Brussels 301

More interesting things that caught my eye (I've got to keep writing them down because my eye is becoming more Belgian all the time!) :

- I bought myself a pair of shoes and was amazed to discover that there are no "widths" in European shoe sizes (at least this is what the salelady told me).  I have a narrow foot, you have a wide foot and we both buy the same shoe!!  Needless to say, I had to find a shoemaker to buy an insert to hold my heel in place.

- Pigeons poop all over so some folk add spikes to their window ledges so the pigeons can't land on them.  Can you see the spikes?









- The port city of Antwerp is the world's diamond capital. Most of the businesses are run by Jewish families

- You could be fined in Belgium if you don't vote!  Try that on for size, Canada!!

- I thought that we Montrealers should take note of the next two:

- This is how Belgium keeps cars from parking where they shouldn't.  Sidewalks are so low that cars can easily park anywhere on sidewalks.

- This is how Belgium keeps pedestrians from jaywalking  It works!  Can you see this on the corners of the downtown streets of Montreal?!

St. Andrew's Church of Scotland

After two months, it's about time, isn't it, that I talked to you about St. Andrew's.  After all, this is why I came!  Building first, then people.....

          On the corner of busy Chaussée de Vleurgat sits this stone church that you could pick up and set down again in Scotland.  It's not real big but it's full every Sunday.  It was built in 1925 in memory of the Scots soldiers killed in WW1 and buried in Belgium and its active parish life florished until the German army marched into Belgium in May 1940.  The St. Andrew's flag and the key to the church were quickly given to the garage owner across the street; worship stopped and the minister was evacuated.  During the Occupation it was used by the Germans as a store house.
          In the autumn of 1944, as the liberation troops marched into the city, the garage owner hurriedly crossed the street, climbed into the church belfry, tolled the bell and raised the flag again!
          We in North America have no idea of what war on one's soil is like.  We sent men and women into the Wars but they didn't fight on our soil: soldiers and tanks didn't overrun our streets, gardens and fields, bombs didn't fall on our homes and cities, and we can't imagine what living under an Occupying foreign force would be like.  It has been my humble privilege to be able to talk to several older people in the congregation, both Belgian and British, and ask them what it was like.  I have a new appreciation for Belgian history: this little country has been the battlefield for many wars, none of them their own!

This is the church sanctuary: it holds 250 comfortably and 300 uncomfortably.  The church is growing but there's no room to grow physically: the church is hemmed in on all sides by other buildings.  Besides the sanctuary, there is a hall in the basement used for Sunday School, large meetings and suppers, etc., a kitchen and 3 little rooms including the vestry for small meetings (and 2 unheated restrooms!!) - not enough, but what do you do?.....

And this is the Rev. Dr. Andrew Gardner, our minister ....Andrew to all of us.  He doesn't look Scottish, does he?  Well, he is!  He was adopted as a baby by a Scottish family and so is as Scottish as the others.  I must say, though, when I first heard him preach 5 years ago, his Scottish accent took me by surprize.  His wife is Julie and they have two teenage daughters, Bethany and Karalyn.  I'm enjoying getting to know them.  Bethany goes to a French-speaking school, Karalyn to a Flemish-speaking school and they speak English at home and at church.  However, between the two of them, they're usually speaking French or Flemish!  Quite typical of the children and young people at St. Andrew's.  I often hear them talking to each other in either French or Flemish after the worship service.  Goes with being an ex-patriate in Belgium.




The congregation is a fascinating mix of cultures and languages.  I love it and feel at home in a mix like this.  There's a real respect for each one's language and culture and each one is welcomed warmly and sincerely.  This is one of St. Andrew's strong points.  Ask anyone who attends: one of the major reasons why they chose this church was because they were welcomed. 

There are at least 60 different nationalities here; of course many Scots but also a very large contingent of Ghanaians.  The Presbyterian Church in Ghana is huge so when Ghanaians travel abroad for work, they naturally look for this denomination.  There are 2 Canadians besides myself: Penni Clarke, a wonderful Newfie, leads the choir and is working on her doctorate in choral directing and does amazing things with the choir, and Matthew Zadow from Toronto, who is a world-class opera tenor.  Then there's a discreet group of Philipinos, some Nigerians and Camerounians, Eastern Europeans, Belgians, Americans and, and, and.  There are wee babies and folk in their 90s.  Some have no jobs; others 'run the world' from front offices.  Everyone is treated the same.  As Andrew so rightly says, once they cross the threshhold of St. Andrew's, they are all treated alike.  We are in God's presence.

And there is an elder board of 23 men and women.  It's called the Kirk Session.  There is no board of deacons so the elders do both jobs - the administrative and the pastoral.  Not too sure about this.....in my humble opinion, separating the two makes for better pastoral oversight.  Andrew seems to be doing the bulk of the pastoral work and the others, the administrative.....  I know almost all of them now and consider it a privilege and a responsibility to pray for each one by name every day.

Lots of committees just as in any church, youth group, Sunday School, college and career group, and so on.

So here is where my heavenly Father sent me to work and play for a year.  I'm lovin' it! :)  My daily prayer is that I will be a blessing to Andrew and to the congregation.

Faded Glory

Is this what I'll be like when I'm old?!

                                                            faded and wrinkled

Carnaval de Binche

Last Tuesday (Feb.21, 2012) was Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday or ..... Carnival week in Belgium.  The town of Binche in Wallonie (French-speaking region of Belgium) is known all over for its Mardi Gras carnival.  It has been proclaimed one of the masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. I wasn't going to miss that!
Binche is a typical Belgium town about an hour by train from Brussels, but crowded with hundreds and hundreds of people today!  The centrepiece of the carnival's proceedings is the clown-like performers known as Gilles.  They are dressed in a vibrant costume, wax mask and wooden clogs.  The honour of being a Gilles is something to be aspired to by local men.

At dawn, the first one goes to the home of the second one, has raw oysters and champagne with him; then they go to pick up the third one, have oysters and champagne together; then pick up the fourth one, and so on until there are a large group of them (all stuffed with oysters and champagne!).  They appear in the streets doing a kind of stomp-dance to the sound of drummers who accompany them.  In their hands they carry a bundle of twigs to ward off evil spirits and chase away winter.

A few others groups (Sociétés) are also dressed up and walking around the streets:
la Société des Paysans (peasants): they wear a blue smock with white cuffs and gloves, a hat decorated with two ostrich feathers and long white ribbons.  they are future Gilles.

la Société des Arlequins (jesters): they wear a costume made of a textile printed with yellow, red and green triangles, a black belt and their green felt hat has a black & grey fur tail.

la Société des Pierrots:  their costume is in pastel colours.  They wear a conical hat trimmed in lace with a white ribbon at the top, and a black mask.  The viola accompanies the children as they walk around and dance in groups.  The viola is a transpostable barrel organ whose keyboard and bellows work with a cyclinder moved by a handle.

The flower of the Carnival is the yellow mimosa, one of the first trees in flower in spring.  It`s flowering now.  There were vendors all over the main square.

In the afternoon, there is an amazing procession that winds its way through a few streets up to the main square where everyone dances (if you can find room!!) to the music of bands and drummers.  The parade has its usual horses, policemen, Red Cross workers, town councillors and important people  However, the beauty is the parade of the Pierrots, the Paysans and the Arlequins, and then the pièce de résistance is the Gilles, who have traded in their mask for a white hat with HUGE white ostrich feathers - absolutely unique!  Apparently they're worth hundreds of euros.  Breathtaking!

They all carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the crowds.  Fun!  In the morning as I wandered around, I wondered why the windows on the upper floors of the buildings along the parade route all had chicken wire or a grill over the window panes.  Now I understand why: the performers really heave their oranges!

The day ends with a huge bonfire in the main square.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience I wouldn't want to have missed. 

Shhhh!

          Don't tell anyone that this Canadian who is used to below zero temperatures all winter is excited at the arrival today of rain, after two weeks of below zero temperatures with blue skies and lots of sun here in Brussels!!  Yes, she is.  What she has to add, though, is that old buildings (of which her apartment building is one) do not have good insulation.  That means that the cold air passes through the walls, making them COLD to the touch and passes around the window frames causing a continual gentle breeze of COLD air.  The hot water radiators can't keep up.   I've been living in two sweaters, tights, wool socks and a blanket wrapped around me for days.  Hurrah for the rain and the above zero temperatures :) !!  (Bet this enthusiasm won't last for long, though. )
         However, Ukraine, Poland, Rumania, Italy and southern France are still buried in unusual quantities of snow.  And Quebec has practically none!

My Brussels 201

One month (and a bit) in Brussels and what catches my attention now?
- many restaurants are closed on Sunday.  I don't think it's for religious reasons but rather that Belgians stay home with their families on Sunday.  Only restaurants in the tourist area of Brussels are open.
- footwear is very important here.  People assess you by the shoes you wear!  I hardly see any running shoes.  The shoestore windows are outstanding and the boots the women wear are pretty cool.  Want to spot a tourist?  He/she is either wearing sturdy walking shoes or running shoes :)
- there are not many bikes.  This is not Holland.  That surprizes me but apparently, the Belgians are not into fitness as we are.  Maybe there'll be more when the weather warms up...
- Belgians say "s'il vous plaît" for "you're welcome" or "here you are" or "merci/thank-you".
- men and women's restrooms in restaurants often share the same sink area to wash hands.  It's a bit of a surprize at first when you see a man come out of a cubicle facing you!
- street lights are most often fixed to the buildings so as not to take up sidewalk space.
- believe it or not, after 10 p.m., the music playing in the subway stations is classical!  I can stand waiting for a subway and listen to a Mozart sonata!  Amazing!
- I can treat myself to a fresh bouquet of 10 tulips every week for only 5 euros!  There are vendors all over the place.
- Belgian fries are the best in Europe.

So, where do I live?

Welcome to my little corner of Brussels!  My postal code is 1050, which means I live in the Commune (or section) of Brussels called Ixelles.  It's a lovely area of the city with parks, trees and wide boulevards.  I live just off Louise Avenue, a large tree-lined boulevard with high-end stores, shops, banks, bakeries, restaurants and apartment buildings - a safe place to walk around in in the evening.  My street is de la Concorde and I live at #54, on the top floor.  I like this because when I look out my windows, I'm looking at roof tops, not into someone else's windows.  Side streets are narrower here than in Montreal.

This is the view from my window onto my street.  You can see how narrow the houses are .  This is typically Belgian.  Each one is different.  Sometimes an old one is torn down and a new modern one is built in its place so many streets are a mixture of old and new buildings, but all narrow. 

And this is my apartment building - the yellow brick one.  My apartment is on the top floor, the sets of windows with 5 panes and 2 panes.  The 5 panes are in my living room and the 2-paned window is my bedroom.  Now, step inside the door, go up to the 4th floor on a tiny little old elevator that's open to the walls on 2 sides and knock on my door!

Welcome!  This is my entrance hall (also my clothes cupboards).  It leads the way into

...... my living room.  My couch makes into a bed so I can have visitors; the table at the left near the window is where I'm sitting right now at my computer; the door to the right is to my bedroom; there's a TV on the left and a table and chairs....

... and behind the dining area is my kitchen with a stove with gas elements and an electric oven.  To the left is the door to the bathroom.

It's a nice compact little kitchen that is very convenient.  The window opens onto a shaft that goes from the bottom floor to the top, to let in air.  The top is covered with wire netting to keep the pigeons from coming in.

And this is my bathroom.  The washing machine is a washer-dryer but the dryer is not very efficient according to Canadian standards.  It would take 2 hours to dry sheets so you can see why I don't use it, with the price of electricity here being so high.    You can see the drying rack that I bought :).  The blue 'seat' is a hamper.

And this is the gas heater.  The water in the building is heated by gas - a new wrinkle for me.  I'm getting used to the "whoosh" as the gas lights up each time I turn on the hot water!

And finally, this is my bedroom.  Fortunately the bed is very comfortable and very warm.  When I'm shivering from the cold because the windows are poorly insulated and the cold air pours in around them, I can jump into bed and get warm!

So this is my new home for this year.  I am truly blessed.  It's tastefully decorated, adequate for my needs, near stores, on tram and subway lines so I can go anywhere in the city, a 15-minute walk to the church (or 5 minutes on the tram) and a safe, interesting, busy area to live in.  It is a gift from God.  Thank-you to so many of you that made this possible.