Daily Life

Hello, friends!

Once again, I would like to fill you in on what has been going on during my first full week with the family in Arlon, Belgium. I finally started working this week, since my first ten days spent in Europe were on vacation in Italy and at the grandparents house. Although I was very nervous to start my first week, it went alright. As you would expect, there were ups and downs, but I think the longer I am here the easier that everything will get.

Monday was still a holiday, so Tuesday morning was my first day of going about the normal schedule. For convenience sake, let me just lay my schedule out for you before we begin:

Monday: Morning is free. I usually sleep till about 8am, get ready by 9am, and then have a few hours to myself to relax in the home. At about 11am, I start cooking lunch for the girls, myself, and Catherine (the mother) because she works from home. At about 11:55am, I leave the house to pick up the girls, who get out of school for lunch break at 12:05. We come home, eat, I clean up any mess I made, we watch a little tv or do something else, then I take them back to school at about 1:15pm, and they go back to school for the afternoon from 1:30-3:30. I pick them up, and on Mondays, Elise has her English class from 4:30-6:30. This is about a 15 minute drive from the home.

Tuesdays are the same, except Elise does not have an English lesson (they are only on Mondays). So after school, we come home for the afternoon and do their homework and play. I have French lessons on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:30-9:00 at the arts center in town.

Wednesday is always a half day of school, so the girls are done at 12:05. They usually each have a friend over on this day after school, so I make lunch for all of us.

Thursdays are the same as Tuesdays, there's no activities after school, so we come home, do homework, and play. I have my French lessons in the evening from 6:30-9:00.

Fridays are the longest days. It's school, then I have to pick up Emma, Elisa, and their friend Killian from school and we come home for a brief snack from 3:30-4:00. Then I drop off Elise and Killian at the arts center for their art class at 4:10. Then I have to take Emma straight to her English lesson, about a 15 minute drive away, which is from 4:30-6:30.

Then I have my Saturdays and Sundays free.

So, this may seem hectic, and the first week was a little bit, but it is actually not bad at all. I have a lot of free time in the mornings and evenings, and I don't feel rushed around too much.

So the first week went like this: Even though I won't normally take the girls to school in the morning, on Tuesday morning, I got up and ate breakfast with Catherine and the girls and I went with her to the school for the first time so I could see where it was. It is very close to the house, maybe a 10 minute walk, but we drive to save time and because it is so hilly and curvy, which makes walking not so pleasant, especially if it's hot. After dropping the girls off, Catherine and I came home and she told me some of the things the girls usually like to eat. So I made my first lunch for them, which was fish sticks, rice, and corn. I burnt my hand taking the fish sticks out of the oven, but other than that, things passed without incident, and the girls enjoyed the lunch. Since it was a Tuesday, Elise did not have her English lesson that week, and after school she went to her friend Killians house. Emma and I came home and had a snack and did her homework, and a few hours later we walked to Killians house (about five minutes on foot) to pick up Elise. In the evenings, Catherine and Sebastien make dinner, so I only have to worry about cooking lunch, unless for some reason they once in a great while ask me to help with dinner.

On Wednesday, the short day, I made lunch for all the girls, and I picked up Emma, Elise, and their two friends, Elsa and Killian. The four of us came home and ate lunch with Catherine. Since their friends were there, the girls really didn't want to have too much to do with me, so I just relaxed while they played, but later I went on the trampoline with all of them, and Elise, Killian and I played some Mario Bros on the Wii (which they are obsessed with). Elsa and Killian's moms came to pick them up later in the evening, and we had dinner and went to sleep.

Thursday passed much the same way, except I had my first French lesson that night. I was both excited and nervous. Sebastien went with me to talk to the director of the academy and make sure that I was registered and everything was all taken care of. The course began in February, so I missed quite a bit, so hopping in in the middle was kind of scary. Seb enrolled me in the intermediate level, which is good, I think. After we talked to the director, Seb left and I went to find the class. I met the professor, who looks to be in his late twenties at most, and he was very nice and helpful. I introduced myself to the class (there's maybe ten to twelve of us total) and when I said I was from the US, someone muttered (in french) "knew it". I'm not really sure what that means, and I am also not sure that I like it! However, the class went well, and although I am a bit rusty, I knew everything that was going on so that made me feel better. I sat next to a girl from Bulgaria, who moved her for work with her husband, and she was very kind to me and made me feel better about my speaking ability, since she said she has been trying to learn for five years. I also met two other au pairs, one from Germany, and the other I have no idea honestly, because she spoke no English and also little French so our communication didn't go very far, but she was nice. After the class I came home and ate leftovers from dinner, and went to bed not long after.

Friday, after I picked the girls and Killian up from school at 3:30, we are supposed to go home first so the girls can drop off their things and have a snack before going to art and English lessons. However, I kind of messed up. The road that the school is on is under construction right now and is closed off, so most of the parents and myself have to park on the side streets near the school, which is all very very hilly. After the girls and I got back to the car, I found myself parallel parked on a steep decline with a car very close on either side of me. Since my stick shift abilities are newly learned, I was very nervous to get out of the situation and it took me quite some time. By the time we were on the road, I was nervous that we wouldn't have enough time to go home and make it on time to the lessons, so we went straight to drop off Elise and Killian. Then Emma and I went straight to her English lesson, which is at the home of an American woman named Michelle. It was the first time that I had gone to her house by myself. Sebastien had shown me the way earlier in the week.

For some reason, when we got there, I'm not sure if it was from the stress of running late, or from the stress of the first week as a whole, but I began to cry in the car in the driveway. Michelle saw me, and came over to talk to me. It was the first time I had spoken consistent English in weeks and it was a welcome relief. Michelle is very kind, she is from Tennessee originally, and somehow made her way over to Belgium and got married and now teaches English here. I need to get that story from her soon. Anyway, it was nice to see a friendly American face, and she helped me feel better and we exchanged contact info and she told me to come over and hang out any time, and we may go on hikes together during the weekends, or grab a coffee.

After finally returning home on Friday evening, I was mentally drained and ready to sleep forever, but the weekend showed no signs of slowing down. Although I don't have to "work" on the weekends and I am free to do what I like, I obviously don't have friends here yet so I didn't have any plans. Saturday morning, I went shopping with Catherine and the girls and then we came home and had lunch. After, I went with her to drop off the girls at tennis lessons so I can see where they play. In the late afternoon, the parents left to go to Brussels, about two hours away by car, for a party organized by Catherine's sister, Charlotte. Since I don't work on the weekends, they asked if I wanted to watch the girls, and if not they could get a babysitter. However, it's not like I have any plans anyway, so I of course said it was fine that I stay with the girls.

This was actually the best part of the weekend. The girls wanted to have a "pajama party" and they decked out the whole living room with blankets and pillows and brought out their disco ball/strobe light thing, and a stereo. We painted our nails and gave each other yogurt and cucumber facials, which surprisingly made my face really soft. Then we watched a Violetta concert on tv, which of course made the girls fall asleep. After putting them to bed around 10:30, I also went to bed shortly after. They know how to wear me out!

On Sunday, I woke early because the girls always wake up early. We had breakfast and watched some tv, and around lunch time, Catherine and Seb returned home. Catherine and I went to the bakery to get some fresh bread (heaven in your mouth, but can you say carbs on carbs?) for lunch to make sandwiches. After we ate, Catherine and Seb wanted to go running, and the girls wanted to go rollerblading, so we drove to a nearby park and while the parents ran ahead on the trail, I held one hand of Emma and Elise and they roller bladed on either side of me. They are just learning, Elise got her first pair of skates for Easter, so they go slowly and cautiously, and of course, I was pushing/pulling them along half the time.

After coming home, we relaxed for a few hours, and Catherine prepared the dinner because her dad was going to be coming to stay with us for a few days. Sebastien took me out to practice driving the VW more on the hills, which I needed. I ended up parking and we talked and I cried and he listened as I explained all the troubles of acclimating the first week of a whole new life in a whole new country. He is very kind, and he handled me crying so well and he made me feel a lot better about everything. I guess I have found myself crying a lot this first week, but each day gets a little easier, so that's all that matters!

Today, Monday, I made the girls lunch and took them back to school. After school, I had to take Elise to her first English lesson at Michelle's, since last Monday she didn't go because of the holiday. However, once again I made a mistake. I didn't tell Catherine that I was going to stay for the two hour class. I asked Emma, and she said she normally stays home alone and this is fine. I asked her many times and she said it was true. I should have known to not believe this and to ask Catherine instead. But I did not listen, and I went to Michelle's with Elise. When I returned home two hours later, all the happiness of the lesson was quickly gone with just one quick verbal assault from Catherine. My au pair phone that the family had given me had apparently died at some point during the day, and I didn't know this. She had tried to call me, but I obviously could not answer and did not know because the phone was dead. She was very unhappy with me.

Every time I think to myself, today was okay, I am feeling better, I am doing better, something happens that makes me feel worse. Today, it happened to be that. Tomorrow, I am sure there will be something else. I know from previous experience that things get better with time, but this first week has really worn down my defenses. I wish everything came with ease, but don't they say nothing worth having ever comes easily?

In other news, this week will go by quickly. It is already Monday night, and on Wednesday I depart for Groningen, the Netherlands, to finally see Brent after four months! I am very excited! This is possible because Thursday, May 1st, is Labor Day here in Belgium, so Catherine and Sebastien will take a long weekend off work. So my train leaves Wednesday night from Arlon, and arrives at about midnight in Groningen. The late night travel will be worth it!

So tomorrow, Tuesday, is a normal day for the girls. Just school, no outside activities. I will have my French class in the evening from 6:30 until 9:00. Then Wednesday is a half day of school, as always. I will bring Emma and Elise and their two friends home for lunch, then at 3pm, I have to go get a medical exam, because apparently the one I paid $150 for in Chicago, and had to go to a special hospital to get, is not valid, even though the Belgian government told me it would be. I am not particularly happy about this, because I have no idea how long this appointment will take, and my train leaves at 5:20, and I can't miss it! I hope it goes by fast and easy.

This week also, Catherine and Seb told me that my wifi will be set up in my apartment, so hopefully that will make things easier for communicating with everyone. Get at me on Skype, people! I miss your faces and voices! Hopefully my Belgian bank account will also be opened within the next few days. This would also be very helpful for obvious reasons.

I hope to have enough time for a quick post on Wednesday before I leave for Groningen, but I can't make any promises! But I will of course post after to tell you how my trip with Brent went :)

I love you and miss you all very much. More than you can even know.
XOXO

Joyeuses Pâques

Hello, friends!

In an effort to get everyone up to speed on the present time, I have to blog at least once a day to get everything in that has happened in the past week! I'd like to tell you all about Easter in Belgium, as well as what I am up to day by day, here in Arlon. 

Upon our late night return from Italy to Tournai, at Catherine's parents, everyone awoke early, to my surprise after going to sleep so late. However, I have come to notice that this family is a group of very early risers for work and school everyday. I have yet to see what their weekend schedule at home is like. So everyone got up around 8:30, and after getting showered and dressed, we had some pastries shaped like bunnies for Easter. They were cute and tasty! 

The first two times I had entered Catherine's parents house, it had been nighttime and completely dark. In the daylight, the house was gorgeous, with a lovely backyard with a koi pond and a swimming pool. They also live right next to a little lake. They have two hunting dogs, as the grandfather is an avid hunter, and there are all kinds of exotic animal heads and rugs on the floors and walls of the home. They also have two horses, chickens, ducks, and roosters. It was a lovely mix of a country/farm home, as well as a clean and modern feel. 

Slowly, family members began to pour into the house. Catherine has two younger sisters, one who is married with two small children, and the other who is single without children. Also, Catherine's grand mother, meaning the girls great grandmother, is still alive, which I think is amazing and lucky for those little girls to have her in their lives. Must be a good gene line, because she is still looking pretty good! It was amazing to see four generations of women lined up together. Some of Catherine's aunts and uncles also came, and everything was a blur of kisses and introductions and throaty French. It was a bit overwhelming, I won't lie. I wished that I could talk to everyone more, but I felt very shy and intimidated by everything that was going on around me. I didn't know who to be around: the girls were outside running and playing with their cousins, and had no interest in hanging out with me; and the adults were all conversing in such rapid French together that I didn't dare try and keep up with their dialogue. So mostly, I did a lot of quiet observation and tried to figure everyone out from a distance and from what little I could understand from their conversations. 

Finally, there was a way to extricate myself for a while. Catherine invited me into the city of Tournai with her and Emma and Elise, where they were going to pick up the Easter cake/Emma's belated birthday cake. I was more than happy to get some fresh air for awhile. We got into the car, and Catherine drove us the short distance into the city. I wish I would have thought to bring my camera with me, because Tournai is absolutely gorgeous. It is a larger Belgian city with red/brown cobblestones streets, an amazing gothic cathedral, boulevards lined with flowering trees, and just generally old and beautiful, like most of Europe. We went into the bakery, which is apparently the best bakery in the city, to pick up the cake. Everything was painted in a delicate blue, with gold accents adorning the mirrored walls. Croissants, eclairs, fruit tartes, macarons, and chocolate eggs galore were piled up high in sugary towers of delight behind the thin pane of reflective glass on the counter. Is your mouth watering? Because mine sure was, I wanted to eat everything. The baker came out with a large box with a bow on it, and gave it to Catherine. We left the shop with the cake, and the line of customers kept growing longer and longer. It was clearly a very popular place. 

After getting back home with the goodies, it was time for the egg hunt. This egg hunt was not the traditional egg hunt that I was used to in the states, where there are multi-colored neon plastic eggs with small candies inside hidden all over the yard. No, this egg hunt involved not only the kids, but the whole family. Each member of the family had a gift (or two or three, for the kids) that the Easter Bunny had left them, hidden in the yard. It was fun to watch the kids race around, looking for their gifts. I was just meandering slowly through the garden, watching the kids for a while, not expecting to be involved in the hunt. Then Catherine's sister Claire said to me, "I already saw your gift" with a smile on her face. I was taken aback. I had not been expecting anything, and so I had not been hunting for anything, like everyone else had. Confused, I went off to hunt. I found my gift in the crook of some tree branches in the front yard. It has bright red wrapping with a black bow neatly tied around it, and in black cursive, someone had written my name. I started to get emotional, of course. The fact that the family had thought to involve me in their tradition and barely even knew me was so kind and thoughtful. I didn't even care what was in the package, I cradled it against my chest with a smile on my face, and continued to watch all the happenings in the garden until everyone had found their gifts. 

We all went back inside to the living room and everyone opened their Easter Bunny gifts, kind of like Christmas. Elise got a new pair of roller blades, Emma got some paper craft projects and a huge candy house. Sebastien got some nice neck ties, and Catherine got a nice leather belt. The Easter Bunny is generous! My rectangular package turned out to be a large makeup pallet, which is kind of perfect, since I really didn't bring any with me on this trip. And of course, everyone also got tons of chocolate. Did I mention that the chocolate in Belgium is literally the best in the world? So. Damn. Good. 

Other than the chocolate, the family had also been eating and drinking all day long. There was an insane amount of champagne and red wine flowing throughout the day. I didn't eat a lot of food because it was mostly seafood, which I am not too crazy about, but I did make an effort to have at least one taste of everything. Can't knock it till you try it! But I still have problems with eating things that still have their arms, legs, and face intact....so needless to say, lack of eating plus lots of wine equals me accidentally being slightly drunk by the afternoon, and trying very hard to hide this fact. Although I don't think it was a problem, I was still a little embarrassed by it. When the second course, all breads and cheeses, was brought out, I ate like a caveman hoping to absorb all the alcohol. And also, the cheese, no surprise, was delicious. All different types from all over Europe. 

Most of the family lingered long into the evening, and around 8pm we had Emma's birthday cake, which was a triple layer chocolate cake with three different kinds of chocolate plus lots of detailed chocolate decorations on the top, and in white chocolate icing "Happy 10th, Emma" was written. After blowing out her candles, we all dug in. It was like a cloud of soft flavor on the pallet. Slowly, the family began to drift out, and by eleven, everyone was finally gone. Around midnight, after reading two stories in bed with the girls (one about lady bugs which featured a diagram of lady bug sex...how is that child appropriate for a kids book?!) I finally went to sleep. 

On Monday morning, I somehow was the last to wake up, leaving bed at about 9am. I quickly showered and got ready for the day. I packed up my small suitcase, since we would be leaving later in the afternoon back home to Arlon. After breakfast, which I've come to learn in Belgium is mostly always bread with nutella or jam, and some coffee (talk about carbs and sugar), some more of the family came back over for an early lunch gathering, which consisted of Easter dinner leftovers. I played cricket and hike and seek tag with the girls all around the yard. Good thing I have them to run and jump and play with everyday, burn off some of the massive amounts of food I eat here everyday! Then the girls rode the horses for a little bit with their aunt. I watched from the fence and made them daisy crowns. Their gonna be little yogi hippies like me before they even know it. After a short walk with the family and the dogs down by the lake, we packed up the BMW and headed back to Arlon, which was a two hour drive.  It rained most of the way, and the backseat was very crowded and uncomfortable with all the things we had to pack. 

By the time we made it back to Arlon, there was time for a quick dinner and then the girls had to be put to bed for their first day back to school on Tuesday morning. I returned to my apartment, which is on the far side of the house, above the garage, and unpacked all my things, and sorted through clean and dirty clothes. It still hasn't really hit me that this is real now. This is my home now, for quite a large chunk of time, and I still don't feel full adjusted. Don't get me wrong, the family is super kind and the house is beautiful and comfortable, and Arlon is a lovely town, but I still haven't gotten used to the shock of it all yet. I was incredibly nervous to have to start the new schedule of being a full time nanny the next day, and I could barely sleep with the nerves of it all. On Tuesday, I would have to wake up early to go with Catherine to the school for the first time to see where it is. I was literally so nervous I barely slept a wink on Monday night. 

Until next time, when I'll tell you all about my first full week as an au pair and all the good/bad/crazy things that have happened! 

All my love,
XOXO 

Ciao, Bella

Bonjour!

I have a little more time to post, right now, so I hope to tell you all about Italy, finally!

So, from where we last left off, I awoke in Tournai, on the morning of April 11th, at Catherine's parents house. It was very early and I was severely out of it. It was hard to meet her parents and the girls all in the same morning when I was still so tired and confused and understanding French felt very difficult, like trying to see to the bottom of  a murky pond.

After a light breakfast, we departed by car to the Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which was about a one hour drive from Tournai. It is a small airport, not the main Brussels airport that I had flown into the day before. After corralling up all the luggage and the girls, we got into the airport to check in. We were going to be flying Ryan Air, a well known discount airline in Europe, from Charleroi to Brindisi, Italy. We were going to be visiting the region of Puglia, which is the heel of the boot shape that is Italy. After going on my third airplane in two days, we landed after a two and half hour flight.

Daria, the family's previous au pair, met us in the airport. The girls were very happy to see her, and she them. Daria is Italian, and lives in Puglia in the village of Cisternino. After meeting her, we went to pick up our rental car and followed Daria for about an hour car ride to the city of Lecce, which was farther south. We met up with her friend Barbara, and together we all went out for lunch. The restaurant was a tony stone hole in the wall, but Daria said that these were the best places for food, because they were old and local, not a tourist trap. The food was great, I had lasagna al forno and the second course was all types of meat. I was so full by the time we left. I was also still feeling very tired and very confused. I wasn't really undersanding a lot of what was going on with the family, and I was beginning to feel very down and sad because I felt stupid for not speaking better French.

After going around Lecce a little bit, we departed by car, again following Daria, to Gallipolli, a city on the sea known for it's beaches. This is where we would be staying for the week. Once we arrived, it began to rain. This made for a mess lugging our suitcases down the cobblestone streets. But even in the rain, the view of the sea was beautiful. Our Bed and Breakfast was located right on the water. The girls and I had our own room, which was more like a mini loft style apartment. The girls slept up in the loft, and I slept down below, which held a small kuchen, breakfast nook, and bathroom. Everything was white and old looking, but in a good way. A way that felt ancient and full of secrets.

After unpacking a little bit, the landlord of the B&B told us that the wifi wasn't working. Of course. I knew that everyone in my family was waiting for me to tell them that I made it safely to Italy, and I did not have a way to do so. This made me feel even more down and sad. Feeling tired, I went along with the family for a walk through Gallipolli and we got some gelato and then went to dinner. Daria left, and we went back to our rooms for the night. I was exhausts, but because of the jet lag my internal body clock was thrown off and I could not sleep very much that first night.

The next morning, we had breakfast on the roof of the B&B, overlooking the sea. It was a lovely view of the rocky beaches and the endless blue expanse of the water and sky, blending together in a harmony of hues. After breakfast, we hopped in our rental car and headed back north an hour to Lecce, and we met up with Daria and Barbara. Lecce is a very old Roman city, and it has an amphitheater where the gladiators used to fight lions. It was very cool to see this, as well as all of the baroque style architecture and cathedrals. There was a farmers market of sorts in the main square, and I tasted all kinds of meats, cheeses, breads and oils. Catherine bought a little of everything that the girls liked. After getting some lunch at another small, authentic Italian restaurant, we rented two bike/cart things to ride around the city in. Sebastien and Catherine were in one, and Daria, Barbara, Emma and Elise and I were in the other. We raced around the city, bumping and swaying through the shaded cobblestone streets, laughing and screaming as we raced each other around, narrowly avoiding dogs, kids, and cars on the tiny twisting streets. In that moment, with the wind flying through my hair, and the sun shining on my face, the sound of laughter and three languages all around me, I finally felt a moment of happiness. Maybe things would be okay, after all. After about an hour of riding around like crazy people, we brought the carts back and got some gelato. As the sun was setting over the town, we said our goodbyes to Daria and Barbara, and departed back to Galliolli. We had dinner in our room, with all the bread, cheese, olives, meat, and wine that Catherine had bought in the market in Italy. It was delicious. We went to bed, and I felt slightly better, even though I didn't sleep very well, again.

On Sunday, we spent the day in Gallipolli, going through the historic city center and admiring the cathedrals and the sea. Then, by car, we drove along the seaside through many small villages close by, just wandering and enjoying the views. We stopped at a stretch of beach, and the girls ran along collecting literally every shell they saw, dumping them into my tiny purse, which was soon overflowing with sand and sea life. We left the beach after about an hour or so and made our way back to Gallipolli where we ate dinner and went to sleep.

On Monday, we headed out early after breakfast for a long day of driving north to other cities in Puglia. Our first stop was Otranto, which was an awesome city on the sea with a wonderful cathedral and a castle! We explored the city, and did some shopping. I treated myself to a new purse, because as I quickly learned, nannies need big bags to carry around every single thing in the universe that kids want to give you. So, after buying a large with a sturdy cross body strap, Duck, the girls beloved stuffed duck, rode around in it. The girls were insistent that he come everywhere with us so that he could see all the sights. We stopped at a restaurant to eat some lunch, and I had a pasta with a strong ricotta and tomatoes sauce, and Catherine and Sebastien enjoyed some seafood, which is amazingly fresh here. After lunch, we got in the car and drove another hour northeast to the village of Ostuni. You must google  pictures of this city. It was amazing. It is called a "citta bianca" or a "white city" because all the building and homes are white washed, and the streets are also light in color. When we were driving up the mountain to get to it, it was all white and glimmering from above. We met Daria here, and she showed us all around the historic center, and we admired the views from high up above. Italy is like one giant watercolor painting. The countryside is shades of green, dotted with wildflowers of yellow, red, purple and white. The views of the sea are a soft blend of blues, swirling together in soft waves. After exploring Ostuni, we went to Daria's home, which was about a twenty minute drive to the small village of Cisternino. She has a lovely traditional Puglian home, with the Touilles, as they are called in French. These are sort of cone/spiral shapes tower like things that are on many of the houses in the region. At her home, I was finally able to access wifi for about five minutes. It made me cry, because I realized how much I truly missed my family and friends. The girls wanted to know why I was sad, but I didn't even have the words to explain, which made me more sad. I quickly had to make myself stop crying as we got in the car and drove three hours back to Gallipolli through the night.

Tuesday, the 15th, was Emma's tenth birthday. Her parents got her a huge chocolate egg with Violetta, a Disney channel Europe character from the show, aptly titled Violetta. She is Emma and Elise's favorite. We had breakfast at a cafe and had some amazing Italian pastries with lemon, apple, raspberry, and chocolate! Then we got in the car, and drove back to Cisternino to meet up with Daria. She showed us around her village, which was also very beautiful, no surprise there. Everything in Puglia was beautiful. These cities and villages are literally five hundred years old, and still standing. It goes to show how secure the architecture is. However, the down side is that cars did not exist at that time, so many village are not meant to handle lots of traffic, yet somehow they do. Just like when I was in Spain, I wonder how cars, people, bikes, motorcycles, and animals can all fit down these narrow streets at the same time!
We went out to lunch with Daria in Cisternino, at a restaurant where she knows the staff. She secretly had a cake prepared for Emma's birthday, and the chef came out with it and sang to her, in English, thankfully, so I could sing along. After we all ate some cake, the waiter brought out three small bottles of different liquors. Apparently, it is common in Italy to take shots after eating large meals because it aids in digestion. I sampled a small taste of Limoncello, a traditional Italain liqour, but decided it was too strong and too sour and I didn't like it very much. I didn't bother to try the other two liquors. However, at this meal we did have the most amazing red wine that we had on the entire trip. It was smooth and soft on the mouth, very light and fresh. I wish I would have thought to buy a bottle!
After lunch, we said goodbye to Daria, and we went a half hour by car to a zoo safari park. It was a combination of an amusement park with rides, a zoo, and a safari zoo, which was a part where you could drive through with your car to see all the animals up close. This was very fun, and a giraffe licked our car and zebras ran alongside with us. The girls threw peanuts to the goats and the antelopes, but they were scared of the lions and tigers. After the safari, we parked and got out to enjoy the rest of the zoo/amusement park on foot. However, after about twenty minutes, the sky grew black and it began to torrential downpour and hail! It was insane! We all ran under an awning of a building to seek shelter, not knowing what do it. Thankfully, after a few minutes, a zoo bus came to the rescue. It was packed with wet Italians and everyone was cold and unhappy. The bus took us to the reptile house, which was indoors, to wait for another bus to take us to the parking lots. Great, I have to be cold and wet and be forced to stare at alligators for twenty minutes! (*I am terrified of alligators and crocodiles, for those of you who don't know*) But eventually, the bus came, and we piled into our car, wet and cold and tired. We returned back to Gallipolli, where it was also raining, but not as bad. Catherine and Seb went out to pick up pizzas, and we ate in our apartment. We had good conversation in French about music, movies, and soccer. I was beginning to feel better. More connected, and more in touch with the family, learning about things they like. After the parents left for bed, the girls and I played a smurf card game (FUN FACT: smurfs are from Belgium. So naturally, everyone here loves them). We also made a giant pillow/blanket fort and had a pillow fight. Finally, I wore them out enough to go to bed. I was still missing my family a lot, but I went to bed feeling better.

Thursday may have been my favorite day of the whole trip to Italy. After breakfast, we drove to small village close by called Santa Maria. We went to a nature reserve and hiked up through the forest and the hillsides to get to the sea. If you have ever seen Italian renaissance paintings, you may have an idea of what the forests look like. The trees are tall, thin, and curving. They bend in playful and whimsical ways, beckoning you into their depths in a way that it both awe inducing and slightly frightening. I felt like the forest was like Alice and Wonderland, Tim Burton style. Slightly creepy yet also very, very interesting and exciting. Finally, we made it to the sea. Coming through the trees, there was a view of the mountainside, which had a castle on its peak in the distance. The beach was rocky and smelled like salt and sea air. The air was fresh, and the sky was blue and clear. And the sea, oh the sea. The Mediterranean will always be my second favorite body of water, Lake Michigan being the first. The sea is beautiful and un tamable, wild and free. The sound of its turquoise waves crashing down along the rocky shores sounds like a sigh of relief, and a cry of reckless yearning. After exploring the crystal clear lagoons and tide pools for a few hours, we departed because the sky began to turn gray, threatening rain, again. We drove into town to a very well known and historic restaurant for lunch. It was amazing! We had an olive and cheese platter for an appetizer, and I had risotto with spinach and gorgonzola for lunch. I left feeling like a round beach ball.
We drove back to our B&B after lunch, and since it had become cold and rainy, we rested in the room and watched some very interesting Italain television shows, and the girls played the smurfs on their ipads. Finally, the wifi was working in the hotel so I got to talk to my family and friends for a little bit, which was wonderful but it also made me very sad, again. Later that night, we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by Alberto, the owner of the B&B. When we got there, they told us that he had bought us a bottle of champagne. That was very, very kind of him! We ate dinner, and then we went back to the hotel to sleep.

Friday was cloudy and rainy and just generally not nice. However, there was a moment of sun in the afternoon so we went to the beach for awhile because the girls wanted to get more shells. It was sunny but there was a ton of wind and it was very cold. The girls were loving it, but I was literally frozen by the time we left the beach, and then they wanted to get gelato! SO cold! Since we were going to leave the next day and it had started to rain, we went back to the hotel to pack up all our things. If you know anything about kids, you know that this is a huge process that takes forever. After packing, the girls and I watched a ton of videos online about Violetta.

For my American friends, who will probably not know about Violetta (I didn't), let me fill you in. Violetta is a television show that is on Disney South America and Disney Europe. It is about a high school girl named, obviously, Violetta. Her mother was a famous singer but she died when Violetta was very young, so the father took Violetta to Madrid and never told Violetta that her mother was famous. However, Violetta began to show talent for singing and dancing in her youth and her father wanted to suppress it, so they moved back to their native Buenos Aires, Argentina, However, here Violetta began to attend a music school and discover her true talents plus she has two cute boys fighting for her love! How dramatic! Anyway, the girls love this show. It's interesting for me, because the show is originally in Spanish, but in Belgium it is dubbed over in French. Yet, since it is a show with lots of music, the songs are still in Spanish, with French subtitles. Talk about a brain teaser!

Friday night passed without much interest, and we went to bed after dinner.

Saturday was our last day in Italy, and luckily it was sunny and nice outside again. We had breakfast on the terrace and enjoyed the last views of the sea from Gallipolli. Then we loaded up the rental car, and headed to Polignano al Mere, a city about two hours away from Gallipolli, to meet with Daria one last time to say goodbye. Polignano is probably what you will see in the pictures I posted on facebook, the large arches and rocky beach coves. It was truly spectacular. We had lunch in literally a cave in the rocky sea cliff side. It was a stunning view. Then we had our last Italian gelato and said goodbye to Daria. We got back in the car to drive another forty or so minutes to Bari, the city from where we would depart to Belgium.

Our flight left at 8pm on Saturday night, and once again I felt overwhelmed with emotions. I have come to realize that flying is a very good metaphor for your life problems. On the ground, everything feels very real, very close, and very hard to deal with in the moment. As soon as you board the plane, and begin the ascent, the pressure begins to mount in your head and chest and you feel as if your heart may burst and your head may fall off. The pressure continues to build until you feel as if you literally can not handle it for one more second. And then suddenly, you're in the air, above the clouds. And from up here, everything looks so small and feels so insignificant and you can literally soar above your troubles, temporarily, for they are far, far away now. If you're lucky, maybe you can meditate here, and by the time you land, you'll be a whole new person with a whole new outlook on life.

Unfortunately, this was not the case for the girls when we landed in Belgium. It was about 11pm, and they were really really tired and cranky. We had to wait for Seb to get our car back from the parking garage, and then we had to drive another hour in the very cramped and crowded car full of luggage back to Catherine's parents house in Tournai. By the time that we finally got there and got all of our bags in the house and got ready for bed, it was almost 2am. Needless to say, everyone was tired and cranky after a long vacation in Italy. The girls and I went to our room and fell fast asleep.

There is so much I could say and tell about Italy, but those stories will have to wait till I see you all again, until then, I love you all!
XOXO

Next post: Easter faux-pas

Better Late Than Never

As promised, I will deliver anyone interested in reading a blog of my current life happenings! I can't promise the frequency of the posts and/or the grammatical errors since I am writing from a tablet, which is all I currently have at my disposal. It is not easy to type essay length posts on a touch screen! In any event, here is the first run through, and I hope you enjoy and comment! :)

Let me first start with some background information for those who may not be aware of my current situation. We have to go back a ways in order for this to make any logical sense, I apologize. Let's start with roughly a year ago. Last May, I graduated college from CMU with my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and Spanish. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my life and the real world was a cold, hard slap in the face. With few dollars in my pocket, and fewer job offers, I returned home to live with my parents for the summer while I tried to figure things out for the next step of my life. I returned to work at the local coffee shop, which I absolutely love. Living on the west coast has never been a problem for me, since I love the people and the atmosphere. However, the lack of "real jobs" is a reason to look elsewhere. I applied for many jobs and internships all spring and summer. I know that you're supposed to search for financial stability, but I didn't really have an interest for money, and I never really have. My problem was that my true passions didn't really line up with any particular jobs that I could find.

However, in August, I received notice that I had gained an internship in the Special and Rental Events department at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. I was very excited at the thought of pursuing one of my main passions, which is art. I was also excited to get my feet wet in the professional museum field. It's time for honesty, since I don't plan on sugar coating anything in this blog. Some of you may be reading this truth for the first time, so take the following as you will: Since my internship was unpaid and part-time, I certainly didn't have the funding to move into an apartment in the city on my own, so I moved in with my Aunt Gale. Super glamorous, amiriiiight? In any event, I also had just purchased a new car, and with a new car comes a car payment, so I was in need of cash fast. So along with working twenty hours a week at the museum, I took a thirty hour a week job working at a Mexican grocery store on the south side of Chicago. The clamorous life just continues on!

Working these two jobs simultaneous, along with living with my aunt taught me a lot of hard and fast lessons.

1: sleep is crucial. you don't realize that until you are working 50 hours a week, 7 days a week.
2: social interaction/friendship is also crucial. I knew next to no one in the city, other than my coworkers. No friends, plus no time/energy for a social life makes for an unhappy life.
3: you never realize your own privileges/stereotypes fully until you have to combat them on a daily basis.

Continuing on point three, I think I learned more at my job as a grocery store cashier than I did at my museum internship. Sure, my museum internship was professional, and it taught me many new things, but it was quite simple most of the time. At the store, I was a shiny goldfish in a bowl, and everyone looked at me as if I was some kind of abnormality. As the only white person working in the store, the Mexicans were amazed that I could speak Spanish. (This of course is the only reason that I was hired, at least my Spanish degree went to good use...) I constantly had to refute stereotypes that they held about me, and I was always explaining myself, telling my story over and over and over, and also asking for stories in return. During my time there, I learned more about Mexican lifestyle and immigration than I ever could have learned in a text book. And suddenly, there it was: the spark of passion that I had been looking for. Through language, cultural barriers were broken down and I was able to communicate as equals with my coworkers. Over time, they began to know me and trust me and befriend me. It was wonderful to finally feel involved, even if I would never be fully accepted into the fold.

So, my inner anthropologist was very happy at the grocery store, and it also gave me an income. Bonus! However, the rational part of my brain, the museum professional, and society at large, was telling me that one can not make a successful and happy living working in a foreign grocery store their whole life. As my internship drew to a close, I needed to figure out my next move. One of my fellow interns told me about a website where you can become an international au pair. Curious, with my passion for language and travel, I looked into it. I found myself suddenly immersed in a whole new world of opportunities. I knew that this was something that I could do, and something I could love. But the question remained, where?

I thought about Spain, and although I love it there and miss it dearly, I wanted to try something new. I considered the french that I had studied in college. Maybe this was the time to improve, and learn a new language and culture. A family from Belgium contacted me shortly after I joined the website. They seemed nice, and their two daughters looked cute. After a few emails and skype sessions, it was decided. I would go and live with them to be their au pair.

Now, that all sounds fine and simple, however, as those of my inner circle can tell you, this is anything but true. I spent nearly six months communicating, planning, applying for my visa to move to Europe. It was literally the most emotionally trying time of my life, thus far. Looking back, I can say that it taught me patience, however, in the moment it was pure emotional torture waiting every day for a precious piece of mail that never seemed to arrive.

Meanwhile, Brent had moved to the Netherlands in January to start his masters program in economics. Our communication was limited, and I was looking forward to finally being able to reunite in the same time zone, and the same continent.

Finally, on April 8th , my visa arrived. I booked my flight for literally less than twenty four hours later, and on April 9th, I was in the air on my way to Dublin. Now you may be thinking, why were you in such a rush? The family in Belgium had been waiting for my arrival for several months. I was scheduled to arrive in February, but my visa kept getting delayed for reasons still unknown to me. In any event, my flight went smooth to Dublin, and I landed and had a short layover before heading to Brussels.

After landing in Brussels, the panic began. I was extremely jet lagged and tired, nervous about catching the right train to Arlon, and on top of it all, there was a delay in the baggage so I had to sit and wait for what felt like forever for my suitcase to arrive. When it finally did, I tried to purchase a train ticket at the kiosk. Of course, the kiosk wouldn't accept my credit card, so I went to look for a ticket booth to buy my ticket with cash from an actual human being. As I was attempting to leave the terminal, I was chosen to be randomly searched by security. Not only did this waste my time, it also was embarrassing to have some random man rifling through my underwear and clothing undoing all my neat packing for the whole security line to see. Fantastic. At least I have cute underwear. After repacking my suitcase, since Belgian security finally decided I did not, in fact, have a bomb, I set off to find a train ticket. The teller told me that the train would leave in ten minutes. Cue me running like a mad woman through the airport dragging my suitcase along with me to get to the train platform on time. I literally jumped on as the train doors were closing. Trying hard not to cry from sheer exhaustion, panic began to set in as I realized my phone did not work, and there was no wifi for me to connect to on the train. How was I supposed to communicate with Sebastien, my new host father? How was he supposed to know when to pick me up? What if I never found him? All of these awful thoughts were running through my head. However, it was early afternoon and passing through the city of Brussels was hard to ignore. Just the marvelous joy of being in Europe again was enough to keep me mentally a float.

Until....I realized I had missed my transfer. I missed the stop and so I had to get off at the next one and figure out when the next train to Arlon was coming. I asked a platform attend if he knew when it would arrive, and he said roughly thirty minutes. I began to panic again, wondering how far this would set me back because of my stupid mistake. I went to a wifi hot spot and sent a desperate email to Seb, hoping it would go through. I told him what time my train was supposed to arrive and hoped for the best. After getting on the right train, I had a two hour ride to think/panic/enjoy the scenery of the Belgian countryside/try my best not to face plant from severe jet lag. I had been awake for over thirty hours at this point, but I could not risk falling asleep on the train and missing my stop. I listened to very loud music on my ipod and tried to focus on every detail of what I was seeing.

After what felt like the longest part of the journey, my train finally arrived in Arlon, Belgium. Arlon is a medium sized town that is on the the southeast border of the country, very very close to Luxembourg. Getting off the train, I had no idea what to do or where to go. I involuntarily began to cry a little from panic and exhaustion. But then suddenly I heard someone tentatively say: "Jennifer?" and there was a man in a navy suit coming towards me. I knew from skyping, that it was Sebastien. Not caring much about cultural customs, I ran to him and hugged him as if he were my family, not someone I had never met. I was so happy to know that he had figured out my train schedule and come to pick me up at the right time. His suit might as well have had a superman suit on underneath it. He took my bag and brought it to his super slick BMW. The cars here are amazing, I drooled when I got inside. After some brief getting to know yous, we drove to the city center to the government building to get me legally registered as a resident/employee of Belgium. It was tedious to fill out more paperwork when I was so tired, but legally this needed to be done. After words, he stopped in a cafe and bought me a sandwich and took me to my new home.

This house is really more like a mini mansion. Three stories, all white and crisp and modern and brilliant. There is a pool in the back with amazing gardens, a greenhouse, and a trampoline for the girls. I have my own wing of the house, literally. It has its own entrance and everything. It's basically a mini apartment that is connected to the rest of the house, it is more than I could have hoped for. I also have my own car to use while I am here, a VW Bug. I'm happy to be back in some German engineering! Time to put my stick shift skills to work.

I had a few hours to eat, unpack, and take a shower, but my downtime was short lived. I arrived on the 10th of April, and the next day, the family was departing for a ten day vacation to Italy, with me in tow. I repacked a smaller bag for the trip, and we departed for a two hour car ride to Tournai, where Catherine (my host mothers) parents live, since this is where Emma and Elise (the two daughters) were staying, and where we would be departing from the morning of the 11th. We didn't arrive till after midnight, and I was to share a room for the night with the two girls I would be nannying for. They were already sleeping when I got there, of course. It was nerve wracking to think that I would meet them for the first time so soon, but by the time I saw a bed, I was so damn tired I fell immediately into a dreamless sleep for a mere five hours.

When I awoke bright and early the next morning at six am, two small dark shapes were lurking near my bed. I sleepily rubbed my eyes and as they adjusted, I saw two girls. A blonde and a brunette, looking at me as if I were some sort of alien crash landed in their room. I introduced myself in shaky french and they smiled shyly back and quickly exited the room. Great, they hate me already, my half dead brain thought.

Till tomorrow, to hear about Italy. It is almost midnight here now, and my wrists hurt from typing on this tablet. I hope this is enough for now! I will post another blog and pictures tomorrow.

All my love,
XOXO