I must say, this week has turned out pretty interesting so far. The title of this entry alone, should clue you in to that. I'll start with the kids. Yesterday afternoon, Brandon and I were upstairs in the office, and the doorbell rang. I peeked out the upstairs window to see who had come calling, and there stood two teenage girls, maybe 15 or 16 years old. Normally, the only unexpected visitors to our house are selling something, or raising money for something. If they speak English, we almost always end up buying or donating to whatever it is. (I came home to a big box of speculoos cookies one day because a cute little girl had knocked on the door selling them. I can't complain, because when I opened the door to a fireman, I bought the calendar. I'm just saying.) Anyhoo, I opened the door to see what was up. After the obligatory request for the English version, here's the gist of what the girls wanted: They said that they were part of a youth group, and had walked 32.8 kilometers that day (that's around 20 miles), and ended up in our town. They were wondering if I would put them up for the night. Hmmmmmm. Now let me see if I understand this...two young girls walked 20 miles, knocked on a strangers door and asked if they could sleep there. I politely declined, and sent them on their merry way, knocking on the neighbors doors and requesting lodging. Jess said that when she came home on the bus a couple of hours later, there were lots of boys and girls out in the centrum of town, walking around and pointing at things like tourists. Sometimes I don't understand European traditions. There is no way Jess would be allowed to do this. And I have little desire to turn my home into a hostel, even if the kids are associated with a church. Strange. Still, I did think about it the rest of the night, and felt guilty for turning them away. Such is life. The kip is a little easier to explain. Although I have resisted the Belgian tradition owning chickens (kip), my friends are jumping on the bandwagon wholeheartedly. Chickens are very popular here because you not only get a garbage disposal, but you get the added bonus of fresh eggs. (They don't have garbage disposals in their kitchens here, and you have to pay by weight to throw away food waste and trash, so it adds up big time.) For the meager price of around 1.50 Euro, you, too, can get your own baby chick. Throw in the heat lamp and plastic tub to raise them in, and you can call yourself a Belgian. Once the chickens are big enough, you invest anywhere from 80 - 350 Euro for a snappy little chicken coop, and then fence them into their private pen in your back yard. It does add up, but for those who've always wanted to live on a farm, I can see the appeal. I almost fell for it myself, but the voice of reason (that would be Russ) reminded me that there is a lot of upkeep involved, not to mention replacing the lawn when it's time to move. Then you have to find a "babysitter" for those times that you are out of town. So, instead of being a proud chicken owner, I get to visit my friends and admire theirs. That's what I did this morning. I stopped by Denise's house on my way to the gym, and cooed and sighed over the two newest and tiniest members of their family. They really are cute. (Don't need a chicken. Don't need a chicken. Don't need a chicken...) That brings me to the third topic of today's entry...kangaroos. Remember back in January, and I mentioned that I got a strange phone call from Denise? It seems that she had looked out her back door, and saw a man carrying a kangaroo out of her yard by the tail. Poor Denise, she took a lot of ribbing for that one. We figured she had been nipping on too much of that famous Belgian beer. Well, today, after my visit with tiny kips, she took me across the street and pointed at her neighbors back yard. Well, I'll be...those ARE kangaroos. A whole bunch of them, to be exact. Apparently he raises them. You can own just about any kind of pet you want in Belgium, no special permits required. Unfortunately, they are a tad camera shy, and this was the best picture that I could come up with. Still, it does provide proof that Denise is not insane, so it has served it's purpose. Well, atleast on the subject of kangaroos. I hope your week is full of interesting things, as well. The kangaroos send their regards.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Kids, Kip and Kangaroos
I must say, this week has turned out pretty interesting so far. The title of this entry alone, should clue you in to that. I'll start with the kids. Yesterday afternoon, Brandon and I were upstairs in the office, and the doorbell rang. I peeked out the upstairs window to see who had come calling, and there stood two teenage girls, maybe 15 or 16 years old. Normally, the only unexpected visitors to our house are selling something, or raising money for something. If they speak English, we almost always end up buying or donating to whatever it is. (I came home to a big box of speculoos cookies one day because a cute little girl had knocked on the door selling them. I can't complain, because when I opened the door to a fireman, I bought the calendar. I'm just saying.) Anyhoo, I opened the door to see what was up. After the obligatory request for the English version, here's the gist of what the girls wanted: They said that they were part of a youth group, and had walked 32.8 kilometers that day (that's around 20 miles), and ended up in our town. They were wondering if I would put them up for the night. Hmmmmmm. Now let me see if I understand this...two young girls walked 20 miles, knocked on a strangers door and asked if they could sleep there. I politely declined, and sent them on their merry way, knocking on the neighbors doors and requesting lodging. Jess said that when she came home on the bus a couple of hours later, there were lots of boys and girls out in the centrum of town, walking around and pointing at things like tourists. Sometimes I don't understand European traditions. There is no way Jess would be allowed to do this. And I have little desire to turn my home into a hostel, even if the kids are associated with a church. Strange. Still, I did think about it the rest of the night, and felt guilty for turning them away. Such is life. The kip is a little easier to explain. Although I have resisted the Belgian tradition owning chickens (kip), my friends are jumping on the bandwagon wholeheartedly. Chickens are very popular here because you not only get a garbage disposal, but you get the added bonus of fresh eggs. (They don't have garbage disposals in their kitchens here, and you have to pay by weight to throw away food waste and trash, so it adds up big time.) For the meager price of around 1.50 Euro, you, too, can get your own baby chick. Throw in the heat lamp and plastic tub to raise them in, and you can call yourself a Belgian. Once the chickens are big enough, you invest anywhere from 80 - 350 Euro for a snappy little chicken coop, and then fence them into their private pen in your back yard. It does add up, but for those who've always wanted to live on a farm, I can see the appeal. I almost fell for it myself, but the voice of reason (that would be Russ) reminded me that there is a lot of upkeep involved, not to mention replacing the lawn when it's time to move. Then you have to find a "babysitter" for those times that you are out of town. So, instead of being a proud chicken owner, I get to visit my friends and admire theirs. That's what I did this morning. I stopped by Denise's house on my way to the gym, and cooed and sighed over the two newest and tiniest members of their family. They really are cute. (Don't need a chicken. Don't need a chicken. Don't need a chicken...) That brings me to the third topic of today's entry...kangaroos. Remember back in January, and I mentioned that I got a strange phone call from Denise? It seems that she had looked out her back door, and saw a man carrying a kangaroo out of her yard by the tail. Poor Denise, she took a lot of ribbing for that one. We figured she had been nipping on too much of that famous Belgian beer. Well, today, after my visit with tiny kips, she took me across the street and pointed at her neighbors back yard. Well, I'll be...those ARE kangaroos. A whole bunch of them, to be exact. Apparently he raises them. You can own just about any kind of pet you want in Belgium, no special permits required. Unfortunately, they are a tad camera shy, and this was the best picture that I could come up with. Still, it does provide proof that Denise is not insane, so it has served it's purpose. Well, atleast on the subject of kangaroos. I hope your week is full of interesting things, as well. The kangaroos send their regards.
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