Xpat Experience #1 - The Exchange

It occurred to me that I have been basically writing about our experiences traveling and have neglected the fun that has been living in Brussels as an American. This is the tale of Catherine returns a tea kettle. One of the rumors in the expat community is that it is ridiculously hard to return items in Brussels. Customer service is not what it is in America. In one way I like it; the salesperson leaves you alone to shop, waiters aren't hovering over your table pretending to care that you need water, butter, more coke, another drink, etc etc. If you want something you ask. If not, then you will barely get a hello from the service. There are of course the rare exception but as a whole, if you want something you have to wait patiently, ask a much of times, and make several different appointments.

So, our first month here Charles and I purchased an electric tea kettle. For a few days all was well. Charles prepared his tea no problem. Then one morning I noticed a huge pile of water underneath the kettle. Oh dear. After two more uses and continuing water leakage, Charles asked me to return the kettle. So in my ignorance of Brussels lovely resistance to exchanges I ventured back to the store. Before heading that way I researched and practiced how to say "this has a leak from the bottom" or a "une fuite à partir du bas" So, I went to the shop, picked up a newer better model of the kettle we purchased and headed toward the counter. When my number was announced I timidly told the scowling sales girl "une fuite dans la bas." The response was a blank stare so in a classic way of trying to get someone to understand I said a little bit louder, une foutre dans la bas. Now her scowl deepened and she replied Comment? So getting more brave I repeated quite loudly, une foutre, une foutre. She grabbed the tea kettle from me and ran toward the back room. After about twenty minutes, she returned and asked me in French if I wanted a autre one. Oui, I replied and proudly placed the new kettle on the counter. She exchanged the item, had me pay the extra, and then said goodbye. Pswhew, that was easy. I proudly shared my story with a fella expat who spoke French how well my exchange went. When I repeated what I told the salesgirl, she started laughing and said no wonder the girl was so quick to help. She told me I was saying "foutre"" not fuite so I looked up foutre vs. fuite. OOPPs! (http://translate.google.com/?hl=en#fr|en|fuite%0Afoutre)

Fuite and foutre sound very similar to an untrained tongue!!

Bling Bling Vroom Vroom

What a welcome sight la soleil (the sun) was for us in Portugal last week. We went with some amazing Texans we met here in Brussels. There was plenty of laughter, sun, indulgent spa treatments, wine, and good food. We spent majority of the time tanning. The men of the group, snowball and snowflake, were trying hard not to turn to tomato paste. It's nice to have some color on my body again after being in sunless Brussels for almost a year now. The food there was excellent. We discovered a new spice called piri-piri which rivals Tabasco sauce. A friendly waiter told us that it is made of olive oil, chili peppers, garlic, and a little bit of salt. Boy, does it taste spicy and yummy.

We took a captain hook boat ride (it was supposed to be a romantic sunset cruise but somehow because of language issues we were signed up for the pirate cruise). It was a lovely ride up the Algarve coast and the boys even jumped into the Atlantic Ocean. Because we thought we were having a romantic boat ride, no one brought swimsuits. But the boys braved it and jumped in with their shorts and boxers! I was too girly and didn't want to ruin my outfit.

One of the the things that was discussed during our trip is that Europeans have no issues showing skin. The girls go topless until they are around 12! Now, because the food these days have so many steroids, some of these girls really should be covered. It made for many a perverted afternoons watching these budding girls. But, as Americans we are prudish. For them it is natural. We saw more of the young girls topless and older women topless than the good ones (bling bling). And we saw lots of men's skin displayed in a colorful variety of speedos (vroom vroom). Those men weren't worried about turning to spaghetti. Sorry boys, nothing to see here. ;)

Finland and Estonia

I just returned from an exciting weekend with my friend Anna in Helsinki, Finland. First, the weather was actually good. It only rained one day, and of course it was the day we were in Estonia. Otherwise, as Anna told me, the weather was unusually hot. Global warming at its best. My first impression of Helsinki is that is has an eccentric population. Anna and I sat in the city park for a few hours just people watching. It is amazing how creative people can get with their clothes, hairstyles, baby carriages, etc. We would play guess where this person is from games. Apparently, Finland has a Swedish population as well. I was surprised to see a Russian influence on the city. Overall, Finland is a mix of modern times and still displays proof that they were once occupied by Russia. Everyone that we met were friendly and helpful. And, luckily for me spoke some English.

I loved Estonia! It definitely appealed to the romantic side of my nature. The streets were windy narrow cobble stoned paths leading always uphill. I know that is impossible but it did seem like we were always going up. The city boast a still standing castle and the longest surviving city wall. It was a medieval paradise and included a cheesy tourist restaurant with the men servers wearing green shorts and red overalls in the "medieval" style playing awful beer wenching music. Estonia also has a love for handicrafts. I bought a nice handmade wooden mug for Charles and a small wooden rectangular bowl for myself. They also have lots of things made of wool and linen. Some of the stores sold only yarn. It was very colorful. And cheap. I would go back to Estonia if given the chance and bring a camera next time. opps.

Visitors

For the past few weeks, Charles and I have had visitors from San Diego. It was such a breath of fresh air to have familiar faces in Brussels with us. Having company also allotted me the opportunity to learn more about the city where we are currently living. It also gave me the chance to be independent from Charles. He went to visit Prague and Ibiza while I had my friend Adrienne here. As he can attest, I was scared to entertain by myself. My only European experience thus far has been shared with Charles. My biggest fear was getting terribly lost. Charles is our navigator. We have come up with a great system of my planning what we are doing and Charles planning the "how to get there's." Now all of a sudden, I had to play tour guide AND get us there. I did great. I was even able to practice a bit of French in Paris.

Normally Charles speaks French when we find it is necessary. Every now and then I will whisper the words to him, but for the most part I keep my mouth shut. I know this is a terrible thing to do and I will never learn the language this way. I am slowly getting more comfortable practicing. It's just difficult because my brain thinks like an educated woman, but the French words I know are at the level of a first grader at best. I even find myself watching silly French cartoons.

Having company helped me realize that I am finally settled here. We have met amazing people and hope to meet many more. We have started traveling which was the main reason for moving here. And, I can navigate the city without getting lost! We even have a few places we can recommend for food and beer. Both Charles and I have our favorites beers here. His are a bit more adventurous than mine though. I am a girl and like the fruity ones.

So far, our adventure in Brussels has been fun. Neither of us regret the decision to move here. Our only wish (complaint) is that Charles' job isn't that great. However, he is thinking of trying for a different position so hopefully that will get better too. However, even if he doesn't get a different spot in NATO, we are here for the duration and plan to make the best of it!

Rome

Not surprisingly, I've been slacking in my post. I think part of the reason for my procrastination is that I loved Rome. I know this should have inspired words, but it had the quite opposite affect (or is it effect I always mix the two) on me. I fear that my words could not do the city justice. The other problem is that I feel like one big American cliche because of my new found appreciation for the city. However, I must put myself into the masses and say Rome was the epitome of a great vacation destination. It has history, culture, amazing food, shopping, and the people we met were surprisingly gracious host. I would have thought that with that many tourist visiting the great city year upon year, the locals would hate us. But it was quite the opposite. I felt a genuine pride of the people who call Rome home. An understanding that us tourist are visiting the city because let's face it, who doesn't want to see Rome and the awe inspiring Colosseum and the ever impressive Vatican city. Charles and I even conquered our mutual fear of heights and my claustrophobia and climbed up St. Peter's cupola. It helped that both of us had an unjustified fear and could laugh about it together as we made our way up the many steps with poor Charles ducking sometimes so as not to hit his head on the curved roof. It was worth it! What a beautiful view. The only complaint I would say about making the climb up is that the rooftop was full of people like us jockeying for a prime viewing spot. We did manage to make it to the edge and get a few pictures. But the pictures really didn't capture the essence of the city from the top of the Basilica.

I think for me another reason why I loved Rome so much is that Charles and I just had a great time being together. With the risk of being unlike myself and being cheesy and sappy, the city brought out the romantic side in both of us. I discovered my husband again. We were able to leave the stresses of moving overseas, a crappy job (for Charles' part), no job on my part, and just be us. For some reason, even with our previous ventures, this was the first time we felt we had made it! This was the reason why we moved to Brussels and quit our jobs and left amazing friends and family.

Also, I think the adjustment period of moving here is has finally reached its end and Charles and can say are home (for now). His job still sucks, but every day is getting easier and easier. Our french is coming along; although I get way to shy to try and speak it. Charles is much better at doing this, therefore his french is progressing faster than my own. I don't like talking to strangers in English, so you can imagine my hesitation with French. All in all, life is good.

Trailing spouse

It's been over six months since we have moved to Brussels. Time is already starting to go fast! Before I know it, it will be time to move back to the states. I have pretty much given up finding a job here. I could probably work for a public accounting firm, but who wants to do that! ;) I actually met a really nice American couple - the wife works at Deloitte and the husband is what they call here a trailing spouse. That's me too. At first I resisted that phrase, but now I'm embracing it. When in my life had I had the opportunity to do what I wanted to do during the day. Never! So, now I'm spending my time learning how to be Martha Stewart and working on a book. Charles kindly suggested I start with a short story, but I'm determined. It's a bit harder than I expected but fun at the same time.

I actually am beginning to like Brussels. People complain that it's boring, but for us that just means we've become creative with having fun. We have dinner parties, meet friends for drinks, and go on trips. How is that boring??? I've also discovered the joy of markets. yes, we have those at home too, but for some reason it isn't quite the same. Markets here are a passion and many locals do there shopping there. I think this could be because sometimes its difficult to find stuff here. The market is also an excellent place to practice French. Charles and I took turns talking to vendors last weekend. It was fun. French is such a difficult language to learn, but we are determined. We are in our third session of lessons and now consider French as an investment we have made that we should not waste.

Life does not suck.

Is that Obama?

Charles and I had a great time in London. It was definitely something that we needed; a fun filled mini vacation. We bravely took the Eurostar from Brussels to the city center. I thought going under the English channel would be scary, but it was surprisingly quick and painless. Our hotel was near the train station so we didn't have to spend too much time walking around dragging our suitcases. Also, these London streets are not cobble-stoned so we didn't have the click click click tourist announcement of our suitcase wheels. The weather was ok. It was a bit cold, gray, and drizzly but not too bad. We spent Friday at the Tower of London, saw the London Bridge, (the bloody tower was disappointing), a pub for lunch, and then in the afternoon we went to see the Parliament and another pub. The main railways were out so we had to squeeze on a bus - that was kinda of fun in a weird way. We were all sausages crammed on this poor double decker bus, most of us tourist.

Saturday was spent at the British History museum. Now, I have to admit this, on Friday night Charles and I were so exhausted we were in bed sleeping by 7ish with no dinner. So Saturday we woke up at 6:30, had breakfast,and were one of the first ones at the museum. When did we do that??? I'm glad we did though because the Museum was amazing and by the time we left there were lots of tourist there. and I hate crowds, especially rude ones. In Europe I have noticed that personal space does not exist and when walking in crowds its every man for himself - screw politeness. I'm going to seem so mean when I return back to the states. Anyway, not being museum goers, Charles and I really enjoyed the museum. I was a bit weirded out by the Egyptian mummies and the dried body but it was pretty cool.

After the museum we had some lunch at another pub (do you see a theme starting) and Charles watched the first half of a soccer match. Then, Charles did the manly thing, and took me to Harod's! It wasn't really what I was expecting. Harod's reminded me of Bloomingdale's. Charles called it a walmart with expensive brands. We stayed long enough to use their facilities and then left. On the side street, we stopped in the Echo store and bought some shoes I've been eyeing online for a while now. They are cute walking shoes - i've since graduated from the heels.

After shopping we headed back to the hotel and got ready to go see Les Miserables. We were ready by 5:00 and had plenty of time to grab something to eat before the show. I had researched the area and found a highly recommended tapas place so we decided to go there. Our guide book did tell us to beware the queues (apparently that's lines and or traffic) but we had plenty of time so decided to try it. We passed the place up the first time we walked down the street as it's a very small unobtrusive place. It has a space for people to wait in line with a little bar table about a foot long and then 25 bar stools around a nice sized bar. You could watch the chefs prepare your meal in front of you. So we ordered glasses of wine and waited behind four other couples. About 30 minutes had gone by and we finally moved up one couple. We haven't hit panic mode quite yet, but were getting a bit antsy. We ordered another glass of wine and some nibbles the second time around. About 15 minutes later we moved up one more couple. By this time, it was about 6:30 and our show started at 7:30. NO one was moving! Finally, we were now the next in line and had about 20 minutes before we had to leave the restaurant. Charles told our nibble waiter that we needed to leave and could we just pay for the drinks and nibbles. As we were having this conversation two seats opened up and the waiter told us to sit. He then told us that even though the line is a long wait the food comes fast and that he could get us out of there in time. We believed him and sat down. I have never eaten such good food that fast in my life. Usually you would like to savor good food, but we were in a hurry. We ate like our Isabella, barely tasting the food. We had lamp chops, grilled shrimp, frites, and a shrimp filled chesse torilla. Yummy! True to his promise, our waiter lit a fire under the servers and let us "skip" our meal orders ahead of others. We were able to eat, have a couple glasses and water, and pay in the 20 minutes we were allotted. It was stressful and fun at the same time. If you are in London, I would definitely recommend this place, but beware the wait. We were there by 5:45 and waited and hour! It is called Barafina's on Frith Street in Soho. After dinner we headed to Her Majesty's theater and found our seats easily. It was an amazing show, especially the first half. Even Charles enjoyed himself and has been singing some of the songs. Sorry Charles - i outed you.

The one thing that Charles really wanted to do was watch the NCAA basketball game; Butler vs. Michigan State. He asked a few pub folks, but got no response. So he gave up on watching the game and we stopped by a lounge for a drink and called it a night. We were both pretty tired from the long day as we had been up since 6:30 and started our day with the museum's early bird special. It was raining a bit as usual as we headed home. We were standing waiting for the pedestrian sign to change about four blocks down from the hotel when Charles' eagle eyes spotted a TV in the pubs. This pub was across a busy four laned street including a good size medium, and it was dark and raining. How he saw it I don't know. He asked me "Is that Obama?" "Huh" I replied and looked at the TV in the pub. The TV was on the furthest wall from the street and I could vaguely make out two figures playing what looked like Horse basketball. So, we crossed the street going the opposite direction from the hotel to the pub. Charles asked the bouncers at the door if they were playing the NCAA basketball game and received a blank stare. Finally, one of the men said "there isn't anything playing right now," so we left. However, Charles could not resist a peep inside the windows one finally time and was awarded a site of the big desk with NCAA on the title. It really was Obama we saw across the street playing basketball. So, we went into the pub and saw Butler beat Michigan in the nailing biting second half of the game. We even met some Americans on Holiday from Waco Texas. They were a typical cute frat/sorority like Southern couple.

Sadly and happily, we packed up to leave on Sunday morning after a nice English breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, baked beans, and toast. It was a great trip.