Hello all.
Again I have to apologise for my laziness. I blame it on Summer Vacation. Anyways. Since the last time I wrote, I have done and seen a lot.
So After Sarah came home the whole family went to check out the old coal mines in Charleroi. It was incredible to see and hear the tale of the mine collapse all those years ago where all but 3 perished in a huge coal and electrical fire. There were even some Australians who were caught in the blaze and died on Belgian soil. The place had such an amazing history to it that I couldn't help but be drawn in to the tale. On top of that. Jean-Pierre's mother had stood at those gates and watched as hundreds of dead were dragged out of the mines, just hoping to catch sight of the many loved ones that were down there. It was a great day with my second family and although I was attacked by killer wasps I still managed to have a good day :D
Again I have to apologise for my laziness. I blame it on Summer Vacation. Anyways. Since the last time I wrote, I have done and seen a lot.
So After Sarah came home the whole family went to check out the old coal mines in Charleroi. It was incredible to see and hear the tale of the mine collapse all those years ago where all but 3 perished in a huge coal and electrical fire. There were even some Australians who were caught in the blaze and died on Belgian soil. The place had such an amazing history to it that I couldn't help but be drawn in to the tale. On top of that. Jean-Pierre's mother had stood at those gates and watched as hundreds of dead were dragged out of the mines, just hoping to catch sight of the many loved ones that were down there. It was a great day with my second family and although I was attacked by killer wasps I still managed to have a good day :D
After this, our next family adventure took us back up to the Belgian beach to see the sand sculpture competition that they have every year. Well, they were AMAZING! The theme was pirates this year and they had everything from massive ships to rum bottles and even figures from Pirates of the Caribbean carved in exquisite detail. It was amazing. And as the following photos show you. No detail was too small. Not even the pirate with the love heart g string. There was even a tribute to Michael Jackson. It was really well done and really looked like the real deal. As did the one of Davey Jones. So after that we all headed down to the beach for a bit of a relaxing afternoon, and as you can see, the weather couldn't have been better for it!
Next thing that I did was a party with my school friends. As it is the summer holidays we haven't seen a lot of each other and so we decided to throw a little party. There were about 15 of us there, maybe 20. My friends parents took care of the alcohol and we ended up with: 48bottles of normal beer. 24bottles of cherry beer, 24 bottles of raspberry beer, 24bottles of mixed red fruit beer, 12litres of Sangria and a few bottles of wine. They really did go overboard I think. Also considering that besides me there was not one of them over 18! In any case, the night was great. Lots of music and chatting with friends. Can't wait to do it again!!
After this was a trip to Celtica the beloved exchange student bar to catch up with some of the other Aussies. It was a great afternoon with wonderful people who I love very dearly. We also decided to go to Bruges for the day again so that was another fun day. :D
Finally came the most exciting thing yet! A trip to England to see some of my family, drive on the right side of the road, eat a good curry, and speak some much missed English! I took the coach to London which took 8 hours, then the very long trip from there to Hereford to meet up with some of my family, Barbara and Doug. I stayed in Hereford for 2days before getting back on the train with Barbara for Redhill where we joined her brother Michael, his wife Sonita and their son Chris. The next day we went down to Chichester to see Dixie. We had a great day and saw a lot of what the city had to offer (not a lot, it’s a rather small town) before settling in at the local pub for a few beers and an AWESOME hog roast. After that we said our goodbyes and headed back for Redhill. The next morning we went to London. It was INCREDIBLE! We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, all the bridges including the one that gets destroyed in the new Harry Potter film, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and last but not least HARRODS!! It was such an amazing day. Well as if that wasn’t awesome enough, the next day we went to Brighton to see the world famous Brighton Pier and a beach that is covered in rocks rather than sand. It was sooooo great! I think it has been the most amazing tour so far! So the next day it was back on the bus for Belgium and the weekend to greet all the newies. So there was another goodbye to the English language and my family there and back home to Belgium.
The very next day was the newie weekend to greet all the new exchangers who have just arrived from all over the world. My newie is a Mexican named Sebastian. He is lovely and as you can probably tell from the photo, a little cheeky! From there we went back to Celtica and had a drink before going back home to our respective families.
Well, thats all from me for now. I head back to school tomorrow after the 2 month break, so I promise to be more regular with my blogs.
Love you all lots and see you in 4.5 months. Yeah it is really only that long. I have been here 7.5 months already! My how time flies! Take care all and see you soon.
Xoxox
Jenna.
Next thing that I did was a party with my school friends. As it is the summer holidays we haven't seen a lot of each other and so we decided to throw a little party. There were about 15 of us there, maybe 20. My friends parents took care of the alcohol and we ended up with: 48bottles of normal beer. 24bottles of cherry beer, 24 bottles of raspberry beer, 24bottles of mixed red fruit beer, 12litres of Sangria and a few bottles of wine. They really did go overboard I think. Also considering that besides me there was not one of them over 18! In any case, the night was great. Lots of music and chatting with friends. Can't wait to do it again!!
After this was a trip to Celtica the beloved exchange student bar to catch up with some of the other Aussies. It was a great afternoon with wonderful people who I love very dearly. We also decided to go to Bruges for the day again so that was another fun day. :D
Finally came the most exciting thing yet! A trip to England to see some of my family, drive on the right side of the road, eat a good curry, and speak some much missed English! I took the coach to London which took 8 hours, then the very long trip from there to Hereford to meet up with some of my family, Barbara and Doug. I stayed in Hereford for 2days before getting back on the train with Barbara for Redhill where we joined her brother Michael, his wife Sonita and their son Chris. The next day we went down to Chichester to see Dixie. We had a great day and saw a lot of what the city had to offer (not a lot, it’s a rather small town) before settling in at the local pub for a few beers and an AWESOME hog roast. After that we said our goodbyes and headed back for Redhill. The next morning we went to London. It was INCREDIBLE! We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, all the bridges including the one that gets destroyed in the new Harry Potter film, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and last but not least HARRODS!! It was such an amazing day. Well as if that wasn’t awesome enough, the next day we went to Brighton to see the world famous Brighton Pier and a beach that is covered in rocks rather than sand. It was sooooo great! I think it has been the most amazing tour so far! So the next day it was back on the bus for Belgium and the weekend to greet all the newies. So there was another goodbye to the English language and my family there and back home to Belgium.
The very next day was the newie weekend to greet all the new exchangers who have just arrived from all over the world. My newie is a Mexican named Sebastian. He is lovely and as you can probably tell from the photo, a little cheeky! From there we went back to Celtica and had a drink before going back home to our respective families.
Well, thats all from me for now. I head back to school tomorrow after the 2 month break, so I promise to be more regular with my blogs.
Love you all lots and see you in 4.5 months. Yeah it is really only that long. I have been here 7.5 months already! My how time flies! Take care all and see you soon.
Xoxox
Jenna.
