Okay, for those of you who are sick of all the travel stories and want more of the mishaps of living abroad, this one is for you. This is not for the faint of heart. You can thank me now for not having a slide show of pictures to accompany this story. :)
It started the morning we were leaving Belgium for the States. Paul and I went into the garage just as the cab arrived. We were greeted by a horrible smell, and a chunky liquid seeping from a metal square in the floor. I thought someone had thrown up. Paul informed me it was leaking from the septic tank. Gross. We quickly cleaned it up, threw the towel into the trash, and left the garage door open a crack to vent the smell. The cab was loaded and waiting. Our neighbors arrived back to Belgium a week later and checked on the house. Everything seemed fine.
When we arrived home 3 weeks later, the septic tank issue seemed to be resolved. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Three days later the seepage was back. Paul was in Brugge and the landlord was called in. After expressing some displeasure, he called for back up. Two guys, a giant “shop vac” and a couple hundred euros later, and all was well.... except for the mess those guys left! There was “shit water” all over the garage. Nana and I were mortified. We went to the local Brico (picture a Home Depot with all of the products in French) and purchased disinfectant, rubber gloves, mops, squeegee, etc. Nana was determined to restore the garage to its original glory. A full afternoon of cleaning and all was well.
What did we learn from all of this? Well It turns out plumbing is a little different here. The pipes don’t run all the way through, so there are spots where the waste/trash is just running over concrete or rock. Too much paper, etc. and it easily gets caught and backed up. No Kleenex, wipes, feminine products, etc. I’m now on a mission to alert other Americans so they can learn from our crappy mistake. :)
