It is a beautiful day here! I love the sun, and it rarely shines in Belgium. The weather has been cool (mid-60s during the day, mid-to-low 50s at night) and perpetually cloudy. It will rain off and on, but mainy just overcast. Today, however, is in the 70s and the sun is shining! Work is great, and today was the first day that I didn't necessitate constant prompting from my co-workers. It is a nice schedule: stock and box bread for the two hours before the store opens, make baguette sandwiches for the next two hours, as they have to be out by 11, then clean and arrange for the last two hours. I have also gotten to know my family better, and am enjoying my time at home. Yesterday I mentioned to them that pop almost had to go to battle of the bulge, and the (who apparently used to be in the belgian military) flipped out and started bringing out books, etc. Beatrice and I have also kind of bonded because we both like lots of vegetables, fruits, and grains, and we talk (in a limited sort of way) about that. Now that the incredible newness of everything has worn off, I have started noticing and appreciating things that slipped by the first few days that I was here. I have, for example, identified the type and location of the definitive belgian chocolate. My co-workers talk about it a lot, and we sell approx. 400 different varieties of it just at the store where I work. It is called "cote d'or" (golden coast) chocolate, and is amazing. They make every sort imaginable -- dark, white, milk, with nuts, with caramel, with mint, solid bars, wafers, and so on into infinity. Today I bought a bar of this chocolate to try and it was incredible. The one I got is a big rectangular bar composed of smaller, kitkat-sized smaller bars that you can break off. The bars themselves are like reese's, with the peanut butter in the middle and thick chocolate outside. But here is the clincher -- instead of peanut butter it is hazelnut, almond, and cashew butter. augh!! So chocolate has become a constant component of my diet now. also waffles. There are "brussels" waffles and "liege" waffles. The brussels waffles are rectangular and have chocolate, sugar, whatever topping you want on the top. The liege waffles are circular and have sweetened dough so the waffle itself is sweet without the toppings. I like both of these, of course, and can rarely resist pulling the one-euro piece out of my pocket when I pass a stand (and they are usually sold from stands on the street, which eliminates the deterrent of going in and ordering...) I have also discovered that I can get iced tea here. But get this -- it is SPARKLING iced tea! Amazing! There are also lots of varieties of sparkling iced tea -- peach, raspberry, fruit punch, lemon, and so on. I will truly come back to the US dirt poor and 400 pounds, because I have no self-restraint with these things. I have also become more familier with the little town, and it is really cute and nice. It is small enough to walk literally anywhere you would want to go, and it isn't very touristy so things are pretty inexpensive. I met an american man at the store yesterday who has lived in mons with his wife for 23 years. He didn't actually say it, but I bet he was/is in the military. Because Belgium is right in the middle of europe, it is headquarters for lots of international organizations and bases; in fact, I have heard that there is a big american population right outside of mons at a NATO base. He said he goes grocery shopping every tuesday morning, so I will see him there again. This afternoon I am going to go to the Museum of the two world wars that they have here in mons, that is supposed to explain mons'/southern belgium's involvement in the wars. We'll see how that is... Three more days of work and then Ghent this sunday!
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