Spring's here.

Spring has arrived in Antwerp and the rest of Northern Europe. The trees are blooming (a street near the Museum in Antwerp) and people are out any minute they can spare to soak up the first warmth. This is a wonderful time of the year here as everyone is happy that the winter is finally over and the sun-craving Northern-Europeans nearly sacrifice themselves to the Sun god. This picture is just one of many I could have taken, this one in Breda and not in Antwerp though, since we happened to be in this Dutch town when the first sun came down on us all. All the restaurants throw open their doors and put tables outside. Their cozy innards of winter now remain desolate and dark. No one wants to sit inside any more. Antwerp is now far more pleasant than when we arrived a few months ago.

I actually counted the months on my fingers yesterday. Has it really ONLY been three months? It feels like six. Austin seems so incredibly far away. I try to think of our house there, the streets, our habitual places... I have barely even thought of Tex-Mex food! I've been too busy, too preoccupied. I guess that's both good and bad. We are still in the apartment, and will sign on for another month. We are tired of it. Tired of the street, the place, the furniture, the bed most of all! I have certainly learned the importance of a good bed.

Work on the house is still moving along, not as steadily as I would like to see it, but it's moving. They have sanded the old floors and they are looking pretty good now. They are lighter than we thought they would be, but we like it. This week the painter is checking in to see how dry the walls are, which should tell us when he can start painting. That will be exciting! And on May 9th the kitchen will be installed. Pictures of that will follow. I am hoping that the last structural job will be completed this week as well. Robert and I have changed our mind about the glass floor/ceiling in between the ground and first floor. We have decided to put in standard wooden floors and leave a small opening to connect the two floors. The glass would have taken away too much floor space on the first floor. So that framework still needs to be put in. When that is done, it is only finishing everything off. I am so ready to get to that stage...


And meanwhile life goes on. Evelina is doing really well in day care and beyond. She is well on her way to be a "big girl" and "grote meid" without diapers. She is very happy to be free of those bulky things. And, she has a boy friend. A tat earlier than we expected, but the paparazzi shots proof that it is indeed so. They were spotted this sunday at the Zoo. His name is Lucca, he's a few years older than she is and is bilingual as well. We will keep you posted on how this goes. Lucca is leaving on vacation this week as there are several holidays coming up in Belgium. I guess time will tell whether he will prefer Spanish girls or not.


One other tid-bit of news. I have been teaching English through the University's Institute for Language and Communication. I am teaching English levels 1 and 2. It is a very diverse group of students, from Japan, Russia, Belarus, Georgia (not the state of course ...), Poland, Congo, several Latin American countries, and Spain. No, no Belgians. Teaching this beginner's level is a challenging job, especially since all of the students are at a different level in understanding and speaking. It is not a job I applied for, and not what I ultimately want to be doing, but once I am in the class, I have fun. I have enjoyed meeting all these people. Several of them have already taken the Dutch courses and are quite fluent in Dutch, so to get to know each other I break the rules and allow them to speak Dutch-English to me during the break since several cannot yet express themselves with English alone. These people have interesting stories. Belgium is not the Belgium we left 15 years ago. On the streets we hear more Russian and Polish than ever, Arabic too is very prominent, depending on the neighborhood. We used to hear the Antwerp dialect. I am not surprised that the Flemish Nationalist Party has its head-quarters in Antwerp (this does not imply that I agree with what they stand for.) I do think the world is becoming smaller.... but even so, my (past?) life in the US seems so very far away.

We'll keep you posted, lots of love from Antwerp.

Happy Birthday to Evelina!

Yes, our little one turned 2 last Saturday. Check back to the entry I posted last year for her birthday to see how she has changed. Wow. The baby is all gone. She has become a little girl (although she prefers to say "big girl.") I had wanted to be able to celebrate

Evelina's birthday in our new house and make it a housewarming party as well, but that of course did not happen. Maybe for the better I did not plan anything big, because little Evelina got sick on Thursday and was still having fever on Saturday. Because she was sick Thursday night we kept her home from day care on Friday since we did not know what condition she would be in during the day. She was quite well luckily, so we took advantage of that and the nice day to make our first trip to the Antwerp Zoo. Evelina loved it and we will be going back regularly. Now I am not all together a proponent of animals in captivity but I also realize that in this complex world where animal extinction reigns there is no place for unrealistic ideals regarding animals living in the wild only. So I tried to share the wonder of seeing all these various critters with my daughter. The world truly is more beautiful through children's eyes and minds.

The Antwerp Zoo was founded in 1843 and has recently undergone quite some renovations. They are still enlarging it at the moment by constructing a better and larger area for the giraffes. Now, the great but also limiting aspect of the zoo is that is situated right in town. In fact, one day Robert and I were driving around (when on a quest for schools for Evelina) in a previously unexplored part of town when we suddenly at the end of the street saw three giraffes! Now, we know the zoo lies smack in town, but with our heads elsewhere and not completely fully aware of our whereabouts at that moment, this sorta came as a surprise when driving around. But yes, several residents can see the giraffes when looking out of their windows. One side of the zoo lies adjacent to the station with this superb architectural structure recently restored to its full splendor, this causes for some great views from within the zoo.

The zoo is also a great park for the city. Due to its buildings it still provides a turn of the century feeling. Plus, in a city any green is much appreciated. In fact, we bought a membership (courtesy of my father! Thanks!) so that we can go back over and over again without paying each time. Here are some views from that day.











On Saturday of course we had cake and presents. Lina had a great day, despite the fact that she was not entirely well. She is crazy about the birthday songs and candles, so she enjoyed that. Whatever was bugging her caused her not to want to eat, not even the cake, so no pics of Evelina with a chocolate-covered face, alas ... But she was very excited with all of her gifts: a big swing and slide in the garden at Moeke and Baba's and a play kitchen with pots and pans etc. for helping mama and papa in the real kitchen.























On Monday then she was celebrated at day care where they made a crown for her. That too she loved. Attention, attention... And I of course love taking her picture!











I also shot a little video of her. Now, shooting video of Evelina is no small feat because she loves watching herself so much that as soon as I point the camera at her she starts grabbing it and says "Lina see it" over and over. So all of my (very) short videos of her end with a child's hand approaching the lens, a cute but demanding voice and then a blur. So this time I tried to film her while her she was also watching Ratatouille (which she loves.. get the connection? cooking? truly she loves to watch the kitchen scenes! This is promising, no?) So it worked partially, she did not grab the camera, but was also only focussed on my request to sing along for 50%. Can't have it all mama. In any case, we tried. It does not truly capture her excitement for the birthday songs though. But maybe by midweek she had had enough of it too! (Still trying to get this one posted to Blogger--Check back!)


Other news. I accepted a part-time teaching job at the University's Language and Communication Center. I will be teaching English to adults. It is not my first choice of a job, but it is not bad either. The center has a high reputation and I will be on the University's payroll which of course has its benefits. And from experience (I did this in Italy as well) I know that this type of teaching is fun as well. My students will be from all over the world and from many walks of life. So I do look forward to that. Robert on the other hand is starting a course in Dutch. He took the entrance exam and was placed in a high level. So he is looking forward to that as well. He intends to become fully fluent! (Maybe it is the fact that Evelina is already correcting him, ha!)


Keep checking for updates. The house is looking good, and more pics of that project soon. Much love from Antwerpen.