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Greetings from Belgium!

We will meet again Hawaii !

Dear Ohana,

One day, when I was riding out with my bike to Kailua Town, passing by the tourists, I realized that I felt like a local person. I was thinking in my head. Haha… I live here! You’re going to your home in just a couple of days or in a week.

And there it was… the reason why I wanted to go a year abroad. I wanted to experience how it was like to have a second home, how long it would take me to settle down, at an unknown location, and feel like home. In my case, I still have a home in Belgium, where I will be returning to shortly. But I know that Hawaii will always be my second home. Not my third, not my fifth, my second. I loved spending my year here. I could not have imagined a better place than this.

AFS is a wonderful organization that has been doing this for a long time. It is a community, and I am blessed to be part of the community. The local AFS chapter in Hawaii is just wonderful! Sue Bixler has been so supportive to me over this past year. She believed in us, as volatile people when we arrived, and as stable human beings now. We believe in her, we look up to her, and we will never, ever forget the hospitality she had shown us.

Dropping into a family is hard, not just because they don’t know how you work on the inside, but what you are used to, what you believe in may be different from the family you live with. It takes time, and patience, and work to form a bond. The Howells, that have hosted me for the first month, has been so gracious to me. Sharing me their wisdom, a roof, food and much more J. I wish them the best, and thank them for taking me in, and being there for me, and I look forward seeing them again when I visit Hawaii.

When the Howells were scheduled to leave to Africa, I had to switch families. I met Mr. and Ms. Rice a couple of times during school, and Ms.Rice was familiar with my status, of not having a host family. As you may know them with they willingness, and openness, they took me into their home. Whether it was waking up every time, and seeing Florence behind the computer, or watching dancing with the stars with Joe, I enjoyed every second of my stay. We had good times during the festivities of Christmas, New Year and Thanksgiving as well.

There are just so many wonderful things that I can say about them. Yet again, I gained wisdom of talking to them, about topics that are not related to coffee chat at all. I will never forget them, and I hope they never forget me. I hope to visit them in the future.

I could tell so much good about her, and everybody loves her. She is stunning, smart. Her name is Gabriela. Gabriela is one of the many wonderful AFS volunteers and was my Liaison this year. Always there to make a spot in her busy schedule for a wild teenager. I didn’t need help from my guardian angel this year because I had her. She has done so many things for me that have helped me tremendously. I hope to see here again some day, and reward her for the work she has done.

I hope that I will be able to stay in touch with the people I met along my journey here.

Last but not least, The Hines family:

A family that has been there for me at school (figures, because they work at my school J ), and have learned me so many valuable lessons. Although we had our differences, I felt part of their family. It felt weird, but I am glad I got to experience it, to be the big brother (ultra man actually). They are aware of how much I love them and how much they mean to me. I am looking forward seeing the boys growing along their journey of life. Mark and Sarah, thank you for being so patient at times I wasn’t an ideal human being. I had so many good times with you, and I am glad I got a chance to get to know you, and become a part of the family.

A sincere mahalo also goes out ot John Williamson, for helping me out whenever his help was needed. I was truly blessed and surprised talking to him for the first time when I was getting ready to leave to school (in Belgium). I was in the bath room J.

You know, leaving this place turned out to be hard. Knowing that I will be leaving in a couple of days made me realize what I had, and what I will miss.

Please note, that as long my brain functions, I will not forget the wonderful moments I had, and the people I met.

Mahalo Nui Loa,

Lennart Maebe

Past Month - Las Vegas !

The past month flew by in no time! And yet again, I went on an amazing adventure! I didnt go swimming with sharks or turtles, but I went to Las Vegas, a city that never sleeps, and is out to your money!

Perhaps it is a good thing that I am under 21. I am not sure whether I could resist the temptation of nice game of poker!

Our top goal was to go the the NAB-Convention... The What ?! The NAB convention or the National Association of Broadcasters. A show of the latest equipment used by studios, filmmaking companies, etc. Endless halls full of junk for some, but for someone who's interested it is paradise. For me it was interesting to see, but not paradise. I had a good time at the convention, exploring new equipment that my school might purchase in the future.

We went go-carting, bowling, movies (2x) and visited several famous spots, along with the water show at the Bellagio's, and the light show in downtown. Sadly I didnt have the camera on me that time!

These pictures are just a fraction of my library. Many more to show when I get back home.

Talking about going home.. I will be leaving paradise on june 28, then I will spend a couple of nights in LA, where I will be catching a flight to, yes, Brussels.

Hopefully our politics haven't crashed by then, although landing near Ghent would be pretty sick :).

Sadly, I am becoming more and more American. Although I am trying to preserve my European Pride, my mother language is taking some hard hits. My brother said he will give me a emergency course once I get home.

Because I think I will be talking English for the first couple of days I get home. For example, when someone will ask me how it was. I will say Good Good, instead of Goed Goed. Simply but painful.

Oh well, I wasted too much of your time by now!

I hope to see you soon, I miss all of you back home. This year has definitely showed me just how much I love Belgium.

See you soon,

Many Aloha's

Lennart Maebe

PS: Enjoy these lovely pictures !!!

Paris - One of the many casino's in Vegas !

Woohoo- gentlemen clubs for the wins ( I just did not say that! )

In-N-Out: Best burger and fries ever. (in US)

Shoppinng ! (got some good deals)

The (in)famous Luxor Hotel and Casino

Everything is possible.. this is a hotel/casino, called the Excalibur

Me, Myself and I making a weird face when taking pictures with my host mom's camera

"The strip" - a shot from our hotel room at the Orleans

Welcome to Las Vegas (are YOU ready to loose your earnings? We are ready to rob you in each case)

America isnt america without it lovely commercials, wanna fire a gun, please do, learn how to kill people!

ALOOOOOOHHAAAA

Living in Paradise, a quick review !

Hello everyone,

As I was thinking of what to write about, I thought, why dont I tell you guys what I have been up to lately....
The end of my adventure is slowly, but surely coming to an end. School will end in approximately 8 weeks, and things are getting more fun then ever.
I have learned to sail toppers, a small boat for beginners, but on Friday's and racing days , I go out on a High-Performance boat, called the Kai Mana (Heart/Soul of the Ocean) a 36 foot sailing boat.
Working out has also become a huge part of my time after school. I try to get to the gym as much as possible, and I go running on the beach..

Tot zo ver, ben ik naar 2 andere eilanden geweest. Maui en Kaua'i. Ik woon op Oahu. We gaan naar Hawaii or the Big Island volgende week. Dat zal mijn totaal naar 4 brengen.
Normaal gezien zal ik ook een weekje doorbregen in Las Vegas, omdat we daar een conventie bijwonen over camera-apparatuur en allerlei hightech-gadgets.

Hier zijn enkele foto's die recent genomen zijn !






Terugkeren van het strand in de eerste foto :)



In actie in Kaua'i... boogieboarding !!


Hiking at west point, Oahu !

Ready to go to prom with my date/friend, Laura


Taken from a bridge in Kailua, the town I live in... (foto taken by Ze Pedro Henriques)

North Shore, Oahu, Pipeline Beach



Hiking at west point, super windy that day :)

Slapende Seal out on West Point, Oahu.


Ziezo, dat is het voor nu, ik heb veel meer foto's, maar dat zal voor een presentatie zijn als ik terug ben.

Tot Dan !!

Lennart

PS: gelieve enkele vaatjes bier aan de kant te houden voor w

Time goes by

I'm mad at myself for not taking the time to post on this blog.

It's been crazy here for the past time, as you might of noticed.

I always thought that I was going to stay in contact with my family, friends way more. But I havent spoken to some people that are very close to me, just because it's not in my mind. It's like I am living a real separate life here. I am sorry to those that didnt receive any messages from me, but it would be helpful if you understand why.

I am getting pictures from another AFS student from our trip to Kaua'i, and I will also be receiving photo's from my trip to Mau'i.

So try keep an eye on my blog, I will do my best to post pictures ASAP.

Alohaaa

One month passed by

One month passed by. 

It went remarkably fast. Perhaps because of the fact that I moved in with a new family, new location, new semester at school.

I am starting to appreciate the local culture, but I am also starting to miss my own culture.

The last part of my stay will mostly include traveling, for example, I have a trip coming up next weekend to Maui (another island), the following weekend I will be in Kaua'i (another island) and then again to Maui.

I am also going to a convention in Las Vegas for 5 days. (CHeeeeee !)

All these trips are pretty much planned and sure to be attended.

I will also visit the big island sometime while I am here.

For rest, I will be attending school, working out at school and on the beach.

Photo's will be posted soon !

Aloha !

From old to new !

From old to new: Literal and Figural.

We are counting the days here to New Year, we just had a great Christmas, and straight ahead is New Year waiting to begin.

My American Christmas included Premium Prime Rib, fried rice, and a bunch of delicious veggies.

Followed by some good pie the finished the job of filling up my stomach the the highest level of saturation. I am used of exchanging gifts at the dinner itself, or right after it, but here in the US, they usually wait until midnight or the next morning to share presents. I received a bunch of DVDs, Flash Drive, Magazine, Cookies, etc

We had Eggs, pancakes and bacon the morning after Christmas evening, and I am getting used to breakfast, so I will import that over to Belgium J.

I moved out of the house yesterday that was located next to the school, and moved to, hopefully, my last family. I must admit that the two previous families were great people, and I will never be able to pay them back for all the things they did for me.

The new family consists of two boys, Kaio (6) and Aukai (11) (those are there Hawaiian names). Together with them, and Mark and Sarah (parents) we live in Kailua, which is located on the east side of the island. I am 300 yards away from the beach, so I initiated a work-out plan, with the help of my two new parents (they are coaches) that consists running on the beach, swimming and muscle building.

I am looking forward to get in shape.

I had another experience, and that was a blackout of the entire island-group of Hawaii. We had some stormy weather, with lightning that caused an outgo of electrical generators, which lead to 14 hours without electricity. Happily it was most of the time during the night, so I slept trough the most of it.

SO, to finish this little update, I wish everybody from the bottom of my heart a happy new year, a good health, good business and much more!

Take care,

Many Aloha from Hawaii,

LM