My best friends and I in Photoshop class:
greensburg, kansas.
I just created this in Photoshop class, and I felt like sharing it with the world.
quelle heure est-il?
Why, hello there.
Wait, I mean, salut.
Il est minuit et demi, et je ne suis pas fatiguée. Donc, je vais écrire, mais juste un peu.
This is supposed to be an english blog, forgive me.
Well, I've yet to share a few details about belgique avec vous.
Most excitingly, this is my school:
Collège Cardinal Mercier en Braine l'alleud. Just a step down from Hogwarts, huh?
For you to gain a better understanding of how I feel, this is my school now:
and on my first day of high school, I felt like I had never been in a building so big.
I can't even begin to imagine how I'll feel as I ascend those stairs, staring up at that I building I had seen, but never truly saw. But I can estimate that my heart will be racing 978,562 beats per second, and I'll be wishing I was studying my french right now instead of writing this post. And, more than likely, I'll trip at least once. Us Americans don't use no stairs, we have our escalators and elevators.
Which reminds me, I never really went over the title of my blog to ensure a full understanding. Most of you probably caught it, but I'll go over it for those of you who aren't as witty. From US to Them: it's a pun more or less. It can be interpreted as: From US (The United States) to Them (Belgium); or From US (as in all of us, a sense of belonging and togetherness) to Them (a more distant, less comforting sense). Nifty, eh? I was listening to Us & Them by Pink Floyd when I got the idea, so I can't take all credit for originality.
Mais je pense,
I think it's time for sleep. I have to go to (the latter) school tomorrow. It wouldn't be so bad if it were the former.
bonne nuit.
-_- zzzzz
j'oubliais.
I think my lack of posting conveys the amount of time I have en ce moment. My life: work, school, work, sleep, repeat. What haven't I written about? Too much. An attempt to record everything would probably mean no sleep for me tonight, but that's not really unusual anymore.
Well, let's see, since my host mom e-mail messaged me, we've been in steady correspondence. Currently, we write to eachother en français, which calls for a need of improvement on my half. Donc, I've been skipping lunch and studying with mon prof français, which I feel is truly helping (hence my random words in french throughout this post). My teacher couldn't be more supportive of my upcoming experience, and I'm more than excited to return to school my senior year just to have conversations in french.
All in all, my life has been consumed by my job at the oh-so-wonderful Pizza Hut, but Rotary, thankfully, allows me some time to breathe. I've had district conference, which was a weekend at Nemacolin Woodlands resort with five inbound & six outbound exchange students. We made music & laughed, sang & rock-climbed. But most importantly, we fit five people in a smart car (: Three days we stayed together, from April 9th-11th, and then two days later, seven of us left for a week I'll never forget.
Maxi, Sabina, Bia, Edwin, Zack, Emmeline, and Jordann all got on a plane on April 13th at a time too early to remember. They left to go on a trip to volunteer, but they didn't realize it'd be so much more than that.
For lack of time, I'll just post the article I wrote for the Rotary newsletter to explain & describe:
Before leaving for Greensburg, Kansas, I could not imagine why people would try so hard to reconstruct a town located in the heart of Tornado Alley. How could everyone work so hard to rebuild their businesses, homes, and lives, fully aware that they could easily be destroyed again? But before leaving for Greensburg, Kansas, I also never imagined that a natural disaster- one of the worst recorded in our country’s history- could devastate a town for the better. Prior to the EF-5 tornado, Greensburg was falling apart: it was just a small, rural town, like Mount Pleasant, struggling to make it through today’s age. But after the tornado, Greensburg was able to fall back together again. The ability to rebuild and “go green” brought publicity to the town- and is now bringing tourism and revenue. Though not only did the tornado positively impact Greensburg’s economy, but it also strengthened the community. Every citizen shares a pride in their town, having all contributed to piecing it back together again. Although the tornado demolished houses, trees, and parks, it did not affect Greensburg’s spirit. It’s a town where everybody greets anyone they see with a wave and a generous smile. We all, as strangers, felt more welcome there than we do in our home towns. Also, the citizens of the Greensburg share true gratitude for everything they have and are given. We were only a group of kids volunteering for a week, out of the thousands of volunteers that have helped, and they treated us as if we had given them the world. This appreciation, which is absent in the lives of most Americans, made me think that maybe our country would change for the better if it were devastated- but that’s beside the point .
Throughout the week I painted, hammered, and sweated- but every drop of sweat was worth it. I learned new skills, such as how to use a table-saw, and gained insight of the different lifestyles around the world, causing me to become more prepared (and excited) for my exchange. Although Kansas is in the United States, it felt like another country. I’ve never been in a place so flat, and instead of vast forests and winding roads, there are miles of level farmland, adorned with an occasional windmill, and straight, seemingly ever-lasting roads. I also had the opportunity to strengthen friendships with exchange students from Italy, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil, and, while I was at it, I learned some Spanish (and that I can’t roll my R’s).
When I agreed to go on this trip, I never imagined I would gain so much. Now, I can’t wait to return to Greensburg and see the buildings we helped to finish and the town completely rebuilt. All in all, I would like to thank Rotary for making this trip possible. I can’t have enough gratitude for every opportunity they have provided for me.
And that's that. For some reason I feel like my writing has lost all of its jordann-esque tonight. I guess it's just what exhaustion will do to a creative, existentialist mind.
Mais il est 11:11, donc je souhaite aller me coucher.
I'll write to you at a future time, unknown now, but surely to be discovered.
Bonne nuit.
PS: I finished my visa and found out everything about my home, school, town, etc. I'll post details next time.
:D
joyeuses pâques!
In my childhood, the moment that I woke up on Easter morning I would bolt down the stairs, anxious to delve into my Easter basket and begin to find the eggs the Easter bunny had hidden around my home. As I've grown older, the excitement has worn off, and I'm more excited to sleep than to see what my Easter basket has in store for me.
Though this morning I glanced at my phone, jumped out of bed, and sped down the stairs with more excitement than I thought possible. But why?
I have my e-mail set up so that a notification sends to my phone when I recieve a new message, but I can only see who the message is from and most of the subject.
My phone read: 4 new messages when I woke up this morning. Two were from my best friends and said, "Happy Easter :)". The other two were from 700- meaning e-mail notifications. I opened them. The first:
F: Dominique
d******@ho
S: FW: The S****** family in wate
Sent to: jordannnreplies@aim.com
The second:
F: Dominique
d******@ho
S: The S****** (2)
Sent to: jordannnreplies@aim.com
At first, I thought, "What the heck? The sher-ers? I have no idea... OH MY GOD!"
I jumped out of bed- ripping the sheets off, pulled on my robe, and ran down the steps- jumping two at a time. I heard, "Happy Easter!", but I failed to return the greeting. I opened up my e-mail, and sure enough, they were e-mail messages from my host mom, Dominique.
The first read:
From: d******@hotmail.com
To: jordannreplies@aim.com
Subject:
The S****** family in waterloo- Belgium (1)
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:22:17
+0200
Good evening Jordann,
We are pleased to welcome you in our family
in Belgium through the Rotary.
We got you nice file and learned a lot about
you.
You will find in attachment a few pictures from us, also six people, but
our two older daughters are on the go:
Fanny (18) will go to university and
be back on week end only and Charlotte (17) leaves for Australia.
But
don't worry there is a lot going on around us...
In our newsletter you
will learn a bit about us all.
Jus a few questions now:
- do you like swimming?
There are a few outdoor and indoor swimming pools around
and during our summer and begin fall we love swimming.
- have you ever skied?
The second family, very nice people loves it and goes during the
school break...
- do you have a family discount card? Here it is important
for transports, Brussels is 20 minutes away.
Have a Happy Easter and I will write to you very soon again.
Do pratice
your french because my next mail will be in ... french!
Dominique S******
With this e-mail I received a biography of the family (in French) that I'm in the process of deciphering. Also, she sent pictures
of my home:
of my room:
and others of my family members. The second e-mail consisted of more photos of my family.
I replied with excitement, trying to use French as much as possible (which wasn't a lot), and I shared pictures of my friends and family with them.
My home is beautiful, my mother is kind, and I have four host sisters- two that I'll be living with and one only on weekends. What more can I ask for? Now I just have the task of learning about my family by reading the letter in French. I'm asking my French teacher for some help.
This has been the best Easter of my life, no exaggeration. :D
hallelujah.
What I learned over the weekend: I need to break the habit of saying "see ya" as goodbye.
Starting at about 9:15, I felt like I had already started my exchange. I was talking to my peers from Venezuela, France, Italy, Brazil and to others going to Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland. Different languages, different customs, yet one common factor: we were exchange students, either now or in the coming year.
My roommates: Sabina from Rome, Italy; Pauline from Lille, France; and Mary Elizabeth from State College, Pennsylvania. Though, even though we were from different parts of the world, we seemed so familiar to one another. I guess that explains the creed my group and I created during one of the activities: Friendship knows no language.
The experience, such a new one. Yet, as my departure date nears, it will be familiar to me. Now I'm excited, more than ever, to go to leave the United States.
Yet, I realized that I should probably look into Belgium a little more. Sure, I think I've read nearly every article about the country that I could ever find, but I haven't really retained the information I truly need, only the random facts. I've had the notion that I would simply "discover" everything. Ya know, adventurous me. But someone made me realize that it's better to know about Belgian government, chocolate, and beer, and then, as I live there, I'll "discover" what it's like to live in a monarchy, sense the delicate chocolate as it overwhelms my taste buds, and sip a beer that's renowned.
I think it may be time for me to hit the hay now- that means sleep, in case you're not familiar with my country lingo.
bonne nuit, buona notte, goodnight.
-_- zzzzz
waffles™
leave the found behind to
dance with the lost and the forgotten;
they remember
left, right, left, right
without pencils,
blue or black ink only.
colors burst to drain themselves
and wake with the black, white, and grey
they sing out of tune,
but with melody
to remember that focus is disarray,
disarray is-
hello,
without meaning.
a new world,
a lost world,
a lost day,
a lost hour,
a minute found,
to then find the forgotten
who remember
that no eyes can see,
not until they breathe.
©jordannfunk
