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