Love It, Hate It, Miss It - Part 2

Second in a running series answering the questions, what do I love about living here, what do I hate or dislike and what do I miss. Here are some more of my reflections:

Love It

Fewer material needs: As a result of several factors we really don’t buy material “stuff” anymore, and I like it. Obviously because we are only here for a limited time we don’t really want to accumulate a lot of stuff that we have to worry about shipping home, or selling before we leave. We don’t want to spend a lot of money on the perfect silverware, or cookware when we are only going to be here for a short while in the grand scheme of things. But it’s not just that. I think in general the Belgians are more about traveling, eating good, drinking well, then about buying stuff. It’s interesting how you can spend your money when you don't want to make purchases at Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, William Sonoma. We have a storage unit full of that stuff back home, and I really don’t miss any of it. It will be interesting to see when we return home if we carry on with the simpler lifestyle we have here.

Home Cooked Meals: I get tons of questions about what do I do with my time, and maybe a some point I’ll do a blog about my daily routine, but one of my favorite things is getting to cook nice dinners. I’ve always loved cooking but always hated doing it when I got home from work. For some reason after sitting in the car for 45 min in traffic I just didn’t feel like cooking. Plus we had sooo many great restaurants back home that it was easy to eat out and not eat “fast food”. The hardest part of cooking here is actually related to the section above. I don’t want to buy every food gadget while living here, so I don’t have a food processor or blender, hell we don’t even have a microwave. So most of the things I cook are not that complicated, but its fun nonetheless. We’ve gone from eating out sometimes three nights a week to maybe once every week and a half. The financial savings of eating in has been hugely significant which gives a lot more money to put towards travel. I’m always looking for fun new recipes so please send me any of your favorites.

Hate It

Like Individuals but Hate People: I think of myself as a fairly upbeat, happy person but I am finding myself so angry at times with PEOPLE. I think this was true at home but for some reason when you travel you are surrounded by People and the situations just seem to be more profound. I guess it’s similar to road rage where you are not longer dealing with individuals but faceless, inconsiderate, rude, obnoxious People. I still believe that most individuals are good, and well intentioned, but for some reason when you ask them to stand in line, or follow structure and rules all hell breaks lose. So many times now (truly more that I can count) we have been shoved in line, cut in front of, ignored, pushed out of the way for seats, dangerously cut off on the road. It gets hard to be patient when people are so outright rude and thoughtless. At first you wonder if it’s the Belgians, and then we go to France, Italy, and London and it happens there as well. And then you go somewhere with American tourists and for sure they are just as bad. Our friends here have had strikingly similar experiences, and the story telling includes the same level of rage that can only come from being so disappointed in people. On a happier note though we continue to experience wonderful kindness from individuals we meet. We have been truly blessed with incredible neighbors who continue to be helpful as we get settled here. I only hope our experiences here continue to introduce us to wonderful individuals and limit our time with masses of people.

March of the Snails: I actually think this is one of Keith’s “Love It” but I hate it. Whenever it rains, and it rains a lot, hundreds of snails emerge on the sidewalks. So whenever we take Bailey for walks during or right after it rains we are surrounded by snails and slugs! To Keith’s point, the snails have these really beautiful shells, with amazing colors. BUT they are not always in their shells and so easy to step on. Seriously why is there a bug/insect/whatever it is, that looks like moving mucus!!! Icky!

Miss It

Pumpkin: It is really great to have Bailey here with us; she keeps me company while Keith is at work. But we both really miss our cat Pumpkin. I think he is really happy at my parents house, so much to explore than there was in our condo, and even a yard to play in. I don’t regret not bringing him; he’s had a fairly traumatic life already that I think it was best to leave him behind in happy home. It’s just tough not having him around, and I really think Bailey misses him more than we do.

Mexican Food: Overall the food here is really good, Keith and I have been very impressed so far. They have some really fantastic Italian food; I am truly going to miss the pizza when we move home. The Chinese food is really not that great but it will do when you have a craving, but sadly no Mexican food. We make fajitas at home sometimes but it’s just not the same. They really don’t sell too many of the ingredients for me to make stuff at home either. It’s just a bummer, I miss Mexican food.