One moment in time

SUMMER HOLIDAY!!!!! I have been dancing in my kitchen, yelling out loud and screaming!!! Not have been doing that for quite some time and it felt so great. It took a last hectic week full of emotions and many goodbyes!

When I handed over today my last report card of the year (and it was a very nice one!! Not that many happy faces this year! The 'Mean'-teacher was busy this year!) it felt like I lost a stone. Suddenly I could breath more easily. Guess that I needed this two month break badly!

I will be in and out but for 2 months. I will be nobody's teacher and that feels quite relaxing. It was tough this year. It was the first year ever that the majority of my Juniors got not a straight forward report card. Three of them I will for sure see back in Junior classes, one moves on but only on strict conditions, one we asked very politely to find an other school after getting many chances and one will be on work placement a bit longer to make the grades.

Do I feel failed as a teacher? Nope, I don't. Not that it is much fun to communicate such messages to the parents and the pupils. Like mentioned before in some old posts I do consider parent's evening quite tiring. Some parents can take you by surprise. There are the courageous ones who have prepared even a complete monologue to get their message across. So I had to be fired up before going into battle with a folder filled up with decisive figures.

While sitting out there ready to face 'the enemy' I do reflect about the last ten months. My sophomores were great this year. We had tons of laughs. They will remember me as 'Teacher Stamp' (I truely signed one day a pupil's diary that way!) because I was thinking of the rewarding system. They also told me more then ones that when I go mental (pulling faces, banging my head against the door, wall or black board when they do or say something outrageously!) that they do understand what I try to tell them. And the best of all we will meet again!!

But this year I did experience that my Juniors did have a hard time to face the consequences of the choices they made. Being a general subject teacher in a special ed school I end up being the one who tries to tell them what the harsh facts of life are. Some of them feel like they are ready to deal with all what is heading their way and that they can do without school at the age of 16!

Juniors are an unique kind of pupils to deal with. For more then 12 years this is the grade that I teach in combo with some other grades. But most hours I end up with them between four walls. Not many are strangers when they start out with me. But when I stare in their eyes in the beginning of the school year I can sense certain powers. Some of them are still of unaware of those sensations. I am the one knowing that they will colide many times. Not only with me but with so many things, places and people they will be meeting along the way.

I had the pleasure to have some of these pupils that you raced through their Junior year. Never hesistated, gave never a blink and were proud to stand out. Believed in their own powers and talents. These were the ones who only needed only a push once in while. Grading their tasks and papers was a walk through the parc. Seeing those leaving seemed so natural.

Unfortunately there are also the ones who turn school into they biggest boxing ring ever. Being of the weak sex I try to stay out of fights but as a teacher I have a been reckless a few times. I never got hurt but where I was standing I saw two people who got hurt. Not only physical but also very emotional.

And so there also the ones who give up. Once they have made that decision that they will move on and never look back over their shoulder there is not much you can do as a teacher. To be honest it still hurts when it happens and I do feel a bit failed as a teacher. Not that it is entire my fault but still it stings.

This year I had to fail many and I do know that there a chances that some won't return in September. You might wonder if I have high standards? Do I ask the impossible? Do they have to be straight A students to make me smile? Or are they never allowed to make mistakes? Nope! Failing in my class room you can only when you have not tried out new things, pushed yourself not to the edge once in a while or have ignored some wake up calls.

Last week I told many that they had not delivered! I did not blink once while pointing out their failure. When I sit out there facing the 'enemy' I do feel sometimes tired. When browsing through their report cards and wrapping up the last details I seem to feel the weight of 10 months in my hands.

I have been begging some to stay and not answer the call of the out side world. Please giving it an other try, using what they not used enough the last year: endurance! Does my advice make the difference? I don't know and I will never find out. It is a sign when some don't make eyecontact and seem already to be in a different place. All what they seem eager to do is take a run and slam the door.

What I never do is making bets on these kids. It is not fair on them. Because in the end it is their life. They call the shots. The only thing that I do is telling them that do have the power to make it work. That they can do so much more! But they have to fight and try harder then are doing now.

The highlight of the year was graduation for me because amongst the seniors there is one girl who I never thaught but still ended up having fierce arguments with. She kicked, used harsh words and wanted to walk out. And was she smart? D was to me of these rare kids you do encounter only rarely out there: a true diamond in the rock. While standing out side in the hall ways with her I told her more then once in a very controlled way that she had the will and power to get more out of this ride. I had faith in her ability to show the outside world that special ed is not the end of the waterfall.

When her name was announced at graduation and she was standing up to get her diploma I saw so much more then the angry teenager I had met so many times. There was standig a very proud young lady dressed in a little black dress and high heels! She was walking up there confident and looked everyone straight in the eyes. While showing us her most beautiful smile her face was so radiant.

The hand of applause she got was very sincere and warm. D will go into my teaching career as the one student who dares to embrace the unknown after being told many times that she had to try harder when she seemed not to care. D did not stop questioning herself and I do truely hope that she will find the power, the will, the endurance to make it!

It only got better when our principal announced that D was going give it a try in a 'normal' education. She is going to push herself and taking the risk. My heart jumped for joy! Because the vision I had for her while argueing with her turned into a reality. To me she is a true hero. Because she dares facing her real fears next year, she will be ending up younger teenagers in a room, less streetwise kids and will be meeting tons of people that will be testing her every day over and over. BUT I do think she is up for that ultimate adventure.

I did not say goodbye to D because as known by many I am the first to get back into the kitchen to do the washing up. In my head D already moved on but at least she dares to move on to that one spot that many have told her to be out of reach. But she took her time and was patient enough to wait for the right moment to go for it.

There is one song that I will now link to D:'One moment in time!' Whitney Houston is not able to sing as nicely as she used but the lyrics are so fitting for D and all those Seniors of the class of 2010 who are ready to face the future. As a teacher I can only state that it was a true honor teaching the brave ones. After all I have got the questions but being the pupils you are the ones holding the answers to the real things that matter in life. There is not a single grade fitting enough to mark those answers because they are unique for each of you!!

A Tropical Full Moon

This week it was full moon and there are many sayings when it comes to this natural phenonmenon. There is a group of people who believewhen it is full moon many things can happen. Some expected things, some less expected. Looking back at the last 7 days I do think that it was for sure a very extra ordinary week. Many events have taken place with above in the sky this reappearing natural act. And the tropical temperatures only add up to the rather explosive content of this hit list:

1. Marianne Thyssen, the leading lady of one of our major political parties decided to call it the day. After a less succesful 'voting box adventure' she decided to resign and leaving behind a party in need of a new leader. According to one of our rather wrinkled lady-politicians Miet Smet, Marianne made the right decission. But she also stated in the same newspaper article that the CD&V had underestimated the importance of being a very close team that sticks together. Marianne felt very lonely in the harsh world of politics and will now perhaps want to go back to the European Parliament where she is able to work in a rather 'eassier' environment. Loser: The CD&V losing a very capable lady in need of a real team!

2. Obamma sacked one of his leading army officers. The war out there in Afghanistan seems not to be a pic nic out in the dessert. And commander McChrystal seemed to have a hard time with the way some leading government officials were handling the war. Of course you can think critical under Obamma but calling it out very loudly is on other cup of tea. So a press conference was called and the American president thanked him for the delivered services. I doubt it that he will ever give an other interview for Rolling Stone or even buy the magazine. Loser: Rolling Stone Magazine, losing one of their high profile subscribers.

3. Wimbledon got Royal visitors. Funny pictures all over the net of tennis players who tried to behave very knightly and lady like while Queen Elizabeth was sitting out there in the Royal Box. History was written that day not on center court but it were Mahut and Ishner who managed to set the record straight when it comes to the longest tennis match. After playing more then 11 hours and 183 games it was Isner who was able to cover his spotless white shirt with the holy grass. Loser: Hard to say!! Both players got into the World Book of Records and not just once!

4. Prince Albert of Monacco finally decided (perhaps after attending the Royal wedding in Sweden) that he had to get an engagement ring for his South African girl friend Charlene Wittstock. Seems that this sporty girl managed to make him realise that there comes a day that you won't fit in a very tight wedding tux. The difference in age (20) and the amount of hair growth seems not to be a real issue amongst these two love birds. Guess he will be on a crash diet the next 12 months. Loser: Hopefully Albert when it comes to loosing weight!

5. The diocese of Mechelen and the arch bisshop got a less nice visit. The impressing police force made the staff hand over their mobile phones and took possession of all the computers. They even pushed some cameras in some tombs. What they were looking? Hard to say but for sure there most be something 'rotten' in the Church. Loser: Needless to say!! But even the cathedral won't gain something out of this Da Vinci Code-like story unless they would have found a secret code in some of the coffins!!

6.The English National football team lost against Germany with very convincing figures: 4-1. But you can be sure that history was written on that field out there in South Africa. Because once more one of the referees seemed to be blind while running up on down the field. Hey, that was over the line!!!!! 2-2 or 2-1 before half time it does make it an difference! And hey, for once I did think that David Beckham looked very handsome out there! Loser: The FIFA big boss Sepp Blatter who seems to think that he is the king of the field and perhaps needs to have the referees check more frequently their eyesight!

7. Our open school day that ended in a very abruptly way. On Friday evening while we were getting ready to serve food for more then 300 people I was the witness of a hizzing sound and all I remember was suddenly a huge flame. A big gass explosion caused a fire to the food stall. A few minutes later I was standing out there on the grass field with collegues who seemed so lost. I did end up being in shock because I was not standing that far of where the explosion was.

Recalling that day will be always hard because it was a day full of mixed emotions. Like stated many times in previous posts I do feel not that upbeat at work anymore. It has not been the most happy place on world to spend my time. Many of my collegues turned into strangers or even the new ones were not that compatible as I wished for. Dissapointment was the major word when discussing my job.

Well, sometimes you need a wake up call to refocus. Guess that the six current affairs did respond to their personal call. But the difference between number 7 and all the rest is that I did experience something that you can't bottle up in cases of an emergency, or what you can rely on when you are playing a grand slam tennis match, it also had nothing to do with faith in its churchlike context, it had nothing to do with false words or criticism, it even did not involve any blind referees or an overweight prince who seemed to run ouf of time.

No, that night I did feel part of a team. And that was a long team ago. When I drove home around midnight I suddenly saw the full moon and did I realise that things can always change in a blast and that it only takes one second to change your personal direction in life!

When I read the final part of Miet Smet her personal insights on Marianne her decision I must say that I do sympathise with her. Because in times of crises you need so badly others and this unconditionally. You need the team and go for it even when the heat is on. I can proudly state that on the tropical evening I did feel part of a very close knit team. Hopefully I can hold on to that feeling for the months to come.

So in this last case I do not think there are real losers. Still, one wounded is perhaps one too many. But it all could have been much worse. And yes, I admit it when I got home I was so happy to hear A his heart beat and that I found P his arms who welcomed me back home. I did sleep that night with the curtains open and our bed room was filled up with moonlight. From this week on full moon stands for so much more!

P.S.: For the people who understand Dutch, this is for me the major part of the piece Miet Smet wrote about Marianne.

"Marianne stond er alleen voor, maar ze heeft standgehouden zelfs in het Kopstukkendebat toen ze letterlijk uitgefloten is door de achterban van N-VA. Ze stond er helemaal, maar ook helemaal alleen. Misschien heeft CD&V het belang van een ploeg onderschat. Een ploeg versterkt, bevestigt en geeft vertrouwen. De kiezer heeft die ploeg nooit gezien, laat staan gevoeld.

Mist de CD&V leidersfiguren of zijn het allemaal ego's die hun energie steken in het tegen elkaar opbotsen? Neen. CD&V heeft potentieel, heel veel potentieel. Alleen wordt het dringend tijd dat we ons gaan bezinnen over de manier waarop we dat potentieel tot een ploeg kunnen kneden. Een sterke ploeg." (Miet Smet, bron website De Standaard)

A walk to remember

Last weekend while I was trying to put the final report cards of the school year together I turned on the TV to catch a glimpse of the wedding gown of crown princess Victoria of Sweden. Not that P&A were that thrilled about this but at least P was so kind to put up with it for a while. It turned out to be a rather simple dress with very meaningful details and a very long train .

In case you have forgotten I am still not married!! It still drives me insane but I try to be very patient. I do think that people who take wedding vows seriously deserve some extra credit. Even being close to 40 I still stand still before shops where they sell wedding gowns. While I am standing there I do have some very sweet dreams about how my own wedding could look like.

People who do know me better will know that I do consider the wedding service the highlight of that day. I don't care about the party or the number of guests. But I already have very specific wishes and demands for that special moment in my life. Ever since college where I minored in religion and studied the sacrements I have found out the deeper meaning of the exchange of this meaningful act.

Only there is one moment that will never be that good enough and that is the walk to aisle. Because that walk I would only wish to have done in the close company with my father. He was the only up for that task. During that trip I wanted to thank him for all he did for me and what values he thaught me. It would have been the perfect moment to show the unconditional love I feel for my father and all he stands for!

The day my dad died that one wish also died along with him. For me that day something broke inside me. A very big hole in my heart was created. Many people knowing the impact of grief into their daily lives will be with me on this one. My live suddenly got a darker side. That period of time stands for the very first real emotional test I got about life!

When I then found out that Victoria wanted her father to walk her to the spot her Daniel was waiting for her I did not make a big thing out of it. But the majority of feminists were a bit outraged. They did not get it that in a country were man and woman are considered equals you want to walk into church with your father and then being handed over to an other man!

In Sweden the Royal Family is still very popular. The whole nation had been looking forward to this particular day that their crown princess was going to tie the knot with a commoner. Because that is what her personal trainer Daniel is in general. I even have to state that I did think that his parents did look a bit uncomfortable while sitting their amongst the crowned heads. I even wonder if my own queen Paola was so kind to talk to the nice mother in law of Victoria.

Above all I do think that Royal Weddings are sometimes blown out of proportion. Critics will be happy to spit out very loud their point of view about anything that annoys them. In case you have forgotten, you might have done for sure exact the same thing about one or two weddings you did attend in your life! If it is not the food that is too cold, it is the DJ who seems to play a one man show, or the wedding service was way too long, or the table setting that annoys you, or it is the fact that you did not get the right drinks along with your food, or you did not receive a meaningful thank you note,blah blah blah. Do I need to go on? I don't think so.

Well, that Victoria did want to do something that the majority of the very liberal thinking Swedish nation considers less normal must have a different meaning to her. The Palace even had to make an official statement why the Royal daughter wanted to do this. All she wanted to take that one very significant last walk with her father before crossing the line to board on a new adventure. Turning the page.

I still need that walk badly to feel more at ease with life. It is a very personal feeling but perhaps some people will understand me what I try to state her. I would have truely enjoyed those last steps in the company of my father and being able to embrace my new life and let go the old one. I would still have felt backed up by him because the moment that he would have walked to his seat in church he would have expressed all the faith in me that I am up to the test. Up till today I do feel that I never had the opportunity to turn that significant page. And yes, I am very envious of the daughters and fathers who were able to enjoy that significant precious moment together.

By now the newly weds Victoria and Daniel will be enjoying their well deserved honeymoon. The kingdom of Sweden has finally calmed down after the Royal Wedding and most of the royal households have taken their gala outfits to the cleaners. All there is left are the memories and the many pictures that are to be found on the net or in magazines.

Crown princess Victoria and personal trainer Daniel (and also the father of the bride!) two thumbs up for that extra ordinary walk. But perhaps a pair of stylish white running shoes pimped up with blue ribbons and some Swarovski stones underneath that breathtaking wedding gown would have made it even a more special moment. Or is that a bit too much? And to all the already married copples perhaps this is a good moment to get your wedding album out and remember!! Bet that most of the things to be found in that big album will still make you smile.

Twilighted

Last Friday N ended up on our couch in the company with some micro waved popcorn. We had first crashed into a Happy Meal at the Golden Arches. A had kept us company and then invited his godmother for spending the evening with him. They watched 'Madagascar 2' and he then gave her the complete guided tour of his bedroom and introduced some of his best friends that were hiding under his bed.

Once the lights were down and A had left for dream country we decided that we had to turn on the DVD-player for something more serious. So I got out'Twilight'! For some years now this title is popping up in every bookstore, webstore or website on books I have been on. Tons of people seem to have digged into this Vampire Saga but for some reason I just did not got the time to catch up with the hype.

I even have to state that the first 15 minutes that I saw Edward Cullen I did think he was a real creep! 'Is this the guy that so many girls have wild dreams about!' Uhm, I don't get this and what is it with vampires who call themselves 'vegetarian???!!!' N and I tried to understand this whole thing about them being a bit like Romeo and Julliette.

For me the movie only got into third gear once they had their first real outing high up in the trees. And it only got really going once the whole Cullen Family was properly introduced. Especially Carlisle and Esme who deserve so much more credit! Being the pater familias of a clan of blood thirsty vampire kids and coping day in day out with sick and in most cases also bleeding patients must feel like torture. He is the most compassionate of all and considers Bella a daughter the day he walks into the emergency room and finding out that his son saved her recklessly. Knowing that love can make the difference in every life even that one of a hunting vampire!

I have been in the state of Washington and I do remember that it can be so dark out there even when it is summer. The Starbucks coffee is a true blessing over there in order to survive the gloomy and wet days. At the same time the rough landscape can take your breath away. It gets under your skin! So once Edward and Bella went up on the mountains I did travel along. I then gave in!!! Yes,I did!!

Now I did finish reading the first book in a record time!! I do admit here also very openly that I skipped tons of pages in order to find the parts that I did like a great deal in the movie. By the time I got to the final chapters I was convinced that the book was a lot better then the movie.

I do now understand why so many young girls in my direct surroundings suddenly had the urge to read English books. Because once you get into this bloody love story you have to fight against a certain adrenaline rush. I did some surfing and was still amazed what this story is causing world wide. Over 6 000 000 fans on just one fanpage on Facebook, hundreds of fans who put together sometimes outrageously funny fan clips and numerous hits that make your head spin!

In a few moments I did found out that there is a whole Twilight world to discover! Millions of fans go wild over the Vampire story that the American Stephenie Meyer created while potty training her kids! She states that she had a very vivid dream about these creatures and had to write down what she thaught the story could look on paper!!

Well, guess she hit the jackpot that morning!!! JK Rowling must be eating her guts out by now! Bella and Edward are for the moment the most popular teenager lovers starring in a book. Me, being a bit older and being a bit less romantic about love passed on by a bite is having suddenly the urge to get the bottom of this!

When I asked my collegues if there was a possibilty I could borrow some of the copies their teenage daughters have at home, they all smiled but I never got a very easy yes to hear!! The most original response was of my beloved mentor G:'Those books are the best safe guarded item in our house and seem to be kept into a vault. They are even better secured items then the property act of our house! I don't know if they will ever let go of them? You better ask them for yourself!'

I do know that some people have been made fun of because the got caught reading these books. But I do think in every line many authors create there is an other story to read. While meeting the Cullens on page I met a family with very strong characters and trying to live up to the expectations of one man: Carlisle Cullen. He drags along more then 300 years of history under his belt with which he tucks away his heavenly blue shirts. Not a single time he underestimates the power of Bella or of any of his kids or opponent he meets.

As the patriarch of the family he is the catalyst of it all. According to his creator 'his compassion-motivated self-control is so incredible that it almost crosses the line into 'superpower'. Edward and the rest of his adoptive kids get the full treatment on the facts of life. In book two he states that he even believes in the existence of God! Quite shocking for a damned soul. Every time when he treats a patient (including Bella) he tries to use his force wisely.

We all have the ability to create or tresspass to a darker side. Many authors have created demons, monsters, alliens, murders (the list is long and distinguished) in order to take us on an inside trip of these hard to grip creatures. Well, Carlisle is for me the Jedi of the Vampire world. Yoda and he would get along very nicely. And if I come to think of it he must be one of the richest man 'alive. Believe it or not but he even made it into Forbes magazine. Beating fictional multi millionairs like Gatsby, the tooth fairy and Sir Topham Hat (Thomas Trains owner!)! (see here below)

Patience and being non-judgmental can be in this sometimes very outrageously world two very meaningful forces. I do not believe in vampires, I don't believe in vegetarian vampires, I don't believe in Bella her wish to become a vampire in order to be be linked for eternity to her soulmate. Guess that my love bug has already escaped but I do believe in Carlisle Cullen his drive to make out of this world a better place by using your talents and trying to make other people happy. And using tons patience to get it right out there. Those are, according to me, for sure some underestimated powers.

In case you might catch me red handed in a book store buying the exclusive bookset or discover me in a dark movie theater then please smile back. Chances are that I will be turning a bit red for shame. But hey, I do now admit it very openly that I am 'Twilighted'. Guess that the I am bitten by a fictional vampire! Doctor McDreamy you better move out of the way for Doctor Carlisle Cullen!!

P.S.: For all the young boys and men who will be forced into the movie theater by their girlfriends or spouses in order to see the next Twilight Movie, don't panic. The Cullens have an impeccable taste when it comes to cars!! You will love at least that bit of the movie! Promise!!! Cross my heart, hope to die! ;-))

P.S.: Check out this very funny inspired article on the Forbes site and click for the extra clip. The Forbes lady has clearly a hard deal to keep up a straight face when talking about the Cullens fortune!

http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/13/carlisle-cullen-bio-opinions-fictional-15-10-twilight.html?partner=email (copy and paste this)

Casting votes

This morning P was so kind to start the one subject that I try to ignore: elections! He has already made his mind up about what party he wants in charge of this surrealistic nation. He even walks around with a smile on his face because tons of people just openly tell who they are going to pick out the list that will pop up on their computer screen. While I was brewing myself a nice cup of George Clooney coffee I settled down for the thick Saturday newspaper. I am still hoping to find in there the ultimate voting advice.

For the last few years I am one of these indecisive voters. Why? Well, because I seem not to be able to speak the same language when it comes to politics. Not that I agree with some people that voting is a useless act. But I do think that when you would be given the opportunity to perform this action instead of being forced I would feel more positively motivated to cast my vote!

And yes, more and more I feel like a stranger in my own nation. For years I have been an observer of my fellow country men and women who seem to struggle with that one feeling that we can't give a meaningful spot in our lives: patriotisme. To me it seems to be one of the few words that you can't find in a Flemish dictionary! It feels such a heavy word to use in many political conversations that we rather like to ban it out of our daily vocabulary.

But hey, I do feel proud of my nation! In the first place I do feel Belgian with a dash of Flemish cream and I am spiced up with 'Limburger' herbs! Many people wonder what we can be proud of when it comes to national pride! Well, I do agree that finding something negative it always eassier then coming up with the a five star list of Belgian objects to have some personal affection for.

That we are in a recession makes it even worse. Because more and more I do experience that economic crises takes also place between the ears. If jobs, money, economic crises, stock exchange, inflation do make the headlines then it so hard to keep up your warm feelings about the country in which you try to make in living. We do live in a time where we seem to be lost or at least searching for a short cut back on the yellow brick lane to happiness!

Not that I do give up. I do feel a very strong affection for many so typical Belgian things that others make fun of. It took me some travelling and long lay overs abroad to find out what this nation can stand for. It were others who took the time to make me see what seemed invisible to me. And yes, they even pointed out that our rather strange way of talking about politics and trying to live together can be a very valuable asset!

Yes, I do have strong affections for our so strange country with it's rather complex political systems. I can come to rest when I stare at the very extreme opposite landscape. Buying beer or chocolate are for me serious bussiness because after each label hides a personal history! Going out for meal feels like I am boarding on a tasty voyage! Spending money on a Belgian fashion label is for me investing in a timeless outfit! Getting lost in the many tiny villages when the GPS is not working is discovering a lost nation turns into a discovery of a lifetime.

This morning I pleaded for my nation!! I did it openly to P and felt scared! Yes, I don't want it to end. And out there not one single political party seems up for the hard work. Because I do believe that trying to live together and investing time and energy and yes, also money is for sure not a wasted act. That part of my money check is invested in others is not always the most fulfilling sensation I experience. That we need to split up a constituency to move on I do understand.

But this election stands for so much more that I do feel allienated by. I am working in the province of Antwerp, living in Flemish Brabant, being born in Limburg, having lived in Brussels, having friends and family living in almost every single province, living in a very international spiced street and having a boy friend who works in our capital and so my eyes and heart were opened up. I invested time, energy and money in feeling that I do now cherish and that keeps me feel content.

A few weeks ago I ended up in a hip restaurant in Paris with french speaking 'Belgians'. Before I knew I felt lost because it seemed that for once more we were the only 'Flemish'people in that company. And yes before dessert arrived they started to talk bad about 'les Flamands'.

Because my ears still function very well I picked up parts of their conversation and then I did something I never did before! I rolled my eyes in contempt and just starred at them. 'C'est dommage, que vous dites!', was my first sentence. Right there, at that moment I felt lost! One of them had picked up my words. He felt caught and he had no choice to speak up his mind and then hear me out. I had tried to point out why we consider each other 'strangers' in the first degree and what the positive traits of each side are! I was pleading for the country I do believe in but chances are few that he was talking about the same nation.

That night when I walked back in the company of P and walking towards the Arc de Triomphe I felt a bit jealous. Not of France but of all these 'Wallons' & 'Vlamingen' who seemed to have discovered that one feeling that makes them nationalists but still live in a nation that still not is up for the ultimate test. 'You know what is the hardest of our whole situation? That is that we don't belong anywhere!' P understood what I meant. More then once I get to defend many: Flemish, Walloon and the locals of Brussels. You can rest assured: I do this very fiercely but I hope that there is also a fellow country man or woman that does the same for me!

I hope that the night will bring the answer that I am after! Sweet dreams and have fun casting your votes!

Bent it for Mandela

Like mentioned in a post a long time ago football is not my sport. But there are a few exceptions when the ball hits the grass. One of them is the World Championship. Then I become suddenly one of those women who seem to get the whole thing about the black and white flying object. This year I even feel obliged to watch some matches because I do think that this time it will be a very exceptional championship.

South Africa is hosting them and so finally Africa gets to host this sports fiesta. You might wonder why this is so important for a country. But believe me for a nation like South Africa is about getting accepted on completely new level. Being able to play in the big league. For one get the opportunity to show your nation unified and showing the whole world what you are worth.

When thinking about South Africa many words come to my mind but for sure Nelson Mandela is one of them. They day he found out that the cup was coming to his country and was asked what he felt like his respons was:'Well, I feel back like a 15 year old boy!' He showed then his so cute smile and his face was so radiant that you were tempted to put on your sunglasses! The least you could say was that he felt proud!

Okay, the press has been all over while they were getting ready. Stations that were not getting ready, hotels that seemed not to get fully booked because let us be honest this colorful country has not the nicest crime statistics. It did not got even better when I tried to find out the names of the players of their national team! Googling was not an option because the hits were a bit confusing. When I checked with friend of ours who adopted a lovely South African girl they told me that they still had no 11 men dressed in shorts!

Yesterday night Shikira shaked her hips and did many colorful africans showed their best moves on stage. Today the kick off took place in Jo'burg and did we got to hear and see the colorful audience that filled up a brand new station. Amongst them tons of important Fifa people and the very cheerful arch bischop Desmund Tutu! He looked football all over. But no Nelson Mandela. It was rather a bit sad to see thousands of people witnessing that occasion without him being present. Like they were missing their biggest fan!

Turns out that today of all days Nelson lost one of his great grandchildren in a car accident. Their car seemed to be on the way back home after the kick off concert! While 22 men out there were running wild for one rolling object this national hero must have experienced very deep going emotions.

But now it is time for football and that the best team may win. I still not know who I am going to cheer for and therefor I will be watching a movie instead of a game. Because as long as I have not made up my mind who to cheer for I want to stay impartial.

So tonight I will be cheering for Jessminah and Julliette in 'Bent it like Beckham'! But then I do think that watching a movie about football on the opening evening of the world championship is still quite an achievement! I am looking forward to seeing tons of hot men with sexy legs in shorts! Also I bet that it will be eassier to find a team to cheer for then to make up my mind about who I am going to vote for this coming Sunday! Perhaps I should take one of those vuvuzela horns to the ballot station. Then at least I will get them to listen for once!!!