Those "Wow" Moments

Today on my way to gym I had one of those "holy crap I live in Belgium" moments. As we crossed the river, I saw the trees with their beautiful colors and fallen leaves on the ground around them. We passed the statues and the rails had gold designs on them and it hit me - I'm living in a foreign country, learning a foreign language, and experiencing authentic native things. How did I get so lucky? I will admit, last week was extremely hard, but I can't deny the fact that I'm still astonished that I get the opportunity to live here. As I battle with little choices like asking a question, or studying this or that, I get overwhelmed. But when I have those "wow" moments, those moments of unbelief, it makes it all worth it. Building relationships with natives, no matter how hard it may be some days, is so worth it. And I find that every time I try to carry on a conversation, I feel more satisfied at the end of the day. Knowing that I can make myself understood (even if it's not right) is one of the most satisfying feelings. Every time I speak, I can find something to fix, but the fact that I'm trying, is enough. I've gotten to the point where I can tell when I said something wrong, but can't always figure out why, I'm starting to be able to apply a few conjunction rules, and I'm able to understand more in class.  There's still a few days where I just can't focus and I'm too tired to try as hard as I'd like. But I can always find a reason to smile through it. 

Today I am thankful for the little moments.