Now that you know someone cool and foreign

Holla
Originally uploaded by mandeebarrett

I reckon it's hightoime to drop some knowledge....

• Tabernack -Canadian French- (exc.)Crap! (person)Trailor trash
• Battachinkway- Italian(ish)- High five!
• Nomjdajuii-Wallon (Fr-Nom de Dieu/Name of god) exclamation,if your Mandee or another cute American you use it in every way you can.It kinda gives me wallonian street cred..
• kocham- I love- polish
• Ya rhewm -add an extra "eeee" in there and yell it out when you see a hot guy on the street.Make sure he isnt Turkish or he may understand.If you know what I mean.

American freak

New photos

American freak
Originally uploaded by mandeebarrett

 click the link on the sidebar Ameriiican freak.This is just a quick post to say hi and that I am alive!I am just as bad of a blogger as I thought I would be.But I have a journal full of stories I cant wait to reread and share with Arkansans soon!

On the 17th my host Rotary club hosted a Soiree American fundraiser thing.It ended up being a lot of fun! My BFF's Freddy and Joël were there and said sweet things to me that I really needed to hear! I hung up a big ol american flag (and a little one that hid a sign that said "no playing music in this location" ) and hung out with rotarians all night.

Oh and then Joël hit me! repeatedly!No, jk.but really-he pushed me around in this game and slapped my dang hands!They were red!like lightning!Joêl also has a cute little family like Freddy-his with wants to come to Arkansas and when I said she was welcome anytime I meant it!

and Eva-
I love this little girl I need to remember to take pictures with her. She is Freddys daughter and I just love her to DEATH.Whenever I get all "omg i miss Cameron" ish I can just think about Eva. She asked Freddy If I could be her big sister! holy crap! yes I can darlin'! Ive never had a little sister! woo.I love eva.

Now im off to watch "a predre ou laisser" or french "Deal or no deal" .

3.1.09

Have you ever had a blog?It's super stressful.If you want to actually be updated email me and I will out you on my newsletter list.So much easier.

Vacation is almost over!actually it is over since it is Saturday and I start school again Monday so its not vaca its just a weekend.

They say that I have gotten over the hardest part of exchange.They also say the launguage is a piece of cake after christmas.I gotta tell you all night christmas day I was thinking "Do I speak french yet?How 'bout now? and now?".

Also, I suppose I will tell you about Christmas.The traditions here are pretty similar except for christmas wake-up-ion.You spend all night eating and talking with family and at midnight you give everyone 3 bisous and say "Merry Christmas!" and then present time like usual and then talk time and then bye bye time.It was really fun and the food was yummy. I spent the wakeup-ion with the mom of my host dad Jacques and christmas lunch with the mom of my host mom Laurence.I ate stinky cheese and didnt want to hurl!I think I am acquiring the taste-does that make me european yet? Being able to say "Oh thats an acquired taste"? Hope so.

New years was bizarre.My friends Steph and Sarah who you can see on my flickr invited me to spend a quite new years just hanging out somewhere.Somehow I got taken to a bar.Sarah helped me shorten my dress to just above my kneees because Steph said I looked "sisterly" and "nunish".Then steph makeuped me.I didnt quite understand how I got in. apparently some bars let 16 year olds in but someone on the street said this one didnt.I danced with steph and sarah and a group of stephs friends and at midnight every body yelled and gave bisous.First and last night club I think though.Outside there was a huge sex store and I saw a sterotypical hooker.Not quite the place I call a good hang out but ,hey,Europe.

X-mas, New years, What else is there to know?Oh I need to know about yalls Xmas' and New Years.

Also 3 days until January 6!
January 6 is the Birthday of Phillipe and of Miiiiiike!
It is also my official one year birthday with Rotary!
On Jan 6th of 2008 I was nervously walking into two day interviews in Little Rock!
Just look at all the exclamation points!
Ahhh!
I love birthdays!

For my mom and sister!

ROCK BLESS YOU

Good morning and rock bless you!I say that because it was the name of a rock festival I went to last night.

I dont feel like typing anymore.

Love ya's

Belgian mentality

Belgians are fun people.I think a really good word for them is nonnationalistic.They will be the first to tell you why their country doesnt work and why their weather sucks.But,they would never think to leave.Belgians stay in about the same neiborhoods for the most part and have friends that went to like birthing class with.

They say that their country is having huge issues with the lingusitic bariers seeing as there are 3 official laungages (which I think should be changed to four because people who speak one of the offical launguages first also know english but not one of the other laugages-get it?)But I dont see a large problem there because as trandution technology(the ability to throw on headphones and have whatevers being said to you trannslated in real time by a real person) strenthens the problem weakens.

They also say that the weather is horrible.Up until the last weak Ive been going to school in a shirt with a pull over in hand and rarely wearing it while the others are bundled up like the michelin man.I think if you think you are cold you are cold.They say that it only rains when the work day is over and it is good weather during the work day but I have found just the opposite.Perhaps I am a good weather fairy to this country because its been good for the past 3 months.Silly belgians-gotta love em.


Right now its SNOWING.love it .love it .love it.

    Tuesday is the day.I promise I will start a super cool photo project for the blog and my scrapbook.PROMISE.I want to spend the whole day taking pictures of things that inhabit my every day life here in Belgium.I wont be doing it Moday because I am out of school for a strike.I do really like school but breaks are pretty fantastic.

In my history class I have to write what  americans would call a thesis or super long detalic paper on some subject in history and it is our choice.My history teacher is a really nice guy and I think he doesnt expect me to do work-when I turned in a test in which I had only answerd one question ( What is the definition of histoire?L'histore est la discipline de qui etude la passé des hommes et presents une tableau de leurs porteés sociale) he was impressed.Well, I was too but most of my teachers think I'm pretty stupid.Anywho the thesis, I am going to do " The history of Belgium and The history of the states-a comparason. Even though the teacher doesnt think Im doing it I am so going to rock it.

So, to do list:

• Super cool picture project
• Rock out in History

When the dogs bite...

These are a few of my new favorite things :

• Frites with Riche sauce
• Manneken Pis
• Gauffres
• NUTELLA
• Dinant
• Namur

I have some new pretty pretty photos for you to look at including some new crafty goodness :)

Quoi du neuf ?

 I feel like I'm missing out on everything in the states! So - Quoi du neuf? Whats new? I want to know everything! Email me with who is dating who , whats on TV , where you went today- It may seem like a boring email to you but to me it is really good to feel a wee bit connected.

Sorry, if I dont respond to your Emails yall, I pretty much just have time to E-mail mom and  MAYBE blog and that is about it-but she like raised me so I owe her a line everyonce in a while.BUT I will get back to you I pinky promise!

P.S.
Having Mandee withdrals? I'm sure you are! Be sure to take a peek-a-boo at my photos because thos are quick and easy to update.

24th day - You need to update too missy!

I havent updated in a while and my inbox is bombarded with family emails of concerns.So allow me to clear the air and answer some of the questions that I got from the few emails I was able to skim.

Where are you? are you dead in a ditch? have you been kidnaped by aliens? are you really just at brittany's house?- (quote from my mom)-Belgium.no.no.no.

Have you started school? How is it? - I have started and boy, is it different. So many little tiny things are different that I notice something new everyday.Chalkboards,advertisments,whiteout, it is ALL different.The people are so nice and really goofy ,which I dig alot.

Laungage-A lot of the kids take english and can say things like how are you what is your name what do you think of belgium, and thats really helpful for when I dont know a word in a sentence I can act it out charades style  and they know enough english to get it.But, when they can't guess it it is pretty awkward since I spent all this time doing like an interpretive dance for nothing.

What do you do with your days? - I am in BELGIUM! It doesnt matter if I am exploring Brussels or on the couch reading "femmes aujourd'hui" ,a belgian magazine, I am discovering new exciting things daily.And it is all fun.tommorow though I am going to see MAMMA MIA with some kids from school which should be fun - Pierce Brosnan speaking french. YUM.Actually, EW he is like old.


I love you all and wish I could update more.