Expatitude

The New Year marks a time of reflection and resolutions, so I thought it would be appropriate to do some reflecting of my own and it is easier than resolving to lose weight or rid myself of any vices. Many of the posts that I have made to this point have been very positive about our experience. We have lived in Belgium for about a year and a half at this point however; plenty of time for the honeymoon to be over and the reality of the situation to be well considered.  So what follow are my New Year reflections, good and bad about living in this strange little country.

Missing Family

I don’t think that we see family any less than we did when we lived in Maryland. In point of fact, we may actually have seen our daughter a little more, certainly more concentrated time, than we did in her first couple of years of college. The distance and time change is the real difference. We have also had to postpone a couple of family traditions. For the last 15 years or so, we have been the hosts every Thanksgiving and I do miss that holiday. This year, as with last, I was working on the holiday, which is fine, Turkeys don’t come out in Belgium until Christmas.

Markets

I have written in the blog before about the little markets that spring up in every town at least one day per week. These are a little like the farmers markets back in the US except in addition to produce and artisan bakers, you have butchers, a guy selling roasted chickens, cheese sellers and fishmongers. You can often also buy clothes and occasionally other oddities. I love that every Friday, we can count on picking up some wonderful French cheeses, breads and a variety of other groceries just steps from our front door.

At Christmastime the Christmas markets are especially festive. Nothing puts me in the spirit like a little tartiflette and some vin chaud while strolling the market stalls.

Parking

I hate parking in Belgium. Hate is not really strong enough.  Driving can be horrible too, but the parking is rage-inducing. Part of it is my fault. I have a BMW 5 series and that is simply too long of a vehicle to park most places. Like my garage. I cannot shut the garage door with my car in it because the car is 2 feet longer than the garage. Even if I were driving a mini, however, parking in Belgium is bad. Too many cars and not enough spots. The spots that are available are barely wider than the car itself, so invariably you find yourself requiring a jug of Vaseline to squeeze between the vehicles. I have driven and parked in every major city in the US and I cannot think of single place that is as universally bad to park.

Food & Wine/Beer

This is somewhat of a corollary to the above comment on markets, but the food in Belgium is generally excellent. I often use the example of the little bar near our house where SWMBO and I go for steak frites every week. In the US a place like this would maybe have nachos and buffalo wings. It is a bar first, food is secondary. That being said, our steak frites comes with a freshly made Béarnaise sauce. You can hear the chef whisking away in the back. This is typical of what you find. Places with bad food, do not survive.

Obviously the pretense of this blog was to review some of the Belgian Beers that I have tried. I have lost a little steam on that front lately but it does not change the fact that there are some great beers here. Wine too is different from the US. Because this is a wine culture, you can get excellent wines for very little money. In many restaurants, a glass of wine is the same price or even cheaper than a coke. I have come to believe that all of the good inexpensive French wine stays here and all of the garbage is sent to the US. It is very easy to find a nice every day bottle of wine here for 5 euro, a rarity in the US.

Politeness and Personal Space

Frankly, politeness does not exist. At least not in the same way that it does in the US. People say please with alarming frequency here but the behavior tends to be something very different. Jeremy Clarkson, who is one of the hosts of the BBC show Top Gear, wrote in one of his articles that he is amazed that anything gets done in the US because everyone is so polite. He may have a point, but as an American, I find the lack of consideration tiresome. It manifests itself in different ways; There is the oblivious lack of consideration, such as when two people block a walkway while chatting. They know what they are doing but don’t really care that it is an imposition to anyone. Then there is the sidewalk chicken. As you approach on the sidewalk they will expect you to move. They do not avoid contact. The best though, is the blatant physical imposition. This tends to be the go to move for the elderly set. Older people will not hesitate to push you out of their way, if you are standing where they want to be. You get this a lot at the grocery store. You might be selecting some tomatoes and all of a sudden some old lady will either ram you with her cart or physically push you out of the way to get the one she wants. SWMBO got this the other day as we were getting off of the plane in Brussels. An older Flemish woman in the seat behind her, shoved her out of the way so she could get off the plane first. I know this happens in the US, but it is not with this frequency and it really gets on my nerves.

Travel

Belgium is the geographic center of Europe and as a consequence, you can be almost anywhere in a couple of hours. London is an hour and a half by train, Paris less than two hours. Barcelona and Rome are two-hour flights. It really provides a great opportunity to see much of Europe. More importantly, it lets you tour in a different way. To fly to Europe from the US takes time. Two full days are shot just with travel, so most people will either do the whirlwind city by city tour or spend all their time in one or two spots.  With a three-day weekend we can easily see any city. A little more time and we can tour by car and get out away from the city to see the sights that we would otherwise have to miss. I believe that this is the best way to see Europe. Too many of the cities are clogged with tourists and the hawkers that result. Get outside of the city and you see where people actually live and you generally have better experiences.

Language

Language generally isn’t a problem…Until it is. What I mean is that most of the time English will get you by. Most people have some English, particularly the Flemish. And since living here, SWMBO and I have gained some rudimentary skills in both Flemish and French. I refer to it as restaurant French/Flemish. We can read 99% of any menu, can order, say thank you, find the toilet, ask for the check, etc. Where things are a problem is when you need a service that is not in the day to day routine. For example, hiring an electrician. Then all bets are off. Neither of us have the language skills to transact that sort of business in any other language than English. This forces us to either resort to some unholy combination of pigeon Flemish and sign language hoping that we don’t cause an international incident.

Vacation

In my last job, I had a little more than three weeks of vacation a year. Not that I could use it. Taking more than a week off was not really looked upon very well. In Belgium, I have a lot more. I will refrain from being specific so as not to rub it in. But it is a lot better. I really believe that the US should move in this direction. Maybe the amount of time in Europe is a bit excessive, but I don’t think the US approach makes us more productive. To the contrary, I think most people burn out quicker. As I write this, I am finishing up two weeks of vacation and I am beginning to think that is a minimum amount of time needed to get recharged. 

Weather

Let’s just say, we did not move to Belgium for the weather.

Business Hours

One thing that takes some getting used to as an American is the relative lack of commercial opportunities. In the US, you can fully expect to shop 7 days a week as long as one of them is not Christmas, and even then you can still buy groceries. In Belgium the shops typically do not open until 10 and it is common for them to close between 12 and 2 for lunch. Most stores are closed by 6 or 7 and almost nothing is opened on Sunday. So you can see where productivity could be questioned.

Living as an expat is hard and we knew that when we moved. For now, the good outweighs the bad and we are generally happy with our decision. I would be lying however if I said that it is completely without challenges and frustrations. It also makes me appreciate even more being an American. The European quality of life can be better in some ways, but it is easier to live and there are more opportunities in the US. 

Beverages Down Under

Had a grand total of two beers during my trip to Oz. The best was a Fat Yak IPA. I had it in the Qantas lounge in Canberra and it was truly excellent. Hoppy, crisp, refreshing. Really a great IPA. The other was Coopers Pale ale. Also consumed in a Qantas lounge. This one was in Melbourne. The Coopers was OK. Not great. The fact that my drinking occurs primarily in Airport Lounges, probably says a lot about my lifestyle.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my holiday. I like to cook and I like to eat. So it is a little tragic that this is the second year in a row where we do not celebrate Thanksgiving. For the last 12 or 15 years, we hosted Thanksgiving. It was always SWMBO's family and usually some members of mine converging on our house for a few days of caloric excess. Typically it would commence with French Onion soup which is my brother in law's favorite for lunch after he would arrive. Dinner the night before would always be a Bronto-slab of standing rib roast (bone in) and potato dauphinois. Thanksgiving was the traditional turkey with sides and a toxic amount of dessert.

I am glad that while my daughter was growing up, she had a traditional family holiday like this and I feel bad that the last couple of years have interrupted it. We talked a little about trying to do the holiday at her place in Arizona, but it didnt make sense this year. I know we will reinstate the annual tradition when we return to the US but I cant help but feel like we have missed a precious opportunity these last two.

Missing traditions is one of the unanticipated consequences of living abroad. It is not like we couldnt have stayed in the US a few extra days and had a Thanksgiving, but it would not have been the same. For me, Thanksgiving is about cooking for the people I care about and spending time with them. It would be hard to watch someone else roasting the bird and not want to jump in.  So here I sit, having just had SWMBO's shepherd's pie and watching the Lions and Packers on ESPN America. Not quite the same thing, but it will have to do. Maybe next year we can find a creative solution.

Busy Busy

It has been a busy few weeks. I originally thought that I would be spending some time in the US on business but was rerouted to Korea and Japan instead. It was my first time in Korea, but being that I spent less than 36 hours in country, all I can really say is that it was like San Jose except with more coffee shops.

Japan was essentially the same as it was the last time that I was there. Maybe a bit more expensive. I like Japan. The food is tasty and yet healthy at the same time. The people are extremely nice and helpful. Traffic is insane. On this trip what should have been a one hour cab ride to the airport turned into a two and a half hour gauntlet of wrecked vehicles. I probably should have taken the train, but my colleagues in Tokyo made my taxi arrangements and I did not want to seem ungrateful. As it was, I walked up to my gate as boarding started, so no damage done.

While in Japan I did have the opportunity to wander around a little bit in the evening with some of my colleagues. Mostly we wound up at fairly touristy spots but it was good to see other parts of Tokyo.

Returning to Belgium, I was home for all of 16 hours and then SWMBO and I drove to Reims in the Champagne region of France. We had a four day weekend that turned into a three day weekend due to my Asia trip, so we tried to make the most of the time that we had.

Reims and the Champagne region as a whole was great. Driving there from Brussels took us through some beautiful rolling fields. The wine region itself is quite picturesque as well. And as would be expected, the food is really good too. We partook of our share of champagne during the trip and I have to say, as an American, i dont think we do it justice as a wine. Champagne is really good with food. The acidity cuts through rich foods, which is about all you get in this part of the world. We also found several that were quite reasonably priced and excellent.

My travel schedule through the end of the year is similarly insane. SWMBO and I head to Venice on Thursday and then follow that with a trip to the US. We will be home briefly and then I am off to Australia. I will try to keep up with my posts and perhaps review a beer or two.

Directions

SWMBO and I must really look like we know where we are going because we are magnets for people asking for directions. A typical sightseeing stroll for us results in at least one person and often many more stopping and asking us for directions. Usually in French. If we are in the center of Brussels, often, we can provide the directions providing we can communicate. Other times, not so much. Today was one of those times. We decided that the beautiful weather warranted a park visit but we decided to go to a different one for us, a large one near the Atomium.  http://atomium.be/?lang=en We wandered around for a while when a car pulled up next to us and a gentleman jumped out with a Bon Jour and asked us for directions. I had no idea where he wanted to go, but fortunately the next people he stopped did. From the looks of the hand gestures, he was pretty well lost. About 10 minutes later a little old man greeted us. Again with a Bon Jour and then asked where the Palais Royale was. I struggled for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how to say "I think it is down that road but I am not sure." in French. He then said to me, "You are not so good at this, the french". True little old man, true. But at least I was able to give him the correct directions, so I am not totally worthless.

The whole exchange got SWMBO and I talking while wandering the park grounds. If we had tried this expat thing 15 years ago, our experience would have been totally different. When I go to work, 90% of the time, everyone speaks english. It is accented, but it is still english. I come home from work and our cable package has in addition to the Flemish and French channels, the Discovery channel, History channel, E, ESPN and a variety of other essentially American and British channels. And of course, everything I read or download on the internet is essentially American generated. It is only when you head out to shop or go to restaurants that you really have the sense of foreignness. For me, it is almost like living in the US Monday through Friday and then weekending in Europe. So after living here for more than a year, my French has not gotten any better. SWMBO's Flemish is improving rapidly, but she has to be in the community more than me. She lives in Belgium full time. I am only a visitor.

Soggy

Belgium has lived up to its rainy reputation this week; especially this weekend. The rain has been relentless. Consistent, if not torrential. It is the kind of rain that keeps you from following through on plans or making new ones. 

SWMBO and I had originally planned on going to Antwerp to shop and explore. After breakfast though, it was apparent that it would only end in profanity, so we switched plans and opted for the mall to see if I could find a fall coat.  Having lived in Maryland the last 20 years, I never really needed anything heavier than a wind shirt or a sweater at this time of the year. In the Mid Atlantic, you go from Summer to Winter without too much of an Autumn. Belgium is different. It is more like New England. The temperature can swing pretty dramatically over the course of a day, never mind the constant threat of rain. So I need to find something.

We started at the mall. The Woluwe Shopping Center is the closest thing to an American mall we have here. It is small but has a decent selection of shops as well as a boucherie, fromagerie, a grocery store and a little Italian market. What it does not have, are too many options for the male shopper; at least the American male shopper. SWMBO believes that we just have to shed our American fashion sensibility and integrate. Which is easy for her to say. The women’s clothes are fashionable if a bit more revealing than in the US.  For men, you can go in two directions, either formal i.e., sport coats, etc. Or you can embrace your inner euro-trash self and find something colorful, shiny and skin tight. Not much in between the two.

From a fashion standpoint it doesn’t really matter however, because I am afflicted with something more difficult to shop for, American size. I think most stores in Belgium cater to an average male size of about 5 foot 7 and 145 pounds. After a day of shopping not just in Woluwe, but also around Avenue Louise, I honestly did not find a jacket that would have fit me in high school. It was a little frustrating because it is not as though my gut was doing me in. For the most part, they were just built for really tiny guys.

So it looks like I will hold off getting a jacket until I can get either to the US or to Germany. Someplace where large is large.

Oktoberfest

A year ago, my brother met us in Brussels after a few days in Munich attending Oktoberfest. He had such a great time, we planned to meet him there for the 2011 version. So we arrived there a week ago ready for the tapping of the first keg and to experience the spectacle of Oktoberfest.

I had heard that it was like the mother of all Frat parties. I had expected crowds and copius amounts of public drunkeness, but nothing prepares you for the scale of this. Literally tens of thousands of people drinking, eating and singing. And then a few hours later, drinking, eating, singing, falling down, expressing their love for strangers, and generally devolving into incoherance. It is a little staggering is the amount of human carnage that develops as the day rolls on. I will refrain from a full description  but suffice to say I saw more than one young gentleman fall into the urinal in the WC.  Oktoberfest is not all degenerate behavior, but you don't have to look far to find it.

On our first day , we arrived very early because we didn't have any tent tickets. Fortunately, the weather was amazing after an evening rain and we found an outdoor section of the Paulaner tent. We were joined by a couple of Brits and a lovely young Aussie/Bavarian and her lovely Bavarian/Bavarian friend. (We referred to her as Bavarian Cameron Diaz, because that is who she looked like). The Aussie/Bavarian was quite a good promoter of Australian tourism. ("You have to hold a Koala, they pee all over you, it's wonderful"). Hard to argue with that kind of enthusiasm.

I would be remiss at this point if I did not mention the dirndl. The dirndl is the traditional dress of Bavarian women and it is amazing the variety that you see at Oktoberfest. Everything from the traditional demure dirndl to truly shockingly revealing dirndls. In almost all varieties however, the 'ahem' bosom, is prominantly displayed. I tried to talk SWMBO into getting one under the theory "When in Rome" but she refused. Maybe another time.

Most of the afternoon at the Paulaner tent was quite good. There were only a couple of altercations involving a Polish Tablemate and his "girlfriend". The best part was Polish guy's friend restraining him which caused the girlfriend to take the opportunity to get a couple of vicious right hooks in. One to the ribs and one to head. Those natural instincts can't be trained.  I think she could be a contender.

German Oktoberfest beers are served in one liter measures which frankly are a challenge to the bladder. It makes the small 33 cl glasses of Belgian strong ale look much more efficient. One would think that the volume alone would be a barrier to people getting completely crippled and yet the evidence to the contrary was easy to find.

The second day was much more civilized, She Who Must Be Obeyed has a college friend who lives in Munich and she scored us some tickets to the Ochsenbraterei Tent, where we sat on the upper level, out of the fray. The photo with the Blue and White streamers is from that tent. SWMBO and I were happy to be up top but I think my brother would have preferred to be in the middle of the action. For us however, it was great. We spent the evening with a bunch of fun people, sang Neil Diamond and Jon Denver songs (I didn't understand that either)  and had a really good time.