Ah, les belges!
Warning: this post includes a lot of complaining about little things.
I can't help but be constantly reminded by a friend of mine who also did an internship at the European Commission and later on worked there as a consultant for a few months. Samuli warned me: "On the face of it, everything seems to be working in Belgium. In reality, nothing works.
Oh, so true. It is strange how differently and SLOWLY things function (or don't at all) in Belgium. Luckily I have been spared from taking care of all these practical things such as acquiring an internet connection, electricity and gas contracts or other, seemingly simple issues. In the end they are not that simple. Most of the things take one month. Having an internet connection? 4-6 weeks. Electricity? 2 weeks, at least, if the former tenant has called in his/her electricity contract in the apartment. Fridge? About 3 weeks.
There are all these minor things that just don't make sense. For example, there is an automatic laundry place next to the house I'm living in. Which is very nice, except that at least this week they are suddenly closed. No idea how long they will be closed, because the windows are covered with papers and there is no sign on the door (nor was there one before they closed). I'm hoping it is just because this is a holiday week in Belgian schools and they will open in a few days, otherwise I will have to look for another laundry place...
When it gets to bigger issues, there is transport: public transport system is really bad compared to other European capitals. Buses and trams are always late, metro often suffers of "perturbations" and just doesn't come until after 20 minutes of waiting, and during the week there is no transport after midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays there are night buses until 3 am, but that's it.
Health system is just weird. You need to have your own doctor that you randomly choose from a list from yellow pages or ask from your nearest pharmacy. Then you pay to the doctor privately (a lot!), get a receipt which should be refunded 75 % from the local "Mutualité", or from health insurance in my case. I would rather go to a normal health centre, but there are none...I would have to even choose which hospital to go to if needed! I don't need this plethora of choices, could you make it simple, please!
Coming from a country which has one of the best library infrastructures in the world, the state of Belgium's public libraries (or the only one I've seen in Ixelles) is quite devastating. Although there are dozens of excellent bookshops, that library sucked big time - not just that the selection is very limited, but you have to pay money to become a member and borrow books! Libraries should not cost, period. Having free access to information is a sign of a civilized country to me. Sorry, Belgium!
This was not meant to be only complaints, and to balance a bit, here are my top three favourite things in Brussels:
+ yummie 1 euro samosas in the night shop just next door from my house (and having the night shop that close in general is great, open until 2am!)
+ waffles and frites...
+ interesting job, great colleagues and co-stagiaires
In the end these things make my stay here worthwhile and I would not want to be anywhere else right now. Maybe just somewhere a bit warmer, which brings me to the end of this post and a reason to write one last complaint. My heating is still not working properly, only one sixth of the radiator is actually warm. Despite the visit of a Polish maintenance man and a British landlord. So maybe it's not only Belgians that I should blame...
I can't help but be constantly reminded by a friend of mine who also did an internship at the European Commission and later on worked there as a consultant for a few months. Samuli warned me: "On the face of it, everything seems to be working in Belgium. In reality, nothing works.
Oh, so true. It is strange how differently and SLOWLY things function (or don't at all) in Belgium. Luckily I have been spared from taking care of all these practical things such as acquiring an internet connection, electricity and gas contracts or other, seemingly simple issues. In the end they are not that simple. Most of the things take one month. Having an internet connection? 4-6 weeks. Electricity? 2 weeks, at least, if the former tenant has called in his/her electricity contract in the apartment. Fridge? About 3 weeks.
There are all these minor things that just don't make sense. For example, there is an automatic laundry place next to the house I'm living in. Which is very nice, except that at least this week they are suddenly closed. No idea how long they will be closed, because the windows are covered with papers and there is no sign on the door (nor was there one before they closed). I'm hoping it is just because this is a holiday week in Belgian schools and they will open in a few days, otherwise I will have to look for another laundry place...
When it gets to bigger issues, there is transport: public transport system is really bad compared to other European capitals. Buses and trams are always late, metro often suffers of "perturbations" and just doesn't come until after 20 minutes of waiting, and during the week there is no transport after midnight. On Fridays and Saturdays there are night buses until 3 am, but that's it.
Health system is just weird. You need to have your own doctor that you randomly choose from a list from yellow pages or ask from your nearest pharmacy. Then you pay to the doctor privately (a lot!), get a receipt which should be refunded 75 % from the local "Mutualité", or from health insurance in my case. I would rather go to a normal health centre, but there are none...I would have to even choose which hospital to go to if needed! I don't need this plethora of choices, could you make it simple, please!
Coming from a country which has one of the best library infrastructures in the world, the state of Belgium's public libraries (or the only one I've seen in Ixelles) is quite devastating. Although there are dozens of excellent bookshops, that library sucked big time - not just that the selection is very limited, but you have to pay money to become a member and borrow books! Libraries should not cost, period. Having free access to information is a sign of a civilized country to me. Sorry, Belgium!
This was not meant to be only complaints, and to balance a bit, here are my top three favourite things in Brussels:
+ yummie 1 euro samosas in the night shop just next door from my house (and having the night shop that close in general is great, open until 2am!)
+ waffles and frites...
+ interesting job, great colleagues and co-stagiaires
In the end these things make my stay here worthwhile and I would not want to be anywhere else right now. Maybe just somewhere a bit warmer, which brings me to the end of this post and a reason to write one last complaint. My heating is still not working properly, only one sixth of the radiator is actually warm. Despite the visit of a Polish maintenance man and a British landlord. So maybe it's not only Belgians that I should blame...
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