Hello from Greenberry’s Coffee & Tea Company in Rosslyn, People’s Republic of Northern Virginia

Hello everyone,

I’m still on the U.S. side of the pond, but a lot has happened since I last wrote. I was relieved to finally receive my visa from the Belgian Embassy on 21 August after about five weeks of waiting.

My last day of actual work at ACYPL was 29 August, then I moved out of my apartment at about 9:30pm on 31 August and started what ended up being a two and a half day drive back to Oklahoma. Sadly, I didn’t have time to take in live music on Nashville’s Music Row, visit Graceland or eat any amazing Memphis and Little Rock BBQ. I did all of those things when I drove home for Christmas last year, but this trip was much less recreational. My only goals were to get back to Oklahoma as quickly as I could and to not allow my feet to be nailed to the ground upon arrival (kudos to those who caught the song reference).

I spent a little under a week in the Sooner State, finding places to stash my stuff at my mom’s house, visiting friends and family and accumulating Sooners and Thunder (really, what were they thinking when they chose that name?) gear to give as gifts in Belgium. I had a good time, but after a few years away from home, it’s always a bit of a culture shock to hear my family members and friends’ takes on politics and current events.

I flew back to DC last night (oh, BWI, how I love thee…) for a whirlwind day and a half stay here before I begin the big trip across the Atlantic. I’m staying with my friend Beth (who gets major props for taking me in); trying to meet up with a former professor and a few colleagues and friends; and using every tactic known to God and man to keep all of my suitcases from exceeding American Airlines’ seventy pound weight limit for checked bags… Ideally I’d like them to close as well, but we’ll have to see about that…

I start the big journey across the pond at 1:50pm EDT tomorrow, 10 September with a quick jaunt up to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and then I’ll take a much longer flight from JFK to Brussels National Airport in Zaventem, a Brussels suburb in Flemish Brabant. I’m scheduled to get in at 7:30am CET on 11 September and I’m very excited that my good friend Rachelle is driving in from Liège to meet me at the airport and transport me and my fifty gazillion bags to my new flat in Etterbeek. I just hope that her poor car can handle all the abuse…

Anyway, that’s all for now… stay tuned for an update in the next couple of days with photos of my new flat and my first thoughts about everything that awaits in Belgium!

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