Cultural Guide For Americans Moving to Belgium

[foxgrrl]

Does anyone know of a book or website which tells you about all of the little cultural differences you never notice while you're immersed in your own culture. I mean, like a guide for: If you travel to <foo>, these are the tiny differences you'll encounter in your daily life. (Most guides just have the big things).

Like for example, in Belgium, in the supermarket, you're expected to bag your own groceries. And (sometimes) the bags cost 0.10€ each. For context, if you're unfamiliar with the US system: In the US, employees of the grocery store bag your items for you. So if you don't know this when you visit Belgium, you stand around in the check out line, while everyone looks at you funny.

Comments

[foxgrrl]

Oh, what brings you to my wonderful college town? This.

Yeah, I went to the Match on Bondgenotenlaan. I'm familiar with the mayonnaise thing from previous trips to Berlin and Amsterdam. I'll eat in the late night [pizza/gyro] snak shops, but I'm not going to touch any standard fast food place while I'm here. (Not that I even do that anyway in the states.)

Lately I've mostly been eating stuff from the places around the Grote Markt (Which I guess includes Brusselsestraat) and stuff on Naamsestraat, since it's where I usually end up walking a lot. (It's where I'm currently staying.)

[foxgrrl]

I was actually at De Wiering last night! I'm actually craving spicy stuff. I know there are several Tandori places around here, and I saw one Mexican place in an unpaved ally (the one with the floating girl statue at the end). But my boyfriend tells me that you can't get good Mexican anywhere in Europe, and to avoid which claims to be Mexican. That and I like Ethiopian/Eritrian food, but I don't know if there's much of that around here. (I was going to just ask Google eventually.)

Anyway, I'm actually on the KUL campus right now (in Heverlee I think). But if you're nearby, which you seem to be, we can meet up for dinner later.

[foxgrrl]

I have a meeting from 14:00 to 15:00 tomorrow, but then I'm free after that. (I'll probably be busy before 14:00 also.) I'm leaving for Berlin on Wed. afternoon, and I'll be back on Jan 2 or thereabouts. But then I go back to the States on Jan 6. My current cell number is 0487/340.461 and if you see a blue and green haired transsexual, wearing three coats and long white scarf walking around, that's me.

From what little I know about your from your LJ, you seem to be a really interesting person.

[foxgrrl]

Erf, so it turns out I also have a meeting with the department head, sometime between 15:30 and 19:00. And no one knows exactly when. So the only time I'm definitively free is after 19:00, and possibly earlier. If you have a cell phone, I can just call/text you when I'm free.

Ethiopian restaurant

[driesverachtert.livejournal.com]

There's an Ethiopian restaurant at the Brusselsestraat 59.
They have a website at: http://www.houseoflalibela.be/