After I had received a few phone calls from customs about what was in the package that was coming over from the States, I started realising that maybe I was going to have to pay some import taxes. I just hadn't thought of that before.
So I called Mónica's mom (they were going to deliver the package to her place), to warn her that she was probably going to have to pay some taxes, but that I would refund her later.
I thought it could never be more than 4 dollars. Until I got the message that the package had arrived, and that the taxes were an amount of 44 dollars! That is more than 1/3 of the price of what I bought!
So I did some research on the internet, and found out that what I have to pay are customs duty and goods and services taxes.
You better keep that in mind whenever you buy something on the internet.
And to demonstrate the effectivity of Spanish couriers: It took 2 days to get the package from Dallas, Texas to Madrid. And it took another 2 days to get the package from Madrid to Asturias (5 hours by car).
Friday, October 28, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Tracking the shipment
Oh, I'm a real technology freak. I love gadgets, and I am aware of all the cool new things that are being invented around the world. I read about them every day.
So now I bought myself a little early birthday gift on Amazon. It has to be shipped over from the US, because apparently it is not for sale in Europe (I hope it will work here though).
You know what is great about UPS shipping? That you can track your package online across the globe. And it's sooo addictive! So now I'm checking my tracking number every 15 minutes on the internet to find out where my package is.
On monday evening it was sent in Dallas, Texas. On tuesday morning it was received in Louisville, Kentucky and sent to Cologne in Germany. And this morning it arrived already in Madrid! So I should get it by tomorrow. Woohoo!
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's UPS.
So now I bought myself a little early birthday gift on Amazon. It has to be shipped over from the US, because apparently it is not for sale in Europe (I hope it will work here though).
You know what is great about UPS shipping? That you can track your package online across the globe. And it's sooo addictive! So now I'm checking my tracking number every 15 minutes on the internet to find out where my package is.
On monday evening it was sent in Dallas, Texas. On tuesday morning it was received in Louisville, Kentucky and sent to Cologne in Germany. And this morning it arrived already in Madrid! So I should get it by tomorrow. Woohoo!
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's UPS.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
August, 1991
It was the summer of 91. One of the hottest summers I can remember. I was 17 years old.
My dad ordered me to mow the lawn, cut the hedge and paint the garage doors, like he would every summer. He couldn't stand the idea that we didn't have to go to school for two months.
I was working in the garden, when he suddenly came up to me and said that I had to stay home that afternoon, because someone was coming to see me.
When I asked who, he said that a man was coming to talk to me about a holiday in France, to learn French.
My heart skipped some beats. I was stunned. He wanted to send me on a boring holiday in France to learn French?? And he never even talked to me about it until now?? He'd better think again, because I wasn't going. Nope. Nuh uh. Never.
When a guy in a suit showed up that afternoon, sat down at our livingroom table and presented some papers for my father to sign, I realized what was going on. It had all been decided already behind my back. The papers were ready to sign, and I could just as well start packing my bags. I hated my dad for not even discussing this trip with me. I was sure that I was going to have the worst time of my life.
A few weeks later, I was waiting for the bus to arrive on an abandoned market place at 6 o'clock in the morning. The bus would stop at different cities throughout belgium, to pick up other people of my age that were being sent to the same hell in France.
In my town, only the first two victims had to get on the bus, a girl and me. She was very extrovert, came to sit next to me on the bus, introduced herself and started talking very spontaneously. We got along quite well. Later that day, other participants had the idea that she and I had known each other for years.
We were all staying with local families in Tours, France. We had to attend classes in the morning and would go on excursions in the afternoon, visiting castles and vineyards. On some days, we would have the afternoon off.
A small group of participants became very close in just a few days time. We were young, wanted to have fun, and were decided to make the best of this holiday.
My French parents were very modern, very trusting. They told me that the Belgians had the reputation of going out all night. So who was I to break with that tradition.
And so some of us came together every night and went to the clubs until they closed at 3 in the morning. Afterwards, we would buy a few bottles of wine and gather at the banks of the river Loire. By the time the baker started working in the morning, we would knock on the door of his workplace for fresh bread, and when it started to get light again, we would walk home for a few hours of rest before we had to go to class again.
We had a great time. We got drunk at the vineyards, drove from one club to another in cars of total strangers that we didn't understand, mislead our supervisors by getting into cabs and getting out again at the end of the street.
When we got back to Belgium two weeks later, some of us broke down in tears while saying goodbye. For many of us, it was the first time that we had experienced independence. And although I may not have learned a lot of French during those two weeks, I DID learn a lot about myself.
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My dad ordered me to mow the lawn, cut the hedge and paint the garage doors, like he would every summer. He couldn't stand the idea that we didn't have to go to school for two months.
I was working in the garden, when he suddenly came up to me and said that I had to stay home that afternoon, because someone was coming to see me.
When I asked who, he said that a man was coming to talk to me about a holiday in France, to learn French.
My heart skipped some beats. I was stunned. He wanted to send me on a boring holiday in France to learn French?? And he never even talked to me about it until now?? He'd better think again, because I wasn't going. Nope. Nuh uh. Never.
When a guy in a suit showed up that afternoon, sat down at our livingroom table and presented some papers for my father to sign, I realized what was going on. It had all been decided already behind my back. The papers were ready to sign, and I could just as well start packing my bags. I hated my dad for not even discussing this trip with me. I was sure that I was going to have the worst time of my life.
A few weeks later, I was waiting for the bus to arrive on an abandoned market place at 6 o'clock in the morning. The bus would stop at different cities throughout belgium, to pick up other people of my age that were being sent to the same hell in France.
In my town, only the first two victims had to get on the bus, a girl and me. She was very extrovert, came to sit next to me on the bus, introduced herself and started talking very spontaneously. We got along quite well. Later that day, other participants had the idea that she and I had known each other for years.
We were all staying with local families in Tours, France. We had to attend classes in the morning and would go on excursions in the afternoon, visiting castles and vineyards. On some days, we would have the afternoon off.
A small group of participants became very close in just a few days time. We were young, wanted to have fun, and were decided to make the best of this holiday.
My French parents were very modern, very trusting. They told me that the Belgians had the reputation of going out all night. So who was I to break with that tradition.
And so some of us came together every night and went to the clubs until they closed at 3 in the morning. Afterwards, we would buy a few bottles of wine and gather at the banks of the river Loire. By the time the baker started working in the morning, we would knock on the door of his workplace for fresh bread, and when it started to get light again, we would walk home for a few hours of rest before we had to go to class again.
We had a great time. We got drunk at the vineyards, drove from one club to another in cars of total strangers that we didn't understand, mislead our supervisors by getting into cabs and getting out again at the end of the street.
When we got back to Belgium two weeks later, some of us broke down in tears while saying goodbye. For many of us, it was the first time that we had experienced independence. And although I may not have learned a lot of French during those two weeks, I DID learn a lot about myself.
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Wednesday, October 19, 2005
1 year
Happy birthday, blog!
Yes, it has been 1 year since I wrote my first post on this blog, although the URL and name were different at that time. My nosy colleagues forced me to go undercover a little while ago. Too bad, because the number of visitors declined with it.
Or that could also be because of the level of my posts, of course.
Anyway, I will be back at full force as soon as things at work slow down a little.
Yes, it has been 1 year since I wrote my first post on this blog, although the URL and name were different at that time. My nosy colleagues forced me to go undercover a little while ago. Too bad, because the number of visitors declined with it.
Or that could also be because of the level of my posts, of course.
Anyway, I will be back at full force as soon as things at work slow down a little.
Monday, October 17, 2005
The Matrix
Proof that I am living in a virtual, controlled world:
- All the wishes that I did on the falling stars of the Perseid meteor showers that reoccur every year in August, have come true.
- I finished two college degrees successfully, despite the fact that I was partying all the time, and only started studying and copying notes two weeks before the exams started.
- I was offered a job in Spain after one 10 minute job interview on the phone, only 6 kilometers from the city where Mónica was living. Spain is BIG. I had been looking for a job in Spain for less than 2 weeks. I was still living in Belgium.
- I went to Spanish classes twice a week for only 3 months before I moved to Spain. I started working in a team of Spanish people and the language was never a problem for me. Now I speak Spanish fluently.
- Mónica and I moved in together, after only meeting each other 5 times in 10 years, on holidays that lasted less than two weeks. We are having a great relationship.
Does your life sometimes seem strange to you?
- All the wishes that I did on the falling stars of the Perseid meteor showers that reoccur every year in August, have come true.
- I finished two college degrees successfully, despite the fact that I was partying all the time, and only started studying and copying notes two weeks before the exams started.
- I was offered a job in Spain after one 10 minute job interview on the phone, only 6 kilometers from the city where Mónica was living. Spain is BIG. I had been looking for a job in Spain for less than 2 weeks. I was still living in Belgium.
- I went to Spanish classes twice a week for only 3 months before I moved to Spain. I started working in a team of Spanish people and the language was never a problem for me. Now I speak Spanish fluently.
- Mónica and I moved in together, after only meeting each other 5 times in 10 years, on holidays that lasted less than two weeks. We are having a great relationship.
Does your life sometimes seem strange to you?
Friday, October 14, 2005
Thank god it's Friday
Thank god it's Friday. And unlike last weekend, I will finally be able to rest and relax for two days.
I really need the rest after this tiresome week of showing my parents around in Asturias.
They arrived on Friday afternoon last week with a few hours of delay, and until they left on Wednesday morning, we have been travelling around constantly. We showed them Covadonga and the lakes, Oviedo, Gijon, Aviles and Salinas.
We were especially lucky with the weather. It felt like summer all the time they were here. It started raining a few hours after they left for Belgium on Wednesday, and it hasn't stopped since.
My parents seemed impressed by the beauty of Asturias, and the pride and traditions of the people that live here. My mom kept saying that we're living in a great place.
I really need the rest after this tiresome week of showing my parents around in Asturias.
They arrived on Friday afternoon last week with a few hours of delay, and until they left on Wednesday morning, we have been travelling around constantly. We showed them Covadonga and the lakes, Oviedo, Gijon, Aviles and Salinas.
We were especially lucky with the weather. It felt like summer all the time they were here. It started raining a few hours after they left for Belgium on Wednesday, and it hasn't stopped since.
My parents seemed impressed by the beauty of Asturias, and the pride and traditions of the people that live here. My mom kept saying that we're living in a great place.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Family visit
My parents are coming over today to visit us for a couple of days. It is the second time that they are coming.
That is if they get here, because I hear there is a big strike in Belgium today, and part of the airport staff doesn't seem to be working. My mom will probably be nervous already.
The next couple of days I will be guiding them around, showing them the nicest places of Asturias. The last time they came it was february, and freezing cold. So they didn't see much then.
But now it seems we are having luck with the weather, with temperatures up to 24C/75F and sun.
I will be taking my camera along. The result will be up around next thursday.
See ya.
That is if they get here, because I hear there is a big strike in Belgium today, and part of the airport staff doesn't seem to be working. My mom will probably be nervous already.
The next couple of days I will be guiding them around, showing them the nicest places of Asturias. The last time they came it was february, and freezing cold. So they didn't see much then.
But now it seems we are having luck with the weather, with temperatures up to 24C/75F and sun.
I will be taking my camera along. The result will be up around next thursday.
See ya.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Driving
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Mónica is taking driving lessons again. She got her driver's license about 9 years ago, but since she never owned a car, she never drove again after getting her license. Big mistake.
Since 9 years is a long time, she practically had to start from zero again now.
Her biggest problem however is her fear. She tends to panic in a difficult situation. And Spanish drivers are not exactly the most considerate drivers there are.
Anyway, since the classes were going well, we decided to take my car for a spin yesterday afternoon. I think she wanted to show me the progress she had been making. We drove off to a quiet urbanization, and we changed seats. She drove off and I was impressed with how well she was doing.
But then...
She had to pass a parked car and at that moment another car came from the opposite direction at a high speed. Mónica miscalculated her speed, and not being used to the steering of my car, we ended up on the sidewalk and she managed to hit the breaks just in time for us not to hit a lamppost. It was a bit of a scare, and she was in panic.
After comforting her, I took over the wheel again, and we drove home. She felt awful all afternoon. I tried to comfort her, convince her that it only happened because she wasn't used to the car.
I only hope that this incident won't increase her fear.
Since 9 years is a long time, she practically had to start from zero again now.
Her biggest problem however is her fear. She tends to panic in a difficult situation. And Spanish drivers are not exactly the most considerate drivers there are.
Anyway, since the classes were going well, we decided to take my car for a spin yesterday afternoon. I think she wanted to show me the progress she had been making. We drove off to a quiet urbanization, and we changed seats. She drove off and I was impressed with how well she was doing.
But then...
She had to pass a parked car and at that moment another car came from the opposite direction at a high speed. Mónica miscalculated her speed, and not being used to the steering of my car, we ended up on the sidewalk and she managed to hit the breaks just in time for us not to hit a lamppost. It was a bit of a scare, and she was in panic.
After comforting her, I took over the wheel again, and we drove home. She felt awful all afternoon. I tried to comfort her, convince her that it only happened because she wasn't used to the car.
I only hope that this incident won't increase her fear.
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