It´s Saturday and there is a street party in my parent´s street.
It means that the neighbors get together and they have a jumping house for the kids.
You can buy ice cream and pie for 1 Euro each and they have a tap with beer and probably some sodas too.
They promise nice weather for the afternoon, let´see if it´s true - we can surely use some nice weather...
But what else did I do all week?
Tuesday
I bought a bedroom set for both Elias and Mendel.
Mendel has a pretty white bedroom, which comes with a bed, bed drawer for extra mattres, night stand, bench with two pink drawers, book case with 3 pink drawers, closet with 3 doors and a little desk. It´s totally adorable and totally Mendel!Elias has about the same setup, but instead of the bench, he has a toy chest. His bookcase is smaller so he also has an extra cabinet with 3 drawers.
And I also bought sofa´s: off-white leather natuzzi sofa´s, very pretty but we should be glad if we get them beginning of November!!
Wednesday
We finalized on the kitchen design and went to IKEA to check out furniture since our new furniture will take months to deliver.
I also checke dout the store where they make teak furniture and found a bed I liked (besides the kitchen table and cabinet I already liked). I am going to wait till Wim gets back and then we can decide together what to order exactly. This is their website: http://www.patoantiques.be/
Thursday
I applied for registration in the town of Balen. Now we need to wait till a cop comes by and verifies that we actually live here. Only then, will the application be progressed and will I be registered. It took a while before I convinced the employees that my children are indeed Belgians, and not just Americans. Guess they don´t see a lot of immigrants from the U.S.A.
Then I went to the mutuality for health insurance, but they couldn´t do much untill I am registered in Balen.
Friday
I registered myself as being unemployed. Not exactly correct since I haven´t resigned yet in the States, but this way I can get in the system and do I learn what all I need to get from previous employers. It feels weird to be "unemployed" - my first time ever since I worked for 11 years. I already feel like a bum ;-)
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
Shrek the Third
Another rainy day in Belgium, so I checked out the local theater and they are playing "Shrek The Third". They played both the original English version and the dubbed Dutch version. We chose the English version.
The kids loved the movie.
Something about the movie theater in Lommel (http://www.utopolis.be/top.aspx?cid=60):
- In the middle of the movie there is a 10 minute break (perfect for potty time with kids)
- It was pitch dark when they were playing the previews (we got in late), so it was pretty tough to maneuver in between seats with popcorn, drinks and two small ones (one of which was afraid of the dark)
The kids loved the movie.
Something about the movie theater in Lommel (http://www.utopolis.be/top.aspx?cid=60):
- In the middle of the movie there is a 10 minute break (perfect for potty time with kids)
- It was pitch dark when they were playing the previews (we got in late), so it was pretty tough to maneuver in between seats with popcorn, drinks and two small ones (one of which was afraid of the dark)
A Belgian Birthday Party
Elias was invited for a birthday party of one of his new friends from school: Robbe.
The invitation said from 14:00 till 17:00.
He really wanted to go so I called the mom to RSVP and to ask her about how it goes. Yep, my suspicion was right. Parents don´t stay at the party - they drop the kids off and then pick them back up at when the party´s over.
Heartbeat went up a little - I don´t know the parents at all.
Elias´s eyes also went bigger when I told him, "mama - I don´t want you to leave"...
At 14:00, I drive to the house and see already a bunch of kids playing outside and jumping on a trampoline (a toy every single household seems to have).
I talk for a while to the mom and at the same time Elias even forgets I am around. I can leave without any issues but on my way to the car I realize they don´t have any contact information of me. How will they reach me if something happens to Elias?
So I walk to the dad and ask him about leaving my phone number but he replies " It´s not going to be necessary, but if you really want to....". I don´t want to be the paranoid American mom so I reply back "I´m sure you have common sense in case something happens".
He must think I´m weird though...
When I pick Elias up at 17:00 he doesn´t want to leave yet, so he sure had lots of fun. They had ice cream and made their own pizza, he apparently ate very well.
I think Elias is going to adjust quicker then I am ;-)
The invitation said from 14:00 till 17:00.
He really wanted to go so I called the mom to RSVP and to ask her about how it goes. Yep, my suspicion was right. Parents don´t stay at the party - they drop the kids off and then pick them back up at when the party´s over.
Heartbeat went up a little - I don´t know the parents at all.
Elias´s eyes also went bigger when I told him, "mama - I don´t want you to leave"...
At 14:00, I drive to the house and see already a bunch of kids playing outside and jumping on a trampoline (a toy every single household seems to have).
I talk for a while to the mom and at the same time Elias even forgets I am around. I can leave without any issues but on my way to the car I realize they don´t have any contact information of me. How will they reach me if something happens to Elias?
So I walk to the dad and ask him about leaving my phone number but he replies " It´s not going to be necessary, but if you really want to....". I don´t want to be the paranoid American mom so I reply back "I´m sure you have common sense in case something happens".
He must think I´m weird though...
When I pick Elias up at 17:00 he doesn´t want to leave yet, so he sure had lots of fun. They had ice cream and made their own pizza, he apparently ate very well.
I think Elias is going to adjust quicker then I am ;-)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
So much about safety at school...
Elias had a field trip : they walked to a neighboring school to do sports there.
At the end of the day, the parents were supposed to pick up the kids at this school (instead of at the regular school). I was aware of this, but because I had to pick up Mendel first, I was a little late, so the teacher had sent Elias back to the original school with another mom (by car).
I was a little annoyed, having just come from that school, but even more so when I heard from Elias how the trip had happened:
- the other mom´s car didn´t have a car seat
- the other mom told Elias he didn´t have to wear a seat belt "because it isn´t far"!!
I was steaming - very American probably.
But really - what are they thinking?
mental note: keep an eye on my kids, cause not everyone in Belgium has common sense
At the end of the day, the parents were supposed to pick up the kids at this school (instead of at the regular school). I was aware of this, but because I had to pick up Mendel first, I was a little late, so the teacher had sent Elias back to the original school with another mom (by car).
I was a little annoyed, having just come from that school, but even more so when I heard from Elias how the trip had happened:
- the other mom´s car didn´t have a car seat
- the other mom told Elias he didn´t have to wear a seat belt "because it isn´t far"!!
I was steaming - very American probably.
But really - what are they thinking?
mental note: keep an eye on my kids, cause not everyone in Belgium has common sense
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Summary of my first 3 weeks in Belgium
Oh wow - time just flies.
I have been in Belgium for more than two weeks and hardly had a chance to blog anything.
June 11 - June 15
The first week I spent in Brussels with my colleague Chris. The presentations went well, the weather was great (warm but humid) and the nights were fun (we tried several restaurants, went out with folks from TAC).
June 16 - June 24
Wim and I spent all our time looking at kitchens, getting ideas, visiting furniture stores, ...
It was so time consuming! At the same time, Wim was interviewing with several companies.
Because the kids got bored at home, I decided to enroll them into a school for the last two weeks of school. It is a success, they love their school and made many friends already.
On Sat June 23, we were invited for a street party in our new street Kleine Zapstraat. It is a yearly get together of all the neighbors with food and drinks, and a jumping house for the kids. We met many neighbors and it really looks like a great place to live. Almost all kids are the same age as Elias and Mendel, I am sure they will have a lot of fun here.
On June 24, Wim had to say goodbye to the kids. He is going back to CA for 3 weeks - we are sooo going to miss him.
June 26
I visited 3 different schools around Tremelo
1) Gemeenteschool van Tremelo http://schoolweb.rago.be/bs/tremelo/
pros: Smaller school, nice kindergarten classes, friendly teachers
cons: need a key to go to restroom, lots of concrete, older classrooms
2) Koninklijk Atheneum Keerbergen http://www.kakeerbergen.be/
pros: In the middle of forest-like environment, big and bright classrooms, friendly KG teachers, nice indoor play arreas for KG, open door policy at director
cons: very large school
I didn´t get a chance to check out the first grade teachers (field trip) or playground.
3) Vrije Basisschool Tremelo http://www.vbstremelo.be/
pros: small class size if we go to remote location
cons: toilet is across playground (kids have to leave the building), wasn´t allowed to talk to first grade teacher because class is in progress, not very approachable director, older (dirty) classrooms and building, don´t make lunch but catering.
I have been in Belgium for more than two weeks and hardly had a chance to blog anything.
June 11 - June 15
The first week I spent in Brussels with my colleague Chris. The presentations went well, the weather was great (warm but humid) and the nights were fun (we tried several restaurants, went out with folks from TAC).
June 16 - June 24
Wim and I spent all our time looking at kitchens, getting ideas, visiting furniture stores, ...
It was so time consuming! At the same time, Wim was interviewing with several companies.
Because the kids got bored at home, I decided to enroll them into a school for the last two weeks of school. It is a success, they love their school and made many friends already.
On Sat June 23, we were invited for a street party in our new street Kleine Zapstraat. It is a yearly get together of all the neighbors with food and drinks, and a jumping house for the kids. We met many neighbors and it really looks like a great place to live. Almost all kids are the same age as Elias and Mendel, I am sure they will have a lot of fun here.
On June 24, Wim had to say goodbye to the kids. He is going back to CA for 3 weeks - we are sooo going to miss him.
June 26
I visited 3 different schools around Tremelo
1) Gemeenteschool van Tremelo http://schoolweb.rago.be/bs/tremelo/
pros: Smaller school, nice kindergarten classes, friendly teachers
cons: need a key to go to restroom, lots of concrete, older classrooms
2) Koninklijk Atheneum Keerbergen http://www.kakeerbergen.be/
pros: In the middle of forest-like environment, big and bright classrooms, friendly KG teachers, nice indoor play arreas for KG, open door policy at director
cons: very large school
I didn´t get a chance to check out the first grade teachers (field trip) or playground.
3) Vrije Basisschool Tremelo http://www.vbstremelo.be/
pros: small class size if we go to remote location
cons: toilet is across playground (kids have to leave the building), wasn´t allowed to talk to first grade teacher because class is in progress, not very approachable director, older (dirty) classrooms and building, don´t make lunch but catering.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Think pink
After my initial depressing day in Belgium, I am now feeling a bit better and have again a positive outlook on my life here.
Initial day: I was feeling lonely and the weather was so grey, it was raining, I was hearing sad songs on the radio, ... and cried a lot..
The weather is just strange, it is warm but at the same time it is grey. It will be 27 degrees today, not bad at all!
Our trip to Brugge yesterday also made me realize again why we decided to move back home: we took a boat ride on the little canals and saw all the beautiful old traditional houses, there were little flea markets with antiques, yummy smelling waffles being sold on almost every corner, parents with kids on bikes, ....
It was very very nice... I think I can get used to this!
Our trip to Brugge yesterday also made me realize again why we decided to move back home: we took a boat ride on the little canals and saw all the beautiful old traditional houses, there were little flea markets with antiques, yummy smelling waffles being sold on almost every corner, parents with kids on bikes, ....
It was very very nice... I think I can get used to this!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
I arrived in Belgium
I'm in Belgium - for good....
It's weird, it doesn't really feel like it. I still kind of expect to get back on a plane and fly "home" to California in a few days. And when I don't feel like that - I'm all teared up .... or simply cry.
I just hope that time flies and Wim and the kids get here soon. Can't wait to hug them.
The flight itself went pretty good but we had some issues in London with the luggage - we were supposed to check-in again for the flight to Brussels but because of the huge lines, we barely made it in time to the gate (everyone was already in the plane). They checked us in at the gate but it was too late for the luggage.
All that running for nothing (I really need to get in shape as I nearly died in the airport - of course we had the last gate in that huge hall).
Positive news: I didn't miss my haircut appointment ;-)
It's weird, it doesn't really feel like it. I still kind of expect to get back on a plane and fly "home" to California in a few days. And when I don't feel like that - I'm all teared up .... or simply cry.
I just hope that time flies and Wim and the kids get here soon. Can't wait to hug them.
The flight itself went pretty good but we had some issues in London with the luggage - we were supposed to check-in again for the flight to Brussels but because of the huge lines, we barely made it in time to the gate (everyone was already in the plane). They checked us in at the gate but it was too late for the luggage.
All that running for nothing (I really need to get in shape as I nearly died in the airport - of course we had the last gate in that huge hall).
Positive news: I didn't miss my haircut appointment ;-)
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