Oy

[coquette_not]

Well, this morning was a throw-down. Poor guy was just exhausted, and the trek to school is more arduous than at home (where, many mornings I drive him in a nice heated car door to door) Here it's a 10-15 minute walk at 7:45 to a crowded tram. I was glad to have Matthew with me, because I think that otherwise LG might have tried the old-I'm-laying-

Comments

[lady_frolick]

Living abroad is hard; there's no doubt. And it's not what anyone thinks about when she moves to Brussels or Hong Kong or wherever. But that's why it's valuable: because it tests who you think you are, by taking you out of your familiar contexts. You learn things about yourself that you cannot learn in any other way, while you are learning about other people. Twain has something to say about this: "Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Also, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Yeah, ok, easier said than done. But I've been there. Hong Kong initially felt like Mars.

It seems like Connor's natural misery of change (kids are old men; they like repetition and blandness) is feeding yours, and I daresay yours might be feeding his. I think your post is really illustrative of how Connor will rise to the challenge of Brussels better without your well-intentioned attempts to make things easier for him. Try to focus on how you can enjoy Brussels. Think of it as modeling the process for Connor, if you need to.

And maybe pick up Innocents Abroad!

[coquette_not]

This is really a thoughtful and lovely response--thank you. I'm going to use that Twain quote every chance I get!

And you're right. My fear/hate of change matches Connor's easily. I've vowed to pack it in and go home almost every day the first week we were here. But really, it's like a conspiracy to keep me here. People have really been so nice.

At the moment, our social calendar is more full than it ever is in Connecticut. And Connor, lor' bless 'em, is really good at socializing. Today he spent the whole day playing with kids he had never met before, and who had varying degrees of English proficiency. When it was time to say goodbye, the other kid was crying and demanding to see Connor again.

[lady_frolick]

Aw, that is the sweetest story! Connor is going to, ultimately, come away with huge benefits from this experience.

How's the teaching, by the way?

[salient73]

That kiddo is amazing! Every time I think he's gotten as cool as he can get, he gets cooler.

I'm with Frolick. Let's get a teaching post. It sounds like the systems is radically different there. How are you adjusting to that?

[lady_frolick]

I think she's quit. Who lectures for hours in front of Dutch people and doesn't think it's worth a mention?

[coquette_not]

Ha! I haven't quit, but weirdly, my actual job here is taking up the smallest amount of my mental and emotional energy. It winds up being about an hour and a half of stuff I've taught a million times before. They all sit there attentively and politely and there's absolutely no work that they are responsible for until the end of the semester (when they have a half hour oral exam). There is absolutely no writing, no quizzes, no attendance. So it's really me breezing in, talking about whatever I'm obsessed with for 90 minutes and having the rest of the week to myself. It's the easiest thing I'm doing. :)

[lady_frolick]

That's awesome! We should switch to the Belgian system.

[lady_frolick]

(That's to let you know I know you're in Belgium, not Holland. Cainteoir's future posting discombobulated me!)

[salient73]

I wanna teach in Belgium. I could talk for hours about the things I'm interested in.