Sunday

The sky opened up today (Monday), and it decided to rain. It has only rained two days since I’ve been here (the first time while I was in the car…), but this is the first time it has really come down. The sky split with a low thunderous groan that said “your feeble polar fleece is useless against me!”

Yesterday was Sunday, which I spent entirely in Kortrijk, for the most part preparing for this week at work. I did go on two walks, one of which was to the very verdant Astrid Park, which has a miniature golf course, several fountains, playgrounds, and more bird habitat in it. I walked out of the hotel in the late afternoon into a well attended motorcycle rally- which somehow spontaneously sprang up while I was in the hotel. These festivals just sort of pop up when you’re not looking, as this was the second such event to manifest while I was in the hotel for a few hours. The first was “Eat the Beat”; I walked onto a street filled with drummers and scantily clad dancers (both sexes) in the Grote Markt area, high school cheerleaders performing routines, and a brass band.

One of the first nights I was here, a Spaniard of about my own age invited me to his table. His name was Marcos, and it turns out he works for (of course) Bekaert also, only in this case Bekaert textiles. He was fun to talk to, and we spokein Spanglish the entire time. I had breakfast with him once also, and we chat in passing in the hotel. The same goes for Kim, the Chinese controller who was in town all last week (I actually ate breakfast with her every day). So it seems the Bekaert group forms its own little international community here, but that also doesn’t preclude the locals and other travelers from striking up a conversation or inviting you to their table.