Looking back...Our First Day in Belgium

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I'm sure we looked a little strange, standing there on the sidewalk with a mountain of luggage.  Thankfully, we were able to snag a luggage cart and move the mountain into the lobby, check in, and finally make it up to our temporary apartment.  We had heard that the best way to beat the jet lag is to force yourself to be on the schedule of wherever you are. Whoever came up with that idea did not have small children. That result of that strategy is likely one less family member by the end of the day. Needless to say, we all crashed and slept for several hours to try to catch up on some of the lost sleep. After three hours, we made ourselves get up, cleaned up a little, and then walked over to meet our relocation agent (Dina) at the loft where we would be living. It was very exciting and nerve racking to see the loft. We already signed the rental papers, so we were hoping we would like it and that it would suit our family.



We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived! We thought the loft was beautiful and very spacious for our extremely rambunctious children. Once again, we felt very blessed to have found such a beautiful loft without having even seen it. The loft was partially furnished and the landlady agreed to leave the items until our things arrived, another blessing.  We spent some time looking around the loft and let the boys explore before we went to the City Center to walk through a grocery store and get something to eat.

Zuid City Center 

The City Center refers to a building (not the middle of the city) which has a mall (very small compared to what we're used to), and a grocery store inside. Thank goodness Dina came with us because everything was SO overwhelming. On top of being tired, we didn't know exactly how to communicate with people, or what to buy at the grocery store. Dina took us to the sandwich shop in the mall and helped us order some food. After we ate, we went to the grocery store so she could show us around. As I was walking in the door to the store, a lady came behind me and pushed me out of the way! I started crying...not sure why except that I was so overwhelmed and, at that moment, I felt like I would never feel comfortable or confident in our new home. I felt like we stood out like a

Match Grocery Store

sore thumb and everyone was looking at us. Dina walked through the store with us and showed us some staples that we would probably need like milk, bread, etc. and explained the way grocery stores work. I know that sounds silly, but it's different here! I'll post more on food and grocery stores at another time. We didn't buy anything, but it was helpful to walk through with someone who knew what was going on. I should mention that the shopping center is about a 3 minute walk from our loft!

After our trip to the City Center, we went back to the Aparthotel to let the boys rest. We also ate dinner at the hotel. We had made plans prior to leaving for Belgium to meet another American expat with the company and his wife to walk through the grocery store. They thought it would be helpful to have some help to get a few things to get us through a couple days. They were right. Even though we were all exhausted, it was good to once again walk through the store. So, back to Match we went. Cole's co-worker, Adam, and his wife, Annelies walked through the store with me while Cole entertained the boys. Adam, an American, and Annelies, a Belgian, gave me tips from different perspectives. Adam was able to show me what was very different from what I was used to, and Annelies was able to give me recommendations about what specific brands were good to buy. In the end, I think I purchased bread, milk, cereal, turkey, cheese, baby food, and some fruit...enough to get us by in our temporary apartment for a few days.  By the end of that trip, my head was ready to explode! We parted ways with Adam and Annelies, grateful for their kindness, went back to the Aparthotel and crashed!

It's difficult to describe how I was feeling at the end of the first day. Before we left for Gent, I went back and forth between calm, cool, and collected, and completely freaked out. I was hardly ever anywhere in between. I think that's the best way to describe how I felt during our first day. Our emotions were all over the place during the day, but when we finally laid down that first night, Cole and I both felt like things were good and that we would be fine. God was and is in Belgium. He had brought us safely to our new home. He allowed us to be uncomfortable, perhaps as a way to point us back to the constant grace He had been and continues to pour out on us.