So I have survived my first month in Belgium! (Crazy huh). What a great time I have had so far. The food, the sights, the travel, the beer, and even some school has all been great. Except, after a month of me talking about how great this place is, maybe your wondering what I don't like. So here it is.
1) Waking up at 6:00am Mon-Thursday just so I can eat breakfast and start my 40 minutes commute to school.
2) The trash on the streets. It gets pretty gross especially after the weekends.
3) The crowdedness of the subways. At 7:00am I don't want to be grinding with a bunch of business men and smelly homeless people.
4) The expense. Stuff here is way overpriced. Granted, I can buy a few things cheap (chocolate, waffles, rice cakes), but everything else is ridiculous. Not to mention that it first looks over priced (ie. a package of cookies will have the price tag 4E), at first you think "oh thats not too bad," but after doing the conversion from euros to dollars, you realize that the cookies cost 6 bucks.
5) 10 DOLLARS TO DO MY LAUNDRY. ARE YOU JOKING?!
6) The fact that stores close at the most random times, and often for lunch, and it just so happens that those times are exactly when I want to go to them.
7) Getting lost on a regular basis. Though I am getting better, its still annoying.
8) The inability to buy all that you need in one place. Suppose I want to cook dinner, I have to go to the butcher to get meat, the baker to get bread, the wine store to get wine, the pastry shop to get desert. I feel that in order to accomplish any one single shopping trip you would do in the states requires you to visit at least three different stores here.
9) Mayonaisse on everything. EVERYTHING. Just so happens to be my least favorite food. Luckily on day one I told my host family that "mayonaise makes me sick" so they do not use it in my food :).
10) Dog poop. Lots and lots of it.
11) The fact that you can rarely find cold milk anywhere. They sell the milk (and eggs) on the shelf here, and it is always served room temperature, and can last for days. I don't understand how they do it.
12) The homeless people. Im sure I'd say the same if I lived in the heart of Boston, but seriously, get off your ass and get a job.
13) The inability to get a straight answer from anyone. "Where do I need to get my train ticket?" "I'm not sure, try one of the stations."
14) Having both dutch and french signs for everything. I can't speak either. Why do you have to confuse me like this?
Despite this list, I am still having a blast here! This weekend I am heading with class to Antwerp so expect an entry about that.
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2 comments:
Hey Tom!
My name's Sheelagh, I'm belgian-philipinne and I currently live in the French-speaking part of Belgium. I've just been studying Dutch in Antwerp and English in UK the last 10 months and I'd like to do my bachelor in English in a Dutch-speaking area. (humpf. I know, it's complicated)
I've applied to Erasmus University in Holland, but I still have to wait.. to know if I'm accepted or not. (Too much students, there's a lottery in a few days)
However, I'm interested in one of the programmes taught in Vesalius College. I know thanks to your blog you had been studying there and I'd like to hear your opinion about the school.
Sorry to post a comment, I couldn't find a link to send you an e-mail.
Bye
sheelagh_bouvier@yahoo.fr
Btw, " They sell the milk (and eggs) on the shelf here, and it is always served room temperature, and can last for days. I don't understand how they do it."
Well that's pasteurised milk, you shouldn't keep it in a fridge, it's a waste of energy. If you want to refresh yourself in Belgium, grab a beer ;)
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