Lost in Translation

"Are you ok?" Gauvain, my host brother (Is that what you call him?), asks me almost everyday when I get back from school. And while he doesn't speak much English or me much French, I could not understand what he thought was wrong. Every day, "Are you ok?". At first I thought this probably had something to do with the transition. The family I'm living with has had 4 exchange students before me, and they were all girls. My thought process of course was that some of the girls probably had a rough time transitioning. Duh, pretty simple idea. Until I got home from this last weekend in Amsterdam and again he asked me. Well it struck me like lightning, and I realized he was just asking, "How are you?". Some things I guess are just lost in translation. So when my host dad told me he was requesting 3 months off this summer, I thought that meant something else. Turns out he didn't. I can only imagine what his American bosses thought today when he broke the news...

Notes on Belgian (and most European) Labor Facts:
1. Belgian employers are required to give up to 3 months of unpaid vacation time off to employees (on request) if the employee has a child under the age of 12.
2. The government will subsidize this time off. While not in full, a parent can expect to receive about 1000 euro a month, or $1250. Remember they are getting paid not to work.
3. Employees who work 40 hour weeks are legally entitled to 20 paid vacation days a year. (In the private sector)
4. In the public sector up the age of 45 the employee is entitled to 26 days, above 49 years equals 27 days, above 50 years equals 28 days. And if you make it to 60 you gain an additional day off every year you grow older. So if you work until you're 70 you will receive 38 paid vacation days a year.
5. Women are entitled to 15 weeks of maternity leave, with 80% of their salary being paid. Many private employers have 6 months or more of maternity leave (often the % of salary paid drops down to around 60% after a few months)

**These are all tidbits that I've picked up from various sources since I've been here. They are generally correct but may very depending on the employer.