Snow fun at all!

To everyone in Belgium who doesn't like winter, I apologize for the snow and I take full responsibility for it. The snow is all my fault. I shouldn't have shot my mouth off about moving to a 'nicer' climate. But I really hate winter. I hate snow. I hate the...

D.I. Why?

It's 7 am. I open my eyes and try to clear my groggy head. I haven't awoken to an alarm clock radio as I used to in Canada. Instead, there is a 'symphony' of noises — the whir of a cement mixer, the hum of a crane, the pounding of...

Bread, Glorious, Fresh Bread

I wake up with a start and look at the clock. It's 3am. I must have a slice of bread with peanut butter. There is no bread in the house and there are no 24 hour supermarkets here. But I don't despair; I can go to the vending machine around...

And Still More Red Tape Blues

It seems just based on odds alone I could leave the town commune at least once without feeling like I've been beaten. The odds were still against me today. While what I feel like is downing a bottle of red, gorging on chocolate and hiding under my desk, I have...

Pucker Up!

I shift awkwardly from one foot to another. I avoid eye contact. "I had a great time, thank you," I stammer. I never make the first move. Suddenly they lean in. "Oh no, which side are they going for," I ask myself, "and how many times?" It's the first kiss....

A Healthy Surprise

Visiting the doctor is not generally my favorite way to pass the time, but when you have to deal with the medical system in a new country, it can be even more intimidating. I always used to be a pretty healthy person; I never even had the typical kid sicknesses...

The Inevitable Question

"So … what exactly do you do all day?" This is a question I am asked frequently, in one form or another by friends and family, Belgian friends and by fellow expats. However, it's a difficult question to answer, because I understand the implications behind it. In North America, we...

A Necessary Evil

For most expats, air travel is a necessary evil. Over the past few years, I've gotten pretty used to flying and I have no problem with short haul flights. Crossing the Atlantic however, leaves a lot to be desired. I've just returned from the two-week marathon visit to Canada. The...

Still More Red Tape

Some days it feels like Andrew and I are mummified in red tape; and I mean really sticky tape of the Duct Tape variety. It seems that no matter how many hoops we jump through to please the Belgian government officials, there is always one more hoop on the horizon....

Alison Cornford-Matheson