Let's start with the weather: Its been great!!! The temperature ranges from lows in the 40's to highs in the 60's and 70's. For me, its like March weather in June - it sure beats the humid 80 and 90 degree days in Raleigh. They say it can get into the 90's here sometimes - that may be a bummer in the land of no air conditioning. In the last couple weeks, we have been to 4 or 5 different parties with local friends and colleagues from Lee Ann's work. Lee Ann took everyone out on Monday for her 20 year anniversary with Alcatel! Everyone we meet is very friendly - maybe we're just lucky. With all this going out, I have eaten some very Flemish dishes. My favorite was meatloaf with cherries on top. It was home-made and really good! I also have had 'stroopvlees' (sp?) which was a strong, beef burgundy kind of dish. It comes, of course, with fries which you dump on top. It wasn't bad, but I have had my meat allotment for a few weeks! There is a big carnival here in the south of Antwerp that lasts until early July. It is the typical tacky stuff: spinning rides, junk food, rip- off games - the kids love it. Tonight, Graham went on the nastiest ride in the place. I'm really surprised he didn't throw up. He actually wants to go again. The only nice thing is the Ferris wheel. It is pretty big and you can see most of Antwerp from the top. There was a fire about a block from our house the other day. I had just pulled out of our garage when we noticed dozens of people and firetrucks. We had the radio on and happened to catch a few words. We heard the street name ... fire ... electrical ...and two daughters. I asked Ann (our neighbor) about it later and she said that a couple girls had been killed in the fire and the father was very seriously burned. It was a Turkish family. There are a lot of Turkish families in our neighborhood, and they seem to be a close knit, insular, community. The next day, there were many flowers strewn in front of the apartment house, with many flowers, pictures, and notes taped to the front windows and doors. It was a touching site - one of those things that cuts across all cultures. take care, Lynn