Yesterday was my first day at the prestigious Christian Belgian highschool, Collège Cardinal Mericier. Here on the first day of school each grade has a different arrival time. My "5ème" (5th year, the equivalent of a Junior) class was called at 10:10. I had the morning planned out perfectly: I would set my alarm for 7:45, stretch out, take a shower, eat a good breakfast, pack a good lunch, gather my things together, and meet Allison (the daughter of my host mom's friend who is also in my grade) and walk the five minutes to my school. NOPE. My alarm didn't go off and I woke up at 9:00, took half a shower, said hi to Allison in my bathrobe, ate cookies for breakfast, and we were off.
The school is enormous. I felt like I was walking around a college campus, with the different buildings, students walking around everywhere, the student-center-like cafeteria with everything from Chocolate croissants to delicious non-premaid sandwiches. I met up with some of Allison's friends, who loved asking me to say things in English and asked me if I liked Barack Obama or George Bush (surprisingly it was the first time I had been asked that question here). They were all relieved by my answer. We were called into the OTHER cafeteria building (yes, there are multiple) and got called into our groups. The groups are organized by your "option", which is the path you're studying. The options are subjects like: economy, math, French, foreign language, history, art, theater, etc. I have a theater/language path, so I was in a group with other kids studying the same things. I was luckily in a group with a lot of kids I had met that morning!
We spent time in a homeroom-like class, introducing ourselves and talking about our likes/dislikes, and what was expected of us this year. I introduced myself to the class (something I had been imagining doing that for months!). All of the kids were extremely welcoming and friendly, I felt pretty comfortable. Then we had a 20 minute break, which happens every day! Then we went back to our homerooms and got our schedules. Once again, the school reminded me of college. Mondays and Tuesdays I don't have to go to school until 9:20, (ahhhhhhh!!!) I am there until 4:20 but that's completely fine. Wednesdays I leave school at 11:00, and Thursdays and Fridays I start at 8:30 and leave at 3:30. We also have an hour for lunch. My classes are different every day, and last for only 50 minutes each(compared to 90 minutes at Northampton High). I only had English class (the teacher told me I would be her assistant...), and Spanish class yesterday. Spanish was the coolest experience! (honestly!). Learning Spanish in French... I felt like my brain was doing gymnastics. The kids in my grade start Spanish in 5ème, because they study English and Dutch in the earlier grades. Because I've had 4 years of Spanish, the teacher said that she was going to try to move me up into 6ème Spanish.
Monday I will have a complete schedule, which includes science, religion, Spanish, and gym. Yes, gym is required here. But they have an indoor pool and a rockwall, so I'm actually really excited! By the end of the day I could understand almost everything the teacher was saying, and was able to have better conversations with my classmates than I had that morning! But we'll see how I feel learning math in French...
Last night I went out with my Belgian friends and my friend Jordann who is also an exchange student. Now that I have school, friends, a schedule, horseback riding lessons (!!), and possible dance classes, along with Rotary events, I feel amazing here. My boredom is gone, I still skype with my family and friends often but it never gets in the way of my learning French or feeling integrated, I am learning more French everyday, am meeting more people and becoming more active every day, this exchange thing is pretty cool...
Advice for future exchange students: Once again, try to stay busy! It helps EVERYTHING. Be involved with your Rotary club as much as you can, because that is how I've met some of my Belgian friends here. They are also the ones that made it possible for you to go on an exchange, and often the meetings are really fun (and have really good food...). And don't be afraid to contact your friends and family at home more than "once a week". Having a support system back home is a wonderful thing: it makes you feel less alone or bored before activities start picking up, and once you feel more comfortable and busy you don't need that contact as much (it's still fun though!).
The school is enormous. I felt like I was walking around a college campus, with the different buildings, students walking around everywhere, the student-center-like cafeteria with everything from Chocolate croissants to delicious non-premaid sandwiches. I met up with some of Allison's friends, who loved asking me to say things in English and asked me if I liked Barack Obama or George Bush (surprisingly it was the first time I had been asked that question here). They were all relieved by my answer. We were called into the OTHER cafeteria building (yes, there are multiple) and got called into our groups. The groups are organized by your "option", which is the path you're studying. The options are subjects like: economy, math, French, foreign language, history, art, theater, etc. I have a theater/language path, so I was in a group with other kids studying the same things. I was luckily in a group with a lot of kids I had met that morning!
We spent time in a homeroom-like class, introducing ourselves and talking about our likes/dislikes, and what was expected of us this year. I introduced myself to the class (something I had been imagining doing that for months!). All of the kids were extremely welcoming and friendly, I felt pretty comfortable. Then we had a 20 minute break, which happens every day! Then we went back to our homerooms and got our schedules. Once again, the school reminded me of college. Mondays and Tuesdays I don't have to go to school until 9:20, (ahhhhhhh!!!) I am there until 4:20 but that's completely fine. Wednesdays I leave school at 11:00, and Thursdays and Fridays I start at 8:30 and leave at 3:30. We also have an hour for lunch. My classes are different every day, and last for only 50 minutes each(compared to 90 minutes at Northampton High). I only had English class (the teacher told me I would be her assistant...), and Spanish class yesterday. Spanish was the coolest experience! (honestly!). Learning Spanish in French... I felt like my brain was doing gymnastics. The kids in my grade start Spanish in 5ème, because they study English and Dutch in the earlier grades. Because I've had 4 years of Spanish, the teacher said that she was going to try to move me up into 6ème Spanish.
Monday I will have a complete schedule, which includes science, religion, Spanish, and gym. Yes, gym is required here. But they have an indoor pool and a rockwall, so I'm actually really excited! By the end of the day I could understand almost everything the teacher was saying, and was able to have better conversations with my classmates than I had that morning! But we'll see how I feel learning math in French...
Last night I went out with my Belgian friends and my friend Jordann who is also an exchange student. Now that I have school, friends, a schedule, horseback riding lessons (!!), and possible dance classes, along with Rotary events, I feel amazing here. My boredom is gone, I still skype with my family and friends often but it never gets in the way of my learning French or feeling integrated, I am learning more French everyday, am meeting more people and becoming more active every day, this exchange thing is pretty cool...
Advice for future exchange students: Once again, try to stay busy! It helps EVERYTHING. Be involved with your Rotary club as much as you can, because that is how I've met some of my Belgian friends here. They are also the ones that made it possible for you to go on an exchange, and often the meetings are really fun (and have really good food...). And don't be afraid to contact your friends and family at home more than "once a week". Having a support system back home is a wonderful thing: it makes you feel less alone or bored before activities start picking up, and once you feel more comfortable and busy you don't need that contact as much (it's still fun though!).