1 Bathroom for 9 People? Yes!

I'm nomadic, what can I say.

My "new" host family turned out to only be a temporary one- they offered to take me in order to get me out of my first, horrible host family, but only until my org found me a new place to live. I still don't have a new host family, but have been staying with them for longer than they can handle, so I'm in a hostel for the week. It's not ideal, but it's an adventure. Plus, I've actually stayed here before with Emily, so I kinda feel at home:)

But, onto the fun parts....I spent the weekend in Brussels with my loves Jule and Petar! Whenever I mention that I'm going to an event at the synagogue, my friends always ask if they can come too! This time I brought Jule with me to the Simchat Torah celebration. And by celebration I mean we made it in time for lunch and drinks (hey, we had to get there from Oostende/Brugge. Only making it for the free food was a coincidence.)


I learned the most interesting thing at lunch. I was talking about the volunteer work I'm doing, and one of the ladies at the shul came up to ask me about it. She works with special education and was telling me that there are 8 designations within special education in Belgium. Those with down syndrome are in one group, those with a physical handicap are in another, those with a learning disability another, those with autism are in another group, and so on. That means that teachers are able to tailor their teaching to a specific type of special need! How incredible is that? Instead of just dumping everyone deemed "other" into one class room, they use a more targetted approach to these kids' education. I think it's phenomenal.

Okay then the REALLY fun part of the weekend was after that- Patrick Wolf! I had never heard of him or his music before, but I am so amazed at his talent and musicianship that I might escape with Jule to London next month just to see him again! It's hard to describe his style, but it's kind of a mix between electro and folk. However, he is accomplished at many instruments, from electric guitar to ukkelele to violin, that each of his songs sounds unique since he's able to play with various genres and make them his own. Additionally, that boy has a voice- AND he knows how to use it! He has this rich, mellifluous deep voice that any country artist would kill for. He is such a lovely and sweet person; I learned in just a few hours he's close with his family, it was always his dream to play at Brussels Botanical Garden, and he has a special place in his house for all the stuffed animals fans throw on stage for him (much to the chagrin of his boyfriend). We had a fabulous time at the intimate performance of my new love, Patrick.

I must reiterate- Belgians are strange! Jule and I WERE THE ONLY ONES DANCING! This wasn't a sit-down concert; this was a stand-up, general admission, everyone crowding the stage in a same smallish room in hopes of seeing the sweat roll off Patrick's face concert! Seriously, what is wrong with them??

One of the best things about seeing a show in the Botanical Gardens is that Petar lives a 5 minute walk from there. Amazing. So we crashed there Saturday night and went with him to a flea market Sunday morning! It was quite fun- we looked at some of the oddities that made me want to translate "one man's trash is another man's treasure" into both French and Dutch, people watched a good bit, and I discovered I am not too shabby in French when I dust off my old language skills (Merci Madame Herman!) The best part was just spending time with Jule and Petar- they are both such darling people, I really love hanging out with my friends!


Dutch words learned many adventures ago that I've forgotten to post:
geneiten- to enjoy
muts- hat (a soft one, not a baseball or top)
klimmen- to climb
het jeukt- itch
krabben- to scratch
koger- bullet
ijskar- ice cream truck!
de veer/de pluim- feather
roeren- to stir (soup, etc)
slijmmerig- slimy
mierikswortel- horseradish
vieren- to celebrate. The Flemish are always vieren something...

That's all for now, I'll write more about the inspiring adventures of work soon!

Much Love,
kw