You know you're in Belgium when...

This morning I went to the Cora--like a Walmart only without the greeters. It's attached to a slightly seedy mall in which are three or four pretty nice, unseedy cafés. In one of them sat a little old lady drinking a Stella (probably the best of the standard pilsners brewed here in Belgium), and at another table sat a little old man drinking a Westmalle double, which is an excellent dark beer brewed by Trappist monks. The time was 0845. That's a record early beer sighting. This is such a beer country.

Coins

This could be considered another in Rita's "You know you're in Europe" series, but I like buying stuff with change. Fairly major stuff, like bread, or a four-clip of beer. Maybe it's because I'm old enough to have actually handled silver dollars made of silver, but I don't share the aversion to coins many of mah fella Uhmuricuns have. I like pulling out a handful of change and realizing you've got 9 euros (about $152 at the current exchange rate). They have 1- and 2-euro coins, so you can buy a couple of loaves of bread and pay for it with change.

You know you're in Europe when...

you drive down the street in your neighborhood and there's a guy taking a whiz right there where all the neighbors and every car going by can see him.

You know you're in Europe when...

there's a smoking area right outside the gym.

A rare sight

For those of you not following the NCAA men's basketball tournament (those of you who hate freedom), my alma mater, Davidson College, is having quite a run. As a 10 seed they have now beaten seventh-seeded Gonzaga, second seed Georgetown, and third-seeded Wisconsin, the last a veritable spanking. The last time Davidson went the round of eight was 1969, before even I was a student, which was not quite the stone age but was before the cordless phone. Heck, it was even before you could own your own phone. Richard Nixon had just been inaugurated! I know this streak can--and probably will--end abruptly and that when it does the world will not shudder, but as my friend Dave used to say when the O's were winning (talk about ancient history!), it certainly does make for pleasant background music.

6:45 AM

It's 0645 Easter Monday and we're getting ready to go to work, watching the snow come down. It's sticking and it's beautiful.

We miss snow.

Dreaming of a white Easter

The weather has been decidedly unspring-like this week. It's varied from cold, wet and windy to cold, hail and wet and windy to cold, sleet and windy to, today, cold with mixed rain and snow. I had planned to wear a skirt or suit to church tonight but am now rethinking that, as I look at the big, fat wet snowdrops plopping on the window. This is unusual weather, even for Belgium.