Ennui is one of those words that sounds like the concept it describes. Without hard consonants, it’s flabby and shapeless and has an indistinct beginning and end. It is the perfect word to describe the post-holiday, midwinter mental landscape.
I have a tendency to keep to myself and stay home, but last week I did everything I could to keep from sliding into a mood as dim as the Belgian skies. I started my mental health program with a long walk on Sunday morning to take advantage of a rare bout of sunny weather. I tipped my face up to the sky and prayed the UV radiation would get my serotonin levels up and not give me wrinkles. On Sunday afternoon I attended a stamping workshop to learn some new techniques. Masking, rolling, kissing—who knew paper crafts were so sexy? I ate loads of Kim’s fiery salsa because y’all know I can’t leave the hot stuff alone.
Monday I dedicated a good chunk of the day to cleaning, because the only thing more depressing than being stuck at home is being stuck in a dirty house. I didn’t get the whole house clean but I did get enough done to keep the too-much-clutter blues away.
Tuesday Di met me “under the elephant” at the African Museum. She took the train and tram over from Antwerp and we spent the day here at Chez V putting together a package for a friend, discussing books and movies, eating soup and sandwiches, talking business, and doing what expats do best in winter—complaining about the bloody weather. I introduced her to white chili, forgetting that unlike Americans, kiwis have delicate palates and digestion. That little bit of cayenne in the soup encouraged her stomach to join in our post-lunch conversation. Oops. Sorry Di.
Wednesday I spent the morning writing a piece for www.expatica.com, and then I dashed over to Jen’s house for lunch (Mexican food, of course) and another stamping workshop. We made Valentines and got far rowdier than you’d expect from a bunch of surburban Grrrls. We talked entirely too much about sex, train hopping, and shopping. Don’t tell our husbands. We’re only supposed to be trading recipes and discussing our perfect children at these get togethers. And those checks we wrote to Kim? We like to employ a “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy” regarding all purchases of paper, ink, and stamps.
Every Thursday I spend about an hour in the morning helping elementary students with their creative writing endeavors. My group of first and second graders is writing about mermaids, bears, and “if I were the President.” Kyle informed me he’d be a couch potato president and play Nintendo all day at the White House.
Friday I spent a big chunk of the day with the lovely Javacurls, a fellow expat and blogger here. It’s been about a year since she first sent me an e-mail regarding her impending move to Belgium, launching an online friendship. She arrived last August but because of all I had going on last fall with school, health, and family issues, we weren’t able to meet until now. Being crafty Grrrls, we visited an art supply store together, window shopped, and then enjoyed a very looooong lunch.
Our orders at the cafe were taken promptly and we received our drinks but then time seemed to stand still. After we’d been waiting on our soup and sandwiches for, hmmm, about an hour, Javacurls cornered the waiter and asked him as politely as possible, “Where is our food?”
He replied without a hint of sarcasm, “In the kitchen.”
Oh, of course, our food is in the kitchen! Silly us? Why didn’t we think of that?
Sigh. Living the multi-cultural life is not always easy.
At least we had lots of opportunity to laugh and eat fresh sourdough bread while we waited for our lunch to find its way from the kitchen to our table. By the time I got home and threw a load of laundry in, it was time to meet the school bus.
Friday night we attended our first ever Quiz Night, a fundraising event that involved playing something similar to Trivial Pursuit in a public forum with people we didn’t know very well. It was alternately fun and painful. During the World Geography round, I wanted to go hide in the bathroom. But hey, I rocked the movie trivia and wasn't so bad on current events. I surprised myself by tanking on the art and literature category.
The weekend? Well, considering I’d spent more time and money on art supplies this past week than I had on groceries, it made sense to pull everything out and make some cards as well as a big, honkin mess. Nothing like covering the dining room table and floor with boxes of stamps, papers, watercolors, and inks to drive away the ennui. And now I get to clean again on Monday! It's the circle of life.
What do you do to beat the midwinter blues?
January 21, 2007