Passeys in Belgium

My Boys

2011-06-08T08:15:00.003+02:00

Long before we started having kids, I decided that having two children of the same gender right next to each other was just trouble. It was trouble for me as a kid, and I am all about avoiding trouble. So I decided to separate the boys with a girl, and the girls with a boy. Done--girl, boy, girl, boy, girl.

It turns out that all that planning may have been unnecessary.

We took my parents to the Chateau l'Hulpe for a picnic last Friday to celebrate the unbelievably beautiful weather. We brought a blanket, bagettes and books, and Benj brought a football. Matthew was reluctantly recruited to throw the ball with Benj, and the show began. Benj went out for the long pass, and Matthew watched it drop. Benj fired a short cross and Matthew let it wizz by. Now, Matthew is perfectly capable of catching the ball, he just wanted to read, and the whole ball tossing episode was messing with his plot line.

Benjamin wanted to play ball.

The next pass was accompanied by the warning "If you drop this I will tackle you."

Matthew dropped it.

Benjamin came tearing across the grass and Matthew went down.

He caught the next one.

Then he dropped one, and Benj charged him again.

After a few minutes of Benjamin running full speed right into him, Matthew got creative. The next time he dropped the ball, he waited until Benjamin was almost on him, then he dropped to the ground and curled up--evasive maneuvers.

And, after a few carefully timed defensive curls Matthew was reading once again.

I don't think I needed to worry about competition.

Ummm...Sorry

2011-05-28T16:38:00.002+02:00

Please don't check the date. Or the date of the last post. I have no excuses.
Well, that is not exactly true. I have lots of excuses, just no good ones. And now that I am feeling the need to catch up, my computer has crashed. I am typing on the home computer and it has no pictures of Istanbul or Italy or France or Matthew's Play or Sarah's Engagement or Moldova or Africa or the most beautiful Belgian spring I have ever seen or Utah or lemon tarts or Chicken Man or David's parent's visit or teaching or the massive Brussels service day or Anna's International Award hike or fresh asparagus or anything remotely recent. So, although there is not much interesting going on on this page today, there will be...soon.
We are still here. The potential is out there.

Some days...

2011-03-12T17:21:00.002+01:00

Sometimes my days start out like this:At least I am not the one in the big truck and being a mother does not require head to toe neon.

See, even on a bad traffic morning there is a silver lining in all those clouds.

Sun Favorites

2011-03-11T09:49:00.005+01:00

I just downloaded approximately 5,000 pictures onto my computer than have been languishing on the external hard drive, waiting for some long overdue attention. Since it is still cold here, don't smile to broadly all my Texas friends, I thought I would turn on the visual heater and call up some warm memories. A random assortment of warmth:

Jubes and I at Kinderdijke in the Netherlands.

Sun shinning through the passage at Knowth burial mounds in Ireland.

Belgium triumphant on the Cinquantinaire Arch just a short walk from our house.

The harbor in Split, Croatia.

Fall sunlight on the Japanese Pagoda on the Royal Grounds at Laeken.

Pictures at the Flea Market--my destination of choice on sunny days.

Matthew and Julia on the beach at Etretat, Normandy.

The Sea of Galilee.

Toledo, Spain

Kyaking on the Lesse River in the Ardennes.

Proof that every so often, bathing suits can be worn in Belgium.

Bring on the spring.

SDD

2011-03-03T09:04:00.003+01:00

I have made a discovery. I have SDD.
Although related to the more famous SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), SDD is less recognized and often goes undiagonosed.
I also have SAG, but that is personal.
SDD, Seasonal Defective Disorder, causes mental defects during the darkest months of the year. These defects include confusion (I can't remember if I need to get dressed today), selective memory loss (mostly in relation to New Year's Resolutions and household maintenance projects, oh and unpaid parking tickets) and general lethargy (Can someone put in the next DVD for me?).
Unlike SAD, SDD vicitms remain rather chipper and good natured in their defective period. Unfortunately, their families members often suffer periods of depression and hopelessness.
Recovery is sudden and usually coincides with a 7:30 am sunrise. Sometimes any sunrise at all will shock the victim into partial recovery, but beware of relapse caused by susequent gray, cold mornings.
These symptoms often mimic the behaviors common to 11-13 year old boys, however SDD sufferers rarely forget to bathe and generally change clothes daily (unless they are stuck in a pajama rut).
It is usually only after recovery is well underway that victims recognize the patterns of defectiveness that are completely obvious to those closest to them. Family support is essential in these fragile times.

Sunrise tomorrow: 7:24

What Just Happened?

2011-01-25T14:47:00.004+01:00

It has been quiet on the blog. We have been focused elsewhere. And January is such an odd month, really. Contrast the emotional and physical post holiday collapse with the obligatory introspection and resolution of the new year and your brain is receiving some seriously mixed messages. It is cold, and in Belgium, dark until way after 8:00 am. Prime hibernation weather. All of this goes toward an excuse for 24 days of not much on the Passey blog. Lest you think we have been curled up under a blanket the whole month, here is our January in brief:

Sarah went back to college with puffy cheeks and a great attitude.
Benjamin started physical therapy for his knee.
Matthew earned a part in the Middle School play "Treasure Island."
David attended a conference in Garmisch, Germany.
I taught 5th grade--again.
Anna twisted her ankle and missed two basketball games.
Benjamin aged 15 years worrying about his semester exams.
Benjamin passed all his semester exams.
Anna turned 15 and spent a fabulous weekend in Istanbul, Turkey.
She let me come along to pay for things.
Matthew discovered that his mother has pretty good taste in literature after all.
David explored future employment options.
Sarah got serious about Chemistry.
Julia realized that fractions weren't as bad as she thought.
Matthew developed an affinity for his sonic screwdriver.
Benjamin pined for rugby.
We had dinner with friends.
David did lots of laundry.
I stressed about travel arrangements.
We missed our families, and a wedding.
Julia played the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean approximately 356 times on the viola.
I bought a carpet--a completely unplanned meeting of the perfect carpet with an impressionable mind.
We made more fudge...and caramel.
We got less sleep that we needed.
We worked hard.

One more month mostly gone.

Socialized Medicine

2011-01-01T15:35:00.002+01:00

Thoughts for the new year...
We had two surgeries this week. Benjamin had an arthroscopic repair of his torn meniscus and Sarah had all four of her wisdom teeth removed under general anesthesia at day clinic. They are both doing really well. Both spent about 5 hours in a shared room after the surgery. Both had surgeons and anesthesiolgists and were recovered in a pretty standard recovery room. Overall, the facilities and care were pretty comparable to what we would have expected in the US. There were a few differences, however.
1) Sarah's surgeon offered to take Dave and Sarah's coat when they came for the initial consultation. They wouldn't have been surprised if he had offered them a beverage.
2) Benjamin's surgery was postponed by a week due to a one day nursing strike at the Antwerp hospital. Stinks for him.
3) After taking her blood pressure post surgery, the nurses left Sarah alone...all day...until it was time to check out. She slept really well.
4) Not only did the surgeon call to check on Sarah the day after surgery, but he have us his private number and cell phone number in case we had any questions or complications.

Ready for the bottom line? Benjamin's surgery--Dr's fees plus hospital stay--2063 euros ($2,762) with an expected refund of 400-500 euro (+- $600).
Sarah's total cost for hospital care and stay--315 euros ($421). I am thinking that there has got to be more to that one. 315 euro???? Really????

I wish there had been more attention paid to the cost of health care in the US debate, not just who pays and how. We got great care in this "socialized" system for approximately one tenth of what we would have paid in the US. If we can get an MRI here for 157 euros including the radiologist's report, then why does it cost $1200+ in the US with an additional $250 for the radiologist? I don't think the machines cost that much more in the US. Doctors here have very small offices, with generally shabby furniture and minimal staff. Most serve as their own receptionists, nurses, book keepers, and probably even custodians. Our family doctor, the very aimiable Dr Deome, has holes in the seats of his two rattan consultation chairs, but guess what? I have his cell phone number and if one of my kids gets really sick, he will come to my house for the exam. And he will charge me 50 euros to do so--about $75. That is it.

Now I will freely admit that we have never faced serious, long term health issues in our family for which I am profoundly grateful. Maybe my perspective would be different if we had. But I think the word "Socialized" has come to represent for Americans a scary psudo-communist European welfare state intrusion into the freedoms we value. Maybe this kind of healthcare system just wouldn't work for us in the US. But I just wanted to let you know that for me, it seems to work pretty well and I kind of like it. Thanks for listening.

Christmas Bliss

2010-12-28T23:06:00.003+01:00

"Where are you going for Christmas?" We begin to hear that question the Monday after fall break and the query continues right up until the very last person with travel plans steps into his escape vehicle and jets off. In past years we have ventured out into the wide world over the holidays. This year we stayed home. We had our reasons. Both Sarah and Benj are having minor surgeries this week (Benj's was yesterday and today he is fit and fiesty as usual) and we decided that it would be best to lay low. Wow, was that ever a good choice.

I am all for travel and exploration, but I am also a big fan of simplicity and rest. I love sleeping late (in my own bed) and waking to a house of still sleeping teenagers. I love searching for the leftover rolls that Benjamin has stashed somewhere in the kitchen. I love watching entire seasons of dumb TV shows and playing games until midnight and eating popcorn and chex mix and the apples and carrots and red bell peppers that David conscientiously sends in our direction. Love dancing to the Brave Combo Christmas album in the kitchen. I love wearing three different sweaters in one day just because I can. I love lounging about reading our Christmas books and making yet another batch of fudge on a whim and playing with the few friends who are also staying home for Christmas.

I think I just love a quiet Christmas because it is a great big sigh between intense sprints and being home allows me to just fall right down deep into that sigh and settle in for awhile. And while I am there, I can think, and be grateful for the love of a Father, and of a Savior, and of that baby born to traveling parents thousands of years ago.
Merry Christmas.

We're Only Here for the Food

2010-12-22T09:57:00.003+01:00

One of our favorite things about travel is the FOOD. I say one, but really, it is pretty high up there on the list...maybe even at the tip top. Dave and I went on a weekend trip with some friends. Can you guess where by this culinary tour? The hints get better as you go along...

Lunch!

White Christmas

2010-12-21T11:40:00.003+01:00

The snow is falling from the sky
On the arch as I drive by

The Stocklet Palace is cloaked in white

And Woluwe, a lovely sight

From my bedroom window clear

A stunning view to end the year.

OK--I know that was completely lame and I acknowledge my lack of poetry skills. If Dave were here, at least it would be clever. But Dave is sledding with the kids and I am making fudge, caramel, and seven layer cookies. Can I plead mental distraction? So what we lack in literary genius we try to make up for in Norman Rockwell-esque familial charm.

Let it snow.

More England

2010-12-13T12:02:00.004+01:00

The sun is shining here in Belgium and that, my friends, is not something I can say every day. We have had snow and rain and ice and wind, but precious little sun. But today is amazing. I am about to plant myself in a ray of the precious stuff and get serious about Christmas, but before I do, here are a few more pictures from our trip to Bath, England.
All of you Jane Austen devotees out there will recognize the Royal Crescent--the most prestigious address in Bath. Anne Eliott comes out of the door on the far right to seek love and Captain Wentworth. Ahhhhh.

These baths date from the 16th century and were unknowing built right on top of the ancient Roman baths. Can you imagine the people watching 500 years ago?

Another Jane Austen reference--the pump rooms. This pump provided the wealthy access to the curative waters and the best society. You can still get water here for 50p a glass. And it tastes nasty.

A view of Pulteny Bridge and the park. Benj was run over by a man in a motorized wheelchair on this very bridge. I wish I had a picture of that to share.

We got our fall colors in abundance and class this year. We just love those Edwardians.
And the market around the corner. Fabulous scones and pastys and cheese and raspberry shortbread. It really is all about the food. And the fall. And the family.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T22:32:00.002+01:00

I used six pounds of butter in 3 days. It was a good weekend.

Vacations

2010-11-16T09:27:00.005+01:00

David and I have been pondering an existensial question for several years now: When does a vacation really begin? Does it begin when you finally shut off your computer, empty the last dish from the dishwasher, or close your schoolbook? Does it begin when the car is loaded with bags and snacks? When the vehicle has pulled out of the driveway or the wheels are up? Or does it really begin when you have arrived at your destination, be that Grandma's, Gran Canaria, or the couch? We have wondered because sometimes vacations seem an awful lot like work. However, I think we have finally come up with an answer...and a picture to illustrate.

The vacation begins when the raisinettes begin to fly. (Left corner of the mouth. Artfully pelted by me from the front seat. Reaction time: approximately 7 minutes.) I just love roadtrips.

Passeys and the Henge

2010-11-12T09:35:00.005+01:00

Fall Break--did we every need it! November in Brussels means dark, cold, rain, and the irresistable urge to hibernate. Since we can't succumb, we had to get away. And where did we go? ENGLAND! Darker, colder, pretty rainy, but great TV, comprehensible conversations, and big rocks. We started our adventure on the Salisbury plane and Stonehenge. Matthew's comment: "Wow, that is big."

We learned some new vocabulary too. "Henge" means hanging. Those big tall rocks standing upright and weighing about 24 tons are called Sarcen stones and nobody knows exactly how the highly intelligent inhabitants of the British Isle in 3000BC got them to stand up like that. And then got the blue stone lintels on top. They are heavy too.
The rebellious irregularity of the fallen stones only adds to the appeal. Too bad Anna's room doesn't look that good when the towering piles of laundry collapse off her bed...

We learned lots from our handy audioguides. Matthew searched for the Tardis...

We had some impromptu Passey love...

Jubes posed beautifully...

And we decided that some interpretive art was definitely in order.

I was there too.
We miss you Sarah!

Complete

2010-10-29T08:13:00.005+02:00

Good Morning. It is Friday. The house is quiet, and warm. If you had opened my front door at 7:43 on Tuesday morning, this is what you would have seen.

This is the view at 8:18 today:

Do you notice that subtle rosy hue? That is because my kids are all happy, my bed is made, my husband is good and kind, there is food in the refrigerator, gas in the car, peace in our hearts, and the birds are singing. Our lives are insulated in double paned happiness. We are very grateful.

Monday Morning

2010-10-25T11:41:00.003+02:00

I am having a delightful day. It is a sunny 39 degrees outside. It is also 39 degrees inside. Why, you ask? The boiler is working just fine. All the radiators are turned on. Here is the reason for the chill:
We are having our windows replaced. All of them. Consequently, half of the windows from upstairs are on the front driveway being chiseled and hacked and caulked and cleaned. The front door is wide open so that the five French workmen can keep hacking and chiseling. We are getting a nice cross breeze. It is 11:46 which means that a 90 minute lunch break is moments away and the windows will remain on the driveway until at least 2:07.
But I really am having a fabulous day. I have to stay home to monitor progress. Because of the weather both inside and out, the only habitable room in the house is the family room. After braving the arctic climate in the master bath and giving it a good scrub, I am feeling guilt-free in my hibernation. In the family room I have my computer, my knitting, the TV, a down comforter, several loads of laundry and easy access to the kitchen. So far today I have:

Cleaned the bathroom --my justification for the rest of the list.
Talked to Sarah and her friends Chad and Megan who want to come for a visit.
Chatted about our collective future with David and decided that maybe we should refinance.
IM'd with Benjamin during his advisory. I guess it is OK to chat with your mom during advisory.
Booked our Eurotunnel tickets for Fall Break in a cottage near Bath, UK.
Figured out how to fix the colossal mistake in my knitting that could have required me to pull out half the sweater.
Messed around on Facebook
Listened to a fabulous Jeffery Holland compilation on Youtube. I love Elder Holland. Here's the link if you need a little injection of hope and humility: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5bUKNYgRi8
Tried to book a house for our RS trip to the Alsace Christmas Markets.
Watched 4 minutes of Oprah and decided it wasn't worth it.
Listened to some classic jazz.

I am now contemplating lunch and that laundry.
I love chilly days.

German Wine Country

2010-10-12T08:28:00.004+02:00

Everybody needs a friend that will make you do things that you wouldn't ordinarily do. Meet Anita:Anita and her family have been in Belgium for over 20 years. She is incredibly fit and loves the outdoors. She is holding the 3euro tart that we devoured with our hands at the halfway point of our adventure on the Moselle.There is a bike path that hugs the Moselle river in Germany through some of the most beautiful wine country you'll ever want to see. Anita has ridden the whole route (3 days solid) and has been talking it up so much that we decided to give it a go...in abbreviated form.

So Antia, Isabel, and I strapped the bikes to the car, drove over the Belgian border just past Tier, hopped on our bikes, and enjoyed a most beautiful fall afternoon.

This region is know for it's vineyards and the grapes were ripe on the vine. We passed several work parties gleaning by hand, and this jolly gentleman wished us "Gute Fahrt."
Don' you just love linguistic humor?

As the most inexperienced biker of the lot and general whimp, I spent most of the time behind the group. It had it's advantages. I got great shots like this one--love the downhills...

And I sometimes got to ride with the senior citizen groups that were out and about on the trail. They usually passed me up too.

A nice German couple helped Isabel with her tire. I just had to include this picure for the outfit on Mr. Fixit: Biking shoes, black socks, plaid man-pri's, a plaid shirt in similar colorway but hmmm. I love it. Reminds me of Sarah's comment when we first arrived: "You can pretty much get away with wearing anything over here..."

What a fabulous day. And I am keenly reminded of the joys of a good bike trip each time I sit down. Thanks Anita!

Second Generation Passey Blog

2010-10-06T22:37:00.003+02:00

Hey everyone......Sarah has her own BLOG! I highly recommend that you click on over and check it out:

http://www.sarahepassey.blogspot.com/

Reading her posts makes me want to take a little time travel back to BYU. But definitely not during mid-terms.

A Little Martha Stewart

2010-10-04T08:27:00.002+02:00

The last few weeks have been gray. And cold. And a bit misty. In other words, typically Belgian. At the football game on friday night, the ball kept shooting off in odd directions as the poor players slogged their way toward the end zone in a most persistent and determined drizzle. The rain looked somewhat whistful and romantic if you peered straight up into the lights, but that is about all I can say on it's behalf. It was cold...and wet. However, yesterday, when I pulled back the thick curtains in our bedroom, the most beautiful morning was hiding out there. I have become a firm believer in contrasts. If the last few weeks had been beautiful, then yesterday would have been nothing special. But it was spectacularly special. The light glided through the fall leaves and infused the air with energy. I felt the need to beautify. So I grabbed my kitchen shears, a charming basket, and took off down the street to the vacant lot--always ready to share it's bounty--and came home with a few fall offerings. I have to confess to reading a few design blogs and magazines lately, so it just seemed appropriate to photograph my gleanings in a want-to-be artistic fashion.

I grabbed a few flea market containers and started my very own kitchen renewal project. I really like photograpy because just looking at this picture, you would never know that there were ramen bits and dirty dishes and crumbs just inches away from this idealized creation. Aaaahhhh. I think Martha Stewart would approve. Not that I care for her approval. Is she even cool anymore? It is amazing what some sunshine and a few berries can do for the spirits.

P.S. Benjamin informed me approximately 30 minutes after this picture was taken that there were caterpillars crawling across my windowsill. Hhhhmmmm.

Smell Memory

2010-09-28T22:15:00.001+02:00

I decided to boil some yarn tonight. Don’t ask. Or if you do, make sure you really want to hear the answer. I tend to do strange things when David travels. Anyway, I was boiling this beautiful peacock blue wool yarn and I happened to lean over the pan and sniff. I was immediately transported to Aunt Naomi’s cabin the Pennsylvania mountains. The wool smelled exactly like waking up on a chilly morning on the ancient brown fold down couch which Dave once described as more of a bun than a bed, partially smothered in musty down pillows and threadbare quilts. It smelled like the creaky floor and the wood burning stove and the pump out back and 17 cousins sitting around big table trying to figure out how to work the 1930’s electric toaster. It smelled just like my childhood, and for a minute—just a minute-- I was there. I was eight years old pulling daddy long legs off the screens and playing jacks on that creaky floor.
There is something about a smell memory that transports me like no other. Not pictures, not movies, not sitting around at family reunions confessing long guarded secrets. I don’t know why. It doesn’t happen very often, but it is the closest thing to time travel that I have ever experienced. Like the time I took my kids to Cabin John Park, the most fabulous playground of my childhood. I loved that the metal slide still looked 50 feet tall, that the little blue passenger train dutifully made its loop around the woods, and that Porky the Trash Eating Pig was still going strong, inviting children in that same chesty voice to feed him lots of paper and wrappers and even scraps, but please, no glass—it gives him a tummy ache. But it wasn’t until I pushed open the door of the little shop and breathed in the magical combination of snow cone and popcorn and cotton candy and old chewing gum and the anticipation of 30 years worth of children that I felt the time shift and I was a kid again, experiencing that smell for the very first time.
I wish it happened more often. There are lots of things I would love to live again. I guess I will just have to wait for the perfect scent to waft my way and carry me back in time. And I hope one day that I will be walking down some street in America, or trying a new recipe in my Texas kitchen and will somehow find the perfect smell that will transport me back to a misty fall morning, waiting for the fresh, hot waffles to be passed over the counter to warm my hands and make me glad for the years spent in Belgium.

Special Olympics

2010-09-27T14:47:00.006+02:00

Way, way back, before vacations of all sorts, I had three kids in the Special Olympics. My kids are incredibly fortunate to have wonderful friends in the special education program at ISB. They really love these kids. Matthew, in fact, loves his friend Max so much that he was willing to set aside his sworn hatred of any movement brisker than a plod and actually run. I will interject here that Max hates to run too, so they made a pretty good team. Benjamin doesn't really love running, but he is darn good at it, and it is a good thing too because so is Creig.
Benjamin partnered Creig in the 1600 meter and they tore it up, coming in second place behind their team mates and friends.

The medals ceremony is a hoot, with lots of loud music, innovative outfits, and a rousing hip, hip, hip, hip, horray! in a rousing dutch accent.

Matthew and Max lined up on a grey, wet, Belgian Saturday morning...

with their team mates Anna and Mathilde...

And made great time on their race. So great in fact, that they each ran a personal best and surpassed their practice times by more than 3 minutes!

More hip, Hip, HIp, HIP, HORRAY! Way to go ISB!

Life doesn't get much better than this-

Fall

2010-09-24T11:06:00.006+02:00

We're Back!

2010-09-23T08:46:00.002+02:00

August is vacation month in Europe. People disappear and businesses, resturants, and even roads close down for the entire month. The first year we were here I walked happily to my favorite bakery anticipating a delicious citron tart only to find that said tart was not to be had for three whole weeks. As Americans, we can't fathom the concept that a thriving business would shut its doors for a whole month during prime shopping season just so the owners can zoom off to the South of France for a little sun and wine and rest. But every year my little bakery closes down for the month of August and I do without my tarts and I can't wait for September to come so that a multitude of pleasures and options are restored.

In keeping with that tradition, I took the month of August off. Well, and part of September too. Sorry for the lack of excitement around here. I should have posted a sign:

CLOSED FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST

ANECDOTES AND PHOTOS TO RESUME IN SEPTEMBER

We have now re-opened for business. Hope you enjoyed the rest. Stay tuned...

How Much Cute?

2010-08-04T23:03:00.004+02:00

Matthew, Julia, and I are taking a mini-vacation in the Alsace region of France. Dispite the look on Matthew's face, we are enjoying the concentration of cute that saturates the Vosges Mountains and villages. Albert Sweitzer was born in this little village. I think that is why he was so smart, and good. He grew up in a fairy tale.

You would have to be smart and good if you played in this street--and there were no video games to keep you indoors eating corn based food product and running dangerously low on vitamin D.

And this street: Petite Venise in Colmar. I love all those colors. And the fact that the buildings lean charmingly into each other.

M & J shared a sausage roll shaped like a pig from the corner Charcuterie in Eguisheim.

And ate it gazing on this square. Notice the Stork nest? They are everywhere in this region. Who knew? And I don't know that squares get much better than this.

Which makes me wonder...how much cute can one day hold? Quite a bit, I think.

Summer

2010-07-24T14:08:00.006+02:00

Meet Cole. He is my nephew. He and his twin brother Brent are like Fred and George Weasley in 5 year old flesh and blood. He was painted up all fierce by Matthew at my Uncle Jim's lake. The cousins 12 and under were mining clay from the bottom of the lake and stashing it in storage depots guarded by the girls. I guess they got tired of storing and started embellishing.

Summer perfection.

Commencement

2010-06-19T17:02:00.005+02:00

I love that graduations are called commencements. It is true that Sarah is finally finished with High School (can you hear the cheers from all the way over here?), but the real significance of finishing is getting to start something new. So goodbye ISB. Goodbye HS Drama. Goodbye Family.

And Hello the rest of my life...

love that smile!

The End

2010-06-18T14:06:00.004+02:00

This is the Acropolis. I think the scaffolding has been there since ancient times. Everywhere you go in Europe you find scaffolding. I know it really shouldn't affect the wonder of a place, but it really does. It means that something needs to be fixed, and wonders of the world shouldn't need to be fixed. They should just be. This is a temple. I don't remember whose, but it is a nice view. The whole ancient complex including the Acropolis is just surrounded by a sea of modernity and cheerful chaos.
We had to cut our visit short. One member of our party made a mad dash down the hill looking desperately for a bathroom.

The site was thereafter dubbed "The Acrapolis." Nice, huh?

Our last stop was the small fishing village of Katakalon. We decided to skip Olympia and the final wonder in favor of strolling, baklava, and internet. Fabulous baklava.

Everyone was pretty happy to sit in the sun and rest. We loved it.

The End.

Remember that Cruise?

2010-06-14T15:55:00.003+02:00

Ok, I know it was two months ago, but I can't let the last three stops fade into oblivion. So here are the absolute hightlights from the grand finale: This is the amplitheater at ancient Ephesus. Built in the first century AD, it could hold 25,000 spectators.
I was really into the columns. One of the craziest things about these ancient sites is that they pretty much let you crawl all over everything. I guess they figure that if it has withstood 2000 years of weather and plunder, it can hold up to the Passeys.

Anna and Sarah fit right in with the Greek Goddesses.

This was my favorite building--the Ancient Library of Celsus. Look and those columns. I could have been really smart in there.

The Temple of Artemis, one of the ancient wonders was destroyed by Goths around 400AD. We liked Ephesus anyway.

Two more wonders to go...

Back to Work

2010-06-13T21:38:00.002+02:00

Have you ever noticed how important momentum is? There are definitely some physics laws that explain this phenomenon. But physics aside, I find momentum an important aspect of blogging. When I get in a good groove I find something to post about pretty much every day. However, you may have noticed that I have been struggling with inertia lately. My kids are starting to bug me about the absence of new pictures. I was informed last week that I needed to get the pigs off the blog. I hear and I obey.

Tomorrow...

Further Morning Wonders...

2010-05-18T15:56:00.003+02:00

Last week we had lovely swirling petals on our way to school.

This week, pork.

The back streets are getting more and more interesting all the time.
Happy Tuesday

Pink Snow

2010-05-11T09:14:00.004+02:00

The city of Brussels has been putting in a new tram track between our house and school for about a year now. I think the new tram track is a great idea. I think closing three lanes is a bad one. Consequently, I have been exploring the back streets. Brussels is not designed like a Roman city with strait, orderly streets. It more closely resembles a wad of string that has spent too much time in the back of drawer and has collected an impressive quantity of lint, dust, dirt, twisty-ties, and stray hairs. Brigham Young would not approve. So, exploring the back streets as a time saving measure is a risky proposition. It does, however, have it's definite charms as we discovered on our way to school last week. There is a tiny neighborhood hidden away that must at one time have been factory housing. Hundreds of identical brown cottages with identical green shutters line the narrow streets in a convergence of quaint that is sometimes hidden in biggish cities like Brussels. The best part of this neighborhood is the profusion of cherry trees in full bloom. We happened to drive by on a blustery morning and it literally looked like we were in a snowstorm--a pink snowstorm. I don't know if you can see the petals falling in these pictures, but the air was full of swirling, floating pink and there were drifts in the yards. It looked like someone had gotten happy with a giant container of pink frosting. Plus, we missed the traffic and got to school three minutes early. Nice.

Jiggity Jig

2010-05-08T16:09:00.004+02:00

Matthew and I are back from Florence. That statement was preceded by 23 hours of travel time which included amazing BO, stomach flu in the ranks, very tired but spectacularly civilized children and a little itinterary deviation.
I never before realized that when your night train is 40 minutes late leaving Italy, that puts you in the middle of Swiss commuter traffic which necessitates being sidetracked (literally) for 40 minutes while the Swiss get to work. And when you are sidetracked for 40 minutes in Switzerland, that means that the Italian train can only take you as far as Dijon before it needs to turn around and go back to Italy. And that means that you have to pack up 120 twelve year olds on 15 minutes notice and jump on another train that will take you to Paris, but not to the station where the buses are waiting. So of course the buses have to drive to the new station, which is really so much more sensible than taking 120 children to the buses. However, because the buses have been waiting so long, the drivers are entitled to a 45 minute smoking break and the teachers are a little bleary eyed, and the DVD player doesn't work and we are under no circumstances letting these children off the bus because heaven only knows how long it would take us to round them up again, and so, it only took Matthew and I 23 hours to get back from Florence.

It was completely worth it.

Brief Intermission

2010-05-04T21:58:00.005+02:00

I must call a brief intermission from the cruise recount. I am in Florence with the 6th grade fieldtrip (not bragging, just stating the facts). I will finish up with the Med in a few days and maybe have a few pics to share from the adventures of 100+ twelve year olds exploring the roots of the Renaissance in it's birthplace. A few quotes from the day:

"When are we going shopping?"

"But Dr. Redmond, I am mature."

" The gelato we had after lunch was not as good as the gelato we had after dinner."

"Why are there so may dead people in this church?"

"Can I share your umbrella?"

"There are no frescos in this church because it would confuse the simplicity of the architectural form." A 12 year old came up with that astute observation.

I think we may have a few Renaissance minds of the 6th grade variety.

Rhodes

2010-04-29T19:40:00.004+02:00

Of all the Greek ports, Rhodes was my favorite...I think...

The day was gray, but that just added to the appeal of the old walled city, and did nothing to dampen the spirit of the vendors or the tourists.

Dave and the little guys explored the outer walls

while the big kids and I worked our way through the old city.

I found a lady weaving a carpet. I always wondered how they were made because you hear about the number on knots per inch, but I could never see the knots. Well now I know...and it is pretty cool! Plus you get to weave with a knife in one hand. That might discourage interruptions.

This was my favorite part of the city--built in the 1300's when the Knights of Rhodes held power in the city.

The Colossus of Rhodes stood guard over the port until an earthquake sent it tumbling in the 2nd century BC and the remains were melted down and sold by the conquering Arabs in the 7th century.

We didn't miss it too much. The real appeal of Rhodes was the 4 euro RayBans.

Further Observations on Egypt

2010-04-27T11:07:00.007+02:00

Camels have really bad breath. Donkeys have soft noses. Egyptians transport their food in little trucks packed to the brim. Rules in Egypt are more like guidelines.Blackberries get really good reception at the Pyramids. Belly dancers during lunch can be rather distrubing.

More so than men in skirts.

In Cairo, people live in the cemetery.I have an easy life.

Cypress

2010-04-26T22:43:00.006+02:00

On Saturday we spent the day in Limassol, Cypress, and to be honest, it was generally appealing but not fabulous. We did not go to Paphos, which is supposed to be fabulous--at least UNESCO thinks so. We were frankly a little tired after camels, belly dancers, and enthusiastic vendors. So we stuck with Limassol. Which was really OK. Plus I got to pose with Jacques Cousteau. As a kid I watched The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau every Sunday night right before Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and it was nice to see his wax self right there in the Limassol equivalent of Souix Village. Sponges, and shells, and tacky jewelry galore.

Benj had a moment of Pirate regression (do you remember his multi-year pirate phase when he had either the dough hook of my KitchenAid or a plastic dagger stuck down his pants at all times?) with Captain Menacing.

We found a great graffiti wall and took some Passey classics:

Thank Sarah Palin for this one.

Sarah and Benjamin channeling their inner emo.And we found a great church with a real, live, Eastern Orthodox wedding in progress. Great chanting. Julia was a little disturbed by the fact that the Bride and Groom were tied together. She may be too young to get the symbolism/foreshadowing of that one.
We bought some cool leather bracelets.
And we checked out the ocean. Dave gave a few stone skipping lessons and then it was...
back to the ship for dinner. Nice , huh?

Ancient Wonders

2010-04-24T22:12:00.012+02:00

Can you name the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? Before the cruise, I thought I could, but it turns out I was missing a few. Matthew and Julia helped me fill in the holes:
The Great Pyramid at Giza
The Lighthouse at Alexandria
The Colussus at Rhodes
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Mausoleum at Halicarnussus
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
I can now and forever name them all. What changed, you ask? Well, our cruise was called Ancient Wonders, and it only took me 4 days on board to realize why--we were going to see the sights of the Ancient Wonders! Pretty amazing how that works, huh? We just wanted to see Egypt and Greece, but we got world history thrown in for free! The Hanging Gardens were too far inland for the cruise ship, but we hit all the rest. Only the Ancient Pymamid is still standing. The rest were destroyed, mostly by earthquakes, but it was still pretty cool to see where they were.

We docked in Alexandria, site of the Ancient Lighthouse, and I'll let Julia give you the rundown:

Here's Julia:
"We woke up and went to breakfast then we got off the boat and met our tour guide. She was nice. Her name was Faten. It was a long bus ride but Faten talked a lot about the history of Cairo. It was really boring but she said that it would help us. Then she talked to us about the stuff you could get like necklaces or bracelets or rings that would have your name on it in hieroglyphics. I got one-- it was a necklace. Its called a cartouche. It's really cool. When we got there we went to the pyramids they were really cool but you couldn't go in.
Sarah and I got to ride on and camel.

And Matt and Ben on another one. And Anna went on one on by herself. It was awsome. They ride us out into the desert and take us back again, but still I rode on a camel and I got a cool head thingy. Then we went to the sphinx. It was really big with no nose. Then we went to a castle and a mosque where you had to take your shoes off.

We went to a papyrus place where they make papyrus and you could get t-shirts too, but they were really ugly. The we drove back to Alexandria. We ate dinner at the buffet. Then we went to bed."

Yep, that about sums it up. Pretty Amazing.
Two Ancient Wonders down, five more to go.

Julia's Birthday

2010-04-23T23:01:00.007+02:00

Guest Blogger: Brennan Edwards (Sarah's Boyfriend)

Julia's birthday!!!!!!!!!!! It was quite fantastic if I do say so myself. I was not present at the amazing event BUT I am well assured that it was memorable! I mean, who all gets to have a birthday on a CRUISE BOAT?!...SHIP (Sarah was insistant...). Anyway there were lots of happy birthdays and singings and food eating. Julia was thrilled because she got to paint pots. I remember back in middle school in my art class painting pots, those were my favorite classes. Nostalgia haunts me sometimes... So there were a lot of festivities such as swimming, eating, and free cake! Seriously, who doesn't like free cake? ON A CRUISE SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man, it definitely sounds like a great time...blows my mind wide open like the throttle in a race car. Well I hope this is sufficient for all of those followers out there, considering I am neither A. an immediate part of the Passey family or B. on the ship. I hope all of you faithful followers keep it real and have a fantastic day!

Back to the Basics

2010-04-22T13:46:00.002+02:00

Cruise update: Days 3 & 4

David has a way of distilling any matter to it's relevent and essential core and then phrasing his perceptions in unforgettable ways. This is what he said about our two days at sea:

"I feel like I have regressed to my infancy.
I wake up.
I eat.
I take a morning nap.
I eat.
I take an afternoon nap.
I eat.
I lie on my back and look at the sky.
I go to bed.
Fortunately, I'm not in diapers."

Tomorrow, Cairo.

Rome in a Day

2010-04-21T21:46:00.012+02:00

How to do Rome in six hours...hmmmm. With 2800 years of history, 900+ churches, 946 square miles of art, architecture, majesty, and wonders where here does one start? With the African street vendors of course. You would not believe what you can buy on the street corner in front of the subway station. Vouis Vutton bags, Cucci belts, Golci and Bagnaba wallets, genuine fake Rolexs. Apparently knock-off designer sunglasses were the number one priority for the Passeys. Fortunately we got that handled in the first 15 minutes and were freed up for the lesser attractions like the Colisseum: the Forum: the Capital:the Vatican and St Peters:the Trevi Fountain:

and finally, and most importantly Gelatto:
Three scoops each--Blue Ice heaven in the Eternal City.

End of Day 2.

Spring Break Review--Day 1

2010-04-20T17:31:00.004+02:00

Guest Blogger: Matthew Passey

"Right now I am typing about what I am doing. I don't want to be typing but I got bribed. My mom said I could have some DS time every day if I did--except Sunday of course. Here I go.

On the first day of travel we left the house SUPER early so we could get to the airport. Then we got on a plane and flew to Milan. Then we got in a shuttle to the train station. When we got off the train in Savona we took a taxi to the boat. It took FOREVER to get on the boat so Julia and I went to a playground and "refurbished" some playhouses. When we finally got on the boat we explored our rooms, went to the buffet, and then went to the pool. At the pool we met two French kids named Hugo and Marie who were very nice to us but their English was not very good. After that we went to dinner then to bed. End of Day 1."

Guest Blogger #2: Julia Passey

"When we got on the boat we went to our room. It is so cool. There are two beds hanging from the ceiling. Those beds are Matt's and mine. They are really scary but they are still really cool. Then after walking around the boat, which by the way did I mention is big, we went to the pool and met Hugo and Marie. Then we went to dinner. It was so good. I had potatoes, pork, salad and chocolate ice cream. I am not kidding, it was really good. Then we went to bed--ZzZzZzZz.

Transportation that we used:

A car,

a plane,

a bus,

a train,

a cab,

then the boat."

Home Again, home again...

2010-04-19T08:51:00.005+02:00

Sometimes life is just too surreal to process properly. Volcanoes erupting in Iceland, for instance. It is not even that big of a volcano, and it has the entire continent of Europe, and by association, the rest of the world in upheaval. I just got off the phone with the Elementary School secretary. There are 17 teachers out today. Matthew's teacher is in Uganda. The middle school principal is stuck in Ireland, and the secretary is in Canada. I don't know who is going to run that place. Sarah's biology teacher is trapped in Nairobi. Benjamin's chemistry teacher is still in Togo with the 20+ kids that have spent the last two weeks working at a small school in the remote countryside. You've got to know those kids want to be home. Togo is not known for it's fabulous cuisine or potable water. Sarah's calculus class will have a grand total of 3 kids in attendance today. Everyone else is stuck in the far flung regions of the world--except for her boyfriend. He is getting ready to have gallbladder surgery. See, I told you things were pretty surreal.
We had a fabulous spring break in the eastern Mediterranean and after two great weeks were pretty ready to get home. Fortunately we had rented cars in advance of our trip, so that when our flight from Milan back to Brussels was cancelled we had no problem extending our rental period and driving home from Italy. There are currently no rental cars available in Europe. That was a blessing for which we are greatful.
This is the surreal part: the Italian rental car company has no partners in Belgium, so we now have to drive the cars (yup, 2 cars--there wasn't a car big enough to fit all seven of us--not a problem for a two hour drive--bigger problem for 2 twelve hour drives) back to Italy and hope our rebooked flight leaves as scheduled.
This may not be the most ideal arrangement, but like I told Sarah last year when gallbladder boy was in the hospital with Malaria over prom weekend, "Yeah, I know it stinks, but it makes a great story."

Bias

2010-03-29T23:27:00.003+02:00

I was talking to one of the sixth grade teachers at school the other day about writing. She told me about a unit they are doing on persuasive writing. As part of the unit, the class looks at bias in news reporting. The kids learn how to identify examples of bias in the articles and really examine what constitutes objectivity and balanced reporting. As part of the exercise, they take a series of articles and rate them according to their levels of objectivity and bias. The teacher related a surprising discovery. All of the kids were able to identify the article that presented the most objective treatment of the subject. They were also able to identify which articles were biased and what the author's goal was in presenting the facts in a less than balanced way. So far, so good. But here is the really interesting part. When the teacher asked the kids which article they most trusted and would choose if they needed information on the subject, almost all of the kids chose the biased article that most closely supported their own point of view. They rejected the article that they themselves had determined to be the most objective in favor of the one that affirmed their personal beliefs. Hhhhmmmmmm. Wow, that explains some things. Like the popularity of left/right wing talk shows,talking heads, and my firm belief that butter, sugar, and cream--prepared properly--is actually good for you. As early as sixth grade, we don't want truth--we just want to be right.

14 Year Old Girls

2010-03-16T12:06:00.004+01:00

I was looking through the pictures on my camera last night, and sandwiched in between Budapest and Benjamin's Rugby pictures I was suprised to find this collection. You kind of have to watch for a minute or two to get the full effect:

This was for an English project and it just made me laugh. One of the better surprise discoveries on my camera. Much better than 30 shots of the latest episode of Pokemon. So enjoy her moment. I wish adult assignments required hour in the sun with 20 pair of sunglasses. Documentation optional.

Winter Sport

2010-03-15T21:08:00.005+01:00

Rugby season is officially over. Benj's team returned from England, if not exactly triumphant, at least not completely downtrodden. They placed 3rd of five teams. Nicely average, straddling the fence, mezzo, middlemost, betwixt and between, smack dab in the middle. Benj loves Rugby. He loves smacking into people running full speed with no protective gear what-so-ever. He will miss that. As usual, he came home with a few souvenirs:Cleat to the head, chest, and arm. Yup, he will miss it. But this is what he will miss the most:
In case you can't tell from the picture, Benj came out on top. Go Raiders.

Second Generation

2010-03-13T22:05:00.003+01:00

Sarah is officially a Coug and this is how we feel about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnT7pT6zCcA

Go Cougars!

Budapest

2010-02-22T14:33:00.006+01:00

David gave me Budapest for Christmas. You can't help loving a man like that. He gave it to me on a snowy weekend in January, and I loved it. It came with hummus, goulash, and some of the best Italian food I have every had...and the entire first season of The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency watched on our laptop in our snug and swealteringly warm apartment.

I have decided that cities with an impressive river are the most romantic. Think Paris, Washington, D.C., Prague, Venice, Dallas...OK, that may be a stretch.

Budapest also plays the relic game with the big boys as evidenced by this description:

And this picture:

If you look really hard in the center of all the reflection, you can see Mr. Saint Stephen's hand all shriveled up and bedecked with diamonds and stuff. You had to put a euro in a little machine to make the lights come on, but it was a euro well spent.

More proof that river plus city equals pretty cool pictures. We went to see Puccini's Tosca in the fabulously cool Opera house that rivals Vienna and Paris and opted for the super cheapo seats ($2 each) as part of the experience. We changed seats three times and were eventually able to see most of the stage. Anyway, we got to see Tosca kill herself which is the best part, so we fell like we got our money's worth.

I love Budapest--one of my favorite Christmas presents ever.

French Immersion

2010-02-11T22:13:00.002+01:00

I can tell that Anna and Benjamin have really embraced the French language. I can tell this because they have begun to fight in French. Not real nasty fighting, but the kind of fighting that starts around 9:30 pm and lasts until they are winded and laughing. It is pretty entertaining. Benjamin pulls out his Tex-French accent and hams it up. Anna plays along and only occasionally draws blood. I happened to catch the action the other night and thought I would share it with you. I hope you are not shocked by the violence. They really do love each other. Benj offered to provide the translation, but I think you can get the gist.

Thursday Morning

2010-02-04T09:14:00.003+01:00

I am, at this very moment, listening to an older Scottish gentleman in a tweed jacket, jeans, bright red tie, red pocket square, and an amazingly garish dress shirt emblazoned with red chrysanthemums reading the Robert Burns poem "Tam O'Shanter." Burns sounds really good in an authentic Scottish accent. Plus we get the translation...
It is International Community Morning here at ISB.
Jens is wearing an orange feather boa in honor of the Netherlands.
There are Israeli flags all over the room, and we are now off to the Hall of Nations for Greek dancing lessons.
Top of the morning to you.

Bummer...

2010-01-13T22:40:00.003+01:00

Benj and Dave went to Rome for a dudes trip. They had a great time. From what I hear they walked each other to exhaustion, ate good but cheap food, used some pretty sketchy bathrooms, were disappointed in finding the Sistine Chapel closed, discovered some amazing churches, saw the very spot were Tom Hanks saves the last cardinal from drowning, went shopping (by far the biggest shocker), got very familiar with public transportation, swore undying allegiance to Rick Steves, and came home tired but happy. They took exactly one picture.

They took the old little camera that has great portability but bad batteries. Exactly.

Bummer.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T19:38:00.001+01:00

Wishing you a delightful 2010!

Vacation Time is Catch-up Time

2009-12-30T21:35:00.008+01:00

Yesterday, Sarah was the guest blogger. I am trying to persuade David to take a turn. Actually, I would like everyone to take a turn. So maybe I'll work on that. In the mean time, turn the clock back eight months to Spring Break. While Sarah was in Ghana making bricks and David was in Kazakhstan eating wild horses, the rest of us plus my mom and dad were exploring Northern France.

I give you Normandy, Brittany, and the Loire Valley:This is the fishing village of Honfleur--one of the most charming villages in Northern France

The kids posing on one of the German 155mm guns guarding Normandy beach at Pointe du Hoc.

Mont Saint Michel--an amazing monestary built during the 12th century on a stone outcropping off the coast of Brittany.

The Chateau Chambord built by King Francois in the 16th century as a hunting lodge. He only lived here for a total of six months. It would take longer than that to find your way around the place...all those turrets.This staircase at Blois is attributed to Leonardo DaVinci -- nice place for prom pictures.

Our favorite Chateau--Chenonceau. Amazing gardens, amazing kitchens, amazing love triangle...

The archictecturally odd Chartes Cathedral--strange towers but fabulous carvings, and a mammoth maze tiled into the floor. Matthew loves his mazes.

The French countryside is blanketed by field of field of bright yellow rapeseed. Last stop: Monet's Garden. Wow, that is just about all I can say, wow!

Chocolate Rain

2009-12-27T21:59:00.012+01:00

Hey everyone this is Sarah. I am here to finally report about Ghana ... only 8 months late (:

€ 1,700, lots of muffins, and a couple painful shots down, 21 students and 4 teachers packed up for 2 weeks of spring break and traveled to ghana to work with Habitat for Humanity. Our goal was to build three Habitat houses for African families in need.

The destroyed hut belonging one of the families we built a new house for.

After a layover in Casablanca, a 3 a.m. arrival in Accra, and a 10 hour bus ride, we were greeted enthusiastically by the members of the Kofiase village, some of the happiest and cutest people I have ever seen.

I spent an amazing 13 days working with the people, learning about the culture, and playing with the children.

Our favorite little girl, Adjwa, who we nicknamed Chocolate Rain ... for a reference check the youtube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA

Over the 2 weeks I was in Ghana, we built bricks and made mortar

Went into the village to watch a crazy Chelsea FC vs. Liverpool soccer game (most of the locals are die-hard Chelsea fans because they have a Ghanaian player, their enthusiasm is obvious from the picture below)

Participated in dance and drumming nights with the Ghanaians

Ate LOTS of the most disgusting rice I've ever had and visited the King's Palace

Attended a Sunday church service and met the village chief

Played a soccer and volleyball match against local teams

Attended local schools to donate books and school supplies

Explored the Cape Coast Slave castle

Went on a tree canopy walk through the Ghanaian rain forest

But most importantly, loved and served people in need.

Definitely one of the best experiences of my life and I hope to have the opportunity to return someday!

Oh and Brennan -- here's your shoutout, thanks for surviving Malaria!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-16T13:36:00.003+01:00

There has been nothing new here for awhile. I have reasons.

1. I am still teaching 5th grade and loving it. Who knew 10 year olds could be so cute.
2. Sarah and Benjamin are in the middle of exams. I am trying to fill the pit of despair with encouraging thoughts.
3. My friend Jessie came to visit last weekend and we spent three glorious days digging through the best junk Brussels has to offer. Lots and lots of pocket watches...
4. I am not finished Christmas shopping yet.
5. There are lots of holiday parties that need parental support.
6. When I sit down, I fall asleep.
7. What is for dinner???
8. Two weekends ago I went to Poland with 10 friends and we bought lots of pottery...again. You can't write while you are buying pottery.
9. I have no words left at the end of the day.
10. I don't want to leave Europe, so there is a little wacko part of me that thinks if I don't write about the last time we do things, maybe it won't be the last time. I know, completely crazy.

The good news is that school ends Friday and we have three weeks to recover. Check back. You may find something interesting...

Happy Birthday

2009-11-08T18:17:00.005+01:00

Happy Birthday Benj!

Beloved of the Ladies... Incredible Eyes.. Funny, responsible, helpful, smart, and...

Now that he is 16, alone no longer...potentially...

Random Spanish Weirdness

2009-11-05T12:29:00.006+01:00

We spent last week in Spain. I will post intelligent pictures next time. Today, you get Passeys uncensored.

Enjoy.

This one is not so weird. It is actually pretty nice.

Yes, I know...

2009-11-01T23:09:00.001+01:00

There has been a shocking lack of activity on this site lately. By way of explanation:

We are leaving this fabulous country in a short 8 months.

I feel compulsively driven to see and do everything I possibly can in those short months.

When I am seeing and doing, I am not writing.

And in a completely counterintuitive twist of fate:

I am teaching 5th grade for the next 6 weeks.

It is amazing how logic and reason can abandon us at crucial moments in life.

I will try to do better...on all accounts.

Julia in Paris

2009-10-18T22:38:00.004+02:00

A few weeks ago (this has been on the to-do list for too long), Sarah, Anna, and Benjamin all had competitions in Paris. Matthew has taken to muscling in on the concession stand management at the football games and couldn't miss an opportunity to handle LOTs of money while simultaneously bossing (nicely) people around. David took Matthew duty, which left Julia and I looking at each other with the same twinkle in our eyes: Lets go to Paris! So under the guise of sibling support, we loaded up the car and attempted to pack an unrealistic amount of experience into 8 hours. Here is how we did:We stayed at a really great small hotel run by a friend of a friend. The place was great--nice location, lots of quirky Parisian charm, and a magical convergence of fates that allowed us to park right out front.First stop: Lunch at a corner bakery--Patisserie to all the purists. She shared a few bites.
Next stop was Notre Dame and ALOT of souvenir shopping combined with the heart wrenching decision on whether to wait in the line to climb the towers or move on to:
Of course Mona won. This is, in fact, the entire reason that Julia wanted to go to Paris in the first place. She took this picture and made the following observations:

"It is bigger than I thought."

"She is pretty in a weird sort of way."

"That Leonardo, he was kind of good."

"I think I like Raphael's ladies better."

We then moved on to the second real reason for a trip to Paris: The Eiffel Tower. After waiting in line for 45 minutes, they closed the upper viewing deck 7 people in front of us. Undaunted, we sailed up to the first platform on a double decker elevator and waited patiently until the upper deck was re-opened. We arrived on top just as the sun was setting and the first thing that Julia did on exiting the elevator was...wait for it...run into the gift shop! Not even a glance over the city. Not one oooohh or aahhhh. Straight to the tacky pencils and brass Eiffel key chains. It was a bitter pill. I left her there to admire the tacky while I admired the view.

Paris is lovely at night.

When we made it back to the bottom, Julia spotted just what she had been looking for in all those gift shops: A glass, multi-colored, light-up Eiffel Tower, sold by the thousands across the bridge from the tower by a United Nations of emigrants who probably know how to barter in every language known to man. Julia paid 5 euro. She was thrilled. Our last entertainment of the evening was watching, and listening, as the wave of international street-hawkers took off at full speed, Eiffel Tower key chains clanging in cheery cacophony, right toward, through, and past us followed by the Parisian street police. What a day.

P.S. The volleyball games and cross country meet went well. I did show an uncharacteristic amount of self sacrifice and restrain as I drove past an amazingly tempting Brocante (massive French yard sale) that stretched for a good 2 kilometers on the way to the school. Sigh...

Homecoming

2009-09-28T15:54:00.006+02:00

IT IS HOMECOMING...in Brussels. We had a fabulous weather and a full weekend. The football team even won their game which is saying something. Sarah and Anna each had two volleyball matches and Benjamin came in third on his cross country team and 11th overall in a field of 100+. Signs of autumn are everywhere--the kids have to drag me away from collecting chestnuts, and leaves are falling. Here are some pictures so you can enjoy with us. Happy fall.

Another Brush with Fame

2009-09-21T22:01:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I sat next to Harry Reid and his wife at church. We did not talk health care. I do, however, have a great story about the Senator and the Avon lady...
J. Willard Marriott's granddaughter whacked me in the leg on the way into the bathroom. She is three and completely adorable and doesn't know that she is an heiress, so I will cut her some slack.

Goodbyes

2009-09-18T03:22:00.007+02:00

When I was growing up, I loved family reunions. I loved the food. I loved the singing. I loved crawling around in the barn and milking the cows and driving tractors. But most of all, I loved my cousins. There were six of us within about six years of each other and we couldn't wait to get into trouble together. When you are a kid, cousins are better than friends because even if you don't see each other all that often you are still buddies, and better than siblings, because you don't see each other all that often.

I am old now, and I still love my cousins. Today I went with my cousin Paige to see my cousin Ricky. He is 44 years old and I still call him Ricky--I may be the only one left on the earth that still does--but he never quite made it to Rick with me. Ricky and Paige and I got into a lot of trouble and had quite a lot of fun together as kids. We had some pretty monumental water fights, scared the daylights out of each other in the outhouse, broke a porch swing or two, played hide and seek in the cornfields, and took long walks in the Virgina woods. We sat together looking at stars in the middle of the night.

Ricky has ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, and hasn't much longer to live. He is in hospice and can barely talk, but still has a smile that radiates love and mischief. We visited for a while, sharing stories about our kids and our memories, Ricky trying his hardest to convey his memories too. We laughed as we always do when we get together. We said goodby knowing what those words meant. We smiled our smiles of love and mischief.

After we parted we climbed back into the car and sat silent for a minute or two. Paige and I did. Elevator music was playing on Aunt Evelyn's car stereo, and Dad was on mom's cell phone trying to tell some old guy named Emmet that $300 was not a bad price for a running vehicle and he wouldn't take less. Mom and Evelyn were deciding where to go next and what shopping still needed to be done. Paige and I looked at each other with a little smile. I'm not sure if she was thinking the same thing I was, but I had one of those moments when realities slide out of their usually gentle, inconspicious path and just force you to notice. I wish that I had made a space for myself to appreciate the poignancy of that time with my cousin. He is moving out of this world and into another. He knows it and I think he is OK with that knowledge. He appreciates the richness of every last moment.

When you are living, life just keeps on going. Even when you need it to stop just for a moment in deference to those whose lives won't. I think that is why grieving is so difficult. Life moves us forward and we can't change that, even when we would like to. We are the ones that do the leaving.

Work Permit Round Two

2009-09-09T21:59:00.005+02:00

Yesterday I went to renew my work permit. Despite the fact that I had been assured that the renewal process is much easier than the initial application, my heart started thumping the minute I sat down in the little vinyl chair inhabited by thousands of backsides from all over the world. I came prepared with multiple copies of every document provided by the embassy plus a few extra from my commune (5 euros each). I didn't sign anything until the guy pointed to the line, confirming my hunch on were to write Natalie Passey, which always seems to end up as Nathalie on the printed forms.

I must digress for a moment: There is no "th" sound in French, so why do they insist on putting the "h" in my name when it doesn't belong there and they can't say it anyway??

Ok, back to the story.
I even waited for 5 minutes at the lunch counter to get change that would work in the self-photo machine just in case they needed a new photo (which they didn't so I have 5 up for grabs--I am not smiling--kind of indicative of the whole experience). I thought I had covered all my bases.

Belgium is a special case.

I was missing a form.

A form that they had in my file from last year but needed again for some unfathomable bureaucratic reason. Unfathomable to me and unfathomable to the guy from the US Embassy who I called lickety split to get me out of this mess.

After the requisite second guy came into the office and I passed the cell phone across the table and they chatted quite animatedly in French for a LONG time and fax numbers and e-mail addresses and dossier numbers were exchanged and I got my phone back, the second guy smiled quite pleasantly at me and said "He will fax me the form, which is very good because without the form, you never know, it could take 5, 6 months to renew your permit."

Now the really great part of all this is that just before I entered the office I had been reading a charming book in which the main character discusses the theory of Phenomenology: how reality is arbitrary and conscienceness suspect. So, I decided right then and there to expunge the Ministre du Travail from my conscienceness. It no longer exists.

I feel much better now.

Cracovia

2009-09-07T19:28:00.016+02:00

Once a year David travels to an obscure location for a meeting of one of his NATO committees. I missed the last three--Croatia, Moldova, and Estonia--so I wasn't about to miss another. This year's meeting was held in Krakow, Poland.
First, a brief lesson in Polish:
W's are pronounced like V's
The W sound is represented by an L with a line through it.
The rest of the letters are a mystery.
For example:
Dziekuje (with a little squiggly under the e's) is pronounced jen-coo-ya.
It means "Thank you" and it is the only word that I can consistently remember and say with recognizeable accuracy.
I could go on, but suffice it to say that I am no longer complaining about French.

Krakow, linguistic mysteries aside, is a really wonderful little city. Think Prague dirtied up just enough to look lived in with a few hundred (OK, 123) churches borrowed from the Baroque effusion of Italy plus one tiny room each of the Louvre and the British Museum. Throw in a Pope and a heretic and you just about have it. It was nice, and very digestable. My new second favorite church in the world (St. Chapelle will always be the most sublime) sits on the market square and glistens with jewel tones and varnish. I happened in on an Solidarity Mass on Monday night and watched as Lech Walesa marched out through the nave at the head of the procession. I actually don't think I would have been able to pick him out of the group if someone hadn't told me he was there. I think a big bushy mustache is essential for membership in the Solidarity movement. Several nights later the conference arranged for us to climb the bell tower at 9 pm to hear the trumpeter enact his hourly ritual. Hundreds of years ago, as an invading army approached the city, a guard sounded the alarm from this very bell tower. As he trumpeted the warning call, an arrow pierced his throat stopping the alarm. After the bell tolls the time each hour, a trumpeter plays the same tune and stops mid-note to commemorate the event.

Both Pope John Paul II and Copernicus studied at the Jagiellon University and studied in this room in the 14th century Collegium Maius.

Isabel Czartoryskich (I have said that name 300 times and still can't get it right) amassed a fabulous art collection in the 18th century, including this Leonardo Da Vinci.
This is a modern artist's take:

I like Leonardo's economy better.

The Franciscan Church houses this magnificent stained glass window depicting the moment God separated light from darkenss. Pretty edgy for turn of the Century, huh?

The Castle hill houses a respectable Renaissance Palace and a stunning cathedral pieced together over the centuries.

We had a fabulous but really quirky middle aged guide with a classic Eastern Block dye job and a bizarre penchant for bathrooms. She kept calling our attention to them in a conspiratorial fashion, opening closed doors and ordering: "You must look. It is a beautiful room. The President's bathroom." or "This toilet. It is made of sandstone. Only the king could use it." I prefered the tapestry to the toilets, but to each his own. Cracow was great--another place that I had never known about but thoroughly enjoyed. I keep asking myself, "What else am I missing?" I have nine months to find out.

Brush With Fame

2009-09-06T14:30:00.005+02:00

Dave left for Kazakhstan yesterday by way of London. He e-mailed last night with news that Usain Bolt was on his flight. I say Bolt was on his flight and not the other way around because Usain may be the fastest man but Dave is my man and therefore takes priority. Because David may well be the most considerate and conscientious human on the planet, he did not ask for an autograph ("What the heck?"--several unnamed children). He did say that he was a pretty normal looking guy...well as normal as any 6'3" gentleman squished into a airplane seat can be. Sarah wondered if he had any bodyguards with him, but we decided that that would be completely unnecessary as he could outrun anybody coming after him. This all lead to a great discussion on the way to chuch this morning on how many times Mr. Bolt would lap us if we were up against him in a 50meter race. I just love that his name is Mr. Bolt, don't you?

The Emerald Isle

2009-09-03T15:04:00.008+02:00

One week of family vacation + Ireland = Fabulous

Here is what we loved:

Our traditional Day 1 Walking Tour of Dublin

Christ Church Cathedral

Trinity College Dublin

The Mummified Bog Man at the National Museum

TKMaxx...Almost like home

Pub Grub

Irish Music

Irish Dancing

Knowth and Newgrange Ancient Burial Mounds
These guys are older than the Pyramids!

The Dunbrody Potato Famine Ship at New Ross7 Passeys-1 bunk-8 weeks--Yikes...

The Abbey Ruins near Campile

The 700 year old Lighthouse at Hook's Head

20 Year of Blissful Marriage,

And last, but not least:

This jet-tub induced hickey on an unnamed backside

Cheers!

Not to be Left Out...

2009-08-30T23:45:00.003+02:00

Julia and her friends Jack and Anna

Death Ride Buddies
Julia couldn't bear to be the only Passey kid who didn't Death Ride. So back we went to the atomium for one more jump.

I think she liked it.

First Day of the Last...

2009-08-29T16:21:00.003+02:00

Here is a picture of the first day of school.

It is the first day of school, but it is also...

The first day of our last year at ISB.

The first day of Sarah's last year of High School.

The first day of Anna's last year of Middle School.

The first day of Matthew's last year of Elementary School.

The first day of our last chance to wear sweaters to school on the first day.

The first day of my last year to jog alone in Woluwe Park.

The first day of our last year of freezing our bums off watching Benj play Rugby.

The first day of our last year of really cool field trips.

The first day of my last year with everyone home.

I could go on and on...

I am usually optimistic, because there are plenty of things to be happy about. I like to look forward. But every now and then I feel the need to pay tribute to the end, to indulge in nostalgia for a few moments, and to recognize the goodness in our lives and the fact that time moves steadily forward, changing our present in a myriad of ways.

Our lives are pretty amazing.

Thank you.

Death Ride

2009-08-26T15:21:00.008+02:00

From Wikipedia:

The Atomium [1] is a monument built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it is 102-metres (335 ft) tall, with nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels. Each sphere is 18 metres in diameter.

From Real Life:

That's me...and Anna...

And Sarah...

And Benj and Matthew ready to slide off the ball...And the view (a little askew)...

And how the whole thing is held together...

And the truimphant seven: Benjamin, Sarah, Anna, Me, Matthew (just a sliver), Annie Grow, and Roz Hawk. What a great way to end the summer.
And if you still don't believe it, watch this...

What in the World?

2009-08-17T21:01:00.003+02:00

Did any of you ever subscribe to National Geographic World as a kid? I did, and my favorite part was the last page where there were random pictures of everyday items shot as super close-ups. The idea was to guess what you were looking at. I offer for your enjoyment the Passey version of National Geographic's "What in the World." I will send chocolate to the winner. Be specific.

Cherry Picking

2009-08-16T22:05:00.003+02:00

Coming from Texas, where cajolling edibles from the earth is an exercise and mystic roulette, I am in love with Belgian soil. Things grow here. Spontaneously and without watering three times a day. Things grow in such profusion that people ignore red ripe cherries drooping from their overburdened branches. They ignore the little wild strawberries that spring up all over and taste like you think those strawberries will that you just paid $3 for at the grocery store. They ignore blackberries growing with wild raucousness just down the street. We, however, appreciate just how miraculous these things are and set out to rescue all the abandoned fruit we can. We always check with the owners, who so far have never been home. We only glean over public easements, and just to be safe, we harvest after dark. Which would be OK if we didn't use ladders and bring 6 people along.

Evidence:

So far we have brought home 6 lbs of cherries and 8 lbs of raspberries. The strawberries don't last long enough to weigh. The raspberry bushes are still producing. I love this place!

Love at Home

2009-08-03T00:11:00.003+02:00

I just had to document this moment so that when life is normal there is evidence of the love at home.

This is normal...

Is this really necessary?

2009-08-02T23:52:00.005+02:00

July is sale month in Europe. Unlike the US, where every month is sale month, Europeans only have sales in July and January. On the first of the month (some stores start a few days early) everything goes on sale. As the month progresses, so do the markdowns. By the end of the month, the stores are just about empty, ready to restock for the winter. As you might imagine, it is a madhouse. We went shopping 3 times the first week to make up for the 3 previous month of shoplessness. I bought some T-shirts for 3.97 euro. Whoooo Hooooo!

Then I put one on.

Look what was attached to the side seam:

5 mattress sized tags! Care instructions in 16 different languages. I ask you--is this really necessary? I have to decide if I am going to keep the tags on so I remember how to wash this 3.97 shirt or if I want to live in comfort without direction. Which would you choose? Here are the languages in case you have chopped one of your tags off and you need to know how to wash your shirt in Greek.

Catch-Up

2009-08-02T23:41:00.003+02:00

Since it is almost August 4th, I am now going to tell you what we did on July 4th. We ran. All of us. We joined the American community for the 4th of July 2/5/10K. Kim, Benj, and I all ran the 5K. Benj won. He is kind of a beast in the running arena. David, Sarah, Anna, Matthew, and Jubes all did the 2K. Anna came in fourth. She has vowed never to run again. We made tie-dye T-shirts for the run and because we have a family tradition of making shirts for the 4th. We skipped last year, but as the kids say, we skipped most things last year. This was my first 5K and wow, was it long. At least the course was pretty. We ran around the former Imperial Palace, past the US Ambassador's estate, and around a lovely lake. All in all, it was a great way to spend the morning.

IP Nonsense

2009-06-17T11:25:00.006+02:00

Sometime in the last twelve months, my computer figured out that we don't live in the US anymore. I don't know how it figured this out and I dón't know why, but you have just witnessed the first evidence of how troubling this can be. Do you see that little accent over the o back there in don't? That is my computer deciding of its own accord to go euro. Don't ask me why it did it on that don't and not on the subsequent three. I don't (4) have answers.

We first noticed this when one day we, meaning Benj and Sarah, could no longer access the Hollister clearance page. That was a bad day. Then we started getting a profusion of pop-ups from Neckermann, a Dutch company with an enthusiastic add/tech department that seems to be similar to Big Lots. Next to go was Google. We no longer default to Google.com...it is now google.be, which in principle is the same except that tons of the results are either in French or Dutch. I find that irritating when I am looking for graphs of the Norwegian brown rat population and its destructive impact both economically and ecologically (don't ask, but I really did do that search). I not only have to sift through dissertation abstracts but a bunch of franco/dutch hoopla as well. Last week my Facebook page got stuck in Czech, and let me tell you, that is a language with a lot of consonants and accents and little cappy things that look cute but are difficult to pronounce. I had to call in teenage backup to fix that one.

My Blogger homepage is now in Dutch. I am choosing to look on the bright side. I now know that Aanmelden means "Sign in," Onthouden means "Remember Me," and Watchwoord means "Password." That last one was pretty easy. Mostly this is not a big deal. I might have to click on things a few times before I get where I am going, but that's OK. The big deal part of this is that certain tools are no longer useful. Very important tools. For those of you who know me well, you can appreciate what I am about to say. I am not a speller. I have never been a good speller but I have fully repented for cheating on my Third grade spelling tests. I think it has something to do with the fact that I never see words in my head--ever. Only pictures. But never mind that. The important part is that when the homepage is in Dutch, SPELL CHECK IS IN DUTCH AS WELL!!!!! When I write a post and click on the spell check button, the only words that aren't highlighted are things like ör (did it again--I don't know how the dots got there). Just imagine how that makes a spelling-challenged person feel. Everything looks wrong. It is like the computer is mocking my disability in neon yellow. So, if you notice in subsequent posts that things are spelled differently than you might think they should be, take pity on me and let me know. I am counting on you...

Leeds Castle

2009-06-13T13:41:00.003+02:00

This year Dave and I decided to take each of the kids on a trip for their birthday. Two declined (go figure). Anna and I went to London for two days and walked each other to exhaustion, pausing only long enough to see Wicked. Matthew and I went to Leeds Castle in Kent, England for the day. I know I promised to post pictures, but guess what...someone (under the age of 20) took the card out of my camera to download some pictures and...wait for it...didn't put it back in. So I took my camera all the way to England and carried it around without being able to take one picture. Not of the jousting tournament. Not of the falcon show. Not of Matthew admiring the rock garden. Not of us eating mushy peas and meat pies. Not of the proud peacock with full feather display or the albino peacock that Matthew described as looking like he was wearing a wedding dress. Not of the beautiful gardens or the amazing castle. Not of Matthew enjoying being 11 in England. Oh well. We still had a great time, and Matthew's DS had batteries, so all in all it was a good day. Here is a pirated picture from the internet so you can see what we saw only not exactly. Close enough...

Wishful Thinking

2009-05-27T09:03:00.004+02:00

Sometimes I check our blog to see if anything new has magically appeared. Then I remember that I am the one that has to put the stuff here. Do you ever do that...look in the sink to see if the dishes are still there. Get into the car hoping that some gas gremlin as filled the tank for you. Stare at the laundry basket hoping to catch the laundry dissolve before your eyes. I do. So, sometime in the near future, there should be posts about Sarah in Ghana, our spring break in France, Julia's trip to the Belgian coast, Benjamin's track triumphs, Matthew and my trip to Leeds castle, plus other ordinary little things. I just have to get after it...or work on my summoning skills. A personal assistant would do very nicely.

Work

2009-05-19T21:36:00.007+02:00

I spent last week substitute teaching for 6th grade...in Florence, Italy.

This is what I missed:
7 loads of laundry
10 kid pick-up's
8 meal preps
2 trips to the bank
Mother's Day
470 dirty dishes
4 grocery runs
13 socks on the floor
3 "Can you get me some toilet paper please"
15 math questions
1 Romeo and Juliet paper revision
3 overdue books
American Idol semi-finals
2 field trip meetings
1 sore throat
5 "Time to get up--I mean it this time"
25 good night kisses
My 6 favorite people in the whole world

This is what I got:

Plus 22 of the most unbelievably well behaved kids I have ever seen.
And, I didn't have to do their laundry.
I did have to medicate a few...

Kind of a fair trade...for a week.

Sarah's Wallet

2009-05-05T10:20:00.002+02:00

In Sarah's wallet there are:
8 Dollars
20 Euros
10 Francs
7 Moroccan Dinars
An expired US drivers license
A Belgian ID
A US Passport
A Victoria's Secret gift card from 9th grade
a couple pennies and some nickels
two boarding pass stubs to Casablanca and one to Accra
and a poem written by Brennan in Ghana

A little slice of the world contained within a knock-off Coach clutch from China.

Real Life Willy Wonka

2009-04-29T13:45:00.005+02:00

Chocolate is everywhere in Belgium...good chocolate...very good chocolate. A group of us went to one of the chocolate factories the other day: Passsion Chocolate, arguably the best chocolate shop in Brussels. The factory is run by 4 Belgian French employees. The current owner bought the shop from the original owner and designer of all their chocolates. He was a charming white haired gentleman with incredible good humor and class. They make everything by hand on the premises and deliver it to their shop each day. The workers were very gracious and extremely patient. Our racous group of American ladies was begging to buy their garbage and eating everything in sight. We watched them mold the chocolates then ate some. We watched them pour the chocolates and then ate some. We watched them dip the chocolates and then ate some. We watched them make the florentines and then ate some. We MADE nut and fruit encrusted chocolate coins and then ate them all. We licked spoons, stole seconds, ate the garbage, and looked for more. One of the girls got chocolate all over herself and was escorted to the kitchen for a clean-up and an apron. Well, the aprons were so cute and everyone wanted one so the owner went into the storeroom and came out with their rejects which we oohed and aahed over and promptly put on dispite the holes and stains. I am now the proud owner of an authentic, well broken in, chocolate permiated, Passion Chocolate apron. I love it.

They were so glad to get us out of there.

The best part is that the store is three blocks from my house...and they have free samples.

The Contrasts

2009-04-15T19:11:00.003+02:00

Sarah is in Ghana. We are in Belgium. Today we went to the flea market where Benjamin bought a WW2 gas mask complete with instructions in French and Dutch. Our friend Marilyn bought a crystal bowl and a set of silver spoons. And a really cool chair for 15 euro. Then we came home and ate chocolate. Then we went to the Garrison shop and the library. Then we had a lovely dinner of grilled salmon with roasted celery root and leeks Now we are watching American Idol.

Here is a synopis of Sarah's first couple days as told by one of her chaperones:

"After much travelling, we have settled into our village. As I write this email, your children are making bricks out of soil, digging, and clearing brush.

Hot and humid air greeted us in the Ghanaian capital at about 2:00 am local time. Rather than spend two or three hours in a hostel, we decided to strike out for our village. Unfortunately, I can't report many of the details from our bus ride, since I slept nearly the entire way. We arrived at our village at about 1:30 in the afternoon (yes, unsurprisingly, the trip took more than 6 hours).

The rest of the day was spent settling into our accommodations and seeking shelter from the rain. Four families evacuated their houses for our stay. We are sleeping on thin mattresses and our mosquito nets have been installed. The kids have quickly adapted to their homes for the next week and a half. The villagers are extremely friendly and have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. The village children are abundant and adorable. At our orientation meeting this morning, many of the village kids were comfortably resting in the laps of ISB students. We also had the pleasure of experiencing our first tropical storm yesterday. It began pouring (yes, pouring, not a Belgian drizzle) at about 4:00 and didn't stop before nightfall. This didn't pose many problems, though, as most kids were asleep --yes, asleep, not just in bed -- by 8:00! Really! It was reassuring to hear local people say it only rains once or twice a week.

We were up at 7:00 this morning in order to eat breakfast at 7:30. We were at the work site, which is just around the corner from our houses, by 9:00. A sweat had been broken by 9:15. After making sure everything was in order, I left the work site at about 10:00 to travel to an internet cafe, which is about an hour away from our village. The students, who are brimming with excitement, are interacting with villagers and learning that patience is required in Africa."

I cannot tell you how happy this e-mail makes me. It is spring break and Sarah is up by 7:00 and sweating by 9:15. I am really looking forward to seeing if the patience piece sticks. Actually she is already pretty patient, but there is nothing wrong with more. And for the record, I would gladly give up the chocolate to be mixing mortar with my girl.

The Names of NATO

2009-04-02T22:27:00.006+02:00

Sometimes in the evenings, David tells us about his day. Here is an exerpt from tonight's briefing (we call them briefings).

"The International Staff calls us the Dirty Dozen. But Stephano and Ilona admitted that they shouldn't call us that to our faces because everyone in that movie dies."
"Who is "us?""
"The Like Minded Nations--Juozus, Nikolay, Frantisek, Dorothee, Judit, Svetlana, Marcel, Khan, Grethe, Tomas, and Ross--he is from Canada--the others clearly aren't."

David had to spell everyone's names out for me because let me tell you, other than Ross, none of these are pronounced remotely phonetically. And this really isn't an accurate list because David doesn't have his cheat sheet here where he has the appropriate key codes to make all the squiggly marks over and around the people's names.
People's names can be problematic. Here is an example: Yesterday Dave sent the US update to the Swedish CEP handbook (he is pleased because he cut it down by two pages although the legal section is still weak) --Oh no, I am now getting OpSec comments--to Tor-Bjorn who he is not sure he has ever met and is uncertain of his/her gender. He met someone from Sweden last week but can't remember the guy's name. But he is very tall.
I was never very good at names, but this environment offers a whole new realm of challenge. How do you remember a name that you have never heard before and would have to practice repeating 14 times before you can pronounce it correctly? I tend to stick with the Susans and Bruces at parties.
David is better. He gets more practice. He will be meeting with Ole, Christian, and Ragnar later in the month.

Muffins For Mortar

2009-03-13T00:52:00.007+01:00

Sarah is going to Ghana for spring break. The High School is sponsoring a trip in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. These kids are going to spend 15 days in a small village in the bush, living and eating with villagers, building houses. No running water, no stores, no toilet facilities, no Little Debbies Snack Cakes, no civilization. The sponsor clearly stated that the kids can use as much water as they could haul out of the well.

Despite the primitive conditions, this is not a cheap trip. Because Sarah got stuck with the parents she did, she has a chunk of money to earn for the trip. A big chunk. Besides babysitting, she has had one primary source on income: Muffins. Each week she bakes about 50 muffins and sends them to work with Dave. He has recruited a couple willing souls with prime office space to hock the muffins for her. Two muffins for 1 Euro. So far she has been quite successful. She has even had a few pre-orders. After trying several varieties, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip emerged as the clear favorite. People have come to expect the weekly offering and if she is a day or two later than usual baking them, people track David down to ask about the muffins. So, with about one month left until departure she has about $250 left on her tab. Only 500 muffins left to go...

Suicide Sledding

2009-03-06T12:29:00.008+01:00

Let me start off by saying that this could never happen in America. Lawyers would be camped out at the bottom of the hill and ski resorts would be closing right and left. Europeans have a strong belief in personal responsibility--If you are dumb enough to try it you can take the consequences.

Suicide Sledding, otherwise known as night tobogganing, requires a person to simultaneously navigate a downhill slope in the dark, steer and brake with only your feet, avoid trees and other sledders, stay on the sled and out of the snow, avoid careening through the snowbank off the side of the mountain, and keep from wetting your pants. I am completely not exaggerating.

Our friend Anita suggested we do this night toboggan thing because her husband had done it once as a child and still remembered it as one of the highlights of his childhood. Sounds great! Sarah, Anna, Anita, and I slogged on over to the toboggan rental shed (which happened to be adjacent to a slopeside bar--read "Must be drunk to undertake such a foolish venture") And rented our sleds for a mere 5 euros each. We then got stuck in the turnstiles 3 times before actually making it onto the gondola for the ride up the mountain.

When you think of sledding, you probably think like I did that you sled down a pretty steep hill for two minutes of exhilirating speed and then you pull your sled up the hill and do the whole thing again. Strike any preconceived notions from you head. This is a completely different league--think Chutes and Ladders versus War of the Worlds; Goodnight Moon versus The Oxford English Dictionary; a can of Raid versus Men in Black. Are you getting the picture? The first run down the mountain took about 1 hour. Yup, ONE HOUR of hair blowing, snow eating, bruise gathering speed.

Anna and I shared a sled, and about two minutes into the run I was convinced that one or both of us were headed for the hospital. We almost made it down the first slope before we flew from the sled and landed in a splayed heap of arms and legs and wood and snow. It took us about 10 minutes of rolling off the sled every 100 yards to figure out how to keep from veering toward the snowbank that separated us from certain death down the side of the mountain. Oh, and we kept colliding with Sarah and Anita as they crashed in front of us on alternating 100 yards. We finally got in a groove after about 15 minutes. That is when we encountered the bumps. So picture this: About 100 or so sledders flying down the mountain. As these sledders encounter small bumps in the course, they push snow up against the bumps as they pass over. With each sledder that passes by, the bumps get bigger and bigger until they are pretty good sized moguls. Since we have already established that steering is a challenge, avoiding these things is a near impossibility. Anna and I hit a patch of about seven in a row, and after literally flying through the air and landing really hard on the wooden sled seconds before being launched into space again, I decided my best bet was to jettison myself off the back of the sled and let Anna go at it alone. She did great for two more and then all I saw was snow spray. As we were collecting what was left of our dignity, the sled slipped from Anna's hand and took off down the mountain. We looked like actors from a Mr. Bean movie, chasing after the runaway sled, yelling and waving for someone to catch it.

About one third of the way down...

We found it a pretty good way down the slope stuck in a snowbank. I have to interject here that part of the challenge of navigating this absurdity was that we were laughing so hard that we could hardly breathe. Between rolling off the sled, watching Anita and Sarah crash and splash, trying to keep our sled with us at all times, and attempting to keep ourselves alive, we were hysterical. At the base of really steep hills, groups would gather to watch other sledders tumble, roll, and scream their way to the bottom.

At one point in our descent, we came zooming around a curve to see a 10ish girl and her mother standing in the middle of the track. We had no time to steer around them so as we made contact at full speed with the girl and her sled, Anna literally picked her up and set the girl on her lap. The little girl's sled flew into the snowbank and it was probably a good 200 feet before we could stop and let the poor kid off. We managed to figure out about half way down that if Anna and I both dug our heels into the snow as hard as we could we were able to control our speed to a reasonably degree. The only problem with this is that as you dig you heels in, snow flies up in your face and up your pants by the bucketful. Anita and I both pulled huge snowballs out of our pants. The snow would get up there and just roll and churn until it was packed tight as a softball. You got off the sled and it looked like tumors had developed at the base of your calves.

We got to this really steep hill, and Anna and Anita decided that the only prudent thing to do was to walk. That left Sarah and I to go screaming down into the abyss. We finally made it to the bottom and decided that the only acceptable option was to do it again! I wish I had taken pictures of my bruises. They were beauties!

You will have to use your imagination on that one, but here is a picture of Anna's best lump, sustained while running into the back of Sarah and Anita's sled. I can't wait until next year!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

2009-02-14T21:50:00.003+01:00

Last Sunday we got out the old scrabble pieces to try to come up with a cute Valentine's Day Card (read VERY late Christmas card) and things didn't really turn out quite as I had envisioned them. So, there will be no Valentine Cards. However, Matthew got creative in English and French to convey our Valentine wishes to you. So, Happy Valentine's Day!
P.S. Matthew inherited my spelling prowess. Our strengths lie elsewhere...

Look What I Found!

2009-02-09T17:16:00.008+01:00

Ok, so I found Berlin. It was still on my camera. Sarah had posted the previous pictures on the blog for me so I could write at school and I only thought I had downloaded them to my computer. Technology...Teenagers...Slow and shocking brain-decay.

...more on Day 3:

I have been to the 4th of July Celebration on the Mall in DC and I thougth that was crazy. It doesn't even compare with New Years in Berlin. Picture thousands of bundled up, firework weilding, stone drunk, loud speaking Germans lining the street for at least a kilometer, shooting fireworks in every possible direction for 12 straight hours. Apparently there are no restrictions on fireworks in the city and these folks went crazy. We saw several people pushing shopping carts full of either a) empty champagne bottles or b)unbelieveable amounts of explosives. Fortunately we made it back to the apartment unscathed, and by morning, Unter de Linden was returned to it's orderly, stoic self. Wow.

Day 4: So today we revisited the fabulous suprise. We have discovered that the phrase "If you build it, they will come" definitely holds true in Europe. We ventured an hour (again) out of Berlin to the largest indoor tropical paradise in the world--Tropical Island. This place is amazing. It is roughly the size of 8 football fields and is comprised of a full sand beach, a lagoon with waterslides, grottoes, whirlpools, and waterfalls, 5 resturants, a tent village for overnight stays, a kids play section and an extensive spa. We were pretty excited about the spa. Sarah, Benj, and Anna and I eagerly ventured over to the spa side only to find out that participation required nudity. Yikes. Now, the Europeans do not have a problem with this--but my kids and I definitely do. We ended up searching in vain for a sauna that allowed swimsuits while periodically muttering emphatically "Avert! avert! Look left. Old naked man on the right." Talk about bonding experiences. We are only slightly scarred. The human body looks so much better clothed.

Ok, so even clothed bodies can still be shocking. Sarah stalked this guy to get the lovely picture.

Day 5: David, Julia, and I braved the snow and the pre-dawn sleepiness to climb to the top of the Richstag. The building was originally built between 1884 and 1895. It's burning in 1933 sparked the transfer of power that allowed Hitler to build his empire. The building was later rebuilt with a glass dome to symbolize the transparency of government and it's accountability to the people. There are generally monumental lines to get in, so we decided to beat the rush. The view was fabulous and the city looked amazing under the blanket of snow.Overall we would rate Berlin pretty high on the family fun scale.

Then we drove for 9 hours through the snow in our very small minivan. Vacation over...

Middle School

2009-02-04T12:48:00.003+01:00

Iam subbing in the middle school this week and I can emphatically state that middle schoolers are the same all over the world. Race, nationality, language, race, income, or opportunity don't really factor in much with this bunch.

I'll take elementary school any day.

International School

2009-01-21T11:02:00.006+01:00

I have been subbing in the 6th Grade for the past few weeks and I have discovered a few striking differences between the International School and your basic American public school.
Here are a few examples:

Maude and Charlie tease each other in French (not the class, the language).
While researching refugee camps, Karl refers to experiences of his Grandfather in Gaza to illustrate the challenges.
Stuffed red peppers and salmon fillets are served in the Elementary cafeteria.
While brainstorming ideas for a persuasive writing topic, the kids come up with things like "Animal Rights," "Stop Global Warming,"and "Extending the School Day." I was expecting more on the lines of "Less Homework"and "More Recess."
There is a high probability of having two, even three kids named Kazuki in one class.
Kids go outside for recess in the rain.
It is not unusual to see 1st graders dressed in Armani and Dior.
The kids can spend the better part of an hour feverishly working in groups on one complex math problem and love every minute of it.
Nerdy kids blend in really well.
The school buses are not yellow and they have really nice cloth seats.
We come to expect reports such as this: "As part of our ongoing initiative to reduce waste at ISB, we now have five wormeries set up in the ECC. Students in Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2 look after the worms, feeding them leftover food and scraps. The compost produced by the worms is in turn used by the students to grow cress, which is then added when planting bulbs around campus... "
Not everyone in the class can name a Disney movie.
Geography is not an abstract concept.

Now, I am not saying that you can't find these things in the US, because I'm sure you can--especially in a private school. But some days the uniqueness of this experience just hits me. I can't wait to ask our kids in a few years what memories ISB holds for them. I can't quite decide if I want them to grasp the singular nature of it, or just remember it as a place where they were happy and learned more about the world.

Berlin Part 2?

2009-01-20T11:10:00.003+01:00

I have to confess something...

I have lost Berlin. Not the experience or the memories or the fabulous wool shawl that I bought at the Christmas Market in Gendarmenmarkt (thanks Betty and Gordon!). Just the pictures. I have no idea where they are. I try to be marginally organized with my pictures, and I have to say that digital photography has changed my life in good ways. I no longer get angry at my kids for taking 25 closeups of Pokemon cards or a whole slew of pictures of the current episode of American Idol as we are watching it for example. And I create nice little files on the computer to store the pictures in rather than have them slide off the dining room table in reoccurring avalanches waiting to be scrapbooked (not going to happen). So I can't quite figure out what happened to Berlin. I know they are in there somewhere because we have Berlin Part 1. They should be in MyPictures/Brussels 2008/Christmas/Berlin, but strangely, there is no such place. I will keep looking.

I haven't given up on Christmas cards yet either... can I file for an extension?

New Year in Berlin

2009-01-07T21:10:00.007+01:00

Our quest to see as much as possible of Europe continued post-Christmas with a week in the German capitol of Berlin. The drive was long but we had heat! (Long story, but happy ending for those of you familiar with the chilly details) One of David's colleagues offered us her apartment in the most incredible location--formerly East Berlin within walking distance of Museum Island and Alexanderplatz--we couldn't have asked for a better spot.

DAY ONE: Drive for 9 hours. This begs the question: When does the vacation really begin?
DAY TWO: Five hour walking tour of Berlin in sub-zero temperatures.In keeping with our tradition of mostly benign torture, we started the day with a forced march around the historically significant section of Berlin. It was cold, but we were prepared--I think the most prepared sported seven layers. Fortunately the enthusiasm levels increased as we progressed. Here are before and after pictures:Beginning of the tour (Notice the excitement on our faces...)
At the Berlin Wall (The Australian in the back really wanted to be part of our family)

We finished our tour at the Berlin Dom, a gigantic church just around the corner from our apartment. We actually didn't know at the time that we were just around the corner and ended up walking quite a distance in the opposite direction looking for lunch. Oh well...

We did finally find some fabulous bratwurst at the Christmas Market in Gendarmenmarkt. Great Square, great food!

DAY THREE: A Bit of a Mix-up followed by an Insane New Years Eve.So we had this fabulous suprise planned for today and we drove an hour outside Berlin to the fabulous suprise and we were suprised to find that they were holding a special New Years Eve event and it was not open to the general public. Fabulous suprise postponed until Day Four.We did get to see Berliners completely loose their Germanic reserve and go absolutely crazy. The fireworks started at about 4:30 pm and continuted pretty much non stop until about 5am. Even the big kids were a bit wide-eyed at the display.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-01-06T14:33:00.006+01:00

Merry Christmas!

We had an absolutely blissfully lazy first week of break. We slept like teenagers (even those of us who aren't), watched countless Christmas special, baked lots of goodies--some of which made it to other people, and occasionally left the house. Wow, are we good at lazy. NATO closes the Monday before Christmas and doesn't open up again until well after New Years, so David was able to join in the general laziness guilt-free.

Here are some of our favorite things about Christmas:

No School
The general sense of happiness that comes with the season
Opening advent calendars
Making sugar cookies
Christmas Music
Danny Kay and Bing Crosby in blue feathers
Christmas lights
Eating homemade caramel
Nativity scenes
Shopping for those we love
Christmas Cards (Yeah, I know, you haven't seen one from us yet--sorry!)
The smell of Christmas trees
Rearranging Christmas ornaments
Visiting with family and friends
Playing games late at night
Reading Luke 2 on Christmas Eve
Christmas morning in new pajamas--Here we are in ours, plus our new Euro-scarves:

Happy New Year!

We hope yours is safe, healthy, and happy.
We hope ours is too.
XOXO

Matthew in the Spotlight

2008-12-16T23:45:00.004+01:00

Matthew played a duet in the band concert last night. That may not seem remarkable to many of you, but here are a few things you need to know about Matthew: He hates to be in front of people--he has yet to sing with the primary for Mother's Day. He hates to get dressed up. He hates to be the center of attention, unless of course he is talking Pokemon Mystery Dungeon strategy. He is not big on collaboration. He is not much for extra effort.

Now, here are a few things you need to know about last night: He volunteered to play the duet. He wore a white shirt and a tie AND his shoes. He stood at the front of the stage. There were several hundred people in attendance. He played with another person. He bowed.

Wow, that is just about all I can say...wow. I wish I had had my camcorder.

PS: Matthew plays the baritone. He didn't mess up.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-14T20:32:00.004+01:00

Happy Holidays! I have just completed what I hope is the busiest week of the year, and now have a few moments to catch up on recent events. Thanksgiving is the Passey family's favorite holiday. There are several key ingredients to a successful turkey day: No school, lots of food, and lots of people. Traditionally, the no school is a no brainer, but since Belgium is a special case, no school has become an issue. Only Americans and Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving--Belgians celebrate Beer. Consequently, school is in session on Thanksgiving day. Last year I made the kids go half day. What a colossal mistake. I ended up spending an hour of prime cooking time running all over Brussels collecting children. Lest you think I exaggerate here, Sarah had a special off campus service project at the Salvation Army home for "stinky, creepy old men" (her words, not mine) in downtown Brussels and I went around the same statue several times and the wrong way on at least two one-way streets trying to find her. This year I learned my lesson and we all slept in--Heaven. Part One--check.

Part Two--lots of food. That is not a problem. But I must discuss part three so you can truly appreciate part two.

Part Three--lots of people. At home in Texas, family fills this requirement. We haven't had any luck so far in importing relations for our Belgian Thanksgiving, so we have to resort to begging friends to eat with us. This year the begging paid off so here are the details of Part Three--lots of people combined with Part Two--lots of food. Robin and John Keesling with their two boys, Dallin and Pierce, brought three pies, sweet potatoes, and drinks. Alicia and Jean Paul Chausee with their two girls, Giselle and Valarie, brought a turkey, rolls, and three pies. Karen and Tim Forsyth and their son, David, brought green beans, flowers, and two pies. Ilene O'Dwyer and her daughter, Monica, brought brownies. And Reece and his girlfriend Magoscha who is Polish and had never experienced Thanksgiving, brought flowers and a very open mind. I made Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, Grandma Passey's Red Cabbage, Traditional Penrod Cranberry Jello, rolls, and three pies. For those of you math wizzes out there, that equals alot of dessert. Parts Two and Three--check.

The kids worked off their desserts watching movies (surprise, surprise) and we adults had great fun talking traditions, politics, and telling stories on our kids. After everyone left and the dishes were done, the kids declared the day a success. "Not quite the same as family, but pretty fun." High praise from a teenager.

Snow!

2008-11-24T12:01:00.005+01:00

We've got snow! Actually, we had snow...it is all melted now, but what we had made for a great Sunday afternoon. We had Stake Conference yesterday and for our family that means Sunday afternoon naps. When I curled up under my blankets and gazed out the window on my way to blissful slumber there were giant flakes whisping around. When I woke up a few hours later there were several inches on the ground and 5 pair of sopping wet mittens drying on the radiators, with pairs 6, 7, and 8 in use outside. Matthew and Julia ran over to the park and made as much disorder as they possibly could in the pristine blanket there and then headed home to tear up our back yard.

They soon had plenty of company, and although it was bitter cold, the snow was perfect for snowmen and lobbing snowballs at the mother from the second floor terrace (Thank you Matthew!)
I took these picture at about 5:30 pm. It was completely dark and cars were sliding all over the road. By 10:00 this morning, all the snow was gone and the sun was out for a few minutes. It doesn't get much better than that--great play with easy cleanup. Now I just have to get all those mittens put away!

Lombardy and the Lakes

2008-11-19T22:41:00.020+01:00

Travel consumes vast amounts of time, money, and conversation here in Belgium. While buying the most amazing red raspberries in the market last week, I learned all about the vendor's upcoming trip to Dubai, his last year's trip to South Africa, and his thoughts on traveling with a baby--he and his wife are expecting their first child soon. Whenever conversation lags, "What trips do you have planned?" never fails to perk things up. And thanks to school schedules, we have lots of time to explore.

At the beginning of the year, we asked the kids where they would like to go and then wrote as fast as we could as each threw out suggestions that ranged from Paris to Egypt to a Mediterranean cruise. After throwing out the odd balls and completely unrealistic (I don't think we'll make it to China this year) we had a master list of Passey Possibilities.

With October break on the horizon, we decided on Milan and Lake Como for the simple reason that roundtrip airfare for our whole family (seven bodies) came to a grand total of 84 Euros. One of these days I will have to devote a post to the treasure hunting that is European travel planning. We found an adequate apartment on the lake, rented a car, and set out to explore and eat.

We started off in Bergamo, a really great town with an upper city accessed by a funicular railway. The morning was misty and grey, but we found the city strikingly beautiful. There was a great cathedral complex and plenty of gelato. I am constantly amazed by the number and splendor of Churches throughout Europe. Italy must have more churches per capita than any other country.

Lake Como is spectacular. The lake is long and narrow and ringed by tree covered hills and craggy peaks. There are small villages dotting the shore and ferries criss-cross the lake carrying cars and people from village to village. This has been prime real estate for centuries, and there are Villas enough to attest to the wealth and taste of Italian aristocracy. All along the lake you can glimpse terraced gardens with marble statues and hidden alcoves. Many towns are almost completely car-free. The houses are built on the steep slopes of the lake and narrow passages lead from the main street through the maze of dwellings down to the lake. The houses are painted the warm colors of the mediterranian: shades of coral, sienna, and deep, rich, yellow. We hiked up the steep hill on the outskirts of Varenna to the old fortress overlooking the town. Surrounded by olive and cedar trees and encircled by an impressive wall, the castle had its own collection of armor and weapons ready for use. Benjamin cannot resist a good sword or spear and he soon had Julia and Anna outfitted and ready to spar. Anna held her own pretty well, but Julia was a little top heavy and kept wobbling around like a drunk.

By far the favorite activity was finding and sampling the best gelato. There are gelato stands everywhere and we got pretty good at finding the bargains and comparing the quality. Stracciatella and Amarena are the favorites, although I think Matthew sampled every lemon flavor he could find. Gelato and shoes seemed to be the big sellers in Italy. I don't think I have ever seen such delicious boots in my life.

We spent our final day driving through Northern Italy into Switzerland. We love Switzerland. Since we didn't have a set itinerary, we just drove toward anything that looked interesting. We found a ruined church, a small monestery, an impressive waterfall, and St. Moritz, the famous ski town. We got stuck on an unrealistically narrow street, searched far too long for an affordable lunch, and admired the clean, free toilet facilities. We decided that we definitely want return to Switerland. Therein lies the problem with Passey Possibilities--the list just keeps getting longer!

Lille Brocante

2008-10-18T17:29:00.009+02:00

Wherever you turn in Europe, tradition greets you. In the US, we think something that has lasted 60, 70, 80 years is a treasure. Here, traditions have a longer life.

It is no secret that I love old things. Give me a cardboard box in a dim corner, partially obscured by a ratty guitar case and hideous throw pillows, and I see a potential gold mine. I love to dig through decades of random domestic detritus and rise triumphant with a carved jett acorn clinging to its powdery elastic cord, the final three beads of a once treasured bracelet. It's crazy, I know, but it's fun. The fact that I have no idea what I am going to do with that little acorn does not diminish the joy of it's discovery. Just one more difference between David and me...

So, tradition meets treasure in the Lille Braderie. Braderie come from the French " to get rid of," and this market has been a fixture in the French border city of Lille since the middle ages. Tradition has it that the servants and slaves of Lille were allowed one day from dawn to dusk to sell their owner's cast-offs. What started as a daylight second-hand sale has ballooned into what some say is the largest Flea Market in Europe--lasing virtually 48 hours straight--from early Saturday morning until well past midnight on Monday. The center of Lille is closed to traffic and there are thousands of stalls ranging from fine antiques to Indian scarfs, from cheese the size of tractor tires to college kids selling old posters and "paraphenalia."

It is impossible to see everything, as the sale winds up and down the major roads, but spills over into the side streets and back alleys. In some spots it is so crowded that movement actually stops and people are locked in the epitome of European "clumping" tendancies. We were trapped in a solid block of humanity for 15 minutes, while an optimistic but misguided gentleman tried to carry an 19th century gate-leg table over his head against the flow of several thousand serious shoppers. We finally escaped by crawling under tables and squeezing between cargo vans and wrought iron fences.

We saw some beautiful furniture as well as fabulous junk. I came home with three enamel canisters, three bakelite easter egg molds, a WW2 surplus messenger bag for Benjamin, a French writing award pin, a really cool silver something that will be great on a necklace, a WW2 Belgian liberation pin, and several other things that I can't quite remember, but are really fantastic. But my favorite find was the Braderie itself. I have discovered tradition-- and I already know what I'll be doing on the first weekend of September 2009.

Brussels Flower Carpet

2008-10-10T16:44:00.004+02:00

There is always something going on in the Grand Place. We have seen the trappings of concerts, flower markets, weddings, gigantic christmas trees, even a tennis match. However, the most famous Grand Place event is the bi-annual flower carpet. For three days only the square gives up most of it's space to a vast collection of begonia blossoms artfully arranged into a replica of a classic carpet pattern. The kids and I went down on Friday afternoon to watch the garden club members create the 700,000 blossom masterpiece. In just four hours, workers transform an enormous piece of plastic tarp into a replica of a Savonnerie carpet.David and I stopped back by on our way home from Amsterdam to see the finished product. The viewing balcony was closing down so I climbed up on a railing at the end of the Grand Place to take these pictures. It took me a while to get down...people kept handing me their cameras!

Where Did September Go?

2008-10-08T09:47:00.006+02:00

I lost September somewhere between stray homework pages and Cross Country meets. The only proof that it existed at all are the bags under my eyes, the calendar pages that have more black than white, and the gas needle on empty again. I am running off to the next event, but here is a little of what we have been doing! Julia loves on anything she can find. (I have no idea whose dog this is!)

Anna and Sarah dig volleyball after volleyball in Amsterdam, Luxembourg, The Hague, Waterloo...

Benjamin flashes his smile and his eyes in every female direction, and when he has time, runs Cross Country.

Matthew hides out in the car playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and stays as far from the camera as possible.

David travels to Norway and Croatia, and irons lots of shirts.

I get people where they need to go and...well, other fun things too...

Work Permit?

2008-09-05T14:20:00.004+02:00

The US has a reciprocal agreement with the Belgian government. Well, at least one. Spouses of foreign diplomats can be issued a Type C work permit, allowing them to easily and quickly work on the Belgian economy. This sounds like a great plan, and I thought I would put it to the test. After all, I am the spouse of a diplomat as my nifty black passport attests, and as I don't know how long that will last, I thought I might as well take advantage of all the perks I possibly can. What I discovered, however, is that with most administrative policies in Belgium, things are neither quick nor easy.
Here is a brief timeline:
I applied through the US Embassy in October 2007, thinking that I would like to sub at the kid's school during the winter months. By February, after several follow-ups, I had no paperwork. David made a call to the Embassy, and presto, within a week he came home with several official documents in French that appeared to be a work permit. With the winter months about over, and school holidays coming like ocean waves, it was May before I actually spoke to the school. They were pleased to have me sub, and while filling out paperwork with HR, I was told that I probably didn't need the work permit after all but that they would let me know. Fast forward through summer to the week before school starts. The school called to finalize paperwork and discovered that they did need a copy of the permit after all. That is when I discovered that what I had was not in fact a work permit, but a permit to get a work permit. Getting the actual permit required a trip to the Commune-the Belgian equavilent of a city hall--plus a trip to the Ministry for...you guessed it...Work Permits. After two trips to the Commune, a supplimental trip to the Embassy for more paperwork, and one more trip to the Commune, I was ready to face the Ministry. For all you Harry Potter fans out there, there were some startling similarities.
I arrived at the address only to find myself IN the train station. Not exactly what I was expecting. After asking directions to the Permis de Travial, I walked into a waiting room on the order of a public health clinic. After twenty minutes of watching two cute little African boys tackle each other and push every button in the room, my turn finally arrived. I found my way to a back cubicle where a young man, eager for his lunch break, awaited. Here is a synopsis of our conversation, translated for the benefit of all:
Worker Man: May I have your papers?
Me: Excuse me?
WM: May I have your papers?
Me: Oui
WM: Oh, I see you have the wrong papers. These are the old papers. You need the new papers. Here they are.
Me: Thank you. (Try desperately to decifer the French directions and fill out the forms correctly. I don't want to have to come back.)
WM: This permit, it is for co-habitation? (meaning, living together but not married)
Me: No, I am married.
WM: This David Passey, he is Belge, no?
Me: No, he is American.
WM: May I have your Marriage Certificate please.
Me: (??????) I don't have my marriage certificate.
WM: Oh, but you must have a marriage certificate for this permit.
Me: (Pulling out every official document that I have stating I am the wife of David Passey, and I have several--including the permit to get a permit) I don't have my marriage certificate with me, as a matter of fact, it is not even on this continent, but these papers attest that I am married to David Passey.
WM: Oh, this is very bad. Excuse me please.

Worker Man walks to the cubicle next door and has a lengthy discussion in French. Worker man returns with new forms.

WM: Ah, it is clear to me now that you have the wrong papers. You need a Type B Permit. You must start again with new papers.
Me: I was told that I need a Type C Permit.
WM: No, no, you need this other permit.
Me: Excuse me, please.

Ok, at this point I start to panic a little because I know that I need a Type C permit, and I can't argue that point in French. So, I pull out my cell phone and call the Embassy work permit guy for back up.

Me: Hi. This is Beth Passey and I am at the Ministry and they are telling me I need a Type B permit, when I know I need a Type C permit. What should I do?
Work Permit Guy: Who are you?
Me: (repeat)
WPG: Who is your husband?
Me: David Passey
WPG: Just a minute, let me turn on my computer............................................................................
Oh yes, here he is. Yes, you do need a Type C permit.
Me: I explained that to the gentleman, but he insists that I need a Type B permit.
WPG: Ok, ask to speak to Madame Boin. She is familiar with the process.

Me: May I please speak with Madame Boin?
WG: Oh, I am so sorry. She is on holiday for another week.

Me: She is on holiday.
WPG: Ok, ask to speak to Monsier Director.

Me: May I please speak with Monsier Director.
WG: Oh, I am so sorry. He is on holiday as well.

Me: He is on holiday.
WPG: Ok, can you hand this phone to the worker guy.

Me: Could you please speak to this gentleman from my embassy?
WG: In ENGLISH?????
Me: No, in French.
WG: Oh, of course.

At this point, I hand my phone to the worker guy who begins a long and loud conversation in French. In the mean time, another worker has come into the office and called someone on the desk phone and is also speaking loudly in French. I am sitting in the chair wishing I was on holiday and only understanding enough to know that both workers are trying to figure out what on earth to do with the crazy American lady without a marriage certificate.
Finally the visiting worker hangs up the phone and utters the infamous phrase: Ah, this is a speical case. Then the regular worker guy hands me back my phone.

WG: Oh, it is clear to me now that you need a Type C permit. Let me see your papers.
Me: You have my papers.
WG: It is very good that you need a Type C permit. A Type B permit is very hard to get...there are lots of papers.
Me: I am glad too.
WG: May I see your marriage certificate.
Me: (Are you kidding me???) I don't have my marriage certificate.
WG: That is quite alright. I do not need your marriage certificate.
Me: Good.
WG: Oh, I think I have everything I need. You will need to go back to your Commune in several weeks to get your work permit.
Have a nice day.

Ok, so there are several ironies in this story, but the biggest is that I am writing this from a sub job at ISB. I still do not have my work permit, but apparently ISB is completely desperate for subs. When I explained to the secretary that I didn't have my permit yet, she said "That is no problem. You come and work tomorrow, and we will pay you when your permit arrives."
Hhhhhmmmmmmm.

Anniversary in Amsterdam

2008-09-01T08:44:00.010+02:00

For many years we have had two anniversaries: The Anniversary, August 10, the day we were married, and more importantly, The Anniversary (Observed), the day, or weekend, or week, that we actually get to spend a few minutes together rediscovering why we got married in the first place. This year we spent our Anniversary (Observed) in Amsterdam. And we learned alot. We do still love each other, we do still like each other, we don't particularly love Van Gogh, Dutch candy is awful, raw herring has too may bones but a curiously appealing texture, and we are very sheltered. I am ready to start the scantily clad, chain smoking, window sitting, what am I doing with my life?, you do have other options, prostitute rescue mission. Dave, face pointing the other direction, said he would have to sit that one out. There is nothing like crusing a canal at twilight to bring out the romance of a place, and Amsterdam really glows at dusk. The water takes on an almost natural blue tint, contrary to its daily greenish brown, and the house boat inhabitants come out onto their decks to drink, laugh, and ignore the tourists. The houses feel more real, the churches benefit from the misty glow, and the counter-culture are all busy doing their counter-culture thing.

I love the markets in Europe--each city seems to have its own theme and specialty. Amsterdam of course is flowers, and tulips reign supreme. THIS is the place to get tulip bulbs. We also found the flea market (of course) which was an amazing jumble of african masks, indian fabrics, bicycle parts, produce, second hand clothing, counter-culture necessities, bad paintings, bizarre shoes, and general miscellany. David and I stopped to dig through bins of pocketknives and sewing scissors and we both found a treasure.

Rick Steves said that you really must try the raw herring sandwiches, and being of generally obedient natures, we did. Besides, we had a coupon. So now we can say we did it and we got a pretty healthy dose of Omega-3 in the bargin.

First Day of School

2008-08-31T22:27:00.004+02:00

Back to School!

We are all ready and the bus is coming. The summer has flown and it is time to get serious. The kids left nervous but came home happy. Everyone likes their teachers (mostly) and is ready for the fun and challenge of a new year. Both Anna and Sarah are playing Volleyball--Anna on the Middle School team and Sarah as a starter on Varsity. Benjamin is running cross country but would really like to be playing football. Matthew and Julia are eagerly awaiting sign-ups for after school rock climbing, and Beth is getting reacquainted with Brussels traffic. Classes are harder this year with loads of homework--even on Friday! I love this time of year!!!!!