Last Friday I invited questions from readers, and AP asked what I would do differently regarding my time in Belgium if I had a chance to do it all again.
The answer is: not much. I’ve actually been very happy with the way my life here has unfolded and evolved. My only wish is that I had landed in a French-speaking commune.
I studied French for two years in university, and for six months before we moved to Belgium, I listened to French language tapes every day in the car while I was driving my kids to school. My hope was to refresh my French before arriving in Belgium, advancing it further once I got settled here, and use it as a tool to help me integrate in my new home.
Up until right before I moved, I mistakenly thought all of Belgium was bilingual and that either French or Dutch (Flemish) could be spoken anywhere in the country. I had no idea that each commune had its own official language and that speaking French in Flanders would be a cultural faux pas.
As it turned out, the school my children attend is in a Flemish commune. Initially we lived in an apartment in the center of Brussels and I was able to use my French, but because the children had a one hour bus ride to school and we needed more space for them to play, we moved to a house outside the city and close to their school—in a Flemish speaking commune.
I love our house, my neighborhood, and being only 10 minutes from the kids’ school, but I regret having lost the opportunity to improve my French and use it to gain access to the community.
Most of the Flemish-speaking Belgians in my area speak English and are happy to exercise their language skills with me, but my inability to speak or read my commune’s language meant I couldn’t read the local paper, signs, flyers, or menus, and I couldn’t speak with residents who did not know English.
Yes, I could have made an effort to learn Flemish, but it is not an easy language to learn. I didn’t want to invest all of my free time in mastering a third language that would do me little good in most of Europe and in the U.S. Not being able to work here, regardless of whether I knew Flemish or not, also entered into my decision. I figured by the time I knew enough Flemish to be able to have a conversation, it would be time to move back to America! However, if I knew we would be staying here for longer than three years, I would have either moved to a French-speaking commune or learned Flemish.
AP and Peter both asked if I planned to continue blogging once I return to the U.S. The answer is YES! I will have less time once I return to work, but I don’t plan on giving it up. The subject matter will shift and I may not be able to post as often as I do now, but I’m confident I’ll continue writing.
Prior to starting this blog, I had been keeping a journal for 33 years. Being a writer isn’t a hobby for me; it’s who I am.
August 12, 2007