MannionHumanGeo: Luxembourg Exchange Journal

January 5, 2010

Dear Readers,

I have been in Luxembourg for about one month now as an exchange student. I feel very welcomed here because my host is very friendly and hospitable, but I am just getting used to everything. Luxembourg is bordered by Germany, Belgium, and France. My host goes to high school at “Lycée Aline Mayrisch” which is located in Luxembourg City, so I will probably spend most of my time there at the capital. They spend the same amount of years in school as back in the United States, so my host is around my age. I feel like I fit in, but don’t at the same time. All the teachers and students at the school know I’m not from around here because they speak their national language, Luxembourgish, and I only know a few common phrases, but they are also learning English as a class in high school, so I know what they’re talking about in that class. My host also speaks very fluent English, so he can help me out understanding people. Most of them are Roman Catholic, the same religion as me, so I feel to fit in at the same time. Below is a picture of some of the people I met in Luxembourg so far.

Luxembourg is a very small country as size and population. Luxembourg is slightly smaller than Rhode Island, which is the smallest state in the U.S! With a population of less than 500,000, Luxembourg continues to be the richest country in the whole world! My host is very rich also; he has a huge house, which is like 9500 sq. ft., an indoor swimming pool, and many exotic cars. I asked him if I could take a quick joy ride, but I was denied. Luxembourg is only really rich because they have over 250 banks crammed into this little country! Almost every block I walk down in Luxembourg City, there is another bank. They are not only rich, but very smart. In elementary school everyone learns French, in middle school they learn German, and to add to that, they study English in high school. Some people here, in Luxembourg don’t make me feel very intelligent. Below are some pictures of my host’s house.

Oh, did I mention that they consume 89% more oil than the United States. These people need to know about pollution and how it effects the environment around them. On the other hand, they do need all that gas for their exotic cars; after all they can afford it. People in Luxembourg make 68% more money than the people in the United States, which is a huge difference. I wish I was that rich; I think I could get used to living like that. Here is a picture of a park my host took me to in Luxembourg.

Overall, I am enjoying myself here. The month I have been here went by so fast, and I hope the next eleven don’t go by as fast because I love it here. I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be the rest of my life. I really don’t miss any of my family back home in the U.S. They also have really good food that includes a lot of pork, tomatoes, asparagus, olives, potatoes, apples, and pears. Just yesterday, I had the best cuisine in my life. I don’t really know what was in it, but I do know it was very delicious. The lifestyle here is just amazing and I would love to stay here for another couple years. I will definitely miss everything here in Luxembourg when I have to go back home, especially the people who have to put up with me the next eleven months, because I know that’s not a very easy task.