The Belgians certainly know how to bring out the best in a holiday. Weeks before Easter, the chocolatiers crafted their displays, full of rabbits and chickens and eggs. As we have four chocolate shops on my block alone, there were many treats to admire as I walked through Leuven. I eagerly pondered and anticipated my purchases. Will I get the chick in a hot air balloon? Or the hen complete with nest and fruit filled eggs? Perhaps the fish stuffed with truffles? Or the tri-coloured rabbit with the long floppy ears? Easter Saturday suddenly arrived, filled with chores and activities. It was around 4:30pm before I even had time to think about our supplies for the next day. I walked to Neuhaus. Sold out. Leonidas. Sold out. Tartofu. Closed. Arjuco. Sold out. Giving up, I had resorted to the supermarket. All I could find there was a broken dark chocolate shoe, and some dinosaur-shaped cookies. All seemed lost. Then, as I was walking home, my eyes wandered to Raets–Putseys, the upscale chocolatier that I had never permitted myself to enter. I decided that desperate times called for desperate measures. I walked through the door, and saw that my worries were over. The shelves were full of delicious looking animals in all styles of chocolate. The line was long, but this gave me time to find the perfect companions for Adrian and myself. For Adrian, I chose a dark chocolate standing rabbit holding hands with a little girl. For myself, a milk chocolate furtive squirrel clasping a nut. The shop keeper carefully decorated them with yellow and green ribbons and presented them to me, all ready to be enjoyed the next day.

So on Easter Sunday, all was right with the world, as we both had a superb Belgian chocolate animal to devour, and they were delicious.

With so much going on in my life, it seems as if we have no time to attend any sort of ‘new in town’ or expat meet and greet. I really miss my old friends. I was really lucky to be able to spend a fantastic night in Ieper with Sarah, and to have Lianne and Jeong as visitors for a few days. But then afterwards in their absence, I miss them all the more keenly. I miss TV nights and shopping trips and BBQs and coffee breaks. It took me most of my life to find a handful of really special people, so it is daunting to have to turn around and do it all again in a foreign city on an entirely new continent.

We move from Leuven to Brussels in July. I am really excited to move into the first home that we will own together. I am busy researching people do redo the kitchen and the bathroom and to install wardrobes and bookshelves. For me, the move will be great. It will cut an hour off my commute, and I will be able to practice my French while shopping and walking around the city. The shops are open for longer hours, and there are even a select few that are open on Sunday. For Adrian, it is more of a mixed bag. Leuven is a little too sleepy for us during the weekend, but an increased commute will add substantially to his already long hours at the lab.

I am very proud of Adrian, watching him build a research laboratory from scratch. He is an excellent mentor to his staff, and is constantly thinking about new experiments and possible collaborations. There are always grants coming up, and budget constraints, and so many tiny problems to solve. It isn’t a job that I could handle, but it means that Adrian has autonomy and independence, and can finally do research on his own terms. He has already succeeded in finding a position and a great start-up grant, and I hope that things continue to go well, with many grants and dozens of papers. He even has in his office a copy of the book to which we both contributed, back when I too was an immunologist.

I couldn’t quite believe it, the first time I noticed at lunch. Over there as well. And on that guy opposite me. I did a quick visual survey of the cafeteria. At my work, over 70% of the men wear cuff-links in their shirts. Every day. Just like that. In Australia, I have never seen them worn outside very formal occasions. But here, in Europe, they are displayed nonchalantly by most men as a staple of their business wardrobe.

Photo by hopkinsii

We have been so lucky with the weather since we have moved to Belgium. Many days present us with bright blue skies, and the ground is bursting with life. We celebrated the weather by taking an eight-year-old friend of ours to the Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden tulip festival. She saw her first moat and drawbridge, and spent most of the time running around and attempting cartwheels on the grass. She was so disturbed by the dying flowers bent over with age, attempting to lift them back up again, and sighing when they limply hung down in surrender. We also took her to Atomium and Mini Europe. She was even able to press a button to demolish the Berlin wall, but didn’t seem particularly awed by this event. She was much more impressed with the echo chamber in Bruxelles-Central than by the Grand Place. On the train home, we entertained her by seeing how long she could hold her arms vertically upright. It was at least 15 minutes. Strangely, she thought this was a Very Fun Game.