Well...it has been almost a full week since we have been in the apartment. While Christian has been slaving away at work; I've been trying to turn this small, smelly, confined place into something liveable! It has been quite a challenge, but we are finally getting there. I will get pictures posted of the new pad once I have things in order!!
Every day here is a new obstacle - our first problem. We shipped all of our home phone Vonage stuff here...it took a little over a week to get it. We finally received it; I was so excited to hook up the phone that I plugged the AC cord into an adaptor and not a converter and within seconds...poof, it went up in smoke and blew the fuse in the house. Two problems...we can't find the fuse box and second...I still don't have a phone. So tomorrow it will be off to the electronic store to pay up the wazoo for a new phone.
So, we go to the store, race home, plug it in (mind you I am all excited) only to figure out that I didn't blow up the phone AC plug, I blew up the Vonage AC plug. Now we are in a dilema...still no phone and where do you buy an AC plug in Belgium; there are no Best Buy's or Circuit City's here. So off to the store again to find something. No luck at store 1, store 2 or even store 3. We pop into this little phone shop and by gosh, he has one that will work!!! So off again to home, plug it in and voila, it works!!! Problem #1 solved!!! Now I can chat will all my loved ones!!
Second obstacle - Since I am now just learning French; I can only say a few things..."girl is running, boy is eating, man is reading" stupid things that I am never going to use. Come on Rosetta Stone, teach me something I can use! Anyways, Christian told me that i should find a grocery store and fill up the fridge since I do this back in Detroit every week - no problem right? While, just so happens that it is pouring all day long; no problem though I have an umbrella. So I venture out to find one...I start walking in one direction for blocks; don't see anything. I keep walking, surely there has to be something down this way. I walk a few more blocks and start to get frustrated since it is raining and I'm hungry. I see a few people on the streets; I walk up to them..."do you speak English?" I get no from two people. So I see a little old lady, "do you speak English?", so replies "little." Great, "where might be a grocery store?" She clearly didn't understand so I keep saying food and acting like I'm eating something. She points down the same direction I am walking and says "on the right!" Perfect, so I keep walking; about three miles later I finally arrive at the store. I get into the store and realize I still don't know French and everything is in French. Seriously, how hard can this be?!
Christian asked me to pick up 2 specific things for him - milk & Cocoa Pops. I get to the cereal isle and oh my gosh, they have Cocoa Pops (although the box does not look the same). I continue on and I realize I am just staring at items trying to figure out what it is...I go to the milk and there are so many of the same jugs. There are different colored labels, just like home, so I buy the blue one...whew, I have what Christian wanted now. I'm so proud of myself for getting a few things to start us off...I go outside and it is still raining. I look down and I have 3 VERY heavy bags in my hands. That means no umbrella and crap...I have about 3 miles to walk. That 3 mile walk in the rain and 3 VERY heavy bags lasted just over an hour because I had to keep stopping and putting the bags down before it took off my arms. I get home; I'm soaking wet, my arms are dead, I'm starving and by this point not a happy camper. I tell Christian, my dad and mum about it and they all suggest I get an old Grandma cart...that will be on the list to find. Later that night Christian goes to have his bowl of cereal; he opens the Cocoa Pops and it is not Cocoa Pops, it is Cocoa Krispes. Such crap. He gets out the milk, opens it and tells me to come into the kitchen. He has this aweful look on his face; "what's wrong?" He tells me to smell the milk and I almost pass out...I didn't buy milk, I bought a butter/sour milk. How the heck was I supposed to know?? Lessoned learn...Christian has to go the store with me so he can read the labels!! :)
Things will get better....
local market to pick up fresh cheese, fruits and vegetables; we decided it would be best given the
surprisingly good weather to go on a picnic at the local park.
would make fun of us for supporting the mighty (pathetic) blue and white. So there we were pond side enjoying our sandwiches of Gouda and Swiss cheese - but with a taste of home courtesy of Nacho
Cheese Doritos.
would make fun of us for supporting the mighty (pathetic) blue and white. So there we were pond side enjoying our sandwiches of Gouda and Swiss cheese - but with a taste of home courtesy of Nacho
Cheese Doritos.
On July 20th, 2008 Lady Meghin Dutchess of Novi and Lord Christian of TERD (Toronto-Elizabethtown-Raleigh-Detroit) set out for the medieval city of Gent located in central Belgium just an hour west of Brussels. Their French horse and carriage (a Renault Scenic which is French for crappy car) traversed the difficult landscape quickly and arrived just before the noon hour to the 
