One Year

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We have been in Belgium for over a year now.  Last month while looking back I was happy with how easy some things had become.  When we first arrived just stepping out of the house was difficult.  Now I do many things that would have terrified me a year ago without even thinking about it.

A few weeks ago Ryan was saying he was ready to leave.  I said I could stay here for a long time.  The next day I was ready to leave.  I'm still ready to leave.  Brussels and I are not getting along.  Part of that could be the fact that I catch every bug and flu in the area.  At some point I hope to spend more time here feeling well than I have spent being sick.  While there are many good things about living in a foreign country in a big city I still miss home.  

Some of the things I miss the most:

family and friends
a small house without stairs
large parking lots
being able to park within 10 blocks of my house (and as a bonus not needing to parallel park)
being able to communicate with those around me
sending my oldest out with friends and knowing she is reasonably safe
knowing my kids friends
driving without my blood pressure going up
a yard to play in
quiet nights
quiet days
sunsets
stars
free public restrooms
knowing what everything is at the grocery store
being able to find what I need at the grocery store
one stop shopping
blue skies
wide open spaces

Some of the things I enjoy here:

new friends
being able to walk to the grocery store
not needing to water anything
a wonderful house with lots of character
many opportunities to learn (and be humbled in the process)
beautiful buildings
history all around
being able to go to other countries for the day
forests
castles
beautiful churches
excellent schools
parks
cultural experiences
public transportation
farmers markets year round
great chocolate & waffles
the children's many long breaks during the school year

I'm glad we survived our first year and look forward to the next.  While some days are better than others this has been a great move for our family and overall we are enjoying our time here.


Comments

Shana Hamblin said…
It still sounds like an adventure and I love living it through your blog. I wish we could come and see for ourselves.
December 16, 2011 at 12:23 AM
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