Half a year

Let it go
I just realized that I am back for half a year now – a kind of a landmark. And I completely missed it. Maybe it’s a good sign. Or maybe I was too pre-occupied with the two-year landmark: it’s been two whole years that I left on this trip. I really can’t believe it. Every […] Read More

Adulthood

Let it go
I have a feeling like I’m growing up again, just faster. If the sabbatical and the trip around the world was like a huge time out to live as a kid, carefree, doing what I wanted, whenever and wherever I wanted, then coming back feels like a fast track to responsible adulthood. I always thought […] Read More

Three months later

Let it go
I’m back for three months. At the risk of repeating myself, I’ll keep updating the blog on how I feel, returning… People still ask me about it daily, and I am still really busy sorting out my feelings and memories. I guess this trip has been a life changer. Funnily, even though the preparations were […] Read More

Jeu de Balle

Let it go
One of my favorite spots on a Sunday in Brussels is the Jeu de Balle Square in the Marolles neighborhood. Ducking under the towering Palais de la Justice, in the lower part of town, the Marolles have always been a poorer, worker’s neighborhood, deemed somewhat unruly. It’s precisely for that reason that the Palace of […] Read More

Antwerpen

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In the nearly 12 years that I lived in Brussels, somehow I never got my sister Sabine to discover Antwerp. Even though it is possibly one of my favorite places in Belgium. So we were set for a day trip to the city which is only some 40 kilometers from Brussels, due north, just before […] Read More

Flagey

Let it go
My sister Sabine’s job involves frequent trips to Brussels, so we always have at least lunch, or, if she can make it, add a weekend to one of her business trips. It was time she got to see my new place… Read More

To rent or to buy?

Let it go
Since I moved to Belgium in 2001, first as a student in a residence, then working here, I always rented. I shied away from buying, for several reasons: the thought of chaining me to a bank for decades, the thought of signing a contract, in legalistic, financial lawyer’s French I would not understand (I hardly understand […] Read More

City trips

Let it go
I was mailing with my friend Paul, whom I met in Tokyo, about the inevitable frustrations of coming back, being enclosed in an office, being in the same spot…. He answered in his kind way and proposed I organise maybe a few side trips, to have something to look forward to. This opened a window […] Read More

Lost/Clutter

Let it go
Eight weeks after moving back and starting to unpack, I am still missing things. Nothing vital, apparently, small things. I just wonder where the stuff went…? I have unpacked all boxes or looked them through and stored them again in the basement. Comic boos I don’t need, well packaged Madonna collection stuff, kitchen utensils I […] Read More

Lonesome

Let it go
It’s been eight weeks since I boarded my last plane from Buenos Aires. All in all, the return has been smooth, and everything went as planned, as far as the organization of it all is concerned. It could not have been smoother. Friends, colleagues and strangers ask how it is to be back, and if I […] Read More

Brussels street art

Let it go
People don’t really know much about Belgium. At best, it boils down to this: Atomium, Manneken Pis, chocolate, French (!) fries… and comics! Belgium has such a rich tradition of comics – its best known export would definitely be ‘The adventures of Tintin‘ by Hergé. However, there are numerous others like Lucky Luke, Gaston or […] Read More