Camping in Luxembourg

  • June 9, 2009 10:39 AM

A couple weeks ago, Thomas and I went camping with the A-Club in Clervaux, Luxembourg. Clervaux is a cute little town, just over 1000 people, in the Northern part of the country. We camped at a campground at the far end of town – right next to the discobar/public swimming pool where the locals gathered late in the night. Still though, with our tent setup next to a rushing river, I slept like a baby.

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Windy ridge roads in Clervaux

Saturday was a slow morning as we all took advantage of catching up on sleep. After a proper British (camping) tea, we headed off on a hike around the town. Clervaux is in a valley, and we followed the ridge around it, seeing gorgeous views of rolling green hills. For dinner, we headed into town for some schnitzel.  Marshmallows aren’t easy to find around here, so unfortuantely, s’mores weren’t on the menu for this camping trip.

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Lush rolling green hills

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Hiking forest paths

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Stopping to check the map

On Sunday, we headed back into to town to check out The Family of Man photography exhibit. It’s a collection of photos from the 1950s or earlier taken by by 273 photographers in 68 countries. The themes focus on birth, love, job, war, privation, illness, and death. It was fascinating to see how the different photographers captured these themes, but also that these themes are seen all over the world. After lunch, we headed back to Brussels.

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The Camping Group: Thomas, Dallas, Nick, Marta, Laurence, and Sergio

It was great to go camping, though I discovered I was in need of a new sleeping bag. The one I had was built for Atlanta weather, not Belgium/Luxembourg. We had a great time, and if you do make it up that way, I really recommend the photography exhibit.

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Camping breakfast - baguette, hotdog, and cheese slice

If you’d like to see some more photos, I’ve posted them on Flickr:

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

  • June 8, 2009 12:39 PM

Man, those questions you guys gave me a couple posts back…they’re not easy. :) The first one asks what character changes I’ve noticed in myself since moving here.  Great question!

I’m not sure if it shows in my blog, but I’m a Type A person – I like schedules and lists, I’m a rule-follower and worry-wort, and I get stressed if things are not following the plan. However, I had to give those traits up with moving here.  I think I’ve become a lot more easy-going and relaxed.

Part of the change is that in the US, I felt that I had control over my life.  I decided what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it.  Over here, I’ve had to let go a little.  I’m not hopelessly waiting for someone to rescue me, but it’s more of not knowing how things work and not having the language to always move it forward myself right away.

Over here, I can plan an entire day out, only to discover that the tram doesn’t come because it’s a holiday, or there’s a protest.  I’m not as likely to return something at the store, or argue for a discount because of a flaw because I don’t know how to explain myself in French or Dutch.  For 2 months, I used fabric softener rather than detergent on our clothes because I didn’t translate the text on the bottle.  Fortunately, because I have a very flexible schedule, it’s easy to say, “It didn’t work out today – let’s just try again tomorrow.”

In the whole scheme of things, Belgium isn’t that different from the US.  It’s not like we’re living in a place with thatch-roof huts, or water we have to collect ourselves.  But still, everyday has a ton of little differences and with those, little accomplishments – I figured out what sour cream is called, I learned where to buy curtains, I greeted my neighbor in French on the way out of the building. These things are part of the overseas adventure.

So, yes, I think I have changed.  I’ve learned to let go and not be stressed about things I can’t control…well, at least a little bit. :)  I’ve even caught myself telling Thomas to not worry, that we’ll figure it out in time.  It’s the only way I could remain happy while living in a place where I can’t always predict how things work.

It’s hard to review your own character; I wonder if Thomas would say these same things about me from his perspective.

TV in Belgium

  • June 5, 2009 10:28 AM

Great questions on the last post! I have to remember to post more about our day-to-day lives and not just our trips.  Here’s a little about what TV is like here…

Simpsons on Local TV
In Atlanta, we hardly ever watched TV – so much so, that we considered not getting a TV in Belgium.  We liked the idea of a tv-free home, especially when we have kids.  On the otherhand, we thought it might be nice for DVDs, and maybe to learn some French or Dutch.  In the end, we got a TV — a really big one.  I’m not sure why so big but I can only figure that even anti-tv guys (Thomas picked it out) go overboard when getting new toys. :)

I’ve recently been working on a web project and have set up shop on the couch with my laptop.  There is one show that I’ve become hooked on – ER.  I had never seen it before, but now I see why it was popular.  Anyone else here a fan? The afternoon has a whole lineup of American sitcoms (with Dutch subtitles) – Fresh Prince, The Nanny, How I Met Your Mother, 10 Rules to Date My Daughter, Grounded for Life, Life with Jim, Friends, The Simpsons…

We get 40 channels – two are BBC and we get World News in English.  Other than what I listed above, and the occassional American movie, everything else is Dutch or French with Dutch subtitles.  Many of the locals I’ve met said they learned English through TV and movies but I just don’t understand how.  I’ve watched a couple Dutch shows – even kids shows – and I can’t follow enough to keep my interest.

What shows would you miss if you didn’t have a TV?  I’ll admit that I miss Jon and Kate Plus 8 and have to follow the drama through websites now.