Funny email

I recently got an email from a teacher friend with a great sense of humor. She asked 20 questions which I will answer in this blog post. It turns out a lot of my friends have questions about how we're adjusting, how we live and what we eat. We don't live in Siberia, but we do live in a place that doesn't compare to Greenwood, Indiana in any way.

Below is Christi's email printed with her permission. Christi's questions are in black and my answers are in red. Thanks Christi for being a good sport and letting me use your questions!

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I hope you have had a wonderful bday! It's probably over by now. I have been reading your blog. I'll bet that flower carpet was just gorgeous. I'll play 20 questions:
1. Did it smell wonderful? WOW! Actually it didn't smell like flowers at all. It was made completely of begonias and they don't have an overpowering scent. However, we could smell the following: beer, body odor, Greek food, Italian food, French fries and waffles.
2. So...what color of speedo did Bob get? Bob refuses to even think about wearing a Speedo. Although if he does, Ron and Kara sent us a great website that sells Speedos with the American flag printed on the front AND back. Cute.
3. Are there any golf courses around you? Yes. There is one in my town and 2 more very close by. Whenever I meet someone I ask if they play. Bob and I have our clubs with us so hopefully we will get to try out the course. Are you free next Tuesday? I could round up a foursome!
4. Why don't you have a dryer? This is a very long story, but you asked so I will tell. If you already know about the issue with our dryer, now would be a good time to get a cup of coffee. Bob did lots of research and found that we could bring a huge American washer and dryer with us to Belgium. He found that the dryer might not have its timing device, but we would still be able to use it if we changed the plug when we got here. This was a great idea since washers and dryers are much smaller in Europe and cost much more than what they cost in the US. With the use of a transformer, my huge washing machine works great. Unfortunately even an electrician and the Bosch manufacturer have not been able to figure out how to make an American dryer with American wiring work in a house with European wiring. So...I wash the clothes in the washer and dry them outside on a huge tree-like drying contraption. Bob thinks this is kind of funny and enjoys telling people my laundry saga. My friend Becci has called me a pioneer. My mom feels sorry for me. The entire family is under strict orders to only put things in the wash that are really dirty. No more can you try something on in the morning and just throw it in the laundry basket to let mom worry about. Once you're dressed for the day, that's it. I don't care if the temperature fluctuates 40 degrees, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE ANOTHER OUTFIT DIRTY! Did I mention the weather in Belgium is not very sunny and it rains every day? This makes hanging clothes outside on the clothesline even harder. If you haven't felt a tinge of compassion for me already, you should feel sorry for me now.
5. Are you satisfied with the paint color of the house? The house is a light red brick with navy shutters. Inside most of the rooms are white with a few accents of taupe or brown here and there. All of the bathrooms are either grey or light brown. My kitchen has cream cabinets and brown square tiles from floor to ceiling. I know that sounds odd, but it is actually very pretty. The house is brand new and has lots of closets which is odd for Europe. Maria sleeps on the third floor and the rest of us sleep on the 2nd. The first floor has the normal stuff including an office for Bob. The basement has a huge garage, a wine room (yeah) and a room for the maid with a separate entrance. Too bad we don't have one because she could help me hang out the clothes on the clothesline!
6. Have the girls started school? They finally start school tomorrow. Leah and Jenn have a male teacher for the first time and will also be in the orchestra.
7. What are their hours of school? School starts at 8:45 and ends at 3:35. The bus picks them up in front of our house and drops them off there too. Originally we thought they would be picked up at the bakery at the end of our street, but now the bus will come all the way to our house. They have a 30 minute bus ride both ways.
8. Have they kind of settled in? We have been here for over 4 weeks and they are doing quite well. We have found the pool and the amusement park. Last week they went to multisport camp at their school and got acquainted with the grounds and some of the kids.
9. How's the food? Expensive to eat out but cheap at the grocery store. Outdoor markets and fresh produce are everywhere. If you stick to the local food, you're fine. If you want to buy American type stuff, it is impossible. For example, pancake syrup is on the shelf but it is 10euros a bottle. Eventually we will find the things that are similar to the foods we like and then shopping won't be such a challange. I should take pictures of the grocery store. The chip aisle is very small and the butter/cheese aisle is enormous.
10. What is a favorite of the family to eat? You can buy waffles on the street and they are delicious. But our favorite are the french fries. Belgium claims to have invented them. They are fried twice and served in a handheld large paper cone with mayonaise on top. Of course chocolate is everywhere and very rich and delicious.
11. Do you eat in or out more? Eating out is very expensive although we have sampled some places in our town. We have McDonald's which is good but not the same as the ones in the US. We had great Chinese and Japanese plus some not so great Mexican. There is a pizza parlor down the street that serves very thin individual pizzas. It is customary here to only order what you will eat. You never see anyone with a "doggy bag".
12. Does Bob like his job there? He won't admit it but he loves it.
13. Does he have to travel as much? He still works out of the house one day per week and goes to the office one day. The other 3 are usually traveling. He was in the US last week and brought us back the things we were missing like microwave popcorn, stove top stuffing and magazines in English.
14. Did ALL of your things come safely? No. My dining room table has the imprint of bubble wrap all over the top of it. It looks kind of artistic. My brand new drapes from JCPenney are still sitting in customs.
15. Why did the frenchmen laugh at you while getting gas? It is customary for frenchmen to laugh at American women and ridicule us. I'm just kidding. I asked him to help me figure out how to pay for my gas. It is complicated the first time you do it. He laughed at me and told me they didn't sell gas and I should go to the station up the street. I did this, while he and his partner were continueing to laugh, and found that the station up the street was no longer in business. I turned around and passed his station again and he was still laughing and pointing. Maybe I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe or something.
16. Why did my font suddenly change when I didn't do anything? I don't know but I didn't want to erase one of your questions.
17. Do you miss teaching? Yes. I had to hold my arm down this morning during elementary school orientation so I wouldn't volunteer for every position available.
18. Would you like to have my class that has a chair thrower, chair kicker, and desk pusher in it? No. Been there done that.
19. How are you feeling, how is your health? Thanks for asking. I feel ok. When my head hurts really badly I know what to do. I have great medicine which I have to take religiously. Most of my problems occur when I forget to take the medicine.
20. Will you email me back with answers? Is a post on my blog visible for anyone in the world good enough?