Inspection and Illness

This long week is finally at an end.  It began with one sick kid and ended with two.  It included an inspection by the Department of Work and Social Economy, a "To Do" list that only got longer, a lot of crying from both the sick and healthy children, and a lot of children's television I didn't understand.
On Monday, Camille stayed home from school with a stomach virus.  Luckily she spent most of the day sleeping, because trying to tell a sick little girl, that doesn't understand English, that she can't eat or drink is very difficult.  In the afternoon the doorbell rang, the first time I had heard it do so.  The locks in the house all use keys on both sides of the door, and of course my key was upstairs.  As quietly as possible I climbed two flights of stairs and came back down to find two men at the door.  They were from the Department of Work and Social Economy, which issued my work permit, and informed me that they had a few questions about my working and living arrangements.  We sat and discussed my time here in Belgium.  I was informed that I am only supposed to be working 20 hours a week, approximately 4 hours a day, all the while praying that the sleeping Camille stayed asleep upstairs.  By Tuesday, my 20 hours were completed while watching two sick children.  Thomas came down with a fever and cough , and spent most of the day laying in front of the television.  Wednesday was a half day for Marie, and the afternoon was filled with her birthday party.  Seven energetic seven year old's running around the house, speaking in Dutch at terrifying speeds.  I spent the entire party making food, and cleaning up after the girls.  Thursday Thomas went back to school, and Camille and I got out of the house and went for a walk in town.  It was nice to be outside, despite the frigid wind that blew all day.  Today Fabienne felt bad for me and called in her parents to watch Thomas, who isn't feeling good again, and Camille for the day.  My "To Do" list is finally getting smaller, though it won't be completed this week.
I am looking forward to getting away from the house from the weekend.  The family is going to Paris, and I get to stay an extra day on Monday by myself!  Next week I will post pictures of my weekend away!

Pictures!

As promised I have taken pictures of the house, my room, and the snow!  I'll put up the best ones here, but all of them will be available on my Facebook.

 This is the snowman Marie, Thomas, and I built on Marie's birthday.

 Marie and her snow-angel.

 The house from the front.  The highest window above the lower roof is my bedroom!

 The house from another angle.

 The garden in the snow!

 My room! The my hats and snow gear, with the sitting area behind.

 My bed next to the window you could see from the front.

 Another angle.  I have my own bathroom, and a desk to the left of this picture.

Hope you enjoyed the view of my new life!

Aquired Knowledge

December is party month, according to Marie.  It all begins with her seventh birthday, yesterday.  She is having two parties this month, one with friends and one with family (in Paris!), and is very excited.  The second celebration is on the sixth.  On the night before Sinterclaas comes to the house with his helpers, Zwarte Piet, and leave presents for the children.  He is based off of St. Nicholas, and is dressed as a Bishop in all red.  The Zwarte Piet have black skin because they are the ones who go down the chimney to bring the presents to the children, and get all sooty. The final holidays are Christmas and New Years Eve.

Marie has also taught me to count to five in Dutch.  Whenever a family member called for her birthday she would stick the phone to my ear and say, "Count to five in Dutch!"  Een, Twee, Drie, Vier, Vyf.  I will be learning most of my Dutch through Marie's instruction, as well as Thomas' (5 years) picture books, until I can start classes in February.  Camille (2.5) doesn't speak any English, and according to her mother, mispronounces Dutch.  She and I still communicate through hand gestures and funny faces.

A few other interesting tid-bits:
-There is real ketchup in Belgium, though they prefer Mayo.
- The BBC Channel is the only one fully in English, though other channels do have American shows in English with Dutch subtitles.
-Weather this cold in not normal.
-The bottom floor is called the Ground floor, and above that, the first floor, and so on.
- They learn the Happy Birthday song in English, expect they replace the third line with a Dutch phrase about a cow saying, "I love you."

Check back soon for pictures of my room, the house, and all that snow!

The Adventure Begins

After months of paperwork, and waiting for answers (sometimes even getting the answer I didn't want), I am finally at the airport ready to board my flight.  As with most adventures, things never go the way you plan.  After days of packing, and re-packing, the airline attendant informs me that my bags are over the weight limit.  Now the first attendant informed my that I was over the weight even if I wanted to pay extra, but the second attendant was kind enough to stretch the rules so that both of my suitcases could fly for free.  My parents now have some unexpected luggage of their own to take home, and eventually ship to me.  But following that mishap, security was breeze.  The first length of my flight is just over 11 hours, if my calculations are correct, and lands in Zurich tomorrow afternoon.  I then have 40 minutes to find my final flight to Brussels.  My host family, the Baes', will be awaiting me at the airport. 
I want to thank you, my friends and family, for all of your good wishes, prayers, and support of the last few months.  It took a lot of energy to get to this point, and I know I could not have done it without you.  I dedicate this blog to you as a way of keeping up with the many adventures I plan to participate in over the next year.  Keep checking back for the next phase of my saga.