what did i learn today?

I learned that "stomachs can be sensible." (sensitive, rather)
I learned that "football is the sport of the future." (yes, American football)
I learned that Belgian birthday parties are SUPER FUN.

Yes, folks. I went to a birthday party! One of my friends from choir, Sofie, invited me to a joint birthday party for her and her sister.. and it was great! Per the usual, I was the only English speaker there, but that's okay. I guess I've kind of gotten used to it by now, and I can add in a quick comment when people remember that I don't speak Dutch and translate for me a little bit :)

We went out for dinner at a nice restaurant in Leuven which was WONDERFUL! I haven't really been out to eat since I've been here.. Sure, I've gotten a quick sandwich somewhere and I've obviously raved about the fries & waffles, but I've never gone and had a nice, sit-down meal anywhere... until tonight! It was marvelous.

But having to go to a birthday party also posed another problem.. what the heck was I supposed to give as a gift?! I was unaware of any Belgian norms surrounding the idea of gift-giving, and when I asked another Belgian friend, she told me that "it really depends on the person." Excellent. Well, what did I end up doing? I procrastinated shopping until earlier this afternoon (of course) and ended up getting some super luxurious Belgian chocolates from the Leonidas shop down the street. I figured everyone likes chocolate, but if Sofie doesn't.. then she can just give it back to me, right? Right.
Don't worry. The chocolate was a smash hit.

So, if you're reading this Sofie.. I hope you have the most wonderful birthday!! Thank you so much for including me in your celebrations!



Anyway.. you're all probably sitting on pins and needles wondering where my blog post is about this past weekend and my adventures to Germany and Christmas decorating with Evelyn... right!? I thought so. Well, it's coming.
But these past few days have been dreadful... so much reading, studying, class, and (on top of all that) my body decided to fail me and I've been pretty sick. HOORAY! So I just haven't gotten around to blogging about my adventure, but it's in the works. Hopefully should be up by tomorrow or Friday. Keep an eye out...



ONE LAST THING. Tomorrow's a holiday in Belgium! It's Sinterklaas! Follow this link to learn about this traditional Belgian holiday.. I'm too lazy to elaborate right now. Veronique (Claire's buddy) wanted to give us a little taste of what Sinterklaas was like, and so she prepared a Sinterklaas feast!

aka.. Speculoos, chocolate, clementines, and champagne?? Works for me!

HAVE A HAPPY THURSDAY!