Wow, look. A post.

Yeah, I know, I am really failing at getting these updated regularly. I am sorry about that. Andrea did tell me it would become hard to make myself keep these updated. Andrea is smart. People should listen to Andrea.

So anyway, these past two weeks have been really busy. And really exciting for me. It feel like everything has been coming together in these past few weeks, and it has made me feel really good. The first, and probably most exciting thing that has come together is school. I feel like I have found my place among the people at school. Before I thought of them really more as acquaintances, but now I think I can truthfully say I have Belgian friends. It is what I came here to do, so it feels really good.

One of the things that really helped me feel part of the group was this competition/discourse thing I have been talking about. Well, I did the thing in front of the teachers and some of the other students, and that part turned out to be the semifinal round. The top 8 or so gets to move on and give their presentation in front of a different panel of judges, and I was one of the ones they picked. So in February I get to give my speech again. I am really excited about that. Oh, but how that made me feel like part of the group. Well, the semifinals was given on the stage with the mic, so two Wednesdays ago a big group of the presenters stayed after school (Wednesdays are always short days here) and worked with our French teacher, Miss. Foret, on talking with the mic and stuff. Just hanging out with those guys after school felt so... I don't know... right. It reminded me of staying after school and working with the mock trial team. It made me feel included. After winter break, we are going to start working on the presentations again for the final round, and I am excited for that.

Another thing, that I have talked about before, is playing cards with the guys in my grade. There are a group of us who know a game called bullock, and I really enjoy playing it with them. There is only one time, Mondays before lunch, that we have study time together at the same time, and that is probably one of my favorite times of the week. And I have gained recognition as the best player in the group, which makes me laugh. And one of the guys in the group wants me to try and teach him bridge... It is hard enough for me to teach someone that game in English... But we shall see...

Something that is interesting is that while I feel closer to the people at school, I haven't felt more distanced from the other exchange students. I don't take part in their weekly meetings in Liege, where they go to get drunk, and I have missed the last officially planned meet up because it was the same Wednesday that I stayed after to prepare my speech. So I really only have contact with one other exchange student here, one of the one who lives in Arlon, and it feels a bit strange. But I think it is good. It feels good. I didn't come here to hang out with a bunch of Americans, which is basically what it was with the other exchange students (ok, there was a Canadian we hung out with, but honestly, Canadians are just polite Americans with free healthcare). Another thing I found out is that the exchange students place an even bigger emphasis on getting drunk than the Belgians. It was illegal for them in the US, and will be when they get back, so I guess the mentality is they have to drink as much as they can here, while it is legal. That thought process makes me a bit sick, and it probably make them a bit sick too...

Speaking of rotary, I am a little angry at the people who organize everything here. So they sent out an email about an "Emergency Contact." I guess the title is pretty self explanatory, but it talked about the emergency contact changing, and I hadn't heard about an emergency contact before. So I sent the guy an email just saying basically, "Hey, I haven't heard about an emergency contact. Is this just someone we contact if we are dieing or something? Thanks." It wasn't anything too rude, or too time demanding. The guy just needed to email me back and say yeah, this is who you call if you have a problem. Just don't call it if there isn't really an emergency, and all would be fine. But instead I get a message back from a different person, who said, "Well, if you had been listening at the orientation weekend, you would know exactly what the emergency contact is for." And then he went on to explain how the number should only be used for emergences and only if his regular phones couldn't be reacher. The whole letter felt extremely condescending, especially the whole "if you were listening" bit. It seemed really disrespectful, from my point of view. They had made a comment earlier about how we shouldn't ask questions that are stupid. They summed up their point with, "There aren't stupid questions, just stupid people." At the time I thought that it was a very bad policy for a group of people who were trying to control 90+ foreign exchange students. But I forgot about this conversation until I got this response. Now normally, I am not one who likes confrontation, but the one thing that will get me angrier than anything else is if you don't respect me. I think that is why bad directors in fencing were able to get under my skin so easily. I felt like they didn't respect me as a fencer. Especially that one epee guy. Ugh, don't even get me started on him. So, needless to say, his response angered me. I really wanted to type a response back saying basically, "Well, I would have understood at the orientation weekend except for the fact that it was organized by a gaggle of headless geese. I honestly have not seen any sort of conference with any worse organization. So if you would have presented the information in a manner that is easy to follow and easy to understand, I would have been thrilled to listen." But the rotary does have a very large influence in whether I stay in Belgium or whether I leave. And I don't really know the word for gaggle in French...

Sorry about that rant. I probably over reacted, but I still feel angry... For now I have found a new way to show my discontent. Each time they get mad at me for not doing something correctly, I polity respond, "Last time I asked a question the Rotarian wasn't very happy to help me, so I didn't ask my question this time." I hope it will get my point across without them getting too angry at me(Well, they can be angry, but they just need to keep it internal. That would actually be optimal). But if they do get overtly angry at me, I can always pull the lost and confused exchange student card. That one always works.

One more thing I feel the need to share before I go. So last night, I had possibly the most French meal I have had over here. For dinner we had baguettes, grapes, little dried sausage disks, cheese, and wine. It was so wonderfully French, I almost had to laugh. And it was good.

Well, that is a short overview of what the past two weeks have been like. Next week I have finals. It isn't all bad thought because each day I finish by 12. Woo Hoo! Well, I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. Hope everyone is enjoying the winter festivities.

~Weston Halberstadt