Cantaloupe, Ham, Red Wine

Hellllllo! It’s been a while. I’ve been up to a lot of nice things lately.

Tuesday night I went to this interesting little bar where there was a sort of constant jam session going on. People would go up and start playing an instrument and then others would just join in. It was really cool, mostly jazzy American blues, but some where classic French songs that everyone seemed to know. Those are the dimly lit pictures on my snapfish account.
On Friday, Colette and Fabien took me to Brouillon, in the south of Belgium, where the great knight Godfrey was from. He did some crusades and such. Anyway, the town itself is about a thousand years old. We took a tour of the castle, which absolutely beautiful. It’s situated on a steep hill in a bend in the river, so the river is on either side of it with a little village situated on the slope. We ate Belgian fries and ice cream. When I got back I was able to go to the park and play Frisbee in the dark; I miss Frisbee so much! I’ve been promised that someone will take me to buy one soon, and I’ll teach them how to play ultimate.
Saturday we went to a huuuuge flea market in Brussels. It took up about eight streets of people selling and vending. It was really awesome to check out all the cool things for sale; there’s a surprising amount of Moroccan stuff around; I got to try a Durum, which a sort of Moroccan burrito. Also, apple slices covered in fried dough. It’s a very good idea if you ask me. We played fuse ball in a seedy Belgian bar, and then returned to Braine l’Alleud, where a big street festival was going on. We only got to enjoy a little of it before a huge storm rolled in. We took refuge in a bar, where an older gentleman taught my host brother, Pierre (a friend of my host brother) how to play an odd version of billiards. It was very complicated and we were so bad that the game lasted until two in the morning when we gave up.
Sunday, today, we revisited the festival in Braine l’Alleud, and then played the very Parisian game Petanque, involving throwing big heavy balls at a small wooden one.
I start school tomorrow. For the fifth time, I enter high school and must answer questions like “Where’s my next class?” “What should I wear?” “DO THESE PEOPLE LIKE ME???”
It’s at times like these I miss the familiarity of ConVal, of knowing who I am and where I’m supposed to go, who I should talk to about what. There’s awkward grace period of…awkwardness. I think I’ve passed that in my house, time to start anew.
Some random things-
Brayan, my fake host, brother moved in. Just in time, they have the biggest spiders ever here, and one had gotten into the bathroom.
I ate cantaloupe with a slice of ham on top, with red wine poured over it. Like it was normal.
The whole family is in the living room listening to Paul Simon right now. It's quite nice.
I may or may not have been conned into buying a fake silver tennis bracelet. Belgians are too friendly, and I was charmed. My host brother and his friends made fun of me for it for the rest of the day. I think it's real, but what do I know? It's a good memory, at least. If you want pictures, join snapfish! =)