Questions Answered, Part II - FOOD

Question from Ann: what meals do you typically cook/make? tell me about the markets? i want to know all about what you're eating day in and day out!

So here's a bit about our food life: This is my first time ever living outside of the US, and when I thought about all of the different things I would encounter here, for whatever reason food was never a thought. I am someone who loves food, loves to eat, and I pretty much assumed that food was, well, FOOD, anywhere you went. That being said, the first 6 months we lived here, Ryan lost 20 pounds! I didn't even know he had 20 pounds to lose! You could say that suddenly I couldn't find any ingredients I was used to and wasn't quite sure what to cook. I actually made a goal that on our 1 month anniversary here I would make chocolate chip cookies from scratch because I was unable to find even basic things like brown sugar and vanilla extract (which doesn't exist here as I've mentioned before...). We didn't have any snacks at night, or frilly thing, just the bare basics of fruits, veggies, etc. I can't say that part has changed much in these last 5 months, but we have discovered the wonderful world of Belgian treats (pastries, candies, etc.) and that has allowed us to stay quite insulated from the cold winter. Me probably more so than Ryan. :>

One of the greatest things about the food here in Belgium is the fact that it is so fresh! I have to grocery shop several times a week because things only last 2-3 days in the fridge once you have purchased them. Even if things did last longer, I would have no room to store them as my fridge is no bigger than a large mini-fridge you might have in your personal office. For 7 months I didn't even have a freezer until we were able to buy one secondhand from a friend. At that though, my freezer is only the size of 3 kitchen drawers, so I can't freeze much. I live very close to 2 different outdoor food markets and am able to shop at one of them 4 of the 7 days of the week. I buy all of my produce at these markets, as well as most of my cheese. I've mentioned this before, but I love these markets not only for their fresh food, but also for the fact that I am talking with the hands that made the food. I think there is something fulfilling in helping someone earn a living in this way. I buy my bread from bakeries in whole loaves and then they slice it fresh for me. I have to buy bread about every other day because it starts to go stale after that time (admittedly though, a loaf of fresh whole wheat bread hardly lasts that long at my house!) One of my biggest food challenges has been with milk. The milk here is so yummy (I compare it to drinking white chocolate) and comes in whole and 2% (we drink whole). We have a high level of milk consumption though and fresh milk is not always easy to find conveniently. If I were driving around (which I am usually not) it would be easier to acquire, although still a pain so often. I have come to find that most Belgians drink "boxed milk" or "long-life milk" a kind of milk that you can keep un-refrigerated for up to 6 months. I personally think it's gross and refuse to drink it. I buy my meat either from my local (2 blocks away) butcher or from the grocery store. That about makes up what we eat. I still struggle to find snacks here (or anywhere for that matter) that I deem healthy enough to continually buy and my kids are usually relegated to a piece of produce or slice of bread when hunger pains hit.

As much as I enjoy the fact that everything is so fresh and I know it is so healthy, I still find the whole eating thing a little daunting here. I always feel like we are out of food and I feel like I am constantly "on the hunt" for our next meal. With 5 voracious appetites to feed (yes, Charlotte included - that girl has skills!) we can go through an alarming amount of food in just 2 days. Another aspect of high quality food is the fact that my monthly food bill has doubled (taking exchange rates, etc, into account) since we moved here. Food is just so expensive! Very very good, but very expensive.

A typical breakfast for us would include yogurt and granola, or eggs and toast, or oatmeal - fairly standard things. I do a lot of pasta for lunch preparing it by making vegetable broth and then adding whole wheat noodles and whatever veggies I have on hand (spinach, broccoli, etc) and top it with cheese. Gouda and Swiss have become our two stand-bys, although I would still love to find a good Cheddar. I have regained respect for Grilled Cheese sandwiches as well, prepared with fresh bread and gouda cheese. Ryan got me a Belgian cookbook for Christmas (in an attempt to gain some skin back on his bones no doubt) that I rely on a lot for dinner. The recipes are so good and all of the ingredients are things that are readily found here. I would recommend the cookbook alone just for it's Strawberry-Rhubard Meriange Pie.

Overall, being interested in both food and nutrition, I think that Europeans know how to eat. As much as I miss Costco and my enormous fridge and freezer, I'm not sure I will be able to completely go back to the way that we ate before. I had posted in October (we had been here about 3 months) about finding some of our familiar foods and the food that I bought for myself was cream of chicken soup. At the time, I was so excited to find this that I bought many cans thinking back to how often I had wanted this the previous 3 months and couldn't find it. If you go to my shelves today, you will see all but 1 or 2 of those cans still sitting on the shelf. I'm not even sure what to do with cream of chicken soup anymore and I don't think we are any worse of for it. I don't mean to paint too healthy a picture as I consume enough pastry to not only override any health benefits I may be receiving, but also add to my "winter coat", but I do appreciate the freshness and overall health of our general meals.

Ann, did this answer your question?? :>

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!! :)