December has been quite a busy month at the huis! There has been a lot of homework, traveling, and luckily...holiday parties! Lets start off with Sinterklaas...
Sinterklaas is a holiday celebrated on December 6th in Belgium. Sinterklaas is a saint that comes from Spain to deliver goodies to all of the good little girls and boys. The concept is very similar to Santa Claus in the U.S. (Santa Claus doesn't exist to the children of Belgium, just Sinterklaas). Another thing that Sinterklaas does is "rat you out," for all that you have done throughout the year. He has his helpers, the Zwarte Piet, who are black with ashes from the chimney. This is the case because the Zwarte Piet climb down the chimney and than open the front door for Sinterklaas to come in. On the night of December 5th everyone in the huis left out one of their shoes, a carrot and sugar cube for the horse, a beer for the Zwarte Piet, and a letter for Sinterklaas. We awoke on the 6th with treats in our shoes and everything else gone!
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The Belgians organized a Sinterklaas party for the other internationals so we could fully embrace their tradition. There were games, snacks, and a few special visitors!
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| Sinterklaas arriving with the Zwarte Piet! |
I got called up to play "Sho Sho Slagroom." In this game you had to put a dollop of whipped cream (a.k.a. slagroom) on your palm and than hit your forearm to fling the cream into your mouth...not messy at all...
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Shayne and I were called up so Sinterklaas could criticize our cooking skillz.
There is nothing wrong with cooking in a microwave! #AWK. |
Sinterklaas was a lot of fun and there was a lot of candy! It was great to share this Belgian tradition with out new friends. I learned a lot and enjoyed all the games. Now, onto Christmas!
Due to the unfortunate timing of our Dutch final, we had our Christmas party the same day. It was a great way to relax after the final was over, but it put a damper on the planning. Even with a Dutch final to study for, we managed to gather up our favorite Christmas traditions and throw a really fun party.
In the huis, we did a Secret Santa among everyone. We received our Secret Santa at Thanksgiving Dinner, and from that date on, everyone left little treats and notes for that person. It was really fun to sneak around and try not to get caught!
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| A gift supposedly left for me by my Secret Santa..what is it? Beats me! Little did I know, two of my "oh so funny," unit members tried to throw me off by pretending to be my Secret Santa! (Stipe and Mayank....I should've known!) |
At the Christmas party, everyone's Secret Santa was revealed!
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| Our Christmas tree with all of the presents! |
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| Astrid and I coloring our "Frosty the Snowman." |
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| Here is everyone anxiously waiting to find who there Secret Santa is! |
There was Hot Chocoalte, Gluvhein, and plenty of Christmas Music (supplied by yours truly).
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| One happy, yet dysfunctional family! |
For our final Unit 3 activity, we decided to have a going away dinner for Shayne. Mayank made us a delicious and authentic Indian meal for dinner. Clara made a delicious apple pie as well..YUM! After our meal we all ventured to the Leuven Christmas Market to get into the holiday spirit.
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| The beautiful Leuven Christmas Market! |
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| Some of the best people you could ever meet! |
After an amazing first semester, it was time to head back to the states to celebrate Christmas with my family! So many memories, but lucky for me, there are so many more to come! See you next year Leuven, its been real!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!
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