Written by
Erin Meyer
I’m Erin. Born and raised in Texas, I married D, a French-speaking Belgian after having fallen in love as an exchange student in Belgium. We live in Brussels and are raising our children, Olivia and Orlando bilingually. I speak English to them, D speaks French, and he and I speak French to each other. The children speak English to each other, although Orlando still mixes a lot of the two languages. D works for the European Union, so the children attend one of the European schools in Brussels. They are in the English section and are learning French as their second language. As they get older, they will have a third and fourth language in their curriculum. There are 5 language sections in their school, English, French, Dutch, German and Italian. I’m a cultural anthropologist by training and specialize in women’s issues and multicultural identity. I decided to stay home to raise our kids and volunteer as a La Leche League leader supporting mothers with breastfeeding and parenting issues. I also do contract work creating baby carriers, writing manuals and leading workshops from home.