The Mangel Draaien

This huge contraption is at the wassalon and so far I've personally witnessed 3 different people ironing their sheets. Yes, the sole purpose of this huge machine is to iron sheets.

The sign above it says

Translated says

No jeans or garments with buttons or zippers in the mangle turning

Believe it or not, the mangle press has been around for a long time and was popular for ironing sheets in the 40's and 50's. You can even buy vintage mangle irons on ebay! I had never heard the term mangle iron before. Although I've been tempted after seeing the results of ironed sheets, I haven't seriously considered using this thing.

the L.E.A.S.E.

Yep, that's it. And even though I did inadvertently increase the text to "senior citizen", it is still a HUGE document. Although I haven't read the entire thing yet, here are some fun facts about our new proposed 9-year commitment.

Article 17: Maintenance at the tenant's expense.

Texts of Law:

Article 1728 C.C.

Blah, blah, blah - basic stuff like "keep the premises well maintained..."

Article 1755 C.C.

"No repairs to be at the tenant's expense, will actually be born by the tenant if they resulted from age or Acts of God solely"

Now HERE's the good part:

"Apart from the tenant's liabilities resulting from these general legal regulations and as an extension of them, he will be liable, among other things, for the following, possibly inconsistent with Article 1755 C.C.:

* Floor coverings, painting, and wallpapering:

"The tenant shall in due course maintain and, as the case may be, replace the floor covering and paint the inner walls even if this replacement was the result of usual wear, age, coincidence or Acts of God"

*Windows:

"The tenant will have to maintain all interior and exterior windows and have them replaced by others of the same quality when they are broken or even only burst and this even when caused by accident or by an Act of God."

This goes on and on about what we as tenants will maintain, replace, etc at our own expense regardless of the cause. I can see us replacing who knows what. And there isn't even a provision for an inspection so we don't even know if those previously mentioned "floor coverings" and "windows" need replacing now! Not to mention the heating unit, and the . . . .

Soooo, this is only about half a page of that document pictured above. I'm no advocaat, but I think this agreement just might leave us solely at the mercy of the lessor. What do you think?!

Bring me a shrubbery

I know I've already posted about shrubbery, but when we were riding around this past weekend, we saw this amazing lawn. This is all at one house and yes, those are little animals! I just couldn't resist another shrubbery post.

The color purple

I've never really been a fan of wearing purple (unless it involved GreƩK letters, of course), but in pretty much every window of every store that sells men's or women's fashions there is at least something and sometimes a lot of PURPLE. So I don't know if this is a sign of Fall, but I hope you look good in lilac.

I think it might be Fall

We had no idea how far north we are in the world until we looked it up on the internet. And we really never thought about where we used to live in relation to the rest of the world. The northernmost point in the U.S. lower 48 is in Lake of the Woods, Minnesota. That's farther north than any place in Maine or Washington.

By comparison, Hasselt, Belgium, where we live, is even farther north than Minnesota. It would be the equivalent of driving about 70 miles north of Lake of the Woods, Minnesota into Canada. Also by comparison, Ruston is close to the same latitude as Tel Aviv, Israel which is way south of all of Europe.

The weather here has been nearly perfect since I got here as were the 2 weeks we spent in late May. Every day has been around a low of 13 and a high of 21. That's a range of about 55 to 70F. However, the upcoming weather report indicates Summer may be over. This time next week the low is 7 and the high is 9. Again, for me and all you other non-metricists, that's 45 and 48!

I understand it doesn't get nearly as cold here as it does in Minnesota or Canada because of the North Sea, but I guess we'll find out soon enough (how cold it gets).

The chosen ones

Apparently proof of income and copies of passports was enough for us to be the lucky "chosen" ones to rent the house we "applied" for. No meeting with the owner, no groveling about what good huurders we'd be - nothing. Just a phone call from the realtor saying "you won".

Of course we applied for the nicer house so remember that rent range? Yeah, we'd be at that end of it. But there were so many amenities. Like a garage (no trying to find a parking place on the street) and a garden (no walking the dog in the rain) and safer staircases (no broken necks) and . . . well you get the picture.

Now comes the hard part. Do we take it? Do we enter into that 9 yr. lease agreement? Do we pay an arm and a leg and at least another calf for rent? Was I secretly hoping we'd not be the chosen ones? Do we wait and risk finding another huis that only costs an arm and a thigh? One with 5" stair treads and only a sink?

It's Friday. I'll think about that tomorrow . . . 'cause tomorrow is anutha day.

The list

Jim is returning to the States in October to fetch the hondje (doggy) and I have started a list of items he will need to stuff in his bag to bring back. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can't just go out and buy over-the-counter medicine. Anywhere. Except of course the apotheek (pharmacy). So when you get a headache, you have to go see the pharmacist!

So Jim has this cold and he swears by Nyquil. I go in search of Nyquil and was sure I'd found a "Walgreens" when I was once again disappointed to learn it was a big store filled with everything but OTC meds. I stop by the apotheek and am immediately intimidated by the white lab coat and my "lie" that I have a cold and need Nyquil. So, as a last resort, I did all I could do. I bought Jim Beam and Jim (Frazier) said he felt better this morning so we just call Jim Beam Nyquil now.

Tot ziens to the Reluctant Blogger :)

You may have noticed I decided to change my profile name and no longer be called the Reluctant Blogger. Although I was definitely reluctant in the beginning, I can no longer make that claim. I not only enjoy blogging on my own blog, I really enjoy reading other blogs too!

A huis te huur

I have looked at so many houses on the various websites that I'm having to keep a notebook just to remember those I've eliminated. I've now toured a total of 7 properties, but looked at hundreds on the internet.

Our only real criteria is more than one bedroom (slapkamer) and a garden (tuin). Most every house/apartment has multiple levels. At least 3 and sometimes 4 so lots of staircases! Plus keep in mind this city is really old and most of these houses/apartments are too. We toured one that's pretty new and a bit expensive, but nice. It was big too. We really don't need 4 slapkamers, a cellar, and an attic! We visited another one we sort of liked. It did have all those extra rooms and a teeny, tiny kitchen, but it seemed "homey". The kitchens are usually about half the size of my bathroom at home. Plus in this one house/apartment, we'd have to supply our own appliances! I'm talking stove AND refrigerator! The only thing they leave is the kitchen sink. Seriously!

Anyway, over the course of these few weeks we've gotten the beginning of an education on leasing here. There are laws regarding lease agreements and they are enforced by the government. From what we understand, the lease is for 9 years. This is divided into 3 year segments so you are really only obligated for 3 years, we presume. If you leave before your lease has ended (your 3 year lease) you are penalized through a graduated penalty system. I think it's a way to protect the renter from being evicted.

You pay a deposit of usually 3 months rent and from what I hear you may not get this back for as long as a year after you move out. I was reading on the internet that you have to be careful that the lease doesn't say the property will be in "perfect" condition when you move out because in this case you could be responsible for an entire renovation! This probably almost never happens and I'm sure that website was talking about "worst case scenarios", but since the contract will be in Dutch, we decided the advocaat (lawyer) in Brussels who helped with Jim's work permit should review our lease before we sign any dotted lines!

Here's the strange part of it all. If you decide you like a house and want to rent it, it's not up to you whether or not you get it. Many people may apply for a particular house/apartment. In this application you provide a declaration of your salary and a copy of your passports. Then the owner of the property reviews all the applications and decides who gets it. No discrimination here! I am a little worried that if we find the perfect place the owner may not "choose" us knowing we surely aren't going to fulfill the 9 year lease and maybe not even 3 years. I guess this is the only control the owner has since he/she is also entering into a potential long term relationship with the renter!

After all the looking, we decided to "apply" for the nicer, slightly expensive huis for fear it may be the only one that comes up and also meets our needs. The realtor said he would contact the owner who may want to meet with us personally. Should that happen, we will try to portray ourselves as the perfect huurders and he/she will wonder where we've been all his "renting" life.

Here are some photos of just a few of the houses we've considered. The houses are connected and very narrow. It looks like apartments, but they are considered houses because you have the whole thing to yourself. Apartments are multi-level and you usually only have one level. You can tell by the roof line where one huis stops and the next begins. These rent from 650 to over 1000 Euro. That's ~$950 to $1,600 per month. A lot, huh?

I'll keep you posted . . . Oh, and the title to this post is "A house to rent".

And then there's the BIER

As you probably already know, Belgium is famous for wafels (waffles), frites (fries), and chocolade (chocolate), but it's most famous for its bier (beer). And you only have to be here a day or two to know that. I understand there are over 800 kinds of beer brewed right here in Belgium. Some of the restaurants will have several pages of their menu devoted just to the kinds of beer they serve.

Here's the really great part - every beer has its own glass. Every restaurant has special glasses with the insignia of that particular beer. These are just a few of the many we've enjoyed while here. Thanks again to Ross for some of the pics!

We decided to tour the closest brewery to us - Ter Dolen. It's in the town of Helchteren which is only about 15 minutes from Hasselt. We enjoyed the tour and the bier!

Food, glorious food . . . and drink

Some of the food here is pretty interesting and sometimes it can be quite expensive, but we're enjoying trying new things. Thanks to Ross for some of these pics!

The first picture is a loaf of bread we bought at a bakery in Zolder. It's a community about 20 minutes away where we go for our Flemish lessons. The town is divided into Belgians and Turks. Apparently years ago when there were coal mines, the town became somewhat divided by race and has remained so to this day. There's no animosity between the races, just for the record. The area where this bakery is has mostly Turkish people. The bread was really good and cost less than $2. We also got some baklava which was really sweet and gooey.

There is a really good sandwich called a doner kabop that is made with this bread. It's sort of like a gyro. I understand it's Turkish and it is definitely popular around here. The bread will separate like pita bread and then they stuff it with all kinds of good stuff. A loaf like the one above is usually cut into 4 pieces to make 4 doner kabops. Yummy. Wish I had a picture of that because we ate one last weekend. Yummy.

When I took these bananas to the checkout, the cashier said something in Flemish and I said "do you speak English?". She just smiled, waved her hand, got up, went a few aisles down, and came back with this sticker on my bananas. I surmised that I was supposed to have weighed them and printed that sticker in the produce department. I also surmised that she thought it was easier to do it for me than to try to explain what I should have done! I will try to do better next time. Anyway, I was shocked that they were 1 Euro 6 cent. That's equivalent to $1.56 for 2 bananas!

More bread. Sliced bread like Holsum or Sunbeam just isn't available here. Anywhere. All bread is fresh-baked and sold in it's whole form. There are slicers at every store so you can choose the thickness of your slice or just cut it as you like at home. This picture is of an automatic bread dispenser. In case you missed open hours of your favorite bakery, you can just get a loaf of bread right out of the dispenser (called a broodautomaat)! This one is right on the street about a block from our apartment.

Mosselen. AKA mussels. You know those shellfish that are similar to oysters? They are incredibly popular here when in season. Definitely as popular as crawfish are in the States. These people love these things and every restaurant advertises that they have them. I don't particularly care for them, but Jim seems to enjoy them. This picture is a package of mosselen at the grocery store. I wish I'd taken a photo of the times Jim has ordered these at restaurants. They're served in a black pot sort of like a Dutch oven (ha ha "Dutch" oven).

Yeah, I thought the same thing at first. These are hot dogs and they are actually pretty good once you get over the fact that they come in a jar with water. This is the only way you can buy them!

This is my new favorite drink. It's a carbonated drink with an orange flavor. It's low in calories and very refreshing. This bottle is only ,93 Euro. It's delicious and cheap!

Koffie. It is really an event around here. I have been fascinated by this since our very first visit and I have not been disappointed yet. The coffee is delicious and made very special with all the extras. It's always brought on a tray with doile and napkin and in a cup with saucer. Each cup is made separately like at Starbucks. Not only the cappucino, but regular coffee is too. They always bring whipped cream, little individually wrapped sugar cubes, little creamers, tiny silver spoons and always a cookie or little muffin. Always some little sweet snack. Of course it costs about 3 Euro, but this is one of my favorite things to do. Go out for coffee. The first picture is of regular coffee and Hasselt coffee. Hasselt coffee is made with jenever - a liqueur made with juniper berries. It's made right here in Hasselt. It's pretty strong by itself, but really good in coffee. Sort of like Irish coffee.

I really like this last picture. It is us having dinner at the Century the night before Ross went home. That bright light in the background is not a train. It's the sun setting (I mean the camera flash :). As I mentioned, sometimes the food is expensive, but we all enjoyed the experience and I look forward to all of us doing it again very soon!

A wedding tradition, I suppose

Last evening we walked to a restaurant to have a koffie. The weather was perfect so we sat outside. Most restaurants have at least as much seating outside as they do inside. It was nice to enjoy the evening and watch the people come and go. There was a large table of people near us. After a while they all got up and went just to the side of where all the tables were and lit something like a little white hot air balloon. It went up and stayed lit and travelled until we couldn't see it anymore. Then a little later they lit another one. This one was red. The picture I took doesn't do justice. They were really beautiful.

Well, when I got a better look at the group, I noticed a couple I had seen getting married that very afternoon! What a coincidence, huh? I was walking around town earlier in the day and noticed this large gathering at the City Hall (which is a really beautiful old building that looks like a church). This couple was on the steps having their picture made and although they were dressed in normal dressy clothes (no bridal gown), she had a bouquet and they kissed for pictures, so I figured it was a wedding.

Anyway, below is the literal translation of what is apparently a tradition at weddings here with the hot air balloons.

Even long afterglow

During the recent romantic song is for everyone around the couple with stars and burning lighters. Guests go to where everyone gets a balloon with pre-written cards with a personal greeting or wish. If the Groom comes out sounds a loud cheer and go all the balloons air. Even weeks after the wedding the bride gets congratulations sent home that by the lucky finder of the balloon were sent. Fun is also a personal contribution to prescribe when the card is returned is. How about of, "I am your personal one weeks driver" . . . Nice to have weeks to enjoy!

Blue eyes, trailers, bad teeth, and squeegees

I have never seen so many people with blue eyes. And furthermore, I have seen very few people with brown eyes. That's it.

There are no mobile homes in Belgium. None. Geen.

The obsession with perfect teeth has not hit Belgium so I fit right in. The multi-colored crowns throughout my mouth seem perfectly normal here. I'm not sure why though because the "universal" healthcare plan here covers tanheelkunde (that's dentistry). The dentist is a tandarts. Maybe it's because I haven't met many young people. Anyway, imperfect teeth seem to be "universal".

And lastly, the squeegee. You know, those things we only see at gas stations? Well, everyone here owns at least one and they use them . . . to clean everything. The windows, the floors, the front steps, the sidewalk! Cleaning your little corner of the world appears to be very important here.

. . . and finally the police came.

Well, let me start at the beginning. We have been attempting to receive a residency visa since months before we left the U.S. I'm sure the process is simple compared to what I hear about getting a visa for the U.S., but nevertheless, it has been a challenge.

First comes the work permit.

The first order of business before we left the U.S. was for Jim to receive a work permit to work in Belgium. This required some paperwork, assistance from Norbord H.R., a couple of lawyers in Brussels and several months. He's got a permit.

Second comes the residency visa.

We both required:

- a notarized medical certificate stating we are in good health. This wasn't too difficult because thankfully, we are both in good health and the doctor has his own notary in the office.

- an FBI background check. This required going to the Shreveport Police Dept. and for only $20 each we got a set of fingerprints. These we mailed these to the FBI, along with forms, a SASE, and for another $18 each, we received (in about 3 weeks) a criminal history that simply said "No Arrest Record". It's always good to know someone with your name and fingerprints isn't also a criminal :)

Since I was "co-habitating" with the "work permitted" worker, I required:

- a "new" original of my birth certificate (with apostille). This also required a trip to Shreveport to the Office of Vital Records and for $15 (and about 3 hours) I got an original birth certificate.

- a "new" original of my marriage license (with apostille). This required a trip to Ruston to the Clerk of Court. After only about an hour and $7, I had an official copy of my marriage license. It wouldn't have taken an hour, but since we'd been married so long she had to go down to the basement since those records weren't readily accessible anymore!

- the "apostille" is basically an authentication of the documents mentioned above and recognized by most countries in accordance with the Convention de La Haye du 5 Octobre 1961. It basically means that the Secretary of the State (Louisiana's is Jay Dardenne) certifies that the signatures on those 2 documents are the real thing. And all this for a request letter, a SASE, a couple of weeks, and only $20 per document.

Sooooooo, now we think we have all our paperwork and according to the Belgian Embassy website, we will have to present all our paperwork with passports to the NY office in person. Turns out they are more accommodating than that and we have been led to believe we can just get the residency visa processed here in Hasselt. Really? That easy?

Here's where the politie come in (pronounced "poe leet' see" - I know there's no "s" or "c" in that word, but that's how you say it).

One is required to register with City Hall within 8 days of arrival into the country so about 3 weeks ago, that's what we did. We brought our big folder of all that paperwork I just mentioned and registered to apply for the residency visa.

The lady at City Hall, who thankfully spoke perfect English, filled out some forms, attached passport photos we brought with us, and gave us a copy of what we assume is our visa application. She said the police would come by our apartment within 2 weeks to check to be sure we really lived there, fill out a form, send it to City Hall, and we would get a card in the mail to come back to City Hall. That sounded easy enough.

Well, after 2 and a half weeks, no politie. So, I go to the politie dept. and find out I need to call the politie for our area of town on his cell phone and make an appointment. Soooooo, in case he didn't speak English, Jim asked a co-worker to call for us. He did and voila! the politie showed up the next day. . . or so I thought.

This guy came to the door and he spoke very poor English which can't compare to my even poorer Flemish. He said something like he was here to check our apartment. Naturally, I thought he was the politie. He explained in "poor" English that often foreigners (and he mentioned a couple of nationalities by name which I won't do - not American) come to Belgium and bring a "boatload" of family members with them. They apparently rent a very small residence and after receiving a visa demand that the government provide them with adequate housing for the "boatload" of family members. Not sure exactly what he meant, but I think it might equate to our immigration problems in the U.S. Welfare, healthcare, etc. for whoever makes it across the border?

Anyway, he looked around the apartment to make sure it was adequate for 2 people, filled out some paperwork and as he was leaving, the politie showed up! So, you can imagine my surprise since I thought this guy WAS the politie. Turns out the first guy was from the City Administration. So, the politie comes in and he says he doesn't need to look around and just asks me questions like "Is it just the 2 of you?" Yes. "Do you own this house?" No. He fills out paperwork and leaves.

I am checking the mailbox every day for that card we're supposed to be receiving to return to City Hall, but I'm not holding my breath since the last wait for the politie turned into me going and asking why they hadn't shown up yet. I guess in a couple of weeks, I'll return to City Hall and ask "where's that card we were supposed to get?"

I'll keep you posted.

A nice weekend

On Saturday, we drove to Genk (where Norbord is located). It's about 20 minutes east of Hasselt. Norbord has a team that races these go-karts in competition. They are pretty serious about it and the race lasts 10 hours! There was a reception at 13:00 and we ended up staying until almost 18:00. It was nice to meet some of Jim's new co-workers and their families. I didn't need to speak a word of Flemish because like everywhere else we've been . . . . they all speak English.

This past Friday afternoon we stopped in a fruit and vegetable store in downtown Hasselt and then went next door to buy some cheese. Upon leaving we were handed an invitation to the store's 25th anniversary celebration to be held the following Sunday afternoon. We decided to go and we were so glad we did. It was really nice with free champagne, wine, beer, fresh-squeezed orange juice, live music, and chicken-on-a stick! As you can see there was quite a crowd. The street was blocked completely except for the sidewalks on either side.

The staircase and stilettos

This is looking down the staircase in our little apartment that leads from the main floor down to the bedroom and bath. It is narrow, steep, and the treads are about 2" shorter than they should be so one must turn their foot a bit sideways to walk down them. The black rectangle you see at the bottom is the built-in doormat. Isn't that clever? The tile is actually cut out to accommodate this little doormat.

Anyway, after going up and down this narrow, steep, short-treaded staircase, I decided my house hunt criteria would include finding a place with 1) no stairs or 2) safer stairs. Turns out every place I've looked at has either 1) similar stairs or 2) more unsafe stairs. I'm not giving up yet. Still looking for that elusive single-level house.

Some of you may remember my tumble down the brick steps at my neighbor's house in Jefferson. One witness even called it graceful . . . . for a tumble down brick steps. Since that time, I've sworn off wearing heels of any kind. I used to pride myself on being able to maneuver just about any situation in heels, but not after that. And if I hadn't sworn off heels before this move, it would certainly be prudent now.

This picture is of the downtown streets of Hasselt. Notice they are cobblestone. This particular street has nice sidewalks, but some are just cobblestone all the way across. Just walking on them in ordinary shoes can be a challenge. You should see some of the women I've seen walking briskly in high heels on these stones! I mean every foot length is a potential heel-loser in one of the millions of cracks! I've nearly turned my ankle on the little indention between the sidewalk and the bike lane! Fortunately, there are sidewalks of square bricks with millions of cracks, but at least they are flat.

Photo Shoot

Just a few pics Ross and I took around town....

Shrubbery

As I mentioned in an earlier post, they take their shrubbery seriously. Pretty amazing, huh? Notice even the trees are shaped into big balls. And this is everywhere! Funny thing with all the walking around I've done, I have never seen anyone pruning.

Shopping Cart Savvy

This is one ingenious way to round up carts at the grocery story. In order to use a shopping cart, you have to put a 1 or 2 Euro coin in the slot and this key mechanism separates your cart from the others. When you return your cart and reinsert the key you get your coin back. Voila! No random carts all over the parking lot and no cart runners needed.

Of course, as Ross observed, in the US, no one would bother since the biggest coin is a quarter. And speaking of coins, I conclude the Euro system has too many. While I think the 1 and 2 Euro could be pretty handy, I just seem to collect them because I can't get used to using them. In addition to the 1 and 2 Euro, there's a 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, and 50 cent! That's 8 coins compared to the US with really only 4 that are used.

Belgie Frites? Not French Fries?

A Belgian historian recounts that potatoes were already fried in 1680 when the poor inhabitants of the Liege' region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals.

A Belgian legend claims that the term "French" was introduced when British or American soldiers arrived in Belgium during WWI, and consequently tasted Belgian fries. The supposedly called them "French", as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time.

Whether or not Belgians invented them, "frites" became the national snack and a substantial part of both national dishes, making the Belgians their largest per capita consumers in Europe and their symbolic creators.

AZERTY keyboard

Yep, that's right. No QWERTY keyboards here. And see how it has all those symbols I need? like the 2 little dots over the "i" in Belgie so it can be pronounced properly as "bell ee ya"? and the Euro symbol on the "E" key? and all those others that I have no idea what they are?

The standard glovebox cooler

No, I'm not kidding. That little round thing is blowing out cold air so the glove box can be used as a cooler and an open container of beer is apparently perfectly legal. For passengers only, of course. Not sure why there are 2 indentions on the door though. Guess that passenger may need 2 beers with the speed people drive around here!

And speaking of driving. There are no STOP signs. Seriously, the only STOP sign I've seen was in the grocery store parking lot. Approaching a 4-way intersection is anybody's guess. I can only assume that drivers around here are just smart enough to know you may want to yield or even STOP when you are approaching a 4-way intersection or about to pull out into oncoming traffic? Hmmm . . . maybe those STOP signs really aren't needed.

Spreek u Nederlands?

Lesson #1

I went for my first Dutch lesson this week. It lasted 4 hours and now that I'm fluent I'm going to start typing all my posts in Dutch.

De les begon met koolzuurhoudend water recht uit een dispenser. Daarna gingen we aan het leren hoe je jezelf die tot dusver heb ik niet nodig omdat ik nog niemand ontmoet omdat ik niet spreek Nederlands te voeren. Natuurlijk, alles wat nu zal veranderen, dat ik vloeiend ben.

Daarna gingen we naar werkwoord vervoeging beginnen met "to be". Je weet ... zoals ik ben, je bent, hij is, enz. Nou, dit was een wind! We gingen eroverheen oh .... 5 of 6 keer en ik was nooit in staat terug te roepen. Nooit. Eerlijk gezegd, zelfs ik kon niet geloven wat ik blanco Ik hield tekening!

Just kidding, that was thanks to Google translate and here's what it says for all us monoglots.

The lesson began with sparkling water right out of a dispenser. Then we went on to learn how to introduce ourselves which so far I haven't needed since I haven't met anyone because I don't speak Dutch. Of course, all that will change now that I'm fluent.

Then we went on to verb conjugation beginning with "to be". You know... like I am, you are, he is, etc. Well, this was a breeze! We went over it oh....5 or 6 times and I was never able to recall it. Never. Frankly, even I couldn't believe what a blank I kept drawing!

So I guess that means I'm not fluent yet and may need to go back for Lesson #2 next week. Oh, and now that you know what all that Dutch says up there, you should go back and try to make some sense of it :)

Perspective

As I was leaving our little one bedroom apartment today, dragging Jim's Eddie Bauer rolling duffle bag full of dirty laundry, pocket filled with Euros, headed to the wassalon, this thought occurred to me. We have 2 houses, 2 washers, 2 dryers, and 2 cars. What's wrong with this picture?

And then....

As I left the wassalon, dragging Jim's Eddie Bauer rolling duffle bag full of clean laundry, pockets empty, headed back to our little one bedroom apartment, this thought occurred to me. Is this what makes life interesting?

And then....

This thought occurred to me. Will I have to quit referring to myself as "glass half empty"?

Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves :)

Reality check and no fashionista

I've spent my first 2 days by myself and although the weather has been great, I sure wish Ross was still here. Somehow going to the wassalon and taking the bus was a lot more fun when he was here :) I know once I establish a routine for myself it will get better. I'm definitely not homesick - I just wish everyone were over here with me! Or is that homesick?

In my very first post on this blog, I listed some of the observations I'd made during our first trip to Belgium. I've definitely made more and here are a few:

1. jeans fit like a glove

I mean my jeans are tight, but not for all the right reasons

2. suntanning very popular

I'm afraid I may soon find out why people are sunlovers - December promises to bring a sunrise at 8:30 and sunset at 16:30 (no need to do the math - that's 4:30 pm) - a really short day.

When we were here in May it got light around 4:30 and got dark around 22:30 (again, no need to do the math - that's 10:30pm) - a very looooong day.

3. nice hair salons almost outnumber cars

I'm sure I will eventually plunk down plenty Euro for help with my troubled head

4. if you put your toe out at a crosswalk, even the city busses screech to a halt

This is a nice feature since I haven't fully grasped the rules of the road - bikers are still "belling" at me to get out of their lane

5. fashion is a priority and I don't mean just for the lovely people

I am definitely feeling - how should I say it? - "frumpy". I am no fashionista and it is becoming painfully evident the more I am out and about in clam diggers and tennis shoes.

6. "excuse me" and "hey" just aren't necessary

People on the sidewalk or in a store watch for you and move aside so no bumping into anyone, therefore no "oh sorry" or "excuse me" needed. Plus, people don't just smile and greet you randomly with "hey" if they don't know you. It's almost awkward, but I'm getting used to it.

7. you can stay at a restaurant for as long as you like

Once you sit down at a table you will never be coaxed into leaving by a waiter. Even if all you have is one drink - you can stay there all night! You even have to flag the waiter down for that 3rd beer or if you want the reckening (the check). Nice change.

8. shrubbery is serious business

Sculpting of shrubs is an art form here and some get quite creative with it. Everyone has either no yard at all or a very small one so every inch of it is sculpted and manicured.

9. no cocktails

There are hundreds of different kinds of beer, every kind of hard liquor, and most any kind of wine, but no cocktails. None. No mimosas, no margaritas, no mojitos. They don't seem to have even heard of a martini.

10. need to learn Flemish (the dialect of Dutch spoken here)

Okay, I know this is from my first list, but it's getting more and more obvious. I get to go with Jim to his tutoring session tomorrow so we should both be fluent in no time : /

Resolving issues from afar...and on Labor Day Weekend

For the last 2 nights I've chatted online with at&t in an effort to resolve an internet connection problem at the Jefferson house. Naturally it can't be as easy as a free online chat, right? The first night was spent with the rep trying to figure out what the problem is and then supposedly putting in an order to fix it. Problem solved.

Not so fast. It now appears it may be a faulty modem so Ross attempts to exchange the modem and they ask for the receipt. Receipt? Uh, the guy who installed the internet connection brought the modem with him. I can't believe I didn't ask him for a receipt.

So in order for Ross to make this exchange (assuming at&t can establish a connection between us, the installer, and our modem), he needs to be an authorized user on my account. Okay, this makes sense so I start another free online chat with "Abigail" to take care of this. Abigail wants very much to resolve all my issues because she said so in her very first statement, but as you might guess...

Welcome Mrs. Karen Frazier.

Abigail has joined this session!

Abigail

Hi Mrs. Frazier

You

Hello

Abigail

Thank you for contacting AT&T Internet Services. How may I help you?

You

I need assistance adding my son as an authorized user on my att internet account

Abigail

We value you as our customer and I would like to assure you that I will try my best to resolve your issue.

You

ok thank you

Abigail

I will do my best to resolve this issue for you. Let me repeat what your said, you want to create he sub account for your son. Am I correct?

You

Well, here's the problem. I am out of town and he is trying to resolve a repair issue with our internet connection. I spoke to a rep yesterday and there is a problem with the lines. My son is unable to do anything about exchanging the modem and having the repairs if he is not an authorized person on the account

Abigail

Okay. Thank you.

Abigail

Please let me know the DSL telephone number.

You

065-**9-****

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier , if you want I can escalate the issue to the line Department.

You

Well, I think that was supposed to already be taken care of. I chatted with someone here yesterday and they did a line test and determined it was the line then said they would run more tests and I gave them my son's phone number to call about it. Do you know the status of this repair?

Abigail

Okay. May I ask you the security question for the verification?

You

I don't know a security question. He gave me a reference number of wtxy****5621

Abigail

Who is your favorite singer?

You

Oh you mean on my account? I answered the question about favorite author and said ________

You

I also answered some question with _______. I can't remember the question

Abigail

I am sorry that is the incorrect answer.

Abigail

The question is who is your favorite singer?

You

I have no idea what you are talking about. I didn't answer the favorite singer question, I answered the others I just mentioned. I recorded the answers for this very reason.

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier , this is the question associated with your account.

You

I understand what you are saying, but there were several questions to choose from and I didn't choose "favorite singer"

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier, I understand your concern however If you want I can create a trouble ticket for your connection.

You

Here's what I need. One, I need for my son to be authorized to exchange or return the modem that is apparently not working and to allow any repairs to be made to the lines coming into our house. Two, I need to know if there is a repair already in process for our account!

You

Please, I am in Belgium and I cannot do anything more from here.

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier, I understand your concern however in this regard I would request you to call us on our voice department at 1-877-722-3755 and ask for the Orders Department.

Abigail

They are available in business hours 0700-1900 hours (Monday-Friday).

You

This is not helping me

Abigail

I understand however the Orders Department is the concerned department.

You

For what?

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier , they will help you with 1. exchange of the modem, 2. As you are unable to provide me the correct answer, they will help you with your repair status.

You

Unbelievable! I know for a fact the answers I provided are correct as I do not have a favorite singer so therefore I couldn't have possibly answered that question. This has not been helpful and I am very frustrated

You

And by the way, we have more than one att account. My son is the one who may or may not have answered the questions on our OTHER account, but on THIS account that I am referring to, I answered the questions!

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier, I can understand why you feel frustrated. I would feel the same way if I were in your situation however without verifying the security question I won't be able to provide your information regarding the account details.

You

Are you looking at the right account? I have a wireless phone account in Louisiana and a completely separate internet account in Texas. I am only talking about the Texas internet account.

Abigail

I would request you to call us on our Voice Department at 1-87-722-3755 and ask for the ASI (Line Department).

You

And what are they going to do?

Abigail

Yes, I am on the same account and this is the only security question I can see in your account.

You

Okay, I have no idea what to do because I assume at this point, even I can't do anything about it since apparently the security answer is one I can NEVER provide.

You

Is there no other possible way I can prove this is my account?!!!!!

Abigail

Please don't worry.

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier, if you want I can create an other ticket.

You

What do you mean?

Abigail

I will escalate the case to the Line Department.

You

I think that's what you said about 15 minutes ago so go ahead. I will say this has been one waste of both our time

Abigail

Mrs. Frazier, as a technical support agent I can only help you with this. For further resolution I would request you to contact the concerned department.

You

Whatever

Abigail

Is there anything else that I may assist you with today?

You

Yes, you can transfer me to the correct "concerned department" please

Abigail

I am sorry Mrs. Frazier ,there is no chat support for the departments. I would request you to call the department.

You

Well, again I am in Belgium and it is 10:30 pm here. I look forward to starting this whole thing over again tomorrow with someone else at whatever the phone rates are.

Abigail

Thank you.

Your session has ended.

Well, there you have it. One hour wasted and nothing resolved from afar. By the way, I logged onto my account after this chat session and Dr. Seuss and Canada are the correct answers for the security questions on my account. I guess I will never be able to convince Abigail of this.