4 Weeks in........

Hello Friends!!!!!

I am currently writing this entry in my word document, then having to quickly copy/paste it into my blog because I have such sporadic internet access until this Tuesday. I have to sit in my car outside the school and log onto random people’s wireless before I get ‘timed out’ of connection. Long story short, I apologize if I have not been in contact with you for a while, having no home telephone and no e-mail access has been incredibly difficult and very frustrating for me. I miss being in contact with everyone!!!

As for a few Belgium updates:

~ I just booked my flight to Munich, Germany from Oct 2 – Oct 5 for OKTOBERFEST! I will be meeting up with my good friend Dani from Chapman, and am counting down the days!!! It will be wonderful to see a new part of Europe with great company!

~ I dropped my French Class (taught in Dutch) and will be enrolling in another ‘immersion’ class soon! YAY! I am dying to get back into the school setting! It was super hard for me to think about not starting school with everyone else at Chapman, to be honest, I am a bit jealous of all those freshmen who are getting the opportunity to embark on 4 great years. I want to do it over again!!!! Hopefully my new class will allow me to meet some great people!

~ I need to become much trendier! Everyone here always asks me where I am from, and explain to me I am obviously a foreigner. It is definitely because of my North Face fleece, along with my white tennis shoes, and camera (and my backpack is probably a dead giveaway too)! Anyhow, I bought some cute black riding boots that are good for a) keeping out the rain b) keeping me warm up to my knees c) making me not look so much like a tourist. Now I just have to hide my backpack and camera….

~ The new house on the estate is lovely, and we are finally settling in. The first month here has been CRAZY, but I am happy to finally get into a routine. The girls are just adorable, and they ask me to French braid their hair every night. They have matching Hello Kitty fuzzy pajamas! Kate and Joy are just adorable kids!!! Kate, the 6 year old girl, moved up in her class already because her reading level improved!!! What a stud! She also is just a bubbly and fantastic. She isn’t into princesses and playing with dolls, and loves collecting bugs and getting dirty outside. I want her as my child!

~ I am in the process of hanging up all my pictures of friends and family back home, and I stare at the pictures and get super home-sick. I miss everyone so much already, and sometimes I wonder how I am going to make it 8 more months without seeing everyone. This is the absolute hardest part about moving. I am sad to have to miss 2 birthdays this month, Tasha’s and Dan’s. I realize how much I am missing out for these special events, and just have to remind myself that I can celebrate with them as soon as I return!

~ For the first time in 22 years of living, I am lonely. I have never really experienced this feeling for such a long time. Yes, I have been lonely on a weekend or so, but never a whole month. However, on the plus side, it is forcing me to be comfortable with just myself. It is hard to just be alone, and have time to listen to your own thoughts, but I think I am growing as a person, and finally facing things I don’t like about me, and brainstorming how I can improve myself.

~Lets chat about the weather for a second: rain, rain, followed by more rain. I am already busting out my most intense winter gear, while people are still walking around in shorts. I am sure an Arizona girl!!! I am clueless on how to survive winter here, but it is just around the corner!!!

~ I am taking a spinning class at the Castle club, and LOVE IT! It is hilarious, and I am drenched in sweat by the end of it! The instructor is super cute as well, which is a bonus! I promised myself to not miss a class. However, I would think that I would be loosing weight. WRONG. The Belgium Chocolates are keeping me nice and plump.

~ I have met some really nice girls here so far. Maurice, a really sincere lady who lives on the estate, took me to the Belgium Chocolate Factory, and we take spin class together. She is very kind and warm hearted. I also met 2 girls close to my age from Maryland, and play volleyball!!! We will hopefully be planning some trips soon together. I also met up with a girl from the states who works in Brussels, and she was very welcoming and friendly too!

~ I am still studying for the GRE’s for grad school!!!! I am loving the math sections, but hating the verbal section. Overall, I am looking forward to some sort of further schooling when I return. I re-applied for TFA and got to the 2nd round of phone interviews again, so we’ll see if I get invited for attend final interview! Let’s see if its meant to be!

Again, all my love, and thanks for taking the time to read my blog (and please come visit soon if you can)!!!!

Cheers, Chrissy