Three-legged Buddha at the Royal Theater
Today, I was interviewed by some Belgian college students for an assignment where they asked me about being an American living in Belgium. One of the questions I really liked was how is Belgium different from the US. Here’s some of my thoughts…
- Grocery stores do not give you bags. You are expected to bring your own, or must purchase one.
- Refrigerators are much smaller with barely any freezer space, encouraging multiple trips to the grocery store or market within a single week.
- Drink glasses are tiny and drinks are not served with ice.
- Tap water is not served at restaurants.
- Tables are much closer to your neighbor in restaurants.
- One waiter will serve an entire restaurant, and he will not check up on you throughout your meal. If you want the check, you have to ask him specifically.
- Some restaurants, bakeries, etc. will not accept credit cards or bank cards. Always carry some cash on you.
- It is perfectly acceptable to drink a glass of wine or beer at lunch.
- Scarves are worn by folding them in half, and then sticking the ends through the loop. They are worn year round with any outfit.
- Men can wear capris pants, white pants, and very tight pants – maybe even a combination of all of those.
- Facial piercings, such as a single stud near the lips is common with the young generation.
- It is acceptable to bring your dog on trams, in stores, and to restaurants.
- Motorcycles are allowed to pass between cars. The motorcycle drivers will kick out their leg to say thanks if you let them pass.
- Traffic from the right has the right-away. Unless otherwise posted, yield to traffic turning onto your street from the right.
- It’s acceptable to bump into another car while you’re parallel parking. They don’t have alarms that go off with slight touches.
- If someone is parked in front of your garage, honk (and disturb the neighbors) until the driver comes out and move his car.
- Hole punches have 2 holes; printer paper is 8.3in x 11.6in, and general notebooks contain graph paper.
- Speak quietly, especially on the tram/bus or in restaurants. Your neighbors shouldn’t be able to hear you. This applies when you’re on a cell phone too.
- Shops close around 6:30PM, groceries around 8PM, and none are open on Sundays.
- Washer/dryers are smaller and more eco-friendly, but a single load could take several hours to wash and dry.
- Most houses have the toilet in a different room from the bathtub.
- Many restaurants will charge about 30-cents to use the bathroom. Pay the woman sitting outside the stalls.
- Tipping is not expected in restaurants.
- Schools have a half day on Wednesdays for children to go to extracurricular activities.
- Only International schools have school buses and they are white vans.
This question was particularly hard because I have to remember to not confuse living in Belgium with living in Brussels. One of the biggest changes for us is moving from a quiet suburb to a big city, and of course there are lots of differences in that, but they may be there too if we were to live in downtown Atlanta, or New York City.
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wow- thats a lot of differences! I do remember most of them from when we were there though
the photo of the 3 legged buddah came out really well. I wish I understood all the chinese exhibits that are happening right now in Brussels. good compilation of belgian vs american differences. probably the biggest and most timely also is the difference in health care administration!
Good list of differences. I think it’s quite strange how I always have to pay cash for all of Reagan’s Doctor’s appointments and mine…it’s like they’re hiding a portion of it!
.-= Ali Meyer´s last blog ..Golf Tournament hosted by the American Club of Brussels & Reagan’s day at the Babysitter’s (Sept 27) =-.
Wow, I’m not sure I could make it there! What do you do after 8pm? There’s no where to go! I would totally miss my ice and my 32 oz cup! They do wear scarves that way up in WI too, lol – I had never seen it before moving here though. And we have half days one Wednesday a month.
.-= Lisa’s Chaos´s last blog ..Creepy Crawlies =-.
Wow! Very interesting!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Fall Break =-.
#15 is a very necessary parking technique when working with such tight spaces as those found in the streets of many European cities! ;o)
I enjoy the fact that they don’t bring you the bill without your asking for it (at restaurants). It allows you to have a relaxed meal without feeliing like the waiter is trying to rush you out to make space for the next client!
The fridges are annouing though…
.-= Cristina´s last blog ..TV Addiction: combining two favourites! =-.
Lisa: there are other things to do after 8pm than go shopping, you know.
.-= simon´s last blog ..Monumental =-.
Your differenes are spot on and it’s funny for me reading them as a European who has spent time living in the US – I totally miss reasonable-sized drinks, free refills of coffee, ice in my drinks, free water, attentive customer service etc!
I think a lot of the differences (re: fridges, car spaces etc) come down to there being a lot less space in Europe – everything has to be smaller because there just isn’t room to spread out! So cars are smaller, apartments are smaller, streets are narrower etc etc. And a lot of other differences come down to not valuing customer service (eg the having to ask for your check thing – and the feeling of being totally ignored by the waiter!), and to people valuing leisure/personal and family time over work (the fact that shops close early and close completely on Sundays – these employees don’t want to work, they want their time off, and it seems the customers are OK with that!).
Sounds like you’re enjoying discovering European culture anyway :-)
I am from UK and most thngs are the same diferneces except increasingly you are rewarded for being more eco friendly and bringing your own bag to a supermarket.
Also I think it is as in France you can get tap water in most restaurants but you have to order a ‘carafe d’eau’ otherwise they brin g bottled water. Belgium has the most expensive water ever- often more pricey than beer in restaurants!