Jessica 2004-5 Exchange to Belgium

At the end of March I had the change to travel with a close friends family through Holland. We did take a two-hour stop in Amsterdam and I had a chance to see Anne Frank’s House. It was extremely moving and well done.

For the first week of Easter Vacations I was lucky enough to take a week trip up to Edinburgh, Scotland to stay with my friend Jenn Gray. I arrived in Edinburgh to a beautiful night, which was followed by 6 days of constant rain. First thing I saw was Greyfriar’s Bobby, a famous site where a little dog sat on his master’s grave for 14 years in waiting. For dinner I had my first try at a traditional Scottish meal, steak pie, potatoes and beans. The main street is Princess Street, which divides the city into the old and new Edinburgh. I took a tour of Edinburgh Castle and I found an old canon named Mons Megs on display there than we tested in Mons, Belgium, the city I live in. I went to tons of Museums because most of them were free. The best ones I saw were the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Museum. In the Royal Museum has this extremely piece of art called the Millennium Clock which does performances at 11h00, 12h00 and 16h00. There were even some cultural art works from Canada there as well.

Next trip was a weeklong voyage to Greece. The first stop was a stop during our bus ride to Delphi. There were two beautiful Greece churches build traditionally with foursquare walls and a dome circle on the top. The interior was designed with delicate mosaic work and beautiful Greek orthodox icons. The next night we took a cruise boat to the islands of Crete. We spent three days on the island. We toured around on bus in the region of Heraklion. The best site there was Knossos. The ancient palace and Archeological Museum where the Rings of Minos are kept were memorable sites.

Athens was next on the list and of course we did the major sites; the Olympic Stadium, Acropolis, Amphitheatre. Our last night was spent at Porto-Heli in front of the Mediterranean Sea.

My next trip is with my school class to Brussels to see the Parliament Building and the Opera House.

In the 22^nd of May there is the annual Doudou festival in my city, which is talked about year round here. There is a procession with a Golden chariot around the borders of the city to keep out bad luck for the year. If it rolls backwards during the procession and breaks the circle there will be bad luck. Rumor has it the years it slipped were the years both WWI and WWII began. After there is a reenactment of St. George slaying the dragon in the Grand Place of Mons.

Hope all is well back at home. There are 84 more days left of my exchange. Does time ever fly.

Jessica Marcotte Writes, Update: Belgium March 1, 2005

As many of you know the President of the United States of America made a visit to this little country to ease the minds of Nato and citizens of the EU on the war in Iraq. So in result there has been unlimited talk about the war and the people's views on the USA. I have had the opportunity to hear the argument from both sides since I have befriended a pro bush and pro war American named Angel. Its interesting to see it from such contrasting opinions.

The weekend of February 19th I made a trip over to Dublin Ireland with 10 other rotary exchange students from Canada. It was amazing. We had both sun and snow, which all the native there say never happens, I guess we just got lucky. The best part was the bus tour with our guide Declan Finnihgan who sang his way through the history of Dublin in the most Irish of manners. We made a stop at the Guinness Breweries which was terrifically well done. 7 floors of exhibitions and displays encompassing interest around the world. I highly recommend it to anyone making a journey over to that part of the world. There was a day trip to the coast in a little city called Howth. The view was amazing but the snow cut the day short.

Since January I have joined an African choral with my friend Angel, we are the only white ones in a group of 20, but no one seems to mind that we stick out like a sore thumb. It is an amazing experience. This group of people know how to make music passionately and from the heart and are by far the nicest people I have met in my exchange here. They are willing to help out in any way possible and always offering their friendship.

School is going well. This is the time where I get a lot of 'Elle parle bon francais maintenant'. I am teaching my English class next week and giving my Canada presentation to the premier class which is the equivalent to 7th grade in Canada.

In February there was 'le carnival de Binche' which is to celebrate the coming of Spring. Which is ironic in a way because right after the we got our first week of snow. In the carnival the biggest event is a grand parade were the man of Binche dress of in specialized costumes and ostrich feather hats and throw oranges out into the crowd. Over all there must have been 100 000 oranges thrown that day. As the parade continued the oranges were being thrown harder and harder. As I trying to catch one I miss and it caught me right in face. My nose started to bleed and I had to make my way through hundreds of people to find a bathroom. It was quite the event.

The Easter holidays that are coming up I will be travelling to Scotland and Greece, both which I am extremely excited for.

That's the news for now and I will be updating you soon on the remaining 5 months on exchange.

Take Care and many thanks

Jessica