One more.

So, this is the other video I was talking about in my last post, and it finally uploaded on YouTube, so I could show you! Yay! This is jusa video of my adventures as an exchange student:) Enjoy!

Destination: Belguim. And a birthday.

Hello! I have returned! I got back Tuesday night from Belgium. Then, I left Wednesday morning at 6am to go spend the day with my 2 American friends, because it was Zion's 18th birthday (bonne anniversaire ma cherie!) and I got back a few hours ago. Busy busy. Today I have to clean my room, unpack, email people back, journal, oh so much, and tommorrow, I am going to go exploring somewhere in Switzerland (I love my GA!) and then Saturday, I am having a Halloween party for my Swiss friends and let me tell you, it is going to be SOOOO AWESOME. Can't wait. Okay. So I am sure you are just dying to hear about my Belgian adventures! We went to the North Sea, and stayed in a little village called Coq. But we ventured out 2 of the days to visit Brussels and Brugge. I took many photos and to post them all would take "infinity" (as quoted from Facebook when I tried to post my last video. "Infinity hours remaining for this upload" Great) So, I made a video for you to watch while we were driving home:) Enjoy!

In case you would like further explanation of the photos, and to see other photos as well, please scroll down and continue reading:)

This is the apartment my family owns, and that, would be our view. Loved. It.

My sister and I:) We bonded a lot over the vacation. I guess thats what happens when all you have is each other, no internet, and are sharing a room. But now, we tight. Haha. And, if you can tell, it was a little cold. This was the first walk we went on there. I lasted about 5 minutes without a hat and gloves.
The North Sea!!! Ugh. I look like a giant marshmellow.
This, my friends, is Manikeen-Piss (sorry if I spelled that wrong). If you do not know him or his story, I would advise you to look him up. I was disappointed that he wasn't dressed, but we went to the museum where all his clothes, which was really cool! I was also suprised at how little he was. Just a mini little peeing man.

One of the days, we went to Brugge, which is said to be the Venice of the north. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. There were canals everywhere and ah, just amazing. While there, since it is the chocolate capital of Belguim, I think, we went to a chocolate museum, and posed with this cool sign:)
Brugge. The light isn't that great, but ah, so amazing.

Let me explain, LW (me) was here (the North Sea beach). :) Creative. I know. Haha.
I. Have. Always. Wanted. To. Do. This.

It was so much fun! My sister and I took turns driving my parents around the town, Coq, and I loved it. I am going to buy one of these bikes when I am older. haha. Oh. In case you couldn't tell, this is a bike that holds 4 people. Should of explained that first. Oh well.

This is when we first took off. My dad was like, I will take a picture! So we head out and it went a little faster than we were expecting with a bigger curb than we thought with a bumpier road than anticipated. Haha. I love our faces. AHHH! So much fun:)
My host dad, Jean-Michel, me, and Albert Einstein. He stayed in Coq, the village we stayed in, for 6 months in 1933, so they put a statue of him in the park.
Beautiful.

So, as we are heading home from our adventures, the train stops, and there is an announcement over the intercom saying there has been an accident with a domestic animal. Turns out, we hit a horse. I felt bad. This is the sign saying that trains headed in that direction are going to be late due to an accident with a horse. Thank you for your understanding.

The 3 musketeers! I love this photo!

I hope all is well! I'll let you know about my party! Oh. And I have to congratulate the Blazers on their amazing win against "them". Haha. I am very sad I couldn't watch it on ESPN since I had no internet, but I was cheering them on in spirit!

Salut for now!

Laura

P.S. This is for Tasha: I got you package and letter, and I loved it! Thank you soo much! I will write you back soon! Oh. And he is definetly a cutie! I approve:)

Some history for you...

Hello there! I have now officially been in Switzerland for 2 months, and today it is 9 1/2 weeks. I can't believe how fast it has gone by! School this week was interesting, since we had a revised schedule since the 3rd class was on a trip so a lot of the teachers were gone, and remember, no subs here:) I had this thing called concert, and when I asked my friends what this was, they kept telling me nose. So I was confused. So I go on Tuesday, and there was a chemist, and an orchestra. What happened was we all got these 9 viles of smells. We would take the brown one, for instance, and guess the smell. It was caramel (Yum) and then the chemist would explain how caramel is made and what makes it the way it is, so on, and then the orchestra played a song, depicting caramel. Lol. It was really funny, as we did this with the other smells as well! Strange things.

On Thursay, I had 6 hours with no class! So I jsut chilled, for 6 hours at school! Bored. Crazy. I had a Bio test this week, and since the kids in my clas helped me study for 2 hours (during another crazy long break) I did amazing, or at least I think I did:)

Yesterday, I finished school at 12:30, so I decided to head to Geneva to visit the United Nations. It was so cool! So I took the train to Geneva, and then got on this little tram they have in all the big cities that took me up to where the UN is. On the tram, I met this American couple, retired from Colorado, and they were going to the UN too:) They were so nice, and I adopted them for the day:) Lol. I was able to take a tour of the UN, and even got a cool badge that has my picture and says "Permited for entrance: UN". Haha. I love it!

The UN in Geneva is the largest, next to the one in New York. (The following is quoted from my book) "It was built in between 1929 and 1936 for the Leauge of Nations, this monumental compound became the European office for the United Nations in 1946 and quickly evolved into the world's largest center for multiateral diplomacy in the world. Today, it hosts some 9,000 conferences a year and 25,000 delegates each year." The UN in Geneva has 5 major areas of focus:

• promotion of respect of human rights
• humanitarian assistance
• economic trade and delevopment activities
• disarmament negotiations
• science and technology

There are currently 192 member nations, that srtive to make a difference in the world. Since I love history, this was just my cup of tea!

United Nations!

The main entrance of the UN. Visitors aren't allowed in here though:( But still, how awesome!

This is the first conference room we went in. All the rooms in the UN have to same basic features. In the front, you have the stand for the president, and other important people. Then you have to floor seats, which are where the delegates sit. Then, above, you have the public gallery, where I was, then you also have places for the press, and the translator boxes, since there are 6 different official languages fo the UN: English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic. So all the documents at all the conferences are translated into these 6 languages. And to work at the UN, you have to know at least French and English. At the meetings, they arrange the delegates by alpahbetical order, alternating between French and English names of the countries, because for example, in English, it is South Africa, but in Frenchm it is Afrique du Sud. So they alternate between using the French and English name to show that all the countries are equally important.

Artwork, donated by the U.S. :)

This is the conference room where they meet on Human rights. Recently, in 2008 I think she said, it was completly renovated, as a gift to the UN from the Spanish government. It is the most modern room in the UN. Since it was started at the beginning of the recession, it was apparently a very controversial thing for the Spanish people.
This is the ceiling in this room. It was done by a Spanish artist. It is 3D, as you can tell. I think if I were sitting in the room for a conference, I would be afraid one of them would fall of and hit me in the head. Lol. But it was still really cool.

Throughout the UN, there are nuemorous paintings and sculptures, all donated by the member countries. And in the new building, there is a little gallery, which changes according to what country's turn it is to display. Right now, it is the country of Oman, who has all their artwork displayed.

This isn't the best picture, but if you look, behind those cars, you can see a little sarcoghagas (sorry, I think that's spelled wrong). Why is this here, you ask? It has the body of Gustave de Revilliod. He died in 1890, without having any kids, so he left all his land, (it equals the size of Versailles in France, so A LOT of land) to the city of Geneva. The city then gave it to the League of Nations, and then they gave it over to the United Nations. But his condition was that he wanted to be buried on the land, and that peacocks be able to roam the land, like they do in the park of the UN.

This is the library, located in the old part, that was funded by John D. Rockefeller. It houses over 4 million importand UN documents, as well as all the documents from the League of Nations. This globe was donated by the United States, and is outside, right on the Lake, next to the space sculpture from Russia. It is the symbol of the UN.

This sculpture outside was donated by Russia, as a symbol of the space race, and everything that falls into that category. Notice it is heading towards space? Oh. Ah. Creative. Lol. It is also coatedi n a thin layer of titanum, which is used on rockets and spaceships.

In the old part of the UN buildings, the traditional League of Nations emblem is on all the doors,

since it was originally where the League of Nations was headquarted until they changed to the United Nations.

This is the room you see on T.V. It houses 2,000 something people. That was our guide, Monica. This room is used for the big conferences, like the World Health Orginization conference in May, I believe. In the background, on the wall is the emblem of the UN. It has the 2 olive branches, which stand for peace. Then the globe, but you see that it is the globe from the north pole. This is because they wanted neutral territory in the middle and the countries around it to show that all the nations are equally important, and there is no center country.

These two head statues are Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. Eleanor because she was a big believer and fighter for human rights, and Franklin because he coined the term United Nations.

This is just a hall in the old, original building. The globe vase in the middle was donated by England. The saying on the wall in the background relates to God and how he is the giver of life, and that he shall help those in need.

This room is where they discuss disarmament. This is also where originally, the League of Nations used to meet. On the walls and celiling are murals, that go in time order, I guess you could say, showing how the human race started and its progression.

The mural on this wall stands for human kind overcoming challenges. On the far left, you see a woman holding a baby in the air. The baby stands for hope. It was the final "chapter" of all the murals in the room.

This is the famous chair with the broken leg. Know what it symbolizes? I would of never figured this out on my own. It stands for land mines. Our guide said that it takes only $1 to create a landmine, but that it takes $1000 to destroy them, along with the lives of people. So this stands for all those that have been wounded, or died in the destruction of landmines.

That's all for now! On Monday, we are leaving for Belguim! Yay!

Laura

"A coobe?" and a movie!

Hey everyone! So I know I just posted something the other day, but today, after my friends left, I was bored. And it was gross, and cold, and foggy outside, so I didn't wanna go anywhere, so I decided to make another video. But this one is of Switzerland, not me talking. So I think its way cooler! haha. Here, have a look:)

So yesterday, my friends came over, and we went exploring Switzerland with our GA train passes:) We ended up in the cutest little town. Then we procceded to buy junk food. But let me explain the title. So in Switzerland, there are 2 different grocery stores, Coop, and Migros. So after leaving the train station, we saw a Migros, but low and behold, it was closed, so we were gonna then try and find a Coop. So we see these 2 teenage guys standing there, and they speak Swiss-German. So first, we are like French or English? and they say English. Here is how the rest of the conversation went:

Me: Do you know where a Coop is?

Guy #1: Coobe? (Making a square with his hands) a coobe? (meaning cube)

Me: Nooo. I Coop. Like a grocery store.

Guy #1: (blank look)

Becky: It sells food? A coop?

Guy #2: Laughing at his friend while smoking. Typical of Swiss teenagers. Lol.

Me: You know? Like where we can buy food?

Guy #1: Ah. You want to find eat!

Becky, Zion and I in unison: Yes! You know where the store is?

Guy #1: (pointing towards the Migros right next to us) Migros!

Me: It's closed.

Guy #1: (Blank look)

Zion: Closed, Fermer, Fermer, Closed? Not open?

Guy #1: Ah. Coop! No. No Coop. In the station (train station).

Becky, Zion and I: (Laughing) haha. Okay. Thank you.

It was so funny. "Ah! You want to find eat!". The little place in the station pretty much had chocolate and crackers. Lol. But we eventually bought stuff in Vevey when getting on the train back to my town. We had a pretty swell time last night:) Telling our funny and embarrassing Swiss stories:)

Well, that is all. Enjoy the video! 1 week left 'till Belgium! Yay! Salut!

Laura

This is one jazzy post... :)

"It's gonna make you so much stronger"

Hello everyone! Hopefully, this post doesn't bore you, because nothing super exciting has happened since my last one, and I have no pictures to post. Sorry. But, if you are still reading or planning on continuing, i will try and make it as interesting as possible. Not that school is very interesting. But we'll get to that later.

You might be comtemplating this title. About two weeks ago and the beginning of last week, I got homesick. I was like why did I do this, what was I thinking, I am out of my mind, so I ranted in this giant message to my best friend. She replied with such an amazing message, and since I read it, I have felt so much better. She told me not to question my motives for wanting this, because I am here, and I am living the experience of a lifetime. She also said that it's okay to have your days when you are feeling down, and that's its okay to let new people into my life, because that's what this is partly about, making new relationships. She also told me that I am going to be so proud of myself when I come back, and I can only grow from this experience. I feel like I have grown a lot in just the short time I've been here already. I know that this is a big thing for a 16 girl to do, and I should be proud of myself, and I just need to remember to embrace every moment here, and remember that I'll still have everything back home in Kansas when I get back, but that just letting this year pass me by is something I won't gain back. So now, I'm getting out there, and trying my best to take everything in:) And I'm not homesick anymore, which is def. good!

So. This week, I pretty much got up, got driven to the train station (thank you so much Marielle!), went to school, was bored out of my mind, realized the teachers were assigning homework (which they haven't done before this week, when they decided to just pile it on), quick got out my agenda and wrote it down, go to my 2 hour lunch, which actually isn't as horrible anymore now that I have friends, finish up my classes, get on the train home, walk home, check email, think about doing homework, decide homework is probably a good idea, do homework, set the table, eat, talk about my day, say goodnight to my parents, and Magali and I get ready for bed, go to bed, and repeat. I know. Quite exciting. Haha.

This week, I have 3 tests in school! Yay! One was today, chimie, also know as chemistry. I studied hard this weekend and I think I did a decent job. Wed. I have a test in Swiss ecomony and law, which is a wee bit diffivult for me to understand. And Friday, a test in physics. Now, i HATE physics in the U.S. because that was the one subject I could never understand, and here in no exception. So that oughta be interesting. But, I'm deternined to try my best and not fail, so we'll see:)

Oh. I have to tell you about this really funny thing we had Thursday. So, Wed, our Bio teacher informed us that the directrice was retiring, and Thurs. morning, at 9, we would have a little farwell for her. Now, at GE, everyone knows Mr. Brady, and he knows all of us. When he sees us in the hallway, he says "Hey, how's it going?" but here, i have never met the directrice, and neither had the other kidsi n my class, they didnt even know her name. Haha. So, Thursday, at 9, we all meet up ( we didnt have a class 1st period) and we go out to stand on the tape that formed a pathway from the main building to the staduim. All the kids were talking, as was I, and she walks out (this whole thing was suppossed to be a suprise for her, but they announced it on the loudspeaker, so I'm thinking she knew) and everyone starts this unenthusiastic clapping. She is like half smiling and just walks down the middle. Lol. It was so weird. Then we go in, and she has a speech prepared (another reason I think she knew) and is talking about how she will miss her students, and seeing their faces in the morning and so on. But no one has ever seen her before. Lol. So after this speech, they brought croissiants for everyone, so we all had a crossaint, and then went back to class at 10. Oh, and they gave her these two presents, and they had balloons on them, so they gave her a sissors. and she cut the balloons, and the teachers start clapping and going like Yay! Happy day! and we are like, we are clapping for the balloons floating into the atmosphere. Yay. It was so funny, just all in all. Ah. My Swiss school, keeps me entertained.

So that was my week. Last night, my counselor and his wife came over, and my 2nd host family. They have a daughter who is 16, goes to my school, a daughter who is 14, and a son who is 13.
The parents are divorced, and I'll live with my mom, but I can go visit their dad on the weekends with the kids if I want. They also live in the same village, which is nice:) They seem really nice too! So yes, a good ending to the week. Today was Mon, though, and no one likes Mondays, but it wasn't that bad. For sports, we ran for 40 or something minutes straight, without stopping. My face was SOOO RED! Haha. I looked so funny. All the other kids were like, are you alright? Hills are not my friends here, but on the plus side, my calves are getting so hard! All these hills must be doing some good. Today, after sports, I was like to the other girls in my class, "Look at this! Do you see how great that looks!" Haha. They were like "yeah Laura. Cool." Lol. Okay. I must close. I have Swiss law calling my name to be studied. Hope all is well in Kansas, or Connecticut, or wherever you are reading this from! Salut! Laura

P.S. I thought this quote was funny. "If you're late, you're either not taking Swiss trains, or you're not wearing a Swiss watch"