Saturday, October 08, 2005
what i will miss
i don't know when i will be going home to the philippines, but after nearly two years living in belgium, i have grown to love many little things about my life here that are not at all present back home, land where my heart truly lives and is happy.
i will never be a belgian citizen but i am willing to have my second son, who is due this december 25th, to claim belgian citizenship if this is allowed by their laws. i say this from a pragmatic view and from my experience as a pinoy who has travelled with my nice little green passport over the past 20+ years.
what Will i miss about life here? let me cite the ways:
you can count on me to add to this list as my days here increase. but for now, these are all i can think of. (08 oct 2005)
i will never be a belgian citizen but i am willing to have my second son, who is due this december 25th, to claim belgian citizenship if this is allowed by their laws. i say this from a pragmatic view and from my experience as a pinoy who has travelled with my nice little green passport over the past 20+ years.
what Will i miss about life here? let me cite the ways:
- mass public transport: except for some cold, wintery inconveniences and not being able to visit out-of-the-way places in europe, the mass transport system here takes away the driving need to own a car. back home, i know i will relentlessly bear on my husband to secure us a car because i think that it is a necessity. here in europe, we can get around very easily, with buggy, stroller, pram, or heavy luggage, thanks to the very efficient bus/tram/train systems in place. in belgium pa, we're luckier than our italian counterparts because you can really rely on the schedules posted at the stations and plan your life efficiently according to those timetables. what a joy!
- milk products: i am a certified milk person. i have extremely enjoyed the last two years so far tasting and experimenting on different kinds of cheese, yoghurt, breakfast concoctions with muesli, and loving every morsel, bite, sip, and lick.
- spring and fall: i love these in-between seasons. winter depresses me and summer is ordinary (i can have better summers in the philippines with the beach scene alone, and not have to shell out as much money as europeans do here just to enjoy sun and sand). it's the way the temperature nips at your skin and it's nicely cool and temperate. in spring, the colours begin to burst forth in the foliage and the sun gently awakens life. fall is just as tender, laying trees and hedges to rest to prepare for a time of hibernation and rejuvenation. the leaves burst into last moments of orange and red splendour and it never fails to amaze me.
- hot water, indoor heating and toilet paper: they're everywhere! taken for granted here as part of the basics of life, these are only for the privileged back home.
- benefits from a socialist state: i love my medical insurance, i love my family doctor, i enjoy hospital visits. my son's education is free. for the same quality back home, i would have to dish out at least 100,000 pesos a year!!! here, just around 3€ per day for his lunch. people are treated the same (in most instances, at least; you can't escape the occasional boor or bigot, though) at the post office, at the shops, at the market. rich or poor, you can avail of the same benefits from government and be secure that your health worries are taken care of by the system. no need for lagay, to know someone to ease your way; things are easy here, anyway.
- pedestrian crossings: my son calls these by their flemish name, "zebrapad", and we cross streets with impunity and hardly any fear. cars, buses, taxis will almost always stop to allow you across the street, even if you're just about to step off the pavement. (again, there is the occasional asshole who will cut you and make you want to give the finger, but then again, maybe i've just become spoiled by the driver courtesy everywhere in this tiny country) i love it that i can teach my son that there is a safe way for him to cross a busy street, that the red man and green man in traffic lights mean something in this country.
you can count on me to add to this list as my days here increase. but for now, these are all i can think of. (08 oct 2005)
