Published by Jess
on 30 November 2008 at 10:52 PM. 
This past Thursday was Thanksgiving Day. It was the first Thanksgiving that I spent away from home and that I didn't get to talk to my entire family. I spent the day with (mostly) people who I had just met who welcomed me into their home and fed me an insane amount of food for free, kindly driving me to the closest metro station when we were done. And I spent my Thanksgiving being thankful for new things. I was thankful for the kindness of fellow Americans in foreign countries. America may be such a big country, and the people in it so diverse, but when you are in another country you can meet an American who lives next to a different ocean than you and still feel some sort of connection to them. (okay, this is not always the case) I was thankful for familiar food and lots of it.
Today I went with two other au pairs out to my married friends' home in Hoeilaart where we baked Christmas cookies--yet another change from my yearly tradition. We cut out hundreds of tiny little sugar cookies and ginger cookies and painstakingly decorated each one with glossy white icing. I had a lot of fun making Christmas cookies in Belgium using grams and Celsius and larger sticks of butter. I still missed home though and I am beginning to realize that I have to wait an entire year to enjoy these holiday traditions with my family again. I miss silly things from home like being in the kitchen with mom making cookies as it gets dark out--I remember how if you plug in the light that is over the mixer it makes a weird zapping noise and I always think it's killing ladybugs when I turn it on. I miss the buzzer going off for like an hour without mom getting up to turn it off. Dad putting all the Christmas decorations up in the middle of November. I want to see the new fireplace all dressed up for Christmas. I'm missing it's first Christmas. I remember when I was little and it seemed to take SO LONG for Christmas to come and now Christmas seems to come so quickly. Maybe waiting until next year to do these family traditions will just be like waiting for Christmas to come when I was little.
I can't decide whether I just shouldn't think about these things--does missing home make it harder to be here and get through the holidays? I really am enjoying my time here and have done a lot of things that I will probably never get to experience again. It is not so bad of a thing to break from traditions every now and then to allow yourself the chance to try something new and in the end it makes you appreciate the traditions that you do have even more. I like the fact that, while my family does have traditions, they are not so rigid that I can't spend one year away from them. I miss them, but also realize that part of our family tradition is trying something new each year--there was the year we tried fondue, the year we tried sparkling grape juice, the year we tried reading the Christmas Story together on Christmas eve...this is me just trying something new, knowing that next year won't be the same thing.
Published by Jess
on 25 November 2008 at 2:26 PM.
When you travel somewhere, you tend to get the expected question of "how was your trip?" You supply one of two expected answers, "I had a wonderful time" or "It was dreadful." Then comes the next question, "Why?" This can be a more difficult question to answer and there are multiple replies. Yesterday I went with four other girls to a Christmas Market in Aachen, Germany. I had a wonderful time.
Why?
The Christmas Market was something like I would imagine the North Pole to be like except without elves, heaps of snow, toy making, or Santa Claus. So maybe it wasn't much like the North Pole at all. It was in a lovely town square that had a beautiful church and a castle like building. Winding throughout the square were little wooden booths that had boughs of pine and lights strung along the top (here I use the word boughs because I am teaching Daphne the song, 'Deck the Halls') Each stand offered something different to the many tourists wandering about--a teddy bear, a Santa Claus, warm nuts, chocolate covered bananas, Christmas Ornaments, jewelry, hot wine, etc...Everything had a Christmas flavor and everyone there was in the Spirit. There was live music and I was with the right people to enjoy it with. The live performers didn't really sing Christmas songs though--perhaps they thought that what they were singing was 'festive' music, but for me it did not bring feelings of festivity. "Homeless, homeless...many deaths tonight, it could be you." These words along with simple choreography (pointing at the crowd in order to emphasize you) seemed to have the opposite effect on my friends and I then I believe the song was intended to have. After listening closely to ensure we were hearing right we couldn't help but laugh at the attempt to sing a proper Christmas song.
Published by Jess
on 20 November 2008 at 3:09 PM.
The job requires flexibility and endurance. The faint of the heart and those who cannot work longer than 9 hour days need not apply. Must not get weak at the sight of blood, spiders, or poo. Must be able to deal with the emotional distresses of others and not take attacks against oneself personally. Someone who is athletic, musical, and artistic would be a plus and would certainly make the job easier. Will have to work in a bilingual environment, where you will will be expected to speak perfect English. Comfortable accommodation will be provided.
Work is my life. I might have as well had my own children for the hours that I put in raising someone else's. At least I get paid to watch these kids instead of paying to watch my own. I admire parents a little bit more. I think after you have children, at least when they are young, you are chronically tired and a little bit on edge. You lose your ability to communicate clearly with grown individuals because you are constantly dumbing down your own speech in order to communicate with your children.
Argh.
Published by Jess
on 15 November 2008 at 10:10 PM.
Today I woke up and decided that I should take advantage of my day off and go somewhere. I thought perhaps I would finish my Christmas shopping and being bored with Brussels decided to go to the nearby Belgian town (because every Belgian town is nearby) of Antwerp. These adventures are usually improved with company so I called my Australian friend Erin and asked if she wanted to come along. She kindly informed me of the importance of the day in Antwerp--the arrival of Sinterklaas in his boat from Spain!
Sinterklaas is not to be mistaken with the widely celebrated Santa Claus. For those who want to learn more about the most exciting man Sinterklaas I recommend you listen to this amusing bit:
The day was a success. We watched SinterKlaas arrive by boat, followed the hundreds of children down to his parade and watched him give his speech (which I couldn't understand since it was in Flemish). Forget Christmas shopping--who wants to shop when you can celebrate the season with a man in a tall hat and his black faced companions?
Published by Jess
on 06 November 2008 at 10:25 PM.
This question has been weighing on my mind lately. And not in a negative, 'I hope no one ever has another kid' kind of way. Just some of my deep pondering about issues of non importance. My mom is worried that after working this job I won't want kids of my own and to be honest I really question whether I do want children of my own or not. I look at Clarence and I wonder what he will be when he grows up. He loves to play ball and seems to improve at it everyday. Maybe he will play football professionally someday. I can tell people that I played ball with him when he was only a mere two years old--I taught him to catch (okay, he still can't catch, but we get closer everyday). He loves to sit and play piano so maybe he will be involved in music and compose a song that the whole world will sing. Maybe it will be about the nanny that he had for a year who used to sing him 'You are my Sunshine" every night before bed. He loves bath time, so maybe he will be a swimmer, although he does hate getting his face and hair wet, so maybe not. Whatever he will be, what kind of world will he be it in? Do we have children with the hope that the world we live in is getting better? Do we believe that we are helping to shape our world into something better for our children? Maybe that is why people have kids...because having them gives you the drive to make the world a better place for them.
I will probably have kids of my own someday. I keep believing that someday the 'settling down' itch will begin to need scratching; maybe it's started a little bit by being here and missing home and my own place. Whenever I do have kids though I want to make sure I'm ready to give them the things they need--compassion, patience, my full attention, humor, and a lot of my time. I don't want them to become just another distraction in a life that I am not pleased with. I want to bring them into a world that I have faith in and that they have a chance to improve.
Published by Jess
on 05 November 2008 at 10:14 PM.
Friday was Halloween which is a holiday that is not really celebrated very much in Belgium. I was told by the family that since I am American that must mean that I can carve pumpkins and paint faces. Obviously American spend a large part of October carving pumpkins and painting faces--that's just what we do. However, the family didn't realize that my family at home didn't really celebrate Halloween--oh well, a small detail. So we got a little pumpkin and some face paints and we had some Halloween. Pumpkin carving was interesting as the girls attempted to use a very sharp knife to cut an awkwardly shaped pumpkin (not really sure it could be defined as a pumpkin...squash?). Intervention by Jess. Fingers were saved and a pumpkin was carved. On to face painting. Annabel was going to be some sort of old woman who had an obsession with spiders and Daphne would be a ghost. Mom took over the painting of Daphne's face--the easy one of course--while I attempted to paint a spider web on Annabel's. Must of went alright because later she received compliments from other parents on the streets. When they asked her who did the painting she said, "Jessica--she can paint faces really good because she's American" So there you have it my fellow Americans, rip out your face paint and find that talent that you didn't know you had!
Obama fever has spread through this house. This morning I was woken up early by pounding on my door. Since Clarence was sick yesterday I thought that perhaps something was wrong so I rushed to the door. There stood Annabel to inform me that Obama was my new president. I told her I already knew (I had received an early morning text) and ran back to my bed. Throughout the day I was informed by the mother, the father, and the maid that Obama had won. Before bed the father and I danced with the children while they all did an Obama chant and I questioned who were the Americans in the room. I thought that being away from the States I might miss some of the political fervor that takes hold--but it seems it is here too. It is interesting to be in a different country for our election. When in America we don't tend to be aware of the rest of the world, but the rest of the world is VERY aware of what is going on in America. Our politics matter and have a ripple effect on the rest of the world. We should love and be proud of our country while also keeping in mind the global impact that we are making.
Since being here I have gone through:
4 boxes of cornflakes
2 boxes of granola
20 liters of milk (this seems crazy to me.)
50 bags of tea
1 kg of sugar
6 heads of lettuce
and a lot of cheese and chocolate
By the way, Christmas is coming & I won't be coming home, so you will have to send your Christmas cards here to me. If you want my address drop me an e-mail (jesshartman2@gmail.com) or ask my mom. I'll try not to be greedy and ask for packages. But I will be lonely and far away from home...
Today I woke up and decided that I should take advantage of my day off and go somewhere. I thought perhaps I would finish my Christmas shopping and being bored with Brussels decided to go to the nearby Belgian town (because every Belgian town is nearby) of Antwerp. These adventures are usually improved with company so I called my Australian friend Erin and asked if she wanted to come along. She kindly informed me of the importance of the day in Antwerp--the arrival of Sinterklaas in his boat from Spain! 
