Les Gaufres et Garcons

Well, I'm here. I have to apologize for not posting until now, but I have a good reason! I didn't have my laptop with me until yesterday, when my father stopped by for a visit. He was in Germany for work and decided to stop by, check out my family and all.. It was nice to see him, but I have to say that when he left it was a little hard. For some reason, I cried a little more than I did when I first left New York. Maybe it was because I don't know when I'll see him or the rest of the family again.. BUT, I'm strong, independent and I can do this:) I may be a little homesick..but nothing too bad and I keep thinking about how good of an experience this is for me.

So now, enough of the blather and more about Brussels! There is so much to tell, I don't know where to start! Let's start with the family. As I think I mentioned before, they are German but have been living in Brussels for 10 years. So, both parents are fluent in English, German and French. They both work for the EU and usually speak English there because of all the nationalities. That's one surprising thing I found out about Brussels. there are so many different cultures and people from all over the world. When you go on the tram or metro (yes, we have both here), you will not only hear French and Flemish (the two official language of Brussels, although French is more popular in the city and Flemish more as you get to the outskirts), but also German, English, Spanish, Italian, Indian, many different African languages and so on. No wonder Brussels is known as the "capital of the EU."  I am so surprised at how many Africans there are here. I did not expect this because in Eastern Germany, where are used to live (in a small but very beautiful city called Dresden), you never saw any Africans. Sylvia, my host mother, said that many of them are form the Congo, since this used to be a colony of Belgium. Apparently, Brussels has the world's largest population of people from the Congo in the world, other than in the Congo, that is.

So, the boys. Jonas (7), Niki (5) and Felix (almost 1). They are quite energetic but very mature for their ages, which makes it easier for me. That is not to say my job is easy...it is really extremely difficult. More so because of Felix and the fact that I have never taken care of a baby before.. I already had my first diaper changing lesson AND changed one on my own! Its really not as hard as it looks. Although I must say it can be pretty bad.. 

On my first day in Belgium (last Wednesday aug. 29th), the family had just picked me up from the airport (they were there when I walked out to the lobby, little Niki waving a mini American flag..just what I wanted, to shout out to everyone in the airport that I'm american :/) and they would not, under any circumstances let me take a nap. I was dead tired because I hadn't slept a wink on the plane, due to the fact that I was squished in the middle aisle between two adolescent boys, one of which at one point decided my shoulder was more comfortable than his head rest and slept in that position for 3 hours, me being too polite to wake him. So, to keep me awake, the family took me on a mini tour around Brussels. Me as a zombie, Niki and Jonas as two non-stop wind-up toys, and Sylvia pushing Felix around in a carriage, picking up his dropped toys every few meters. 

As we sat down at a cafe for the daily "coffee and cake", Sylvia screamed out and I looked over...Felix had a major accident and there was baby poo-poo all over her pants. Great. Sylvia went right into action, she took out baby wipes and began to wipe it off, then set out a baby changing mat right in the middle of the outdoor cafe, with people eating and drinking all around us. She took off his smelly diaper, changed him and set him back in the carriage. No one even stared. I couldn't believe she did that in the middle of the cafe. Now, I am good about learning new things and adapting..but in that situation..I'm not so sure.

Anyway, here is a picture of the boys. Of couse, eating waffles because they are the Belgian specialty! 

 The waffles here are very different from those in the US. They are much more dense and made with lots of yeast. Most of them have sugar backed into them or a syrupy sugar on the outside. If you want to not look like a tourist, you just order a plain "naturale" waffle, no whipped cream or chocolate syrup. They apparently invented that for the tourists.

Here is another picture of me with the boys. Niki is the one in red and Jonas is in the stripes.

 Jonas and Felix (isn't he adorable??)

Today I brought Felix to the creche (nursery) with Sylvia. Today actually marks the first day of my real job, since Sylvia starts work today. So, this morning she showed me how to put on the baby carrier (the one you see mothers using to hold their babies in front of them on their chest, kangeroo style). I carried him in that thing for just 5 minutes and it felt like I was carryin rocks! He is so heavy.. I think we looked pretty strange tho, walking to the creche together.. me, a young girl..too young to have a baby, carrying this baby in a pouch on my chest, and Sylvia walking next to me. People were staring pretty obviously at us..they are not afraid of staring here. Its hard to get used to after the U.S. where EVERYONE is so concerned with privacy. Here, you can get naked in the public saunas and no one blinks an eye..

FOOD:

Belgians really know what good food tastes like. That's why they are so famous for their waffles and chocolate!! (and beer of course, I keep forgetting I am legally allowed to drink it here). Waking around the city, you will pass many, many chocolate shops and little factories. We stopped by a little one together and when you walk in, the smell of chocolate immediately overwhelms you. in the front of the shop, there was a small class of young people, maybe college age, to older people in their 60's all standing around clean metal tables lifting globs of fresh chocolate out of a big bowl with small scoopers, placing a scoop on a pan and covering each one with a different topping..from coconut shavings to sesame seeds. Walking in a little further, you find yourself in front of a big, semi-circular bar with all kinds of chocolates displayed. The lady there offered us little cups of fresh hot chocolate. Behind us, there are hundreds of little bins with small chunks of chocolate of all flavors: thyme, nutmeg, lavender, pepper, cinnamon, mint... You could just grab a chunk and taste it. That's what I love about all the chocolate shops here. You can be sure that they will either have sample or offer you some from a giant plate of choices. And the chocolate is really, really good. It's true:)

Chocolate shop

Chocolate hippos!

 Last weekend we went out to a "Schloss" (castle). This picture was taken in the giant green field in front. Sylvia is my host mom on the left.

Jonas and I played soccer (he thinks I am quite good for a beginner...I think its just because I can run faster than him:)
Jonas, let me just say, is the sweetest 7 year old I have ever met. He hardly ever complains, always asks if he can help me with anything (cleaning my room, setting the table..), and he loves to correct my German and is always happy to translate a word for me if I don't understand or at least try to explain it to me. He also loves learning English, and is already quite good at it. They start teaching the kids early here. We already had lots of laughs looking through the Richard Scarry book I brought him "Cars, Trucks and Things That Go" (he  laughed so hard at the idea of a "cheese car" or "pencil car" with mice in it) and "The Cat In The Hat." He also loves to hold my hand when we walk down the street and kiss it:) so cute!