Wedding season

Oooooookay, once again it's been a month (actually a bit more) since my last post...yikes! I've been keeping busy though, working, finishing up the spring French class, running a few more races, hosting the visit of our friends Jim and Grace, and traveling for a few weddings! That's the subject of this post in fact, the weddings of two sets of friends that we've attended in the past month or so.

First, Tom & Jen got hitched on May 9th at a gorgeous chateau in Ciney, Belgium. It's about an hour south of Brussels, and the chateau itself is outside the town and on some beautiful grounds. They rented the whole place for the week and stayed there with their out of town family and friends, and we came down for an overnight to attend the ceremony and reception. The pictures hopefully convey just how beautiful the setting of this place is...it's gorgeous, and everyone had a great time! (Photo credit to Inez Summers for the group shot of all the BSIS "gang")

Next up was the wedding of our friends Volker & Johanna, which was held last Thursday in their hometown of Tübingen, Germany. It's in the state of Baden-Württemburg, about 40 minutes south of Stuttgart. If you're a regular reader you'll recall that we spent this past Christmas with them as well, so we were very excited to go back and see their families again, and enjoy the warmer weather this time around! The ceremony was held in the Alstadt (Old Town), in the castle complex at the top of the hill with a beautiful view over the city. Later, the reception was held in a hotel/restaurant complex the nearby city of Reutlingen, in another beautiful setting overlooking the town from high above. The day after the wedding we headed over to Munich for a few days...more on that in the next post!

Congratulations to all of you, and thank you for including us in your special days!!

Alsace & Lorraine

Wow, has it been a month? It seems there's nothing like the re-starting of full-time work to slow down the pace of blogging! April was a busy month, but there wasn't much to report on up until our trip last weekend to the Alsace and Lorraine regions of France, in the northeast of the country. This place had been on my must-see list for some time, so when the same professors who led the trip to Normandy last year announced they would also do this trip, we had to sign up! Like last year, several of our friends from Carl's school went along as well, so we had a nice little group to enjoy the trip with.

Alsace/Lorraine have at different times been part of both France and Germany, so both regions offers visitors a really interesting mix of the two cultures. Rolling hills, low mountains and several rivers also make it a very scenic area, so all around it's a very appealing place. In Alsace, we visited the cities of Strasbourg and Colmar, as well as the town of Riquewihr along the wine road where we got to sample some Alsatian wine. Also in this region was the World War II concentration camp of Natzweiler-Struthof, which was in a beautiful setting on a hilltop with amazing views, but despite that was obviously a rather depressing place.

In Lorraine, we visited the city of Metz, which I was a bit surprised to find was incredibly beautiful and had a very Roman feel to it. I'd never really heard much about the city before going there but I have to say it was probably my personal favorite of the places we visited, with Strasbourg a close second. Finally, also in Lorraine we visited Fort Hackenberg, an underground post along the Maginot Line, which was a network of fortifications built by France during the period between the first and second World Wars to defend against a German attack (obviously it did not succeed). It was another place that was in a beautiful setting but with a not so beautiful story behind it.

Photos:
#1 Strasbourg
#2 Natzweiler-Struthof
#3 Metz cathedral
#4 The University of Kent "gang" along with our trip leaders Dr. Palo and Madame Delsemme
#5 View from outside one of the installations at Fort Hackenberg

Finished, and Still Among the Living!

So we both finished today, and all is well. I had a great run, was on track to meet my goal of 4:15 up through the 30th kilometer, but at that point it became clear that I just couldn't keep up that pace all the way until the end. So in the end I finished with a time of 4:23:36, but I'm not disappointed in the least because it's still 11:33 better than I did last year! :-)

Carl sadly didn't have it so easy - the poor guy (AGAIN!) came into this race with an injury that wasn't healed, and this time it was even worse for him than last year. I'm pretty sure he was in significant pain for the entire race, but he perservered and didn't give up when I'm sure most people (I include myself here as well) surely would have done so. He finished with a time of 5:23:26, and I'm very proud and impressed that he managed that under the circumstances. He did great, and I REALLY hope he'll be healthy for his next race and be able to run the kind of time he deserves to have!

Okay well I'm completely exhausted so will sign off now, in the hopes of perhaps squeezing in a nap before dinner. Thanks everyone for all of the encouragement, kind words and positive thoughts you've sent our way!

Paris Marathon, 33rd Edition

While sitting on a rather long metro ride to get back to the hotel after the expo this evening, I was reading the small guide they printed with information about this year's marathon. In it was a page of statistics, some of which I found pretty interesting and thought I'd share with you.

• This year there are 37,000 runners registered, which is 2,000 more than last year. A whopping 82.5% of them are male, leaving only 17.5% women! I have no idea why that is; I think the distribution is much closer to even in the US, but here I think that percentage breakdown is about the norm. Perhaps European women just aren't into distance running as much as their American counterparts, but who knows for sure?!?
• Of this year's registrants, 69% are from France and 31% other countries.
• The country with the biggest representation besides France is the UK with 5,078 runners registered. Belgium is #4 with 716 and the US is right behind at #5 with 708. And in case you're wondering, Carl and I were classified based on our residence, so we're counted as representatives of Belgium. Allez, Belgique!! :-) **FOLLOW-UP: It turns out I was wrong on this point. Since we paid with a US account it turns out we were actually counted in the tally of Americans.
• When the first Paris marathon was run in 1977, there were just 87 finishers - last year there were 28,844!
• The fastest times ever run on this course were 2:06:33 for the men, 2:23:05 for the women. If all goes perfectly I hope to be able to reach the halfway mark around the time the male record holder crossed the finish line. Kind of puts that in perspective doesn't it?

As I write this I'm sitting in the lobby of our hotel, because the wi-fi connection doesn't reach into the rooms. I've seen a number of runners pass through, either going for light jogs or carrying the little "goodie bags" they give out when you pick up your race bib and t-shirt. I struck up a conversation with one of them, a guy from Denmark named Claes, who extended us an invitation to stay with he and his family if we ever want to visit Copenhagen - seriously! Marathoners are a friendly bunch, and there's definitely a "fraternity" of sorts shared among those who have conquered this distance. If all goes well, tomorrow I'll join the "extra special" group of crazies who have willingly subjected themselves to this torture more than once!! Kidding of course. ;-)

Look for the post-race update tomorrow afternoon!

Paris - Part Deux

In two more days we're off to Paris to run the marathon for the second time. We're both excited and nervous, although having an idea of what to expect certainly takes the edge off the nerves a bit. For me this is also going to be the last marathon, at least for a while. The training is just so time consuming and hard on the body that I've decided to stick to the (comparatively) shorter distances of half-marathon and below.

I'm feeling good going into the race, except for the fact that I'm just now getting over a moderate case of food poisoning. I should be totally fine by Sunday though, so I'm not too worried about any negative effects from it. Carl, on the other hand, has been battling a calf strain for almost 3 weeks, and is just getting back near 100% now, so we'll have to wait and see how it holds up. Send some healing thoughts his way, I know he'll appreciate it!

We're off to Paris early Saturday afternoon and will return Monday, so it's a short trip compared to last year. That was a necessity though, because Carl has to get back to work and I have my new job starting next Tuesday as well! We should have wifi access at our hotel so I will do a blog update on Sunday afternoon (like last year, by 4 PM CET, which is 10 AM Eastern) to let everyone know how it turned out. Hopefully it will be all good news!!

Belgian Culinary Delights

"A country with distinct Flemish (Dutch) and French influences, including language, it is sometimes said that Belgium serves food with the quantity of Germany and the quality of France."

--The Global Gourmet

We've been living in Belgium for a little over a year and a half now, and it's occurred to me that although I enjoy the cuisine very much, I really haven't learned how to make any of the traditional Belgian dishes myself. When it comes to cooking at home I've largely stuck to things I already know how to do, but I think now it's time to "branch out" a bit! I have a few more weeks remaining before I start my new job (on April 7th), so between now and then I'm going to try making a few well-known Belgian recipes at home, and will let everyone know via the blog how things turn out! But first, a little introduction to some of the best Belgian dishes (besides mussels and fries) is in order.

From the Flanders region, one recipe I've really been wanting to try is for Flemish Carbonnade, or "Vlaamse Stoverij" in Dutch. It's a Flemish version of the French beef stew, using (of course!) beer instead of wine as a base. It's very hearty, flavorful and one of my favorites! Another dish which I actually have yet to try is "Waterzooi", which hails from my favorite Flemish city of Ghent and means "watery mess" (the Flemish have a terrific sense of humor!). It's another stew, cream-based and usually made with either fish or chicken. It sounds tasty so I think I might give it a try sometime!

The Wallonian cuisine is heavily French-influenced so you see a lot of French recipes, but the Wallonians have also created their own niche, including many ways of serving game (think duck or rabbit) and some really terrific cheeses. I haven't found any really well-known "signature" recipes, perhaps because of the sheer variety of ways in which different items are prepared. I can say though, that some of the best meals I've had in Belgium were in Wallonia, so I'll look up a few recipes, give them a try and see if I can do them any justice!

Have any comments or recipe suggestions to add? By all means post them under the "Comments" section if you do!

Chocolate!!

While trying to overcome my blogger's block and make good on my promise to write more often, I received a suggestion to do a post about the fabulous chocolate of Belgium (thanks Mom!). I frankly can't believe I never thought to do this before, especially considering that I've written individual posts about beer and fries already! So let's add chocolate to the list - then I can say that I've covered what I think most people would agree are the three greatest edible/drinkable claims to fame of this fascinating little country!

I've perhaps mentioned it in passing, but let me state it clearly: the quality and variety of tasty chocolate confections available here is world famous, and justifiably so! The main reason for this is the strict quality standards that Belgium has had in place for many years and has continued to uphold, even as the EU has relaxed its requirements (yes, the EU has passed regulations addressing the content of chocolates produced within its borders!). The tradition of Belgian chocolate making goes back several hundred years, and in many cases chocolatier families have been in business for generations, passing down their closely guarded recipes from one family member to the next.

Most of the chocolates sold in shops are pralines, which are essentially a thin chocolate coating filled with almost anything you can imagine (for example fruit, coffee, hazelnut or more chocolate), in a nougat or creme form. They come in many shapes, and are often beautifully decorated to the point where you almost feel badly about eating them...almost! ;-)

Since most of my readers are American, I'll also briefly touch upon how Belgian chocolate differs from what is typically produced in the US. The most notable difference is the sugar content; Belgian chocolates are a lot less sweet than their American counterparts, which also means they are not as high in calories - a nice bonus indeed! That lack of extreme sweetness, combined with the quality of the ingredients, allows the flavors of the chocolate and fillings to really take center stage, with truly amazing results!!

Mmm...tomorrow sounds like a great day to pay a little visit to my neighborhood chocolate shop! :-)

Blogger's Block and BIG NEWS!!

I've been suffering from a pretty severe case of blogger's block lately, probably because things have been relatively quiet up until this past week. We haven't done any traveling, and my mind just wasn't coming up with any interesting ideas to write about. So the blog has been neglected a bit; my apologies to my faithful readers who keep checking, and with the apology is a promise that I will get back into the swing of it and start writing a bit more often!

Now, on to the second half of my post title. On Friday afternoon I received some excellent news that both Carl and I have been waiting for months to hear. I've been offered a job here in Brussels!! It's with a company called ARC Europe, which is both an umbrella organization for automobile clubs around Europe and a seller of roadside assistance services to automobile manufacturers, who in turn provide those services to their customers under warranty. I'll be working in the second area, in their reporting and analysis group. It's a combination of IT/database work and statistical/financial analysis, which is right up my alley as a data and finance "geek". I'm also really excited about the company, because it's a very international work environment (about 16 nationalities represented among only 40 employees!) and I really like the atmosphere and all of the people I've met there. The process of getting the work permit will begin this coming week, and we've set a tentative start time of the first or second week of April. Exciting times, and although I'm sure there will be a period of re-adjustment to the "working world", I am thrilled to get back in the action!!

The Trappist Tradition

I know I've mentioned the impressive array of truly excellent beer available in Belgium before, and the country's reputation for brewing is certainly known worldwide. There is however, a small category of beers for which Belgium is particularly famous, and that is the Trappist brews.

The Trappists are a branch of the Cisterian order of monks, and they live in about 170 monasteries around the world. They support themselves primarily through manual labor and the sale of goods produced at the monastery. For seven of the Trappist monasteries, that includes beer brewed by the monks themselves, and six of these are located in Belgium (the 7th is in the Netherlands). To be called a Trappist beer, there are strict rules surrounding the brewing process, and laws exist to prevent the misuse of the title by non-Trappist operations.

The seven Trappist abbey-breweries are:
Achel
Chimay
Koningshoeven (Netherlands)
Orval
Rochefort
Westmalle
Westvleteren

Having tasted five of these seven beers (all except Koningshoeven and Westvleteren), I can tell you that they are among the best you'll find anywhere. Chimay is my personal favorite, my favorite beer in the world in fact! Carl's favorite is Westmalle, and we both recently cemented our "fan" status by purchasing the official glasses of both beers so we can enjoy the full Trappist beer experience at home!

Cheers!!

Beautiful Baden-Württemburg!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe, happy and healthy holiday! As I mentioned in a previous post, we spent Christmas with our friends Volker and Johanna in Tübingen, in Baden-Württemburg state in Germany, and then returned to Brussels for New Year's Eve. We had a wonderful time in Germany, and as always I have some photos and commentary to share!

First up of course, is Tübingen. It's a university town of about 88,000, located approximately 30 minutes drive south of Stuttgart, and it's absolutely beautiful...think cozy riverfront Alstadt (old town) complete with half-timbered buildings, cathedral and hilltop castle. The best part was that it's the hometown of our good friends, so we had very knowledgeable guides and the unbelievably warm hospitality of their families. We were made to feel so welcome, almost like we were part of the family! It was truly a memorable holiday and we can't wait to go back in June to attend their wedding!

While we were there we also had some time for daytrips, one to the small town of Gosbach (SE of Stuttgart), where our friends from Portland, Andreas and Lyndsay, were visiting his family for the holidays. Andreas' parents fed us a terrific traditional Swabian lunch (one of several spectacular meals we enjoyed); afterwards we hiked to the top of one of the small mountains above town, then back down into the neighboring town to warm up in the hot spring pools located there. We followed that with dinner at a local restaurant and board games back at the house, topping off a great day. Thanks guys!!

Finally, on our last day in Germany we drove about 90 minutes southwest to Freiburg, a city of just over 200,000 people on the western edge of the Black Forest, close to the French border. The drive crossed over some beautiful mountain terrain before dropping back down into the valley where the city is located. We enjoyed the old town for a few hours, had lunch in a great brewery and visited the big cathedral called the Münster, located on a very picturesque square in the center of the old town. One of the original city gates also remains, but sadly any photos of it are ruined by a huge McDonald's sign prominently featured on the adjoining building...they did at least avoid using the bright yellow and red colors but still, couldn't they have found somewhere ELSE to put that??

On the 28th we returned to Brussels, and spent New Year's Eve with friends at a party that was conveniently located only 3 blocks away...which came in quite handy when we stayed there until 4:30 AM!! :-)

Photo #1: Riverfront of Tübingen, with the Alstadt to the right
Photo #2: the Christmas tree at Johanna's mother's house - with REAL CANDLES!!
Photo #3: side of the Münster cathedral, Freiburg
Photo #4: Happy New Year!

A Very Merry European Christmas

The holidays have really crept up on me this year, mostly because I was sick for the last week of November and the first two weeks of December. I'm finally back to 100% just this past week, but now there's so much to do in so little time that it's been a little crazy! Anyway, I doubt you want to hear all the details, so I'll move on to the fun stuff...

We had hoped to fly home to the USA this Christmas, but Carl's work schedule and our budgetary restraints made that impossible. We won't be alone however...thanks to the kindness and generosity of our friends Volker and Johanna and their families, we have been invited to spend the holidays in Tübingen, Germany! It's a pretty university town in the state of Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of the country, and we've never been there before so we're very excited to see the area and experience a real German Christmas. We leave tomorrow afternoon and return the evening of the 28th, so we will have plenty of time to enjoy the surroundings and partake in the holiday celebrations!

So to all our friends and family near and far, have a very Merry Christmas, and I will write again soon!

I'm Dreaming of a White...Birthday?

Truth be told, I'd have most preferred an unseasonably warm and sunny day today, but I suppose the white stuff would be the second choice! It didn't accumulate on the ground, but late this morning I looked out the window and saw some big, fluffy white flakes falling, and it made me smile!

Sorry to have neglected the blog a bit, but it's been an uneventful few weeks aside from the nasty and persistent colds that Carl and I both picked up in England. This one has been particularly hard to shake for some reason, and I'm not even sure whether I'm feeling better or just getting used to not feeling well. Regardless, I'm ready to be over it already!

In other news, a month or two ago we signed up to run the Paris marathon a second time, so training for that has begun - though the illness has thus far hindered my efforts to get back into running condition. The date is April 5th if anyone was thinking of coming to watch! Finally, I had another job interview which went very well, and with any luck I may have some employment news to report soon. I don't want to say any more than that because I don't want to jinx anything, but I think my chances are pretty good, so fingers crossed!

That's all for now - I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holiday season thus far!!

Canterbury Tales

Last weekend was our big trip to England to attend Carl's graduation ceremonies, something we'd both been looking forward to for a good while. First, we were excited about seeing a number of our friends who have left Brussels and moved on to other places during the past several months. Second, Carl was excited to finally get his degree "in hand"; and third, we were visiting the UK for the first time in nearly seven years!

We took the Eurostar train over on Thursday evening, spending Thursday and Friday nights in the town of Canterbury in Kent, where the graduation ceremony was held in the Canterbury cathedral on Friday night. That was very exciting, and Canterbury is a really attractive, quaint and historic town. We had a great time catching up with friends and doing the graduation thing, but sadly didn't have the chance to check out the cathedral as tourists, because it was closed all day Friday for the graduation ceremonies (there were three of them held that day). Oh well, I guess we'll have to go back sometime!

On Saturday we drove south to see the famous white cliffs of Dover, and fortunately the sun came out for a while and we were able to see just how white they are! We later stopped in the medieval port city of Rye, where we spent the night in a nice bed & breakfast just outside of town. Finally, on Sunday we drove into East Sussex to visit the town of Battle, the aptly named site of the Norman invasion of 1066, commonly known as the Battle of Hastings (the larger town of Hastings is nearby). That was a really interesting place to see; the battlefield itself is still there, as well as what's left of the huge abbey complex built by William the Conqueror to honor/commemorate the lives lost in the battle. Unfortunately the weather didn't contribute to our enjoyment of the almost completely outdoor site - it was cold, rainy and windy for most of the time we were there, and by the end of the visit we were completely soaked and thoroughly chilled!! We did manage to warm up on the car ride back to the Eurostar terminal on Sunday evening though, and we got back to Brussels around 9PM Sunday night. A short visit, but well worth it and fun!

Pictures:
#1 - the graduate and yours truly
#2 - the BSIS gang, or some of them at least!
#3 - the Canterbury cathedral just before the ceremony
#4 - the White Cliffs of Dover
#5 - Carl attempting to stay dry during our visit to the Battle of Hastings sight - the battlefield itself is behind him

Le Quartier Thieffry

I'm not sure if I've stated it clearly in any previous posts or not, but our neighborhood continues to be one of the things we've enjoyed most about our time in Belgium thus far. For that reason I thought I'd take a little time to properly introduce it to those of you who haven't yet made it here to visit us.

Our commune (municipality) is called Etterbeek, but the specific neighborhood is called Thieffry, named after the decorated World War I aviator Edmond Thieffry, who was born in this area. It's in the southeast part of the city, and is along one of the metro lines and several tram lines, making it an extremely convenient place to live. Despite that, it's a pretty quiet area (meaning no noisy bars or people on the street at all hours) that definitely has a "neighborhood" feel to it.

One of the things we really love about it is the amount of shops and restaurants available within a 5 minute walk. We have two good-sized supermarkets and one smaller convenience market (open on Sundays too - not typical here!), as well as several other shops like a home improvement store, interior décor shop, drugstore, beauty shop, bookstore, travel agency, jeweler, flower shop, electronics store, etc...you get the idea. What really makes it special though, is the great little food shops that are literally all within 3 blocks of our front door. I went out this afternoon and photographed some of them to show you what's on offer:

there's the butcher;

the baker;

and while there's no candlestick maker, we do have a terrific chocolate shop! I've gotten to know the lady who runs it with her husband, and she was nice enough to let me photograph her inside.

Finally, to round it all out we have a cheese shop and a wine shop.

There are more of course, including an Italian specialty foods store and another gourmet shop that sells lots of prepared foods. Then there's the restaurants, pubs and cafés, which are a whole other category I didn't have room for in this post. Perhaps I'll get to that one later!

So now perhaps you see why we like being in this neighborhood so much, and why we're so glad that upon our arrival, knowing practically nothing about the city, we managed to be so lucky to find such a great community! Now, if we could just manage to upgrade a few things about the apartment...

Europe's Love Affair with Obama

Okay, so I don't want to spark a big political debate here, because the election is over and we have a new President-elect...but I feel I have to spend a few lines of my blog describing the mood in Brussels following the US Presidential Election.

It has received lots of coverage so I'm sure everyone is well aware that most Europeans strongly favored Barack Obama and are thrilled at the results. The cover of the French version of today's Metro (a local daily "commuter" paper) translates to "Obama's American Dream" and is covered with a huge photo of a smiling, waving Obama as well as photos of numerous teary-eyed, ecstatic Obama supporters...subtle, eh? When Carl went to work yesterday he was also asked about the election from practically everyone he encountered. He's the only American working on his floor and it seems everyone was particularly interested in talking to him about it. To put it quite simply, people here are both happy and excited, to say the least!

I've heard it said that Obama has some pretty massive expectations to live up to, and I think that couldn't be more true, particularly when it comes to transatlantic relations. Time will tell if he is able to meet such high expectations, but the enthusiasm and positive reaction to a US election from this side of the pond is certainly something that hasn't been seen for a while. And if that enthusiasm translates into better cooperation and understanding between the US and the EU, that's got to be a good thing, right?

'Nuff said!!

Het Boekenfestijn is Fantastisch!!

A few weeks ago Brussels hosted a huge traveling book fair, called "Het Boekenfestijn". It's operated by a Dutch company called De Centrale Boekhandel, and throughout the year it travels throughout the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking parts of Belgium. A friend of mine who has lived here for several years told me you could get some amazing deals on books (in English too!), greeting cards, wrapping paper, etc., so despite it being on the other side of town, Carl and I decided to check it out.

Boy, am I glad we did! We got a total of 9 books (a mix of hardcover and paperback), a box of holiday greeting cards and some fancy holiday ribbon, all for about €39! What a steal!! These weren't obscure titles that no one wants to read either - there were lots of newer books from best-selling authors available, along with cookbooks, reference books, travel books, you name it! Sometimes the books are what they called "slightly damaged", but when we found that to be the case the damage was so minor that it was a complete non-issue. They said some can be previous editions as well, though I perused the travel section and never noticed anything out-of-date.

Anyway, we are now huge fans of Het Boekenfestijn, and can't wait to visit it again when it comes to town! They won't be back in Brussels for a while, but they'll be in Ghent in December and Leuven in February, so we might just have to hop a train and make a day of it!!

We Have Finally Arrived!

After approximately 14 months, I believe that we can finally declare ourselves legitimate residents of Belgium, and for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we are now contributing to the tax revenue of the State (and generously I might add - Belgium has one of the highest income tax rates in the world!). Secondly, thanks to the friendliness - hopefully out of sincerity and not pity - of a couple of Carl's new colleagues, we can now count two born-and-raised, bonafide Belgians among our circle of friends! I know for sure that one of them reads this blog - yes, I mean you, Marc - so feel free to comment here if you wish, either to make fun of me or to say something witty, whatever you choose! :-)

Anyway, after a bit of a lull in my blogging activity I also wanted to let everyone know that we're doing well. Carl's job is going great, my job search is, well, going, and we've been enjoying the visit of our friend Erica along with her travel companion Riya, who has stopped off to visit us here in the midst of her 3 month European travel adventure. We're enjoying Belgium as much as ever, and on almost a daily basis we feel both thrilled and thankful to have had the opportunity to continue on this adventure...hopefully there's much more to come!

Loaded Interview Questions

Since I've been looking for a job here I've had a few interviews, one of which was about 10 days ago. In general I'd say interviews aren't that much different here than they are in the US, though Europeans aren't much into asking those classic "behavioral" types of questions - you know the ones - "Tell me about a time when...". I'm glad for that too, because I never cared for those types of questions anyway!

There is however, definitely one BIG difference, and my recent interview highlights it perfectly. Here was how the interview started:
Question 1: "So we have your date of birth as XX/XX/XXXX - is that correct?"
Question 2: "Are you married?"
Question 3: "Any children?"

So while my American readers pick their jaws up off the floor, let me explain to any European readers that all three of those questions are simply not allowed to be asked at any stage of the interview process in the US - it's meant to protect job seekers from discrimination. Right now, as a married but childless woman in my early-mid 30's I'm not likely to face much discrimination, but what if I had three young children and was going through a divorce? If an employer knew that because they were allowed to ask it in an interview, isn't it possible that they might think twice about hiring me out of concern that I might be unstable or unreliable? From my understanding they're not supposed to consider things like that (out of concern for discrimination), but let's face it, in reality I think there's a good chance that they might, regardless of what they're supposed to do.

I'd love to hear the insight of one of my non-American readers on this topic. Do you think I and my fellow Americans are being overly concerned about nothing, or do you agree that asking these questions in an interview is unnecessary at best, and potentially discriminatory at worst?

A Weighty Issue

My recent trip back to the US highlighted one of the big differences between Americans and Europeans - waistlines. Though it upsets me a bit to say it, I have to admit that both Carl and I noticed it almost immediately. It's a difficult and sensitive subject to address, and up until now I've mostly avoided it because I didn't want to sound rude or preachy. I'm going to try to address it now though, because after living here a year and then visiting the States I believe I've gained some new perspective on the topic. It's also a serious issue facing not just the US but the whole world, so while my readers are few I thought it couldn't hurt to bring a little extra attention to the subject.

The Statistics
They're pretty startling, and confirm that the difference I noted wasn't just a matter of skewed perception on my part. As of 2004 (the last year for which data from both countries was available here from the World Health Organization), 44.1% of Belgians and 66.3% of Americans had a body mass index (BMI) over 25, which is categorized as overweight. Additionally, 12.7% of Belgians and 32.2% of Americans had a BMI of over 30 and were considered obese. For more information about BMI from the US Centers for Disease Control click here, and to calculate yours click here for English units and here for metric units.

The Reasons
Here's where things get more difficult. The prevalence of weight problems is rising just about everywhere, but given the cultural similarities, why is it so much worse in the US as compared to Europe, and specifically Belgium? There's no one simple answer, but from the articles and discussion I've reviewed it generally seems to come down to food choices (what we eat), portion sizes (how much we eat) and activity levels, and all three likely contribute to the disparity.

My Two Cents
Okay, before I start throwing my opinion around, let me state the obvious: I am no scientist or health expert, and my opinion on this subject is just that - one person's opinion. That said, here are my thoughts...

Food Choices - the US is really into offering low-fat/fat-free/low-carb/low-calorie options of just about everything, but to state it quite simply, Belgium is not. You can get reduced fat (but not fat-free) milk, yogurt and sometimes cheese in grocery stores, but that's about it. Other observations: the famous American creation of the processed, frozen "TV dinner" (low cal or otherwise) is nonexistent in grocery stores here, and fast food restaurants (while present) are nowhere near as numerous as they are in the States. Produce is also a bit cheaper and meat a bit more expensive here, even after accounting for currency differences, so that makes it easier to buy healthy foods on a budget. Last point: soft drinks are VERY expensive to buy either in the store or restaurants - easily twice the cost of the US - so people tend to drink less of it.

Portion Sizes - I notice some differences here, again particularly when it comes to sodas/soft drinks. From my experience, the concept of large glasses of fountain drinks with free refills is nonexistent in Belgium, and I was completely overwhelmed when I went to the US and felt like I was constantly being asked if I wanted a refill of my huge, 20-oz soda that I'd barely half finished...I never wanted a refill but almost said 'yes' a few times just to make the servers leave me alone! When it comes to restaurant meals I wouldn't say there's a huge difference in portion size...but every meal in Belgium, even the pub burger & fries, comes with a small salad. As a result the portion of fries may be a bit smaller than what you'd get in the US, but I wouldn't say the difference is striking.

Activity Levels - Belgium wins pretty clearly when it comes to incorporating physical activity into daily life, at least from my perspective. To put it simply, Belgians walk more and drive less on average than Americans. Some people say that Americans are 'lazy' and reluctant to get up and move or walk instead of drive, but I think that conclusion is a bit oversimplified and certainly unfair. I think it has more to do with the design of American neighborhoods, especially in the suburbs. I recently tried to explain to a friend from France who has not been to the US before, that even if your suburban US home is less than a mile from stores and restaurants, walking to these places often involves busy multi-lane roads with few or no sidewalks or crosswalks - a decidedly unpleasant experience. In return I got a shocked stare and a response that was something along the lines of "are you serious?". Even in the more suburban Belgian neighborhoods, the design of the streets is more walker-friendly and public transit is much more convenient, encouraging people to walk instead of drive...and in my humble opinion, that makes all the difference.

Conclusion
So unfortunately I think us Americans, while hard-working and deserving of credit for building a prosperous country, could learn a thing or two from Europeans about taking care of our health. Awareness of the problem is growing however, and design movements such as New Urbanism are catching on, so perhaps change is underway. What do you think? Feel free to agree, disagree or share your perspective in the Comments section!

Home Again

Well it's been a very busy three weeks or so, but we're now settled back into our apartment in Brussels, and Carl starts his new job tomorrow!! We had a blast seeing everyone, shopping and indulging in our favorite foods, but we're also glad to be back. We're also looking forward to getting back into more of a routine, after a very fun but hectic summer of visitors, travel, job hunting, English teaching and dissertation writing!

My job search continues as well...one job I interviewed for didn't come through (which was okay because I wasn't sure I wanted it anyway), but I have a meeting with a recruiter this Friday so hopefully something will materialize soon. In the meantime I'm doing great, Carl is excited to start his new job and we're both very happy that we've been so fortunate to be able to stay here!!

Quick summary of our visit to the USA:
US states visited: 4 (CA, OR, MD, VA) + Washington DC
Stores shopped: at least a dozen!
Furniture moved: all of it (from one storage unit to another, and some of it sold - whew!)
Sushi meals eaten: 3
Burritos consumed: 4 each
Microbrews consumed: I lost count
Runs completed: only one - yikes!
Pounds/kilos gained: I ain't tellin'!!


Pic: me and the Ervin's (Tosh, Bree, yours truly, Carl, Bill - didn't I marry into a nice looking bunch??)