La Famille Dupont

Yesterday after our orientation meeting we all took a group tour of the Grand Place (baisically the center of the city) with our professor, Jerry. It was SO interesting. It was the home of all the medieval guilds and it was really cool to hear the interpretation of all the really intricate statues and carvings on the buildings. We also saw the "Manneken Pis" or "little boy pissing" It is apparently the most famous statue in Brussels---god knows why.



In the afternoon we met our host family. I am staying with Franz and Marie Claude Dupont. They are apparently the "oldest" family in the program---meaning they have hosted students the longest. They have three children, all of which are grown and moved out. So it is just the three of us, which i am used to anyways! They live inside of Brussels, near downtown. Most of the other students live near eachother, but i am in sort of a random spot. They have a beautiful three story town home. Franz is an architect and Marie Claude is a liasion between BE and the US for a chemical company. I have my own room, with internet all the time so please email/im/skype me or whatever.

Today i got to sleep in YAY! And in the evening i went with my family to Marie Claude's annual family tennis tournament. It was strange at first since i couldnt understand anyone, but i met and Austrailian exchange student there on a rotary program who was really cool. She has been here 7 months already and is slightly younger than me. But it really inspired me to learn french because she came with no experience and is nearly fluent. I had a delicious mousse de chocolat and raw beef (not together and surprisingly tasty)

Tomorrow is my first day of class and my first exploration of PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (dum dum dum....) ahh! I am scared but from where i am it seems pretty easy.