First thing's first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA! It was yesterday, I know. But in honor of your birthday and of what I suspect is probably a constant fear that I am going to text you one day saying, "Staying in Belgium forever! See you when I see you!" I am going to start off this post with a list of things that I really miss about America, in no particular order. (I am excluding the things that go without saying like family, friends, my cat, and Taco Bell.)
Target
I've always loved Target but I really had no idea how much I would miss it until I did not have it anymore. Not only is there no Target, but there is nothing like Target. There are maybe one or two stores that are similarly themed, with a "we have everything!" vibe, but they are TINY. So yes, theoretically you could buy items from several different categories, but you don't have a lot of options within those categories. And truly, they don't actually have everything. I have yet to see one of these stores with a grocery or food section. So when Kirsten says something like, "I love HEMA. You can get anything you need there!" I just smile and nod politely and keep my Target elitism to myself.
Wide Streets
There's the stereotype of everything being bigger in Texas. I haven't spent enough time in Texas to be able to tell you if that's true or not, but it does seem to be the case that most things are at least bigger in America. It makes sense, since we have a lot more room to work with. Belgium is like a whole country of San Francisco streets. Except narrower. Back home it's rare that I have to make a conscious effort to not hit the cars going the opposite way on the street I'm driving on. Here, it is something that must be actively avoided, with not infrequent swerving, or waiting while the other guy goes because there are cars parked on both sides of the road, making the two-way street only wide enough for one car.
Things Being Open Past 8 PM
Whoops, forgot to get that chicken you need for your late dinner tonight? Well that's just too bad. There is literally nothing you can do about it. The other night Tom really wanted a cheeseburger, so we went to a fast food chain called Quick. As we were driving into the parking lot, he said, "Oh, I didn't realize how late it was, I hope they're still open." It was 8:14. We have a system where we award our respective countries points for things they do right, so I said, "Point for America, no fast food chain closes at 8pm." We don't actually keep score or anything, but America is totally winning. And speaking of annoying hours...
Being Able to Go Anywhere At All on a Sunday
"I have the day off! I'm thinking about going into Antwerp and going shopping on the Meir."
"What are you talking about? It's Sunday."
Free Water
It is true that in restaurants you can get water for free if you specifically ask for tap water, but they will assume you are exceptionally cheap and give you a look that makes that undeniably clear. I would almost understand this look if it came from an American waiter, whose tip will likely be determined by how much you spend on the meal. But people don't tip here! And if they do, it's usually one euro or less and is absolutely unrelated to the bill. So my ordering tap water has no effect at all on their livelihood, and I don't believe I should be judged for it. But I end up ordering the regular bottled water anyway, because I just want people to like me.
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I realize that so far my blog has largely consisted of things I DON'T like about Europe, but I do want to make it clear that most of these things are actually somewhat endearing, if occasionally inconvenient, and don't invoke any actual anger in me. In fact, there are some things I suspect I will probably be doing differently when I do go back home. Those things mostly involve bread and cheese, now that I think about it, but it's something, right?
Now, to summarize what I've been up to since my last post!
Sinterklaas came and went, but not before I saw more people in blackface than any modern American could ever be comfortable with. Sinterklaas and a few of his Zwarte Piet also came to the kids' school. Now, usually he rides in on a white horse, but the PTA only has so big a budget, so Sinterklaas was instead driven in and out in Joost's Mercedes. I mean, if he's not on a horse, he's probably in a luxury sports car, right?
Next up was my Dutch exam! I ended up doing fairly well, at least according to my frustratingly nonspecific scores of "Very Good" in speaking and listening, and "Excellent" in writing and reading.
My first birthday abroad was really great, actually. I knew Tom was taking me somewhere, but I had no idea where. Originally I suspected it was going to be Bruges/Brugge, but then we ended up going there a few weeks before:
Turned out, it was Germany! We went to Aachen/Aken, where they have one of the most famous Christmas markets in Europe. Christmas markets are everywhere here, but they range from small to large, and from kid-centric (carnival rides and game booths)...
...to a bit more toned down, enjoying-the-atmosphere types of places. The one in Aachen was definitely the latter. I don't think I got any pictures of the market itself, for some reason, but I did get a couple of the lights around the city.
I promise, the whole thing was much more beautiful than those pictures would have you believe. We also saw the cathedral in Aachen, which was gorgeous. Again, the pictures don't really do it justice.
Clearly I was enamored with the ceiling because the only other picture I have is this one:
I couldn't tell you why I was making that face because I do not remember. I had had a cup of very strong glühwein (like hot spiced wine), though, so that might have been influencing my state of mind at this point.
After that was our holiday in the Netherlands! We went up to a resort type of place in the north of Holland (because it just wasn't cold enough in Belgium) and spent Christmas there.
This was Christmas morning, with Karlyn and Julian in their new Mega Mindy and Mega Toby costumes, respectively. These are superheroes on a Flemish children's show that I will probably go into more detail about another time, because I am weirdly really invested in it.
Yep, that's a whole pig, folks.
BEFORE Christmas, though, Tom was up there with us for a few days and he and I went out to explore the nearby city of Groningen a bit.
"Big Crooked Elbow"
My favorite sign! The Flying Hollander.
After Christmas I took the train back to Belgium for New Year's Eve so I could spend it with friends here in Brasschaat. Turned out to be a lot like a New Year's Eve I might have at home, but with more fireworks and less general comprehension of what was happening around me.
Right after New Year's, Tom moved to Gent to be closer to work and school, so I went to visit last weekend. I think Gent might be my favorite city so far.
I also went inside my very first castle ever! I'm in the middle of reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series, so naturally I spent the whole time pretending I was in Winterfell.
An original blade!
Not an original headsack.
My attempt at "angry monarch" came out looking more sad than intimidating.
A lot of the doors were too short for Tom.
And some fantastic views from the roof:
That's the Flemish flag.
Apparently that is too? I asked Tom what was up with the different colors/backgrounds, but he didn't know.
Afterward we went to a jenever bar owned by this guy:
And yes, it is every bit as illegal to smoke in bars here as it is back home, but he did not seem to care. After some googling, I discovered that jenever is apparently also known as Dutch gin, for some context. But this guy makes his own and there are a bunch of different flavors. I tried the chocolate and the vanilla. I hate the taste of alcohol, so neither was especially pleasant, but I was kind of expecting that anyway.
I have also begun my Dutch Level 2 class. I have the same instructor, but almost none of the same classmates, except for Piya from Thailand, who stresses me out a bit. But there is a girl from America! Well, she was born in China but her parents sent her to be fostered in Alabama when she was 10. We bonded over Target and buffalo wings.
I think that gets me all caught up. Sorry that this entry was a bit of a play-by-play. Hopefully I won't procrastinate so long before writing again and so I won't have so much to recap.
