Wow, what a week I have had! I am happy to say that my social calendar has been packed this week! Since many of you might have been worried how this Southerner might fare here, I am writing to assure you that all of the skills of eating, drinking, and chatting that I worked on so diligently at UGA have finally paid off! Just in case anyone was confused as to where I stand on this topic--I think the ability to socialize with any person you meet is the most important skill a person can have!
On Monday I met my new friend Alison for a 3 hour lunch and shopping spree. We got each others info from our dads randomly meeting in Atlanta, and it turns out she grew up about 5 blocks from my parents house in Atlanta! She 23, just graduated from Davidson and is over here working for YoungLife.
On Tuesday I rode to work with Kyle and then took another tram out to visit my friend Corinna and her 1 year old daugther Lara. Corinna's husband works for the WSJ in NYC, but she is from Brussels and is here getting her paperwork/visa straight. We had a lovely lunch and then a nice playtime with Lara. I took the tram back, did a little shopping for more household things, and then met my friend Christine for a movie. Christine is from Memphis and is over here woring for Deloitte. We share a love of Hollywood gossip and so we trade gossip magazines whenever we see each other.
With all of this wild socializing, I had to take a break on Wednesday and take an adventure to Carrefour (the French equivalent to Wal-Mart.) I will tell you about this experience in my next blog. I got home from the store and talked to a new friend Amy for an hour on the phone. I have not met Amy yet, but my aunt Carol knows her and we are hoping to get together soon. She lives in Brugge, which is an hour away, so I will need to take a train there.
I had a good reason to clean the apartment on Thursday because my friend Kelly came over with her 8 month old daughter Poppy. Since I have never actually made coffee for myself, she had to show me how! Now, before you are shocked by this, keep in mind that the various kinds of coffee are all in another language and they do not have regular coffee makers over here. I have to heat the water and then soak the grinds for 4 min. in this glass things and then press them down or something. Luckily I did not have to do any of this because I bought the wrong kind of coffee, so we just had instant instead! Oops!
We took a nice walk and then picked her other daughter up from school. I said goodbye to them and then met Sam and her family for lunch (they are in town for a visit).
A recent UGA college graduate has just flown in to Brussels today to start an internship with the Associated Press. The same professor that got Kyle the job with the AP helped this guy out with this job, so he put everyone in touch. We are hoping to take Josh to dinner tonight and then I might walk him around town tomorrow to get situated.
On Friday I am going to take the tram out to the American Womens Club. They have a 'Hints on How to Live in Brussels' class that I am going to sign up for and also look into membership there; although I have heard that the membership is mainly middle aged women with older children (which I already know plenty of!)
On Saturday we have been invited to dinner with a friend of a friend who is married to a Belgian guy. She has been living here for a few years and was really kind to invite us over.
Whew! I am exhausted just reliving all of this! I have thoroughly enjoyed having so many things to do, and especially so many people to talk to!
The craziest part of all of this is how briefly I have known each of these people, but yet I feel so comfortable and close to each of them! Just to give you a feel for how well I know them...
Alison--just met that day
Corinna--have met a total of 5 times
Christine--3rd time seeing her
Amy--never met her, but have talked to her on the phone for an hour
Kelly--met once over a month ago
Sam's family--just met today
Josh--never met
Natalie--will meet her on Saturday
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