Une Journée Sans Voitures

Once a year, Brussels does this incredibly bizzare thing. To limit pollution, all cars are banned in the city for an entire day. (Well, you know, minus Ambulances and stuff.) Its absolutely insane!

I had just barely managed to wrap my Small-Town-Mind around the idea of cars being everywhere, then suddenly the cars were gone and they were replaced by bikes, rollerblades, and even horses!

It was absolutely insane. We went for a ride on our bikes through the city, and it was the wierdest feeling to be able to just ride your bike in the middle of the road without worrying about being squished. I absolutely loved it. Once again I say, why hasn't America caught on to this wonderful idea? We could learn a thing or two from these Belgians.

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Bon Anniversaire, Little Man

Its been a little over one month since I packed up my bags and said goodbye to Blanding, Utah. This experience has already been beyond description, and I'm loving it.

I'm not going to lie to you though, its been hard. I've already started to feel that pang of sorrow we call homesickness every now and again. . .

. . . but on September 14th that little pang became an unbareable ache. I wanted nothing more than to be home, snuggling on the beaten up couch in the living room with my Little Man watching Harry Potter for hours on his Special Day. Its absolutely impossible to believe that its been ten years since that little ball of sunshine stepped into my life. I loved him with all my heart the moment I saw his little Budha-Baby face, and I will love him forever and ever and ever. =]

In my mind, Worthy is still just this little guy who can't eat an ice cream cone without wearing half the thing on his belly.

But the time has come to face the truth. My Little Man isn't so little anymore.

Worthy, I know its a week late, but Happy Birthday. I hope it was great.  I love you quadruple anything you say. ;]

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Say "CHEESE"

Today I am going to tell you about a very horrible day. This is perhaps the most dreaded day of my entire life. It has happened once a year every year since kindergarten. Its a day I have always attempted to avoid, but even here in my own little Paradise it has somehow managed to find me. . .

Picture day. BLARG. I cannot describe my complete hatred for this photo, but for memory keepings sake, I'm gonna sacrifice my pride and put it on here anyway.

This is my class. Aren't we cute?  This is how we look when told to sit still for the camera. . .

. . . But this is a lot more characteristic =] I'd tell you thier names, but they are all cool guy foreign names and I'm afraid I'm gonna spell them wrong. It is enough to tell you that they are freaking awesome people, and I pretty much love them.

I don't know why I thought I was done with this whole Picture Day thing. I guess I was just getting so used to how perfect this place is that I assumed it really was created for me and that there would be no imperfections in my Paradise like Picture taking. (Yuck). Evidentally, I was wrong. But hey, as long as I get to make that face ^^^ for the camera, I will survive. =]

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There's a First Time for Everything. . .

You know that saying that goes, "There's a first time for everything"? Well since my last post, I think I have literally done EVERYTHING for the first time. . . Okay, maybe not. But it was definitely a week of firsts.

I had my first taste of caviar (and didn't like it one bit), and my first bite of sushi (which was exponentially more enjoyable). I had my first plate of genine Italian food (Olive Garden, you should be ashamed of yourself. Puh-shaw!) and my first meal that I did not absolutely love: Duck. In fact, I didn't like it one bit. Yuck.

First thing Monday morning, I rode the "Metro" (which is the Belgian version of the Subway) for the very first time. Then, the next day I rode it ALL BY MYSELF for the first time. AND I didn't get lost. Yeah, I'm proud of myself. I know, I know. Its crazy that I managed to make it 17 years without ever using an underground transportation system, but its the truth.

The Metro is. . . pure insanity. I really can't think of any other way to describe it. The sheer number of people is just too much for my small-town-girl mind to comprehend. There are people getting on the car, there are people getting off the car, and there are people waiting for the next car but there are ALWAYS people. This makes for a very crowded trip, and once the shock wears off, a very uncomfortable experience.

If you're lucky, there will be an open seat available for you. If you're REALLY lucky, you get to sit next to a normalish person (which is rare in the Metro) who doesn't stink. More often then not, however, you are forced to either stand for the hour long ride, hanging on for dear life as a crowd of strangers presses in on all sides, OR you get to sit next to some creeper old man who smells like Spam.

Also, the thing smells like B.O. . . CONSTANTLY.

Other than that, though, its a blast! I get giddy every time I click my little metro card into the pay-slot thing-a-ma-jigger. It makes me feel like a true-blue citizen of Belgium =] And I know I've said it before, but I 've just gotta brag a little: I haven't gotten lost. Not ONCE. Yeah, I'm pretty much exstatic. Go me! =]

The reason I took the Metro so many times in such a short amount of time was to prepare myself for THE most terrifying experience of my life. Now, I know I'm not much of a thrill rider, but I've done some pretty terrifying things and this TOPS THEM ALL.

I am speaking, of course, of the infamous, the dreaded, and the universally feared *insert ominous music here* . . . . First Day of School.

Not only was this my first day of school, this was my first day of Catholic School, where uniforms are required. Blarg.


This is me being not-happy about the uniform:

This is me warming up to the idea:

And this is me being okay with it. =]

And a few more random shots of the stupid. . . I mean. . . wonderful thing: (I apologize for the quality. They are uber blurry, and there isn't much I can do about that so yeah. . . )

After eleven years of first days of school, you'd think I would be prepared for my very last first day, but nope. There is nothing in this world that could have prepared me for that experience. It was complete chaos from start to finish, and I loved every second of it.

 I would tell you all about it but to be honest with you, I was so completely lost the entire time that I am not entirely sure what actually happened. I can tell you this though: there was a lot of French speaking involved. I spoke the little bits and pieces of French I know, trying (and failing) to form them into a comprehensible sentance, and every body else spoke thier freaking fast French as I tried in vain to keep up. (Seriously, its like thier mouths are on speed or something. They talk SO fast!)

Despite being absolutely lost, it was a good day. The complete chaos of it all was entirely overwhelming, but with a good attitude and a smile fixed firmly in place, I SURVIVED. If I can survive that, I can do it anything. =]

I'm ready for you, World. Bring it on.

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