A new home in Belgium

I arrived in Belgium on Sunday, after an unplanned stop-over in Lisbon, and slept embarrassingly late on Monday morning (let's just say, it was after lunchtime when I finally sidled downstairs to H's parents' kitchen). With a few bursts of melancholy here and there, a couple of minutes of discomfort about being away from my family and friends every few days, this move to Belgium has felt like just about any other move in the states. Perhaps it's because I have family here that I know I can trust, perhaps it's just being older and more easy-going, or perhaps it's the giddiness of being with my husband after six weeks of distance, but it feels natural and fine. Then again, I've only been here five days, and perhaps there are rockier paths ahead.

We have a beautiful apartment in Leuven - three floors of a large rowhouse with balcony space and floor-to-ceiling windows to please all the nosy neighbors. The second floor - the kitchen - even has two balconies - one on either side, and opening the sliding glass doors in the morning to hear the bustle of University students on their way to class, and to enjoy the fresh, crisp air makes for a perfect morning cup of coffee. That is, of course, when the weather isn't being particularly Belgian and rainy. We have big plans for outside table and chairs, for quiet dinners with sweeping views.

We have been busy going back and forth after H's working days to retrieve the necessities from his parents' house - a good hour by car or train, so our nights have been late. We have now set up a kitchen table with two chairs, filled our cabinets with odds and ends of dishes, and lay out a couple of twin mattresses for the bedroom until we can get a proper bed. I'll be relieved when we get a couch to curl up in. I'll be even more relieved when we get internet access. (I post this from a Quick - European hamburger chain, and just about the only place listed when I Googled 'Leuven and free wireless'.)

I promise to update this blog much more frequently from here on in. I suspect it will become more of a lifeline here, and a way for me to chronicle my adjustment. For now, I head into my new city with its gnarly, compact streets to find odds and ends for our new home.