I am still plugging away at French, but often it feels like I am in one of those resistance swimming machines -- I keep trying and trying, but never actually get anywhere. I study my flashcards and feel somewhat confident, but then I go to class and realize just how much I don't know when I open my mouth to say something. My biggest challenge is that I am just a wordy person. Something that would take a normal person five words to explain will take me 20 words. This is an awful trait to have when you only know about 40 words of a language. To top it all off, all words in French are assigned masculine and feminine gender. Although it is really hard to reason if a table would be masculine or feminine, you would think that a least a few words would be obvious. However, you would be wrong -- the word beard is feminine, while the word vagina is maculine, and to top it all off, the word masculinity is feminine!
For awhile I didn't even attempt to learn the genders, I just figured I would mumble and slur my way around that part of the sentence. However, the other day I was with three other American women when a British woman speaking to us pronounced the word collage as CO-llage (instead of the way I am used to hearing it as co-LLAGE). None of us knew what she was talking about. She repeated the word and we all still looked blankely at her. When she finally explained what she was talking about we all understood. But it was a good reminder to me that if a word doesn't come out sounding like it is supposed to, you can't assume that people will know what you are saying.
I am really glad I waited until my third year here to take French because at least now I already know my way through the grocery store, the metro, how to do cooking conversions, how to drive here etc. The learning curve of adjusting to life here was so great, I just blocked out the French language and tried to cope with everything else that was thrown at me. It was a good decision because I don't think my self-confidence could have handled feeling stupid in every single aspect of my life.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Avoidant Worker
To Whom It May Concern:
There are those of you out there who really don't like to pitch in and help out when it comes time to get a job done. You know who you are, and here is a news flash -- we do too. You don't fool us (the people who are on their hands and knees scrubbing the floor) by slowly doing the easiest task around that you can find. And you definitely don't "help" us by talking to us while we are on our hands and knees. Here's a tip -- if you see me almost breaking a sweat doing something, then talking to me or holding the door open for me while I carry heavy boxes in and out of a place is definitely not helping to get the job finished. Pick up a rag or a box and pitch in! Easiest of all, just say, "What can I do to help?" I promise, I have already figured out that you don't want to work hard and I will go easy on you and save the toilet cleaning for myself.
Sincerely,
The Non-Avoidant Worker
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Emily's CV
My friends always laugh at me when we are talking and I bring up yet another weird job I have had. I never used to think these jobs were that odd, but after having some distance from them, I can't help but laugh. So in case I ever need to recall my FULL job history, here it is:
Babysitting from the ages of 12-28. Experiences include:
--having a child throw up all over me twice and having to raid the mom's closet for a shirt
--going to Sea Island on beach weeks with families
--changing approximately one million diapers
Smoothie King for two weeks. I was tired of babysitting and thought I wanted a "real" job. After having to work weekends and then realizing how much money was taken out of my paycheck for taxes, I went back to $10 an hour (cash) babysitting.
The Atlanta Mart for a clothing show. I basically unwrapped purses, hung clothes on hangers and ate all the food that I think was intended for vendors.
Anthony Smith Advisors on school holidays. I have a vivid memory of being in a tiny office, facing a blank wall and collating financial statements for a whole day. It was then that I decided I didn't like the traditional idea of work.
Moose Head Ranch during the summer between sophomore and junior years of college. It was the most fun (but hardest) job ever. There were 11 cabin girls and 9 wranglers, all between the ages of 19-22. I cleaned toilets, changed beds, swept and mopped three days a week and then waitressed breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have a horrible memory and was a really bad waitress. On the other three days I was the prep chef for the cook. In case you didn't know, chefs don't like people to talk in the kitchen, so you can imagine how well I did with those orders. The other prep chef and I would have to hide out in the supply closet to talk. We basically laughed our way through the summer-- one time some girls and I had so much fun talking while we cleaned a room that we stripped the bed but forgot to put sheets back on it. We didn't figure that one out until the guests were getting ready to go to bed. Oops! However, as payback, we were assigned the task of figuring out why the supply closet stunk so much. The supply closet was actually a bathroom that was filled to the top with cleaning supplies. Once we emptied out everything that had been stacked up in the bathtub we discovered two inches of human waste in the bottom. Turns out the pipes had been clogged and backed up into the bathtub. I had to wear green rubber gloves that went up to my shoulders to clean it out. Yuck.
Nantucket Island Resorts for the summer between junior and senior years of college. I was a reservationist for their four hotels. It was at this job that I realized I should never be in sales. My boss could listen in on calls and she said, "Emily, you are one of the nicest reservationists we have ever had, but you don't close the sale!" I worked on commission, but I thought the rooms were too expensive so I kept trying to help people save money by bringing in roll-aways or doing other things. Everything you did on the phone was timed, so they even knew how long it took you to go to the bathroom (because you were logged out). This was one of my least favorite jobs. My southernness did not fit in with that area and it was a really lonely summer.
After college graduation Kyle and I backpacked through Australia and New Zealand. We made the mistake of wasting money on work visas when we really should have just broken out of the American mentality and realized that it is OK to vacation and not work for awhile. We got jobs at Leo's Budget Accommodation in Cairns, Australia, working from 8am-2pm in exchange for room and board. I was a maid while Kyle was the groundskeeper. Imagine cleaning up after a bunch of cheap, drunk and horny backpackers. Beyond being gross, it was also hard to change sheets on a bunk bed. Some of the worst experiences there where when we had to fumigate a room because it had bed bugs in it and cleaning the boys bathroom. However, by the grace of God I was usually able to avoid that job. The worst though was when the washing machine maintance man came out and told us we had been washing sheets in an industrial washer for two weeks without any soap going into the machine (the soap was supposed to dispense automatically, but the tubes had not been hooked up correctly). So we had basically been soaking dirty sheets in water and then putting them back on the bed. Click here for reviews of the place.
After Kyle went back to the States, I stayed in New Zealand and WWOOFed (Willing Worker On an Organic Farm). Again, I worked in exchange for room and board. In such a small world, I ended up working for woman who was from Columbus, Ga., and had married to a Brit. She was 8 months pregnant, so I ended up helping her around house more than doing any farm stuff. They had chickens so I fed them each day, chopped some wood and worked on the compost pile.
Next I was off to the Wilderness Lodge of New Zealand (in Arthurs Pass). This would have been a nice job except for the fact that I had to room with the craziest person I have ever met. Truly, I don't know exactly what her illness would be named, but she was anorexic, had to eat in a dark room by herself, would get up at 2am and cook all the food in the refrigerator and then just leave it out, believed that whoever saw the dishes first had to do them (this was convenient when she would cook in the middle of the night and then I would get up to work the breakfast shift, making me the first one to see them), ripped the phone out of the wall when I was on it, accused me of stealing, threw all of my food out into the rain one day, and then actually took a running start and kicked me in the butt. Besides her, every other employee was wonderful there. In between living in fear of that awful girl, I waitressed and cleaned the rooms.
I returned to the USA after 9-11 and had a lot of trouble finding a job because of the economy, which led me to work even more odd jobs. Over Christmas I worked at one of those mall kiosks. I was supposed to be selling framed drawings of the main attraction on each college campus (like the Arch at UGA) but again I thought they were a little expensive so I didn't really sell too many. That was a really boring job, but at least I enjoyed people-watching at the mall.
My sister owns a wonderful dating service called 8at8 Dinner Club. I have helped to host lots of happy hours and dinner groups for her. Throughout all of those I learned the plight of singles in Atlanta and met many great people.
The I worked at Ground Zero (yes, that was the name) for one month. This was a temp job and I was the only woman in the office, among eight men who basically only seemed to know one another's names and nothing else about each other. Of course I took it as my personal mission to help them learn each other's birth order, family history and love language.
Some other temp place that I can't even remember. I do recall reading some of the e-mails of the girl that I was subbing for (they logged me into her Outlook for the day). She was black and it made me laugh that her business e-mails were all professional and then her personal ones were "Damn girl, you a ho! What you be doing there?"
After that I works at about five other temp places including an ad agency, a commercial real estate firm and a paper supply company. Ironically enough, the paper supply company was very similar to the one on "The Office." I had to wear ear plugs and a hard hat to go through the factory to get to the break room and I remember doing mundane work and thinking, "Is this all there is to life? Am I really going to be doing this from 8-5 for the next 40 years?" No wonder I was depressed during that time.
Luckily, I soon got a job at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. I was supposed to start as an intern and on my first day the girl that I was shadowing got fired, so I quickly became an assistant. I mainly did office stuff and helped plan networking events. It was a really fun job because you weren't actually tied to the desk the whole time. However, with event planning you are also cleaning coffee pots in a suit and re-arranging tables at 6am for breakfast meetings.
After I got married I moved to Montgomery, Ala., to be with Kyle. I got a job at Auburn University Montgomery doing event planning and working with continuing education classes. After I had taken the job, my colleagues showed me around and reminded me to be nice to the custodians or else they would hide from me when I needed to get a room set up. When I asked about why that wasn't reported to their boss, they said that someone had complained about it to the boss and he responded, "They only make minimum wage. What do you expect?" The person that had complained was then black-balled by the custodians and could never get anything set up. This is why I spent almost as much time working as I did bribing the custodians with food. There was never enough money to have a professional caterer so I made many, many trips to Sam's Club and usually ended up wearing food-handling gloves and arranging the store-bought food myself.
Now that I have been in Belgium, I have continued my tradition of finding odd jobs. I have helped a few people relocate here, have taken notes for business meetings, have starred in an infomercial and of course I still babysit. But most importantly I think Kyle would give me glowing reviews of being a pretty good wife. Maybe this is what I should have been doing all along.
Babysitting from the ages of 12-28. Experiences include:
--having a child throw up all over me twice and having to raid the mom's closet for a shirt
--going to Sea Island on beach weeks with families
--changing approximately one million diapers
Smoothie King for two weeks. I was tired of babysitting and thought I wanted a "real" job. After having to work weekends and then realizing how much money was taken out of my paycheck for taxes, I went back to $10 an hour (cash) babysitting.
The Atlanta Mart for a clothing show. I basically unwrapped purses, hung clothes on hangers and ate all the food that I think was intended for vendors.
Anthony Smith Advisors on school holidays. I have a vivid memory of being in a tiny office, facing a blank wall and collating financial statements for a whole day. It was then that I decided I didn't like the traditional idea of work.
Moose Head Ranch during the summer between sophomore and junior years of college. It was the most fun (but hardest) job ever. There were 11 cabin girls and 9 wranglers, all between the ages of 19-22. I cleaned toilets, changed beds, swept and mopped three days a week and then waitressed breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have a horrible memory and was a really bad waitress. On the other three days I was the prep chef for the cook. In case you didn't know, chefs don't like people to talk in the kitchen, so you can imagine how well I did with those orders. The other prep chef and I would have to hide out in the supply closet to talk. We basically laughed our way through the summer-- one time some girls and I had so much fun talking while we cleaned a room that we stripped the bed but forgot to put sheets back on it. We didn't figure that one out until the guests were getting ready to go to bed. Oops! However, as payback, we were assigned the task of figuring out why the supply closet stunk so much. The supply closet was actually a bathroom that was filled to the top with cleaning supplies. Once we emptied out everything that had been stacked up in the bathtub we discovered two inches of human waste in the bottom. Turns out the pipes had been clogged and backed up into the bathtub. I had to wear green rubber gloves that went up to my shoulders to clean it out. Yuck.
Nantucket Island Resorts for the summer between junior and senior years of college. I was a reservationist for their four hotels. It was at this job that I realized I should never be in sales. My boss could listen in on calls and she said, "Emily, you are one of the nicest reservationists we have ever had, but you don't close the sale!" I worked on commission, but I thought the rooms were too expensive so I kept trying to help people save money by bringing in roll-aways or doing other things. Everything you did on the phone was timed, so they even knew how long it took you to go to the bathroom (because you were logged out). This was one of my least favorite jobs. My southernness did not fit in with that area and it was a really lonely summer.
After college graduation Kyle and I backpacked through Australia and New Zealand. We made the mistake of wasting money on work visas when we really should have just broken out of the American mentality and realized that it is OK to vacation and not work for awhile. We got jobs at Leo's Budget Accommodation in Cairns, Australia, working from 8am-2pm in exchange for room and board. I was a maid while Kyle was the groundskeeper. Imagine cleaning up after a bunch of cheap, drunk and horny backpackers. Beyond being gross, it was also hard to change sheets on a bunk bed. Some of the worst experiences there where when we had to fumigate a room because it had bed bugs in it and cleaning the boys bathroom. However, by the grace of God I was usually able to avoid that job. The worst though was when the washing machine maintance man came out and told us we had been washing sheets in an industrial washer for two weeks without any soap going into the machine (the soap was supposed to dispense automatically, but the tubes had not been hooked up correctly). So we had basically been soaking dirty sheets in water and then putting them back on the bed. Click here for reviews of the place.
After Kyle went back to the States, I stayed in New Zealand and WWOOFed (Willing Worker On an Organic Farm). Again, I worked in exchange for room and board. In such a small world, I ended up working for woman who was from Columbus, Ga., and had married to a Brit. She was 8 months pregnant, so I ended up helping her around house more than doing any farm stuff. They had chickens so I fed them each day, chopped some wood and worked on the compost pile.
Next I was off to the Wilderness Lodge of New Zealand (in Arthurs Pass). This would have been a nice job except for the fact that I had to room with the craziest person I have ever met. Truly, I don't know exactly what her illness would be named, but she was anorexic, had to eat in a dark room by herself, would get up at 2am and cook all the food in the refrigerator and then just leave it out, believed that whoever saw the dishes first had to do them (this was convenient when she would cook in the middle of the night and then I would get up to work the breakfast shift, making me the first one to see them), ripped the phone out of the wall when I was on it, accused me of stealing, threw all of my food out into the rain one day, and then actually took a running start and kicked me in the butt. Besides her, every other employee was wonderful there. In between living in fear of that awful girl, I waitressed and cleaned the rooms.
I returned to the USA after 9-11 and had a lot of trouble finding a job because of the economy, which led me to work even more odd jobs. Over Christmas I worked at one of those mall kiosks. I was supposed to be selling framed drawings of the main attraction on each college campus (like the Arch at UGA) but again I thought they were a little expensive so I didn't really sell too many. That was a really boring job, but at least I enjoyed people-watching at the mall.
My sister owns a wonderful dating service called 8at8 Dinner Club. I have helped to host lots of happy hours and dinner groups for her. Throughout all of those I learned the plight of singles in Atlanta and met many great people.
The I worked at Ground Zero (yes, that was the name) for one month. This was a temp job and I was the only woman in the office, among eight men who basically only seemed to know one another's names and nothing else about each other. Of course I took it as my personal mission to help them learn each other's birth order, family history and love language.
Some other temp place that I can't even remember. I do recall reading some of the e-mails of the girl that I was subbing for (they logged me into her Outlook for the day). She was black and it made me laugh that her business e-mails were all professional and then her personal ones were "Damn girl, you a ho! What you be doing there?"
After that I works at about five other temp places including an ad agency, a commercial real estate firm and a paper supply company. Ironically enough, the paper supply company was very similar to the one on "The Office." I had to wear ear plugs and a hard hat to go through the factory to get to the break room and I remember doing mundane work and thinking, "Is this all there is to life? Am I really going to be doing this from 8-5 for the next 40 years?" No wonder I was depressed during that time.
Luckily, I soon got a job at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. I was supposed to start as an intern and on my first day the girl that I was shadowing got fired, so I quickly became an assistant. I mainly did office stuff and helped plan networking events. It was a really fun job because you weren't actually tied to the desk the whole time. However, with event planning you are also cleaning coffee pots in a suit and re-arranging tables at 6am for breakfast meetings.
After I got married I moved to Montgomery, Ala., to be with Kyle. I got a job at Auburn University Montgomery doing event planning and working with continuing education classes. After I had taken the job, my colleagues showed me around and reminded me to be nice to the custodians or else they would hide from me when I needed to get a room set up. When I asked about why that wasn't reported to their boss, they said that someone had complained about it to the boss and he responded, "They only make minimum wage. What do you expect?" The person that had complained was then black-balled by the custodians and could never get anything set up. This is why I spent almost as much time working as I did bribing the custodians with food. There was never enough money to have a professional caterer so I made many, many trips to Sam's Club and usually ended up wearing food-handling gloves and arranging the store-bought food myself.
Now that I have been in Belgium, I have continued my tradition of finding odd jobs. I have helped a few people relocate here, have taken notes for business meetings, have starred in an infomercial and of course I still babysit. But most importantly I think Kyle would give me glowing reviews of being a pretty good wife. Maybe this is what I should have been doing all along.
Monday, February 11, 2008
I feel like I am back at a 7th grade dance
I'm not quite sure if this is just a Southern thing, but just about every party I have ever attended in Georgia has had Rotel Cheese Dip there. Basically, all you do is get a block of Velveeta cheese (scarily enough it is shelf stable) and a can of Rotel tomatoes. Melt the two together, put out a bowl of tortilla chips and voila! the perfect party dip.
Well you definitely can't find Velveeta here. I have actually known a few people who have brought it back in their suitcases from the States, but for as much as I love it, I don't love anyone else enough to haul it back here and then bring it to a party so 20 other people can enjoy it (very Christian huh?) Well I can't believe I have been here for three years and have never discovered this, but there is a close second to Velveeta right here in Beligum! It is even made by Kraft. Thanks to some chit-chatting at the American Women's Club I found this out.
For those people in Belgium looking for a Velveeta substitute, you can sometimes find it at Carrefour or at the cheese man in your local market. What you are looking for is called Chester Cheese by Kraft. It is orange cheese in silver or white paper and sold in a big, long block. However, I just did the calculations and think it might be cheaper to buy a flight back to the States to just get some Velveeta. One pound of this cheese here was 9 euros, which with the current conversion rate equals about $13!
Well you definitely can't find Velveeta here. I have actually known a few people who have brought it back in their suitcases from the States, but for as much as I love it, I don't love anyone else enough to haul it back here and then bring it to a party so 20 other people can enjoy it (very Christian huh?) Well I can't believe I have been here for three years and have never discovered this, but there is a close second to Velveeta right here in Beligum! It is even made by Kraft. Thanks to some chit-chatting at the American Women's Club I found this out.
For those people in Belgium looking for a Velveeta substitute, you can sometimes find it at Carrefour or at the cheese man in your local market. What you are looking for is called Chester Cheese by Kraft. It is orange cheese in silver or white paper and sold in a big, long block. However, I just did the calculations and think it might be cheaper to buy a flight back to the States to just get some Velveeta. One pound of this cheese here was 9 euros, which with the current conversion rate equals about $13!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Zen Master
I have changed in so many ways since coming here that I can't really even keep count. However I do know that one way I have definitely changed is being more laid back about "being Belgianed" as our friends Hal and Anna coined it. Being Belgianed is when you get screwed over by either a citizen of Belgium or just the country itself. If you really look for it, you can see examples of it every day. Just four examples from today that even made it to my radar screen:
1. I stepped in dog poop.
2. I was driving down a narrow two-lane road (that is also a bus route) and a construction van decided to stop in front of an empty parking place and rather than parallel park into the spot, they just left the spot open, stopped right in front of it, put their hazard lights on and started unloading things. This resulted in the cars and buses playing chicken to see who could drive down the one open lane.
3. I was waiting in line behind seven people at the grocery store, there was one person checking people out and two employees sitting having their coffee break and watching us wait in line. Neither of them ever got up to open up another register, even though the line just kept getting longer.
4. I was the first person to order something at a lunch place today. After waiting 45 minutes and seeing two other tables get their food, I tried to signal my waitress but she just waved at me and said "In a minute." After another five minutes she told me that the kitchen had had problems with the gas stove which is why my food took so long. Finally after an hour my hamburger came out and was completely raw in the middle. However, since I was so hungry and figured it could take another hour to get it right, I just scraped away the raw part and ate it.
I mention all of these situations because as much as I was frustrated about them, they really didn't faze me much. When we first moved to Belgium I would become outraged that these types of non-existent customer service and plain selfishness could occur so often. But Belgium has broken me down, just like it breaks down every other person who lives here. If you don't learn to shrug your shoulders, sigh and deal with it, then you might die of a heart attack. Luckily for me, I can avoid the heart attack and just die of e. coli instead.
1. I stepped in dog poop.
2. I was driving down a narrow two-lane road (that is also a bus route) and a construction van decided to stop in front of an empty parking place and rather than parallel park into the spot, they just left the spot open, stopped right in front of it, put their hazard lights on and started unloading things. This resulted in the cars and buses playing chicken to see who could drive down the one open lane.
3. I was waiting in line behind seven people at the grocery store, there was one person checking people out and two employees sitting having their coffee break and watching us wait in line. Neither of them ever got up to open up another register, even though the line just kept getting longer.
4. I was the first person to order something at a lunch place today. After waiting 45 minutes and seeing two other tables get their food, I tried to signal my waitress but she just waved at me and said "In a minute." After another five minutes she told me that the kitchen had had problems with the gas stove which is why my food took so long. Finally after an hour my hamburger came out and was completely raw in the middle. However, since I was so hungry and figured it could take another hour to get it right, I just scraped away the raw part and ate it.
I mention all of these situations because as much as I was frustrated about them, they really didn't faze me much. When we first moved to Belgium I would become outraged that these types of non-existent customer service and plain selfishness could occur so often. But Belgium has broken me down, just like it breaks down every other person who lives here. If you don't learn to shrug your shoulders, sigh and deal with it, then you might die of a heart attack. Luckily for me, I can avoid the heart attack and just die of e. coli instead.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Mega Mardi (Super Tuesday in French)
We had a great time last night at the local Super Tuesday party. Over 800 people came to the Conrad Hotel. Because Kyle was a speaker, we got to go attend the dinner beforehand which was lovely. I sat at a great table and had lots of fun. The party was from 9pm-midnight and Kyle answered questions, along with another gentleman, from 11-12. Some of our friends were there too, so he had a nice cheering section. We all thought he did very well!
Everyone else seemed to be interesed, except for the woman who sat on the stage the whole time, in what looked to be pajama pants, and read a magazine while the men answered questions. Here she is trying to stifle a yawn while Kyle responds. I don't think I would be a good stage mom because it took all of my restraint not to go yank her off the stage by her elbow and whisper something nasty in her ear.
Click here to see a few more photos.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Still out in the pasture (and other random thoughts)
- There is a new band that performed here recently and I bought their CD, which I have really been enjoying. Check out Ellery.
- My friend Julie sent me the most amazing and heart wrenching blog. Check out Confessions of a CF Husband and brace yourself. This guy is around my age (28) and his wife is in the hospital waiting for a lung transplant because she has Cystic Fibrosis and his daughter was born at 24 weeks and is in the NICU, so he basically lives at the hospital.
- Also look at my friend Ali's blog for some good insight and comic relief on mothering twins.
- Yet another group of friends are in the "departure mode" and are preparing for their big moves back home. I hate it when friends leave, not only for the obvious reasons of missing them, but because the move is such a big deal that it is (understandably) always on their minds. I find that once people have the date they are actually moving they become a bit like a horse going back to the barn and being back in the US is all they can think about. Of course I understand why -- most are about to make huge financial decisions in buying a house and two cars in a very short amount of time, along with all of the details of moving. However, I am still here and even though I don't want to go back to the States yet, on a rainy cold day when our heat isn't working and I can't figure out the right words in French to get the heater man to call me back, I can sometimes feel like I am being left behind.
- A friend once said that moving away from an expat experience can feel a bit like a death. As horrible as that sounds, it is kind of true. People start giving away their things. In return, you give them photos and reminisce about your time together. And even though you say you will keep in touch, in the back of your mind you know that you might never see them again. After they leave they pop into your mind every so often, but life moves on and after you have been here long enough, you start to forget their names and start saying things like, "I really miss that red haired girl. You remember, the one funny one that lived in Tervuren. I think she had a dog."
- Although it is a little awkward to admit to your friends here, I have come to realize that while we all stay busy and active with expat friends, all of us really miss our "true" friends from back home. I was taken aback once when a group of women all mentioned this. I thought, "Wait, we are all friends. What are you talking about?!?" But then I thought about it and even though I have plenty of friends here, I don't have any of those friends that really, really know my history. And I realized that history and shared experiences together are what really make a friendship.
And after all of these depressing thoughts, here is a good forward.
A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old)
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
* When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.* Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
* Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.* Take naps.* Stretch before rising.
* Run, romp, and play daily.
* Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
* Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
* On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
* On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
* When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
* Be loyal.
* Never pretend to be something you're not.
* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
Monday, February 04, 2008
C-R-A-Z-Y
Belgium can make you feel like you are absolutely crazy. Not only is it bad that the weather changes every two minutes, but the worst part is that even after three years of living here, I still can't seem to get it through my head that the weather changes every two minutes! To this day, I will still walk out of the house without an umbrella in the morning if the skies look clear. You would think I would have learned by now that just because the skies are clear in the morning, it sure doesn't mean that it won't be raining later in the day. In just the last ten minutes, after being very gray all morning, the sun was bright and shinny. I have been feeling the effects of not getting enough sun recently and know how important it is for vitamin D so I was about to put on my shoes to go outside for a quick walk to absorb some rays. Thank goodness Kyle called and I talked to him for a few minutes because no sooner had I finished putting on my shoes than the sky opened up and poured rain, all while it was still sunny outside.
Friday, February 01, 2008
The Wingfield's Tips on Rome
For some reason, we know of a lot of people going to Rome in the coming months. I decided to just type up our suggestions 1. to help others plan their trip and 2. so I don't have to repeat them several times :)
Keep in mind that we did this trip in January when there were no lines. If you are going during a busier season you might want to do better research about if signing up for a tour would help you get to the front of the line faster. We were there for four full days and that was plenty. I was tired of touring and spending money by the end of it. However, there are so many things to do, we could easily fill another trip if we went back again. Be very, very aware of pickpockets. The night before we left I was having wine with five other girlfriends. Of the five girls, four of them had been pick pocketed while in Rome. The pickpockets are professionals and know exactly how to slip their hands all around without you noticing.
Hotel: We stayed at a great hotel that I would highly recommend – The Hotel Montecarlo www.hotelmontecarlo.it It was not right in the middle of town, but it had very fair rates, was nicer than the typical shoebox European hotel we usually stay in, included a free (but not spectacular) breakfast, and was close to both metro lines (and the main train station).
Metro: Rome does not have a great metro system because every time they try to build more they run into ruins and have to stop the process. That being said, we did use it at least twice a day to get around. Apparently the bus system is good, but we never tried to figure it out, we just walked. We just bought a 1-euro metro ticket each time we needed it, and in hindsight we were glad we didn’t waste money buying the three-day ticket.
Sights:
The Coliseum was definitely worth a visit. Do not buy a tour from outside the gates, but instead enter the gates and take one of the tours the coliseum offers (3.50 per person compared to 11 outside). Look up online ahead of time to see when they offer English tours (it’s about once an hour, at least during the mornings). Also be alert that you might be able to walk to the front of the line if you are buying a tour ticket rather than just a regular entrance ticket. Palatine Hill is right next to the Coliseum and is included in the ticket price for the Coliseum. We didn’t think it was that great, but since it was included we went to it for 10 minutes. If you bought the slightly cheaper ticket for just the Coliseum and skipped Palatine, you wouldn’t really be missing anything. The Roman Forum (as opposed to a few other forums in town) is basically a football field’s worth of ruins and crumbled columns. It is right next to the Coliseum and is free. If you have time to spare, you could go to both of these but if you are in a rush, you won’t really miss that much.
Seeing the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica took us the better part of a day, by the time we got there, bought tickets and wandered around (and we didn’t have to wait in a long line at either place). Take the metro there and get off at the Ottaviano stop. The Vatican Museum was good but had the worst map in the world. It was very hard to figure out if we had seen everything or not. We rented the audio guides and that was a good choice. See if any travel book has a good map of the museum and you might not be as frustrated as we were. The Sistine Chapel was good but crowded. There are a pizza shop and a cafeteria in the museum if you don’t want to waste time leaving Vatican City for lunch. We did not do the Vatican Gardens just because we didn’t have time. The Pope might give a mass or a blessing on a certain day, but I am not sure when.
St. Peter’s Basilica was incredible and free. Be aware that you need to cover your shoulders and there is some rule about how short your shorts can be to enter. We did rent an audio guide and it had long descriptions on all the different sculptures – count on an hour or hour and a half if you want to listen to most of the information. *Check the times of when it and the climb to the top close. Climbing to the top gave good views but it was a lot of stairs (about 300, even if you pay 2 euros extra for an elevator to skip some stairs) and I imagine it would be really hot in the summer.
The Villa Borghese was the perfect museum. It had a wide variety of types of art but was not so big that you got overwhelmed. You must reserve tickets online before you go, usually at least a week in advance, because they only let in a certain number of people at a time, in two-hour blocks. This helps to ensure that it is never overly crowded. Get the audioguide. Give yourself enough time to get there b/c you have to walk a ways from the metro through the park.
The Spanish Steps were not that great, but worth a visit.
Trevi Fountain was really pretty to see – a definite must.
The bridge in front of Castel Sant’ Angelo was pretty but we didn’t go into the actual Castel.
Another good half day activity is to wander around near the Campo de Fiori and especially Piazza Navona. It was really fun to walk around the neighborhoods there and get a true Italy feel. From there walk to the Pantheon. There was no entry fee there and it only took about 10 minutes to get the feeling for the whole thing.
Two incredible churches to visit near the Pantheon were the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi and the Gesu Church. Definitely see them.
Food and Drinks:
My friend Beth sent us a great list of places. We weren't able to make it to them all, but here are her suggesions.
A great wine bar and restaurant that was right near the Trevi Fountains was Il Chianti.
Via del Lavatore, 81
www.vineriailchianti.com
On the Piazza Navona get drinks or gelato at the Tre Scalinin (Piazza Navona 30)
T
here's also this other restaurant my mom and I went to for lunch one day that was simply wonderful. They have a restaurant section and also a pizza buffet, which is supposed to be very, very good. (They also have a bunch of restaurants right there, an osteria, which serves traditional Roman food, and a seafood place that also have a cool winebar/café):
‘Gusto Piazza Augusto Imperatore , 9 http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/D33611.html
This is a hip hangout for dinner near Repubblica that my parents and I found the last time we were in Rome. We went back this second time, and it was as amazing as we remembered. Very good food. Very pretty people.
Target
Via Torino, 33
For a cheap lunch on the go: Antico Forno Marco Roscioli Via dei Chiavari, 34 http://www.anticofornoroscioli.com/Roscioli_Eng/homepage_eng.htm
This is just a little food store near Campo di Fiori, but they are famous for their pizza bianco (white pizza), which is pretty much just bread -- but AMAZING bread. I ate it for lunch one day. They also have pizza by the kilo, like Mama Roma. People apparently come from all over Rome for their pizza. Closed Sunday
For a great lunch, you can also try their main restaurant, just down the street:
Antico Forno RoscioliVia dei Giubbonari 21 http://www.diningcity.com/rome/ristoranteanticofornoroscioli21/index_eng.jsp Their cacio e pepe pasta is the best I had in Rome -- and I ate it everywhere! Closed Sunday
And my favorite gelato place (near the Trevi Fountain): San Crispino Via Panetteria,42 http://www.ilgelatodisancrispino.com/
Keep in mind that we did this trip in January when there were no lines. If you are going during a busier season you might want to do better research about if signing up for a tour would help you get to the front of the line faster. We were there for four full days and that was plenty. I was tired of touring and spending money by the end of it. However, there are so many things to do, we could easily fill another trip if we went back again. Be very, very aware of pickpockets. The night before we left I was having wine with five other girlfriends. Of the five girls, four of them had been pick pocketed while in Rome. The pickpockets are professionals and know exactly how to slip their hands all around without you noticing.
Hotel: We stayed at a great hotel that I would highly recommend – The Hotel Montecarlo www.hotelmontecarlo.it It was not right in the middle of town, but it had very fair rates, was nicer than the typical shoebox European hotel we usually stay in, included a free (but not spectacular) breakfast, and was close to both metro lines (and the main train station).
Metro: Rome does not have a great metro system because every time they try to build more they run into ruins and have to stop the process. That being said, we did use it at least twice a day to get around. Apparently the bus system is good, but we never tried to figure it out, we just walked. We just bought a 1-euro metro ticket each time we needed it, and in hindsight we were glad we didn’t waste money buying the three-day ticket.
Sights:
The Coliseum was definitely worth a visit. Do not buy a tour from outside the gates, but instead enter the gates and take one of the tours the coliseum offers (3.50 per person compared to 11 outside). Look up online ahead of time to see when they offer English tours (it’s about once an hour, at least during the mornings). Also be alert that you might be able to walk to the front of the line if you are buying a tour ticket rather than just a regular entrance ticket. Palatine Hill is right next to the Coliseum and is included in the ticket price for the Coliseum. We didn’t think it was that great, but since it was included we went to it for 10 minutes. If you bought the slightly cheaper ticket for just the Coliseum and skipped Palatine, you wouldn’t really be missing anything. The Roman Forum (as opposed to a few other forums in town) is basically a football field’s worth of ruins and crumbled columns. It is right next to the Coliseum and is free. If you have time to spare, you could go to both of these but if you are in a rush, you won’t really miss that much.
Seeing the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica took us the better part of a day, by the time we got there, bought tickets and wandered around (and we didn’t have to wait in a long line at either place). Take the metro there and get off at the Ottaviano stop. The Vatican Museum was good but had the worst map in the world. It was very hard to figure out if we had seen everything or not. We rented the audio guides and that was a good choice. See if any travel book has a good map of the museum and you might not be as frustrated as we were. The Sistine Chapel was good but crowded. There are a pizza shop and a cafeteria in the museum if you don’t want to waste time leaving Vatican City for lunch. We did not do the Vatican Gardens just because we didn’t have time. The Pope might give a mass or a blessing on a certain day, but I am not sure when.
St. Peter’s Basilica was incredible and free. Be aware that you need to cover your shoulders and there is some rule about how short your shorts can be to enter. We did rent an audio guide and it had long descriptions on all the different sculptures – count on an hour or hour and a half if you want to listen to most of the information. *Check the times of when it and the climb to the top close. Climbing to the top gave good views but it was a lot of stairs (about 300, even if you pay 2 euros extra for an elevator to skip some stairs) and I imagine it would be really hot in the summer.
The Villa Borghese was the perfect museum. It had a wide variety of types of art but was not so big that you got overwhelmed. You must reserve tickets online before you go, usually at least a week in advance, because they only let in a certain number of people at a time, in two-hour blocks. This helps to ensure that it is never overly crowded. Get the audioguide. Give yourself enough time to get there b/c you have to walk a ways from the metro through the park.
The Spanish Steps were not that great, but worth a visit.
Trevi Fountain was really pretty to see – a definite must.
The bridge in front of Castel Sant’ Angelo was pretty but we didn’t go into the actual Castel.
Another good half day activity is to wander around near the Campo de Fiori and especially Piazza Navona. It was really fun to walk around the neighborhoods there and get a true Italy feel. From there walk to the Pantheon. There was no entry fee there and it only took about 10 minutes to get the feeling for the whole thing.
Two incredible churches to visit near the Pantheon were the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi and the Gesu Church. Definitely see them.
Food and Drinks:
My friend Beth sent us a great list of places. We weren't able to make it to them all, but here are her suggesions.
A great wine bar and restaurant that was right near the Trevi Fountains was Il Chianti.
Via del Lavatore, 81
www.vineriailchianti.com
On the Piazza Navona get drinks or gelato at the Tre Scalinin (Piazza Navona 30)
T
here's also this other restaurant my mom and I went to for lunch one day that was simply wonderful. They have a restaurant section and also a pizza buffet, which is supposed to be very, very good. (They also have a bunch of restaurants right there, an osteria, which serves traditional Roman food, and a seafood place that also have a cool winebar/café):
‘Gusto Piazza Augusto Imperatore , 9 http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/D33611.html
This is a hip hangout for dinner near Repubblica that my parents and I found the last time we were in Rome. We went back this second time, and it was as amazing as we remembered. Very good food. Very pretty people.
Target
Via Torino, 33
For a cheap lunch on the go: Antico Forno Marco Roscioli Via dei Chiavari, 34 http://www.anticofornoroscioli.com/Roscioli_Eng/homepage_eng.htm
This is just a little food store near Campo di Fiori, but they are famous for their pizza bianco (white pizza), which is pretty much just bread -- but AMAZING bread. I ate it for lunch one day. They also have pizza by the kilo, like Mama Roma. People apparently come from all over Rome for their pizza. Closed Sunday
For a great lunch, you can also try their main restaurant, just down the street:
Antico Forno RoscioliVia dei Giubbonari 21 http://www.diningcity.com/rome/ristoranteanticofornoroscioli21/index_eng.jsp Their cacio e pepe pasta is the best I had in Rome -- and I ate it everywhere! Closed Sunday
And my favorite gelato place (near the Trevi Fountain): San Crispino Via Panetteria,42 http://www.ilgelatodisancrispino.com/
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