(no subject)
I want to write more. In 50 years I want to be able to remember what I did when I lived in Belgium and the great and not-so-great experiences. I think this journal is also cool because if friends and family are tired of my stories, they don't have to read them. But if they get a kick out of my ramblings they can read all they want.
The same repairmen I mentioned a month ago have visited us twice since. The first time they came (over 2 weeks ago) they didn't have all the correct parts for the garage. So, they left and said they would return when the parts arrived the following week sometime. Over a week passed and we’d heard nothing. So, Lee called and they said they could come out that afternoon (this past Monday) to complete the job. We new it couldn’t be that easy.
Lee was working at home on Monday so he greeted the workers while I went to my French lesson. After a few hours, I returned on my bike and met a man working in our garage. He spoke to me in French (something about do I live in the house too?). He rambled on in French until I understood the word “accident and hospital”. I stopped him and pointed at the house and said “my husband?” “Non, non” her replied, “my co-worker, he hit his head and went to the hospital” I stood there staring at the man almost as befuddled as he seemed. He said, “I can not finish today without my coworker”. “Oui, oui” I replied and went upstairs to check in with Lee. Sure enough, not long after the 2 repairmen arrived, one of them hit his head and tore part of his ear and his friend took him to the hospital. So, now we have 3/4ths of the job done but not all. There seem to be some parts missing still maybe next week...
After talking with my friend who lived in Paris for 4 years apparently our experience with repairmen is not that unusual. She told me a funny story from when they were living in Paris. One of their bathroom sinks fell off the wall and after many visits from the repairmen and the ordering of many parts, 6 months later their sink was re-attached to the wall. I can’t help but laugh and laugh because what else can I do but get frustrated and make myself miserable!
I didn’t expect the service industry would be like this here so I get frustrated because I don't understand. I'm still adjusting to life in Belgium and things don't always make sense. I know that it’s all just part of adjusting to the culture but it's still frustrating sometimes. I got annoyed with the whole repairman saga but after realizing neither Lee nor myself could do anything to really speed things up and no matter how much we go to sleep listening to our French CDs we still won’t learn French overnight, I laugh. We’re learning French but it’s going to take time. In the meantime, when I remember, I try to laugh when something seems so strange that I can’t comprehend it.
Another challenge in Belgium is driving. If I spend too much time thinking how ridiculous the drivers and the driving rules are, I get so irritated and think all Belgian drivers are just rude! If they would just be more polite everything would be fine. All Belgian drivers are not rude and there are a lot of people on the Belgian roads who are not Belgian. There’s a huge ex-pat population here who are probably just as confused and frustrated as I am on the road. am re-learning how to drive, practice and continue reading the Belgian driving book. One of the biggest Belgian road rule puzzlers is the law, which allows priority to the right”. basically, if I am driving down a street (just to really confuse you the rule doesn’t apply to all streets) and someone is driving up a street from the right and turning onto the street I’m on, I have to stop. I think it might be a weird way to avoid putting up more than one top sign at an intersection. So, I drive DEFENSIVELY keeping in mind that at anytime someone ould pull out in front of me and it would be completely within their driving rights to do so. And so, I really like my new bike (with helmet, bell and mirror) and taking public ransportation. Lee and I both try to drive as little as possible.
The same repairmen I mentioned a month ago have visited us twice since. The first time they came (over 2 weeks ago) they didn't have all the correct parts for the garage. So, they left and said they would return when the parts arrived the following week sometime. Over a week passed and we’d heard nothing. So, Lee called and they said they could come out that afternoon (this past Monday) to complete the job. We new it couldn’t be that easy.
Lee was working at home on Monday so he greeted the workers while I went to my French lesson. After a few hours, I returned on my bike and met a man working in our garage. He spoke to me in French (something about do I live in the house too?). He rambled on in French until I understood the word “accident and hospital”. I stopped him and pointed at the house and said “my husband?” “Non, non” her replied, “my co-worker, he hit his head and went to the hospital” I stood there staring at the man almost as befuddled as he seemed. He said, “I can not finish today without my coworker”. “Oui, oui” I replied and went upstairs to check in with Lee. Sure enough, not long after the 2 repairmen arrived, one of them hit his head and tore part of his ear and his friend took him to the hospital. So, now we have 3/4ths of the job done but not all. There seem to be some parts missing still maybe next week...
After talking with my friend who lived in Paris for 4 years apparently our experience with repairmen is not that unusual. She told me a funny story from when they were living in Paris. One of their bathroom sinks fell off the wall and after many visits from the repairmen and the ordering of many parts, 6 months later their sink was re-attached to the wall. I can’t help but laugh and laugh because what else can I do but get frustrated and make myself miserable!
I didn’t expect the service industry would be like this here so I get frustrated because I don't understand. I'm still adjusting to life in Belgium and things don't always make sense. I know that it’s all just part of adjusting to the culture but it's still frustrating sometimes. I got annoyed with the whole repairman saga but after realizing neither Lee nor myself could do anything to really speed things up and no matter how much we go to sleep listening to our French CDs we still won’t learn French overnight, I laugh. We’re learning French but it’s going to take time. In the meantime, when I remember, I try to laugh when something seems so strange that I can’t comprehend it.
Another challenge in Belgium is driving. If I spend too much time thinking how ridiculous the drivers and the driving rules are, I get so irritated and think all Belgian drivers are just rude! If they would just be more polite everything would be fine. All Belgian drivers are not rude and there are a lot of people on the Belgian roads who are not Belgian. There’s a huge ex-pat population here who are probably just as confused and frustrated as I am on the road. am re-learning how to drive, practice and continue reading the Belgian driving book. One of the biggest Belgian road rule puzzlers is the law, which allows priority to the right”. basically, if I am driving down a street (just to really confuse you the rule doesn’t apply to all streets) and someone is driving up a street from the right and turning onto the street I’m on, I have to stop. I think it might be a weird way to avoid putting up more than one top sign at an intersection. So, I drive DEFENSIVELY keeping in mind that at anytime someone ould pull out in front of me and it would be completely within their driving rights to do so. And so, I really like my new bike (with helmet, bell and mirror) and taking public ransportation. Lee and I both try to drive as little as possible.