On Friday night, I found myself very hungry. Very hungry and very bored of my small meals I can prepare in my apartment. The bread mean and cheese here is really a step above what I’m used to back home, but even still I am bored of belgian sammiches. Given my hunger, I forced myself to go out to dinner alone in Brussels on Friday night. I decided to bring my 3DS and look for a casual bar. When I travel alone for work, I like to find the corner of a comfortable bar and cozy up with some electronic

Looks unassuming from the outside.

entertainment and hang out for a while. For some reason, this feels more adventurous than doing the same thing in my hotel room and I’m not sure why. I locate a likely looking candiate, Cafe Leffe which is a short walk from my apartment. Leffe is a very very common Belgian ale. It’s the type of beer that you can find in cans and bottle 12 packs at the local grocers. It is also delicious.

When I get into the place, I realize I have misjudged it. Instead of a rough hewn table in the corner of a dark bar, I find myself sitting at a table with a white tablecloth surrounded by wealthy tourists. I quietly lament the 3DS in my bag that can’t come out and play, but I resolve to enjoy my time there anyway. The meals were around 18-23 euros, which is about 24 USD. I’m already committed so I might as well enjoy myself. I order the duck with apple brandy sauce.

While I wait, my waitress slices up some bread at the baguette station located right next to my table. The bread is something else. An extremely fresh slice of frech Belgian bread is exquisite. I ended up using it to mop up any spare apple brandy sauce that came on my duck. While the duck was fine, the sauce it was set in stole the show. I furtively hid all my uneaten bread in my purse for later. I ended up burning it in my toaster oven the following morning, which left me rather depressed.

Jupiler, the Belgian Bud Light.

On Saturday night, I went out to a party at the house of a friend of a friend. It was a party/private concert. A couple of touring minor musicians were invited to play for an audience of about 30-40 people in an apartment in downtown Brussels. It was difficult for me to find the courage to go to a party where I only knew one person and everyone was native French speakers, but I gathered together stray bits of social bravery and headed out. The home I was invited into was an elegantly decorated old studio apartment with a vaulted ceiling. All the attendees were dressed very stylishly and there were candles scattered all over the apartment. When it comes to house parties, apparently the same drinking sensibilities reign no matter the country. The kitchen was stocked with rum and coke, vodka and orange juice and a local cheap beer that I thought tasted like a light pilsner. It really was the belgian equivalent of Bud Light! I guess some things never change no matter where you are.

The artists that played at the house were guitar + single singer setups. Sarah Carlier (http://www.sarahcarlier.com/) opened it up with her striking voice, well timed pauses and simple tunes. This quiet combination pulled the attention of everyone in the room. Although she was clearly native to Belgian, she sung in English. I recommend checking out this video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGvU1Zqvmlk

David Philips

The second artist was a man from the UK (ttp://www.davidphilips.net/). David Philips surprised me by following up the delicate Sara Carlier with some modern rock/blues with a touch of country. These are very US styles so it felt odd to hear them in a Belgian living room. I even got to speak English with him between acts. It was surprisingly refreshing to be able to speak English at a quick pace with a native speaker. It made me realize that was the first time I had been able to do that since I arrive two weeks ago.

I was at first very nervous about being around so many French speakers chatting around me in rapid French that I could not follow, but eventually after a drink and spending some time there I found some very nice people that spoke to me in English. We shared some fun stories about work and travel and I enjoyed myself.

I finished out my weekend by trying to do some laundry and going to the supermarket. The store I found on Anspach the other day is actually open on Sundays and is quite large despite being cramped. I was happy to stock up  on cereal meat and cheese. The laundry was less successful, I found out the washing machine is front loader and I had bought regular detergent. After I bought a front loader liquid replacement, I found out that ALL Belgian washing machines are font load. So now I have two sets of detergent for my four month stay. I suppose I’ll never run out. Sunday also afforded me the chance to spend some time hanging out with Rob on Skype, which was a weekend highlight that left me feeling like my weekend was successful.

Beers:

Chimay Blanche – Delicious and unfiltered goodness.

Juniper – Cheap pilsner. Sort of nostalgic as it tastes like a strong Bud Light.

The last few days have been busy.

Driving in Belgium isn’t awful; I generally know what I’m doing. I’ve gotten used to all the roundabouts, and they’re actually starting to grow on me. The speeds are in kph instead on mph, but cars give you a kph reading so it isn’t hard to adjust. There is absolutely NOT right turn on red. Try that  move here and you’ll get into piles of trouble. The trickiest part of being an American driving in Belgium is the concept of priority on the right. Now in the US, we give the right away to right at stop signs and some other intersections, but the Belgians take this to another level.  There are almost  no stop signs anywhere, and at all unmarked intersections, you just have to expect to give anyone approaching from the right the right of way. This is true even for intersections where that seems unlikely, where the road on the right doesn’t intuitively seem like it should have priority over yours based on the relative size or traffic of each road. I still find some intersections confusing, but my method is to just not hit anyone and I suppose I’ll be okay.

My daily drive begins by jogging through small streets in the city trying to get to the outer ring of highways that loop around Brussels. The Ring then takes me around Brussels to where I work in the south. I could switch back to the train commute, but right now I’m comfortable driving, how very American of me. I hope to exchange large car soon for a smaller one. Pulling into my garage is nerve wracking because of the tight squeeze.

The strangest sight on my drive is what looks like a large nuclear reactor steam vent. It’s one the really traditionally shaped ones, like you see on the Simpsons. Belgium has taken the initiative of spicing up the tower a bit. When I drive by, the vent is lit up with a colorful and lively display. It looks like a work of art. I am unable to stop and take a photo while driving at 120 kph on the ring. I’d really like to get a photo, but I’ll have to wait until I have a driving companion to get one. Today the tower’s light show was pink and white hearts (it’s an active show not just passive lights). I suppose the nuclear power plant wants to celebrate Valentine’s Day just like the rest of us.

Another trial I should mention is the saga of trying to retrieve my Declaration of Arrive at Brussels town hall. The premise is, I have to go to the town hall within eight days of me arrival in Belgium to retrieve paperwork that verifies that I am living in Belgium at the address I gave when I entered. Apparently this regulation is new, and the local authorities have not staffed or organized appropriately for the major influx of new residents that need these declarations. I tried to stop in on Monday, and it turned out that even though it was 3 hours before close,  they were not accepting additional people into the queue. Given that I am at the end of my grace period, I attempted to go in again today. After an excruciatingly long ~3 hour wait, I finally made it to the counter. After a rough franglais conversation with the attendant, I learned that that was just the line to MAKE AN APPOINTMENT to get my declaration of arrival. I have to go back again next Monday (three business days from now). Given that this is a time sensitive document, I hope that the authorities are flexible given how difficult this documentation is to obtain. Anywhoo, I’ll be back for a third time on Monday, I hope it’s my last visit.

Local Musee

One very nice thing about these trips to town hall is that walking there brought me through a new part of Brussels. The street it is located on actually has a supermarket, not just a convenience store. I passed a gorgeous museum with pillars and stone lions. The signage claims that they are currently housing some of the Chinese terracotta army. I need to investigate when a good time to visit would be. I also found a Mobistar (one of Belgium’s three major cell carriers). I FINALLY have a cellular plan that I am happy with. I will get 2GB, 1000 texts and some 100 odd minutes a month for 15 euro ($20). I’m not sure what it costs to send text messages to Belgium, but friends you’d be better off using my Google voice number which I’ve set up on my phone. Message me if you want this number.

Beer: La Trappist Tripel – This beer is absolutely delicious and has all the delightful flavors one should expect from a tripel. This is a particular favorite!

Today was another first day. I went to work in a second company location where I met a whole new group of people. It ended up being very pleasant and the facility really captured my attention. In order to get there, I had to take the Brussels equivalent to the NY Subway. Here it’s affectionately called The Metro. I purchased my ticket from a real live person entirely in French. It felt like a small victory even there wasn’t a lot of dialogue. I purchased a five ride ticket and heading on down. The train itself was nice, but you have to walk through a line of beggars to get to and from your train at my local station. I’ve got no beef with the homeless, but one man aggressively ran up to me waving a small tray in my face asking loudly for money. Maybe I look like a softie?

The colleagues at this work location are a lot more accustomed to using French than English. I find myself extremely thankful every day that I took so much French. I found the facility very impressive, I only got a brief tour with general explanations. Since I will return to the facility on Monday, I expect to get a lot more familiar with the technical aspects of this plant.

I met a colleagues children today. I couldn’t get over how foreign I seem to them. I suppose every first time international traveler must experience this, but being a foreigner from a far away country feels so strange. I enjoy how the experience gives me some perspective about my place in the world.

On the way home, I stopped by a local Sushi Shop. I was in a hurry, so I purchased a premade sushi box. It comes with bamboo chopsticks and the soy sauce comes in tiny adorable bottles. No soy sauce mess when I pour out the liquid from a stupid packet!. +1 The sushi was good enough to come back for, although some of the flavors tasted a little off, not bad, just different than what I’m used to. I think I’ll return, as it is a great place to take out. I think next time I will order my fish fresh and tolerate the wait. Beer tonight is Delirium Red. I was expecting a lambic, but instead I got a sweet cheery beer, or is it sour? I can’t tell. Either way, I think I prefer the classic Delirium Tremens. On my way back from the Sushi shop, I spied this in an antique store. I’m pretty sure it is a real stuffed jungle cat.