Changes

So, my life here in Belgium has pretty much become "normal" for me, so I haven't been posting recently. After thinking about what to make this post about, I realized I haven't yet made a post about the differences between Belgium and the US. I haven't had any major culture shock but there are definitely things that are stereotypically Belgian.

Here is a list of everything I've noticed so far:

FOOD:

• At school, everyone brings a snack to bring for our first break (around 10am) which is either a fruit or cookies (usually cookies). 
• Instead of having a small sandwich, a yogurt, a veggie, and a fruit (or a few things to eat for lunch) the Belgians just bring a big sandwich ("une tartine") or two...or they go across the street to buy a sandwich...which is HUGE. Like almost a whole baguette for one person!
• There is no form of "nutrition bars" here in Belgium. Instead of eating a granola bar for a snack, they eat cookies.
• There are like 2 aisles just for cookies in the grocery store.

 Our stash of cookies and chocolate--it is a whole cabinet worth!

• How is every Belgian not obese??? Like really, they really eat cookies/chocolate/waffles/fries all the time!

 Belgian chocolates

• Belgium is know for their beer, fries, and waffles. I don't drink, but I got to say the waffles are just so delicious. YUM.

 One of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. SO GOOD.

• Bread. Bread in the morning, bread with lunch, and bread (frequently) with dinner. Carbs. All the time. 
• This is just my host family, but we eat pasta a lot and we never really eat vegetables. I miss my healthy ways :(
• Everything is measured in ml instead of oz., the whole measuring this is pretty confusing..
• Milk is in a box, and it is often not refridgerated

 

A picture of me with Belgian Nutella--which is classier because it is in a glass jar instead of plastic.

OTHER THINGS:

• Americans are just messed up because they use pounds, feet, miles, Fahrenheit, and it is just too much to do all these conversions.
• Everything in Belgium is pretty much smaller--the cars, the houses, the TV(s), the streets, the stores..you get my point.

 My cute and very little room in Belgium.

 My house in Belgium.

•  Belgians are pretty conscious about saving energy/being eco-friendly..Everyone recycles and has a compost, but I still don't understand why they use plastic water bottles to bring to places. You'd think they'd catch on to refillable waterbottles...Also, they always turn off the lights when they leave a room, and they don't use a lot of water when brushing teeth/showering/washing dishes, etc.
• They have virtually no red lights, and instead have roundabouts EVERYWHERE. Talk about getting carsick
• It is very normal to take the bus all the time. I take it to and from school, and unlike the US, it is commonly used and very useful. Alos, taking trains is common.
• Most families only have one car.
• In Belgium, 30 minutes in the car is considered to be far away...It is only about an hour by train to go to Brussels, but a lot of people in my class haven't ever been there (and most of them don't ever go to the other side of Belgium).
• T.V. has french version of American shows that just aren't as good...So far I've seen something similar to "What Not to Wear", "Four Weddings", and there is "Belgium's Got Talent."
• They dub a lot of American movies and shows, but I can't stand that the lips are not the same as the words.
• There are a lot of American music on the radio, but there are also a decent amount of Belgian/french songs too.
• You can drive 5 minutes away from a city and find cows and horses. I find this pretty hilarious.
• Belgians don't really work out. I go to Zumba, but it has been hard to find a place nearby where I can exercise. Americans are definitely more athletic.

 SCHOOL

• Everyone dresses SO NICELY. No joke--the girls always dress nicer than the teachers. They wear high heels, and always are re-applying makeup, etc.The teachers can wear jeans and stuff though.. I unfortunately do not have enough clothes/money to dress like the Belgians..Oh, how I miss my sweats and thrift store clothes...I really wonder how much time it takes people to get ready in the morning.
• My school starts at 8:20am and goes until 4:15pm most days...Wednesday school ends at 12:45pm, and Tuesday, I have to stay until 5:05pm :(
• In the morning and after breaks/lunch, your class has to line up to wait for your teacher to "pick you up" to lead you to class. It seems very elementary to me, but I guess it's just different.
• At most schools, you have to go outside between classes because the classes are all in different buildings.
• Everyone either has one 2-3" binder to put their stuff in for all their classes, or 2 or three smaller ones..Also, there are no textbooks or any other required materials for classes.
• There are no lockers. You carry your binder with you wherever you go.
• Girls carry around huge designer purses to hold their binder/thinks. No girls wear backpacks. Guys wear backpacks, but they are really small. Nothing like the heavy duty American backpacks.
• Even if it's really hot outside (which doesn't happen in Belgium), you DO NOT wear shorts to school. You always wear pants.
• There is virtually no homework. Sometimes, there will be a few easy math problems, or a vocab sheet, but it is easy. Their "tests" are what would be considered a pop quiz in the US. Everyone studies all the time, but it is really, really easy compared to the US.
• There aren't school related activites (sports, band, choir, musicals, etc). If you want to do any activities, you have to find a time to do them after school, usually on Wednesday afternoon. I definitely like the way America does it better.

There are a million things that I left out I'm sure, but for now this gives you a little bit of an idea into how life is different for me here in Belgium.

 "Changes" by David Bowie.

Grand Bisouxx mes amis,
Catherine