As expats, our time to vote is right now. In spite of a few challenges listed below, our write-in, double-enveloped ballots are now in the hands of the Belgian Postal Service and hopefully on the way to the US in time to be counted. (I had the same sense of unease as I handed over our tax payments in April and September and those envelopes and checks managed to get to the correct destination...here's hoping).
1. Because we did not have official driver's licenses due to having both wallets stolen this summer, we waited until our trip back to the US to get new driver's licenses before registering to vote...just to be sure.
2. The official ballots did not come by the October 4th deadline--there is no mail in Belgium on Saturdays, which October 4th fell on anyway.
3. Due to a busy travel schedule, one person did not hand write his vote until Saturday night.
4. Due to the transportation strike in Belgium today, the post office I had planned to use at the supermarket was closed along with the supermarket...we are also lacking the diapers, wipes, tissues and food I had planned to buy today.
5. For some reason, both post offices in Waterloo which each had parking lots relatively conveniently located, closed this summer and a new one was opened which does not have a parking lot at all. This is the one Sarah and I had to walk to today after parking in the nearest lot and walking the wrong way down a crowded one way alleyway to get back to the main road where the post office is now located.
6. Today, after using our American envelopes for as long as we've been here for several different things, the postal worker decided she would measure them and gave me a very stern lecture in French about how they were too long and I needed to buy Belgian envelopes or else it would take much longer for my mail to arrive (I am really reaching here because I did not understand but maybe half of what she said). I did offer to buy Belgian envelopes at that moment, but she said it was okay for now.
So, after putting in what might be a bit more effort than the average American, but comparatively zero effort considering what others have gone through before me and still others are going through today, our votes have been cast. Still hopeful.
1 comment:
Yikes - what a pain! Sounds all too familiar, though! :-) For what its worth coming from me, on behalf of all Americans, THANK YOU for jumping through those hoops to take part in this critical privilege. I hope you'll be able to laugh about it years from now when your children are learning about it in school as an historical election! Speaking from experience, I know how easy it could have been to just throw your hands up in the air and say 'forget it!' and lovingly blame Belgium for everything that's wrong in this world. :-) Hope the sun is shining today for you!
By the way, Ken is going to be in Brussels at the end of this month...need anything? Cheerios? Nutri-grain bars? Wheat Thins? Chocolote chips for those infamous 'American cookies'? Let us know.
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