No, the photo isn’t broken – this is what it looked like. Our meal was served in complete darkness. Only Four Senses is a dining event put on by The Braille League, a blind and visually impaired group in Brussels. The waiters are blind or visually impaired and helped teach us how to navigate ourselves through our meal without sight. It was quite an experience!

When we first arrived, we were offered a drink and spent some time in a dimly-lit room. Our waiter, Nico, came over to meet us and explained that he chose us because he wanted to practice his English. We chatted with him about our time in Belgium and computers. After a little while, he gathered the other two couples he was serving, and had us line up behind him, our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us. He then led us into the dining room, through three curtains, and into complete darkness.

As we sat down, I had some trouble distinguishing if Thomas and I were at a table by ourselves, or with the other couples. I knew I had an empty seat next to me, and figured out that Thomas was across from me, but until I reached over and traced the end of the table, I thought we were all sitting in a circle. Instead, it was a long rectangle table with the 3 couples lined up.

Nico explained that there was a basket of bread between us and our partner and our appetizer was in front of us. He left to get our drinks and let us begin. It was a very odd experience. Without sight, noises are very loud, from the clanging of dishes, to talking to your neighbor. I noticed that though I couldn’t see a thing, I kept my eyes shut and aimed my head downward. I also felt like I was eating like a cow, taking huge bites trying to figure out where my fork was, and leaning way over my plate.

Our first course turned out to be all foods I would have never ordered, but they tasted great. The menu changes each month, so we had no idea what we were having. I focused on the flavors and textures, but nothing was identifiable. I had a bowl with several layers – something sweet, and something else with a tuna fish-like texture. It turned out to be fois gras and smoked duck pate - both things that I said I would never try, but they weren’t bad. :)

Meanwhile, our waiter returned with our drinks. We ordered water and he taught us how to pour our own drinks without spilling. The trick is to put the tip of your finger in your cup so you can feel when you’re at the top. At the end of each course, we worked with our neighbors and passed our dishes to the end of the table.

For the main dish, we were given a very hot bowl with a rich, creamy smell. It was delicious! It turned out to be a Belgian speciality, Waterzooi, which is a creamy chicken stew with carrots, leeks and potatoes. Thomas and I kept identifying to each other the different tastes and textures we found.

For dessert, we were given another bowl with a delicious vanilla cream on top. I thought it was vanilla pudding, until I dug my spoon deeper and discovered a coffee flavor and a crumbly base. It was tiramisu.

The whole meal was fantastic – from the food, to the experience. The waiter sat with us for a while and explained how much vision he had – since birth, he had been able to see some, but details were not there. For example, he said he could identify that I was wearing a necklace in the dimly-lit room because it sparkled, but he could not tell what it looked like. The hardest part for me was when Thomas would be quiet because I felt very alone. I also missed seeing his facial expressions and body language throughout the meal.

If you ever get the chance, I really recommend this experience. The event is held a couple times a month at the St. Hubert Royal Galleries. Actually, it’s underneath it in an old abandoned metro station that is now turned into a museum. You can find more detail at the Only Four Senses website.

The Atomium

Spectators

Nearing the Finish Line

On Monday, the racers left Brussels at the Royal Palace and headed up to Spa. I gave myself plenty of time and had a great spot at the Montgomery round about, but they’re so fast. They pass in just about 20 seconds. Still, I enjoyed watching the crowds, the teams’ cars, and the motorcycle photographers, and I even spotted Lance Armstrong! Afterward, I headed downtown to see the Mannekin Pis in his racing day costume – the first time I’ve ever seen him dressed up.

Photographer on Motorcycle

Racing around Montgomery round about

Mannekin Pis in this Racing Day Costume

If you’d like to see more photos from the race, I’ve posted them on PicasaWeb:

• Tour de France Arrives in Brussels (21 photos)
• Tour de France Leaves Brussels (19 photos)

Flowery Carpet

The weather this past weekend was very un-Belgian and gorgeous. We had bright sunny skies and temperatures around 21C (70F, that’s hot for Brussels!). Thomas and I packed a picnic lunch and headed over to Bois de la Cambre, the large park just a couple blocks away from our apartment.

Strawberries, Baguette, Salami, and Chimey Abbey Cheese

The park was packed!  We live fairly close to a couple Universities, so sunny days always have sunbathing students. There were also lots of families, picnickers, and ball players.  My favorite  was a guy who danced elaborate modern dances for about 3 hours straight – I wish I had a video camera with me.

A packed Bois de la Cambre

We picnicked, soaked up the sun, and then headed home to the shade before we got burned. I was excited to just pull out my sunglasses for once this year. :)

Soaking in the Sun

This weekend really felt like Summer.  We’ve opened all our windows. The sun has started setting around 10pm. We pulled out our Rummikub set and played a couple after-dinner games. And we tried out our new grill (thanks Sarah!). Have you started your Summer yet?

Last week, Thomas went with me to the doctor and we got to see Baguette moving around. Before all this, I had only seen ultrasound photos on the internet, so it never dawned on me that they could show movement. It was amazing! This is the email and photo that Thomas sent afterward to our families. Next time, we’ll try to videotape it.

Today I witnessed the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. I quietly watched as my future offspring was asleep on the Ultrasound unit. It reminded me so much of the fact that at 08:15 on a Monday, it was usual for the mother to be asleep as well. Then the doctor gently prodded Dallas’ stomach with her fingers, and brought the creature to life before my very eyes. It wobbled around on the sonogram, as if to say “Why are you waking me up. It’s not even 8:30 yet”.

It was really quite breathtaking to see as it flailed it’s arms as if to hit the snooze button and pull the cover over it’s head for another 30 minutes of rest. The attached photo is after it rolled over and stared outward toward us. It’s one of the happiest days of my life. — Thomas

This week, on our third wedding anniversary, Thomas and I went to our first prenatal class at the Brussels Childbirth Trust, an English-speaking non-profit providing prenatal classes and children’s groups. Although quite a haul out there, it was a really good class talking about the options for giving birth in Belgium. I really enjoyed meeting other couples that were due within just a couple weeks of me. It was interesting to see some that are just a little further along and are already starting to show.

So, I learned lots of interesting things about giving birth in Belgium, and thought I’d share a few…
(Note: If you’ve given birth in Belgium and I’m confused on something here, please correct me.)

• After a healthy birth, the mother and baby stay in the hospital for a minimum of 5 days. This is mostly so the hospital midwives can check on the baby, mom, and help with any breastfeeding issues. There really is no option for leaving early.
• Like Belgian apartments, hospitals here do not have air conditioning.
• Most hospitals have active rooms, providing exercise balls, large baths, pillows, ability to move around and labor in any position you want. If you request an epidural (very common here) though, you are changed to a traditional room and put in a bed with stirrups.
• Once the baby is born, if it is healthy, it stays with the mother. There are no nurseries in the hospital.
• General Belgian insurance provides a shared room for after delivery. The mother will share with another mother and baby, as well as any guests that come to visit. Husbands cannot stay overnight in these rooms. (Luckily, Thomas’ company gives supplemental insurance providing a private single room.)
• During the birth, the only family member allowed in the delivery room is the father of the baby. There will also be the gynacologist, various midwives, and a physiotherapist cycling through.
• Belgian midwives are different from American midwives. They work for a hospital and tend to the mother during the birth, similar to how a nurse would do. They will switch at shift changes and do not deliver the baby.
• 1-3% Belgians give birth at home with an independent midwife, different from a hospital midwife. If there are complications, she will drive you to the hospital.
• The gynecologist will only arrive for the end of the labor to deliver the baby.
• Gynecologists are linked to a specific hospital, and if you would rather a different hospital, due to location, preferred language, or facilities, you would need to change gynecologists.
• The physiotherapist is available to help with the mother’s pain. Lamaze and Bradley methods are not taught here, but yoga is encouraged and TENS machines (popular in Britain) for electric shock (oww!) can be rented from the BCT.
• General Belgian insurance provides 9 massages and meetings with the physiotherapist. These can be used before or after the baby is born, and more can be prescribed by your gynecologist.
• Circumcisions of baby boys is not typically practiced in Europe.
• Episiotomies (a cut in the muscle between the vagina and the rectum) is very common here for laboring mothers, and in which case, the area will be shaved.
• At the end of your first trimester, the mother must report to her job that she is pregnant, giving her protection on not being fired. Maternity leave is 15 weeks; 7 of those weeks can be taken before; 1 must be taken before; and a minimum of 6 must be taken after. Paternity leave is 10 days.
• Many gynecologists will give a basic ultrasound at every appointment.
• You technically have 15 days to register the baby at the commune and decide on a name. Thomas was sure to ask this since he didn’t have a name for his first month.
• It is a Belgian tradition that the mother drink a good quality stout beer after birth to get her milk ducts flowing.

That was fun! :)  Got any questions?

This Tuesday, I took my first hot shower in my apartment in a week. That’s the reason I was grouchy – ice cold showers, no matter how quick, are not fun.

Shower and sink in our bathroom

It all started last Tuesday, when our hot water heater failed to ignite. We fiddled with the ignite button and dials, but no luck. We realized that we have a gas heater, and that we had never paid for a gas bill. Something similar had happened to a friend of ours, so we quickly contacted our relocation specialist to have her check things out for us. She was out of the office for the next 4 days.

As soon as she got back, she reported that everything was good with our gas – it was combined with our electricity and we’ve been paying it all along. She suggested we talk to our concierge and see if she could check if our meter looked okay. Our concierege only speaks French, and my vocabulary does not include hot water heater, meter, ignite, so we used google translate to print out our questions.

This is the happy ending. The concierge sent her husband up to our apartment and he fiddled with the heater and finally got it going. We were trying reignite it incorrectly, though I don’t know why it went out in the first place. Anyway, he showed us how to do it right, and hot water flowed forth. Yay!

I also realized that I’ve never posted photos of our toilet and bathroom. Toilets are usually in a seperate room that the bath here. Our toilet room is just big enough for one person to barely stand in. It also has the hot water heater, the breaker box, and a tiny sink that doesn’t really work.

Our toilet room

Our bathtub room has a larger sink, a small bathtub/shower, our washer/dryer combo, and a couple cabinets.  I should mention that these photos were taken with my wide angle, which really distorts things.  It’s a small room.  We use the heater in there to warm our towels on. Unfortunately, there is no fan to suck out the steam after a shower.  Both of these rooms have skylights to make them brighter.

Sink and washer/dryer in bathroom

When I lived in my house in Atlanta, the master bathroom was a constant complaint. I thought it was too small, and I missed having a big soaking tub. In fact, it was double the size of the bathroom we now have, and one of three in our house. It’s funny how your perspective can change…

Front of Cook & Book

The rooms are decorated to the nines – the travel room has an airstream camper you can eat in, the gardening room has a greenhouse inside and garden gnomes hidden all over the walls.

The Travel Room

There was also a 60s diner room where the cookbooks were sold. You could watch the chefs working here while you wait.

60s Diner Room

The British room, with a nice selection of English books and plush leather seats, would be a great one to sit and browse for a while. There were also rooms for comic books, children, art, and music.

The British Room

My favorite was the fiction room, where books were suspended from the ceiling. My friends and I had lunch here – soups, salads, sandwiches, and pasta.

The Fiction Room

If you’re in the area and looking for a unique dining experience, or a huge bookstore that is just fun to browse, check it out.  I’ve posted more photos on PicasaWeb:

• Cook & Book (7 photos)

Check out this piece of officialness… The license is a regular piece of paper, folded in thirds, with my photo glued to the inside.  It never expires.  Of course, it’s flimsy and bigger than a wallet will hold. Thomas’ allows him to drive a motorcycle, car, or small truck, but they just gave me a car on mine.  Until the 1960s, Belgium didn’t have driver’s licenses.

The whole process was really easy.  I turned in my US driver’s license, waited several weeks while they inspected it, and then picked up my new Belgian one.  Unfortunately, we hadn’t timed this well with our trip back to the US – I didn’t have either with me to drive there, so Thomas was my chauffeur.  When I move back to the US though, I can turn in my Belgian license and they will return my US one to me.

So why did I get one?  First of all, this easy US license trade will only work in your first year here.  Officially, the option of a US license plus an international license expires once you get your residency card.  Also, we’ve been talking about getting a car sometime this year.  They are a bit of a hassle – expensive insurance, parking on the street, and gasoline is about $7.50/gallon. It’s common practice here that companies will give their employees a leased car and free gas card, but Thomas’ doesn’t.

There are a couple of alternatives.  We’ve thought about just renting a car when we want to go on a road trip.  I think we might have to test this option out on a weekend trip to France. :) We also have a shared Cambio car, like Zipcars in the US, parked near us.  In the meantime, thankfully the public transportation gets me where I want to go.