IN THE NEWS: The Martinsville, Va., newspaper recently carried a
story about a former Bradford couple visited by long-lost relatives
from Belgium.

We learned of the report from Nancy Suain Yohe of Bradford; it’s
about her folks, Harold and Melissa Suain, who now live in
Collinsville, Va. Nancy tells us her great-grandfather was from
Belgium.

The two Suain families met several years ago through an Internet
search and then exchanged visits, the newspaper reported.

Harold and Melissa visited Belgium for ten days last year, and
Philippe and Maryse Suain of Grez-Doiceau, Belgium, arrived in
America on July 3 with their three children.

To help with the language difference, Philippe attended English
language classes in Belgium. “There is no problem when we say we
come from Belgium. We just ask people to speak slowly. People are
so kind, they understand our problem,” he said.

The Suains said they noticed many differences between Belgium
and America, such as the cars, the size of the “gardens” or yards,
and the “big trucks on the road,” Maryse said.

The differences in the cars did not bother Philippe too badly
when he got the chance to drive Harold’s Shelby GT500, he said.
Although he never had driven an automatic transmission car, “we are
still alive,” Philippe said, jokingly.

“Another exciting experience for the Suains was a camping trip
in their relatives’ motor vehicle at the Yogi Bear Jellystone
Campground at Natural Bridge,” the newspaper said.

Food has been the biggest difference for the Suains while in
America. “They eat eel. They can’t be afraid of anything,” Melissa
said of the Belgians, but it was not what they were eating that
surprised them, but the amount they were eating.

“We have no problem with the food,” Philippe said. “Our only
problem is our stomachs are too small for American food.”

The local Suains hosted a family cookout and expected about 50
family members from Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and New York, Melissa said.

So far, the Belgian Suains have visited Roanoke, Lexington,
Fairy Stone State Park and the Bob White and Jack’s Creek covered
bridges. They planned to visit Washington, D.C.

Philippe also said “we have to go to Starbucks; it’s an
institution” before they leave on Thursday. But he added that his
primary goal is to have “just one more time to drive the
Shelby.”