Rivers & Roads

This past weekend Simon and I did not have any big plans and we had a nice relaxing weekend in Gent. On Saturday we went the book release event of a local, but becoming very well known, street artists Bue the Warrior or just Bue for short. I am sure some of you will recognize his work from other instagram posts I have put up of his work, Gent is covered in his wonderful little characters. We got to the event pretty early so we got to see him create one of his famous birds right in front of us which was really impressive. He makes it look so easy and effortless, he does not use any stencil or drawing before hand and his lines and use of color are really amazing. I got him to sign by book as well! I was pretty nervous to talk to him, Simon had to come stand next to me and talk to him while I just stood there silently of course. He ended up spelling my name wrong, but it is still pretty neat and maybe someday I'll sneak a little "e" in there. Another exciting part is that we got on the Belgian news! There was a news crew there shooting Bue at work and interviewing various people at the event and at 0:55 you can see Simon and me sitting at a table behind the woman who is being interviewed and then at 1:10 the camera zooms in on my iPhone taking pictures of Bue! I included the link below!

In other news, the police officer FINALLY came to our apartment on Sunday! She told us she would come anytime after 1:30 and of course did not show up until 6 and proceeded to stay a maximum of 10 minutes. But we are one step farther along now at least and now we have to wait for the paper she filled out to get sent back to the immigration office so that we can go in and sign it. After that we will be officially living together! We will then start the process of me becoming a resident, getting an i.d. card and everything which could take a long time, but once we sign the paper saying we are living together I should be able to apply for an extension on my visa so that I can stay until I find out whether I will be a belgian resident or not. Still a long way to go in the process but we least we art moving forward!

As for my class, we are winding down to the end now. I got a 19.75/20 on my last test which is promising and today we have the writing, reading, listening part of our final test! Then we have a week off from class, and the on the 4th of November I will go in for 10 minutes to do the oral part of the exam. The next day we will all come in and get our results and if I pass I will sign up for level two!

Dutch word of the day: Smakelijk! = which means, enjoy your meal! Everyone says it here right before you eat!

Link to the news video:
http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/videozone/programmas/journaal/EP_141018_jo7?video=1.2122497

 Another eventful weekend here in Gent! (I will list events in order of the pictures below...)
On friday I went to Simon's work to have lunch with him, I had never seen his job in person so it was fun to finally go! His building is right by a little stream so its a pretty nice place to eat lunch and forget about work for an hour.
Then all over town was a festival celebrating World War I (...I think?). There were flags all around town, lots of activities for kids and little spontaneous live performances done by kids also, showing how their generation perceives the war. At least that is what Simon and I could gather, it was all very abstract and sort of hard to understand.
I went on a nice run around the lake that I used to go to pretty often but have not been to in a while and found some very nice flowers!
This weekend was also a special shopping weekend in Gent. All of the shops were open late on friday night and then most stores were open on Sunday too! Usually everything here is closed on Sunday which is a bit annoying, so we took advantage and went wandering around since our flea markets are coming to a close. We found a nice art sale going on in one of the main churches in the city center.
We also put up some nice new cork boards above our little dresser and printed tons of pictures to decorate your bedroom a bit more! We have been trying to find some nice art to cover our walls with but we have not found anything great yet, so this is a fun option! And now I can see all of your smiling faces everyday when I wake up! I made a very short little hyperlapse of Simon hanging the cork boards which you will see below. Not the most exciting video but I am playing with music and just trying new ideas! I have also included a hyperlapse of my route to school! Unfortunately it was not taken on the sunniest of days, but you still get the picture.
When I was here in february, I had written a post about doing yoga here in Gent and I keep forgetting to say that I have started doing it again! I am going to the same place I went before and have found some good classes. It is still a little weird not knowing what the teacher is saying but I just look around me and try to follow along. I think it will also help my dutch, I am able to pick up a few words here and there but hopefully I will learn more and more as I go. One VERY strange thing happened at one class though. I met a guy from Boulder!! We were walking in and he said something to me in dutch and I did my usual, "Oh sorry, English?" and we said oh yes I am from America that is easier for me. Then I said I am from America too! And he said Im from Colorado.... and I said me too...(pointing at my tattoo) and I said I am from boulder and he responded me too! Ya  know the laughing goat?? (which is a coffee shop in boulder for those of you who don't know). So yes needless to say a very strange coincidence, but I guess of all places to meet a fellow boulderite in Gent it would be at a yoga class! BUT THEN, I ran into him today at the laundro mat too! What are the chances! Very strange, I guess we are just supposed to know each other.

Visa Update: Still waiting for the police to come to your apartment.

Dutch phrase of the day: Ik woon naast de vrijdagmaarkt = I live next to the Friday Market

Hello everyone!
I am very sorry for the summer hiatus I took on this lovely blog. At first I thought I would just take a few weeks off when I first got back to the USA but it turned into a 3 month break. Either way, I am back in action! Simon and I have been back in Gent for about a week now, and I must say it feels really nice to be back. We had an amazing summer traveling around the USA, and I will always love Colorado and New York and every other place that has made me who I am; but coming back to Gent this time was really exciting. I love the city, the people, our apartment, and the little life Simon and I have created here. Who knows what the future will bring us, in a few months everything could change drastically, but for now I am very happy to call this place my home.

In other news, I have started Dutch classes! They began on Sept. 1st, so I missed the first week, but I am going for 3 hours 4 days a week until Nov. 10th. I have starting at the lowest level, obviously, through a government subsidized program that cots 72 euros for each level. But if/when I get a national number I can start taking for intensive courses through the University. For now though I am very happy with my class. It is a pretty big class filled with people from all over the world. It is really fun to interact with all these new people knowing we are all in the same boat of learning a new language, new to this country, many of them also trying to find a job. Hopefully in the end I can make some new friends from the class too.

In Visa news, Simon and I are trying to apply for the Co-habitation visa. Most of the time you have to have been together for 2 years or lived together for 1, but we have talked to several people who think we should try anyways and because I am from the USA it should not be that much of a problem. There are a million steps we have to take though before they grant us this visa. To begin with, we went this week to turn a piece of paper saying we are both agreeing to live together, and they said I needed more official proof that I have never been married (I tried to show my tax return but it was not good enough). So next friday I have an appointment at the US Embassy in Brussels to get an official document stating that fact. Once we turn that in, then we must wait for a police officer to come by our apartment and check that we are in fact living together and that your relationship is not a scam. After that, there will be a lot more paper work and hoops to jump through but we are just going to be patient and take it one step at a time. I will keep updating my visa status though so that we all know what is going on!

Lastly, of course I am including a few photos from Gent so far. Simon and I bought a nice new dresser for 7.50 euros! It was painted terrible colors though so this week we have been working on it, Simon sanding and painting it, me making some fun stencils! We have not gotten the stencils on there yet but your can see your progress below. I have also included a few photos from the family reunion we went to which was really nice, the setting was not unlike the garden in Barneveld. I will be posting much more often, so keep an eye out!

Dutch word of the day: Zingen = To sing