152!

day 152. sundays are easily the weirdest days of the week. i never know if i'm supposed to be productive or not. my blog seems to be becoming more of a note pad than a play by play, i'm not sure how i feel about that. as you can tell, i'm unsure about a lot of things. i really really think too hard, trust me i'm trying to quit. today i woke up, had rolls for breakfast like real belgians do, and afterwards i read a book about a cat in dutch. cats like to sleep, they can jump from very high heights, they like to chase mice. my level of reading and speaking are not very high, but i understand quite a bit. i'm hoping that the fact that we're trying to speak only dutch here will help me with my exam this week, because i really dont want to have the same teacher twice if i have to repeat the level! but last time i got like a 95% and i only have to get 50% to pass, so it shall be alright! i think learning another language is not about being smart enough or wanting to do it, but for me its the confidence and practicing that will make me the most successful. being a perfectionist is sometimes a curse. i want to do everything my best, which is good..but sometimes its to a point where i drive myself nuts. hmm. so whats different here is that it was a warm meal for lunch and a cozy bread and cheese evening. i don't know if i should be listing differences on my blog but you all know how much i love talking about food. oh my gosh i almost forgot..i made cookies today! peanut butter cookies, i think they were really good. granted, i used brown sugar and peanut butter my mom sent me so most of the ingredients were the same (eggs and white sugar can't be that different, haha) but then again my real mom and i LOVE peanut butter cookies. the concept is actually weird, but not as weird as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! every person i say that to thinks im absolutely crazy! but jelly and cheese is normal, which most americans would find weird. i guess we eat brie with a sort of jelly, but thats pretty advanced south dakota food. today we also talked a lot about history after dinner. my new host brother is really good at history; they got out books, a globe, a national geographic and everything. the conversations are pretty intense but also educational. actually it started because i was saying that for us good cheese is really expensive, because its imported. like how american brand clothes are expensive in belgium. but it got me thinking about our education system, and how i'm done with school and can't tell you ANYTHING about the roman empire, mayans, vikings, ancient greece, all those things. my level of education is maybe pretty low compared to a someone my age here. weird feeling, because coming from the top 1/3 of my class at home i felt pretty confident with my diploma haha. but so is life..and so is the usa. to each country their own. on that note, i must go to sleep so i can wake up ready to tackle the difficult belgian education system tomorrow. in english we are studying macbeth, have i said that already? we studied that at home last year, and WE ACTUALLY SPEAK ENGLISH! i rest my case. goodnight!!!