

It's been getting colder here so I finally got around to buying new boots and a new coat. Surprisingly enough last night it was warm. I can't tell you how good it felt to be walking around dressed up in a place where Halloween isn't really a big deal with people who wanted to celebrate anyway. I realize that I'm here to integrate into Belgian life and culture, but it felt so damn good to have been given this one warm, sweet night to ourselves. I felt so at home with these people who I've known for all of 2 1/2 months and maybe part of that was just the fact that we click and automatically gravitated toward each other. But what made me feel so close to them last night was though we're all strangers in a strange land here, we managed to make ourselves at home.

I could tell you about countless other things that have happened in the past month but I feel like it would all be conveying the same message. I love it here. Simple as that.

-Alyssa

kill the zombies.

So I was just sitting in my room reading hyperboleandahalf when my host mom walks in with some soup for me. Of course the first thing that pops into my head is, "Wow Alyssa, you have soup! This is the perfect time to write a blog post." Now that you're concerned with my mental stability I can move on. I've been avoiding this. I am sorry. Why I'm sorry beats me. You think people actually read your blog Alyssa? LOloloOLloolOL!!!11one!11 But in all seirousness, if you do actually take the time to read this crap, thank you. So what have I been up too here in Waffle land? A lot. I feel like I will be able to tell you what I've been doing more efficiently with a list.

THINGS ALYSSA DOES IN WAFFLE LAND

1. Drink soup

2. Go to Germany

3. Fail to comprehend ANY part of exponential functions class

4. Fail at playing ping-pong in gym class

5. Parle Francais better

6. Eat...a lot

That's basically a play by play of my life right now, but if you're just craving for more info on every detail of my life (who wouldn't?) you can stalk me on facebook. I've probs already creeped on your profile multiple times. Unless we're not friends on facebook, which could mean one of two things a) You need to add me or b) You're a social reject who lives under a stupid rock and doesn't have a facebook coughkansascough. I suppose this post isn't really telling you much more about what's been going on. It's more of a, "Look I'm sorry I haven't been replying to your emails...or any form of communication. It's not because I don't want to talk to you, it's just that my brain can't handle the awesome of Waffle land and I'm going crazy." Did I mention I'm going to EURODISNEY?!?!? Maybe that explains my odd behavior. Also the game.

Miss my sanity, and you weirdos too I guess.

-Alyssa

P.S. A song from the magical place where I get all my good music just came on. The chorus goes "Kill the zombies by shooting them in the head. They can't eat you if you make them dead. Shoot the zombies, shoot the zombies, shoot the zombies, HEY!" Why is my life so awesome?

UPDATE: Song has changed to Celtic Techno Burrito I think I'm in love.

postcards from italy.

Busy, busy, busy. First off, I am tired ALL THE TIME. There is always something to do and I'm doing it. This weekend there was a Rotary meeting and of course I didn't sleep. Regardless of my lack of sleep the meeting was AWESOME. The Kanzinian family gained a few members and I had a legit discussion about the educational system with them. Also, I'm kinda in Venice right now. LOL WAT? Yeah my host father arranged a last minute trip to Italy and we just arrived today. This year just keeps getting better and I've only been here 2 weeks. Anyway, more updates to come, but right now I need to catch up on True Blood and sleep.

-Alyssa

the world spins madly on.

I am a forgetful person. I was in denial before, but I can now admit that I tend to forget things. Like my adapter for instance. I went to Mons to vist the parents of my parents (my host grandparents?) and forgot my adapter at one of the houses. They found it and it will be in the mail by wednesday but I'm still displeased with myself. I'm also displeased because I have to type on the weird keyboard again. But c'est la vie! There are worse things I could have forgotten. Moving swiftly on, the big exchange student get-together is in 3 days and I'm s00per st00ked. I hope my sleep patterns will be semi normal by then because sleep deprivation is no fun. I didn't get to sleep untill 4:30 am last night. I just sat there with the Weepies on repeat till I drifted off. Then this morning I went to register for school and played some COD with my brother Nathan. The other night it was discovered that Nathan and I share a love of video games so I asked if he had MW2. He acutally didn't have it but my host father insisted that he had to buy it and now I know what I'll be doing for most of the next 4 months. I suppose that's it for now, but I'll continute to post as often as I can.

p.s. CAMILLE! WHERE ARE YOUR DAILY UPDATES?!? I NEED TO KNOW EVERY DETAIL OF YO LIFE.

-Alyssa

older crowd.

So as much as I'd like to type all of my posts in English and French I'm only going to do the translation every once in a while until my French is really good. There's just so much that I want to say and I feel like I'm shorting myself by not letting it all out. So we begin this epic post in the true nerdfighter spirit with saying that this post will come to you in 5 parts.

Part 1. I got an adapter! Now I can type at a normal speed thanks to my lovely little netbook and its familiar qwerty layout. I know that it'll be good for me to learn azerty eventually, but hey I've got 10 months right?

Part 2. My French is actually not bad. I can understand pretty much everything that is said to me slowly and about half of what is said at normal speed. I can communicate my wants, needs, and questions and it feels really good. Back at school I really didn't get good grades at all in French and it's weird being told my French is good when I've been used to getting 67's on all my tests. Regardless, I'm pleased with myself.

Part 3. Life in my new house. I LOVE my family. They're all so nice and have been great at teaching me new words! The food is amazing here, though they did buy some "american" meat for lunch the other day that was well...spam. Other than that I'm so stoked to be living here. Oh and just for the record MOM and DAD, the biggest thing in my room is my CLOSET. That's right. Their daughter was just as I thought, a normal teenage girl who loves clothes just as much as me. Oh, and they have like 7 MTV channels here, which is pretty jokes. I've found that MTV Germany has the best music plus the commercials are pretty funny to listen to regardless of my comprehension of what they're actually saying.

Part 4. The city. Arlon is straight out of a story book. It looks just like a town where Belle would live (Pre-being captured by a beast and forced to live in a castle). We went on a tour of the town yesterday and registered me to live here and all that good shtuff. Then we saw a beautiful church. Like I walked in and got that overwhelming feeling similar to the feeling when you're in the wilderness, standing on top of a ridge and you just feel so small but so full. It was crazy cool. I took a bunch of pictures.

Part 5. Lastly, I feel like I should mention at least one thing that's not so great. It's pretty much the only thing that I'm not enjoying dealing with though. Digestion. Yes, it's not a very pretty subject and if you don't want to hear about it, stop reading. It's normal for your stomach to be a little upset when you travel, so that alone isn't that bad. But when you add the nervousness and new food into that you get a stomach that talks. Dani, the other exchange student staying here, is having the same issue. Last night we were talking and our stomachs were carrying on a conversation with each other as well. In short, I hope my tummy starts feeling a little better soon. I also hope my new tattoo starts hurting a little less as well. Other than that I'm problem free!

Whew, glad I got that over with. John, I'll see you on Monday...LOL wat. I r noez Hank Green, fooled you. (Camille's most likely the only person who'll understand that last sentence...I'm okay with this.)

-Alyssa

the first day of my life.

Bonjour mes amies! Je suis en Arlon et je l'aime! Ma nouveau famille est tres genial et il est tres belle ici. Il est tres dificile taper ici parce que les claviers sont different. Dans beaucoup des pays European les claviers emploient le "azerty" disposition, pas "qwerty". Je pense, non, je sais que je sera une bonne annèe ici!

p.s. Parce que il est tres dificile pour moi taper a un clavier "azerty", mes posts seras petit. Aussi je sais que ma Français n'est pas parfait, mais il ira mieux.

Hello my friends! I am in Arlon and I love it! My new family is very nice and it is very beautiful here. It is very hard to type here because the keyboards are different. In a lot of European countries the keyboards use the "azerty" layout, not the "qwerty" layout. I think, no, I know that I will have a very good year here!

p.s. Because it is very hard for me to type on a "azerty" keyboard, my posts will be small. Also I know that my French isn't perfect, but it will get better.

-Alyssa

sigh no more.

So...my first big mistake has been made. My host father asked which day I would leave for Brussels and I said the 17th. When really, I leave on the 17th but arrive in Brussels on the 18th. I feel terrible. I'm sure he's entirely displeased with me and that's so not a good way to start out with your first host family. This has kinda put a damper on my mood, but I haven't even gotten on my first flight so hopefully I can get past this, learn from my mistakes, and NEVER DO IT AGAIN. Also, I had to up grade to first class for my flight to Phoenix because my bags were 4lbs overweight, but hey I feel like it's worth it. Was too nervous to eat breakfast earlier, so I think I shall go do that now. Until later...assuming my host father allows me to still stay with them and doesn't throw me on the street.

-Alyssa

rawnald gregory erickson the second.

So first off, title COMPLETELY unrelated. I mean, it's still a song title (as all my post titles are) but yeahhh it's just a really good song. So it's unrelated to what this post is about...SUE ME. Herrrrpppp derrrrp. I have to get up in 4 hours to go to the airport...all nighter? HECK YES. So I'm packed, I'm ready to go, I'm stoked to start this grand adventure. And YOU, yes you, you reading this are in a way coming with me. So be prepared for moody posts, angry posts, sappy posts, bragging posts, and of course posts like these. (THIS IS A HYPER POST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T CATCH THAT) Anywayyyy. I'm gonna go rampage around the internet until I fall asleep or it's 4 am, which ever comes first. Au revoir mes amies!

-Alyssa

home.

Bonjour tout le mond. Tomorrow is my last day in the beautiful Wood River Valley that I've called home for the better half of my life. My bags are pack, my room is not, and I should be finishing the first draft of my thesis paper tonight if not early tomorrow. Despite everything I'm surprisingly calm. This whole exchange isn't real yet. It seems like I'm the person who always talks about going on a trip somewhere, or going to a concert yet something always falls through and it never happens. I suppose my mind is still operating under the assumption that I'm not really going to leave. It's rather surreal, this whole experience. I'm not sure if I like this feeling of being suspended in limbo or if I'd rather be hyper and completely wired. For now I should stop thinking about the inner workings of my brain and start thinking about finishing my damn paper so I can at least get that off my back before I leave. Hopefully I'll have enough time between now and my flight to make a kickass travel playlist. If not, I guess I'll have something to do on my first flight. But for now, I'm off.

-Alyssa

send me on my way.

My, oh my has it been a while since I've posted. Since my last post I've scarcely had time to myself due to the massive amount of paperwork and never ending emails to keep up with. Not to mention SAT prep classes and writing a thesis paper in between everything else. It's not looking like anything's going to get less hectic before I leave but it'll all be worth it in the end. I'm 8 days from my departure and I couldn't be more excited. 8 days till I'm in the lovely town of Arlon, Belgium, 8 days till the beginning of a grand adventure, 8 days till I can breath easy. Until then, however, I should get back to packing. À bientôt!

-Alyssa

belgium.

So it's finaly happened. I have finaly found out where I will be living for the better part of next year. I'm unbelieveably stoked for the concerts and food...and not so stoked for learning in another language, but at this point I'm just happy to be getting out of Idaho. BELGIUM 2010-11!!!!!!

Alyssa.

sleeping sickness.

You know, at one point, I would ALWAYS over sleep; and I'm not talking sleeping till ten on the weekends...I would literaly sleep half the day away and get up at 2:30. But now I no longer have that problem, quite the opposite in fact. Thanks to this forgien echange business I'm lucky to get 6 hours of sleep a night. While I only have to wait about 2 more weeks to find out what country I'm going to, I'm not sure that my "sleeping sickness" will be cured at that point. It's possible that the situation will worsen and I'll turn into a zombie. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

"It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, because my dreams are bursting at the seams" -Adam Young

Sleep tight, Alyssa

new realization.

Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 will be comming out next winter. I will be in another country next year. WHAT. AM. I. GOING. TO. DO? Seirously though, will there be subtitles? Will the movie still be in English and have subtitles for the general population? Also, I wonder if people are going to want to come to the midnight release with me. Will my host family even let me go? And will I be the only one dressed up in full costume? I forsee some problems, and that doesn't please me. NOTHING should come between me and my HP...not even the Dark Lord himself.

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." ~J.K. Rowling


Slytherin REPRESENT, Alyssa.

wait untill i'm gone.

It's been roughly 48 days since I recieved my acceptance letter from Rotary Youth Exchange. It's been roughly 48 days since I've thought of nothing more than what awaits me next year. The day when I will finaly find out what country I'll be going to next year is slowy creeping nearer and nearer, but untill then I'm pretty much left in the dark. What I do know is this: I will be going to somewhere in Europe, there's a good chance I'll be going to either Belguim, Norway, France, Finland, or Germany, and an ever better chance for Belgium or France. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I'm constantly day-dreaming of the adventure of my life I'm about to embark on but with the excitement comes fear. Don't get me wrong, I understand what a great oppertounity this is, but one would be daft to dive headfirst into something like this and not be scared. Regardless of how I feel this is happening and now we've reached the point where I explian why in the world I am typing this. Durrning the course of the following year/exchange I will be doing weekly if not daily updates on my situation to, if anything, keep my family and friends up-to-date on what's going on. Another reason for this blog is so I can have something to look back on, a clear memory of what is going to happen in the following year. However, if you are not one of my family members, friends, or even an aquantince I'd still love to have you join me on this trip to a new world.

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

Untill next time, Alyssa.