Chloe Updates Her Belgium Exchange

We have been doing so much as a family. We went to London like I said earlier and it was so incredible. I love that they did that for me. We also went to the Ardennes, which is a beautiful place in Belgium with hiking and camping and amazing nature. I have also traveled to Brussels four times, two for rotary events, one with Evelyn and Karen and once with some friends. For rotary we went to the p arliament and palace together and also the university for an International food event where everybody brought food from their country. I love getting together with all the rotary students because there is always so much laughter and there are people from everywhere. I went to Ypres with the other Canadian, Kirby, and her host family. Kirby is from BC and lives her in Brugge also, but she goes to another school. Are often hang out and as much as we would like to be in the same school it is nice because I am making friend from her school and mine.

School is didn't start off very good because I had a hard time with the dutch, but now that I can speak and understand so much more, school goes much better. I have 13 I am following and they are all really hard so most teachers don't give me marks, I just try to understand the questions on test. Also the exams are coming up and by the school rules I have to try all of them, so I have much studying I have coming up. I don't know how well they will go, but the best thing is that my dutch has improved incredible. My family stopped talking English after 3 weeks to help me learn and I have also being going to an extra class and they have both helped me learn a lot faster. 

Brugge, I wish I could write to you all for pages and pages about Brugge. You would never believe how beautiful it is. In the fall I would bike around and see all the beautiful colours in the trees and now I bike around and there are Christmas lights everywhere on trees and buildings. It is so beautiful. Now for Christmas they have a market and an ice s culpture presentation. It is amazing. I bike to go anywhere because it is faster and sometimes when I go from my house to the center of the city(you have to cross the canal), there are boats in the canal and the bridge is up. It is now annoying when the bridge is up, but at the start it was really fun. The other day I discovered on that was different then the others and I was excited. My host brother calls me Japaneses because I am always excited by new things and taking pictures. haha 

For Christmas we have two weeks off school. In the first week I am spending Christmas with my current host family and their families. Then I am spending three days with Chiro (a club I have joined, it is a bit like scouts, but more of games and less camping and getting badges). It is really fun to be apart of them because the little kids are really cute and every just acts like children for a few hours and I love doing that. Then, I am moving houses and spending the last week with my second family. We are going to Brussels for New years eve and maybe spending some time in the Ardennes. They are a great family and I am really excited to live with them next quarter. I have already spent a lot of time with them and really enjoy being apart of their family.

If I have forgotten to add any thing that is import in the report please let me know. I am very appreciative that you sent me on this exchange. I truly hope I can show my appreciation in some way.

Thanks again,

Chloe