Wednesday, October 8, 2008

welcome to our life n belgium.

well... here it is. this is the way we live. no more pizza in rome, warm spainish beaches or moroccan money hagglers. but we aren't complaining... we are loving it here in belgium. here is a short introduction to the main elements that make up our life here.

first- this is our apartment.

we live high on the seventh floor in a great part of town. when we first walked in, i saw the moldy shower and the two, twin beds pushed together and thought that i had landed myself in the belgian projects. this thought was short lived, however, as i realized that big beds are hard to come by and mold is a natural and beautiful part of belgian life. we have met two neighbors: nora/laura (i think her name is nora but cade swears he hears laura, so pretty much we avoid using her name- which is actually quite easy because we rarely see her) and another lady who we have seen brief glimpses of as she pokes her head out the door if she hears us in the hall. she rambles off in french and we smile and push the elevator button harder, wishing it could climb to the top just a wee bit quicker. other than that- i swear we are the only people who live in this building. overall, we like it here.

this is the park across the street from our apartment.

sometimes we jog here in the mornings or we take walks on sunday afternoons. there is always something going on here. in fact, just last week we wandered into a wine tasting festival over there. you should have seen the vendor's face when we actually refused free wine. i love this park.

this is a big monument at the park across the street.

(no further description...)

this is where we work.

here at obelis, we work monday through friday 9-6. the company is small, meaning that there are only 5 full time employees; however, the client list is ever-growing and our company is extremely global. besides the full time employees, the company operates on intern power. currently there are 7 of us in the office: 3 americans, 2 slovenians, one polish girl and one girl from the uk. so basically because the company is small, the interns are given pretty big responsibilities and the management is raking it in. smart business. you're welcome, obelis.
cade works in marketing, where he is currently focusing his efforts on creating these huge banners and signs for an upcoming trade show in germany. he is really good at what he does. he is also working on developing a new side of the company called GiDoS, which works primarily with helping companies who sell products in europe follow 'green' directives and regulations. his desk is the top, left window in the picture.
my job title says i am in marketing as well, but basically i just do whatever my boss tells me to do. right now, my main project is planning the next trade show in germany. it is going to be a crazy event, but i have actually enjoyed the planning process. i am also in charge of finding new clients- so i spend a lot of time calling people all over the world... which actually is pretty entertaining. this part of my job reminds me of my telemarketing days when amber and i sold herbal breast enhancement pills over the phone. a different sell...yet just as entertaining. my desk is inside the main, middle window.

this is our boss, doram.


this is our boss' boss, gideon.


this is a video of us on our way to church. it takes us about 45 minutes to get there by tram which makes me miss logan where the church to member ratio has got to be about 1:15. this particular sunday was 'no car day' which obviously did not effect us much and explains why people are on bikes and such...

we love our ward here. who knew there were enough english speaking people here to form a ward?? we have all different nationalities in our ward- uk, africa, china, usa- but we all get along quite nice. cade was just called as the young men's advisor and i was called as the young women's advisor. although there is a lot of youth in the ward, they only have the presidency and one advisor for each auxiliary. we love it so far. we have activities twice a month. last week, cade taught the boys about hygiene (avoiding the topic of facial hair) while the girls had a pajama party and did pedicures. the ward really is so great. people invite us to dinner, there is basketball every wednesday night and we get to work with the missionaries quite often. the church is true in belgium, folks.

on the weekends, we travel or just hang out at our apartment and eat eclairs and waffles. it's pretty much great.

10 comments:

LAINA said...

Fun. Thanks for you last post on my blog Ashley. I am loving Reviving Ophelia by the way. I have always wanted to read it but now actually am.

So we are working on getting over to see you guys and I hope it all works out. I will keep the visit in my prayers,maybe God will bless us to be with family.

Adam said...

Sorry, I know it's a low blow, but the thought of Cade teaching about hygiene just made me laugh.

Kayleen said...

WHAAAAT? Cade, you live in Belgium? I am obviously totally behind. I LOVE that you just travelled Europe. Your wife is absolutely darling, you look perfect together!!!
How are you?
(This is "Hermnana Mortensen" by the way) I just found your blog on MaryAnn's. Sweet!

luke & sammy said...

Cade- what a fun adventure you guys are on! The Christmas party is definetely going to happen and it is in the planning stages, as long as you and Sam are working on part 2 of your little skit. We probably won't be home until the 20th so it will be a little later this year. keep in touch, will it be at blake and danielle's?

Brady + Marsha said...

Ashley! Yes, I found your blog and I LOVE it! Reading about your travels makes me so nostalgic! I am so jealous. What an awesome experience to be doing it all with your hubby! Thanks for making me laugh! You are hilarious and it makes me miss being around Mandy and your family!

Leslea said...

Love the apartment...love the park...giggled that you avoid your neighbors so you don't have to try and speak French!
Obelis is lucky to have you two working for them!

King Family said...

what an adventure! i am so jealous of this fun part of your lives! enjoy the journey! ashley-i am sam's sister (even though the first 3 sentences make me sound like my mom). i am excited that i can check your blog and hope to see you (and meet you) soon.
ps cade likes to steal chocolate chips.

Kristen said...

Ash...it looks like you guys are having a blast! Keep posting pictures!

paige and jord said...

shoot.. wish i could travel the world. what an adventure! we miss you guys. and cant wait for you to live above us because our neighbors just moved out. seriously consider it. please.

ps. ash your hair is SOOOO cute

Anonymous said...

This is from the famous Mommy and Daddy anonymous and we think the post was great! We look at your pictures over and over. Ashley you are a clever and entertaining writer. I especially like the videos that you send all narrated. It makes us miss you all the more.this is an amazing experience you are having, one in a lifetime. sooo much love from us.