Holidays

i dont know how to rotate this

    I'm pretty lucky. Any American/Canadian expiereced a dull ache in their chest when they spent this past fall away from home . Not being home for Thanksgiving is a rough thing to go through. You're whole family sitting around at home trying to go on with the festivities even though you aren't there . While you sit in school and try to explain this very North American holiday to a bunch of Europeans . BUT let me tell you why I'm lucky. My host family made me thanksgiving dinner MUAHAHAH so lucky.turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes . This made me sooo happy , because the day before I received a Thanksgiving card from my Grandma in the mail and promptly wept shortly after opening it. Even better we went around the table and said what we were thankful for before we ate. It wasn't home but it did feel very homey, these people that have only known me for 3 months or so went through the trouble to do that for me. It's an amazing thing. 
    Today ; we set up the Christmas tree ! It was so nice ,I came downstairs with my laptop and put on some Ella Fitzgerald , Boston Pops , Vince Geraldi wholenineyards and decorated. I mean the tree wasn't real but Apparently we're getting a real one just for me !!! Now all i need is snow. but i guess it doesnt really start to january ....disappointment . It snows on Halloween back home . Here i've yet to break out my BRING IT ON winter coat. 
    Other things slightly unrelated to holidays, 
        Doing things solo. I do a lot by myself . and I don't mind it at all. It's actually nice . It will sound weird when I say it but its nice not to have entertain someone with my french or english. just to sit there in a train car and watch Belgium go by. 
and now i'm going to contradict myself


 Allllthoughhh... I do wish i did more with other kids in my school like on weekends, but on weekends I want to go EXPLORE. Its a trade off , do you want to see all you can while you're here or do you want to hang out with belgians. But then again I've never even been asked to do anything so i'm not so sure if i'm actually missing out. ZING.... I know i kind of sound whiny because there are people in the world with real problems , not problems like " I want to travel and hang out with the locals" . more like" I need a job to support my family" . and I understand that there are exams coming up for them too .. so I guess i just need to give it more time....


         Belgium is pretty , and in some parts . not at all. either way you find that places look just like america . It's starts to feel exotic when you're driving through Liege and you feel like you're in downtown Albany . Or the miles of farm land ....S-A-L-E-M . I think i'm just very much accustomed to it now that i'm letting it infiltrate my memories of America. Although every time i walk into the grand place in Brussels , with the giant christmas tree and the buildings all lit up I know that there is nothing like that back home. Yesterday my host parents took my friend Juan and I around Brussels and it was so nice to finally see
everything. The atomium , the royal family's house, St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral , really cool japanese and chinese bulidings that are also from the worlds fair like the atomium .