More news on the Ginger front

Ginger has three new dog friends- Duchess, Duke and Bodoh. Their owner (Hetty from Holland) and I took a wonderful walk right from her house that went through fields and forests. Ginger was thrilled to have three new friends and so was I! Next week we have another meeting planned with another woman who lives nearby. We are hoping to create a dog walking community and I think we have a good start.















Yesterday we took the train into downtown Brussels just for the practice and Ginger came along. She was a little nervous jumping up onto the train and with the movement of the train. On our way back, we jumped on the wrong train which caused us to jump off at the next station. We then had to go down and then up an escalator to just barely catch the right train. Ginger had never been on an escalator and she was terrified. We are allowed to take her everywhere with us but we forget that she hasn’t been exposed to some of these things.

Once we arrived in Brussels, we strolled down to the Grand Place and had a lovely lunch, sitting outside in the sun.
































Our yard has three apples trees on it and apples are constantly falling on the ground. Ginger has now developed an obsession with apples and every time she’s in the backyard she runs around, picking them all up and burying them. Her nose is now constantly covered in dried up mud. How cute!

More on the language barriers!

Not understanding French continues to make everyday life both extremely challenging and extremely funny. Every small task is tripled (at least) in complexity because of it. Small accomplishments are celebrated as if they were birthdays or anniversaries.

To make things more complex, the country uses three languages. Flemish is used in the northern half of the country (Flanders). French is used in the southern part (Walloon) and in Brussels proper. German is spoken by a small number of people in the most southern part of the country. As a general trend we’ve noticed that the French speaking Belgians tend to not learn English where the Flemish speaking Belgians seem to more often know French and English. A government official from Flanders insulted the Walloons last week by saying that they are “intellectually incapable of learning other languages”. It has caused quite a stir and has given us some more insight into why the two groups don’t get along very well. They are quite divided and it makes it even more ironic that Belgium is head of the EU!

Our house sits on the boarder of Flanders and Walloon. If we drive three minutes to the south, the grocery store we go to has no one working there who speaks any English. If we drive three minutes to the north, the grocery store has many people who speak English. So where would you expect we shop?

Because of the two languages, many of the signs are in both Flemish and French. For the uninitiated, it can make the names of the streets appear very long. We are finally getting the idea. Here is a sign example from the forest that we hike in. Also, they do a very helpful thing in these forests- there are trails for horses, trails for bike riders and trails for people walking. They actually have easy to understand, graphical signs to denote which kind of trail each is.

Castles and Chateaus

Two days ago we decided to do some more exploring nearby so we set off in search of castles. The stereotype that there is a castle or chateau on every corner is really almost true! It is hard to not see a castle or a chateau during a drive. The first castle we visited was Beersel, which is one of Belgium's greatest medievel castles. It was built around 1300 and rebuilt a few times after wars, fires and take overs. It is about 5-10 minutes from our house but since we got lost, it took us about 30 minutes. Good lord!















While waiting for the castle to open (everything is close between 12noon-2pm), we slipped into a little restaurant nearby for a drink. We've somewhat gotten some basic food and drink ordering French under our belts but we realized when we walked in that we'd crossed into the Flanders part of Belgium and our French was of no help. More on this fun topic soon!
Walking through this old building we were both transported back in time trying to imagine life in this castle during the cold, wet Belgium winters. Yikes! The circular stairways in the towers were extremely steep.



















The next castle we went to was the castle of Gaasbeek, which is about 15 minutes from our house. This castle is one of the biggest around Brussels and was originally built in around 1300 also. It too was rebuilt multiple times. This castle has been dressed up and is quite the tourist destination. There are large gardens that stretch for miles around it and the inside of the castle has been decorated lavishly. The furnishings are 19th century (mostly). The tour guide we had spoke French, Flemmish, German and English and switch seamlessly through all four languages during the tour. It was humbling and inspiring, all at the same time.


















When we first moved here we drove south to Namur (see previous posting). During that trip we visited a Chateau that is below. It was also surrounded by beautiful gardens. Ginger came with us on this trip. Can you see her?



















Then yesterday, we went to check out joining a gym and...yes, it is in a castle. It is quite remarkable actually, but I do think they try to leverage that to charge more money. "Yes, where else can you work out in a castle?" And they are right, indeed!

The weather!

This past July was the warmest July in history in Belgium. It was 95 degrees with very high humidity. We are very glad we missed it. Apparently it was miserable! On the other hand, August has been the coldest and wettest August in history. We haven't really noticed it because we are so busy with other things but when we have sun, we get out and enjoy it. It is never really very cold (68-72 degrees during the day) but it has rained a lot. There is no need for any sort of sprinkler system and the lawns and plants are vibrant green. We even have toads in the yard, which Ginger has been barking at and "herding". What can she be thinking?
Here are a few shots of our yard.














This is a shot from our balcony. The building is our neighbor's house and then you can see the golf course that our house backs up to. We like to watch people golf. We noticed that no one was very good and that everyone either carried their clubs or had a hand cart. We thought that this was some interesting difference between cultures until someone explained to us (in English) that this was part of the beginner's course!

Here are Ginger and Howard enjoying a sunny late afternoon on the balcony.

Getting to know Belgium

Brussels is near the center of the country and we live south of Brussels (five minutes west of Waterloo). Here's a map that might help. Double click on it with your mouse to enlarge it.















This past week we went on a day trip south to Namur and Dinant. When we were here on our house renting trip we went north to Brugge and then up to the coast to Oostende. Here are a few pictures of Brugge. It is a little, quaint town with canals and lots of tourist shops. It is a big tourist destination!

Navigating the system...more stories!

Paying for stuff
Europe is further along "electronically" than the US. This has been a difficult transition for us. Where in the US we pay for many things with bank checks, no one does that here. In fact, you can't pay for things with checks here. They just aren't accepted. Instead you need a Mister Cash card (also called a debit card). To pay using these you slip your card into a reader and transfer the money. Alternatively, you can use a transfer slip where you fill out your bank account information and the company you would like to pay's information and bring it to your bank. They then transfer the money to pay a bill (phone bills, water, electricity, rent, etc.). Credit cards are allowed at most major stores but either cash or Mister Cash cards are required for most small stores or for bills. Online banking is also very popular.

The Mail
So we have been waiting for our Mister Cash cards to come in the mail so that we can get our heating oil delivery (cash or Mister Cash cards only and we didn't want to get that much cash out). We didn't get any mail for two days and couldn't figure it out. Howard finally called the bank and it turns out that our commune (Braine-L'Alleud) has had a postal strike for the past two days. Not understanding the language these things just pass by us!

Speaking of mail. The mail is delivered either by bike or by small motor bike. The delivery people don't wear uniforms (neither do the postal works in the branches). So the first time we saw our mail delivery person we thought, who is that grubby person messing with our mailbox? He was dressed in an old T-shirt and shorts. No mail is delivered on the weekends.

Shopping
The other afternoon an unexpected van pulled down our driveway. I was trying to figure out who it was and had a moment of anxiety. I opened the door to an older gentleman with a bottle of milk in one hand, half dozen eggs in another, and he didn't speak any English. Oh, our milkman has come by to drop off some samples. Yes, we have a milkman. Glass bottles and all. He and his wife drive around and service the greater neighborhood providing high quality dairy products at great prices.

Then there is shopping- Howard took five trips to the local hardware store (Brico) to buy parts to attach the dryer vent pipe. Every time he returned with either the wrong sized part or something different than what he thought he bought. I have been no help since I break out in peals of laughter each time. I know I'll have my turn. He then had to navigate the return desk, over and over again. Finally he just bought duct tape and taped the ill fitting parts together and called it a day (or week). We had dinner with friends from Howard's work the other night. They were impressed that Howard actually figured out how to return the items. Apparently they have an entire closet full of the wrong sized parts that they never returned!

Food shopping has gotten easier. Initially it took us about two hours because it was so challenging to find things. Now we've gotten it down to one hour. It would just be 30 minutes or so but we get everything but three items and then need to spend 30 minutes trying to find those last things. We got stuck on corn starch yesterday. We found "everything corn" in the entire store. Howard was convinced that a box of polenta was corn starch. I get laughing so hard at our efforts and I know the locals must just think we are crazy. I have discovered that if I look long enough, I can find almost anything we want. It is currently a little like a treasure hunt and I get a great sense of satisfaction when I find the item. Corn starch (after 30 minutes of hunting) is in the sauce thickening section (Belgians are big on sauces). Of course!

Europe has gone to the dogs!

The Europeans views dog much differently than the Americans do. There is tremendous bureaucracy around them and at the same time they are allowed to go everywhere with their owners.

We are required to register Ginger in Belgium. This involves going to a vet and showing official USDA documentation that she has current Rabies and DHLPP vaccinations and that she has a readable micro chip. He/she fills out the official form which gets sent to the government. We are then sent stamped forms that make Ginger official. We must carry these with us at all times.

To travel to any other EU countries, we have to have a dog passport for Ginger! A Vet must give you one of these and it involves all of the above plus you get this passport where her vet visits and country visits are stamped. We have completed both of these steps now with Ginger and are waiting for the official documents to arrive in the mail. To travel to an non-EU country there are all sorts of special requirements that must be met and checked to get the dog into each individual country. Some are simple and some are not.

Ginger’s Vet is a wonderful guy that we were referred to by others we know who live here. His name is Dr. Patrick Belcour. He does home visits and carries a cell phone. There is always a vet on call for emergencies. He asked me if I’d be willing to give obedience and manners classes out of his office for his English speaking clients. Apparently there is a big need for English speaking dog trainers because most only speak either Flemish or French. I can’t work (legally) but I thought I’d do it on a volunteer basis for the fun, practice, and networking. Maybe we’ll have the client donate money to a local shelter as payment. This is all just starting to be discussed so we’ll see where it goes!

Ginger is allowed to go into any restaurant with us. She is fawned over more than we are (kisses, water bowl, and lots of French cooing). We can take her into all clothing stores, trains, hotels, and pretty much everywhere but food stores. Every once in a while there is a "no dogs allowed" sign but mostly they are allowed everywhere.

This has caused us to really work on Ginger’s manners. She’s only embarrassed us a couple if times. Once she jumped on top of a table! Thankfully the restaurant was empty and I got her off quickly. We’re working on her growling on leash at other dogs. We still have some work to do but we’re trying to keep her so tired that she doesn’t care. Together with quick timing, we’re doing well.

South of Brussels

We've tried to take advantage of our time off to do some visiting of the sights and to take a break for setting up the house. Yesterday we drove south to a small town named Namur which sits on the shores of the Meuse river. We then drove along the river about 30 km (18 miles or so) to Dinant. Here are some pictures along the way!















Dinant is the birthplace (on 6 November 1814) of Adolphe Sax who invented the Saxaphone. Ginger and I are sitting on a bench next to a statue of him. The other picture was taken during a walk along the river on the drive between Dinant and Namur.















The river has lots of boat traffic and uses locks to get the boats up stream. The cliffs on the other side of the river are beautiful and there are periodically houses and fortesses up on them. The picture to the right is of the Citadel in Namur (I stole the picture off the Internet because mine wasn't nearly so good!).

Here are a couple of web links of those areas:
http://www.trabel.com/namur/namen.htm
http://www.dinant.be/index.htm?lg=3&m1=31&m2=92

Ah, the food and wine!

We've been enjoying the two weeks we have before Howard goes to work. Between setting up our house, exploring, getting lost, getting found, eating great food and drinking great wine, there just isn't much time left in a day. The wine is very cheap and very French. The food has been wonderful. We already have about five favorite restaurants! We have lots of French, Belgium, Italian, Greek, Japanese and Chinese restaurants in the general area. We haven't found any Mexican restaurants yet but a corner store carries some American food. We bought refried beans and taco shells the other day and made our own!

There are a few things that we can't quite yet find in the stores but at this point, it is hard to know if that is because we can't read the labels or because they can't be found.

In October I go on a Champagne tour in France with the Women's Club. Sounds like fun, heh?

The Bureaucracy!

We went to open a checking account this week and were required to bring more paperwork than we would need to do secret nuclear research in the US. This is the land of bureaucracy and to survive it you just have to sit back and laugh. The next day we went to the commune with our relocation person to “register”. It is required that when you move to a new commune (community), you must go and register there. They want to know who is living in each commune at all times. After registering, a police officer comes to your house to check and make sure you are really living there. They are serious about keeping out the riffraff. When you move out you must “unregister”. Registering involves bringing a similar ream of paperwork as the bank account but they must be guaranteed with an “apostille”, which is a sheet of official paperwork from the US stating that the birth certificate and marriage certificate are accurate. Of course we didn’t know about that (even though we had been working with an immigration lawyer...sigh) so I couldn’t get registered. Howard has a work visa so his paperwork was accepted. So all of my paperwork has now been Fed Ex’ed back to the U.S. to give it another try, but it should be back in three weeks. The good news is that I don't have to move back to the US in the meantime!

Hiking in the Forest

We’ve walked Ginger in the forests every day since we arrived. A vast green belt covers 1/3 of the land south of Brussels in the area where we live. It is covered by a lush growth of trees that is so thick that when it rains, you don’t get wet. Ginger has a ball running, running, running and then laying her belly in a mud puddle. We've met a few other dogs on our walks but the trail system is so vast that you are often on your own for an hour or so before running into others.

In one corner of the forest is a Château that is so grand and beautiful. It is a park and a museum now. We went there today for our walk and it made us really realize, wow, we’re in Europe! We don’t yet have a community of dog walking friends like in the U.S. but we’ve working on it. The Expat community seems pretty friendly so I think it is just a matter of time. But I can tell Ginger misses our friends and I know I do.

Getting to know our neighborhood

The next day we learned to food shop. In Belgium, to avoid having shopping carts stolen, you are required to put a 2 Euro coin into the handle of the shopping cart, which then releases it from the chain of other carts so that you can use it. When you return the cart and hook it to the chain of carts, the coin pops out. It is brilliant because 2 euros is equal to about $2.50 dollars so everyone brings the carts back so they aren’t stolen. It must save the food company millions!

You are also required to bring your own bags or you must pay for them and then you bag your own food. You are also required to weigh all of your own produce and use this clever scale that has buttons with pictures of produce on them. When you push the button, it then prints the price tag out. So in the end, the checkers just sit in chairs, scan your food and take your money. It seems to be a much easier job than in the US where they have to remember all the produce codes.

One more very different thing is that most all milk is “long shelf life milk” which means that it has been irradiated and is in these sealed cartons and kept at room temperature. The taste isn’t all that great so we’ve found a source for fresh milk. And then of course there is reading labels that are all in French. We’ve somehow managed to only buy a few strange things accidentally.

Here is a picture of downtown Braine-L'Alleud. It is a quaint town with cobblestone streets and a fun main square where every Sunday there is a outdoor market.



We feel quite proud of ourselves because after being here for one week we have hot water, electricity, phone, voice mail, DSL, UK cable TV and a gardener. I’ve also managed to get a pair of eye glasses repaired, joined the American Women’s club and signed up for a class. In another country, we might have gotten all of that done in one day but not knowing the language, everything takes longer. We sit and review our successes at the end of each day over a wonderful glass of French wine.

Arriving in Belgium

When we landed in Paris, we paced around the baggage claim area, waiting where they said Ginger would appear. After 45 minutes of anxiety, the elevator doors slid open and there she was, a panting and somewhat hysterical, wiggling Ginger peering out of her crate. When I opened her crate door she flung herself out and attempted to do laps around the baggage claim area. Once I caught hold of her, we were off to find our rental car, dog on leash, pushing way too much luggage through the airport. Ginger was running in one direction and the luggage cart in another.

After much good natured hand waving at the rental car desk it turns out that the term “reservation” does not mean guarantee. This all translated to “Howard now drives a stick shift from Paris to Brussels” after not driving one for 20 years. But monsieur, we had reserved an automatic transmission…now how do you say that in French? God only knows and it probably doesn’t matter anyway. By the time we reached Brussels, after numerous rest stops, Ginger was snoozing on the back seat, ready to start her new adventure.

We arrived to our house in the lovely hamlet of Braine-L’Aleud, 15 minutes south of Brussels to no phone, no DSL, no air shipment (sheets and towels) and no hot water and it was a couple of days before a big holiday. Keep breathing. We can always stay in a hotel (and we did). In true Belgian style though, even though we didn’t have the essentials, a big, wonderful bottle of champagne and a bouquet of flowers was waiting on our front porch. By the next day we had all the basics, due to our incredible relocation person, Yolande!

The second day in our house our land lady and her husband stopped by. We are graced with absolutely lovely landlords. He doesn’t speak much English at all but she is fluent. He is Greek and she is Belgian. She is an architect and has designed lots of houses in the area, including ours. They both have a cute glint in their eyes and we’re already quite fond of them. We are enjoying our house but with a small amount of rental furniture in it only, even our foot steps echo. September 4th we’ll get our furniture and we are looking forward to making this more of a home at that point.

The Long Goodbye!

We decided to move to Belgium after a "look see" visit in April 2006 and began our moving process shortly afterwards. It seemed that we said goodbye forever since we didn't actually arrive in Belgium until August 10, 2006. But that seems to be the way of foreign moves with their endless paperwork, immigration, renting of houses, clearing out clutter and finally moving the mound of what is left of the possessions.

So we had goodbye parties until we couldn't say another goodbye or shed another goodbye tear.


Then came moving day. Four strapping young men came to carry all our possesions down two flights of stairs for two wholes days (I guess we didn't get rid of that much stuff). Ginger oversaw the entire operation and carefully inspected the truck after packing. After her final approval, tips were handed out to everyone!

About Ginger

Ginger moved to Braine-L'Aleud, Belgium on August 10th 2006 with her family, Kathy and Howard. This is the story of her travels.