Today I volunteered at the girls' school. In all honesty I volunteer practically every single day. I have never been very good at saying "no". Last year I promised to take it easy but somehow I am even busier this year! The only difference is that I am not in charge of anything which is much nicer because I can volunteer in the areas of the school that I really like. Today is Thursday so it is Cantina day where we all work together to provide after school concessions for the kids who stay for sports, music or just for fun. We sell burgers and fries plus teriyaki chicken, mozzarella sandwiches, brownies, muffins and homemade choc chip cookies. Within a 45 minute period we usually sell out of everything bringing in the equivalent of $750! I have no idea how much profit is made, we just have lots of fun.
 |
| These are my volunteer friends! We had so much fun. Daphine is on the left with Denise in the middle and Marja on the right. They laugh and giggle and never ever complain about anything! All three of them are Dutch and would slip in and out of English and Dutch when they spoke.
Denise and I are both moving. She suggested we take a picture so we could remember the fun times we have all shared. We have plenty of pictures of churches, statues and all our travels, but it is the friendships that have really made our years in Brussels so very special.
|
it's so interesting reading your blog because I I had the exact opposite experience living in Belgium.
ReplyDeleteIn Belgium public schools there's no volunteering, no sports, no extracurricular activities whatsoever. There's soccer for boys (outside of school), but no team sports for girls. You pick your kids up at a gate with all the moms smoking their cigarettes and giving you dirty looks. It's awful. I see your picture with everyone smiling so happy and I think of the Belgium moms I saw everyday and it's just not the same.
I wish I could have had your experience as I think it would have made my time there so much more bearable. You actually make it sound like fun! Reading your blog makes me want to move back :) - (not really).
In any event, I'm truly glad your experience has been good.