The French Cancan? Not quite…

Christmas. Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you  love to hear.
Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping.
Christmas. Christmas time is here, the sleigh bells and the red nosed deer.
Songs and songs we love to hear, all played a thousand times each year.

Heard this same song 20 times and it’s only Halloween (Joy to the World)
It’s not even cold outside (Deck the halls with boughs of holly)

Christmas, Christmas time is here, and Christmas songs you love to hear
Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer, but mostly shopping, shopping, shopping.

Christmas season, starting sooner every year.
It’s October, stores with plastic Christmas trees.
Ransack the mall, shop until you lose your mind.
Spike the eggnog, sit back and watch Rudolf, Frosty, Tiny Tim, and Scrooge the price, or Charlie Brown
It’s time...
It’s time to do the Christmas can-can if you can’t, can’t dance well that’s ok
(not going to do the kick line)
All you need is a tree, some lights, about a thousand presents; wrap them up and pray for snow!
Run to your closet find your Christmas sweaters, screaming carols all the way
(fa-la-la-la-la)
Maine all the way to California: it’s the Christmas can-can Halloween to Christmas day.

It’s the most wonderful time of year, we’re running mad with Christmas cheer.

Hey what’s troubling you my friend?
It’s not fair if your Jewish, Jewish (not fair if your Jewish, Jewish)
Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made it out of clay. You realize that Christmas ain’t the only holiday!
Hey, he’s right who made these laws?
Look! Wait!
Here comes Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus (Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa)

Hey Santa do the can-can help them if you can-can. Join in the parade.
All you need is a tree, some lights, about a thousand presents; wrap them up and pray for snow.
Run to your closet find your Christmas sweaters screaming carols all the way
(fa-la-la-la-la)
Prance all the way to Indiana: it’s the Christmas can-can that’s the end.
Wait for our ending. We should share this holiday. I wanna give a happy Chanukah to you, a happy Chanukah to you, a happy Chanukah to you.
A merry Christmas, Chanukah and also Kwanzaa.
Merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, and mer-ry Kwan-zaa too!

With special thanks to Julie, who told me to watch this on youtube. When listening, I couldn’t help but smile, and I can only hope you’ll be doing the same thing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Expect the unexpected.

Have you ever been invited to have dinner with someone you never met? Did you ever spend an entire evening at a complete stranger’s home? I can only recommend it, after what I’ve done yesterday…

Shannon saw my profile on couchsurfing, and wanted to meet me for a drink and a walk through the town of Genk. We spent a couple of hours together, and she ended up inviting me to her hosts place for dinner the next evening.

It felt kind of awkward and strange to be invited for dinner by people I’d never seen before in my entire life. And on top of that: they weren’t personally inviting me, they sent somebody else out to deliver the message.
I decided to jump into deep water and swim…

So there I was, entering somebody’s privacy, sitting at their table, talking to people I just met and already feeling very welcome and comfortable.
This evening turned out to be wonderful. We had a delicious home cooked meal, chatted the night away, and ok, I admit, some alcohol joined the party as well…

I always thought that this was only possible in other countries, in other cultures. Turns out that this spirit is also to be found within 5 minutes from my doorstep.
After this wonderful night, and in times where some people want to split this tiny country, I can only quote Mr John: “Potverdekke, it’s great to be a Belgian!"