Bon Appetit!

Because I have started to have an interest in cooking, and I happened to come across this book, I decided to start at Cooking Club here in Belgium. I am normally pretty inclusive in most things I do, but for this one we have limited the number of members to six. So Yvette, Meghan, Maggie, Lisa, Kate and I have been meeting for the past few months and cooking around different themes. The first month was Asian, then comfort foods, then French. Next month we are cooking Mexican (but real Mexican, not just the Taco Bell kind). In July we are going to do only things that can be cooked on the grill (and we might even invite the boys too). We have a had a great time getting to know each other better and sharing a few cooking tips.

Click here to see the pictures from each evening.

Loire Valley

We had a great four-day trip down to the Loire Valley over Easter break. After driving through Paris (with a lot of concentration, focus and only a few curse words) we went to the church in Chartres, France. Over the next few days we went to the chateaux at Chambord, Blois, Chennonceau, and Cheverny. They were all great in their own way, but Kyle's favorite was Chennonceau and mine was Chambord. At Cheverny the feeding of the dogs is quite a sight. The 100 hunting dogs are released in their kennel in front of 50 pounds of dog food/chicken parts/horse parts. However, even though the dogs are going crazy, none of them even touch a bit of the food until the trainer gives the sign. Click here to see a video (not ours) of this spectacle. Notice especially the dog that does a nosedive to get in the middle of the food.

Click here for the photos from the trip.

Differences Between Americans and Europeans

My sister got a chance to visit me in Brussels last year. I went to pick her up at the airport and just as Sarah Kathryn and I were getting settled on the train back from the airport she said, "SO WHAT ARE THE OBVIOUS SIGNS SOMEONE IS AN AMERICAN?" to which I replied, "They talk really loud." After that, she was really very good about trying to fit in and keep her voice down. But her question has gotten me thinking about why it is so easy and obvious to see when someone is an American or a European. Some of the different ways I can quickly tell where a person might be from are:

Hair: European men wear more hair gel than most American men. They also seem to dye or at least highlight their hair. European men's hairstyles often seem to be shorter with a spiky, messed up look. Click here for a perfect example. I am biased coming from the South, but European women's hair is much flatter than Southerners.

Glasses: Europeans are definitely much more adventurous in their choice of eyewear. There are a wider (and crazier) range of colors and styles to choose from. Italians especially love clear frames. I have tried many pairs on over here because I want to look more European, but they are all just a little too weird for me to get past!

Teeth: One of the most obvious ways to know someone is American is by their teeth. No one puts more money and time into making and keeping their teeth straight and white than Americans do. Case in point: a group of American's teeth versus European's. Someone explained to me that Europeans only have reactive health care, rather than preventative. So they will deal with your teeth when there is a cavity, but you won't get bi-annual teeth cleanings as a child to prevent those cavities. However, I will also mention that this person told me that Europeans make fun of Americans' obsession with stright white teeth. As he views it, why do we care so much about having the appearance of good teeth when we let our bodies get fat and out of shape. If we are that into image, we should care about our entire image.

A good example of both the glasses and teeth difference is here.

Weight: Along the lines of Americans' size, I was in an aerobics class at the gym the other day. There were 15 other women in the class and only one was a larger woman. Every other female was an average size and weight, anywhere between a US size 4-10. The thing about Europeans is that they are not to either extreme -- super skinny (like Nicole Richie) or super big (like Rosie O'Donnell). I feel like Americans are on either extreme and not as much just regular.

Clothes: It is so hard to pinpoint all the differences between American and European clothes, but I'll try. First, Europeans do not wear sweatpants or anything that promotes a team or product as often as Americans. The last time I was in a US airport, I realized that this is ALL Americans seem to wear. Europeans wear much more muted colors, while Americans seems to wear brighter things and "cutsier" types of outfits (e.g. capri pants with little apples on them). Even though a European's outfit might not seem to look good to the American eye, you can be assured that it was put together with time and thought, not just thrown on.

Shoes: The bottom line is that Americans wear tennis shoes and Europeans don't. I don't understand how Europeans do not have many more foot problems because I have tried to buy shoes over here, but they offer no support, especially on the cobblestones.

Makeup: Maybe this is just because I think of Southern women when I think of "American" but they definitely don't wear as much makeup as we do. Segolene Royal (the woman who is running for the French presidency) is the perfect example of a classic European woman. Look, she doesn't even wear earrings!!! To put it in perspective, I wore earrings every single day of high school and I can still vividly remember the day I forgot to put them on and how I was pulling my hair over my ears for that whole day to hide my mistake. To me, this woman has the typical American look.

Diamonds: You can always tell an American by her engagement/wedding ring. Americans wear diamonds (BIG ones at that) and Europeans seems to wear either a small diamond or just a band on their ring finger.

It just amazes me how quiet Europeans can be with their voices. Once when I took a train from Brighton to London I noticed that even though the whole train was full, there was not ONE PERSON SPEAKING the whole time. One woman quiely answered her cell phone, mumbled a few words, and then hung up. It was so quiet that I fell asleep and the only reason I woke up was because a little snore of mine slipped out and it woke me up. I guess everyone else in the train heard it too!

Flowers Galore!!!

I had a great Sunday afternoon spent with my friend Maggie. Since her husband was in Singapore and Kyle was working, we spent the day driving around seeing flowers. We started off the moring eating quiches at a cute little farmhouse restaurant where the chickens that lay the eggs are just across the cobblestone path from the entrance. Next, we headed into the forest of Brussels (near Halle) to see the bluebells. It is just amazing to see how the forest floor looks completely purple in some areas. After the bluebells we drove to Groot Bijgaarden to see the tulips. They are supposedly trying to rival Keukenhof, which they defintely do not do. However, it was nice to see tulips without having to do the three hour drive each way.

Click here to see photos of the day.

The big 4-0 Brussels style

Although I am only 27, I feel like I am having a mid-life crisis here in Belgium. We have been here two years and five months. In that time I have definitely said goodbye to a fair amount of friends. However, now the people I am saying goodbye to are the ones that were new here just around the same time I was. Seeing each of them have the same amount of time here I have had and now have to return home leaves me with so many questions about our own time here: "Have we traveled enough? Will I have any regrets if we have to move back soon? Have I learned enough new things?" Two years feels like the blink of an eye to me, but for many expats, that is all the time they will ever have in a country due to their work contracts. Hopefully we will be here another 2 1/2 to 3 years, but in the back of my mind there is always the threat that we will have to move back sooner. As Kyle pointed out to me tonight, we are always going to feel like we should have traveled more just because there are so many places to see. However, that doesn't make the guilt about not taking advantage of every possible opportunity (even though some were really expensive or in horrible weather) any easier. No wonder people hate turning 40!

Spanx a lot!

When I was at home over Christmas I went to a good friend's wedding in North Carolina. I shared a hotel room with three of my good girlfriends from college. As we were getting ready for the wedding, I couldn't help but notice that all four of us were wearing some type of Spandex/Spanx/tummy tucking/butt enhancing/lycra type body conformer. I was annoyed that none of us (myself included) felt comfortable enough with our bodies to just put on a dress and go. That is, until I came across this picture of Katie Holmes. Look closely on the left and you can see her Spanx. Ah-ha! Celebrities have to wear this kind of stuff too! This got me to searching and I found this great website that even shows what types to lycra the stars like to wear (along with a few other undergarmets).

As Truvy (from Steel Magnolias says): "Well, these thighs haven't gone out of the house without lycra on them sice I was 14."
Clairee: "You were brought up right."

A joker of all traits...

Something that is wonderful about living here and not working is that I have so much free time to pursue other interests. However, the downside of learning new things is that you are doing just that -- learning (which means you have to fail a lot to learn). I don't think I have really had to all out learn since college (6 years ago). Actually, since I had a lot of fun in college, I think the last time I really, really worked on learning something was in high school. I had forgotten just how frustrating it can be to try and learn about a whole new topic.

--This weekend we had a nice time in the Loire Valley. However, it just reminded me of how little French I know. We did some wine tastings at a few vineyards and after hearing "bru, demi-sec, appelation, and moelleux" I was reminded again of how little I know about wine.

--I have been trying to figure out a new knitting pattern, but it just doesn't make sense to me. It is even worse because all the writeups about this pattern say, "So easy!!!" The more I learn about knitting and "gauge, K2P2, YO, psso" the more I realize what a bad knitter I am.

--I am in a few book clubs and one recently started with the statement from a fellow member, "Well, it is obvious that the author thinks along the lines of Nietzsche." As I am thinking, "Who the heck is that?" I look around and see everyone else nodding in full agreement to her point.

--I am in a Bible study and these women are flipping back and forth through the Bible and referring to all these stories that I have no clue about. The worst part is that I went to Catholic school my entire life (which means that I had religion class every day for 13 years and I still don't know the Bible!!!) Honestly, I sometimes wonder if my mind can retain nothing except celebrity gossip and silly stories.

--I just finished Julia Child's book, My Life in France. It was a great and I really enjoyed it, however you can't help but feel like a failure after learning about her. I checked out her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking which is supposed to be, "A superb introduction for someone who is just beginning to have an interest in food." My goodness, I have been enjoying cooking for the last two years and I don't even understand some of the directions in the book. She wrote it for American housewives who might not have ever even tried French food. Not only do I eat French food often, I live over here, and yet I still don't even understand some of the recipes. Recently we were going to a party where I had volunteered to bring a dessert. I had bought a new type of flour and didn't think much about it when I was making a pound cake. Well, apparently the flour already had a levening agent in it. Since I didn't realize that, I had added baking soda (like the recipe called for). This was the result:

This was the cake oozing out of the pan and all over the oven. When I tried to get it out of the pan, it didn't quite look like a pound cake:

You might be thinking, "Yes, but that is just one mistake. Who knew that their flour had baking soda in it?" Well, I have a sick problem of taking pictures of my failures because sometime they are just so bad. Let me remind you of when I tried to warm some brie in the oven for a party:

Or the jello I made for the Fourth of July (it was supposed to be jello with whipped creme, strawberries and blueberries on top to look like a flag):

I had been thinking that I wanted to take up tennis, but after re-reading this blog, I am thinking that I should try and master ONE of the many things with which I obviously have a lot of room for improvement.