Our neighbors just returned from a week-long vacation to Las Vegas. They stopped by to show us pictures and tell us about their trip. This wasn't their first visit to the States, but it was only their second. New York was their first - several years ago.
They really had nothing but good things to say. Really. They thought Las Vegas was impressive. Although it was warm, they thought the weather was nice. They rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon which they thought was stunning. Despite airport delays and missing their connecting flight due to Customs delays, they thought it was a great experience.
They were surprised at how much vitamin water is sold in America. This was their one observation? Interesting.
Look what they brought home to us! They do know me well. Sadly, they made the dreadful mistake of packing the peanut butter and marshmallow creme in their carry-on. I do hope those TSA workers enjoyed my Jif and surely they will use the marshmallow creme to make fudge. Bon appetit. Smakelijk. And whatever Americans say for this.
But here's the most important part - they thought Americans were nice and helpful.
On the second Sunday in March (that's today) Americans (well, all but Hawaiians and Arizonans) will move their clocks forward at the designated hour: 2:00 a.m. local standard time. Despite there being no real logic to this, they will still do it. Instead of getting up at 6:00 a.m., you will now get to sleep until 7:00 a.m.
Well, sort of.
The longest day here is 16 and a half hours. Not today, but in June. Less than 8 hours of night and some of that's dusk and dawn. It's also over 2 hours longer than the longest day back in Jefferson so does that hour "time change" really matter? With dawn before 5:00 a .m. and dusk after 10:00 p.m., I don't think so.
Europeans will wait until the last Sunday in March to do this same inane thing at the designated hour: 1:00 a.m. UTC and we'll once again be 7 hours ahead of everybody we know.
UTC? That's Coordinated Universal Time. I have no idea why it's not called CUT, but it's not. It's UTC. Not to be confused with GMT. Greenwich Mean Time.
UTC is the time standard by which all the world regulates time and date. Yeah, I thought it was Greenwich Mean Time too, but GMT is no longer the standard by which all time is measured. And it hasn't been for decades.
UTC is the time used for computers, etc. and is based on TAI.
TAI? That's International Atomic Time. Not sure why it's not called IAT, but it's not. It's TAI. TAI adds leap seconds at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation. Seems like we could just eliminate UTC and GMT and just go with TAI, but why further complicate an already complicated system?
I know we're supposed to be "saving daylight" and using less energy, but how many people in the world does this really work for? Are Arizonans and Hawaiians using more than their fair share of light bulbs? Alaskans must laugh at this concept of "saving daylight". I think they'd be glad to delete some of it during Daylight Savings Time. Their longest day is 3 hours longer than ours!
Of course, I know why we all need to be on the same page when it comes to time. Otherwise planes and trains and church bells would be in a mess. I do wonder sometimes why the bells on the church near our house ring at quarter after the hour. I guess they never got synced up with TAI, UTC, or GMT.
A couple of weeks ago our Flemish teacher was sick so he missed a few days of class. When he returned we commented that we were glad he was feeling better and could return to work. He enjoys speaking English when he gets the chance and since we were the only ones in the classroom at the time, he told us an interesting story.
He said 'I don't know what you call it in America, but here, when you're sick, the house doctor comes and 1) decides if you are indeed sick 2) assesses your symptoms and determines how to treat you and 3) decides at that moment when you should be well and ready to go back to work.' He said the doctor can say two days, three days, etc and you must return to work on the designated day. Now I assume if you are still sick on "return to work" day, you can call the house doctor back and be reassessed.
By the way, I told him in America, we don't call that kind of doctor anything because they haven't existed for about 50 years.
I wonder if this whole scenario is because he works for the government by teaching Flemish to the masses. He said, and it is true everywhere, that sometimes people will take advantage of being sick and stay away from work more days than necessary. He further stated that some companies will actually pay a bonus to the house doctor if they are able to get a person back to work sooner. I don't know if that's true, but it is an interesting system.
I can't say I'd need anybody to tell me when I should and shouldn't go to work when I'm sick and for the years I worked, I was fortunate to have never missed a day because I was sick.
I've always been a stickler for that. From preschool on, our kids rarely missed a day of school. Frankly, I can't remember them ever missing a day of school. And for that I am grateful. I remember when Randi broke her collarbone on the playground at A.E. Phillips. Since Jim and I both worked out of town, Jim's Dad picked her up at school, took her to the ER, had her x-rayed, and took her home. Although she wore a brace, she went to school the next day. Why not?
I didn't need a government-paid huis dokter to tell me she could function just as well in a desk as she could on the couch. Unfortunately, I guess some of us do - here and there.
I'm pretty sure all a huis dokter would tell me is that I could use a shrink.
I had a ridiculous fear of driving in Europe when we first arrived here. I was amazed that Jim could navigate with all the signage in numerous foreign languages. We don't even drive on the "wrong" side of the road as in the U.K., but it's still daunting. At first.
Cars move at high speeds like everywhere and there's no time to stop and think. I mentioned in an earlier post that there are almost no stop signs and very few traffic signals. But there are thousands of roundabouts (called rotondes in Belgium).
Once you start driving in Europe you are bound to encounter a roundabout. Navigating one of these was one of my biggest fears because the traffic continues to flow - there's no stopping. After exiting one of these you are immediately grateful you survived and wonder how, with everyone changing lanes and asking yourself who yields to whom.
But once you figure it out you'll realize it's an ingenious invention.
Roundabouts are designed to increase traffic flow, reduce accidents, reduce fuel consumption and reduce emissions. And they actually do all that. I admit it can be confusing at first. I don't know how many roundabouts there are in Belgium, but I learned there are 30,000 in France compared to 2,000 in the States. From my experience, I'm guessing there may be even more in Belgium than in France!
Consider this . . . the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety reports that converting an intersection from traffic signals or stop signs to roundabouts reduced injury crashes by 80% and all crashes by 40%!
I'll let you mull that one a moment. Reduced injury crashes by 80% and all crashes by 40%.
Another study of higher-speed rural intersections found that injury crashes were reduced by 84% and fatal crashes were completely eliminated. Yes. Like all those dangerous intersections (think Maple-Barnett Springs) that are all over Louisiana and Texas where some idiot runs the stop sign and kills a family of 4.
By all means, mull that statistic a moment. Fatal crashes completely eliminated.
Of course you can't discount the reduction in emissions by more than 30% either.
Because traffic moves in a single direction, roundabouts essentially eliminate the potential for dangerous crashes like head-on collisions. The driver speeding up to make a green light, abruptly stopping at a red light, or worse - speeding up to miss it, doesn't exist. Traffic lights and stop signs aren't needed so it isn't possible to do any or all of the above.
Obviously accidents do occur, but they are mainly side-swiping. Again, head-on collisions not possible.
The biggest problem for Americans (me included) is that most Americans don't know how to navigate them, they have an irrational fear of them, and they often oppose them simply because they don't understand them.
So hopefully, when a roundabout is proposed in your town, don't do like some American cities have done - sign petitions to quash it. A lot of opinionated people haven't learned enough to form an opinion. And a lot of people just don't know what's good for them. The amazing statistics speak for themselves and that's not an opinion, that's a fact.
This reluctant American figured it out and it really is an ingenious invention. Not to mention a lifesaver.
In the event you haven't driven a roundabout and think you might encounter one in the near future (or ever), here is a short video on how to drive a roundabout.
Worth watching.
You can see why texting, talking on your cell phone, applying lipstick and drinking coffee really aren't an option here. Nor should they be anywhere.
Of course it's very important to pay attention to when a roundabout is coming up so if you see . . .
a sign like this . . .
or this
or this,
you know a roundabout is in your future and this won't happen to you.
A very short video on how not to navigate a roundabout.
At least it was only a one car collision. Thanks roundabout.
So today is Mardi Gras and here in Hasselt, it's pretty much like any other day. There are no parades, parties, or King cakes. School is out this week, but not for Mardi Gras - for Krokusvakantie (Crocus Vacation).
This is a crocus.
Native to areas in central and southern Europe, it is one of the first signs of Spring. I took this picture in the park near our house.
Mardi Gras, (aka Shrove Tuesday in the ethnic English tradition) is French for Fat Tuesday and is celebrated across the world, but the most famous celebration is probably in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and of course, New Orleans.
Mardi Gras is also celebrated in Belgium, but perhaps a bigger celebration known as Carnavale, may occur on what is Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. That remains to be seen so I'll keep you posted.
Perhaps less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season. The Carnival season begins with Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night which falls on Jan 6 - 12 days after Christmas. This begins the partying which leads up to Fat Tuesday. Epiphany is traditionally when King Cake is served, but we always served in on Fat Tuesday.
The first Mardi Gras in the States occurred in Mobile in 1699 with the founding of the Point du Mardi Gras site. Led by French explorer, Iberville, the site was named because the holiday was being celebrated in his home country on that very day. Keep in mind that Mobile was then part of the French territory and was the first capital of French Louisiana.
So, Mardi Gras in Mobile is the oldest continual annual Carnival celebration in America - over 15 years before New Orleans was even founded.
But back to the meaning behind it all. . .
Lent in the Christian tradition is the period leading up to Easter. a time of sacrifice for Jesus and preparation of the believer for the Easter events. Conventionally it is forty days long though different denomications calculate it differently. The forty days, according to the Bible, are the days Jesus spent in the desert. Catholics observe Lent and some Protestant churches do too.
Now as you may know, Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent which occurs 46 days before Easter (40 days minus Sundays). It is the day when ashes are placed in the sign of the cross on the forehead of the faithful to signify repentance.
So why does the date for Easter and Lent and Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday change every year? After all, Christmas is always Dec 25; Valentines is always Feb 14; Halloween is always Oct 31, etc.
Well, it's a bit complicated and I'll never remember from year to year how to calculate it, but this is how it goes:
Easter is always the first Sunday after or on the first full moon after the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal Equinox in the Southern hemisphere.
Lent is 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and Mardi Gras is the day before Ash Wednesday.
That's it!
I think I'll just look at a calendar with holidays already on it.
And if you're looking for a really great King Cake, I know an awesome chef!
