Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Seattle of Europe

That's my new name for Belgium, since apparently it rains a lot here. I have to say, there's been a fair amount of precipitation since I got here, both rain and snow. Although I gather that snow's pretty unusual--apparently I chose an uncommonly cold winter to move here.

Rain I don't mind. But I'm told that overcast skies are the norm and sunny days are rare. That does give me pause... but once again, it's a prime example of the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for." After years of complaining about the incessant sun and lack of rain in Los Angeles, I now get to enjoy the exact opposite.

It's also dark. Sunrise is around 7:30 am, although the sky doesn't really begin to lighten until about 8:00. Sunset is around 4:30 pm and it's dark by 5:00. Short days. (Brussels is at approximately the same latitude as Calgary.) I'm hoping this means that summer days will be really long.

4 comments:

  1. That's pretty much how it is up here in Portland. The summer days are super long. When we first moved here I had a hard time going to bed at night because it was still light, sometimes not getting dark until after 10pm.

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  2. So, honey, I'm kind of curious: What prompted you to move there? -- PJ

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  3. A couple of things... I needed a job, but not just a job--a new career. And I needed to get out of L.A. Also, I'd always wanted to try living in Europe and have the chance to do more traveling.

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  4. My first winter was very depressing. It took me so long to get used to the lack of sun. Now, however, I find that I am used to the bad weather to the point where sunny days give me an enormous endorphin rush. I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world!

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