Anderlecht vs Lokeren

Being abandoned is one of the worst feeling ever, and I assume you know how it feels 'cause I haven't posted anything since last March.
I was quite busy the last couple of days, not that I suddenly turned into a social butterfly, I'm just trying my best to enjoy every minute of the rest of my stay. I have a lot to share but I'd rather do it one by one.

Last Tuesday, my host dad surprised me with a ticket to a football match between Anderlecht and Lokeren on Wednesday, April the 17th.
Excited? Totally. I love football match but never been to one 'cause it's always a riot with hooligans back in Indonesia, so watching at home or in a café is always a better option. I'm not a fan of RSCA but my host dad and his friend sure are. Although they didn't really wear any RSCA's jersey and merchandise, I could somehow see that they are devoted supporters.
There were already bunch of fans in purple walking down the road when we arrived in Anderlecht at around 7 pm.

What is life without a drama? Especially mine?
On that day, I was being me, and 'me' was being clumsy as hell.
My host dad handed me my ticket before we left the car and I was probably too excited that I lost it on our way to the stadium.
Yes people, I lost it, it was gone, with the wind.
Here's the chronology:
I put the ticket in the back pocket of my jeans. It was quite a tight jeans and I didn't have a bag with me so I thought it wouldn't go anywhere.
Certainly it didn't go anywhere, duh, I probably dropped it somewhere and someone picked it up, sold it or even used it.
My host dad told me that RSCA's tickets are always sold out so I felt terribly bad I couldn't cry. What is even more stupid is that the thought of the chance of losing the ticket has crossed my mind when I was about to put it in my pocket. And I did it anyway, great job.
For me, sorry wasn't enough, it was really generous of my host dad to even treat me to a football match.
If I were him, I'd be pissed and... I don't know, report my clumsy behaviour to AFS and send me back home. He didn't, I guess he tried his best to stay calm 'cause I sure was freaking out.
I cursed myself and couldn't stop hitting my own stupid head but of course it didn't do me any good, while my very optimistic host dad tried to solve the problem.
We talked to the security about everything and suddenly colorful rainbow appeared. I received another ticket from the help center and voila! problem solved.
It's definitely a miracle 'cause this wouldn't work for a ticket to Justin Bieber's concert or anything similar to it. I was just very glad that I didn't ruin the day.

So, we watched the whole game in peace and the score was 3 - 0 for Anderlecht. My host dad and his friend were happy, and so do I.

First Month

I can't believe that a month has already passed!
I'm not really sure whether it goes fast or feels like a year already.
Now that I'm in a completely different continent, where everyday is filled with hearing and learning a crazy language.. Wait, I meant learning three crazy languages, I feel like saying, "Wow! Fuck me right?"

I have a lot to say for this very first month. Even though things went very well, it wasn't perfect.
Sometimes life is all about the sucky moments, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm going to list down some of my culture shocks.
1. Different handwriting. Back in the early days, we, Indonesian people learn to write in the style of 'Tulisan Sambung'. I don't really know how to say it in English. I find it really hard to read this kind of handwriting since I never actually use it.
2. Bread... and CHEESE! Its a really good thing that I enjoy bread more than rice. For most Indonesians, the food difference is like the hardest challenge. Well, as long as I get to eat cheese.. I don't mind!
3. Acquaintance VS Friend. Yang satu ini gabisa dalam bahasa Inggris untuk menghindari adanya kesalah pahaman. Seseorang bertanya ke gue bahwa orang Asia kalo baru kenal orang bisa langsung nyebut mereka 'My Friend', yang ternyata gue baru sadar bahwa itu fakta benar banget. But I see nothing strange in it. Setelah dipikir-pikir, namanya baru kenalan otomatis jadi teman dong? Gue rasa emang kita gapunya kata seperti acquaintance. Kalo kenal ya udah sebut aja temen. Toh temen ga selamanya harus saling deket kan?
4. Dingin tapi hangat. Satu hal yang gue gangerti, dalam kehidupan sehari-hari orang disini bisa terlihat dingin sama lo even ketika mereka kenal lo, tapi kalo di dunia maya... like1000x
5. Physical education. To all Indonesian students, if you think your PE class is tiring, then you will not survive the PE here. God, I almost forgot how good I was back in Indonesia. The fastest, the most active in PE class. Here, I'm like the lamest. The cold weather makes it even harder for me to run outdoor, and the people are damn sporty! Even when they say they're not! I guess that answered why we are not that good in sport compared to the European.

This is not much but I'll add some more later when something comes in mind!

GET READY FOR MORE, RAYA!!

well that's Dutch

a student: you speak Dutch?
me: no, but i know some words
a student: ja? nee?

Goodbye French, Hello Dutch!

I'm excited and shocked at the same time.
Finally!!!
Why am I shocked? The host family crisis in Belgium France hasn't got away so they transferred me to Belgium Flanders and there, someone actually wants to host me! How can I not be excited?
The folks who took care of my program said they were sorry for not being able to find me a host family in BFR and this might let me down since I was only prepared to go to the French part...

I learned a little French at school. I was far from a bright student, I skip class a lot, failed tests, and Mademoiselle hated me. When I found out I will be sent to the French part of Belgium in this exchange program, I thought it was a joke... or a curse. But I took it anyway. I don't care how bad my french was I decided to join a French course as a preparation of my exchange program. I also bought the book 'French for Dummies'.
But yeah typical me I didn't finish the course (God, my classmates were freaks I couldn't stand it). So, I was depending on that dummy book. When I started reading, I got confused and lost. I thought this book was for dummies but it was harder than I thought! Am I even dumber then dummies? Who knows.. O_o
That was the end of my French preparation. After that I was just relying on arriving in Belgium and learn French there. Now, you understand why you don't need to be sorry right? I have learned nothing about French (except for asking a bathroom pass at school) and I'm kind of glad about it HAHA. Seriously, not because I don't like French or anything. I just don't have a really good relationship with that language.

I'm freaking happy that I have to bare no more pressures of people asking about my flights!! I even bought another dummy book (dutch edition). I'm leaving next Monday (September 17th, 2012).

I have to be honest that I know some of my people are not very happy about this decision (agreeing to switch from BFR to BFL), but then again, I don't care :-)
I'm the one thats leaving. If there was supposed to be any disappointment, it should be me who's mad, not you! And guess what? I'm not disappointed at all! In fact, I really can't wait for Monday and have my adventure!

Opwijk, Vlaams-Brabant... See you on Tuesday!!