I arrived in Europe with almost no knowledge of world history. While walking through Leuven, I noticed that a bunch of buildings contained identical stones that said “1914″, with some strange symbols on them. It looked like a bushel of wheat or something. A bumper crop year? Adrian had to sit down with me and explain that in that year, most of Leuven had been destroyed by the Germans in World War I. The buildings that were subsequently rebuilt all integrated this stone into their facades, in memory of the destruction.

After 22 months of anticipation, twenty-eight year-old Asian elephant Khaing Phyo Phyo has finally given birth to her fourth child at Antwerp Zoo. Phyo Phyo was born wild in Myanmar, then was captured to live in the Netherlands and the UK before moving to Antwerp. Over the past eleven years she has three previous children – Timber, Sitang, and May Tagu. The father, Alexander, has been responsible for nine other healthy offspring, however this baby is the first product of Phyo Phyo and Alexander together.

An elephant birth is a first for Belgium. The anticipation was so great that many Belgians signed up for SMS alerts of the birth. The progress of the gestation, from ultrasounds to a live video of the birth, was projected onto giant screens. She was born at 8:45 AM on Sunday May 17, weighing 80 kilograms, and was on her feet within 20 minutes. Her four-year-old sister May Tagu was originally jealous, but with the help of aunt Phyo Yu Yu Yin, she now seems to have welcomed the little one into the family.

A nation-wide competition was held to name the baby, and the result has just been revealed: Kai-Mook (“pearl”). To celebrate this event, the post office will send 4.8 million postcards to the households of Belgium – a world record number of birth announcements. All of Belgium is united in celebration of this delightful event.

Photos from bebe-elephant.be

I am finding it very hard to dress stylishly for the office. I end up looking like Betty (above), while the rest of the women here resemble Amanda (below). My workplace is full of international women who shop in Paris and who have a knack for pulling together an interesting corporate outfit. I end up looking like a grandmother, a school child, or a flight attendant, rather than a competent business woman. I have no training for this. I have spent my adult life in university settings, where anything above track pants was considered glam. I don’t even know where to shop. I guess the first step is to change my shoes. I am going to try a tiny bit of a heel and if I don’t break my ankle on the cobblestones, I shall consider it a success.

Today I turn twenty-nine years of age. A day may come where I view getting older with dread and apprehension, but I am not there yet. I am very happy to be 29. For a while I felt like I was working towards achieving my goals rather than actually living my life. Now I feel like I have finally arrived. I feel so lucky to be living in such a fascinating country, with a great job and a wonderful husband. Adrian makes me feel like every day is my birthday.

The next one will be interesting too. Thirty years old. I wonder what that will be like?