20.02.11

It is not socially acceptable to wear sweatpants in public in Brussels. It also might not be socially acceptable to wear flip-flops, but I need a little more time to work that one out. Mostly people will just look at you like you’re homeless if you do wear such things, though. That’s not to say that everyone is perfectly made up all the time here, but they also don’t traipse around town in their pajamas which is a departure from American culture(especially small-town American college culture).

Perhaps the thing that most throws me off is the omnipresence of carrots here. No one else seems bothered by it, but I’d rather not have carrots piled on my chicken sandwich, thank you very much. The carrots are even in Fanta and spaghetti sauce. They’re everywhere and you can’t escape. I guess it’s not the worst thing that could be waiting to surprise you in your food, but still. I don’t like being looked at like I’m crazy just because I prefer my sandwich sans carrots.

An ongoing conversation theme these past few days has been the huge difference between the service industries of the States and Belgium. In the States, it is very much the cashier’s job to help you and be almost annoyingly present during your shopping experience. Here, in Belgium, it’s almost like pulling teeth to get any kind of help from staff that seems mostly disinterested in the customers. If there’s a problem with something in the store, they don’t offer you a solution or alternative, they mostly just tell you to leave and come back tomorrow. There’s also the lines. Almost everywhere, you have to take a number and wait for hours to be helped if you want to renew your metro pass or if you are having trouble getting your phone to work. And then, again, if they can’t immediately help you, they tell you to come back and wait in line again the next day.

It all seems so rude to us as American students, but it’s quite the norm here after talking to a few locals. They all shrug it off and offer, “That’s just how life is here.” It’s baffling that people put up with that kind of treatment to me, but I guess if I had never experienced the American style of customer service I wouldn’t be so bothered by the clear indifference that all the shop attendants have here.

I can’t believe that March is almost here, where is the time going? I need to get on top of planning my Spring Break trip, but to be honest I am paralyzed with indecision about what to do. I just found out last night that one of my favorite favorite favorite bands is playing here in Brussels right in the middle of Break and I would seriously love to see them live, but is it worth giving up a few days of traveling? Hard choices. I think the answer is ultimately going to be that I can see them down the road, but I’m still deciding what to do. I think Italy is the main goal right now. I’d really like to CouchSurf, but I haven’t had much luck finding any hosts for anything yet which is disappointing. I don’t know if I have money to travel for two weeks straight any other way though. :(