Finally back home again in Indaina

We are finally home in Indiana. The twins have watched a marathon of Disney and Nic shows, Maria has visited with tons of friends already and we have had plenty of fast food.

Although we got here a day late, we are still happy to see the old house. We now have a great travel story to add to all our others. Let me just say, without Bob and his knowledge of airports and air travel in general, we may still be stuck in Newark, NJ!

More visiting today along with Doctor appointments and dance classes for all the girls. It is great to be home but Leah mentioned she feels like a foreigner in both countries~!

Delay

We should be on an airplane right now traveling to Newark then Indianapolis. Our flight has been delayed and won't leave for seven more hours. We will miss our connecting flight and will have to spend the night in Newark. (Oh Boy!)

All of our plans will just be pushed forward one day. These things happen! Good things come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. Time is a state of mind. ..Blah Blah Blah

Starbucks

My friend Jill sent me this very interesting and cool article about Starbucks. You have to read it to see the correlation between the declining economy and the amount of Starbucks locations a country has.



http://www.newsweek.com/id/164878/page/1



Don't worry. I plan on frequenting each and every one of the 6 Starbucks locations near my house when I go home next week. Don't ever say I didn't contribute to the growth of the economy. "One venti Cafe Americano with 2 Equals please"

Back Home Again in Indiana

We are starting to sing the song "Back Home Again in Indiana". All of us have different things we can't wait to do or taste when we get back to the US next week. Here is my list of the most important things I want to do when we get home next week:

Visit with friends(of course this includes family too!)

Drink Starbucks coffee

Visit with friends

Eat Taco Bell

Visit with friends

Shop at Target

Visit with friends

Drive thru any establishment

Visit with friends

Go out for breakfast

Visit with friends

Read anything in English

Visit with friends

Go ahead and leave a comment if you want to add to our list of activities!

Saturday

Maria is off today to watch the last high school football game against SHAPE at the military base. She took actual American $ to buy Starbucks, Taco Bell and maybe even Burger King. If she has the opportunity, she might even be able to pick up a package of English muffins for me!

We have met some very kind and wonderful people here in Belgium. Our school environment is one that welcomes the newcomers, appreciates the seasoned dwellers and understands when yet another family moves away. I don't know what we would have done without Jill, Alle, Jenna, Stephan and Andy. They welcomed us and have made our lives so much easier with good advice, directions to the store that sells Cheerios and most of all, great friendship.

When I go back to the United States I will remember what it feels like to be lost and confused and hopefully be considerate of others in similar situations. Does the feeling of being a foreigner ever decrease? Truthfully, I hope it doesn't. I have learned to appreciate my homeland so much more now that I am away. But I have also learned to appreciate another country and its culture which is so different from my own.

With the holidays approaching I am sure we will see a side to celebrations which we didn't know existed. Our first real shock came when we realized the kids have school on Thanksgiving day. With the time difference, maybe we will be able to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after school and football games during dinner.

Weekend note: No travels this weekend. We were too busy playing Wii!!!!!!

Leah and Jennifer on their 11th birthday.
Jennifer
Leah
Their reaction was priceless! Jennifer and Leah were so excited when they opened the Wii!!

Dryer News

I have a dryer!!!
Finally, after 2 long months of drying clothes outside, my American dryer has been hooked up here in Europe. This is even better than the day we finally got TV!

Bob's birthday was Friday. I'm not sure if I should tell you his age, but he is two years older than me and I am 45. :) No secrets! The twins turn 11 on Wednesday. There is lots of cake at our house right now. We may celebrate with a trip over the weekend, but it's still in the planning stages. Check back later in the week...

National Debt

I have received many many emails about the public urinating on our street. Some were funny and others were informative. No matter what kind of email you sent, it was great to hear from you!!

I have a little more to add to the same topic. Some of you may already know this, but in many parts of the larger European cities you have to pay to go to the bathroom. On the highway it's in the form of a coin operated turn style. At some restaurants and gas stations there is an attendant sitting at a little table waiting for your payment. And at the mall the attendant has her own reception desk! In most cases the fee is around 30-45 euro cents and the facilities are usually clean. I will assume the men using our street as a urinal are trying to avoid the fee to use the restroom.

It is this idea of paying to use a public restroom that brings me to the plan of erasing the National Debt in the US. If we could just start charging $.50, the equivalent of 30 euro cents, to use all bathrooms then I think we could really make a dent in the debt the US has accumulated. Of course then my American friends might start to experience the same public urination problems that I have on my street.

You know I am just kidding but every little bit could help!!!

The Funnies

Mom sent me this cartoon. You will have to double click on it to make it bigger. Of course, Maria is the blond haired kid and I am the mom.

The most popular house on the street...

The street in front of my house has become very popular lately. There are two reasons for its popularity. The first is very odd and I have wondered and wondered how to put our observations into words. To put it bluntly, the trees across the street have become the gathering place for public urinating. I am not kidding. Men drive down our street, stop their cars and pee. On more than one occasion, the girls have said, "Mom they're doing it again." This isn't a problem that is exclusive to my street. You can see men peeing on the side of the highway, on a back street and even on the street in the city. Word must have gotten out that our neck of the woods is the place to go when you have to go!

The other reason for my street's popularity has to do with the picture above. Many of my neighbors have been stopping in front of my house and collecting the prickly prizes holding the almighty chestnut. Roasting chestnuts smell great but taste awful. I think it must be an acquired taste. Between the squirrels and the collectors, they should all be gone in the next week or two. Maybe the trees bear so much fruit because they have been extra fertilized!

Wii

Bob is a great dad! He just stood in line for 40 minutes outside Target in Greenwood to get a Wii for the twins. He was the first in line of quite a few people waiting to buy the toy. Leah and Jennifer's birthday is next week so don't tell them!!! Thanks Bob!

Laundry

Still don't have a dryer.................

I just watched a repeat of an old Martha Stewart episode. They had a contest to see who could hang laundry on a clothesline the fastest. I would totally win!!!! Both of the contestants had very poor technique and speed. The winner actually won a car. I would settle for a working dryer as my prize!

Homecoming

Today we celebrated Homecoming at ISB. Although there were no floats and no alumni, there was plenty of fun. The cool thing that the school did was have ALL of the other sports also participating at the same time. Soccer, tennis, volleyball and cross country all had matches, games or races with schools from Paris, Germany and Belgium. The boys cross country runners ended right in front of the home stands just minutes before the football game started. Lots of school spirit, chili dogs and real American food(candy and soda from the army base). The only thing missing was the Homecoming Bonfire. Maybe the Biasi family will be in charge of that next year.

I have some very negative things to post about the place I live but I should really put that off until another day. The sun is out and it's a great day to enjoy Europe and all it has to offer!

Chocolate Shopping

Tuesday was my lucky day. I was taken to the secret location of the Neuhaus Chocolate outlet. It's not really a secret, but it isn't exactly easy to find. I had a great time and got to sample the newest chocolates along with the old standbys available in the stores. This place was full of bargains and I came home with enough chocolate to share with all our friends when we come back in October.

I also made my first trip to IKEA. What a cool place!!! We had a Swedish lunch and shopped for bargains. I had no idea it was so large and so close to my house. There is no school tomorrow or Friday so the girls and I are going back.

Today was my first day as a volunteer at the International Community Center. I am one of 5 people teaching English to kids from the Belgium public schools. They are bused to the ICC and take a class on Wednesday afternoons in hopes to build their skills in English. The local kids don't have school on Wednesday afternoons and they fill their time with extra curricular activities such as language, music or sports. I really enjoyed working with the kids and trying to communicate. I know exactly how they feel. They are trying to learn my language and for the past two months I have been trying to learn theirs. The class is going to be fun. I worked with 10 year olds today but next week I will be assigned the 14 year olds. They are a little more advanced and I have decided we will read some Roald Dahl poetry, one of my favorite authors.

All in all, it's been a great week so far...even though I still don't have a dryer!