Questions - Answered, Part 1

Good questions everyone! Thanks for giving me some blogging material! I will try to answer them very soon and keep the questions coming if you feel so inclined.

Round 1: Questions from Lara (aka The Interrogator ;>)

Do you think you will have another baby while you are living there? No. This has been a decision that was made pretty much day 1 of our deciding to come here, and we remain firm in this position. A lot has nothing to do with the fact that we are in Europe (ie. I have 3 kids within 3 1/2 years of each other and need a serious sanity break, if not a permanent hiatus from childbearing) and some is definitely situational. I worry about language differences, the cultural differences of childbearing here, as well as the additional daily challenges a baby would add to my already very busy life.

What do you think about the school systems? I have to preface my thoughts here on the fact that I am having my first school experience here. Brayden is in Kindergarten and so I have never dealt with an American elementary school. That being said, here is my breakdown:

Positives:
1. The schools are very strict (at least in my estimation). The kids are taught to be respectful of adults and taught a lot of independence and from what I have seen the kids know what is expected of them and they perform.
2. Hot lunch is amazing. Real, fresh meals, catered in.
3. I like the flow. I appreciate that kindergarten is laid back. Kindergarten is still part of the "maternelle" school (ages 2.5 -6) and they don't go to the Primary school (US equivalent of Elementary school) until first grade.

Negatives:
1. No playground or social supervision. The Belgians believe that kids should "work it out" at all costs. Let's just say there is a lot of inappropriate physical contact and mean-spirited kids on the playground (I don't know if it's the same in the US or not). This has been a bit of a struggle for us, as Brayden has been the target of some of these altercations. I believe that kids should be working it out, but at some level I think there needs to be some measure of involvement from the adults.
2. Cleanliness standards are not quite the same as in the US. I don't think hand-washing is nearly as emphasized here.

Overall, I am very happy with the school and with what the boys are learning - Brayden especially. Brayden's teacher is wonderful and has really helped him along in his ability to grasp French. She has been patient and kind with him and I think she has definitely been influential in his fluency now. The discipline aspect of the school makes me think of the US circa 1940s-1950s and my boys (Landon especially) has been positively affected by this.

Are you still trying to learn the language? Um....YEAH. Did you know learning a different language is really, really, really, hard?! I didn't know that before, but I do now. I'm trying, I'm learning, maybe I'll be able to have a real, good conversation before I leave. I have now what I call "survival French." Meaning, I can communicate what I want and what I need, standard greetings, some polite phrases, but that's about it. My first phone conversation in French took about 15 minutes to communicate what I could have done in English in 2. I do understand quite a bit more than I can personally communicate, and basically, I just need to practice one-on-one conversationally more. Some days I am so frustrated by my inability to effectively communicate I could scream. I have a hard time remembering what life was like when it was all in English...

What language does Ryan speak at his job? English. The business (corporate) language here is English and all of his colleagues speak English - along with 4 or 5 other languages. It's amazing.

How are you enjoying the church there? When we first moved here we attended an International Ward, in English, that was full of mostly expats from various places. We loved that ward and it was my "happy place," my little slice of America every week in my French-speaking world. In December, the Stake disbanded the International Ward and assigned us to 2 struggling French wards in the area. I was called as the Young Women's president of our new ward in January and have been limping along the last 5 months trying to establish a program and bridge the differences in cultures (and languages!) between both the leaders and the girls. When I reference to the fact that this European experience has been hard, a lot of my "hard" references have to do with my calling. Talk about growing experiences!! In general though, we enjoy having a more local experience with church. One of my goals when we came here was to try and integrate, and church is definitely helping with that!

Stay tuned for next time - I'm excited to answer Ann's questions about food!! :)