Life in Weyers Cave

It is Wednesday morning and David left to catch a 5:30 bus to Brussels to welcome the students as they arrived this morning. The planes get in around 8:30 so after customs and passport checks and luggage problems, I expect them all to be here around 12. David has been having a hard time adjusting to the new time zone and still often stays up until the wee hours of the morning. We have only recently gotten some neighbors in this apartment building and they are very loud! I finally got up at midnight and put in earplugs. The walls are very thing and even though I don't understand Arabic, the loud talking and banging around made it impossible to sleep. They helped a lot. Yesterday we tried to help Seth and Emily (the dorm administrators) prepare for the coming of the students, but all they wanted us to do was wetmop two floors. I felt bad since they had so much work to do -- thirty rooms on four floors to get ready. Scrub bathrooms and fridges, sweep, wetmop, set out towels a...

We are really trying to learn Flemish, but it is tough. There are seventeen (!) different objective personal pronouns - in English there are eight. For example, the word "I" is ik unless there isn't a strong emphasis on the subject of the sentence in which case it is 'k. In the present tense, the verb ends in "t" for the informal you form (jij) unless it is a question in which case you leave the "t" off. And don't even get me started on the articles! We went to church yesterday and it was great. Everyone loved and remembered us and we were happy to be there. We understood a lot of what was going on. Someone translated the Sunday School lesson, but we were on our own for church. That's okay. On the way home, David left before us so he could get home to check the beef stew he had in the slow cooker. He raced up to the bus stop, five minutes before the bus got there. There was an older gentleman with a full beard there. He asked Da...

Something happened to someone in a video store - a young girl with blond hair. Anyway, the ambulance blocked traffic for quite a while, including a tram full of people that couldn't go around because the ambulance was parked on the tracks.  

This was a little kiddie ride. I thought the statues which were big rubber things hanging off sticks, were pretty gross. The kids were having a ball! 

The sign said "look in here". I never did, but David seemed to enjoy it!!! Hmmmmmm 

Indulge me. I thought this little boy climbing among the rocks at the base of the statue was idyllic. There are booths all around pointed outward, so he felt like he was in his own little sanctuary.  

It was Culture Day in downtown Antwerp and lots of people in costume representing various theater companies were all over.  

This human "statue" of Ruebens in front of the cathedral was really well done.  

The trip over was uneventful and we have kept quiet and close to home. It has been wonderful going into the stores to see my old friends. Their faces light up when I see them. They insist it doesn't seem at all like eight months and I agree. Poor Annie says that Belgium is getting worse and worse. She is concerned about all the immigrants who come into the country, live off welfare, and steal her blind. She told of one young man living in a government-paid-for apartment that had the gall to complain there was a drip in his faucet. As she said, "it is my money paying for that apartment while he doesn't even try to work. Why doesn't he just fix it or get a job and pay someone to fix it???" David had given her a picture of me when he was here in May and she says she treasures it. The chocolate shop lady - I never did learn her name - remembered that I at least try to speak Flemish. She made me repeat everything to her in Flemish after she corrected my gramm...

Well, it looks like the time is fast approaching for us to RETURN to Europe. The person who was supposed to be in charge of the Fall 2005 program was unable to do it at the last minute, so we were asked to return. I have very mixed emotions about this. As much as I loved Europe, the one thing I really learned is how much more I love my home in America. But I don't want to go four months away from David, so off we got. This time, Cathryn will be at college so it will be just Dianna going with us, who will homeschool. Also, I will have no "responsibilities" with the students so am "supposed" to just enjoy myself. We are blessed to have found a lovely young lady to watch the home while we are gone. She loves animals so I hope she will enjoy our dog and cat (and gerbil). I have been studying the new students we will have, and wonder if I can ever love a group as much as the last ones. We are schedule to leave next Monday, so I guess it is time to start pac...