130!

World! Hello! Day 130 and it is CHRISTMAS! Wow! Merry Christmas! Who knew that i would make it through the vicious bouts of homesickness from Hobo Day, Thanksgiving, and whatnot and get to where i am right now. Its amazing how far i've come in about 4.5 months. I think the best thing i've learned so far is how to "go with the flow" and not be so anxious/overanalyze things. Basically, let your life do the living. Less impulsive, that's for sure! I'm not sure if any of you have ever left everything and everyone you've ever known behind you for a year..but it's a lot tougher than it sounds! But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and the experience i've gained so far is already far beyond what i ever could have expected out of myself. That being said...I want to try out for Survivor!!! Haha. Hey have you noticed my nice typing and punctuation tonight? It is my Christmas gift to you!! Easy reading for one night only. But now moving on to today! I woke up around 9, and immediately went downstairs to frost my two giant red velvet cakes! They turned out beautifully and everybody really liked it tonight! We served the cake with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a few blueberries. It was beautiful, actually! Here's a picture for you! (The second picture is of the cake we did not eat because it was too much! look how thick this baby was! Yummy!)

After i finished frosting the cakes i frosted some mini christmas tree cookies that i also made yesterday. It took forever, and there is still more cookie dough in the fridge that i have yet to cut and bake! Oh my, tis the season. So then i took a shower and all the family from my host-mom's side of the family came. Between the champagne, dinner, dessert, and game playing..it was an all day ordeal!

It was nice and all, and in fact i enjoyed it..but of course it's weird because it is not MY family, you know? Spending an entire Christmas day with cousins, aunts, and parents that aren't yours is a little...odd? Not bad at all though, they are all very nice to so graciously accept me into their home and lives that i should not complain. But what exchange student doesn't feel at least a little WEIRD on Christmas!! A part that definitely wasn't weird was making smores..i'm not sure if everyone liked them but it was fun!

Tonight i Skyped with my whole family while they were getting ready to eat their Christmas dinner. Mom, Aunts, Uncle, Cousins, Grandma, and last but not least...Dogs! Thank God for Skype, seriously. It was a really nice visit, i'm very happy it worked out. I have a cool family, probably a pretty typical American family if you want to say that. I really liked how amazed my Grandma was with Skype! Heck, I'M amazed with Skype! If i was any other generation i would have to wait for a letter to come in the mail. So anyways. That's about all there is to say about my day. I'm going to call my dad quickly before i go to sleep, then my Christmas in Belgium will be officially over! Who would have thought i'd end up being here. Christmas 2010 will definitely never be forgotten!!