Friday was Halloween which is a holiday that is not really celebrated very much in Belgium. I was told by the family that since I am American that must mean that I can carve pumpkins and paint faces. Obviously American spend a large part of October carving pumpkins and painting faces--that's just what we do. However, the family didn't realize that my family at home didn't really celebrate Halloween--oh well, a small detail. So we got a little pumpkin and some face paints and we had some Halloween. Pumpkin carving was interesting as the girls attempted to use a very sharp knife to cut an awkwardly shaped pumpkin (not really sure it could be defined as a pumpkin...squash?). Intervention by Jess. Fingers were saved and a pumpkin was carved. On to face painting. Annabel was going to be some sort of old woman who had an obsession with spiders and Daphne would be a ghost. Mom took over the painting of Daphne's face--the easy one of course--while I attempted to paint a spider web on Annabel's. Must of went alright because later she received compliments from other parents on the streets. When they asked her who did the painting she said, "Jessica--she can paint faces really good because she's American" So there you have it my fellow Americans, rip out your face paint and find that talent that you didn't know you had!
Obama fever has spread through this house. This morning I was woken up early by pounding on my door. Since Clarence was sick yesterday I thought that perhaps something was wrong so I rushed to the door. There stood Annabel to inform me that Obama was my new president. I told her I already knew (I had received an early morning text) and ran back to my bed. Throughout the day I was informed by the mother, the father, and the maid that Obama had won. Before bed the father and I danced with the children while they all did an Obama chant and I questioned who were the Americans in the room. I thought that being away from the States I might miss some of the political fervor that takes hold--but it seems it is here too. It is interesting to be in a different country for our election. When in America we don't tend to be aware of the rest of the world, but the rest of the world is VERY aware of what is going on in America. Our politics matter and have a ripple effect on the rest of the world. We should love and be proud of our country while also keeping in mind the global impact that we are making.
Since being here I have gone through:
4 boxes of cornflakes
2 boxes of granola
20 liters of milk (this seems crazy to me.)
50 bags of tea
1 kg of sugar
6 heads of lettuce
and a lot of cheese and chocolate
By the way, Christmas is coming & I won't be coming home, so you will have to send your Christmas cards here to me. If you want my address drop me an e-mail (jesshartman2@gmail.com) or ask my mom. I'll try not to be greedy and ask for packages. But I will be lonely and far away from home...
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And how much of that peanut butter do you have left?!