Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

Mickey, McDo & Monastic Cheese

In Europe, like in America, summer means road trips. I think I was a teenager the last time I spent so much of the summer in the car shuttling between tourist attractions. Since I grew up in Florida, where every road trip seemed to be headed for Disney World, it was like old times to be dragged off to Disneyland. Except this time I was with a group of mostly grown-up Dutch folks and we were headed for Paris.

In a case of bad planning, we set out for France on “Black Saturday”. This is the day that half of the French population returns from their July holidays and the other half heads out for their August holidays. The highways clog up with cars and there are more auto accidents than any other day of the year. We took bets on how many extra hours it would take to get to Disneyland. But miracle of miracles, most of the French people must have been headed for the beach. We sailed through to Paris with very little traffic while we nibbled on kaas broodjes (Gouda cheese sandwiches), the car stereo playing the soundtrack for Disney’s “Tarzan” in Dutch.

When we arrived at the park, there was a big sign with Mickey wishing us “Bienvenue” (Welcome). Then we rode moving sidewalks past soldiers in uniforms carrying automatic weapons and went through a security check. Right after the ticket gates is a building with a huge sign that says “Main Street USA”.  It was so strange to see Disney’s vision of turn-of-the-century America so far from home. It looked the same as I remember, but small details were different. Croque Monsieur sandwiches, carafes of French wine and French pastries added Gallic panache to the sanitized version of America.

The familiar rides were all there. But the Phantom Manor was narrated in French. Cinderella was not the queen of the castle. The mistress in residence was Sleeping Beauty and it is called Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant. The Little Mermaid was La Petite Sirene and Indiana Jones had his adventures at Le Temple du Péril.

After a fun day in the park, we spent the night at the Davy Crockett Ranch. As we drove past the cabins with cars parked in front, my companions did what all Europeans seem to do when they travel…say out loud what country the cars are from. It’s just like Americans do with state license plates. My travel buddies seemed disgruntled to see so many Dutch cars. I guess they figured they drove 5½ hours to get away from Holland!

On the way back to the Netherlands we listened to French pop music on the radio, singing along when we could. For the complete American experience, my Dutch friends decided we needed to eat at McDonald’s or as the French say, Chez McDo. Except for a few menu items, like Croque McDo, the menu is pretty much the same. We had Big Macs, frites and Coca-Cola…classic road trip essentials.

The next weekend was completely different. This time I was with a group of French folks. Food and drink were the stars of the voyage. We spent an entire weekend zigzagging through Belgium and Luxembourg, driving from one meal to the next. We did other things, but good food was the goal of every quest.

On Saturday we drove around in the Ardennes, an area in the French speaking part of Belgium. Starting in Arlon, we set off towards Abbaye Notre Dame d’Orval, one of the seven trappist monasteries that brew beer. After a tour of the Abbey, we sat down for lunch of Orval beer and Floriflette, a baked dish made with potatoes, bacon and Orval cheese. The next stop was Bouillon, where we had ice cream at a café on the Semois River. That evening, back in Arlon, we feasted at a North African couscous restaurant.

On Sunday we headed east across the border to Luxembourg. Naturally the first stop was lunch. Overlooking the Moselle River in Remich, we dined on fresh seafood at an umbrella covered table. After lunch we walked to the St. Martin wine cave to take a tour which, of course, included sampling the wine. Back in the car, we headed north along the Moselle to Echternach. This picturesque area of Luxembourg is called Little Switzerland, even though it is near Germany. After a walk around town, it was time for a snack. We nestled into a sidewalk café for apple strudel, ice cream and coffee. Refreshed again, we drove southwest to the city of Luxembourg. We strolled around the center of town, amazed at the lack of security and accessibility of the palace and government buildings. Then it was time to find a nice place for dinner…

I think I have figured out why the French were not headed for Disneyland on Black Saturday. They must have been too busy eating!

Lynelle Barrett is residing in The Netherlands, where is seems like lately all she does is unpack, do laundry and pack again. Check out photos and notes of her adventures on her website at: http://spaces.msn.com/lynelleinholland

Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

“Be yourself no matter what they say.”

                                    ~ Sting, “An Englishman in New York”

Starting over in a new country is almost like having a fresh, new notebook at the beginning of school. Life is clean and full of promise, but it’s hard to know what to write on the first page. For a few months now, I have been trying to write the next chapter in my new life. It seems like a good time to evaluate career paths, past decisions and to think about true passions.

On a sunny morning this July, I boarded the train heading south from Holland to Belgium. There is a huge outdoor music festival in Leuven every summer and headliners this year included Sting, Simply Red, Roxy Music, Simple Minds and Bryan Adams. I was going to party with over 50,000 Belgians, drink Stella beer, eat shoarma with pita and frites with mayo from paper cones.

After a hot afternoon of stepping over blankets, inflatable furniture and sun burnt legs, Sting came on the stage. He sang “Be yourself no matter what they say” and suddenly it all became so clear. It was like being a teenager again, finding all the answers to life’s mysteries on your record albums.

After years of “cool” jobs, I had thought it was time to get a real job, one with real benefits. But I just became frustrated with trying wedge myself into the corporate world. I never wanted that kind of job before, so why did I think it would be a good fit now? And in a foreign country? I like the “cool” jobs, the creative jobs, the jobs that put me out there on the edge. The only thing I am certain of at this time is a strong desire to travel and experience other cultures and places. I feel gypsy blood stirring.

So I decided to scour the internet for job opportunities with travel. And I hit upon something: teaching English as a foreign language. My experience so far in Dutch school has made me appreciate the struggle to learn a difficult language. The ability to speak English is in demand over much of the world and the opportunities abound for a native speaker. I could be living and working for months at time in places like Poland, Italy, Thailand or China.                                         

It would be a bold step, though. Living in a place where English is not understood by most of the people would be very challenging. I was reminded of that this weekend by some children I met at a beach party. I was introduced to a little girl, whose father told her that I was the voice on the GPS in the family car. (He said the language options were English and Portuguese.) She looked at me funny for the rest of the day. I only hope she didn’t have nightmares.

The encouraging part of the day was that I finally know enough Dutch to communicate with young children. I have to admit the conversations were basic. “Lekker?” (Tasty?) Heb je dorst? (Are you thirsty?)  I even met a little girl who knew less Dutch than I do. She was only two, but I felt good about it anyway. Can I learn enough Polish or Thai or Chinese to talk to a two year old in Poland, Thailand or China? Maybe, maybe not. But it certainly would be an adventure to try.

“Life is an open road to me.”

                         ~ Bryan Adams

Links:

Teaching English Abroad by Susan Griffith

ISBN 1-85458-316-6

TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.)

www.tesol.org

Proliteracy Worldwide (options for volunteering without qualifications)

www.proliteracy.org

i-to-i (distance learning)

www.i-to-i.com

Lynelle Barrett is residing in The Netherlands, trying to be true to herself…although she’s still not sure what that means. Check out photos and notes of her adventures on her website at: http://spaces.msn.com/lynelleinholland