In the year since I left my home in Virginia behind, there have been many people, places, and things I've missed and longed for. I've often mentioned how much I miss my grrrl friends, familiar faces in my community, the chance to visit with family, the house we left behind, my children's old school.

For starters, I won't miss the noise. Belgium is a much quieter place. People put a higher value on not disturbing their neighbors. No one runs lawnmowers on Sundays, and it's rare to hear power tools or trimmers in the middle of the day when babies normally nap. People bring their dogs in at night and don't leave them out in the yard all day to bark at everything that moves.

Rent an apartment in Belgium and most likely you'll sign an agreement that says no showers will be taken or appliances run after 10pm or before 6:30am, that there will be no loud talking in the corridors, stairwells, foyer or elevator, no TV or radios playing loud enough to be heard outside your door. When I lived in an apartment in the center of the city, my sleep was never disturbed by noises from inside the building, only from the street below. One of the most annoying national phenomena in the US is outfitting cars with enormous speakers and sound systems and blasting music from them day and night. Thankfully, this isn't a practice embraced in Europe. The parks aren't polluted by boom boxes either.

Even the children are quieter. There seems to be a much higher premium put on teaching children not to scream, shriek or shout except at the playground. I almost never see Belgians take small children into restaurants other than fast food places like Quick. It's just not done. One native of Brussels with three children told me he didn't consider it appropriate to bring a child into a restaurant until the child could sit quietly. He and his wife go out to eat frequently, taking their nine-year-old son with them while leaving their younger children at home.

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