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
XOXO
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