After three years as an expat in Belgium and 85 blogs for expatica, CheeseWeb is hanging up her... well whatever bloggers hang up when they retire.

After 85 blog posts and almost three years of life as an Expat in Belgium, I am resigning my post as Expatica's Belgian Blogger. As I reflect back on my early blog entries, I can't help but marvel at how much has changed in my life over the past three years.

When I first arrived in Belgium, I struggled with so many cultural differences. I became flustered every time someone proffered a cheek for me to kiss. Now I pucker up without a second thought (although I sometimes still forget how many kisses each person is expecting. Can't the EU come up with a kiss quantity standardisation policy?)

Sights that made me giggle, when I first arrived in Belgium, seem normal to me now, until a visitor or newcomer remarks on them. I am no longer fazed by bread or beer vending machines, public urinals or over-coiffed elderly Belgian ladies pushing tiny little dogs in baby strollers.

My culinary horizons have also broadened as I've been exposed to tastes from around the world as well as traditional Belgian flavours. I've become a Belgian chocolate snob and although I've never been a beer fancier, there is a special place in my heart for Lindeman's raspberry, apple and peach brews. I've become addicted to the excellent coffee and baked goods and I can even make a mean stoofvlees.

Although my time in Belgium has been mostly positive, there have been struggles as well. My first year was spent wading through red-tape only to emerge straight into the expat blues. Andrew and I have tangled with our landlords but by far our most frustrating battles have been with IKEA.

Somehow, since our arrival in this country, with nothing more than a few suitcases, our house has become filled with furniture. We've come a long way from since our first purchase of nothing more than a mattress and a patio set. Now I wonder how long it will take me to pack it all for our next move.

In the past, I always considered myself a rural girl. I grew up in a country setting and always thought I'd need a couple of acres of space so I could breathe easy. Now I find myself searching for a home in the city so I can be close to the action. I was once someone who spent hours a day in my car and now I long to be able to walk everywhere I need to go.

One of the main reasons for this desire surely has to do with the one thing that hasn't changed since my arrival in Belgium – my dislike (distrust and fear) of Belgian drivers.

Although I haven't yet achieved my goal of being fluent in Dutch (my sister-in-law was amazed but my menu translation skills), I feel much more comfortable conversing in my lapsed French than I did 3 years ago.

However I think the biggest change in my life, over the past three years, is how I view my career. When we first arrived in Belgium, I wondered how I would ever fill my days as a stay-at-home trailing-spouse. I had grand illusions of whiling away the hours at my craft table, spending time doing all of those hobbies that I never had time for in Canada.

Along the way though, my passion for photography overtook everything else and by the end of my first year, I found myself working full-time hours building my photography business. These days I find myself with so much to do that it can be overwhelming. Although I'll never be rich in this career, I am doing something that I love (and frankly would be doing anyway without any pay at all.)

I will continue to write about my life and experiences in Belgium on CheeseWeb but I feel it's time for me to pass the torch to a new blogger in Belgium - Someone who is still going through the early phases of discovering this remarkable little country.

copyright CheeseWeb 2008