Our Minds' Current Consumption

Owing to the plans for the future, as outlined in the post from Sunday Nov. 30th, we have been mulling over the options a lot recently. These are the facts:

Which one?

Oops.... the cat's out of the bag, I guess. Kristen, don't you have some news to share?

-RP-

Merry/Happy Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve in Brussels... we're here in our apartment. A tiny lasagna in the oven. Delicious salad in the making. Apple-crisp waiting. A few Christmas presents under the tree... err, TV stand (we don't have a tree). All in all, a quiet Christmas Eve. "Taking 'er easy". Like last year, though at that point we were in the middle of packing up to move to Arizona. We're not sure if we'll open the presents tonight (a la European style) or tomorrow morning (a la USA style). Tomorrow we're doing the US Christmas thing at the house of one of Kristen's former classmates. A pot-luck dinner. We're bringing mashed potatoes, drinks, and cups. Not very creative, but that's OK. We were more creative this past Saturday when we had a Scandinavian Jul-bord (Christmas Smorgasbord) with a couple of my Swedish colleagues and some others. Brought Danish "brune kartofler" and some Belgian Christmas beer. Brune Kartofler are little peeled potatoes that have been glazed in a butter/sugar sauce. Anyway...

We just want to say Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. We miss you and we wish we could be with you. If there were just a way to collect all of you into one spot!

With warm wishes,

-RP- & ~K


By the way,
Some nice festive Christmas e-Cards... make sure you have the sound turned on!

Santa & His Reindeer

X-Mas Snow Globe

Ding-Dong The Witch is Caught!

So, where were you when they caught Saddam? That's going to be the "JFK assassination" question of this generation. Huge news!

I was sitting at the dinner table, writing Christmas cards. Kristen was checking her e-mail. We have just had one of our quiet, peaceful Sunday mornings with the London Times Sunday Edition and pastries from the bakery up the street.

Then Kristen suddenly cried out, "Oh my god, they caught Saddam!!" She had seen the headline on Yahoo-News. I jumped out of my chair and turned the TV on immediately. We're now watching report after report about "Operation Red Dawn" and shots of Iraqis firing AK-47s in the air in the middle of Baghdad. I guess when you hear news like this, you don't think about where those bullets are going to land.

Personally, I'll celebrate by popping open a tasty, Belgian beer!

-RP-

Another Reason Belgium Is So "Cute"

There are three companies that run the public transportation here in Brussels. STIB/MIVB ("Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles" in French and "Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel" in Dutch) run the two subway lines, the above-ground trams and some buses. These two companies pretty much just handle Brussels, though some of their buses go outside of the city. Then there is De Lijn which is the country-wide bus company. They run the rest of the buses in Brussels and in every other city in Belgium. And, finally, there's the train company, SNCB/NMBS ("Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges" and/or "Nationale Maatschappij Belgische Spoorwegen"). They manage the entire Belgian train network.

Today the Metro/Tram company is on strike. That means no tram, no metro, and no STIB buses. We're not really sure why they are on strike because we don't understand the news sources, but I think they've been in negotiations with the government. I'm sure it's the same reason most strikes happen: pay raise issues and better working conditions? Each of these three companies goes on strike a few times a year apparently, so it's not unusual. The funny thing about the strike is that they warn everyone a couple of days before and they announce how long the strike will be. We found out on Wednesday afternoon that they would go on strike today. Yesterday, they detailed it further by saying that the strike will last from 9:30am Friday to 9:30am Saturday.

You'd think a great deal of the impact of the strike is lost by warning everyone, but if you think about it, it's still an effective strike. While trying their best to not inconvenience the citizens of Brussels too much, they are still making an economic impact on the "suits" in the company because no fares are collected for 24 hours. If you think about how many people are riding the metro/tram/bus system every day, that's a lot of money!

I was "affected" by the strike because the bus I take to work is a STIB bus. So, I instead walked a lot farther than normal to get to a stop for one of the De Lijn buses that went to Zaventem. Took me a little over a half an hour to get there, same thing on the way back. Good exercise though and the weather's not too bad at the moment. It was actually kind of nice, though mildly inconvenient. Gave me an excuse to get a little exercise!

-RP-

You may have noticed that the title of our blog has changed slightly. Go ahead, take a look. Did you catch it? It is now called Project: Expatriated because we are now "official". Kristen received her Belgian identity card on Monday. Officer Le Clerq visited during the day and delivered it to her. He sat at our dining room table and filled out another couple of forms. Then, yesterday, there was a notice in our mail-slot that someone had tried to deliver mine, but since I was not here, I would have to come pick it up. The office hours and location were so insanely convenient for me that I could pick up my ID the very next day on my way to work. He went through the same drill with me, although he also filled out a form with a description of our "domicile": 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, entry hall. What they need that for I can't even guess. It's just one of those things that makes Belgium so darn cute!

Kristen's expires in October of 2004 and mine in April. However, I just need to show up at the commune office exactly 7 days before it expires and they will extend it. Officer Le Clerq advised that since I am an EU citizen, I can extend it by 5 years. That's right! Who's the cool guy now!?

-RP-

Brugge, Fog and Beer
This Saturday we went to the small town of Brugge, which is located one hour northwest of Brussels. It was on our list of places to see before we leave Belgium, even though it is known as a major tourist attraction, and now we can cross it off. Christmas markets have started all over Europe and we decided it would be interesting to see what Brugge had to offer. Thinking it would be fun to see the market and town lit up at night with Christmas lights, we took a later train than we normally would have and arrived in Brugge shortly after lunchtime. Our first clue that Brugge is popular with tourists was all the English-speaking people on the train. We got off the train and joined a large crowd of people walking towards the center of town. Yep, definitely a lot of tourists! We split off from everyone else as soon as we could and took an alternate route in the same general direction. Within minutes we were alone in the clean, winding, narrow cobblestone streets with not a person to be seen. The buildings and houses are two-story and seem to be single family homes rather than apartments. The people who live in them must be short if their doors are anything to go by.

Towns in Belgium seem to all be centered around a market square which usually contains the tallest buildings (either a church or town hall). Keeping this in mind, we made a beeline for the most imposing structure on the horizon, which in this case was a bell tower. Thankfully this was the correct assumption because we were (of course) starving. The Christmas market was set up all around the square with an ice-skating rink in the center. We could immediately smell food and decided to try some Belgian hamburgers, which turned out to be pretty good. After taking care of this necessity, we were ready to head off into the surrounding streets on a self-guided walking tour.

Our first stop was the Town Hall, built in 1420. From here we went through a an old archway and into the courtyard of the Bell Tower. It is an imposing octagonal brick building that was constructed in 1240. An enormous brass drum works the 47 bells every 15 minutes. They sound wonderful!

From here the map led us towards the famous canals of Brugge. So picturesque, yet a little smelly. Sort of how I envision Venice, but colder. We considered taking a boat tour, but between the smell and the cold air, it just didn't seem like the best idea. So we paused at several of the lovely old bridges and then kept walking.

The next spot was my favorite in Brugge. The Princely Beguinage was built sometime before 1245 (I guess that's when records began to be kept) to house pious middle-aged ladies called 'beguines.' Wait, I'm mixed up! Beguines were ladies who lived during the Middle Ages (but they might have been middle-aged as well) and led an austere life under the direction of a superior, called the Great Lady. Aside from being austere, they did manual work and performed acts of mercy. There are still some nuns living here, but since 1930 they have been part of the St. Benedict monastic order and I don't think there is a Great Lady anymore. They wear the same sort of medieval nun outfits that the original beguines did and they have their own sweet little chapel. It was so quiet and peaceful in their courtyard. There were signs posted everywhere ordering visitors to be silent, but we were pretty much alone anyway. Just as we left the bell tower chimed and it echoed through the courtyard. I could just imagine all the nuns from years ago hearing those bells too.

By the time we got back to the market square it was almost dark and this is what it looked like: Christmas!

After a visit to a well-stocked pub, dinner at an Argentian restaurant and two chocolate shops, we hauled our full bellies back to the train station and went home. We may have crossed Brugge off our to-do list, but it was so charming I think it deserves a repeat visit.
~K

The Swedes "Went Live" Today

So, today was my first day of "taking calls". I put that in "quotes" because I only took two calls. And they weren't even Swedish. They were English calls from Greece! I also did one outgoing call to try to close an ongoing case from a customer in England. Other than that, I pretty much just sat there and waited for the phone to ring. There were a few little projects I was working on, but all in all it was a slow day.

The first call came in at around 9am. It was complicated enough to make it interesting, but not so much that I couldn't handle it. A guy in Greece who was not happy with the battery life of his notebook computer. Any customer we help has to be registered and most aren't when they call in. So, we have to register them first which entails putting their product's serial number into the call-logging software along with their contact information. His serial number was not found in the database, so I had some special steps to take to change that. A minor wrinkle that made it a little more complicated than a normal registration. Anyway, I took care of it and helped him with his problem.

After taking that first call, I was ready to take more. The next one didn't come in until around 2pm. A lot of waiting. You'd think it was silly for them to add four new employees to the team! The problem is a lot of the calls that come in English are for things other than what I've been trained for. I've only gone through the training for Vaio computer support, but there is separate training to support the DVD-burners, Clies, and Aibos. Most English computer support is dealt out from Ireland and we only get the overflow. So, that doesn't leave much. I'm sure it will pick up. And anyway, I guess I should just enjoy this time when I'm not flooded with call after call. A little breathing room makes it easier to get used to it, I guess.

-RP-

The Supposed Golden Path

It's time to unveil a plan I've been sitting on for almost a month now. I've kept it under my hat because I've wanted to try it on first. Sleep on it, so to speak. But now I think I may be ready to go public.

I went to Film School at Boston University. A great school, but very expensive. Then I worked in the film biz for about 4 years. After a lot of hard work and starving, I decided that the film biz was not for me. Sure, if I kept struggling for 5 more years, I might be at a point where I could have joined a union. But that would not have been a guarantee for anything. The struggle would continue. And when you cease to have faith in the dream that you're struggling for, it seems pointless to keep struggling. Anyway, that's why I bowed out and one of the reasons we've ended up in Europe... to pursue something else. Does that make my expensive schooling a big waste of money? In some senses, maybe. In others, definitely not. I wouldn't be the person I am today if I didn't have the experience I had in Boston.

About a month ago, I was visited by a great idea. A comfortable, reasonable, intelligent idea. A huge idea. An idea I didn't think I would have considered. What's the big idea? To go back to school. Back to Film School. Go back to get a Masters and a PhD in Film Studies. To become a professor of Film Studies.

I would be paid to do something I love (watching and talking about films/art/music/politics/etc.) and I think I would be a good teacher. And being an "absent-minded professor" seems to fit quite nicely with my personality. Since the time I started thinking about this new path, I've had lots of ideas of how I would run my classes and what I would like to teach. And it feels good. When you have an idea and thinking about it exhilarates you, isn't that your "gut" telling you it's the right thing?

What about my dream of owning a brewery? It's still there. In fact, becoming a professor can actually enable me to have a brewery one day because I won't be relying on brewing to pay my bills. Here's how it fits in... I start brewing on a really small scale, in the summertime at least. Start distributing locally (wherever that ends up being). Slow but steady growth. Having a semi-flexible "day-job" would make it much easier to make high-quality, creative beers for a niche-market. After 10-20 years of teaching, I can transition into full-time brewing. If the brewing is not succeeding, then I just keep teaching. Bases are covered and either way I have a job that I can enjoy!

Doesn't sound to bad, right? Now I just need to implement the plan. It just so happens there is a really good film studies program at the University of Exeter in the UK, the school that Kristen has stumbled upon recently. And since I am an EU citizen, it would be quite cheap to go there. With a BS degree from a good US university and 4 years of experience in the film industry, I'm pretty confident that I can be accepted in the program.

How 'bout dem apples?

-RP-

The Time Is Nearly Nigh

As of 6pm today, the Bo-ny training regimen is officially over. I sat through the final class today. We are now expected to be pretty much ready to start taking calls. We've been assigned to our teams and given our desks. I am in the "Palm" team and I have an "aisle" desk (as opposed to a window). Obviously, a window seat is much nicer both for peace of mind and also for a little privacy. If you look at the pictures of the call-center in the post from last month, you'll see what I mean.

Each team is named after a beer: Duvel, Kwak, Leffe, and Palm. There is a Scandinavian in each team. My team leader is a very German fellow named Dirk. From what I've heard, he's a bit of a taskmaster (although that's not the word his detractors used). So, that's obviously a bit disconcerting. On the plus side, the CSAs who are on his team tend to be the most efficient and field the most calls. That's German efficiency for you!

Tomorrow and Friday they will slowly ease us into phone duties. First listening to someone else's call. Then logging the call while the other person does the talking and troubleshooting. Then doing the talking and troubleshooting while the other person does the logging. Then doing both yourself while someone of authority listens in. And finally, flying solo. Yikes! Swedish support "goes live" on Dec. 1st. Yikes again!

I've been practicing my Swedish as much as possible and translating a lot of the call-handling scripts with the help of my mother and the other Swedes. It has actually been quite helpful typing up all of that wordage. Not only am I learning how to spell in Swedish, but my vocabulary is growing.

I'm a bit stressed about taking calls in Swedish because my language skills could be A LOT better. So, it's not good to have those worries tacked on top of the basic worries about taking calls and logging them properly. This is definitely adding to my stress-level. To be honest, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hack it!

But I just have to...

-RP-

Random Pictures

More Trenches
A couple more muddy trenches from the WWI field trip. I don't think the red aluminum siding is authentic though.

Hungry Belgian Cow
Apparently, the grass is greener on the other side of the barbed-wire fence.

Holy Holstein!
This one seems content with the grass she was given.

Poor Old Building...
They have been slowly dismantling this old building since before we got to Belgium. These three pictures are about a month old. Pretty much the only thing left now is the front facade.

Studying
Ahh, look... she's studying...

Higher Learning
Everyone has thier own method of organization.

Fall... In Our Park
Breathtaking... ain't it just?!

Decisions, Decisions!
Most toilets in Europe give you the option of a normal-strength flush and a mini-flush, a great water-saving feature. You can taylor the amount of water to the "size" of the problem.

-RP-

Canterbury Capitalism

We had a good time in Canterbury last weekend. It was mildly shocking to travel for such a short time and end up in another country. Europeans are used to the close proximity of other countries and other cultures, but those of us from the U.S. just don't experience that very often.

We left our Brussels train station Saturday at 8:56am and arrived in England a little over an hour later. The scenery just whizzed by - I barely had time to read more than a few pages in my book and then we were there. I thought the Chunnel might be a little unnerving, but aside from my ears popping, it was just like a regular tunnel. There's no time to think about the millions of gallons of water above the train or the lack of escape possibilities should something happen. It only took about 20 minutes, which makes me wonder how fast the train is traveling (isn't that a classic math question: if a train traveling from Belgium to England takes 20 minutes to get through the Chunnel, what is its speed?). But the English Channel is not very wide, so I don't know why I expected crossing it to be a dramatic event!

Traveling by Eurostar train is so pleasant. The trains are light, clean, comfortable and more spacious than an airplane (R still has to scrunch up though), with a really smooth quiet ride. If you're in first class, which we were not, you get an actual meal served to you. For the common folks, there's a bar and cafe car instead. From Ashford, which is the first stop in England, we switched to a local train for the 20-minute ride to Canterbury. Our B&B was about a mile from the train station, which wasn't too bad of a walk, especially since we're used to carrying groceries and books about that far. After we checked in we walked around town a little to check out the lunch possibilities. R spied a promising looking pub, so we decided to try it out. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We had a very English lunch - Yorkshire pudding, sausages, mashed potatoes and ale for R, and I had chicken curry. After stuffing ourselves, we set out to see the sights.

The streets of the Old Town area are all cobblestone and most are closed to automobile traffic. There are quite a few old buildings, with white stone walls and brown beams, but many more are new structures built to 'fit in' with the surroundings. Unfortunately the quaintness is almost ruined by sheer number of tourists shopping and walking around. It was Saturday, though, so I'm sure it was more crowded than it might normally be. On the edge of town near our B&B we came across an old Norman castle ruin from 1050. Now that is old! For some reason, the burial mound on the castle grounds is called 'Dane John.' Rich thought 'Dane Richard' might be a better name.

That night we went on the Canterbury Ghost Tour. It was a walking tour led by this funny local ghost hunter guy, who wore a long black cape and a top hat. He told us stories about the various buildings and gave some of the history of the area. It was really cold and damp, but it was fun to hear about the haunted areas of town. Most of the 'haunted' buildings are from the 1500's, so I imagine there are a lot of ghosts running around!

Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast in our B&B. R went for the full 'cooked' English breakfast, which consisted of sausages, tomatoes, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, toast and tea. After eating that, he had enough energy to go out and plow a few fields! We spent the rest of the morning having tea at Starbucks, people-watching, and walking around town. Our train back to Belgium wasn't until 9:00pm, but we decided to leave Canterbury early and check out the town of Ashford. Big mistake. We walked to the station, bought tickets to Ashford, waited 30 minutes for the train, and arrived in Ashford to find that there wasn't anything to see, except a nearby outlet mall. Matters were complicated by the absence of lockers in the train station, so we had nowhere to stow our bags. There was nothing within walking distance of the station and we decided that spending money on a taxi to try and find something to see was not the best idea, especially since we would have to carry our bags around with us. Sooooooo, we bought tickets to go back to Canterbury, where we knew there were storage lockers and things to look at, and went outside to wait for the train (that we just got off of). While we were waiting, two adorable 10-year old boys started chatting us up. They were at the station waiting to see if two girls they met the day before might be coming back to visit them. They asked us lots of questions: where we were from, what we were doing in Ashford, where we were staying, where did we live, etc. They decided that R looked like a Belgian. It was a very entertaining conversation and I was sorry when the train came and we had to leave them.

So, it was a fun weekend - the two train station boys were a definite highlight. We were a little disappointed at how touristy Canterbury was though. Most of the old buildings have been converted into chain stores like the Gap, McDonald's, Burger King or W.H. Smiths. Starbucks is in a building that was originally constructed in 1550 (there's something really wrong with that) and sits in an 800-year old market square! I didn't realize how insulated we are in Belgium, with no chain stores or fast food, so it was a bit shocking to see so much of it again. Next time we go to England, we'll be more prepared for it. But it was really nice to speak English and be able to understand everything that was said. And I was VERY happy to have a Starbucks frappucino!

~K

World War I and the Belgian Countryside

When Dr. Palo, my History of Conflict professor, announced a field trip to see some WWI sites, I knew immediately that I wanted to go. It is something that could easily have been missed during our time here in Belgium, one of those things that we talk about doing but never actually do. And with an expert WWI guide, how could we not go? So I signed Rich and myself up for the trip. We left campus at 8:15 in the morning and drove off in a chartered bus, through the fog towards the Western front and the town of Diksmuide. We made our first stop at the German cemetary in Vladslo, one of the few German cemeteries in Belgium. There’s a famous Kathe Kollwitz sculpture there called The Mourning Parents (she lost her only son during the war).

The headstones are dark granite and lay flat on the ground, each has twenty names, twenty ranks and twenty death dates. There are no age indications, consoling words or angels to be seen. After this sobering, but peaceful sight, we climbed back on the bus and drove to the Yzer Tower Peace Museum just outside of Diksmuide. The monument to Peace is ugly and stark. From the 22nd floor of the museum you can see for miles, or you could if it wasn’t foggy. We had another guide at this museum, a history teacher from the area. He was very knowledgable, though his English was a bit limited.

Around lunchtime we drove into Diksmuide to find some lunch and then continued on our way. Our next stop was Zillebeke to see trenches, shell craters and Hill 62. The fog was beginning to lift and we could see the beautiful farmland rolling away in green hills and stands of leafless trees. It is so hard to imagine the devastation that was left after WW1, seeing it now covered with green grass and dotted with old farmhouses. There are, however, cemeteries sprinkled all over the area.

We left Hill 62 and stopped in Ypres. The entire town, full of medieval-looking buildings, was leveled during the war and has been completely rebuilt. It is still very picturesque – you would never know that the buildings are only 85 years old. The battlegrounds around this Belgian town are among the most notorious in the world. The German and the Allied forces fought for four long years without a decisive victory ever emerging. New weapons such as toxic gas, land mines and flame-throwers made it even more horrific. The toll: 1,200,000 wounded and 500,000 dead. The remains of 100,000 soldiers have never been identified - their bodies were scattered in the mud of Flanders.

After touring the Cloth Hall Museum, we scattered into small groups to find some dinner. At 7:45 we met back at the Menin Gate to hear the Last Post. The Menin Gate is a gift and tribute to Britain from Belgium. Its a huge granite and marble gate over the main road, a monumental thank you note carved with 55,000 names of the British expeditionary forces that died in Belgium and whose bodies were never found. The inscription at the top of the gate reads: To the armies of The British Empire who stood here from 1914-1918 and to those of their dead who have no known grave.

The Last Post ceremony is usually played by buglers of the local volunteer fire brigade, but because of Armistice Day there were Scottish bagpipe players as well as some military dignitaries. To read more about the history of this ceremony, click on The Great War. The ceremony has been performed every night since July 1, 1928.

By 8:45 we were all back on the bus and heading back to Brussels. The day made WWI feel real and close by, not something that happened 90 years ago in another country.

~K

The War Machine Keeps Turning

After returning from the brewery and having a quick lunch, Kristen suggested that we go to the Royal Museum of Army and Military History. She had originally planned to go to the Museum des Beaux Arts near the center of Brussels with her classmate, Masha, but the Metro was closed for maintenance between our stop and the rest of the city, so that plan got cancelled. I'm glad it worked out that way because the military museum was amazingly fascinating.

The museum is one of three located in the park near our house. Not only is entry absolutely free, but it is an enormous museum covering warfare from around the 14th century to modern day. On display is everything from swords and armor to tanks and airplanes. It was truly overwhelming!

Another great facet of this place is the long spiral-staircase that goes to the very top of the giant building (which you may remember from some of the pictures of the park). After ascending these stairs you can get out onto the roof of the museum for some amazing views of Brussels:

Beautious!

Picturesque!

Metropolitan!

And of course, the cannons!

--RP--

Old-World Brewing

This morning I got up way too early to go to the Cantillon Public Brewing Session. I came prepared to learn about making lambic and to do some brewing. As the web-site didn't give much clue as to how this event was structured, it didn't seem illogical to me and I thought there would only be a handful of people there. Especially at 7 in the morning!

When I walked in to the brewery, I was surprised to hear the sound of MANY voices and to see the tasting lounge packed full of people having coffee and croissants. A much different event than I had imagined, but still enjoyable and quite informative. I (and about 15 others) took a tour with the brewer's apprentice. It was great to hear someone speak passionately about the beer they make at this old brewery. They are one of the last breweries who make lambic with the traditional method: all natural ingredients, no chemicals, and no added yeast. The beers are very "wild" tasting; quite sour and full of "country aromas". The beer is fermented by wild yeasts and bacteria from the "micro-climate" inside the brewery. After the beer is inoculated by these micro-organisms, it is pumped into oak barrels where it will ferment and age for 3 years. Most of their beers are a blend of the three-year-old lambic and a one-year-old lambic, sometimes with the addition of fruit. They are "living beers" which are great for cellaring for up to 25 years, as the flavor changes quite a lot over time.

Anyway, I won't bore you to death, but there are a couple of funny little aspects about this place. Because they don't use any chemicals during the entire process (including cleaning the place or getting rid of pests), they have a couple of clever solutions. To get rid of flies, they let all the spiders spin webs wherever they may. To get rid of rodents that come for the grain, they have a cunning and hungry cat that lives in the brewery (they don't feed it cat food). To polish the copper kettles, they use elbow grease only!

Even if you are not at all interested in beer, this is a great place to visit because it is also a "museum". They only brew about once or twice per month between October and April, but it is open almost every day to sell their beer and for self-guided tours of the premises.

--RP--

Employed By Bo-ny Europe

Now that I've logged two full weeks and received my first pay-check, it is as good a time as any to present the long-overdue run-down of my new place of employment at the European headquarters of Bo-ny Corporation.

As of one month ago, Bo-ny moved from a building in Brussels to a much larger and nicer facility in Zaventem, near the airport. It is the second largest building in a new "corporate village" which consists of six similarly shaped, yet increasing in size, futuristic looking buildings.

This past Friday they had a fancy inaugural party in a huge tent right in front of the building. Free fancy-food, wine, beer, and drinks. The "suits" got up on stage to give self-congratulatory speeches and then they used ice-picks to hack three bottles of champagne out of a huge ice-sculpture shaped like the Bo-ny building. Glasses of this champagne were circulated through crowd as the band launched into their long set. I stayed until about 10pm, catching a ride with one of my colleagues (Andres The Spaniard). Nice party... I'm sure there will be some stories told tomorrow!

The aforementioned colleague was nice enough to offer himself as the "Spanish Taxi" to me and two others (Kristofer The Swede and Juuso The Finn). So, rather than deal with the sometimes irritating hassle of public transportation, we catch a ride with him to and from work. A great windfall since Zaventem is not easy to reach by bus or train. Even still, there will be days when those of us without a car will have to go back to public transport because we won't always have the same shift as Andres.

Anyway, we are still in training. Bo-ny trains its employees in staggered groups and subject matter. We are currently being trained to support their line of Vaio computers. There are about 10 people in the class. The majority of them have been at Bo-ny for a little over one month. They have already been trained to support the Bo-ny Plie line and the DVD-burners. When the Craio training is done, they will go back to taking calls while The Finn, The Swede, and I will be trained on the software we use to log calls. Then the three of us will be placed into circulation in the call center. The three of us are in for another three weeks of training before that happens, I think. I assume that after a while we will also be trained on the Plie PDAs, the DVD-burners, and the robot dogs.

So, that's basically it for now. Sitting through training every day gets a little dull, but a lot of the people who work on the CSA floor are a little bit off kilter (i.e.- a bit zany), so we joke around a lot. Keeps it from getting too dull. I've started preaching the "good word" to my colleagues about good quality beer. They are very receptive and have started asking me about different beer-related subjects on their own. It is fertile ground, so I may soon have some budding connoisseurs working next to me. That's reason enough to stay with this job!

--RP--

Van Brussel tot Vichte

*Warning!! Potentially boring details about beer to follow.*

Today we went to a little town called Vichte for a beer festival, the Karakterbier Weekend. Vichte is a small town south of Gent. We took a direct train from Brussels to Kortrijk which cost 9.60 euros per person each way. By the way, Kortrijk is roughly pronounced "core-truck" and Vichte like "Veech-teh" with the "ch" like the Scottish pronunciation of Loch.

Getting to the festival proved to be an arduous task as the town of Vichte is not accessible by train. HOP (the festival organizers) had arranged for a "taxi service" that picked up two times per day (1:30 and 3:00) from the nearest train station in Kortrijk. However, reservations were needed. I tried to make one this morning, but there was no answer. So, I figured we would chance it or hop on a bus, worst case. The lack of a reservation was indeed a problem, as the two Mercedes station wagons only had room for the other six to seven people who were also waiting at the station. So, we had to take the bus which was not only a bit pricey for a bus (4.40 euros for two people, one way), but also slow and inconvenient. We had to walk a kilometer or two in the rain.

That aside, the transit was worth it. What with 67 beers from 16 different breweries, there was a lot to choose from. Beneficial to tasting a larger variety of beer, the festival was organized around 15 cl samples rather than entire bottles. Each sample cost a measly one token (valued at 1 euro), but you were forced to purchase a sample glass for 3 euros. We purchased only one since I would be doing the brunt of the tasting.

The festival was set up in Vichte's community center, in a fairly large warehouse-like room. Each brewery had a booth set up along the walls of the room. Many tables and chairs on the main floor. Also available were cheese and meat plates with mustard for 2 euros a piece. Most beers were served from the bottle, but almost every brewery had one or two beers on tap. There was a "tombola" running constantly and the odds of winning seemed pretty good, judging by how many people had prize bottles of beer sitting in front of them. A "tombola" is an instant-winner raffle game where you randomly pick an envelope out of a box. Some envelopes are winners, leading to beer prizes like 750 ml bottles, six-packs, and t-shirts.

Now, for the important stuff... the beer. My general rule when I go to a festival is to only try beers I've never before tasted. Today was no exception to this rule. While most of the beers we tried were quite good, there were a couple of disappointments: Vapeur Cochonne from Brasserie Vapeur and Leroy Stout from Leroy - Van Eecke. Both were cloying and too strongly flavored. The Leroy Stout tasted as though it had been sweetened with aspartame or something like it. The tastiest surprise was a gem of a beer from Brasserie Tongrinnoise called La Tongrinnoise. I'm not sure what style it is, but it was a highly flavorful and aromatic dark ale. Very complex aroma and flavor. Here's a list of everything I tried with a five-star rating system (unrelated to the BA scoring method):

Vapeur Cochonne - no stars
Liefmans Kriek - ***
Leroy Stout - no stars
Kriek De Ranke - ****
Alvinne Blonde - *
Moinette Bruin - ***
Het Kapittel Dubbel - **
La Tongrinnoise - ***
Bon Secours Myrtille - **
Urthel Samaranth - ***

There were many more I would have liked to try, but one can only do so much. My proudest accomplishment at the festival, however, was finding another beer that Kristen likes, Liefmans Kriek (a cherry infused lambic). She went from favoring the inexcusable Belle-Vue Kriek to Lindenmans Cassis and now Liefmans. It seems she is moving towards more "authentic" lambic! We're making progress!

The beer-tasting done with, we hopped in one of the festival "taxis" and were driven back to Kortrijk station for 1 euro each. A much faster and more comfortable trip. Since we had about 45 minutes before our train back to Brussels, we grabbed a couple of "grote pita mixte" at a place called Pitta House, across from the station. Similar to a gyro, these pitas are stuffed with meat from those revolving spits, lettuce, tomato, onions and a special sauce. Kristen chose mayonnaise as her sauce and I went for one called Samurai which was a tangy, spicy Asian sauce. Mayonnaise as a sauce?! Well, if you taste the mayo here, you won't cringe! I don't know what they do differently, but there's a reason it is the most popular dip for frites... because it tastes really good! These were the best gyro/pitas that we've ever tasted, maybe even worth the hour-long train ride alone! Not only did they hit the spot with amazing accuracy, they gave me some added padding to prevent the beer-samples from yanking my feet out from under me.

We had a peaceful train-ride back to Brussels, through a pitch-black countryside. A great day and definitely worth all the hassle!

--RP--

Pictures! Get your free pictures!

Here they, come... as promised... a whole slew of them. Complete with explanatory captions.

Without further ado... a tour of our neighborhood:


Aerial View of our 'hood
To give you an overview, this photo was taken from the Bo-ny helicopter. Yep, I've got some pull at the company.

Our Favorite Bakery
If you turn left out of our front door and walk a few blocks, you will see this "patisserie" on the right hand side of the street. It is currently decorated with the Halloween motif. After buying our baked goods from another nearby bakery, Kristen decided to give this one a try. Their "pain au chocolat" is far superior to any other we've had.

Our Little Grocery Shop
Even though we usually go to one of the bigger grocery stores in the surrounding area, we do visit this one from time to time to pick up something simple. Like a bag of sugar, bananas, or even a vegetable. It is also the first store we shopped in when we got to Belgium.

Self-explanatory
Brusselites don't seem to have the same kind of etiquette as people in the US, when it comes to their four-legged friends. Not as bad as in Paris, but when you're walking here... it's a good idea to watch where you step. Some "fed-up" people display this sign outside their door.

The closest shopping area to us
This is Rue Tongres. It leads down to Avenue de Tervuren which is quite a busy street. On the right is Super GB, a larger supermarket. While this store is not as stocked as the DelHaize or the Colruyt we go to, it is good for the necessities. Also on this street is a butcher-shop, a Godiva outlet, a hair-salon, several clothing and shoe stores, two mall-like areas, and a few restaurants (one of which is the famous Le Pain Quotidien).

The butcher shop on aforementioned street
We haven't gone in here yet, but these freshly-made sausages sure are tempting. On weekends, there is always a line out the door. However, "going to the butcher" is still a bit intimidating for us because it involves interacting with a service person. Also, some amount of "local knowledge" is required as most of the goods are not labeled. Then there's the whole metric system. Sure, it makes much more sense than the silly feet, inches, ounces, and pounds, but we haven't "learned" it yet.

Our Metro station
If you walk down Rue Tongres toward the main road and turn right, you will come to this Metro stop. It is underground, of course, so there are some steps leading down. If you are blind, you can follow your nose because, wafting up from the depths, there is nearly always the maddeningly seductive scent of the best Belgian waffles in the city (we will devote a separate blog entry to these beauties).

A row-house on Ave. De l'Yser
This is Kristen's favorite house which she passes on the way back from our Metro stop. It's kind of hard to tell where it begins and where it ends, but it does have quite a bit of charm.

A square very close to our apartment
If you turn right out of our front door and walk a block, you will come to this square. This photo is taken from the opposite direction of which you would approach the square from our apartment. There is an obscenely ugly "fountain" in this square. It's the thing on the left that looks like an oil-rig. The tall building in the background is almost directly next to our building.

Need a band-aid?
This sign hangs above every pharmacy in the city. They are called "Apothek". They are funny little shops that specialize, rather than build out like a Rite-Aid or Eckerds. It is counter-service mostly.

Our well-stocked news-stand
On Thursdays we purchase the weekly issue of "The Bulletin" here and on Sundays, "The Sunday Times" (from London). They carry periodicals in many different languages. "Le Soir" is not the name of the shop, but the name of a French-language newspaper.

Another grocery store
The most enticing display of fruit in our neighborhood. Everything is always fresh. Note the "H" on the wall above the fruit. Must be a hydrant near here, eh?

Can you figure out how to pronounce the following?

CDEDBDDUCKS?
MRNOTDUCKS!
MR2DUCKSCDEDBDWINGS?
YIBMRDUCKS!

--RP--

We got up this morning at 7:30 and it was still dark outside. I've never lived so far north before, and boy does it make a difference! It was fully light by 8:30, so after Rich left for work, I went for a jog in the park. Have I mentioned that its a little chilly here in Belgium? Well, it was cold enough to necessitate gloves, hat, scarf and three layers of sweatshirts for a mid-morning run. A nice morning though, with a few clouds and brisk breeze. On the way back from the park I was thinking how nice it is to live somewhere with seasons - although this is on the cold side for October. I cranked up the radiators when I got home and now the apartment is nice and toasty. It is now, however, SNOWING outside!!!!!!!!! A big flurry of fat flakes. It makes me giggle to see it. I don't know why, but snow is special. I guess that feeling comes from growing up in the Willamette Valley and not having the white stuff very often. Its been coming down for a couple of hours and now its starting to stick. I can't imagine that it will be around for long though. Its only October, right?

I took some pictures of the street, so as soon as I figure out how to upload them to the blog, they'll be here...**

Backyard

Street

~K.

Hear, ye! Hear, ye!

After two full days of torture, I finally have the verdict from Bo-ny Europe. Two days of worrying, second-guessing the things I said in the epic interview, and trying to think of reasons why I would be an unfit candidate. I was almost sure that they would call yesterday, but as the day went by, I got more and more concerned. So, I finished my list of English breweries and started making preparations to call them today. After all, we were out of ideas. No more threads to pull at in Belgium, so it would be time to start pulling at English threads. We made a tentative plan for me to take a train to England this coming Monday. I would have to find a cheap, room somewhere and probably get a couple of jobs.

Kristen and I were both quite despondent last night and this morning. It was 11:30 and I still had not heard from Bo-ny. What would be the course of action today? I felt it would not be wise to start contacting breweries before I knew for sure whether or not Bo-ny would ask me to start on Monday. Would I face another long day of waiting for the phone to ring? I didn't want to be the one to call them, but since our contingency plan hinged on this one answer, I had no choice.

I called the Senior HR officer. She apologized for not calling me yesterday, but she had not been told what the call-center manager had promised us. She said she was just going to call me. I told her I was calling to find out the status of my application. She decided this would be a good time to practice a little more of her "Psy-Ops" training, so she asked me, "What do you think the status is?" I told her I didn't know and that they could have found some IT super-genius who had also been a Swedish-language teacher. So she relented and told me it was positive... they would like to offer me the position. So I said, "Great! I accept! Thank you!"

And as the giant weight began lifting off of my shoulders, we discussed the details of my starting the job. Since I am technically an employee of Randstad Interim on a weekly-contract basis, I need to communicate with them regarding payment of salary, vacation days, etc. Though we are treated like employees of Bo-ny, the people they have recruited through Randstad will stay as temp employees for four to six months depending on when Bo-ny decides to offer a long-term contract. However, they are only interested in people who can commit to atleast a year. Legally, however, a temp can quit 3 days into any given week. That is why the recruitment interview is so extensive. They really want to weed out the quitters and scaliwags.

So, what it boils down to is that Randstad sends me a contract and time-sheet each week and I fill it in, sign it, and send it back. The following week, my pay is automatically deposited in our bank account. That's one of the good things about this job, I get paid every week. Bo-ny also advised me to choose the highest tax-bracket so more money is taken out up front, rather than getting a big bill from the government at the end. And, no, there aren't really any tax-refunds here. What you pay out, stays out.

Anyway, I had to go to a place called Partena today to sign up for the "social security" service. Partena has branches all over Belgium. It's basically a health-insurance subsidized by the government. They cover a percentage of all doctor visits, hospitalizations, medication, dentist visits, etc. Also, if you are injured on the job, they will pay your salary until you can go back to work. It costs 6.45 euros per month or 8.40 when I add Kristen to it (that's between $5-$7). It was very easy to sign up for and the lady spoke English to me without an iota of annoyance.

That's that. It's official. I have a job. I can stay in Belgium! Time to celebrate!

--RP--

We went back to the commune office yesterday to continue the Belgian identity card application process. This time, however, we brought along Jessica, a friend of mine from school who is fluent in French. Our appointment was anytime between 8am and 11am, so we decided to get it over with early. Jessica met us at the Merode metro station and we rode together to Parc, where we then found the appropriate tram to take us to the office. We were among the first people there, so there was no line to wait in. The same guy as last time was in the booth - I didn't even try to talk to him (still traumatized!), but Jessica had no problem explaining to him why we were there. He assigned us to a window and we sat down to wait our turn. Maybe 5 minutes later our number was called. After a few questions from the woman behind the glass, we were given a simple form to fill out and a short list of required documents to bring back: 3 passport photos, letter of registration from my school, 3 copies of the passports and visas, 6 euros for me and 12 euro for Rich. Fortunately we had everything with us, but lacked the multiple copies. It was only a minor delay while we ran around the corner, made copies in a newspaper shop and ran back. After giving her our paperwork, we were told, via Jessica, that the police would visit our apartment and give us another document to fill out. Then we must return to the commune office with the form and pick up our ID cards. Judging by everything I've seen so far, I'm guessing that this will be a long process. Bureaucracy is the same no matter what country you're in!

On the metro back to Merode, Jessica and I saw a sign advertising 20 euro haircuts on Tuedays, no appointment necessary, at a place right near our apartment. It was Tuesday - so we decided to give it a try. Its always a little scary getting a haircut at a new place, but this was worse! My limited French does not include words for 'spiky,' 'texturized,' or 'bangs.' I pantomimed and gestured my description to the hairdresser, and she did a great job. What a relief! Its silly, I know. I should be focusing my complete attention on putting information into my head, not worrying about my hair, but it feels good to have it all trimmed up. My first foreign hair cut. Woohoo!
~K

Just got back from the longest, most thorough job interview I've ever undergone. Man, these people at Bo-ny are thorough! Basically, I was interviewed by four people with a fifth person (an intern) spectating. The main interviewer was the HR Senior Officer. She was very good at asking lots of pointed questions that made me feel on the spot. The kind that there is only one "correct" answer to and if you don't hit it you're back-peddling and trying to regain ground. Things like: What do you expect from Bo-ny? How do you think this interview is going? What do you want to do with your life? Why do you think this job is for you? Can you see yourself answering calls all day long? How long could you see yourself doing this kind of job? You say you're easy-going and relaxed, does that mean your work is easy-going and relaxed? Stuff like that.

I was also interviewed by call-center operations manager who asked me similarly pointed questions, but more related to the particular details of the job. Things like: Why do you think you can do this job? Are you the type of person we're looking for? Thinking about your experience of this interview so far, what does it tell you about us? When I spoke he looked at me very intently. He laid everything out brutally honest and plain which was nice. The only thing they were missing was a hard, direct light shining in my face and a two-way mirror.

They also brought in the engineer who had graded my "technical test" (which took me about an hour to complete). He cross-examined me on the answers that I had gotten wrong or had not answered completely. Gave me a chance to redeem myself and/or prove further knowledge. He did say I did well on the test and that I had a strong, well-rounded knowledge of IT, but I had just been incorrect on some of the details.

Then they had one of the other Swedish employees come in to talk to me. There are only one or two of them, so they definitely need more. This guy had only been there for about two weeks. They couldn't test his Swedish, but they used him to test mine. We just chit-chatted about whatever, they had no idea what we were saying. I'm sure they'll take him aside later to ask what he thought of my speaking ability. Have to admit, I'm a bit rusty. I kept mixing in Danish words and having to throw in an English word once in a while. On a five-point scale, I'd give myself a three. It's going to take me a little time to get the Swedish part of my brain working again. And after that, I have to work on losing my Danish/American accent.

The interview session took almost three hours. Three hours of having to stay completely aware of my body language, my appearance, and my every uttered syllable. I generally have no problem answering questions and being honest, but when my answers strongly affect the outcome of something that directly applies to me, it's a different story. I am exhausted! But I do feel pretty good about the interview. I scored well on the test and I held my ground pretty well during the inquisition. Despite feeling extremely self-conscious, I did feel comfortable talking to them because they were all friendly, easy-going, open people.

The manager told me that I would be contacted tomorrow or Thursday about whether or not I got the job. If yes, I have to come in on Monday at 9 to begin training. If no, they will tell me why. They need to have a meeting first, to deliberate on my candidacy. They sure put a lot of effort into making sure they get the right person, don't they?

--RP--

Some pictures!

We didn't take these pictures. They were on our landlord's site.


Jubelpark
Where Kristen jogs and I am sometimes dragged for a walk

Our Street (View 1) View 2
Rue de Noyer or Notelaarstraat, depending on your cultural loyalty

Apartment Exterior
Our's is the cream-colored one in the middle


Living Room
Where we spend a lot of our waking hours


Kitchen & Hall
Tiny kitchen with a two-space "range"


Couch & Heinous Lamp
Our semi-comfortable "couch" and the monstrous floor-lamp

COMING SOON!

Blog entries with pictorial enhancements! Yes, that's right! Photos of our mad-cap adventures!

Stay tuned...

A truly splendid Sunday! The sun has been out all day long and there has been a refreshingly brisk wind blowing through our apartment, as we had our windows open. One of those picture perfect days! We went for a walk through the winding streets and then down the center of the stunning Jubelpark near us. I wish we had a camera so we could have taken a picture to use as enticement for the members of our family who are somewhat reluctant to come for a visit. Their names shall rename a secret (for now)... you know who you are!

Peaceful...

--RP--

That's Europe For Ya!

Had a couple of experiences today that were prime "blogg-fodder". We decided to finally get off our butts to go to a movie. However, Kristen has had a craving for McDonald's for the past few days, so on the way to the movie theatre we stopped at one of Ronald's few locations within the city of Brussels.

First of all, the interior decor was similar to what you would find in a Starbucks. Dark colors and wood. No candy-reds or mustard yellows, aside from the sign outside. The second thing that is hard to miss is the fact that it was packed with people. If you've ever been to an In-n-Out Burger, this is the kind of throng that we encountered. The food tastes pretty much exactly like it does in the US. You have to pay 25 cents extra for ketchup. The drinks don't come with ice, but they're still quite cold. You can also buy a beer. Canned Jupiler (something akin to Miller or Coors), but beer nonetheless. They also had McCheese nuggets; wierd. Kristen had a double cheeseburger meal and I had a Royal (a quarter pounder)with cheese meal.

At the theater, we had to make sure we bought tickets for a VO (original language) movie, rather than a VF (dubbed in French). We chose Matchstick Men. Kristen got a student discount (5.25 euro ticket), but mine was the regular price of 7.50 euro. Of course, at the theatres in Brussels, beer is also available. And I'm not talkin' bout no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer (to borrow a line from "Pulp Fiction"). The theatre had 12 screens, but since real-estate is scarce, they had to build up instead of out. We took several escalators to get to our theatre. The decor was spare and modern, slightly stark. With black, leather chairs in a lounge for people to wait for admittance. Inside was stadium seating, roomy seats, and a big, pristine screen.

It was nice to catch a movie. Been a while. Good movie, too. Highly entertaining. Matchstick Men... go see it.

--RP--

Still no word from any of my job prospects. A bit disconcerting. I called the young lady at Randstad (the first agency I went to) to ask if she heard anything. She said that I shouldn't give up on it yet, I have a good "profile", they will probably call me. I also called the other agency (where I took the test), but I didn't get in touch with the lady who interviewed me. She hasn't called back either.

This may just be the way things work here... long turnaround times, people dragging their feet in the hiring process, etc. According to my friend, Jeroen, there's a lot of paperwork when hiring someone and many companies are loathe to do it. So, perhaps that is why they have to deliberate and/or vacillate for so long. That's fine for them... they have a job!

It's only been a little over five weeks since we got here, but we don't have the luxury of a cushion to carry us very far. The cushion we have isn't much more than pillow-case now. It starting to get a bit tense. May have to do something drastic pretty soon...

--RP--

Well, we can shed our coats and wool socks. Inside, that is! The heat was turned on this morning. Our landlord finally replied to Kristen's e-mail saying something like "Sorry for that. I will come and check it today." Anyway, it's on! Now, if we want, we can actually complain that it's too hot. Now if I can just get her to come by and see what's wrong with the two radiators that haven't come on...

--RP--

It seems the "typical" weather of Belgium has finally set in. For the past week it has been cloudy, rainy and somewhat cold. It's still fluctuating a bit, though. The sun pokes through at least once a day and it varies between jacket temperature and several layer temperature. Today I wore a hat and gloves for the first time to go to the store.

Our apartment offers some protection against the cold. However, we have to stay semi-bundled inside as well. Toes, fingers, and noses get cold. Turn on the heat, you say? If it were within my power to do so, I would. We have radiators here, but the landlord has yet to turn the heat on for the building. Cranking the dial on the radiator does nothing. Apparently, it is customary for the Belgian landlords across the land to turn on the heat on October 1st. That date has come and gone, but still no heat. Kristen e-mailed the landlord on October 2nd, but she has still not responded. I called today and left a message on her cell-phone, but still no call-back. We're thinking they probably went out of town and forgot about the whole "heat thing". Strikes me as more than slightly unprofessional. Sure, it's not that cold, but I don't think I'm crazy to expect that I don't have to wear two pairs of socks, shoes, and sweater when I'm inside. Am I overreacting?

Aside from that, things are pretty good. We had our Jeroen, Valerie, and Arthur (our Belgian friends) over for dinner on Saturday. I cooked an "American Dinner" of barbecue chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. They enjoyed it. Though Arthur, their infant child, got a little cranky for 20 minutes or so. Anyway, we had a good time and will hopefully do something like that again.

I'm still in flux regarding the whole job situation. I had two preliminary interviews last week, as well as a "technical test" to gauge my knowledge of software, hardware, and networking. The interviews were with two different job agents who have submitted me to their clients. Still waiting to hear back from them. Both jobs are call-center "tech support" positions for Swedish speaking people. So, if I am hired, my Swedish will improve tremendously which, if you ask me, is pretty funny. This is Belgium! They speak French and Dutch, but I now end up relying on Danish and Swedish. Two languages that have been heretofore pretty much useless. Now they are perhaps my greatest asset in the Belgian job market. The irony is not lost on me.

Keep your fingers crossed. I have a few other leads percolating, but nothing as solid as the two interviews. However, come December without a job, Belgium will kindly ask me to go live somewhere else (as I've stated before). Hopefully, I'll hear something tomorrow about these two jobs.

--RP--

The B I G Nerd
Having completed my first week of school, I figure its time for an update about it. First, let me say that I LOVE SCHOOL. I'm taking three classes, plus seminars and other various activities, and its all great. I come home after class in the best mood - excited about being in Brussels and learning all this new stuff. So, what stuff exactly? The classes are: State, Market & Society, International Relations Theory, and History of International Conflict. Dr. Wiener teaches the theory class and he makes every statement seem profound and thoughtful. He has the clearest pronounciation and best speaking ability of anyone I've ever met. He's probably 6'4" and rides a Harley. The history class is taught by Dr. Palo, a 60 year old Italian guy born and bred in NYC. You know when you come across people who are doing exactly what they are meant to be doing? He definitely is. Passionate, super-knowledgeable and entertaining as heck. I completely forgot to take notes during class (along with everybody else), I was just too captivated by what he was saying. In the 50 minutes of his class, I learned at least five things about WWII that I was never taught in the U.S. school system. I don't mean that as a criticism of America, its just really interesting to learn things from a different perspective. The third class, State, Market & Society, is the toughest. I have never studied Economics, so this theoretical approach is difficult for me. I decided to take it because I think I should know something about classical political economy, as it is an integral part of the study of international relations, and all of Western society really. But it is going to take major effort to get through. Lots of Karl Marx to read...

Speaking of reading, there are hundreds of pages of reading each week for each class, plus preparing for seminar discussions and researching and writing essays. I love it all. I wake up every morning ready to read more, absorb more. I find myself thinking about theories or paper topics all the time. And its only the beginning of the second week!
~K

Brief update...

Confirmation of the purpose of "The Mysterious H". It does indeed signify the presence of a fire hydrant and it is NOT an underground bunker. The hydrants are underneath the sidewalks and there are no "red curbs" here. Pretty much anywhere is fair game for parking. So that solves that one! Case closed.

--RP--

Cross-Country Cheeses

I thought I was done knocking on doors of breweries last week, but over the weekend I did a bit more research and found three more to go to. They had seemed too far away at first, but I discovered that the train ride wouldn't be too bad after all. This realization was a welcome one after the lukewarm reception I got at the job agencies yesterday. Though my initial list of breweries was rather long, experience and logic made my list much shorter. Some breweries had closed and others were just not convenient to get to by train, bus, or foot.

Anyway, I headed east from Brussels today, to three towns in relative proximity to each other: Oudenaarde, Eine (a suburb of Oudenaarde), and Zottegem. A nice trip and exposure to some more "darling little towns" which a person sure wouldn't mind living in. I found all the breweries quite easily.

BUT, Brouwerij Clarysse seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be permanently or temporarily closed. There was no open front entrance, the "C" on the brewery's sign was about to fall off the building, and the equipment inside seemed to have been sitting dormant for quite some time. A large bay-door was open in the back. I ventured inside, but found no one. There was a line of concrete dividers pushed up against the large fermentors and machinery, dividing the warehouse. Against these barriers, a couple of postal trucks were parked. I'd say the owners basically went out of business and the landlord decided to lease some space to the post office. Either way, they certainly weren't hiring.

HOWEVER, if anyone out there is interested in a winning investment, my feeling is that whoever owns the building and the equipment inside would be willing to sell rather cheaply. I'd say with a couple hundred thousand euros, I could get that place cranking. Churn out some good beers. Whaddya say? Interested? Call me! The time is now! Strike while the iron is hot!

...Back to our regularly scheduled program. The second brewery, Brouwerij Cnudde, seemed more promising. The gate was open and there were kegs and crated bottles in the courtyard. However, nobody was there! I don't know if it was the goat-auction around the corner or the raging party in the adjacent pub this morning, but I couldn't find a soul in the brewery. Not even my lurking presence in their courtyard summoned anyone forth. So, I left a CV on a table inside an open door and went to see about Belgian goat ownership.

In the town center, there was a stantioned-off circle were men in blue over-coats were parading around young goats on a leash. People would occasionally make the winning bid and then left with a goat on a leash. There was also an area where some older goats were being sold (silent auction maybe?). Who knows? Every goat auction is different, it's hard to keep track. Anyway, I bought some artisanal goat cheese from a guy selling from a table set-up at the back of his car. He had some interesting amalgamations: Greek spice, Italian spice, Garlic, Nettle, Mustard seed, and Plain. I bought a piece of the Greek, the Nettle, and some plain for 4.50 euros. This trip would not be wasted. And, by the way, where's a camera when you need one?

The third town was a bit bigger. No goat auctions, but there was a huge street market today instead which I wandered around in for a bit. Oh, the brewery... well, I found it, but the only employee I could see was in the middle of giving a tour or entertaining a group of Dutch-speaking tourists. Having used up all of my nerve to approach each brewery in the first place, I wasn't about to blunder into a group tour and embarrass myself with my pitifully small amount of Dutch. So, I dropped a CV in the mail slot and ducked out of there.

Since I had some time to kill before my train back to Brussels, I wandered around the street market. These are very typical in Belgium and it seems like every town has one at least one day a week. A section of intersecting streets in the town center is closed to car traffic from early morning to about 2 or 3. Lots of vendors selling everything from clothing and sundries to fresh meat, produce and cheese. Cheese!? That reminds me, where's my goat cheese!? Jeesis, I lost my cheeses! Left them on the train! Bummer! I was really looking forward to trying that aged Nettle goat cheese. Seemed like a once in a lifetime thing. Oops.

And then it began to rain.

So, now I'm back in our Brussels apartment, cheeseless and jobless. With three more breweries in the bag, the brewery-employment-search part of moving here is pretty much done. Visited 16 breweries in all, including the few that were duds or closed. No one hired me, but the seeds have been planted. I will "water them" from time to time, perhaps they will grow into something. For now, I'll just have to find a "normal" job which doesn't appear to be easy either.

As for the learning and on-the-job expertise I had hoped to gain from working in a brewery, I will just have to go to school instead. There is a three-week course starting in March at the school in Leuven which I am intending to enroll in. But since we don't rightly know where we'll be by next fall, that's the only schooling I can plan for at the moment. There are a few other options, though: Siebel in Chicago and/or Germany, UC Davis in California, Heriot-Watt in Scotland, IGB in England, and a number of "distance learning" programs. I'm leaning towards an education "a la carte" as opposed to going for a degree because I'd rather get going with my own brewery sooner than later.

What's that noise I hear? Sounds like a grind-stone. That's my cue. Better put my nose where it belongs...

--RP--

We haven't posted for several days because its been a bit of an up-and-down time. Rich spent Thursday and Friday last week looking for brewery work, with no luck. So that's a bit depressing. I've been riddled with doubts about my M.A. program and wondering what exactly I am going to do when I've finished it. We've gotten over the big hurdle, which was actually getting ourselves here, and now we have a whole 'nother set of fences to jump. I am slowly coming to terms with school and formulating some ideas for after, which I'll save for another post. Rich went to two employment agencies today, one of which was looking specifically for people who can speak Swedish or Danish and they gave him a name and email address to contact. The other was no help at all. Tomorrow is another day of brewery searching for him and studying for me. Aside from coming to terms with our continuing challenges, we have managed to have some fun (in addition to eating, eating, eating!).

Yesterday (Rich's birthday) we took the train to Geel, a town about an hour northeast of Brussels. I love travelling by train because it feels like an adventure, no matter where we're going. During the trip we saw countless people engaged in peaceful sunny Sunday activities, lots of families riding their bicycles and walking dogs. Geel turned out to be a small, cute, quiet Flemish country town with quaint houses and cobblestone streets. The main purpose of our visit was a beer-tasting event put on by the Onder 't Schuim (Under the Foam) club. Rich read about it in a magazine, "All About Beer," and decided it would be worth the trip. It really was - and I don't even like beer! We arrived at 2pm just as the event began. Rich immediately began sorting through all the choices and picked out several on the list that he wanted to try. I agreed to drink one as well, provided that it didn't taste like beer. He found one for me - a Kriek Extra - that tastes like an alcoholic cherry punch. Perfect! At least half of the 'waiters' and 'waitresses' were children (ages 10-15), apparently drafted by the club to help out during this special event and they performed their duties very seriously. In addition to the beer, we ordered an assortment of Belgian cheeses, smoked fish and fresh bread. We were very relaxed and happy when we headed back to the train station. We finished the day back at home, eating a chocolate bombe (a chocolate mousse cake-like dessert that looks like a giant truffle) for Rich's birthday cake.

Now - its time to work out!!
~K

Language Barrier

By far, the biggest stumbling block we've faced is the language barrier. Admittedly, we thought it was going to be less of a problem. Reality is another story. No matter how much you rehearse "the script" in your head, it's a whole different story when you have a living, breathing person in front of you. We try our best to not resort to the "Do you speak English?" game, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

Let's say you go into a bakery. You know you want a loaf of "country-bread" and you have the entire verbal exchange translated and practiced. But then they throw a couple of simple questions at you and your cover is blown. Uhh... "parlez vous anglais?" And then they say, "With cumin or without?" Oh... without, please.

In my job search, I've been told a few times that even if they were hiring at the moment, it would be a problem if I cannot speak Dutch. Sure, I knew that would generally be the case, but because most people have been able to speak English at a rudimentary level at least, my thought/hope was/is that it wouldn't be a problem for long. If I was immersed in it on a daily basis and taking a class, I could pick up Dutch very quickly. And before too long, the amount of English we'd have to speak to each other would be negligable.

People have been very kind and willing to speak English to us. The woman who we dealt with to open our bank account even went as far as apologizing for her English! We kept telling her "No, we are sorry." So, we've been able to get along just fine so far and it will only get better. The only time we had a more serious problem was at the commune office.

The office is open daily between 8 and 11 am. That is the window in which all foreigners can apply for a Belgian ID card and/or register with the commune which is what we were trying to do. There was a big room with many "tellers" and seats for people to wait their turn. But before getting in there, you have to check-in at a booth in the entrance. When we got up to the window, Kristen stated our purpose in French, thinking he would just give us a number and motion us in. Instead, he asked a question. A question neither of us understood. Parlez vous anglais? "No. No English!" He tried the question a couple more times in French, but then we just gave up and got out of the line. Frustrated, we were ready to leave and then try coming back another day with someone who spoke French. However, I watched what other people were doing or being told at the window and I decided we should try again. So, this time I went up to the window and held up our passports with mine on top. He saw that I was an "EU citizen" and then spoke to me in broken English, motioning me around to the side so he could talk to me through the open door instead. "First time?" Yes. "Oh, OK!" Then he took our passports and wrote out a slip for each which states that we have to return on October 10th instead to register. That's what he had been asking for when we first got there!

That's right, we in my hood now!

Hmm... how do you say that in Dutch?

--RP--

Job Search

My quest began last Wednesday. Being three days into it now, I have come to liken it to when the Buddhist monks go on a long journey by foot with nothing but their begging bowls. The people in the villages give them food as they seek further enlightenment.

So, here I am, taking a train to small towns outside of Brussels and walking for miles to find these little breweries. When I reach them, I throw caution to the wind and knock on the door. I've thoroughly rehearsed what I should say to them in Dutch, but when I have a person in front of me it's a different story. Anxiety takes it's toll and I have to fall back on "Sprekt u engels?" to switch the conversation into language I can actually use. Luckily, so far they have all spoken English well enough and have not been annoyed by having to do so.

My first day, last Wednesday, was particularly challenging. The weather was a bit poor and I had come unprepared for rain. But the solution was laid before me when I came upon a street-market at which I purchased a cheap umbrella. I used my large map of Belgium to get me to the vicinity of the brewery and then navigated by finding the town map which is generally posted in the center of town near the town's church.

The first brewery was intimidatingly large (they are famous for their line of Affligem abbey ales). When I walked by I could smell wort being boiled inside the brewery... a heavenly smell of malt and hops. I spoke to a lady at the reception desk who told me that there was no work at the moment, but I left my resume with her. Then I went to have some lunch. It had started to rain pretty hard, so I took my time. The tomato soup, ground-beef patty topped with two fried eggs, salad, and french fries meal was good fuel. Aside from the fantastic food available along the way, Kristen has been so sweet every morning by preparing a sensible breakfast for me so I can get the day started right. Good thing too, because of the amount of walking I've been doing.

After the rain let up, I paid my bill and headed back out. I constructed a map on a piece of paper by comparing my large map (lacking in fine detail like the names of the small streets) to the one in the town square. It is times like these that makes me wish I had brought the Civil War compass that Kristen had given me. Sadly, it is buried in her jewelry box in our storage room in Oregon. Anyway, to get to the second brewery, I took a narrow road through the countryside. The cows, sheep, and the odd car now and then, looked at me as though I was an alien. Not surprising. At one point, a farmer drove by me with his tractor, pulling a flat-bed trailer. He waved. Another twenty minutes later, I reached the brewery and, funnily enough, that same farmer was parked inside the brewery's courtyard. He was picking up "spent grain" to feed his livestock (spent grain is malted barley or wheat that has been mashed and discarded by a brewery). He recognized me and I was able to fumble out enough Dutch that he understood what I was doing. So, he went into the brewery to find the owner who came out a few minutes later to speak to me. He was not hiring at the moment either, but took my resume for possible employment in the future.

Two interviews down, it was time to go home. As the rain had picked up again, I didn't want to walk through the country-side again. Especially since my cheap umbrella was about to blow out from the gusty wind. Luckily, I found a bus that headed straight to Brussels in about 20 minutes. And it only cost 1.80 euros, though it took twice as long as the train.

Walking around the Belgian countryside is quite a peaceful experience. It is very beautiful out there and these little Belgian towns! Since I have a policy of not using the word "cute" to describe inanimate objects... how do I describe them? Well, at the risk of sounding trite, I'd use words like "quaint", "picturesque", and "rustic". Public transportation outside Brussels is still pretty thorough, though it's pretty much limited to trains and buses. However, since I have no local knowledge, it is difficult to take a bus when I don't know what stop to get off at. That's why I end up using my own two feet more often. Luckily, I am blessed with the ability to pretty much walk continuously and untirelessly for long periods of time. I just sort of "phase out" and let the kilometers fall behind me. It's been very cathartic and now that I have several brewery visits under my belt, it's not as intimidating.

I don't want to bore you with pedantic details of Thursday and Friday's journey, but there are a couple of good snippets I'd like to share.

The first brewery I visited on Thursday was a bit far from the train station I got off at. An hour's walk, to be exact. The map I had printed on Mapquest was inaccurate. The journey was fully worth it, however. Brouwerij De Smedt is in a beautiful old building on a breathtakingly amazing property, surrounded by farmland. The reception put me in touch with the owner who took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to speak to me. Then he introduced me to his brewmaster and had him give me a tour of the brewery! Though, Luc (the brewer) was busy filtering a beer, he spent about 20-30 minutes showing me around. We also went to the tasting room to try one of his beers. Then he went over my map of breweries and told me which ones were closed and which were easiest to find. He was very generous with his time. What a treat! And a good morale boost for me.

On Friday, I decided to have an easy day by only going to two breweries. I picked two in Leuven which was the town we were first considering moving to (a rather large university there). Since neither of us had seen this town, I convinced Kristen to go with me. Beautiful city. Lots of insanely old and immensely beautiful architecture, 15th - 17th century! The brewery in Leuven was more of a brewpub. We had lunch there and then I tried to speak to the brewer, but the brewery section was closed. So I just slipped my resume in the mail-slot. Then we took a bus to a small town just outside Leuven called Linden. This town could be described as "darling". It didn't take long to navigate to the "brewery", but I was a bit dismayed when we got there. It was in someone's house! There was a homemade sign hanging on the mailbox with the name of the brewery and a phone number. My thought was that if they operated out of a house, they/he/she probably was not looking to hire anybody. Oh well. We got back on the bus to Leuven, where we caught the next train back to Brussels.

That's it for now. I have about 20 or so more breweries to visit, so I'll be at this for at least one more week. Planning to start the week with a big day, visiting four breweries around Mechelen. I'll use Mechelen as my starting place and take buses out to the outlying areas. Now that I've fine-tuned my trip-planning and navigation by trial and error, I should be able to move around more efficiently. Luckily, the train and bus fares aren't too expensive or I'd need a much bigger budget to complete this quest. I'd like to get through it as soon as possible though. Time and money are starting to run low. If I'm not successful in landing a brewery job, I will seek out something "normal" which shouldn't be too difficult what with all the job agencies around here. There's even an Adecco here!

--RP--

A Saturday Morning

It is a perfect Fall day, so this morning we went exploring in our new neighborhood. The weekends are a good time to walk because there aren't many cars on the roads. Its fairly peaceful and quiet. Up til today, we have tended to always go in one direction when we leave the apartment, which is towards: the grocery store/bank/metro/park, all of which are in the same general area. So today we turned right out of the front door instead of heading left. In this new direction, the tree-lined streets are primarily residential with brick brownstone type buildings and some small shops and cafes. In one square, on Rue Victor Hugo, there was a busy flea market in progress, so we wandered around looking at all varieties of crap and ended up buying three really cheap beer glasses. Now Rich has a slightly larger assortment of glasses to pair with the appropriate beers. We are wondering if the market is a regular event, because it would be a great place to pick up some other items we need for the apartment (dish drainer, frying pan, more beer glasses, clock). We'll have to check again in a couple of weeks. After a few more twists and turns we stumbled upon an inexpensive grocery store, part of a chain called 'Colruyt.' It is set up like a much smaller version of Costco, definitely a buy-in-bulk, no frills shopping experience. The store is located a couple of blocks from us and is closer and cheaper than the one we have been using, so I think its time to switch. We perused the store without buying anything and then continued on our way. Food must have been in our minds this morning, because we came upon another grocery store, 'Del Haize,' and had to go in and check it out. It is exactly like Safeway, with several small differences; you have to weigh your own produce and print out a little sticker with a bar code on it before you go to the cashier, the chocolate selection fills one side of an aisle - the entire length, and fantastic Belgian beer can be purchased for less than one euro. We gave in to our cravings and went shopping! Its good that we can only buy as much as we can carry, or we would have gone crazy.

Checking out the neighborhood was a very successful venture. We found a couple of cafes to try, a new grocery store that will save us money, and discovered that we are surrounded on all sides by pretty, well-maintained apartment buildings and houses. Its a nice feeling to like where you live.
~K

Beer Festival

The "Belgian Beer Weekend" took place on the weekend of the 5th-7th in the Grand Place (or as I like to call it, the Grote Markt). It was a beer festival with free entry and token exchange for full-glass beer samples. 3 tokens (bottle caps) cost 2 euros which, because of the bad economy in the US, is about $2.35. Most beers cost 3 tokens, but many were 2 and some were 4. Though this event was a little "commercial" (i.e.- only the larger Belgian breweries), it was a delectable event. Beers from the entire spectrum of Belgian beers, as previously described in a verbose post back in July. And I did pretty well, tasting all across that spectrum. What a welcome to Brussels! All of our (or atleast my) worries melted away!

Kristen and I went on Saturday... and I returned again on Sunday (just couldn't stay away). We met up with my new Belgian friend, Jeroen. A guy I had corresponded with a few times on beeradvocate.com before moving here. We arranged to meet at the Trappist stand at 4pm. With physical descriptions of each other, that wasn't too difficult, even in a throng of people (and the throng was thronging quite ferociously). He introduced us to his wife, friends, and newborn son, Arthur. They had to leave soon after we met him though because Arthur wanted his favorite beverage! However, I met up with Jeroen and a couple of his friends again on Sunday. This is the start of a beautiful friendship. Outside of having someone to talk beer with, it eased our fears a bit to have someone over here to ask questions. He was very generous with advice over e-mail, before we even met him.

We've had good "people experiences" here for the most part, but more about that in the Job Search section of this initial tour of our life in Brussels.

--RP--

Mysterious H

There's an enigma in this fair city (Brussels). The red letter H on a smallish, square sign, affixed to many buildings on the street-side. We noticed it right away and are not sure what it is for. They are all over the city. One clue is that there is always a metal lid or trap-door in the sidewalk, below the sign. Theories:

1) Definitely doesn't mean "Hospital"

2) Access to a natural gas line?

3) H for "Hydrant" in case of fires?

4) Secret trap-door for small people to get into the bomb-shelters buried 30 meters below the buildings?

Will let you know when we have found the answer...

--RP--

How The Trip Went

Let's see if I can remember... it seems so long ago that we left the US. We got up at 4:45 am on September 2nd (Pacific Time) and were relieved that our chauffeurs (Jake and Joan) had also arisen. Because of the "pre-production" Kristen and I had done in the month prior to this ungodly hour, we really only had to get in the car and leave. That's pretty much what we did. Leaving the house at 5:25 am, we arrived at the Portland Airport at close to 6:00 am.

Check-in went smoothly, the line was not too long. To our relief, we found out that the international flight weight limit on bags is 70 lbs, as opposed to the 50 lbs we had tried to meet. When we got to the ticket-counter, the extra 20 lbs per bag was akin to divine intervention. Two bags were about 60 lbs each, another was 65, and the fourth was 76 lbs. Over the limit! On a domestic flight you would only be charged $25 for being over the limit. International flights are a different story. We would have had to pay close to $400 for those 6 extra lbs! Almost as much as a ticket! However, the nice man at the counter had me lay the heavy bag on the scale and then he watched it as I removed items from it and placed them in the lightest bag. Luckily everything fit and we were on our way. Our first plane left at 8:15 am, bound for Washington-Dulles.

Not much else to report for the duration of our flight. Went pretty smoothly. We had to sit separately on the first flight because it was overbooked. Around us were a whole bunch of students from University of Portland who were on the way to a "Semester Abroad" in Germany. Please... a semester? And they had the gaul to complain about how much they had to do to prepare! I sat there smugly, knowing that what Kristen and I had embarked was so much more insane. In flight entertainment was "Down With Love" and "Chicago"... a Rene Zellweger marathon.

We landed in Washington with enough time before our connection to take a bathroom break and for Kristen to have some food. The second leg went just as smoothly. No horrible stories to tell. Food was OK. Plenty of leg-room. This time we had 9 TV channels and many more music programs to choose from and individual monitors in the head-rest in front of us. Several films played on continuous loop, along with TV shows. On the mini-screens were such great hits as "Bruce Almighty", "Daddy Daycare", and "Identity". Neither of us really slept at all. Too busy being freaked out at the reality of our situation. We descended into Brussels on Sept. 3rd at about 6:45 am (Brussels time which is GMT +1), 30 minutes early, with a beautiful sunrise on the right side of the plane.

Customs. Four long lines for non-EU nationals and one short line for EU citizens. Guess who got through first? I didn't even get a stamp in my passport! He only asked me what my destination was. Kristen got through about 20 minutes later. She had been queried about her destination, purpose for entry, visa status and was told to report to the appropriate commune for registration within 3 days. Sometimes it's just a lot more convenient to not be a US citizen!

After that, we got through without even getting our bags checked. No customs declarations. Since we couldn't meet our landlord until 10:30 that morning, we circled the wagons in the corner of the terminal lobby and waited. I practiced some Dutch by ordering twee Coca Lights met ijse blockjes (two diet cokes with ice) from the lobby bar. The bartender very meticulously rattled three ice cubes into each cup. That's how it is in Europe. Ever since the ice-shortage of '84. However, they serve the drink at a much cooler starting temperature to make up for it. Who needs ice anyway?

At 9:30 we headed outside with our luggage and got in the taxi-line; a very efficiently run endeavor. Though the line was at least 100 people deep, it moved at a lighting pace. There was an even longer line of taxis waiting and a guy directing them to each passenger. As soon as one had left, there was another to take it's place. So, 30 euros and 25 minutes later, we were at our new doorstep. Two strangers in a strange land.

--RP--