Pajamas and the weather

 

This is a week old now, just a week. Liz had two friends stay over, making a movie about polio for their science course. They dramatized the life, and death, of someone with polio. They also giggled a lot. The next morning, Kathy and I put together a spread for them. I walked to the boulangerie and picked up croissants and choclate croissants. We had Greek yoghurt (with honey), Kathy sliced up a banana and an apple: they had lots to eat. After their meal, they went out on our little back porch, and realized it was a beautiful, warm day(for Brussels), and decided to do their homework together in the sun, on the grass, in their pajamas. That's when I took this picture.
It is difficult to believe that we are so much farther north than New Jersey, than any part of the continental United States, or should I say the 48 contiguous states. Which formulation suggests the two non-contiguous states, Hawaii and Alaska. Which, 3 days from the election, suggests Obama and Palin. Rarely do we get national politicians from these two more remote outposts of the US. Right now Obama seems to be in the lead. Has the weather influenced their views, is it responsible for their (right-thinking) liberalism and conservatism respectively?

My First Day

I arrived on the Continental flight from Newark, and there were more people lining up to come through immigration than I have ever seen in the last two years of traveling to Brussels. 20 to 30 people lined up before each of the Agents.

For once, I'd actually slept on the plane, and felt almost normal. The fog was so thick that we couldn't see the ground. I was surprised when we actually bumped down. I'd thought we were still in the clouds.

The good thing about what seemed to be several flights having arrived at once, and taking 10 minutes to get past the immigration agents, was that our luggage was just coming up and onto belt number 8 as we arrived there. Loaded, because I'm moving with just about all my worldly possessions to Brussels, I swung my bags up on top of my carry-ons, already piled on the cart, rolled out through customs, and into my new life.

Already the fog was starting to burn off, and we drove with the top down in our little Volkswagen. It turned into "the best day in Brussels all summer".

Even though I had felt almost normal, after breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee I napped. I set up my computer and checked emails. In honor of my arrival, I was taken out to dinner in ErpsKwerps, to the place we call the Chicken Shack, with chicken and ribs which they grill in some kind of barbecue, that is delicious. We ate in their Garden, and talked about education and Geneva and the future.