Happy Dec 1st!

It’s officially December!!! Woo hoo – this is absolutely my most favorite time of the year!!

As some of you may have realized, I’m obsessed with the Holidays.  Growing up, my parents have instilled MANY traditions that we do together during December…and we (the sisters) get VERY excited to do these things each year.  Tradition is VERY important for my fam (um, hello Katie)!   Here are some of our family traditions as well as some of my own that I’ve added over the years…

Christmas 2010 - sisters!!!

Christmas 2010 @ our condo!

My favorite traditions:

• Listening to Christmas Music –  I start this in November, but my family doesn’t really accept that early start date – neither does Joe!  Thankfully, December is acceptable to blast it through the apartment!
• Decorate the House – Growing up, we always dedicated one day over the Thanksgiving weekend to pull the decor out of the attic.  My dad every year said: “Girls, it is not a race.”  But really, it was (certain decor was more fun to put up than others and we would race to do it…)
• Making Christmas Cookies – This was a tradition between my mom and my grandma that is now a tradition between my mom and the sisters.  Sadly, this year I will be unable to partake…so, seriously there better be good cookies when I get home.   🙂
• Christmas Shopping! – The family always goes shopping the day after Christmas to reap the benefits of ‘Black Friday.’  Last year, my dad waited in line for 1.5 hours @ Banana Republic while we shopped and just piled clothes on top of him.  It was awesome.
• Christmas Play – Each Christmas Eve we go to a children’s play at the theater downtown.  They can be a little “gaggish,” but, it’s tradition!
• Don’t even get me started on the food served…

I could go on and on because there are SO many traditions, but those are my fave.  Joe and I rotate Christmas celebrations with our families and this year it is a Milwaukee one!  That means (mom are you reading?) I expect the Dickens houses to be out in full efffect.  None of this…”we’re not doing that this year, it just takes too much time.”  🙂

So, obviously, this year our December is a little different – the first Holiday season away from home (at least until right before Christmas).  I’m not going to lie, it is definitely harder than I thought.  But, we’re trying to make it special and take advantage of the Christmas spirit here.  I did set up some decorations in our apartment!

The Santa is an advent calendar - filled with Belgian chocolate!

Some sparkly bulbs!

One of the things that I am most excited about is…hitting up the MANY Christmas Markets in both Belgium and Germany.  First up, the Brussels Christmas market.  Apparently there are over 150 booths, a skating rink, AND a light show.  Awesome…

Lighting the tree in Brussels...only 1/2 way!

 

8 Months Today!

I cannot believe it.  As of today, I’ve been an “expat” for 8 months (9 months for Joe)!  Yes, I celebrate each month as I see each as a big milestone.  Some may think that’s crazy and a bit excessive, but then, those people probably haven’t been expats.

1st weekend in Europe!

I thought I’d take just a little time to reflect on those 8 months since a LOT has happened…

The most important thing I want to talk about is how our feelings/thoughts have changed (mine in particular).  The last 2-3 months I’ve noticed a significant change in my feelings towards Belgium and our move here – aka, I am a LOT happier.  Now, I didn’t really think I was unhappy the first 6 months, but as I look back at where I was and where I am now, its like happiness x5.

In the first 6 months I was feeling all kinds of pro’s/con’s:

• + Excited for the new experience & travel (um, Paris only 2.5 hours away? yes, please)!
• + New food, drinks, etc.
• + Learn a new language
• + A castle in our city?!
• + Visitors! (This was both a pro and con – so happy to share our new place with friends and family, but once they left the alone-feeling was very hard to bare)
• – Home sick for family/friends
• – Loss of identity (did not have my job anymore or my friends/family – what am I going to do ALL day?)
• – Unsure of how to get groceries, doctors, pharmacy, no Target, etc.  (everyday life was so unfamiliar & time-consuming)
• – Dislike for our new apartment – spiders in the stairwell…the size of my palm? OMG

Obviously, there are a lot more things I can list, but I don’t want this post to be 10 pages.  I’ve read some other expat blogs and want to share this link from a fellow Belgian expat.  She sums up the 6 month feelings quite nicely and I can relate to a lot of her emotions!  It’s so nice knowing that I’m not crazy and there are others out there who feel the same! 🙂

Now, in months 7 and 8, I can honestly say that I am very happy here.  Of course, there are still up and down days, but the down days are definitely not as often (Joe hasn’t come home to my crying in quite awhile – whew for him)!!  I’m absolutely loving MBA school (definitely helping with the identity issue) and I also feel like I can finally do “everyday” activities in a normal amount of time (less google maps and/or calling our relocation agent every 5 minutes)!  I LOVE our new apartment (see here) and I’ve also developed a nice group of friends!  I’ve even caught myself calling it “home” – WHOA, never thought that would happen!

Month 8 (& Joe's fave place in Belgium)!

So now…I’m looking forward to what months 8 through ??? will bring…

A nice night together

After my happy hour with the Vlerick grad (which was fun and interesting), Joe and I decided to venture out for a drink (the weather had turned sunny)!

Earlier in the day, I was feeling pret-ty “blue.”  Every once in awhile I get these bouts of homesickness (Joe does too, but WAY more often it is me-I’m emotional, shocker).  I think it was mostly due to the gloomy weather we’ve been having.  Anyway, when one of us is feeling sad, we always make a point to get out of the apartment and head out to walk/chat.

This evening Joe let me pick the destination (the sad person always chooses).  I picked the Vrijdagmarkt and specifically the cafe, ‘t Helse Stoofke.’ (This place is great – modern feel, clean, great service, and a delicious fish menu).  My evening was instantly better as we walked into the market and saw a group of people dancing to a boom box…line dancing?  square dancing?  No idea…but really, only in Belgium would this happen!

We ordered our drinks (Joe had a Duvel and I was indecisive between a red/white glass of wine, so got a rose) and eagerly dove into the snack bowl (which was replenished often-score!)!

While there, we got to talking about how we feel our lives have changed over the last 6 moths.  We both agree that our life seems to have done a complete 180.  We focused on the positives (of course, we commented on how we miss our family and friends terribly, but that’s a given).  Here are a couple (won’t list them all as that could go on for-eva):

• Meeting new people (reaching out via phone, FB, email, etc) has become second nature.  I no longer get really nervous about what to say/where to go, etc.
• Cooking (seriously NEVER did that)
• More for me – eating healthier (kind of goes with the cooking)
• Most important – We spend so much more quality time together from sit-down dinners, to walks, to Sundays (since nothing is open), travel, etc.  It has really helped us connect (sure, that sounds gagg-ish, but whatevs).  We’re very thankful for this part of the experience.

By the time we left, I was definitely out of my funk – a perfect night…but oh, wait, another surprise in the Vrijdagmarkt!  Christmas decor…yes, that’s right, it’s August.  Take that Macy’s, you’ve been beat!