It feels just like yesterday that the Stoll clan arrived in Belgium. But it hasn't been a few days, it's been a year. Tuesday July 31 we set out on the adventure of a life time and that adventure began the next day when we arrived in Belgium on Wednesday 1 August 2012. So much has transpired in this year that it is impossible to articulate it all here. As I write this, Jess, the boys and I are so excited for what is to come in the next few years. The first year, was without a doubt, a great one! As with any move, there have been challenges, but overall we have had a fantastic year! Here is a snapshot of what has occurred.
Boys: We arrived at our hotel on Chievres (the US Air Force Base) on Wednesday 1 August 2012 very excited, but nervous as heck. For Jess and I this was no big deal, as we were fortunate to do this once already during college with Jess spending a school year and I a half year in Scotland. But this was different. We had two sons to think about. How would they adapt? Would they fall apart on the first day of school and beg to go back to the familiar confines of South City and Our Lady of Sorrows? But that doubt and fear very quickly turned to happinesss and adventure. Instead of saying daddy why do they do that here, we do this, they just went with the flow. Instead of retreating, they forged ahead; making friends from Spain (Colin's best bud, Santiago, who now resides in Den Hague, Netherlands and whom we plan to visit), Turkey, and Hungary, and Britain (Hal and Jeb- two sons of a British Officer I work with and whom Aidan and Colin have taken to quite well) as well as other US kiddos. In school, the boys were blessed to be in separate classrooms and have the two best teachers we could have possibly asked for. Summer and Lori were fantastic and so generous to the boys and to us. They did a great job ensuring Aidan and Colin were able to assimilate here. And on top of that, their school was awarded a very prestigious award by the US Department of Education, placing it in the top 1 percent of all US public schools. We were so happy and a year on, they are very excited to be wise, old third graders.
Jessica: Jess gave up her job and career (at least temorarily) to allow this move to happen and for that I am eternally grateful. That is the definition of a selfless spouse; putting the other person's needs in front of their own. For that I am so very grateful!!! But despite not working, she has kept very busy this past year. First off, she acts as the Stoll family taxi driver. We live so close to work and school (about 2 miles) and because fuel and insurance etc are very expensive here, we have chosen to stay with one car. She begins her days by dropping Aidan and Colin off at school and then driving me down the street to work at 0830. She will then go to the gym for an hour, and then go home and depending on what day it is, either go to bible study or French Lessons. One day a week, she volunteers at the boys school helping out the teachers with things like decorating the bulletin boards or classroom boards with cultural information on each country represented in the classroom (Ali and his family took pictures of the door Jess decorated representing their country Turkey). She then runs errands, takes care of the banking (no easy feat here in Belgium) and does stuff around the house, which is double the size of our former South City Bungalow. At the end of the day, the boys take the bus home at 1545 and she walks to the end of the street to get them and bring them home for snack time and a bit of down time before homework begins. She then comes to pick me up at work a few hours later at 1730 and we come home and make dinner and then do home work with the boys and then clean them up, sit with them for 20 minutes while they read to us and then put them to bed. I'm tired just writing about her day. I wouldn't last a week on this schedule.
Mike: Work is good. I like the job and love the fact that I am able to work with such a smart and international group of men and women. I have learned so much about so many different countries and have made some very good friends. I am looking forward to what the next few years bring in terms of work.
What we miss: There are several things we continue to miss. Obviously our family and friends are at the top of the list, however, with the advent of skype and the fact that our cable/internet/phone bundle enables us to call back to the US for free, we feel very well connected. And on top of that, we were lucky to have Jess' folks come see us for three incredibly fun filled weeks in March/April. We will soon be welcoming Jess' brother and his wife for two weeks in September which we cannot wait for. And then in November my folks will be here for a week to celebrate both Thanksgiving and the boys' ninth birthdays. We are very excited for their visit!
Boys: We arrived at our hotel on Chievres (the US Air Force Base) on Wednesday 1 August 2012 very excited, but nervous as heck. For Jess and I this was no big deal, as we were fortunate to do this once already during college with Jess spending a school year and I a half year in Scotland. But this was different. We had two sons to think about. How would they adapt? Would they fall apart on the first day of school and beg to go back to the familiar confines of South City and Our Lady of Sorrows? But that doubt and fear very quickly turned to happinesss and adventure. Instead of saying daddy why do they do that here, we do this, they just went with the flow. Instead of retreating, they forged ahead; making friends from Spain (Colin's best bud, Santiago, who now resides in Den Hague, Netherlands and whom we plan to visit), Turkey, and Hungary, and Britain (Hal and Jeb- two sons of a British Officer I work with and whom Aidan and Colin have taken to quite well) as well as other US kiddos. In school, the boys were blessed to be in separate classrooms and have the two best teachers we could have possibly asked for. Summer and Lori were fantastic and so generous to the boys and to us. They did a great job ensuring Aidan and Colin were able to assimilate here. And on top of that, their school was awarded a very prestigious award by the US Department of Education, placing it in the top 1 percent of all US public schools. We were so happy and a year on, they are very excited to be wise, old third graders.
Jessica: Jess gave up her job and career (at least temorarily) to allow this move to happen and for that I am eternally grateful. That is the definition of a selfless spouse; putting the other person's needs in front of their own. For that I am so very grateful!!! But despite not working, she has kept very busy this past year. First off, she acts as the Stoll family taxi driver. We live so close to work and school (about 2 miles) and because fuel and insurance etc are very expensive here, we have chosen to stay with one car. She begins her days by dropping Aidan and Colin off at school and then driving me down the street to work at 0830. She will then go to the gym for an hour, and then go home and depending on what day it is, either go to bible study or French Lessons. One day a week, she volunteers at the boys school helping out the teachers with things like decorating the bulletin boards or classroom boards with cultural information on each country represented in the classroom (Ali and his family took pictures of the door Jess decorated representing their country Turkey). She then runs errands, takes care of the banking (no easy feat here in Belgium) and does stuff around the house, which is double the size of our former South City Bungalow. At the end of the day, the boys take the bus home at 1545 and she walks to the end of the street to get them and bring them home for snack time and a bit of down time before homework begins. She then comes to pick me up at work a few hours later at 1730 and we come home and make dinner and then do home work with the boys and then clean them up, sit with them for 20 minutes while they read to us and then put them to bed. I'm tired just writing about her day. I wouldn't last a week on this schedule.
Mike: Work is good. I like the job and love the fact that I am able to work with such a smart and international group of men and women. I have learned so much about so many different countries and have made some very good friends. I am looking forward to what the next few years bring in terms of work.
What we miss: There are several things we continue to miss. Obviously our family and friends are at the top of the list, however, with the advent of skype and the fact that our cable/internet/phone bundle enables us to call back to the US for free, we feel very well connected. And on top of that, we were lucky to have Jess' folks come see us for three incredibly fun filled weeks in March/April. We will soon be welcoming Jess' brother and his wife for two weeks in September which we cannot wait for. And then in November my folks will be here for a week to celebrate both Thanksgiving and the boys' ninth birthdays. We are very excited for their visit!
We miss good Mexican food and sushi. However, while we miss certain foods, we try to not dwell on what we miss too much, but rather what foods we get to enjoy while being here: warm bread from the bakery of our grocery store, fresh croissants, excellent ice cream even if its not Ted Drewes (we have a new favorite shop, George's, aka "The Dragon"), plentiful chocolate and so many beers to drink that you could have a new one everyday of a calendar year and still not have tried them all. And we have fallen in love with French food and wine. Particuarly Provencal. You need to bring a case of breath mints with you to dinner, but it is so worth the strong herbs and garlic. And there is no comparison to the smooth coffee and endless choices of desserts in Paris.
We miss stop signs. In Belgium, we have no stop signs. Priority goes to the person to the right, which in my mind, puts things into the drivers' hands. With a sign, it's clear. Stop!!!! In the absence of an absolute and indisputable direction in the form of a sign, it becomes a bit more subjective and when there is subjectivity, there is room for error.
We miss air conditioning. Everyone thinks that it doesn't get very hot here in central Europe. But it does. And it's not just for a few days per year. Last August, a week or so after we arrived, the temperature hit close to 100 degrees for about a week. And there were a few days after that were in the mid to high 80's. The last several weeks has seen temps in the mid to high 80's as well. While this doesn't sound too bad, especially in comparison to St. Louis summer temps, when there is no AC to be found (other than in one's car) it becomes quite steamy. When it's 85 outside, it's 90 plus in a building. As such, Jess and I have been sleeping in our guest room on the ground floor (our first floor is very warm) with fans blasting each night for the last week.
We miss free restrooms. Unless you are eating at a restaurant, you will find that you better have a roll of coins when traveling because the toilets are not free....especially at train stations, city centers, and even some museums. Typically, the cost is between 0.30 to 0.50 cents per person. Recently, we were eating at a restaurant in Brussels, and this particular place was charging their patrons to use the restroom. That definitely gets old. Most restaurants do not charge if you are eating there, but I guess we happened to find the one that does.
While these things can be minor irritants, we love it here. Even though it has been hot the last week or so, it does cool down each evening so we typically dine outside amidst the wonderful nature in which we live. We have cows and horses and chickens all around us (along with more flies and mosquitos than we care for). For city folk, this is still a novelty. And it is so good for Colin and Aidan. They have so much space to run around and play in which is a huge change from the postage stamp size yard we had in South City.
We have found the French people to be so wonderful. Even those of the Parisian persuasion. The stereotype is such that the French are snobs and rude to Americans and are this and that. In truth, they are very much like mid-westerners. They are friendly and easy to talk to, but they are, at the same time, very proud of their culture. They are on about their third or fourth republic now. They have an astounding history in things like architecture, art, literature, medicine, international affairs, politics, and education. They just feel that if you are in their country, at least make an effort to speak their language and understand their customs. And they don't mind the horrendous French I speak or the improving French Jessica speaks. They just want to see an effort. Not once have we been mocked for our poor pronunciation. As a matter of fact, many times, they either smile and speak slowly to us or put us (particularly me) out of our misery and speak English.
So the main reason we are here (aside from work) is to travel. And travel we did this year. We have been so blessed with this opportunity and we have tried to do our best to take advantage of our proximity to so many great and wonderful places. The boys have decided that the primary souveneir they will get from each trip will be a flag of the country we visit. Currently, they have a flag from Belgium, France, Netherlands, Hungary, and Spain. Each trip has been an enormous lesson in history, art, architecture, and gastronomy. Due to the fact that we are learning the language and are only about 25 minutes from the border, our main destination outside Belgium has been France. We have been to Paris twice, Provence (Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Cassis, Avignon, and Marseille), Lille on several occasions, and Giverny (Monet's home & garden). And we have been all over Belgium. Belgium is a bit overlooked in relation to some of its larger and more glamorous neighbors such as Germany and France, but there is so much beauty and history in this little country. For instance, the first and last engagements of WWI occurred right around the corner from us. Waterloo (Napoleon's last stand) is about 45 minutes away, Bastogne (the Battle of the Bulge) is about 2 hours away and Yipres, with its famous Fields of Flanders, is about an hour away. Add to that the fact that Belgium is home to the EU and NATO, and has more michelin starred restaurants and castles per capita than any other country in Europe and this underrated country packs some big punches.
So as the curtain comes down on our first year and rises on the second, we want to let everyone know we are so thankful for all your thoughts and prayers. It was truly a magical year and we hope the coming years equal this one. We miss everyone, but we are having the time of our lives!!! God bless and keep in touch. We still love receiving good 'ole snail mail if you get the time.
All our love,
Mike, Jess, Colin, and Aidan
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