Scenes from our Daily Life

Scenes from our Daily Life

I thought you might like to see some pictures from our daily life. Our new life here is a constant balancing act between the thrill of being a long-term tourist in Europe and the need for a normal life with some routine predictability.

This is our house. It is a farmhouse that was built in 1860 (which means it saw both World Wars, with the Germans tromping through Belgium!). It was renovated in the 1980s so it is all updated. As you can see, they try to use lots of windows to bring in the light.

This is the street in front of our house. The street is cobblestone. Our neighbors keep to themselves, which we hear is the Belgian way. At the other end of these homes is a yard full of chickens, goats, and exotic ducks. We can hear the rooster in the morning.

This is the view across the street. The field usually has cows in it, but I guess they are kept inside during the cold of winter. The big storm drain pipes are intended to be placed in the ground behind our house, but they have been there since August, so we have no idea when to expect the mess to begin. As you can see, the cobblestone road becomes pavement for a short distance, then it is mostly potholes until you get to the main road! It runs along a creek.

This is a picture of the other side of the house during the snow storm in late January.

Here Ellen is practicing her presentation on Georgia O'Keeffe in our living room.

Ellen recently joined the Brownie troop at St. John's. They went bowling in early Feb. and Ellen got to join in (that's her in the skirt.)

Bowling in Belgium? Yes, in the Waterloo area there are 2 bowling alleys - must be why the Americans migrate here!

A couple of times a week I am drawn back to the American Women's Club of Brussels where it feels familiar, safe and comfy. I've met lots of great women here, many of them from other parts of the world. In typical fashion, even the American Women's Club is a melting pot with open arms to everyone. This week I sponsored a woman from Bulgaria to become a member.

Anyhow, this is the clubhouse - pretty nice digs, huh? It's in a residential neighborhood right off a main street (about a 15 minute drive from our house.). They are implementing more security procedures in light of what is going on in the world. Inside the club you can find a tea room where they serve lunch, an exercise room, a library, a video-rental room, meeting rooms and classrooms, and a gift shop. I volunteer in the library and frequent the video room. We always seem to have a pile of travel books and kids' videos from the women's club on our living room floor. Truly, the best part about the club is all the wonderful women I have met.

I tried to get a photo of a local supermarket, but it was just a picture of a parking lot - far too similar to shopping in the states. Once you get in the market there are some real differences, but suburban life is suburban life.

I also tried to get a photo of the school, but the sun is always behind it so I'll have to wait a few months! But it looks like any other school built in the 1950s.

Ellen's troop got an e-mail from some girls in Pennsylvania who want to know what life is like here. The funny part is, we have no idea what life is like for a Belgian - we are living an "ex-pat's life." That means that many things are different, but many are the same. Our experiences in the school and making friends are more international than Belgian. So, we go bowling but try to order a chocolate milk shake in French. And I go on tours of Brussels, learning about history and art with a bunch of women from all over the world. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to get to know some Belgian people as well.

Click to see:

- pictures of our hometown, Braine L'Alleud