Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Back in the U.S.A.
We had a busy, but fun, trip to the U.S. in March. We spent one week in Seattle and one week in Atlanta. The reason we went to Seattle was because Rick’s brother, Mark, got married. The wedding was beautiful and so was the bride, Tina. It was great spending time with the Cohan family and meeting the friends and family of the bride—especially her three awesome daughters. There were a lot of festivities surrounding the wedding so we were always on the go.
Our week in Atlanta was even busier as we tried to visit with a lot of friends and family. Although we felt some of our visits were too brief and we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, it was wonderful to see everyone and to learn about new and exciting things going on in their lives. The best surprise was when my sister and her 3-year old daughter, Emma, showed up at my grandfather’s house. They flew in from Virginia and stayed for several days. Apparently, my grandfather, Rick, and myself were the only ones in the dark about this. The only bad part was that my other niece and nephew were not able to be there. They would have missed too much school.
Most of our time in both locations was spent eating. What else do you do when you are visiting with people that you haven’t seen in a long time? We miss all of you, but we were feeling a bit bloated when we left Atlanta. We were happy to get back to our normal diet.
Besides the diet, we really didn’t experience much culture shock. We have not been away long enough. The only strange thing for me was hearing English spoken at the airport when we first landed in the U.S. I have gotten accustomed to hearing a lot of background noise, but not understanding much of what people say. It was kind of refreshing to know what people were saying. I wanted to eaves drop just because I could! Also, it took me a little while to remember to say, "excuse me" rather than "pardon-pronounced with a French accent" when trying to get by someone.
Our week in Atlanta was even busier as we tried to visit with a lot of friends and family. Although we felt some of our visits were too brief and we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, it was wonderful to see everyone and to learn about new and exciting things going on in their lives. The best surprise was when my sister and her 3-year old daughter, Emma, showed up at my grandfather’s house. They flew in from Virginia and stayed for several days. Apparently, my grandfather, Rick, and myself were the only ones in the dark about this. The only bad part was that my other niece and nephew were not able to be there. They would have missed too much school.
Most of our time in both locations was spent eating. What else do you do when you are visiting with people that you haven’t seen in a long time? We miss all of you, but we were feeling a bit bloated when we left Atlanta. We were happy to get back to our normal diet.
Besides the diet, we really didn’t experience much culture shock. We have not been away long enough. The only strange thing for me was hearing English spoken at the airport when we first landed in the U.S. I have gotten accustomed to hearing a lot of background noise, but not understanding much of what people say. It was kind of refreshing to know what people were saying. I wanted to eaves drop just because I could! Also, it took me a little while to remember to say, "excuse me" rather than "pardon-pronounced with a French accent" when trying to get by someone.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Back to Blogging
Hi all, I have been on a lengthy hiatus and I apologize to my loyal readers. I know I have at least two left at this point. Thanks to Andy and Susan for nagging me about being a slacker. Andy, I finally responded to a couple of your comments.
We returned from a two-week trip to the U.S. to summer-like weather in Brussels. We have also had more sunshine the last month than we had the previous six months combined. I've been more interested in spending time outdoors than in sitting in front of the computer--Vous savez que je dis ? I have also been studying for French exams. I had three exams last week: listening comprehension, oral, and written. I'm happy to say that I did well on them and have graduated to the next level. Most of my classmates have decided to continue with lessons as well and we were told that they like to keep the groups together if possible. We are all very excited about that because we have become good friends.
Rick is in Moscow for a few days and French class does not start back until May 2. I'm out of good excuses for neglecting my blogging duties. I've been trying to spend Rick's money on some new additions to my Spring wardrobe while he is away, but everything is so darn expensive! I've heard that July is a huge sale month in several European cities. Maybe, I'll organize a girl's trip to Paris. Anyone interested?
We returned from a two-week trip to the U.S. to summer-like weather in Brussels. We have also had more sunshine the last month than we had the previous six months combined. I've been more interested in spending time outdoors than in sitting in front of the computer--Vous savez que je dis ? I have also been studying for French exams. I had three exams last week: listening comprehension, oral, and written. I'm happy to say that I did well on them and have graduated to the next level. Most of my classmates have decided to continue with lessons as well and we were told that they like to keep the groups together if possible. We are all very excited about that because we have become good friends.
Rick is in Moscow for a few days and French class does not start back until May 2. I'm out of good excuses for neglecting my blogging duties. I've been trying to spend Rick's money on some new additions to my Spring wardrobe while he is away, but everything is so darn expensive! I've heard that July is a huge sale month in several European cities. Maybe, I'll organize a girl's trip to Paris. Anyone interested?
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Egan's Gastronomic Tour of Belgium
Fran and Colman came to visit us earlier this month. It was great to see some familiar faces. We spent most of our time eating and catching up on the juicy gossip from home. Unfortuantely, our guests got to experience the typical rain and gloom of Belgium. Spring decided to arrive exactly one week after their visit--go figure. We've had awesome weather the last five days and the outdoor cafes and parks have been teaming with people trying to soak up some much-needed sun. It's like Brussels finally bloomed! I don't think anyone minded the bad weather, however. The Egans had a one-track mind and that was FOOD! Well, at least one of the Egans did. The one who was eating for two. This baby is going to have no shortage of energy as Fran made sure she was fed plenty of carbohydrates and sugar in the form of waffles, frites, and chocolate. The weather was bad, so what else was there to do?
We spent the first day walking around downtown Brussels until the cold and the rain drove us inside to a cafe in our neighborhood. We ended the day with a nice dinner where Fran and Colman got to try some typical Belgian dishes.
On day two we went to Bruges and Ghent. Even the greyest skies can't taint the beauty of those cities. Again, we ended up in a beer cafe. Mainly because Rick had his BEER GUIDE in toe. When we returned to Brussels later that evening, we re-visited a waffle shop in the Grand-Place as per someone's (I won't mention any names) request. And so the Egan's visit concluded with a warm waffle topped with chocolate sauce.
We wished the weather would have been more pleasant so our friends could have experienced the true vibe of Brussels. We had a great time, nonetheless, and managed to get in a lot of laughes between bites of food and sips of beer.
We have included some picture of the trip compliments of Colman.
We spent the first day walking around downtown Brussels until the cold and the rain drove us inside to a cafe in our neighborhood. We ended the day with a nice dinner where Fran and Colman got to try some typical Belgian dishes.
On day two we went to Bruges and Ghent. Even the greyest skies can't taint the beauty of those cities. Again, we ended up in a beer cafe. Mainly because Rick had his BEER GUIDE in toe. When we returned to Brussels later that evening, we re-visited a waffle shop in the Grand-Place as per someone's (I won't mention any names) request. And so the Egan's visit concluded with a warm waffle topped with chocolate sauce.
We wished the weather would have been more pleasant so our friends could have experienced the true vibe of Brussels. We had a great time, nonetheless, and managed to get in a lot of laughes between bites of food and sips of beer.
We have included some picture of the trip compliments of Colman.
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