I have to admit, the train underwater ride from Brussels to London St. Pancras to see my parents was one of the most exciting moments of my exchange. Two hours of wondering what it would be like to see my parents after nine months, what it would be like to hug them and talk to them in person. I honestly couldn't imagine it. Even as I was stepping off of the train in London I had difficulty imagining that it in a matter of minutes I would be face to face with my parents. When I finally did see them, my father's smiling face and my mother's open arms as I walked into the station, I felt both as if we had never been apart and as if they weren't really there. 
          We spend the day in London and then went back to St. Albans, a small city outside of London where my parents had been staying for the past two days. If I thought that I liked London, I loved St. Albans. I was so jealous that my parents got to stay there for a whole week! (They stayed one week in St. Albans/London and almost one week in Belgium). 
           I had honestly forgotten how much I love my parents!!! I also felt a slight change between us as well. I didn't feel like the kid as much... in some ways I felt like I was with two of my best friends than with my parents. It was a strange but good change! 
           The first day that they arrived in Belgium felt pretty weird, to tell you the the truth. I felt as if my parents were paper dolls dropped into my Belgian world, they were here but they didn't quite belong. After a day or two however, that changed. I was so happy to see how well my real family and my host family got along. One of the most heartwarming feelings in the world was to see my host dad and my real dad talking and laughing. And by the end of their stay here I felt as if I didn't have two families, but one big one. 
            Having my parents leave was surprisingly easy... maybe that's because I will be back home with them in 5 weeks! 5 weeks next to nine months is nothing at all. That's one of the things that scares me as well though... I only have 5 weeks left. I don't want to leave!!!

         These last couple weeks after Italy (while it was still a let down to be back "home" after such a fantastic trip) have been great. Full of friends, school, family, and plans. Plans for this weekend, for the rest of my 8 (!!!) weeks left in this wonderful country, plans for this summer, next year... But the most exciting thing that I can think about is this weekend, seeing my parents in LONDON! 
          While I am extremely excited to see my parents after 9 months, I am also a bit nervous. While we have definitely talked on skype, they have seen my pictures, and even talked a bit to my host family, having them with me and showing them this life will be quite strange. Strange-great or strange-bad? I'm pretty sure that it will be the former :). Being away for a long time is a funny thing... you begin to image scenes of seeing people from home, or showing them elements of your new environment and friends, and now it is actually going to happen. I feel a bit like I felt before i came on exchange, imagining situations and wondering about what everything will be like. Of course it's different, my parents are not a new country and language! But it's the same feeling of not knowing what to expect. 
         Something else that I am ecstatic for this weekend is London! It's the first European city that I ever remembering wanting to visit (did the Parent Trap have something to do with that? I think so...). Pictures coming next week!
But for right now here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks... :) Sun in Belgium!!!