My teeny tiny room in the family's house in Brussels! Check my Facebook for more pictures.I should really just write a few separate paragraphs about the chaos that has occurred in the last two days....
*Yesterday, Jo and I went into the city of Leuven near her house and walked ALL DAY. We went window shopping, had a WONDERFUL lunch, took pictures, had some delicious ice cream, and were probably out and about for six hours. It was beautiful weather, and we had a lot of fun. I was SO tired by the time we came home, though.
*I thought Jo and I were just coming to meet the family in Brussels yesterday evening and have dinner with them; I thought I was coming back to Jo's house for the night and moving in with the family today (Friday.)
....I was wrong.
Jo came into my room as I was putting my makeup on and said "oh, no- you're not packed yet! We have to leave soon!" and I said "I thought I was coming back to your house tonight! Why do I need to pack?" And she said "no.... I'm leaving you at their house tonight!!"
ummmmmmmmmmm.... okay!
So I was kind of thrown more headfirst into this thing than I thought I would be! haha.
We got to the family's house in Brussels around 7:30 p.m., met the children, had dinner, the parents put the kids to bed, we talked for a bit longer, Jo left, and I got settled into my room and went to sleep.
I thought THAT was a hectic day....
*Today, I woke up around 10:30, and was supposed to go have lunch with the dad- Gaetan (pronounced ga-EEY-tohn. Kinda like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, but different.) The mom (Marie,) goes to work early and drops the kids off at school on her way, so Gaetan and I were alone in the house for the morning. He works downstairs, though, so I didn't see him at all when I woke up. He didn't hear me moving around, though, so he didn't think to knock on my door and get me for lunch- he thought I was still asleep.
So I missed out on lunch because of our misunderstanding. I was very hungry today.
Gaetan left me a note on the door saying he would be back by 3 to get me and we would go get the children, so I decided to go out into the city of Brussels and explore for a little bit while I waited. I have a key to the house, so I figured I'd be all set.
..Wrong.
I took one step out the door, and was hit with SO much fear, it wasn't even funny. I realized I had no money, I don't speak the language AT ALL, and I had no idea where I was going.
I decided to suck it up and go on my way anyway, but when I turned around to close the door, I realized I didn't know how. There's no handle on the outside of the front door, and it doesn't close on its own, so I had no idea how to pull it shut.
So I decided to go back inside and wait for Gaetan to come back home instead of breaking their front door in the process of figuring out how to work it!
Gaetan came home to get me, and we left to go pick up the three oldest children in the family car. We drove for quite a while, and when we pulled up in front of the school, Gaetan mentioned the I would need to learn the way so that when I go alone to pick up the kids, I'll know how to get to the school. Like it was no big deal.
....didn't know I'd ever be going alone!!!!!
haha- more of this headfirst business, it seems.
We got the kids, went back home, and then Gaetan asked me if it would be okay if I took the children to go get ice cream.
I said yes.
....
A. I don't know how to get ANYWHERE in this city- let alone to an ice cream shop!
B. I don't speak French at ALL.
C. The kids don't speak English at ALL.
D. I don't know how to use the currency well enough yet to buy ice cream!
So I was terrified, but set off with the three kids to go get ice cream- they knew the way, so that wasn't a problem. And the ice cream was REALLY good- I got sorbet, and it was delicious.
After ice cream, we went back to the house and I showed the kids some of my music and they showed me some videos on YouTube- they LOVE the Black Eyed Peas. And they listen to them in English- it was really cute to listen to them singing along in English when they can't speak English at all!
Gaetan came up from working and said it was time to go get Marius, who is the baby, from daycare.
So we all set out from the house to go get him, and we walked this time since the daycare is closer and the weather is so nice here.
We got the baby, and as we were leaving, Gaetan hands me the stroller and says the kids want to go to the park, and asked if I'd take them.
....Sure.
So I head off to a park (that I have no idea how to get to) with FOUR children who don't speak English (one of whom can't speak at all,) to do god knows what with them.
We actually had a pretty fun time trying to communicate, though, and the two oldest children are a lot of fun! They want to talk to me and learn from me, too, so we had a ton of fun trying to talk to each other and learn new words.
Once we got home from the park, Marie was back from work and we immediately rushed out the door to dinner. We walked to the restaurant, as well, which was a nice way for me to get to know the city a little better.
Dinner was AMAZING- we went to a pizza place nearby, and I had probably the best pizza I've ever had in my life. It was incredible. Paired with a beer, it was a perfect way to relax.
After dinner, we walked back home instead of touring a little more because the kids were all getting tired, and once we got back, the kids asked their parents to tell me to come give them a goodnight kiss once they were in bed.
The kids are allowed to sleep in the same room on the weekends (which I think is a really cool idea,) so I only had to go to one room to give them all a goodnight kiss before heading back to my own little room.
Tomorrow we leave for the beach for a whole week- I won't have internet access, but I can't wait to write again when I get back about everything I learned while I was gone! I already learned SO MUCH in just one day- I am so excited to learn more!
Sorry this post got so long- but so much has happened in such a short amount of time! I had a little bit of time to write before I pass out- I'm exhausted- so I figured I'd update you all for a minute. I'll post a few pictures of the kids (i forgot my camera when we went to the park, so I took them on my phone and had to take pictures of my phone with my computer so they're kinda bad quality- sorry!) before I go to sleep- hope you're enjoying reading and keeping up with me!
Best from Brussels-
Catherine
Marius ( I can't even type a way for this name to be pronounced.... but it's not like you'd think!) is one, and is SUCH a happy baby! He's learning to smile for pictures, and his smiles are the cutest things ever- he's a lot of fun.
This was just a really sweet picture of Marius and Salome.
Milan is 10, and the oldest kid in the family. He is SUCH a sweetheart, and is so interested in talking to me and teaching me French. He's gonna be so handsome, too! He's such a nice kid.
Salome.. (sah-lo-mAY) is 6, and is the sweetest thing. She loves art and music, and is so excited about trying to communicate with me! She's definitely gonna be my best friend.
