Top 5 things that struck me once I returned to Canada

1. SPACE! So much space! HUGE wide streets, actual sidewalks, houses and buildings that don't even touch each other! Yards!

I guess this should not be surprising given the difference in population density. Canada: 3 people/sq.km. Belgium: 344 people/sq.km.

I also noticed this inside homes and buildings. When I got in the elevator in my condo building the first time, I thought: "My God, this is huuuuge!!! You could have a small studio apartment in here!!" When I saw the hallways, I thought: "My God, this is huuuuge!!! What, are we expecting BUSES to run through this hallway?"

2. No one smokes anymore! And if they do, it is only in dank shameholes and definitely NOT next to you in a restaurant. Nothing makes that delicious Belgian meal more memorable than a nice big puff of Gitane smoke in your face... I was in Canada 3 days before I smelled cigarette smoke for the first time, and that was 6 days ago! Belgians would think I'm lying...

3. COLD drinks. I know we have cold winters in Canada, but good lord we like our drinks ice cold, don't we? Water is always room temperature in Belgium, and even when they slightly chill soft drinks, they almost never serve them with ice. It took me days to retrain my mouth and throat to drink what felt like liquid nitrogen at first...

4. Lights, lights and more lights. Are we that afraid of the dark? I literally had to shield my eyes from the interior lighting in most buildings the first couple of days. Is it really necessary to have 2,000 watts of lighting per square metre??

5. Air conditioning: Out. of. control. While I wished at times for AC in Belgium, it is a shock to the system when you have not felt it for three months. Pass me a scarf, mittens and a tuque; I'm heading to the movie theatre.

Top 6 things I'll miss from Brussels

1. FOOD! The world's best chocolate, frites, waffles, and beer. And coffee, bread and other foods that are pretty darn close if they are not the world's best... Not a Brussel sprout in sight either!Next time, I'll be there when mussels are in season too... mmmmmmmm

2. Sundays: Remember the days when almost all stores were closed and you really had almost no choice but to take the day off and relax? This is still gloriously true in Belgium!

3. Co-workers. I should point out at this time that this list is not in any particular order...

4. International weekend trips. With destinations like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brugge and Luxembourg (yes, Luxembourg) all within about 2 hours away, it doesn't get much more fabulous!

5. Nonante, septante. No unwieldly "soixante-dix" or "quatre-vingt-dix" for the Belgians! It's like living in a XIXth century novel!

6. Smart escalators. Love them! Why don't we have them in Canada????

Top 9 things I missed from Canada

1. My home!!! My lovely beautiful gorgeous condo!!

2. Sidewalks. Seriously. They should look into this. They are quite useful.

3. Grande no-whip mocha frappuccino blended coffees

4. Working from home.

5. FREE water in restaurants.

6. Family and friends. Uhm, I should probably point out at this time that this list is in no particular order...

7. Grocery stores. Again, quite useful!

8. Practically dog-poop-less living.

9. Being in a place where being fluently bilingual gets the following reaction: "Wow, that is so impressive! Such a huge asset!" instead of: "You know two languages?" and a look that clearly shows that they suspect that with such a low level of skills, you may not be fully potty-trained yet and may start to pick your nose in public at any time.

ATTACK of the Giant Molecule!

Everyone knows that Belgians make the world's best chocolate, fries, waffles and beer.

But they also make giant molecules of iron crystal magnified to 165 billion times their normal size like it was nobody's business!

The Atomium (I dare you NOT to have the Robbie Williams song Millenium in your head when saying this word) was built for the 1958 Brussels World Fair, and you can visit several of the nine spheres via a set of escalators and stairs inside the arms that connect the spheres... check the photo album to see! Quite incredible!

Luxembourg

Vue de la vallée de la Pétrusse, à partir du haut de la vieille ville de Luxembourg

Lime + Pussy = BAAAD!!

As I was preparing the following blog post about lime juice as a potential microbicide, I came across this image. I was just looking for a lime image, but when I saw this one, I immediately thought: lime + pussy = BAD!

Perfect for an article that cautions against the use of lime juice as a potential microbicide! Regrettably, the image is too likely to ellicit reactions from the authors of the article I highlighted and from other readers who might catch the connotation.

So I give it to you here to enjoy!!

My new fave song!

Click on image!

I'm sure everyone else in the world has heard this a million times. What can I say... I was heavily medicated in 2006 when it came out. Otherwise I would have used it as my theme song, since there is no song called "Shu malade mental" yet. Cool video too!

Weekend in London

Shopping on Bond and Oxford Streets. The Sound of Music in the West End. Sushi.

Spending a Saturday in the country for a nice drive, a walk in the woods, and lunch at a village pub.

Meeting up with a friend in transit between Canada and South Africa.

Quality time avec la cousine et son chum. Convalescing while watching Sex and the City.

Holy Blood!

This beautiful tiny Chapel of the Holy Blood dates from the 12th century (though since re-done a few times), and is host to one of the holiest of relics: a vial with a few drops of Christ's blood, which was said to return to liquid state once a year on May 1 (Ascension Day) until the 15th century, when the miracle seems to have stopped. According to legend, the relic was brought back from the Holy Land after the second crusade.

Despite that there is now ample evidence that proves that everything I have just said is false, let's not let the facts get in the way of a darn good story! And the Chapel is truly lovely, regardless!!

BRUGGE!!

It was not at all foggy and there was no sign of Colin Farrell, Ralf Fiennes, Brendan Gleason or dwarves getting karate-chopped as the delightful In Bruges would have us believe...

However, it was a lovely warm and partly sunny afternoon. Perfect for spending time on terraces watching the 3 million (mostly British) tourist in search of lace and chocolate.

Highlights: wandering the streets without a map to discover off-tourist-route views, the chapel of the Holy Blood and of course, the hand-made chocolate shops...

La Grand Place

Before and After

CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE??

From April to September, I'll be replacing Rebekah during her maternity leave, including three months spent in Brussels.

My new living quarters

Living with a cat in heat for a week in all fun and games until someone loses the ability to breathe and sleep...

So I had to find another place. After searching dozens of web sites and replying to several dozen ads, I found a lovely place.

Poop ici SVP

One of the many perils of life in Belgium is the dreaded "pomme de route" left by dogs all over the city sidewalks. As if the lack of fines for owners is not enough, this behaviour is actually ENCOURAGED in some places. This little gem of a street sign is on the sidewalk a mere 20 steps away from Le Grand Sablon, which is the hub of Brussels' high-end chocolate shops. Yum, yum!

Moving in and Having brunch in Leuven

I've now moved into rue des Victoires in the St-Gilles area... second door on the left, ground floor.

This is the home of Martijn, who works for the Stop AIDS Alliance in the same office where I will work, and Puss. Guess which one this is! :)

Today, I had brunch with the very pregnant Rebekah and David in Leuven... as one does when one lives in Brussels. Leuven is a gorgoeus town dating back to the 800s, and the site of one of the oldest universities in the world. This will definitely require another visit!!

Promotionnez nonante mails via "wee-fee", SVP!

On se rend vite compte en voyageant que même si on parle la même langue, on ne se comprend pas toujours facilement. Le français est encore une langue bien vivante et qui évolue différemment dans les diverses régions de la Francophonie.

Ainsi, en Belgique, on utilise encore nonante au lieu de quatre-vingt-dix. À mes oreille, c'est comme vivre dans un roman du XIXe siècle!

Entendu à la radio ce matin : le verbe "promotionner". Faut croire que le verbe "promouvoir" est passé date!

Évidemment, les termes technologiques en anglais s'infiltrent partout. Mais si au Canada français on préfère les courriels, ici, on envoie des "mails" (prononcez "mél"). Et le wifi ne se prononce pas en anglais non plus! C'est "weefee".

Et "s'il-vous-plaît" se dit aux moments les plus inattendus. Dans un magasin, en rendant la monnaie, le caissier dit "s'il-vou-plaît". Je n'ai pas besoin de me faire prier pour reprende mon propre argent!!

C'est pas le temps de sortir le chiac de Moncton!!

Bienvenue à Bruxelles!

I arrived yesterday morning, and my luggage followed later in the evening.

Over the next couple of days I will get familiar with the city, snoop around what will likely be my neighbourhood, visit my potential new home -- and hopefully settle into my potential new home, assuming it has potential as a new home -- get a few essentials for settling in for 3 months, and generally revel in the fabulousness that will be 3 months in Europe!

The pounds will just melt away in the next few months. After all, it's not like Brussels has any yummy fattening foods like, say... chocolate, fries served with real mayo, mussels cooked in cream, waffles or a billion beers... i.e. in my first couple of hours after landing, I had cake for a colleague's birthday just BEFORE lunch, where the proposed special of the day was a steak smothered in foie gras and topped with cheese. Since it was not battered and deep-fried, we passed on that option...