Feasting and Festivities

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to stay "on points" (read: stick to a food plan or a moderate way of eating) when travelling, and especially when its a holiday season? Guess its veggie soup and perrier for the next several weeks: get a load of the oysters I shared with hubby and Bruce at a restaurant last week--the plate of tirumisu at an office dinner M and I went to, and the spread for our own turkey dinner that we had on the 23rd before heading off to Liege for the Christmas eve, 36+ at a sit-down dinner 6 course meal that ended at 1:3o in the morning--and we bailed out before dessert!

Now I don't know about other men in other families, but the men in M's family (and family by association: that would be Bruce, the Cloes' family and many others he's collected over the years) seem to think that the best thing to do when one's tummy is full is to also fill one's lungs...so the local cigar shops wherever we've gone this month have been happy with M's indulgences...M had a pipe in Jean's Pub (private--in his basement and only for himself and his family but as well stocked as any Irish watering hole I've ever visited) and now he's in the garage having a cohiba...yuck.

I will write again with more photos soon...stay posted!

On the job again....I can't wait to get on the job again...

I'm a working woman once again, and have survived one almost full week with grade 5's! They're smart, keen, full of energy, clever, crafty, chaotic, coniving, funny, earnest, fragile and more! They seem like a cast of thousands, but I've only got 22...I think I know them all by first name now and have even met some of the parents (a much more hands-on bunch than my high school near gradutes' parents EVER were!)

Here at St. John's International School, the kids graduate from elementary school at the end of grade 5 and are responsible for an elaborate and very lengthy project at the end of their year. This is the culmination of all their international baccalaureate skill building for the last 5+ years and requires research, oral, visual and performance presentations as well as organized group work, independent work and parent involvement. It's a big deal and the entire school community takes it very seriously. One of my tasks will be to facilitate this and provide students with the fine tuned skills of organization, inquiry and rigor that the international educational system demands. We'll definitely be learning together!

Here's a picture from last year's exhibition to give you an idea how detailed some can make it...the topics this year have to do with international things kids can relate to, such as the diversity of access to healthcare or safety, discrimination based on things they've already experienced, and what peace and conflict really means in their lives. Think of a science fair but for social/world studies/social sciences and you'll be close...

So now this is the last hour before the christmas (and since this is a christian school, we have just finished the decorate-the-tree-baby jesus-star-nativity scene-pagent type of festivity--parents sign consent to the christian mission and values so these assemblies are expected) and the kids are all gone. The teacher I'm replacing is up at the staff meeting being rejoiced by her colleagues, and I'm staying out of the fray to let her have all that limelight...there'll be time enough for me to get to know the rest of the staff when we come back in the new year. I'll be reading furiously to get up to speed with the students' work to date and to what the exhibition is all about. I've met the other team members and it looks like I'll enjoy working here--provided that I can pace myself and transition well in the parents' eyes, the admin's eyes and most importantly, in the children's eyes.

As a last word, my son said this morning, "Mommy, where are you going?" I said, "to work". Malcolm thought about this for a second, then said, "Ooh! Now you can pay all of those bills daddy's been collecting!" I hope it will be much more than a paycheque, but that I'll be feeling capable and competent once again, as a (start the music) "hard workin' gal"!

"Dresche"--a unique Belgian word

We all know the Inuit have (or perhaps before global warming, had) 12 or more words for "snow" since this was such a part of their culture...the first of the season: fluffy, floating, massive irregular flakes was distinguished from miniscule icy crystals that fall out of the air as the temps get so cold the moisture is squeezed out of it like shards from a breaking crystal goblet. Well, the Belgians are no different, in that they have unique words for the weather here, too...Dresche is an exclusively Belgian French word that means the drenching rain one gets that consists of heavy drops that come upon you suddenly. One minute the sky is blue, the next it's positively green and the rain is soaking you to the skivvies. If you've read Matthew's post, you know that we've just broken an almost 2-week straight raining event. If it didn't rain in the morning for taking the kids to school, then it was teeming down at lunch when we were doing errands or misting when we picked them up in the evening. All this when Matthew's parents were here: good thing they're accustomed to this from their 18 month stay in Brussels a few years ago or we'd have been very discouraged on their behalves.

Here are a few pictures of our trip down to the Grand Place and Place Ste Catherine for the Christmas market...it was one of those breaks in the rain that we timed just right--this picture is us looking up at the 1697 tower (10 or so storeys high surrounded by much lower buildings) with blue LED lights chasing up and down, draped to the massive christmas tree in the centre and then to the other buildings of the square...I think I'm saying "Oooooh, that's so pretty!" as we're gawking up. My father in law is in the far left of the scene catching our reaction on video...perhaps he'll send me a clip for me to share with you on this blog.

Here's a second picture of surprisingly good weather--but you can see from this that the air is misty, the clouds are turbulent grey in the distance and surfaces are wet. This is taken from the top of a lovely and modern ferris wheel that is in place for the month of December to celebrate the season. It was unlike anything I'd rode in before: sleek space-shuttle like enclosed gondolas, massive white steel that looked like it could withstand any "dresche" or wind--natural or nuclear. The price was tres chere, but very worth it, as we couldn't have seen these sights or heard the squeals of delight from our children in any other way. Definitely this will be worth watching on Grandpa's video of their holiday! Below us (in the picture) is a skating rink and vendor's shacks that temporarily take over this walking avenue. It was crowded and chaotic, but a great day. (A note: I think if you look into the horizon of this photo you can get an idea of how the tower in Grand Place is so spectacular: towers of churches and ancient civic buildings are the only ones allowed to touch the sky in this area, in order that they stand out and signal to onlookers their great importance.

I'll write again soon about another tower: the bell tower in Brugge: On our brief holiday to the coast, both Matthew and I climbed this tower only to look out and be assaulted with another kind of rain: sleet coming straight at us with a biting wind and temps hovering around zero: this is our winter...ah well, at least it's not SNOW!