Not So Deep Thoughts

So, today was Grandma’s funeral. M’wee and Mom called and filled me in on the state of things back in the states… madness as expected. Flasks full of Jamesons tipped back at the funeral (with a little poured down the side of the grave for Grandpa), cracking jokes, and lots of hugs, I’m sure. From the sounds of it, everyone is keeping their heads up and handling this like a true Irishman would, with plenty of whiskey, good stories and laughter. Wish I could be there with you guys. Here’s to you Grandma…

::clink clink::

Ok… Things have been pretty quiet in the Gladis/Wolf blogosphere lately, understandably, but I figured now would be the time to get back on track with the writings. Plus, my memory is going in my old age, and I wouldn’t want to forget what I’ve been up to for the last 2 weeks.

Most notably : Belgium – Part 2

I biked my way back up north to spend 10 days with Annelies in her natural habitat. This time, master tour guide Annelies took up the challenge of not only showing me around her lovely city of Ghent, but the entire western part of Belgium. She took me out to the lovely coastal city, Ostend, through which we wandered until the waning of the sun. After which, we took the tram down the coast to Nieuwport, the city in which her parents live. Unfortunately, they were on vacation in Morocco, so I once again dodged the bullet of ‘Meeting The Parents’, which is never as bad as one makes it out to be, but is fun to be melodramatic about.

Seeing as meeting the rents was impossible, we opted to meet the entire extended family instead, or at least whoever was hanging around while we were in the area. I met her lovely aunt and cousins, and again spent time with her Grandfather (who speaks absolutely no English) and her brother and his lady friend.

We spent the day putting around the gorgeous city of Bruges (the Venice of the North)with Annelies’ friend Alexandra. In and around this time, we stole Annelies’ fathers Rover to not only to get to Bruges, but to visit some WWI memorial sites, we even learned some things… I’m sure… ummm.. uh yeah, the Australians kicked some ass on the western front, I’ll tell you.

Not only did I get a chance to visit some fine Flemish cities and meet some of her fine Flemish blood-kin, but I also got to meet every single one of her friends, plus the one’s she hasn’t seen in years n’ years. It was a real pleasure to meet her mates, really. They were all not only really fine and nice people, but great senses of humor and they all spoke magnificent English, so I didn’t end up feeling too out of place.

I have to take this chance to thank them once again for really making an effort to include me when we went out. I was the single outsider, and they all gave up their mother tongue to let me in on the jive they were talking. Granted, there were plenty of times that they went off talking in Dutch or West Flemish, but I would never have complained about that. It definitely made have respect for those who take the time to learn more than just their first language. Some of these people haven’t studied English in years nor lived outside of Belgium, yet their English was fantastic. It was amazing. I’ve lived in Spain for 3 years, and I think that their English is better than my Spanish. And there I was, only able to speak English and Spanish… What an underachiever. J

The nice thing about this outing to Belgium was that it was in between a vacation and popping in for a visit to your friend next door. There were days where we hardly left the house. We slept late, ate a late breakfast, lounged around and watched TV. Then of course there were the days in which we spent more than half of the waking hours on our feet and snapping photos of anything that moved. It was a perfect blend of vacation/relaxing.

And, of course, me being on HER turf, the question of the week being fired at me from friends and family was, “So Paul, when are you coming to live in Belgium?”

Can’t say it had really seriously crossed my mind until then and I’ve actually sat down to think about it some. The new language thing might be tough, and finding a job teaching music might be hard for a non-resident, non-certified, not fluent in Dutch-speaker… but it also has a lot of good things going for it (the beer and French fries.) Granted, staying in Spain or returning back to the US has its own set of fun obstacles to get over, alongside all the pluses.

Whoever said being an American living in Spain dating a Belgian was boring???

Well, that’s about the gist of it. Check out the photos I’ve tossed up onto the Gallery.

Also check out some other new Albums I’ve put up:

ARCO ‘07

Ponferrada - Business Trip

peace