Last night I was invited to a dinner party by my new Belgian friend, Nicolas. We met at a contact jam a few weeks ago and he is a really kind soul. His english is excellent (or at least as good as mine!) as he has studied for many years and lived in America for one. You can probably guess where I'm going with this one...
When he asked me where I was from I answered 'a small town in the midwest.' He preceeded to share that he actually lived in Wisconsin for one year. Now it's getting interesting. Turns out he spent a year in Appleton, WI (a small city just an hour south of my hometown!). We laughed and talked about BRUSSELS, WI. Even though he was well aware of the town, many people are amazed such a place exists. Or they know of it and have never met anyone who has ventured across the big water from there to here.
Well, here I am.
Dinner at Nicolas' was quite incredible. I learned about the difference between 'soup' and 'bouya'. Never knew so much about Belgian cooking (and I wonder if my grandma knows about what we've been calling 'bouya' for so many years...). Something to write home about. Food, Wine, Laughter, lots of French (oh yeah, I still need to learn that), dancing, more laughing, and of course--CHOCOLATE! I retired to a spare bedroom (several stories above our hang out area)sometime after 3am. I woke up to sunshine through the window and a cat sitting on the window cil. So then I left - I'm allergic to cats!!
I am so grateful for the kind Belgian (and French, Greek, European) hospitality I received this weekend. I'm now off to a wine and cheese party with another 'real Belgian' I met with some of the interns a few weeks ago. It's a great way to really learn about this beautiful, complicated, European culture. Here's to making new friends and trying new wines!!
No comments:
Post a Comment