All my friends know the low rider...

I know this is the song used on the old Marmite ads, but it was going through my head as I was making my first bacon sandwich in what seems like aaaaaaages. After discovering that a lone supermarket by the European Parliament was selling brown sauce, and the supermarket across the road from my apartment was selling "English" bacon, I knew I had to unify these two amazing products - in my belly.

 OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!!!

It's safe to say that I probably died and went to heaven, and it has to be said that in ALL seriousness, I don't know how I have survived without bacon sandwiches with brown sauce (that raw thing that was brought to my table in a cafe in Brussels does not even register on the pig meat deliciousness scale).

Just so you know, there's a cool remix of Low Rider from a while ago, that I've just remembered:

This is in all likelihood making a swift return to my iPod.

Dikke kusjes allemaal.

"Pass me a tissue, Wing Commander..."

... an hilarious line from the film "Personal Services", starring Julie Walters in a portrayal of a brothel Madam loosely based on the life of Cynthia Payne. It's a great cult classic that I have enjoyed since I was introduced to it when I was around 16-17. It makes me feel good and reminds me to remember to be myself when I'm feeling a bit down. Also, I really felt like watching "Kinky Boots", but I don't have that on DVD yet and didn't want to watch some jumpy grainy copy online.

 

I watched this around lunchtime, as I had some free time. This morning I recieved an e-mail from the annoying student saying he could no longer carry on with his English lessons as he had to finish his thesis. I do believe him as most of the time he has been on the phone with his tutor from Turkey begging for extensions and what-not. The only thing that pissed me off is the money that I'll be losing out on. Grrrr.

After I had finished watching Personal Services, I decided to take a walk and do something with my afternoon. I'm glad I did, as I stumbled upon a farm - which is situated more or less across the road from me, in Brussels, in the city.

Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery after I took the last photo of the roosters. There were also some really friendly sheep, goats, lots more poultry, deer (I think... they had antlers), a peacock, and that's about what I can remember. It was a nice little detour on my way to the Basiliek/Basilique.

There's quite a nice view from the top of the steps; I went inside, which was okay. It's quite modern really.


Anyway, it was a nice walk up there. You can see it from the front of my apartment so it's been intriguing me for a while. It wasn't a disappointment when I got there, it just didn't meet my expectations. I thought this when I got there, and realised I could probably apply that perspective to my time in Belgium. It hasn't been exactly what I thought it would be. However, I don't know if I ever really knew what it was going to be like. I never knew what uni would be like, or my year abroad in France and Spain, until I actually got there. Maybe this time it's just wierd because I'm not living the student dream. I can't get away anymore with missing that 9am lecture and turning up at 10am instead, just because I went out the night before and was a bit rough. More often than not I have to be at the bloody airport for 6.30am now! Life is different now.

Having said that, I'm not unhappy about it. I was on Skype to Rich last night and was telling him how I feel really good when I'm at work. I hate leaving because I've got shit to worry about in the real world. At the airport I can just concentrate on work and even have a good time doing it with my workmates.

For those coming to visit me in the coming months, here is a photo of where you will be staying:

My building is the one slightly left of centre with the curved roof.

It really was a lovely day - bit chilly later on though.

It has to be said I'm missing my friends and family a lot at the moment. I'm also quite lonely in my apartment at the moment, as Paul is barely here. I don't think he's adapting well to living away from home, which is wierd as he's lived away from home in different countries - that's how we met! I hope he doesn't regret it. On the other hand, I enjoy immensely curling up on the couch with a duvet and watching various DVDs/boxsets. I might have a beer tonight that my sisters and Jordan left in the fridge. 9 days and counting, till I hit the geilest city of them all.........

Wir fahren mit der Luftbahn...

... well I will be when I fly to Berlin a week on Freitag. Can't wait!

It's a great feeling knowing that I'm going to visit a city that I've been dying to see for a few years now. I'm almost certain I won't be disappointed - I've thoroughly enjoyed every trip to Germany I have made in the past. I can't wait to see Catherine, as well as Lukas and various other people whom I know live there for one reason or another.

Did I use 'whom' correctly? I've been reading Stephen Fry and he has prompted me to call into question my use of that particular dative pronoun. I must investigate further...

Anywho, things are going well in the airport. I will be joining the US Airways group at work, which I am fine with, but I was hoping to work for Iberia so I could use my Spanish. It makes more sense for me to work with US, being Engelstalig/anglophone and all so I should start training for that some time in April and being earning some better money.

I'm back teaching tomorrow after a week off for various reasons. I'm not really arsed about it, the only thing that is making me do it is the need for money. The two guys I'm tutoring at the moment are not making me want to teach them at all - they are a little lazy and impatient, and don't pay me enough (or rather I fell too soft when they asked for a cheaper price. My own fault, I guess).  I think if and when I make it back to the UK and take up teaching, I will enjoying teaching children and young adults much more, rather than adult learners who think they're going to be fluent after 2 weeks. Young people don't have that same expectation of school, as they know they're only meant to go as fast as their teachers teach them. I'm sure there are of course exceptions to this assumption. If I'm honest, I'm just trying to justify my boredom at trying to teach my language to these particular learners.

Talking of language learning, it occured to me to try and teach myself a bit of German for work. I'm encountering increasing numbers of Germans who don't speak English, French or Dutch. Normally of the older generation, they are just happening to cross my path and it would be nice if I had an adequate vocabulary and knowledge of basic grammar to string a few sentences together. Ahl keep tha posted.

Today, whilst boarding a Lufthansa flight and then a Swiss flight I had two nice conversations in English with two colleagues, who wanted to know why I lived here, spoke Dutch and French etc. blah blah blah. The second was happy as I could do the call outs for him in "perfect" English (I enjoyed hearing the sound of Bradford echoing and filling the whole of Terminal A).

The A/Schengen Terminal - the nice one.

One speaks to me in English anyway as he seems to like it, but the other switched to English after he asked me where I was from. Then he asked me if I spoke Dutch, then realising we had already spoken in Dutch, excused himself citing the stereotype of English people not speaking languages etc. so he just thought it better to speak English - not sure how that makes sense, but I was more than happy to remain in my native language, as I can get a little confused when swapping between French, Dutch and English (and whatever else) all day. Love it.

Belgicisme/Belgicanisme

It's chaos outside my window at the moment. There's the constant sound of horn-beeping and other annoying traffic-related sounds.

Well, the sound of cars at least. The Brussels transport network MIVB/STIB has called it quits for a while and gone on strike, so everyone is having to drive or walk, or take the De Lijn buses (Flanders saves the day again). And they don't mess about, they started during rush hour yesterday so people coming home from work (me being one of these people) were buggered.  I was meeting my sisters in Delirium in the centre of town, and decided to get off the bus from the airport earlier on in order to take the metro closer to the centre. Of course the metro decided to stop literally the moment after I got there. Buses were still working at that point but it would have been pointless to walk to a bus which wouldn't take me that close to where I wanted to be. So I walked (quickly I might add, as I really wanted a beer and a wee.)

Seriously, they're beeping a lot now. Is this to get the traffic moving with soundwaves, or to express anger at the Belgian government, or lack thereof?

I read a good article today from the Independent about the political crisis here. I was quite impressed to find a better quality article about it in a British newspaper than most other articles about it on the BBC and other newspapers. Usually it's simply "Belgium doesn't have a government. They speak French and Dutch there. Brussels is a French-speaking city in Flanders, that's the problem" - none of which is wholly incorrect, although the last part could be misinterpreted.

May I interrrupt the proceedings to inform all that I am typing this while looking at the screen through my new glasses. As of Sunday I became Dave "Specky-Four-Eyes" Cooper. They are fabulous of course, simply because I don't have to squint anymore.

I came across the concept of Belgian nationalism while reading this article (I often break off to investigate things that I think about as a result of the intellectual stimulation (lol) that we get from reading). I hadn't thought much about it, which is probably why I got a slightly lower grade than I had wished for on my final Dutch project at uni (I concentrated on regionalism in Belgium, but evidently didn't really mention the possibility of nationalism in Belgium). Then I got to thinking (yes, I've been watching too much Sex and the City) about Belgian nationalism (Belgicisme in Dutch, Belgicanisme in French) as a possible avenue to success in the future and an end to the political crises that have crippled the country over the last few years. Maybe it is possible that after (too) much devolution of responsibilities (a much more agreeable term than 'power', n'est-ce pas?), it might be time to acknowledge the role of federal government in encouraging the country and its people to become united, rather than the regions simply 'sticking together' because they can't separate.

The protests have gestured towards this, however on paper the movement is only favoured among the Wallonian parties. This is because it normally only fits with their other policies of keeping their financial interests covered. - there are no French-speaking separatists that have as much influence as the NVA or Vlaams Belang, as it would not make financial sense for Wallonia to secede from Belgium. Flanders on the other hand, would be loaded as it would no longer have to subsidise poor Wallonia if it decided to split.

Wouldn't it be great though, if the regions could put their financial interests aside, and just look at the social impact of embracing the Belgian identity and working it into their politics? Or have they already tried enough, and this young and relatively inexperienced blogging nobody should shut the hell up?

Quoi 2 9?

Well.

I know it's been, like, two months (and a bit) since my last blog post (and I've only made about 3 so far, so not the best start to a blog) but I'm ready to get back into it. Let's see how far we get...

First thing's first - Ik woon nu in Brussel/Maintenant j'habite à Bruxelles.

Andy came to visit last weekend, and we stumbled upon the best Embassy in the city.

I was staying for a while at my mate Basia'a apartment, who had fled to Oz for a month leaving me to look after her mentally ill dog. 

Let me rephrase: Basia went on holiday for a month to visit her family and friends back home, and I volunteered to look after her sweet but scared dog so I could stay in Brussels and look for a place of my own.

The reason for the two explanations is because both are true, but the reality is somewhere between the two and I haven't the energy to choose my words carefully.

So now, I have a new apartment after having moved in on Saturday. It's on the north side of the inner ring (lol), on the Boulevard d'Anvers/Antwerpselaan. It's pretty funky, although sometimes I feel like my apartment is a cross between 80s glam and charity shop chic. It's warm, dry and comfy which makes me happy and in a great location. It's also a great location for tranny hookers, which is a downside for me, but a pluspunt for the men that are seeking the manlady of their dreams.

Special thanks to the chippy around the corner for providing me with a new place to get some good chips outside of Antwerp. The guy even speaks Dutch, which is just prima. I just have to remember not to look at his hands when he's wrapping stuff up, as they are a special type of minging. Maybe it's from the fat burning him - don tek me wrong, but it meks me gip.

I've also started teaching English part time. It was a shakey start, but I think I'm gettting into it. Although I was pissed off when one of my students didn't turn up today - I wouldn't mind, but I teach them one at a time, so I had to wait for my next one.

While waiting for the next student, I made a quick visit to a nearby cafe, in which I had a pleasant experience on a previous visit. However, I had to send back the bacon sandwich I ordered... as the bacon was not cooked. I mean, really. A raw bacon sarni? I asked the girl if she could fry my bacon and she was surprised that I didn't want to eat raw pig.  She had put me in the unfortunate position of having to explain that in England we fry our bacon, and even eat it with a brown sauce (no apologies to the retards who have bacon sarnis with ketchup). After conceding that my way was better (she didn't, but my way is better), she brought me back a pleasant enough bacon sandwich with a refreshing cup of Earl Grey.

Then I went to teach my second student who did turn up. I have had a few problems with this one, as he won't let me teach him the stuff he needs to know, insisting he already knows it. I give him some examples to do as I know he will make mistakes, just to prove to him that I vaguely know what work I need to do with him. After dragging him through some modal verbs, various tenses, moods and other such grammatical delights, we finally got onto some good stuff today and I think we are going to be alright. This is mostly thanks to Basia who gave me some tips on difficult students and cool games and tools to use to engage with them. I said to my Dad last night if I gave up on him, I might be poorer but I'd be happier. On second thoughts, I think I'd just end up being unhappy about the lack of money.

Anywho, tomorrow I have a day off before a weekend at the airport. Tomorrow night there is a party for everyone who works in the airport. I wasn't going to go, but some other workmates are going who also have to work on Saturday morning, so our plan is to go straight to work afterwards at 6.30am. Don't worry, I'll keep it classy.

Sinterklaasje kom maar binnen met je knecht...

Hoi allemaal.

Ik ben aan het luisteren naar Club Nation met Phil Marriott op Gaydar Radio, en ik dacht dat ik een blog update zou moeten doen. Trouwens, betekent het eerste punt dat ik denk dat je naar deze radio show moet luisteren.

Helaas in de laatste week heb ik mezelf zonder werk gevonden (voor redenen die niet zo belangrijk zijn - het volstaat te zeggen dat ik een paar lessen heb geleerd), dus deze week heb ik niet zo veel gehad om te doen. De eerste drie dagen bleef ik bij het huis van Tante Irma en Karen (ik weet niet wat ik zonder ze zou doen!) in een staat van depressie en angst, blah blah paniekaanvallen blah blah (déjà vu? ah oui). Nadat, ging ik thuis om mijn leven uit te zoeken. Nu heb ik mijn verklaring van inschrijving (ik krijg mijn E kaart in vier weeken) en een afspraak op maandag voor een nieuwe job.

Vandaag....

... ben ik naar het huis van Tante Irma geweest. De Sint kwam!

Mijn eerste Sinterklaas feestje in België! Het boek "Vlaanderen" heeft veel photo's en informatie van Vlaanderen in het Nederlands, het Frans en het Engels. Dank u Sinterklaasje!


Na een lange tramreis in de sneeuw kwam ik bij het huis van Tante Irma.  We hebben veel koffiekoekske's en pepernoten gegeten en veeeeeel chocolademelk gedronken. Lekker! Alle de kinderen speelden met hun nieuwe speelgoed. Een schone dag, hoor! Nu ben ik een beetje heimwee dus vandaag was een echte goeie dag voor mij. Minder dan drie weeken totdat ik naar Engeland ga!


Dikke kusjes allemaal.

Monster Filmpjes

 

This one is a clip of the Lady herself performing "You & I" from her new album. Sounded great live. The link here goes to a Youtube version of my video if this one doesn't work.

This is Telephone, and the shinanigins leading up to it. Definately worth a watch... the girl's face after the two guys kiss is bascially what I was like during the whole concert. Except a bit more excited and giddy rather than weeping in joy. Can't blame her though.

 

This is another video - a pep talk from Gaga before she does Boys Boys Boys. With lots of boys with her, including Michael the German who she points out. He likes at the girls of Antwerp. He also likes all the boys of Antwerp.

So there. Hier zijn een paar video's, en u kunt alle 3 video's op mijn youtube channel zoeken.

SHOW ME YOUR PAWS LITTLE MONSTERS...