Fall

Fall, the verb, is decidedly not a favorite of mine. But fall the noun? As in the season? That one is a favorite.

(Blurry, but look! Bunnies!)

ER Adventures

So not long ago I ended up on a date with the Syrian Mr. Collins. This week? It was a date with the neurologist.

I should have never mentioned that the culture here reminded me of a Jane Austen novel. First the whole Mr. Collins thing, and then I also unwittingly acted out a scene from Persuasion. In the need of a brief novel to give my brain a break, I picked up Persuasion off of Janee's bookshelf. My mom and I are going to Bath in a couple of weeks, so I thought it would be a nice read. I hadn't realized a large portion of the plot revolved around one of the girls falling and knocking herself unconscious. I might would have avoided the book otherwise.

Anyway, we all know what I then preceded to do--I fell down the stairs and banged the back of my head into the concrete wall. That's nothing new though, I told you about that last week. Everyone kept insisting that I go get my head checked, but I refused. It wasn't that big of a deal. By Sunday though, I was feeling worse instead of better. The headaches were getting stronger, so much so that I thought I might pass out during church on Sunday. My vision was getting a little blurry and I was feeling dizzier than normal.

I started to rethink the idea of going to the doctor. (I've seen way too many medical shows where someone dies of an aneurysm all because they didnt go get their headaches checked out.) The system is a bit different here, so Janee suggested I go to the ER. At this point they were still at the hospital in the next town over, so I hitched a ride there with a couple from our church. After a 10 minute wait (!) I was back in the ER getting checked out, and then got to do one of my least favorite things--a CT scan. Thankfully it came back in the clear but the doctor scheduled me an appointment with the neurologist for an EEG the next day.

Really Lauren? I don't know how I get myself into these things.

The EEG in itself was an odd experience. She started taping probes on my wrists and ears and then pulled out a giant syringe. I panicked--nobody had mentioned injections! Thankfully it was just to squirt gel. She then pulled a cap with about 87 wires attached onto my head and started filling all the little holes in the cap with the gel. (Which I am still trying to wash you of my hair...) Once the test started it was a lot of open your eyes, close them, breathe through your mouth, breathe through your nose, and then a lot of try not to go into a seizure as we blink all kinds of colored lights in your face.

Anyway, I finally got to see the neurologist, who was incredibly nice. After doing a couple dozen little tests (and him squeezing the bruise on my foot!) he showed me my CT and EEG results. All in the clear. (Hamdula) He said since I have had migraines before it is probable that the trauma has triggered them. He said that Post Concussion Syndrome can explain all of my symptoms, and that it could last a week or two or a month or two (lets all pray for weeks not months!).

In the end he prescribed me some good painkillers (which I should probably mention I am taking at the moment...so if none of this makes sense, now we know why), we chatted about healthcare and Belgian and US politics, and he mentioned that if life were like Grey's Anatomy that by that time I "would have been whisked away to the OR for brain surgery with McDreamy." He then followed it up with "or whatever his name is." But it was too late, he was caught.

So in the end, it has been a long, strange week. My head feels like someone is massaging my brain with brass knuckles. But on the upside, they gave me my CT scan on a CD. How cool is that? And while I lament my ability to do the most ridiculous things, I figure everyone who's traveled to Brussels has seen the Grand Place and the Atomium. But how many have seen the inside of the neurology department?

That's right, probably just me.

Week in Review: Week 9

Week 9? It's already the 7th of November? Whoa! Time is flying. Here is the week in review: 

• Since we opened the Christmas season this week we decided to watch White Christmas the other day. Janee also brought along some Christmas music for the car the other day, which was a nice change from Hary's Arabic music. 
• I will graduate in less than 5 weeks! And I have (drum-roll please) ONE PAPER LEFT! I can't believe it. My portfolio is almost finished too.
• This week I did not have classes to teach--everybody is on a week long All Saints/Fall break. And while we managed to fill each day up, I managed to get a good nights sleep every single day. It might have been the most restful week I have had since...last December? It's been a long year. 
• My mom will be here in a little over 2 weeks! We have decided to hit up England my last few days and are going to go over to Bath. Exciting!
• We went over to the house of an Iraqi family the other day. The tea she made for us tasted different from the Moroccan or Turkish tea that we normally drink. I don't know if it was just the tea or some spices added, but it was really good. 
• Why isn't "other day" one word? I think it should be like someday and stop making my life difficult.
• Anahabuck is Arabic for "I love you." 
• Also, did you know that Gazpacho, the Spanish soup, is actually from the Arabic for "soaked bread"? And while I am at it, hummus, the dip, is actually the Arabic word for chickpeas in general. Arabs seem to be really impressed that I know that word. 
• What do you think--Should I get some henna before I go?
• Sometimes I really do forget that I live in Belgium. We were at a market in the center early today and I was amazed at all the white people. (Abilene is going to be a shock to the system...)
• This week someone told me I looked Chinese. Again, close, but no. I just have small eyes. 

OK, that's about all I've got at the moment. 

For the Directionally Challenged

Shops around here are like boxes of chocolates--you never know what you are going to find!

I thought this was pretty awesome:

It's an Islamic prayer kit, including a prayer rug complete with a built in compass. How clever is that?

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!

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:

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.

Week in Review: Week 5

It's Sunday--you know the drill! Week in Review take 5:

• Friday we took a quick day-trip across the border in France to go to a Flemish tapestry factory. When we got there they told us it had actually been moved...back to Belgium. Oops.
• While we were in France we took the opportunity to eat at KFC. It hit the spot.
• Saturday I went to Morocco. And by that I mean I walked outside of our door. This weekend is our neighborhood's carnival/garage sale/market weekend where they shut down some streets and bring out the market stalls. It smelt, looked and felt just like Morocco.
• There was also a marching band of clowns. That bit was not very Moroccan.
• We sat for a couple of hours on some steps, just eating apple beignets and watching everyone walk by. It was QUALITY people watching.
• Those kilos of chocolate I told you about last week? Yep, a dangerous thing to just have sitting in your room.
• Classes are going well--we finished our third unit this week. One more unit to go until it's midterm.
• My conversation classes are by far my favorite.
• Friday night Janee made a Pakistani dish she learned in Africa. It was pretty tasty.
• Hary is still gone to Syria. He will be back in Brussels early Wednesday morning. I am looking forward to some good stories!
• It has been warm this week--like upper 60s and even into the low 70s. I feel like we had our winter and now we are on to spring. Something tells me that when winter really does get here I will be disappointed.
• I took yesterday to do some class reading and paper writing. I only have 7 more papers to write in my entire graduate school career! Who's excited?!
• I need to get busy on post-grad./pre-tirement/sabbatical/quarter-life crisis trip planning. Who's got ideas?
• There were ponies at our little street fair yesterday.
• In Chocolat fashion I decided to buy some chocolate with chili peppers in it. I know this was a really dumb observation, but it was HOT! And sadly too hot for my weak taste buds.
• When we finally made it to the Flemish tapestry factory, it was right outside of Gent, Belgium. We went into the little town and had a looksy. I was very impressed. It was a bit like Brugges but not as frozen in time.
• Also, this week I figured out Google Talk/Voice. If you get a call from (325) 455-0440, answer! It's me!
• I know this is unbelievable, but just this week I had my very first, real deal, made fresh on the street Belgian waffle. It pretty much lived up to the hype.

OK, some pictures below to enhance the fun! Bonne journée!

Castle in Gent

Moi at the canal in Gent

A very small portion of our carnival/street market

People watching and sneaking a picture

A closer look at the apple beignets. In typical fair fashion there was plenty of fried food all around.

Ponies!

My first real waffle

Thinking...

Last week I had an afternoon to myself while Hary and Janee went to look at some houses. Because our house is in the process of being sold (long story) I also had to vacate the building for a couple of hours so it could be shown. I decided to finally go look at some of the touristy things in the neighborhood I hadn't had the chance to see.

I bundled up, checked my window for the general vicinity of the cathedral, went downstairs, locked my door and then headed in that direction. Unfortunately the streets I chose to take did not take me in the exact direction I wanted to go, so I ended up touring some of the sketchier bits of our neighborhood. Finally, I had almost given up on finding my way there when I turned and looked over my shoulder.

Oh! Cathedral, there you are!

So I turned around and headed back behind me. I then realized there was a tunnel between me and the church. I debated for a second and then quickly made my way through the tunnel.

Finally I made it to the cathedral where all the royal people of Belgium have been buried for ages.

And it was closed. Riiiiight. It's closed on Mondays...which is the reason I didn't get to see it the LAST time I was there. I had a look around the outside and then made my way over to the cemetery next door, which I figured would also be closed. But, even though it should have been closed--it was my lucky day! It was open! The Laeken Cemetery is the oldest still functioning cemetery in Brussels and is known as the "Belgian Pere Lachaise."

I put on my headphones and listened to nice depressing music and made my way through the cemetery. There's a smattering of different styles of gravestones and a lot of them are really old. The cemetery was also quiet and filled with yellow-leaved trees which made it seem like I had slipped into a different place when I made it through the gate.

I wandered around for a while, poked my head into some little chapels, and walked along the old paths. It had something of a secret garden feel to it.

And then finally found what I was looking for. This cemetery is famous for one if its gravestones--not just any gravestones, but one of the original cast's of Auguste Rodin's Thinker. I got to get up close to it and walk around it.

I thought how unusual to be by something so famous all by myself with no one else interfering. And I soon figured out why.

I had a good look through the rest of the cemetery, all of it fascinating. There were rows and rows of World War I casualties, which is always sobering. And to be honest, some of the other grave statues were even more moving or impressive to me than Rodin's. This one for example:

Overall, I was just enjoying myself and thinking how nice it felt to be outside, enjoying some of the positive things Brussels has to offer. After about an hour I made my way back to the exit, to find this:

The gate was closed. Uh-oh. Not only closed but locked.

I was locked into the cemetery.

Thankfully after a little searching I found a groundskeeper doing some raking. He didn't seem too happy with me disturbing him or with my pitiful attempt at telling him in French that I was locked in. But whatever, my pride willingly took that hit because he let me out--which was all I cared about at that moment.

On the way back to the house I also saw a signpost that definitely would have saved me some time earlier in the day trying to find the cathedral and the cemetery.

And then to put the icing on the cake, when I got home I couldn't get the key to work.

It's not everyday that you get locked IN a cemetery and OUT of your house. (Oh, and then it started to rain.)

It was a ridiculous afternoon, but hey, it makes for a good story. A couple more pictures below:

They found me...

One thing that really dragged me down this summer was allergies. It rained so much in Abilene this year that things grew for the first time in decades down there and my allergies were having none of it. Going back and forth between Fort Worth and Abilene about every week would mean that I had just enough time to start to get sick in each city. Each week. I was looking forward to changing locations completely and hopefully getting away from my allergies.

Shows how much I know.

Turns out Brussels is not only the capital of the European Union, but also one if it's allergy capitals. I've had headaches for a couple of weeks now, and been really tired for a while, but yesterday they really hit me. So for any of you out there worried, I will not be living here permanently. Here's hoping that I'm going all-in and getting them over with and that I'm not going to be sniffling until December 4th.

Update: I didn't even bother bringing any allergy meds with me. None of it works for me (or it makes me crazy). I'm medicating with extra-dark Belgian chocolate instead.

Week in Review: Week 3

Whoa, I have been here for 3 weeks! Week in review:

• This week Hary, Janee and I went to the Syrian/Lebanese part of town. The food from these two countries is basically the same. And delicious. We had the best pizza I have ever had. And they were 2 euros each!
• I also had a bite of the worst olive I've ever tasted. One bite and I had a sore in my mouth for two days. Hands down the saltiest thing I have ever eaten.
• Syrians are a lot like the British in that they love to call everyone "love." But more so. Habib and Habbibi ("love" and "my love") get thrown around a lot. When we decided we wanted yet another Syrian pizza, Hary called to the guy--Habib! Another pizza, please!
• The greeting, Key feck habibi? (How are you my love?) cracks me up. There's not necessarily anything romantic intended, but it reminds me of some guy going, what up, baby? Which is an odd thing to say to your 60 year old neighbor.
• While in that part of town someone asked me if I was Syrian. Close, but no.
• Thursday I got to go to the biggest Moroccan market in town (pretty much just like being in Morocco) then walked down the block to a Flemish midwives office (for Janee, not myself obviously). Talk about culture shock.
• This week was my first week back teaching classes. We have about 33 students registered in 3 different levels. So far they are pretty awesome.
• As class began on Wednesday a man came by wanting to register his daughter. I was trying to explain everything to him in my crappy French (which is actually just French sounding Spanish with a few French words thrown in) when he stopped me about 5 words in and asked if I spoke Spanish. Turns out they are from the Canary Islands! Fun!
• For one of our conversation classes we talked about things that annoy you (which is a good way to get people talking!). I realized that I do a lot of things that really annoying people.
• Sorry.
• إسمي لورين
• My name is Lauren.
• We went to visit a friend in the hospital across town and randomly came across a 14th century (?) castle.
• Fanta's Red Berry flavor is not good.
• Arabic orange soda tastes just like whatever it was that McDonald's used to sell when I was a kid.
• It's getting cold. Apparently the weather report on the street is that it is supposed to rain every single day from now until spring. Awesome. We are down to low 40s already.
• Krystal: He was not TDH.
• I took a little break from using my free time to write papers and started thinking through post-graduation trip plans. Who's excited?!?

That's all for now. A few pictures below!

Clockwise: Cheese, Cheese, lamb, tomato and peppers, and olive oil and herb. The cheese was definitely the winner in my opinion.

We also picked up some Halawa--kind of like a soft, slightly sweet peanut brittle made out of tahini and pistachios. Or something.

Spices at the market

Why hello castle!

NOT recommended.

Grocery Store

I love to go to grocery stores in other countries. I think it's fascinating to see what they have on offer, and I also like to take mental notes for things I can use to cook some of my favorite meals. While we were out we decided to stop in at the Carrefour, which is usually equivalent to the average super Walmart. I felt the need to take a picture of a few things:

Belgians LOVE their beer. There were two giant isles.

Fruit beers

Mini kegs

Each beer has its own particular kind of glass. These glasses were made so that they could hang from your carriage without spilling.

They also had 2 entire isles of international food. There was a small Mexican section with assorted meal kits. I appreciate the effort, but sorry Carrefour, that is not a burrito.

Finally we found these bad boys and decided to splurge (they were only 50 cents anyway!). They are made with real sugar, so they taste like the Dublins (not my favorite) but hey, not bad for being across the ocean!

They were also playing Vampire Weekend while we were in there, which was an odd, but awesome choice.