Bienvenue à Bruxelles

Time flies when you’re eating chocolate… We’ve been in Brussels for about 3 weeks now and are already quite settled – we have not only obtained an apartment furnished to our taste, cell phones, and gym membership but are already cultivating guanxi (à la Shanghai) at our favourite local shops and cafes. I think I’m finally getting the hang of the relocation business!

Jerel and I have both been pleasantly surprised at how much Brussels has to offer, managing to be simultaneously international and cozy. The city is full of grand old buildings, impressive squares, and pleasant parks (two of which are very close to our new apartment!). The vast maze of cobbled streets offers an endless selection of cute clothing boutiques, flower shops, cafes, chocolateries, pubs, and restaurants (and a notable abundance of hair salons!?).

The predominant language here is French, which makes interactions with the locals a little challenging at times but also more fun. I am loving being able to finally put all those years of French schooling to use. More often than not, I can get the job done and have even garnered a few compliments on my French, (which, I admit, make my day). Still, I clearly have a ways to go as to my chagrin, I sometimes receive replies in English. Jerel arrived with almost zero French but thanks to his background in Spanish and his aptitude and enthusiasm for languages he is learning quickly.

Here are a few other first observations on Brussels and Belgians:

1. The people are very friendly. Strangers frequently converse, or at least exchange greetings that seem very sincere. Jerel loves riding the elevator in the morning at work for at each floor there is a chorus of well-wishes (“Bonne journée!”) between those exiting the elevators and those continuing up.
2. A balanced lifestyle is a high priority. In contrast to the workaholicism of North America (and China), Belgians seem to protect their personal time. It can be very hard to find anything open on a Sunday or after 7pm on a weekday. Even IKEA is closed on Sunday! I am still in denial about this and find myself frequently shocked when things are closed at what I consider normal business hours.
3. Chocolate is a food group. I guess you can’t blame them with so much good chocolate around, but I was floored when I first entered a large supermarket and saw that more than half of the adult cereals have chocolate. Who ever heard of special K or granola with dark chocolate?! I will never forget the hot chocolate that I had while watching the Obama inauguration (in French). Simply divine!
4. Specialty shops are the norm. While this is certainly not unique to Belgium, I nonetheless find it baffling that people find time (before 7 pm, no less!) to go to separate shops for cheese, bread, produce etc. Also, chains are out - I have yet to see a single Starbucks (although I did spot a few McDs and Haagen Dazs).
5. Pedestrians are king/queen! I would have taken this fact for granted before living in Shanghai, but I now truly appreciate not having to worry about being run over when I cross the road…Brussels is clearly on the opposite extreme from Shanghai when it comes to pedestrian rights.

Not a bad place, eh? The only downers so far are the weather, which seems like a colder version of Vancouver, and the prices – not crazy, just a bit of sticker shock after China. I must confess that I really miss the affordable luxuries of Shanghai!