Week in Review: Week 8

This week was pretty low-key. It started out inching along, and then was over before I knew it. Here's some highlights:

• Yesterday we had the youth over for a sort of annual fun-day/Halloween celebration. It was a lot of fun, but 7 hours worth of teenagers in small quarters made my head tired.
• We played some dirty/gross games with them. I was proud to say that the two that perhaps went over best were some that I brought over, namely chubby bunnies and the baby shower game where you melt chocolate in diapers and force the participants to taste and identify the chocolate.
• We played these games outside our garage and, for me, one of the best parts was watching the neighbors and people passing by gawk at these kids making toilet paper mummies and eating out of diapers. There were almost a few wrecks.
• My mom has decided to come visit for Thanksgiving! My last week here was free so we are going to spin around England for a few days. I'm excited!
• I will be home in 5 weeks, and I WILL GRADUATE IN 6 WEEKS. I only have 4 papers and a portfolio left! (And, inshallah, 2 of those will be finished in the next day or so.)
• I've decided I am going to incorporate what little Arabic I know into everyday conversations. Consider yourselves barakah-ed.
• This coming week is a class break (to coincide with the break in the schools here). After this week I will only have 2 more weeks of teaching (the final week will be exams, etc.). I finally got my classes up to speed in the curriculum. It should be smooth sailing from here on out. Inshallah.
• We were invited over to the house of some friends from church. It was a lovely evening all around, but one of the highlights for me was being able to see the stars on the way out to the car. I had realized earlier that I don't think I had seen a single star here--it's either cloudy or too bright in Brussels. They live outside of the city some, so it was almost a surprise to look up and see the Big Dipper.
• I had to run to the store earlier to pick up something for lunch. Janee gave me a handful of change and out the door I went. Assuming she knew how much it would cost I hadn't grabbed my purse. I went to the store, grabbed the item and counted the change to make sure I would have enough--I had 1.80 and it cost 1.75. Good deal. Until I dropped one of the dimes...which rolled under the edge of the shelf. I kind of bent and looked but didn't see it. Turns out there was no bottom ledge to the shelf and the coin had gone ALL the way under the huge shelf. Normally, a dime is worth bending over for, but not worth digging around under shelving for--except I had no other money whatsoever on me. So, in the middle of the tiny aisle, in a dress, I had to get on all fours and reeeeeach through the dust and dirt to find the dime. Ugh.
• I know these things have to happen to other people, but I sure feel like these things happen to me in much higher percentage. C'est la vie.
• Faith and beliefs aside, it's nice being a Christian for superficial things as well--like not having to go to the halal butcher. I went this week so we could cook for our neighbors and not only are the lines four times longer but the butcher has a looong scraggly beard. I do not want that mixed into my hamburger meat.

Well, that about sums up the highlights of the week. It was long but not too eventful. I've got about a month left here, but the baby could be coming any time now, so who knows what the rest of my time here will look like!

You know what I miss?

Well mostly all you lovely people. But other than that?

I really just want a big mug of crappy drip coffee. I mean I've had cafe au lait, and cappuccinos. Every day I drink what more or less amounts to espresso from the fancy coffee machine in the kitchen. I've even had Starbucks once. But really, I just want American coffee. Not even an "Americano." No, I want a big ceramic mug of Folgers from my 1995 model Mr. Coffee with powdered creamer and a couple spoonfuls of white sugar.

Nothing fancy here folks.

I'd even take it out of one of those little styrofoam cups from Logsdon. (Yes, I know. I killed the universe with those little cups when I could have used a mug. But I saw way too many people not wash those mugs properly. Yep, I said it.)

Anyway, there is no point to this entry besides that. So enjoy a cup of coffee for me.

Aachen

I realized that I never posted any pictures from my trip across the border to Germany. So here, I present to you, a bit of Aachen, Germany:

Week in Review: Week 7!

Well, week 7 is over and it has been a doozy.

• It has been a busy week as far as classes are concerned--I gave, graded and gave back tests. Now we are on to trying to finish 4 units in less than 3.5 weeks. Ready, set, go.
• Some of my students did horribly on the exam. It doesn't really bother me because I know they understand the things they messed up on. Still, it pained me to give them bad grades...so I wrote "good" even on the test of the person who made a 50...
• The week began with a visitor who stayed in our house for 2 days. In the middle of the week Rob Nash, head of CBF's missions side, stopped in for a night. And then today, to top it off the week, Hary's brother, 3 neices and a family friend from Antwerp all came by. It's been a full house.
• I graduate in 7 weeks! I only have 5 papers and a portfolio to go!
• Maybe the weather is the culprit, but I was cursed with a migraine for 2 days this week. Not fun.
• Yesterday we got to go work with Tabitha ministries again, who work with the homeless here in Brussels. We made sandwiches for a few hours and then went to the station to feed two hundred and fifty people.
• I passed out the soup again. Even though it's pronounced the same in English and French lots of people kept laughing at me when I offered it to them. Whatever.
• After the homeless feeding we stopped in a memorial service for a close family type person for Hary. It was at our church, but involved mostly the orthodox church that meets there on Saturdays. It was like stepping into a different world. There were people everywhere and a couple of moments after we walked in the door plates of food were shoved at us.
• My favorite memory of the evening? We got to talk to 2 head honchos in the Assyriac Indian Orthodox Church (or something like that...). I spotted them the moment we walked in because their outfits were awesome (and bright red)! Turns out these 2 live in the US (in Providence and Columbus) and speak English. We chatted for a while but I mostly just stared at their robes/necklaces/fancy walking sticks/beards/rings.
• We did a little internet research when we got home (because I needed a picture of them!). See below!
• Despite being in a position to be called "his eminence" and wearing crazy costumes these guys were friendly, charismatic, and totally accessible. If being Baptist doesn't work out, I might have a plan B...
• Also in the bizarre department: At the memorial service someone came up to congratulate one of the guys I had been speaking to that evening (who happens to be 37). On his engagement. To me. Talk about total surprise! Apparently one of the idiot guys in our church spread that one around for reasons I still don't understand. Can we say awkward??
• Hary's been wanting me to cook, so tonight I dusted off my Southern roots and fried up some chicken. That with the sweet tea and little bit of Texas country music made me feel right at home.
• I also managed to smoke up the entire kitchen. Oops.

Anyway, that about wraps up the week. It was a long one, but I'm quickly realizing my time here is already on the downhill slide. It's been a whirlwind so far! OK, check out our friend below! (He was only wearing the red on Saturday and his walking stick has gotten a major upgrade since this picture was taken. But seriously, how awesome is that??)

Just Right

I inherited my dad's dislike of the cold (maybe his cold heart too), and since I got here in early September, I have been bracing for the chill I knew was coming. Well it's here.

And I kind of love it.

I went for that really long walk I told you about and the crispness to the air was perfect. The last couple of days the rain has returned, and surprisingly, I have found it to be pretty lovely too. Today I had to go make copies of the second half of our English books to pass out tonight. It was colder than I thought out there, and was raining, but with my blue scarf and green polka dot umbrella, it felt just right. I had debated on buying the umbrella, because, well it's not just green, it's neon green. At least I figured I would be less likely to forget it somewhere when it was that bright. But today I realized it's perfect for grey days. (And for 2 Euro at Ikea, it was a steal too!)

Also, the cold has inspired me to stay inside some as well. That has led to 3, maybe 4, This American Life podcasts listened to, all of my laundry finished and put away, and the whole upstairs having been cleaned. I even rearranged furniture some this afternoon (which always makes me feel better) and created a little desk in my room next to the radiator. I'm hoping this inspires me to finish my last papers!

Anyway, I know the sentiment won't last, but for now, the cold is just right.

PS. As promised, a picture of my green polka dot umbrella:

Week In Review: Week 6

Another installment of my random snippets from the week:

• Hary is back from Syria! He is tre gentil and brought me back some famous Syrian soap. It's the same recipe that some famous queen used and it smells really nice. It's a dark green color. The first time I used it, I washed my face with it, and after a moment looked down at my hands--they were brown! Panic! I was afraid that it was actually some kind of middle eastern self tanner and that I'd stained my face khaki green. Thankfully it all washed right off. Crisis averted.
• When talking to my conversation students about food it came out that they all love Chinese food. For fun we thought we would hold our Thursday class in a local Chinese restaurant. Let's just say it wasn't quite a disaster.
• I must be one of the most awkward people alive. I mean, I know I'm not the MOST awkward person, but I'm pretty sure I am somewhere toward the top of the list.
• 8 weeks until I graduate.
• It's in the 30s this week. Last night it fell bellow 32. Hello winter!
• Friday I was asked if I was Romanian. Again, close but no.
• Friday we also had the youth over for the evening. Afterwards we took a couple of the ids home and were invited in for tea. Along with the traditional nuts that go with tea they also brought out: pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, candy coated chickpeas, Syrian bread, olive oil and spices, 2 kinds of homemade cheeses (she even goes to the farm herself to get the milk!), tomatoes, cucumbers, 2 kinds of homemade cookies, apples, oranges and pomegranates. AND she also brought us out huge bowls of pasta.
• All of this took place between 10:30-12:30 at night.
• Yesterday I tried again, and 3rd time is a charm, made it inside the Laeken Cathedral. It was more impressive than I thought it would be, even though it's under renovation.
• I also took the more direct route there, which took a whopping 9 minutes.
• I felt like walking so I kept going towards the Royal Palace. I not only saw a race, but saw hoards of Chinese tourists visiting...the Chinese Tower. It was odd to me.
• This week I also got my first taste of Antwerp. It's Flemish and much more orderly feeling than Brussels. Hary gave us a tour of the docks.

OK, that about does it. Week 6 is finished, on to week 7 here in Brussels. This coming week is my midpoint here! Picture of the soap below (I'll try to get some more up later):

Hidden Brussels

So this afternoon I started flipping through a guidebook from the downstairs bookshelf. It's called Secret Brussels and has all kinds of fun facts and hidden gems of the city. One interesting fact I learned, when reading the section on touring the city's sewers, is that Brussels has so many rats that it comes out to about 2 rats for each human living in the city. Gross. Also, apparently, hidden away in the middle of the city is an urban farm complete with sheep, chickens and an orchard. I have definitely added that to my "to see" list.

This week I also came across a hidden gem in our neighborhood. After dropping off the car at the shop (Dad: I was right, it is a Renault), we walked home and passed a little park. We decided to go in and Janee showed me what just so happened to be a cave where, supposedly, Mary at one time appeared. Right in the middle of the neighborhood was this cave, with an alter inside, along with pictures, petitions, and ceramic "thank you" tiles all along the cave walls. Outside the cave were little booths containing the stations of the cross and several statues.

It was a strange departure from our Moroccan neighborhood, but fascinating nonetheless.