Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

(Actually, that's a lie. I'll be back at Christmas.)

Tomorrow is the big day! You wouldn't know it by looking at my room, strewn with clothes, books, papers and shoes, but I really am going to pack soon... as soon as I'm done here.

It's been a quick 5 weeks, that's for sure! I had my stuff shipped over to Dubai and they came less than a week after I got home, so I scrambled to unpack, shop, and organize. It was a little weird watching all of my things disappear into brown paper wrappings and be packed into cardboard boxes... my life reduced to a 7-digit reference number...

I saw friends and family members, tried to catch up on an entire year, showed my pictures, talked until my throat hurt, and until I felt like I was talking too much...

I took a week-long, cross-country road trip to catch up with old friends. I went to Chicago, saw my friend Nicole, her fabulous new apartment, the city she now calls home - and I loved it. Then I drove 14 hours, starting at 6am, to meet Elise in New Jersey. It was quite the drive, but I enjoyed it, having been a non-driver for almost a year. (the sun-roof doesn't hurt, either!). We caught up, hung out, even took a train to NYC for an afternoon and walked around in the hot, hot heat. Times square gave me a new definition for "overstimulation." I met the Captive Free team she's been traveling with for the past year and got to hear them rock out at an evening service. The drive back wasn't quite as thrilling, but I got to stop in Chicago for one more night. It was a great trip, even if I did spend a million dollars on gas....

I even got to visit Luther for a few minutes, catch up with one of my education professors, Jim Langholz, who helped me get my international start, and visit Kirstin, the best college roommate ever.

I caught up with everyone I could catch up with and suddenly, my time is up!
I'm excited - a bit nervous of course, but mostly excited. Being home has been great, but it's also made me realize that I've made the right decision in going to Dubai. My year in Belgium changed me in a lot of ways, and I'm not ready to come home just yet.

Off to packing, now, and coming to terms with the fact that I won't be able to carry on my toothpaste and will be arriving in Dubai with stinky breath!

Missing....

I'm back in the familiar... but the place I've known only as an in-between, a temporary space I occupy for holiday breaks and summers. A place I love and consider home in so many ways, but with so few memories.

And I miss Belgium.

A sudden flash, the image of a sun-filled living room, the feel of fresh air moving around me from the open door, the smell of flowers on our table.

A moment I laugh to myself, silently or perhaps out loud, and take a breath to say "this one time, in Belgium..." and stop myself, becuase I know the people who would understand are hours, or perhaps continents, away.

A receipt found in a pocket or purse, from Carrefour or the GB, that makes me think, "Oh, Boitsfort."

A run on the roadside, or the black-tar paths, that makes me long for the packed dirt, trees, and shade of the Foret de Soignes.

A realization that that stage of my life is over.... I know it was always meant to end, but really, that doesn't mean I miss it any less.

I'm back in the States! After being awake for almost 24 hours, it was great to see my family and my best friend waiting at the airport... although I almost didn't recognize my "little" brother, he's grown so much!

This week is more than a little crazy, as I'm getting ready for the movers to come for my (admittedly small amount of) stuff, getting paperwork taken care of, etc etc. After this week I should have a little time to relax!

I still do a double-take when I realize I can fully understand every conversation I hear around me....

Perhaps I've been a bit lax in posting lately.... though I've had plenty to share, I just haven't taken the time to share it!

Here's the short of it:


The weekend after my brother came to visit, Katie, Cass, Jen and I took a little Belgian road trip in our really cool rental car. We explored the southern parts of Belgium. We saw the Ardennes forest, cows, farms, trees, trappist monastaries where Belgian beer is brewed, a re-enactment of an American army camp in honor of memorial day, a castle, a great restaurant in a tiny tiny town, a lot of other tiny towns, some bigger towns, and many kilometers of road. We even headed into France for a bit, and only got lost once:

It was great to just drive without a real destination in mind! Here's a few images from the trip:








I spent the following week in Trier, Germany on a field trip with the fifth graders. It was a really great trip! I had fun chaperoning and hanging out with the other chaperones as well. It was nice to be back with the older kids - many of whom are as tall as me, of course!

The bus got back to ISB at about 2:30, and at 4:15 we left for Dublin! (We in this case was me, Cass, katie, Jen and Amy - 5 out of the 6 interns, and the first time we'd all traveled together!) The weather was beautiful, and we spent a lot of time hanging out in the sun, enjoying the English being spoke all around us. We had a beautiful apartment for Friday and Saturday nights and spent Sunday night in the airport before flying out at 6:30 on Monday morning - the beauty of a long weekend. We toured the Guiness factory, of course, and visited the art museum and the statue of Oscar Wilde that has some great quotes on it. We also rode around on the big tour bus and drove past the major churches and monuments.









The following weekend I did something I never thought I'd do in Belgium - go to a wedding! A Romanian wedding, to make it all the more amazing! Cristian, our friend and favorite bartender from Maison, the brasserie down the street that we frequent, is Romanian, as is his wife. getting married in Belgium is a process! First the Bourgmeister (like the mayor) of the commune performs a short ceremony at the commune, (in French, of course), going through the proper protocol and also dispensing marriage advice. Then, after driving to the church, the priest performs the religious ceremony. This was a Romanian priest, who uses part of a Belgian church as the Romanian church of Brussels. THere's nothing better than a cool church on a hot June afternoon, standing barefoot on the smooth stones, smelling the sweet incense, and listening to a Romanian wedding ceremony. Of course, after more than an hour of standing up, listening to a language I didn't understand, I was ready to go! We went back to Maison for the reception. We danced in a circle outside to Romanian music before going in, and had a great time hanging out in one of our favorite places...



World cup fever has hit, and you can tell who won the game by who's carrying on in the streets, honking and cheering and waving flags... and as the teams are eliminated the games are getting good... and the few sports bars in Brussels have their big screens up and are making a killing selling beer and burgers to people from around the world who come together to watch football... it's a fabulous thing!


School is over... and it was hard to walk away from. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet that I won't be seeing those fabulous kids of wonderful teachers again for quite awhile, if ever again. However, I'm excited for what's next - some time to spend in Belgium with my friends, going home to see much-missed friends and family, and a new adventure in Dubai....

My brother came to visit!

Dan got to see all that Brussels had to offer:

plus some historical buildings, peeing boy statues, parks and churches.
The Belgian weather showed off its ability to be absolutely horrible for days at a time, but we didn't let that get us down! He even got to come to school for a bit to meet my fabulous first graders** and see how much fun I have on recess duty.

We also trained it to Paris for a 12-hour whirlwind tour! We rode the tour bus around and saw the major sites - Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc d-Triomphe, etc. We went to see St. Sulpice, which is a fabulous church, and ended the day up on MontMarte. Here's Dan with the view from the Eiffel:


The visit was over way to soon, but it was really fun to spend some quality time with my "little" brother and show him around the place I've been calling home!

**Last week the 1st graders put on plays, which were completely amazing and adorable. It made me start to miss them already!

Zinnke Parade

Brussels keeps the surprises coming....

This Saturday I expreienced the Zinneke parade. Full of crazy and colorful floats, costumes, music, dancers.... and everything was made of recyclable materials. There's an agreement among several large companies to donate their extra/unused materials to the organization that runs the parade. Groups, schools, individuals work to create parade entries with the materials. Here are a few samples:












And these two guys had great seats...

Summer has arrived in Brussels! Finally, warm and sunny. We're talking 25 Celsius! Although it may not last long. I'm just enjoying it while it's here!

Two cool things happened this weekend (or should I say, two things worth commenting on. Weekends in general are great and therefore bring many great things)

Today, I ran in a 10K, put on by the American Women's Club of Brussels, to support breast cancer research. It was cool and cloudy (perfect!) and the trail was beautiful, going through the woods. I had my doubts, but I learned that I can indeed run 10K (about 6 miles), and also that I can do it in 54 minutes and 33 seconds. The presence of hundreds of other people running in front, behind, and next to me added a great deal of motivation and kept me moving much faster than I could by myself.

On Saturday, Cassie and I went downtown for a wander. It was a beautiful day, and we saw some beautiful tulips:


and we found Jannekin Pis! This is the female counterpart to Brussels' famous peeing boy, Mannekin Pis. She is in a dead-end alley right off the crazy, restaurant-lined Rue des Bouchers, behing a gate. No signs, no nothing. Yet there she squats. She was put there in 1985, according to the sign, so she hasn't been there long. Here she is: