Chapter XXV: The Last Leads

Holy shit.

This is the last update before I leave. Next Monday I will be leaving Ossining, Tuesday I leave Trumpland aka the United States, and Wednesday I will be back in Waffleland. I will write another blog next week, probably on the plane, to talk the total experience from August 2016 to July 2017. But for now, let’s write the last “oh, look what I did last month” blog and try to make all my studying friends a little more jealous. You’re almost there buddies!

Last time I made some publicity for the Gimme the Mic concert. Shelby and I sang Calm After the Storm by the Common Linnets. The song was dedicated to someone in particular. Here is what it sounded like (It’s not that good, but hey, I try. It starts weak but gets better towards the end): Click Here to see the video where I “sing”

I (finally) finished high school, for the second time. Even though I hated most of my time there, it wasn’t too bad. At least I made some friends and learned something, I guess? I mean, I can play the piano somewhat now so that’s okay. Right before school ended I had prom. Something I wasn’t really looking forward to, but everyone told me to go so I did it anyway. My date Shelby looked fabulous, so it started well! We went to two different places to take pictures before going to school to catch our bus. I noticed that for some students and most parents, prom is more about the pictures than the actual event. It’s sad when you think about it, but when prom starts at 6 and ends at 11, you can’t really blame them. Who in the world plans prom on a Thursday, when you have school the day after? Of course nobody goes to school the next day, myself included, and most people organize an after prom.

Max. He would eat a leaf of his prom flower if he would make it on the blog. Congrats Max!

A cow in Tajikistan?

While the majority of the people who do after prom go to New Jersey to get wasted, my friends invited me to go to the city for two days. We started by going to the High Line, a beautiful old rail road track that has been revived to a walk trail (if that’s the right word for it). I’ve been there multiple times now, but you can take me there any time. If you walk the right way, it ends at the Whitney Museum, a wonderful new museum for modern art, that’s free for anyone who’s 18 and younger. I told the group it was free, so we all went inside and enjoyed the some amazingly touching art, as well as the beautiful view on the top of the building.​

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​After that, we went to Bryant Park to play some bullshit (stronten), and went to our hotel later. We were sleeping a few blocks away from Grand Central in a very nice hotel, with a rooftop bar. The die-hard idiots who wanted to be cool took the stairs to walk 30+ floors, and of course I was one of them. Totally out of breath, we enjoyed the breath taking sunset from the balcony.

The next day we went to Central Park and the Central Park Zoo. This zoo is meant to be the inspiration for one of my “old” favorites Madagascar, even though it has no lions, zebras, giraffes or hippos. While the group was getting smaller and smaller, we ended the day at the MET (that museum where I was trying to be a funny guide before). After prom was one of the best weekends I had this year. I felt really welcomed in this group, not just being that Belgian kid or that tall waffle boy. I got closer to people and enjoyed their company. Thank you to every single one of you for having me these two days!!! ❤️

When school ended, there were still some days until graduation. Besides watching movies, I’ve spent most of my time working on my audition for the RITCS (acting school in Belgium), which is on July 1st, so right after I go back. However, I suddenly got invited to multiple parties and activities (to remind myself in the future: Yuki, Kate, Shelby, Katrina and Coney Island). Better late than never! At one of the parties, my friend Katrina made a beautiful slideshow using the song Calm After the Storm. I’m not sure if it was the song or the slideshow that brought tears to my eyes.

Then graduation was there. An almost two hour long ceremony that had to be rehearsed with all students the day before. Most of my friends were of course very excited, as they should’ve been, but since I graduated already I didn’t feel anything, besides being happy and proud for my friends. After 5 speeches, they name every, single, student. People I had never seen before went on stage and got… an empty book? Wait? No diplomas? Nowp, it’s all fake (it’s America, what did you expect). You have to pick up your diploma the next week at school. Fake? Yes. Pointless? No. Some students there were the first to graduate high school in their whole family. And those families couldn’t be any more proud. It was very touching to see moms, dads, grandparents, and siblings cry when their source of hope went on stage to get that piece of paper. I went on stage as well:​

​As you can see, the last weeks have been busy again. I couldn’t even tell everything I did, I can’t bother you too long, you see.

That’s it. My last monthly update.

Only 6 days until I leave my new home.

I will enjoy it as much as I can.

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise?

Look closely. I love art.

I’m gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse…

🌳 Belgians

Father’s Day brunch

BECAUSE NOTHING IS MORE AMERICAN THAN… Pizza?

 

Chapter XXIV: Karat

Last month, I felt almost done with my AFS year, but since then, I got my act together. Due to doing a lot of after school activities and straightening things out with some of my closest relatives, I found energy and joy again.

Right after I wrote the last negative blog post, many people were there to show their support (thank you so much for that) and to remind me to enjoy my time left here as much as possible, even when things aren’t going as planned. My dad stated that I already had accomplished 95% of the things I wanted to do this year, and that it wouldn’t be easy to find the last 5%, but that I had to keep looking. Damn, he was so right.

My parents’s visit to the US made everything better. From having very good conversations again, to making long and unforgettable trips to the city; it was the first boost I needed. I was nervous at first, I didn’t know what to expect. But eventually I was so glad that they became a part of this family too, as it keeps on growing and growing. Bill and Alan enjoyed their stay as much as I did – or even more!
Seeing my two families collide was one of the best things I could’ve ever asked for.

Like I said, I did a lot of things. I finished my two plays Lot’s Wife and Rabbit Hole. Both were very usefull experiences and thaught me some new skills, while still enjoying my time working on stage. And almost every day I had my tennis practices and games right after school. Even though I won 8 of my 9 games (but it wasn’t because I was playing well, the other teams just sucked), we still lost almost all of our games as a team.

Both plays and tennis season are over, so I looked for other things to do after school. I found two classes in the city: Acting for Beginners and a DJ class! The acting class is very basic and for beginners (duh) but it’s interesting to see how different it is from the classes I used to get in Belgium, and I’m taking the DJ class so I can finally learn how to use my own DJ controller back in Belgium. Like Trump felt about his presidency – it’s much harder than I thought it would be, which increases my respect for DJ’s even more. Both classes are in the city so the commute takes a while for such a short period of time, but it’s totally worth it. How could going to Manhattan ever be boring?

Of course I did a lot of other things, but I’ll show pictures to make it shorter for you and easier for me. I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped me getting over myself. I definately learned a lot about myself during this period (so cliché but ugh it’s true), so it wasn’t a total waste. If you’re ever going abroad and start to feel like that too, I’ll give you this advice: go out and keep yourself busy. It helped for me, and I’m sure I wasn’t the first one.

Thank you, enjoy your day!
En voor de blokkers: komaan, doorbijten! Ge kunt het godverdomme!

Again a beautiful sunset, while listening to Amar Pelos Dois…

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​​The first time I actually enjoyed an AFS USA orientation. Hmm.

 

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Veni, vidi, vici in Six Flags, where we won a Chorus contest!

Next to the best rollercoaster fan ever!!!!

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy 2 in these ajustable seats. I’m bringing this concept to Belgium.

Putting Bill & Alan up with Eurovion. Totally worth it, even though it wasn’t a very good overall year.

Watching the opera the Flying Dutchmen in the fabulous Lincoln Center!

“En toen ging ik naar beneden, om pindanoten te eten.” -Karim

Come check out tomorrow’s senior showcase at 7pm! Not Tyler but Shelby and I will be singing “Calm After the Storm”.

They came to Lot’s Wife! And half of them came to Rabbit Hole! Joepie!

 

Chapter XXIII: Rozengeur en maneschijn (Dutch)

Fuck.

Wat zit ik hier in godsnaam nog te doen? Waarom verspil ik elke dag met niets te doen en vervolgens te jammeren waarom ik diezelfde dag niets heb gedaan? Deze vragen stel ik mezelf nu al bijna twee maanden, elke dag.

Waarom? Even een (uitgebreide) schets van hoe bijna elke dag er de laatste twee weken aan toe ging. Ik sta op, klaar om weer met tegenzin mijn tijd te verspillen op die alles behalve interessante school: OHS. Eens aangekomen op school, moet ik mijn mening altijd weer bijstellen. Het eerste lesuur SUNY Racism, Sexism & Classism is namelijk geweldig. De twee geweldige leraren brengen de (half slapende) klas op de hoogte van de brandend actuele problemen omtrent racisme, feminisme, vrije meningsuiting… Als meest door de Westerse samenleving geprivilegieerde persoon van de klas (blank, man, jong, middenklasse, “christelijk”, groot… ja, ik ben de enige in een klas van 30) word ik enorm geconfronteerd met al deze vaak onzichtbare voorrechten. Pijnlijk, maar geweldig. Ik heb het over het vak welteverstaan. Als student uit een blanke rijkeluisschool worden mijn ogen opengetrokken. En is dat niet waarom we naar school gaan?

Ja. Ja! Maar hierna stopt mijn dag dan ook volledig. 2de lesuur: Chorus (koorzingen). Een gemotiveerde leerkracht (zeldzaam op deze school) die moet proberen om een stelletje 14-jarigen, die totaal niet geïnteresseerd zijn in het vak, in toom te houden. Na een dagelijkse speech over hoe respectloos sommigen zich wel niet gedragen, zet ze er dan ook vaart achter om de verloren tijd in de halen. “Ach Ralph, trek het je niet aan”. Heel moeilijk als je er elke dag weer aan wordt aan herinnerd dat je bij de 5% hoort die effectief wilt zingen tijdens dat lesuur.

3de lesuur, vrij. Niks te doen. Dan mijn grootste ergernis van de dag. 4de lesuur: SUNY Theatre. Mijn vak, zou je denken, toch? Theater, vooral het acteergedeelte dan, is mijn passie. Al jaren keek ik elke week weer uit naar de geweldige tijden in mijn toneelgroepje of naar de beste leerkrachten Govert en Karine die (net zoals de Racism, Sexism & Classism leerkrachten) mijn ogen steeds weer konden opentrekken. Zij hebben een grote rol gespeeld in mijn beslissing om dit jaar auditie te doen voor het conservatorium. Hoe kan ik ooit op kijken tegen een toneelvak? Hierom. ALS er al eens effectief les is (de leerkracht duikt gemiddeld maar 4 van de 5 keer op) wordt er veel te vaak niets, maar dan ook niets bijgeleerd. Geen enkele keer heeft ze mij ook maar iets van concrete feedback gegeven nadat ik een monoloog of dialoog heb opgevoerd. Oh ja, moet je misschien weten: ze is actrice van opleiding, dus je verwacht toch wel iets van acteerlessen te krijgen. Misschien is het acteren haar verleerd sinds ze besloot de schooltonelen te regisseren? Oh ja, nu we het over die schooltonelen hebben! We hebben les in de enorme theaterzaal van de school, en heel vaak beslist ze dan ook dat we voor de les het podium opgaan. Ze laat ons dan wat improvisatie-oefeningen doen, om dan gewoon naar de achterkant van de zaal te verdwijnen, om op haar computer allerlei dingen te regelen voor die schooltonelen. Dus wij staan ons daar maar wat te amuseren, zonder ook maar iets kleins bij te leren. Dit gebeurt elke week. Elke week!!! Je kan het de leerlingen dan ook niet kwalijk nemen dat ze dit vak niet serieus nemen, toch?

Ik kan over dat vak nog een boek schrijven, maar we moeten verder. 5de lesuur zou een rustuurtje moeten zijn voor mij. ‘Gimme the mic’ laat je werken aan zelfgekozen liedjes die je dan eens in de twee maand opvoert op het grote podium. Probleem is dat er zeker 25 mensen in die les zitten, en aangezien dat er veel individuele liedjes zijn, zing in gemiddeld 2x per week (!) mijn eigen lied. De rest van de tijd mag je ofwel in de gang oefenen, of luisteren naar de rest. Oh ja, een lesuur duurt 41 minuten.

6de lesuur: lunch. 7de lesuur: Filmmaking. Nog zo’n topper. Zelfde probleem als bij Chorus: slechts een handvol mensen zijn echt geïnteresseerd in dat vak. Een ander probleem is dat de sympathieke leerkracht een fotograaf is, die zelf nog maar een paar jaar met film bezig is. ‘Bezig zijn’ kan je hier lezen als een hobby. Hij heeft totaal geen idee wat hij aan het doen is. Zie het als een zakenman die plots een land ofzo zou moeten regeren (willekeurig voorbeeld natuurlijk). Hij geeft ons een project, en dan begin je er maar aan. Zonder effectief iets geleerd te hebben, stuurt hij je buiten met een camera in je handen. Geen wonder dat sommigen er dan ook echt niets van bakken. Aangename kerel is het wel.

8ste lesuur: Statistiek. Aaaaahaaaa, eindelijk eens een normaal, academisch vak. Ik kom uit Wetenschappen-Wiskunde, waar Wiskunde, na Chemie, in het 6de middelbaar mijn slechtste vak was (ironisch, ik weet het). Van Statistiek bakte ik niet veel. De vloek die er in de Belgische universiteiten hangt rond Statistiek wou ik zo goed mogelijk voorbereid aanvechten, dus ik besloot het vak opnieuw te nemen. Eindelijk, na 7 maanden ELKE SCHOOLDAG het vak Statistiek gekregen te hebben, heb ik sinds deze week iets nieuws geleerd. Een kleinigheid wel, maar ik had het nog nooit zien passeren in de voorbije jaren: een geometrische verdeling. 7 Maand verspild dus. Hopelijk wordt het vanaf nu beter. Met maar 1x geleerd te hebben in het hele schooljaar (in het begin was ik nog klaar voor de 100%), heb ik een jaartotaal van 86%. Zegt genoeg, niet? De leerkracht is meer bezig met zichzelf populair maken dan de eigenlijke vakinhoud. Dit verklaart dan ook dat niemand die goed is in wiskunde dit vak kiest. Statistiek, wat in België als HET buisvak wordt aanschouwd en voor mij persoonlijk het op één na moeilijkste deeltje van het 6de jaar WeWi was, wordt hier dus als het makkelijkste wiskundig vak aanschouwd?! En ik moet toegeven, ik kan het ze (again) niet kwalijk nemen.

We zijn er bijna jongens, bijna! 9de lesuur: Piano. Topleerkracht, overwegend gemotiveerde studenten. Another problem: 1 leerkracht voor opnieuw 20 leerlingen. IN PIANOLES?! Je leert dus alles op eigen houtje en dan speel je het zelf aangeleerde liedje voor de leerkracht, eens hij tot bij jou kan geraken. Hij geeft feedback en helpt waar het kan, maar langer dan 5 minuten kan je hem niet te pakken krijgen. Het lesboek en een piano kopen en die vervolgens in je living zetten, is dus bijna even leerrijk.

EINDELIJK. Weer een dag vol niets overleefd! Huh? Wacht? Wat? Oooooh ja, natuurlijk! Ralph heeft zich aangemeld voor het Tennis Team! Een uur wachten tot de training begint en dan vervolgens een uur een half tennissen. Dit allemaal onder het toezicht van – je raadt het nooit – een VOETBALTRAINER. Ben ik hier mijn dag aan het vertellen of een show van Urbanus aan het schrijven? Man, man, man… Een voetbalcoach dus, die zoveel weet van tennis als ik van korfbal (maar wie wil daar überhaupt iets van kennen). De tennisles is dus gewoon anderhalf uur spelen tegen je ‘kameraden’, al zijn er wel goeie spelers. Ik zeg ‘kameraden’, omdat de beste speler van het team nog arroganter is dan 500 McEnroe’s en 6000 Kyrgiossen bij elkaar. Beeldmateriaal volgt, want het is veel erger dan je nu denkt.

Zo zagen mijn laatste 2-3 weken er elke dag uit. Elke dag. Wanner ik thuiskom voel me nutteloos. Klaar met dit saaie circus. Klaar met alleen zijn. Klaar mijn tijd hier godverdomme te verspillen. Klaar met alles.

Ik heb er al met mensen over gepraat, wees gerust. Velen zeggen ‘Ja Ralph, je neemt dan ook te gemakkelijke vakken’. Dat is absoluut geen excuus! Film, zingen, acteren… Dat zijn dingen waar ik van hou! Dingen dat ik wil doen in de toekomst (behalve dat zingen dan, zo boos ben ik nu ook weer niet op de mensheid om dat de wereld aan te doen). Maar elke dag worden deze fantastische opportuniteiten verkwatst door leerkrachten die zichzelf niet serieus nemen en leerlingen die er geen fuck om geven. Zij zijn namelijk verplicht een kunst-, wiskunde-, wetenschap- en taalvak te nemen. Blijkbaar zijn mijn vakken vaak de afvalvakken. Elke dag opnieuw dezelfde vakken dan nog, is vreselijk. Elk lesuur met nieuwe mensen in de klas zitten maakt het ontzettend moeilijk om vrienden te maken.

Na school ga ik dan ook vaak naar mijn kamer. Ik bekijk er series, film, talkshows (Last Week Tonight of Zondag met Lubach) of documentaires (Cosmos, Planet Earth…) om mezelf toch nog iets bij te leren. Als ik echt te depressief ben, kom ik er zelfs die dag niet meer uit. Gelukkig heb ik nog 2 keer per week repetitie voor Rabbit Hole, om mijn gedachten ietwat te kunnen verzetten. Mijn geweldige gastouders weten niet wat ze moeten doen (al zijn ze wel wat erger gewoon), en ik weet niet wat ik aan hen moet vertellen (buiten al dit gezaag en geklaag dan). Mijn gastbroer maakt alles nog veel erger, maar daar praat ik liever in privé over. Ik voel me rot, eenzaam en down en wil naar huis vertrekken. Dat is natuurlijk maar een gedachte, maar het is wel eng om dat na al die geweldige maanden plots in je hoofd te horen rondspoken.

Ik ben hier geworden wat ik nooit was: een bron van negativiteit en pessimisme. Ik schrijf dit nu op één van mijn betere momenten, vooral om mezelf er later aan te doen herinneren dat ik dit jaar niet te veel mag verheerlijken. Mijn rozengeur en maneschijn blogs laten natuurlijk iets anders overkomen.

Gelukkig kan ik nog uitkijken naar iets. Mijn ouders komen langs binnen 2 weken. Daar kijk ik enorm naar uit. Hoe alles erna zal verlopen, zal ik dan wel voelen.

Waarschijnlijk is dit gewoon een dip. Hopelijk. Ik probeer te denken aan de leuke momenten die ik al gehad heb. Maar als je er elke dag weer aan wordt herinnerd hoe zinloos het leven hier geworden is, maakt dat het er niet makkelijker op.

Als je nu nog steeds aan het lezen bent: dankjewel om naar deze zaag te luisteren. Ik snap dat het nogal ondankbaar overkomt, ik denk er ook zo over. Maar de kracht van heimwee is veel sterker dan je denkt.

Merci.

Chapter XXII: Blinded

Hallo liefste bloggertjes

Lot’s Wife is going great! The first 6 shows have been a success (one show more than the other), and I’m sure the next 5 shows will be great too! This cast & crew is just such an awesome group to work with. So talented, funny and nice people. I’m going to miss them so much after Lot’s Wife will be over… However, I’m having another project coming up soon.

Albi Gorn, the amazing playwright of Lot’s Wife, is also involved in other theatre groups outside WCT. For a production in Yorktown’s local theatre group YCP, they were looking for an actor my age. I auditioned and got the role! I will be playing the role of Jason in the play Rabbit Hole. The play is very dramatic, but really well written. It’s about a young family who lost their 4 year old son in a car accident 8 months ago. The kid was hit by a teenager (me) when he was chasing his dog on the street. The family tries to go on with their life, but it doesn’t get easier when Jason tries to have contact with the family. This play was made into a moderate movie, starring Nicole Kidman (who got an Oscarnomination for her performance), if you’re interested in the story.

Also, Varsity Tennis is starting tomorrow! So 2 plays and tennis practice everyday, it’s going to be very very busy the next few months (but I love it)!

One more thing I did last week. I went to the Game of Thrones Live Concert at the Madison Square Garden. Beautiful music that made me even more thrilled for season 7 which is coming in a few months!! But I have to say, the quality of the sound was pretty bad. We had very high seats and the sound didn’t reach us that well. But still, awesome experience!

Also for those who missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ3drt5ruV8
This is an interview a school friend and me made for Filmmaking about veterans with PTSD who try to get back on track by making art. This art therapy program really helps people with PTSD express their often dark feelings. The quality of the sound and video isn’t that good, but hey, we tried to make the message as strong as possible.

So, this was a quick update of the last few weeks! I hope you are having as much going on as I do, and that you enjoy it as much as I do!

Salu!

My friends Elliott and Kristan came to watch Lot’s Wife, and they loved it! (That’s what they told me at, at least) Thanks guys for coming!

Chapter XXI: Lie Lie Land

Hello, hello!

It took me one month to finally start writing again, but here is the new blog post! It’s just difficult to write about something when nothing terribly interesting had happened. Anyway, let’s talk about what I did in the past few weeks.

If you want more info, just send me a message.

I haven’t been doing a lot of activities lately because I’m quiet busy rehearsing Lot’s Wife, the new play of the local theatre company WCT (Westchester Collaboritive Theatre). I’m playing Horab, a young Sodomite boy who’s in love with “former” Hebrew Guella. If you know your Biblical history, you know that’s not a match made in heaven (pa dum tss). I rehearse 3 times a week at either a very luxurious nursing home or the new performance place (yet to be finished). It’s both pretty small, but I’ve learned so much more in this production than in any other production I’ve ever done. There are some (semi-)professionals within the cast and crew who raise the level of the rest. I love it. Shows will be starting next week! If you want to check it out, you know who to call (or text, it’s 2017 grandpa).

Rehearsal at nursing home Atria.

I wrote my first short play! Inspired by Lot’s Wife, I wrote a 10 minute comedy about God’s Heaven as an assignment for school. If you want, you can check Styx out here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aYbTNwP2mGCxuRsFtTZlkrjyf6BlZ0fAlVve2_nI09M

The theatrical experience doesn’t stop there, though. This weekend I went to see The Present, a show with double Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett. The show was a modern adaptation of Chekov’s Platonov, a play that I’ve seen before back in Belgium but couldn’t really remember. This production however was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen (I admit I haven’t many, but still). The acting was just superior. The supporting actors weren’t bad, but compared to the two leads they looked like amateurs. Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh played – as we Flemish would say it – “de rest onder tafel” (“the others under the table”). The show took 3 hours, break included, but I wasn’t bored a second. Now something else…

If you can, check it out! It’s amazing.

“He’s having so much fun”, “I’m so jealous, you’re in New York for God’s sake!”, “You’re host family is the best”, “It’s the best year of your life”.

All of this is true. But it’s not the only truth. All exchange students love to share pictures, make videos or write blogs about how much fun, fun, fun they’re having. And we absolutely do. I do too. I’m learning about life more then ever before. Am I just growing up, or is living at the other side of the world the cause of that change? I don’t know. But I do know that it’s much harder than I, or any other of my fellow exchange friends, shows to the world around them. I’ve had a difficult time the last two weeks, without really knowing what the cause of all of it is. I felt useless, homesick, and especially lonely. This made/makse me push away the few people here that do care about me. Sometimes too far away, maybe. But that doesn’t mean I care less about them. It just happens, sometimes without a reason. Hormones? Homesickness? Just stupid Ralph? 

I know I’m so lucky to be here, and I try not to complain too often. I just hope that people realize that I’m not just here to chill out and relax, that I’m not just “that Belgian kid” or “the kid who’s in New York”.

Damn that was some deep shit. Here are some pictures to end with a good note.

Ciao!

Super Bowl! What a game was that?!

XXX. Turkey, but not the country or the animal…

Even for fucking Valentine’s Day they come into your class to sing. AND I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY.

“Artception” at the MET.

Where’s the tablet of Ahkmunrah? Oops, different museum…

ALL BELGIAN PEOPLE SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF OUT DAVID! ❤

One of the 4 excercise rooms of this huge gym Club Fit.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Snow is the best during the school week.

Chapter XX: No Fucking Kumbaya

Finally a new post, after all these weeks! This is what happened since Christmas Day.

Having my brother over was the best Christmas present I could ask for. Seeing his ugly face made me feel good about myself, but then I realized he is officially taller than me. My younger brother is taller than me. Ugh…

Anyways, discovering new food with him, walking from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge with him, seeing him having fun with my family and eventually becoming a part of the family… It made us both think different about our relationship and my exchange year. Thank you again – this is getting repetitive – Bill & Alan for making this possible, same for you mama en papa. ❤

NYC. Even on New Year’s Eve, you keep surprising me.

When you think there’s going to be a big spectacle…

and this is all you get…

The family keeps growing

Last Sunday, day 158 of my exchange year, I had my first and last Track meet. We went to an indoor stadium in the city to have an afternoon full of running, sprinting, jumping, and throwing. I had to run the 600m and 300m. I started off in the 2nd group (the easy/beginners group) in the 600m. I didn’t like the minutes before the start at all. The stress reminded me of my good old school run De Collegecross, which wasn’t exactly a good memory. So I was ready at the start, with I think 15 other guys in my group. Ready. Set. BANG. The other kids dashed away in front of me. I always start very slowly, so I wasn’t concerned. After the first lap (1 lap was only 200m in this stadium) I started accelarating, maybe a little bit too much. I gave everything I had. After the 2nd lap I was in second place, but I wasn’t ready for another lap at all. I lost some speed but kept going. The cheering from my school mates helped a lot to keep going, but in the last 50m I heard a kid coming from behind me. I couldn’t think anymore, I was too exhausted. And right on the finished line, he passed me, and I fell on the ground.

I passed out, for a few seconds. I had no idea what was going on. I was very lucky nobody fell over me, but I didn’t feel any pain. I had no energy to get up. After 20 minutes, I was finally able to get back to the bleechers where my team was. But Drama Ralph decided to make the scene even bigger. I had to throw up, and somebody gave me a paper bag. Paper. Awesome idea, right? I didn’t think of the consequences. When I eventually did throw up, everything went through the bag and all over the bleechers…

Luckily, Isabel was there to help me through the day. I wasn’t going to run the 300m anymore, that would’ve been another bad idea. I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first track event, but at least I don’t have to do it again, since the season’s over. Now it’s waiting for tennis in Spring!

Made by Isabel, the giant with the big steps is me.

I wasn’t even 3rd in my group. I was 4th. And only 19th in total. All the drama for nothing…

I finished another video for Filmmaking class. I did make a lot of mistakes for this one, but I’ll let you judge yourself: https://youtu.be/5yIYTFl4abA

Trump, Trump, Trump. Trust me, if you think that you’re sick of all the news in Belgium, imagine how often he’s in the news here. It has been a week full of Trump, Obama, Michelle and everybody else that was casted in “2016: The Great Election”. Bill and Alan said they were going to the Women’s March after Inauguration Day (that eventually turned out in an anti-Trump March). After everything Donald has said and done, after all the people he put in the cabinet, and with everything that is going to happen, I couldn’t just do nothing. And clearly, I wasn’t alone. As you know, 100.000s of people all over the world came together. And for the first time, I was part of a protest march.

I’ve always had a negative opinion about marches. “What’s the point? What do they think is going to change? Nothing is going to happen.” So why going to this one? Because: yes, there is something we can do. I always thought that marches and protests in the Western World were just a waste of time. But accepting a lying populist? Never. I get that people say: “Hey, he hasn’t even been president for a day, give him a chance”. No. We shouldn’t give men who have no respect for women, immigrants, diplomacy etc., and lie all the time to win people’s votes, any power at all. So the least we can do is come on the streets, and show the world that this is not normal. What has been said in the last year, is not okay. And we should not forget that.

So when we arrived at the march, I was perplexed. I haven’t seen so many people come together on the streets since Oilsjt Carnaval, which is – thank God -not very similar to this march 😜. People were yelling all kinds of slogans like “Love Trumps hate”, “He he, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go”, “My body my choice, her body her choice”, and my personal favorite “You’re orange, you’re gross, you lost the popular vote”.

I didn’t fully agree with the one that said he has to go. I mean, of course I want him to go, but this fucked up electoral system with the unrepresentative electoral college made him win, and that’s how it is. But I did yell the other ones. I do believe that there has been given a sign, not only to him, but to the world, that we can come together with thousands of people and protest IN PEACE.

 

My personal favorite

Our princess ❤

Right before Trump Tower, the street was shut down

Obama out. Ralph out.

Chapter XIX: Hallelujah

H(ell)o H(ell)o H(ell)o

Oh boy, what a great time. Let’s just start because I have too much to tell you guys!

The family keeps on growing. Two weeks ago, Hardik’s awesome younger brother Pratap arrived for a four week visit. Thanks to his optimism, his smile, and his jokes, he makes coming home so much better (not that it was bad before, but still). He’s not our only visitor though. Jonas, German son #3, joined the family a few days ago for a week long visit. However, the biggest surprise was revealed on Christmas day. While I was skyping with my parents, I was telling them about Pratap visiting his brother, and how I would love my brother coming over. Within a few hours, thoughts became plans, and plans became reality. My mother booked my brother’s last minute trip. Thank you so much mama and papa, and Bill and Alan, for dealing with my impulsive (but great) ideas, and for making this year better and better every second.

Jonas is happy to be back.

Besides all that, a lot happened this week. Last Monday, I had the Chorus Winter Concert, where I had my short Boogie Wonderland solo. The Concert was great, 10 times better than any rehearsal we did before, and even my solo wasn’t that bad.

Tuesday December 20th, we went to my first ballet: Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Beautiful. Just beautiful. I never thought I would appreciate ballet so much, but I like to be wrong sometimes. The magestic theatre is supporting the performance by you in this utopic, idealistic world. If the night wasn’t enjoyable enough, we also met Big Boo from Orange is the New Black.

Big Boo.

On Christmas Eve, we went to some friends of the family, but we didn’t stay very long. Afterwards I went to midnight mass (yeah, me) and I have to say that Catholics can learn from the way of celebrating a mass. On Christmas day however, I had the talk with my parents about my brother visiting. After this rollercoaster of emotions, we went to the new World Trade Center’s observatory deck: One World Observatory. Feeling like I was in a helicopter, I was stunned by the view. Unbelievable. I can easily say that this was the best Christmas I’ve ever had before, and I don’t think this can ever be beaten. But wait, there is more…

La La Land. I’ve been to this movie twice already. Wow. Just go. I’m not gonna ruin or confirm the image you have right now of this movie. I just want to say: take your car, bicycle or running shoes, and go to that movie. Maybe I’ll talk about it on my next blog post, but I can write a paper about it.

Ugh, I’m not in a creative mood. I want to tell you what I’ve been doing the last couple of weeks, but it has been just too much to make it attractive for you to read. So two days later my brother arrived, and I couldn’t be happier than I am now. When we returned from the airport, Isabel was talking to Alan, asking for advice for her colleges. And it was in that moment I realized, that I couldn’t possibly ask for anything else. Everybody whom I love in this country, was there.

And with this beautiful note, I say goodbye!

Merry Christmas & a happy New Year to all my friends, family, and blog readers. I truly hope your time will be as much enjoyable as mine.

Ralph

Broadway show numero 3: The Humans

Lexi’s Christmas party. I asked for “something American”, so Mike bought me a gun. I love it.

Chapter XVIII: Uruakpa

Iiieeeep! 

Finally, I had a week that was busy enough to write something about! It started with another change in my school schedule. If you know me, you know that I’m a history geek. Everybody in school asked me why the hell I would take regular (read: easy) US History. Since there wasn’t a more difficult form of US History available, and because I really wanted to learn more about it, I decided to take the class anyways. However, as one of the two only seniors in the whole class, it was too frustrating. The young freshmen barely paid any attention at all, so the teacher (who is really nice and good by the way) used to have to explain some topics an extensive number of times. 

But as I said, I love history. I didn’t want to drop the class, so I asked my friends about an alternative. I heard about the possibility of pursuing the class by means of independent study, which is basically taking the class without physically going to class. That sounded perfect for me. My teacher and I then agreed that I still had to do the homework, and now additionally a big assignment once a month. 

So, now I had another off period. How should I spend it? I really wanted to do something that I would probably never do again, so I joined “Gimme the Mic”. This is a singing class, where you can choose your own songs and perform them once a month in the school’s librairy. Let’s hope the audience won’t be deaf after my – uh – performance.

This Wednesday, day 119 of my exchange year, Bill turned 70. We went to a fancy restaurant called X20, where they had this beautiful river view of Manhattan. Alan, who is usually at Princeton from Tuesday to Thurday, surprised Bill by showing up. Again: a very happy birthday, Bill! You have no idea how thankful I am for everything you’ve done for me. ❤️ After a great meal we went home, and I was complaining because…

Copyright Hardik Yadav

Thursday was a half day of school. Now there’s something you need to know about half days. They’re not just like our Wednesdays, where you only have 4 (or 5) classes. No. They keep all 9 periods, but shrink them so school ends at 10:35. School starts at 7:45, so all periods are only 12 (!) minutes long, with a break of 3 minutes in between them so you can go to your next class. This occurs as a way to ensure that nobody misses a class. However, during the duration of class time teachers either refrain from teaching and let us just talk or discuss, do one stupid excercise, or they just don’t show up. It’s a wasted day in my opinion, I mean 3 hours.

Now I’m writing this on the bus returning from Boston. I spent the weekend in the chic hotel Park Plaza, with hundreds of other people from all over the Northeast region. We all came together for the JSA Fall State (reminder: JSA is the debate club). The event consisted of two days of debates about various topics like “early Disney movies set a bad example for kids”, “the Middle-East would be better off if the US had never started its intervention in the 90’s”, “people are not automatically ‘heroes’ if they served in the active military”, “pornography use is a public health crisis” etc… There were more than 40 debates where you could either vote “pro” or “con” the resolution. 

I’ve learned a lot in this weekend. I saw how mini-Trumps could win the audience’s attention, and vote, by making some bs (bullshit) comments or jokes. In contrast to this, I also saw really good speakers whom I believe can be succesful politicians in the future. I didn’t speak, but offered my insight by inquiring on the topic at hand. At the next convention I’m planning to further my participation by speaking too. 

Isabel talking about her awesome boyfriend

Whilst on this trip I aquired new insight, remembered some places in Boston from my trip 2 years ago, and had an especially good time. I’m already looking forward to the next convention!

Adios!
PS: if you did ’t hear my MNM interview last week, here is a link: https://youtu.be/EBiD3TvvOrU

PPSS: the good English is thanks to Isabel (duh).

Chapter XVII: Again

I am back!!!

After 3 weeks it’s time for a new update! Thanksgiving, track and the Christmas crazyness – it will be a part of this week’s blog post.

So let’s start with everybody’s favorite turkey day: Thanksgiving. I had no idea what to expect of this holiday. For the past week everybody asked me multiple times “Are you ready for Thanksgiving??”. I always answered that it kind of feels like Christmas without a theme (and I still feel it’s like that). Bill and Alan had 19 (!) friends and family members coming over at our house. So they were freaking out (as it should be when you organize a party) if everything would be ready in time. And everything did, so they enjoyed the evening. And oh yes, there was a whole bunch of food, including this wonderful turkey:Anyways, it is really comparable with our Christmas, only with a lot more people and food.

RALPH IS EXCERCISING AGAIN! And it’s not even tennis. Since 3 weeks now I’ve been in the Indoor Track team (basically running + a work-out). It’s not even indoors yet. Beginners (like me) are usually put in the sprinters group, so now I’m running everything between 100 and 600 meters. After an hour of running and strechting we go to the gym, do abs or do drills. We have practice every single day, and since I haven’t really played any sports the past year and a half, I’m not in shape so I’m dead after every practice. But hey it’s getting better and better (and I’m losing some calories from all the hamburgers and all).

And this weekend I joined Isabel’s family for picking their tree for Christmas. The Christmas crazyness has really been started right now, with some over the top lights and decorations (but secretly I’m loving it).I will try to keep the next post to be a little sooner, so you don’t miss too much. If you want to hear my stupid voice again: listen TODAY (12/4) at 20:20 in Belgium to MNM, and at 2:20pm for Americans to this: http://mnm.be/kijk/live

Ciao!

Chapter XVI: We’re going on a trip

H A L L O

On Tuesday November 17th, I had the honor to see my 2nd Broadway show together with my SUNY Theatre classmates. However, that wasn’t the start of the trip though. First, we went to the Hudson Scenic Studios, where they (you guessed it right) build sets for big Broadway production. They’ve done a lot of Disney productions as the Lion King and Aladin, but also the biggest revelation at this moment: Hamilton. It was a great experience to see how everything is disigned and constructed with so many passion and sense for detail. I felt like I was walking through history of entertainment, but it wasn’t the only fascinating part of the day…

Afterwards, we went to Broadway to see my second Broadway show: the Encounter. I was lucky because it was “normal” play instead of a musical. Let me explain why I call it “normal”, because it wasn’t something I’ve ever seen before. First of all, we had to put headphones on which made me feel like I was in a 4D movie you sometimes see in theme parks, but it was nothing like that at all. The set was sober, no big attributes or set parts, just one black wall, a few mic’s and a table. Only one British actor was performing for more than an hour and a half. He came on stage before the show started, started talking to the audience and made some jokes (i.g. about the Brexit). It felt like a warm-up of a stand-up comedy, but nobody knew if this was the start of the show or not. There was no intro, no music. Because this is a unique way to start a show, he grabbed my attention from the first moment.

He used a so called binaural head – a 360° microphone which gave an amazing effect. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, take out your ear- or headphones and watch the trailer of the show (https://youtu.be/q2QcP4ZoHWo) or this even more representative video (https://youtu.be/IUDTlvagjJA). If this doesn’t describe the technological feeling I experienced than I don’t know what else will.

The story then (oh yes, it wasn’t just some boys with their toys). The Encounter tells the true story of National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre lost in a remote area of Brazil in 1969, which leads to a startling encounter that will – uh – change his life. With crazy audio effects, the performance brings you to his halucinating and sometimes hypnotizing world of sensitive – both meanings of the word – emotions, transformations, and of course encounters.

Personally, I was blown away. My head was exploding. Not only because of this very new and creative way of making and perfoming theatre, but also because your brain has to work really hard to seperate both fiction from reality and vice versa. You can just feel the sounds in your body, which sometimes made me think my inner voice was talking to me (and no I’m not crazy – or am I?).

It was an experimenting way for me of discorvering a new form of theatre. After the last two years, I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff (thanks to Govert, miss you xx), so I’ve learned that literally EVERYTHING can be theatre. And that’s what makes it one of the most beautiful things in this world.

-THE END-

 PS: there will be another blog this week to talk about Thanksgiving and all the other things that happened in the last two weeks. This was part of my homework assignment for SUNY Theatre.