Today is my first day back at work since July. On my last day at work I was 8.75 months pregnant and it was the middle of summer. I now return to work in autumn, having experienced 16 hours of childbirth, 509 nappy changes, 1158 breastfeeding sessions, and 94 nights of broken sleep. I have also experienced seeing Hayden’s first smile, hearing his first laugh, and being the first person to greet him every morning with the sun rise. We have boated in Brugge, navigated Norway, cruised past cows in Cambridge, loitered in lively London, and ambled through Amsterdam.

I feel very conflicted about returning to work. I do enjoy my job and I am looking forward to the feelings of intellectual challenge and productivity that come with it. However, when I think about being apart from my very little bear for so long, I do feel a bit sad. I don’t want him to forget who I am. Still, I guess this is part of what parenting is all about – letting them go, bit by bit.

Last week, Amy wrote about a typical day for her. I thought that it would be interesting to try and capture a typically work day for us here in Belgium.

In the spring, we wake up with the sun, and let the kittens in for some breakfast in bed treats.

We check our email, and then Adrian makes us cereal with fresh fruit (currently pineapple and strawberry), which we eat while watching something like The Daily Show. We finish getting ready, and then if we’re leaving at the same time, I will walk Adrian to the train station while counting puppies.

Adrian then boards the train to Leuven, and I hop on the metro to my work. Luckily both of us commute outwards from the centre of Brussels, so it’s easy to get a seat. I then have half an hour to read a book, listen to a podcast, or chat with a colleague if they happen to be in the same carriage.

From the metro stop I have a five minute walk to my work, situated in a business park on the outskirts of Brussels. I get some water for myself and my pot plant, sit down in my cubicle, switch on my laptop and look at my calendar for the day. As an epidemiologist, I use large patient databases to look at patterns of chronic diseases. I am responsible for the study design and implementation, as well as interpreting the results and communicating the conclusions at congresses and via manuscripts if the data look interesting. Generally my mornings are spent replying to emails while writing and reviewing documents. We have a great subsidised cafeteria on site, so I spend my lunch hour sitting outside with my colleagues discussing food, travel, and world news. My afternoons are typically filled with meetings, often teleconferences with the UK or the USA. Nine hours later, it is time to hop back on the metro and head home again.

If I stay in Brussels, I might meet up for coffee with a friend, go to my monthly book group or release unwanted books at the book swappers meet. Perhaps Adrian and I might go to a public lecture or to the movies, or I’ll pop into the supermarket next-door to our apartment to pick up a few ingredients for dinner. About once a fortnight I’ll hop on the train and meet Adrian and our Leuven friends for dinner and drinks.

After working through a PhD in Canberra, and then a full-time post-doc and part-time Masters program in Seattle, working only 40 hours a week here in Belgium leaves me with a lot of spare time on my hands and I often feel a bit lost. We are both hoping for a big change in our lives in August that gets us busier and gives us some unique challenges and adventures.

I would like to think that I have adapted quite well to my new working environment. I can cope with the side conversations in French, the corporate atmosphere, daily changing deadlines, executive directives, and the regimented hierarchy. My colleagues strictly adhere to their work/home division, with most people going home with no casual visits to the bar after hours. However, in contrast to this very formal environment, there is a flurry of kisses and winks in the morning and afternoon. Australians don’t even hug their friends unless it is a moment of extreme emotional significance. And now I am expected to kiss my superiors twice a day? It is weird.

Photo from paphio.