A mighty decade

It's really incredible how it's almost 10 years after the millenium happened. Not only is a new year beginning, but a new decade. So a little decade-examining reflection is de rigueur. It has definitely been an important decade for me.

Year 2000 started with a bittersweet taste. After being unemployed for 9 months or so, a few days before the end of 1999 I started to work at a small French telecoms company's office in Buenos Aires. A week before that, my beloved great-aunt died of cancer and left a big hole in my heart. I still miss her and will do so til the end of my life.

Later in 2000 I moved for the first time on my own and I travelled a lot for work. I went to Rio, NY, Miami and Marseille, enjoying the sweet times of the telecom industry. I also reconnected with lost friends from high school.

In December 2001, a big economic and financial crisis hit Argentina and all hell broke loose. People's bank accounts were frozen and most people lost a lot of their savings. I didn't have much to lose, so my finances didn't suffer much. But I did lost the will to live in a country that would allow such things. A country that would smash your efforts and suffocate your dreams. I decided it was time to do something about it and my long-baked dream of living abroad started to become more tangible.

The ensuing crisis that hit the telecom industry speeded things along and, after desisting to move to Mexico to keep my job, in April 2002 I got my severance package and used the money to make my exit to Europe, where I landed in August 2002. I chose Antwerp, Belgium, as a starting point, because my good friend C. lived there and offered to live with her while I looked for a job. I met Mr M on the same day I landed in Belgium (although we only started dating a few months later) A few weeks later I landed a part-time job at a banking institution. On my free time I followed French and Nederlands courses and walked through Antwerp a lot. My friend C. moved out to live with her then-boyfriend (now husband) and I took over the lease of her appartment, a lovely attic in the heart of Antwerp.

I moved in with Mr M in Brussels in 2003, just in time to start a new job near the Zaventem airport. In 2004 we bought our lovely appartment and started working on home renovations, which we realised over the years: first the garden and a deck terrace, then de kitchen, then an extension, lately a brand new bathroom....

In 2005 we started trying for a baby and in May 2008 Bibu finally showed up, feeling our lives with a lot of new adventures. In June 2007 we got married in Brussels and in May last year we started our latest adventure: a couple of years living the expat life in Tokyo.

So, it's ten years from the 'millenium bug' thing and I've come a long way, baby.

Wonder what this new decade will bring. Adventure beckons!

Around the world in 80 blogs: TOKYO

Lovely everydaystranger has challenged her readers to write about the cities we all live in on the same day, thus provoking a sort of virtual mega travel bonanza. Today is the D day and, being a loyal reader to her blog for about three years now, here I am, reporting from the land of the rising sun which got lost in translation.



I have been living in Tokyo for just over five months. Hubby (Mr M), Bibu (my 18 month son) and myself moved here last June courtesy of Mr M's job, on a two-year international assignment. Home is Brussels, Belgium, where Mr M is from. I am from far-far away in the ass of the world, also known as Buenos Aires, Argentina, but have been living in Belgium for the last seven years.



Anyway, in these five months I've come to love this completely mesmerising city. When I first arrived I was expecting it all to look very futuristic and crazy and noisy with lots of neon and people posing for photos doing the "v" of victory. Well, Tokyo is that but so much more. Sure, you have the super crowded areas and Shinjuku station at 6pm will never be a favourite place. But it is also the cleanest city in the world, where you can buy your groceries 24hs/7 at the "conbini" (convenience stores), get hot coffee or tea from vending machines in the street and get a taxi with a white-globed chauffeur just for you.




Tokyo can also be a suprisingly quiet city. Strolling around Daikanyama or Shirokanedai on a lazy Saturday afternoon, you wonder where all the people is gone (to Shinjuku, probably) It's also a very easy city to cycle around. OK, easy in terms of traffic, but not so easy in the sense that Tokyo is a very hilly place. Great workout for the legs, though!



The language is an issue, of course. My first trips to the supermarket where a sort of lottery where I would shop by deduction and by imaginative label drawing interpretation. I can only say 'good morning/ afternoon" and "thank you" so instead I do a lot of idiot smiling, but well, in January I'll start following lessons, so at least I can expand a bit my repertoire.



In short, Tokyo has definitely surpassed my expectations. In these few months I've become used to living here. Quality of life is very good and the weather is really nice. Only major drawback are indeed the earthquakes, which are very much a part of everyday life. So far we've experienced a couple of minor ones, the ones you feel like you live over a busy train station. They lasted for about 20 seconds, but they left quite an impression on me. People dont' seem to be much bothered by them, but for me, they are definitely NOT on my list of "Tokyo's Favourite Things".




Anyway, must go now, got a trillion things to do this week, as on Friday we're heading to Brussels for three weeks, for the Xmas holidays. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing our friends and the Belgian family. Hope you enjoyed this little tour around Tokyo.

Hitting the five month mark

So we've been officially in Tokyo for five months now. I know, it's not so much, just over half a pregnancy, almost the trial period for a new job, but longer than most holidays. It seems both a long time and only a quarter of our scheduled time here.

Most expats would tell you that "the first six months are the hardest" and I will not be original on this and will completely agree. It's not just the getting settled, finding your way around the neighbourhood, meeting some new people, finding a school for your kids, figuring out the public transport system, dealing with a language you have absolutely no clue about.... It's that and much more. Namely a change of lifestyle so big that it gets a long time to get used to.

For me, besides all these things, it was mainly the switch between being a working person and being a full time stay at home mum and housewife. It's hard work, harder than I thought. Bibu goes three mornings a week to daycare and that's when I get to choose how I spend my time. The rest, is really not for me to decide. I know that running after a one-and-a-half dynamic kid is supposed to be like this. But it's tough. Add to that the wish to keep the apartment at least superficially clean and tidy and have food available to eat at the right times and that is a whole lot of work.

I am naturally very undisciplined and my attention span is very short. I am doing one thing and leave it unfinished to start doing something else that caught my eye and which I feel must be done NOW. Put Bibu in the picture and it's not surprise at the end of the day I feel like a mad chicken with its head half chopped off.

Eeuww.... what a metaphore ....

Anyway, in five months we have achieved a lot also, namely:

- Bibu (and us) love his daycare. It was recommended to me by our neighbours who have a kid about Bibu's age. I'm really-really happy with it.

- Finally managed to apply for Japanese lessons. I start in January right after we're back from BXLs.

- We've done quite a lot of sightseeing in and around Tokyo. I feel I know my way around the city and I definitely like it.

- I'm biking everywhere. I am not a sports person, so committing to weekly swimming sessions was a short lived gig. Biking, however is something I would happily do every day. I live the feeling and the fact you arrive fast everywhere.

- Finally dared to leave Bibu with a babysitter for a couple of hours while Mr M and I went to have a lovely dinner. It all went well and the lady is super sweet. Should do that again, it was worth every Yen.

- Went once to Argentina with Bibu (all 32 hours worth of trip) and we both survived. Seeing my family so happy to see Bibu (and myself) made all the sleep deprivation worth.

- Made a few acquaintances, which is no mean feat. I still miss my friends from my 'normal life' in Belgium, but I will see them in a few days. In any case, it's nice to meet new people.

- Bibu's best friends are a Japanese little boy and a Brazilian-Dutch little boy from daycare. Their mums are also very cool. We've been to an aquarium together with the kids and it was a very fun day. Bibu loves to hold onto a framed photo of the three we took there.

And on that note, and seeing that it is time for Bibu to wake up from his morning nap, I leave you for now. I promise I'll be writing a bit more often in the future (Bibu allowing) See ya!