In our intensive French course we learnt a lot about the history of Belgium. This class taught me a lot because I honestly didn't know much about the country. One of the main things I learnt was that the country is sort of separated into two sections: the French part and the Dutch part. These two sections are referred to as the Wallonia section (French-speaking)  and the Flanders section (Dutch-speaking). These two parts do not get along and are like two completely different countries. As a matter of fact, they have two different governments. Which makes governing the country a lot more difficult. 

One interesting thing about these two sections is that Brussels, the capital, is located in the Flanders part. Even though the city is officially bilingual, most people speak French there. 

There are three national languages in Belgium; Dutch, French and German. There is also separate governments for each language. 

So in total, there are about 5 different governments in Belgium. As you can tell, trying to get anything done for the country would be ridiculously difficult. 

This might be one of the reasons why Belgium didn't have a president or other governing leader for a couple of years. They do have a king , King Albert II, but he has limited power. 

Before this course, I had no idea that Belgium government was this complex. I found all this information very interesting. 

I imagine that if the government was like this in the states, it would be total chaos. Nothing would get done because people would have to jump through many many hoops to do something. I could not even imagine not having a president. Honestly, I'm surprised the country isn't more messy than it is. 

This video explains all this in a way that not only makes it easy to understand but is also very entertaining:

So I have been in Belgium for exactly two weeks and I am finally all settled in. I have finally found the cheapest grocery store, which I go to almost on a daily basis. Here in Belgium, you basically buy the groceries you need for the next day or two, for a week at most. It's not like going to Walmart (which I have to say I miss) and doing your monthly grocery shopping. I also found the mall, which might not be the best place for me to go. 


Belgium has been great, except for the voyage from the airport to Louvain-la-Neuve. The trains were running late, so we had to change trains about 5 times. The worst part was that many train stations don't have elevators, so we had to carry our heavy suitcases up and down several flights of stairs. Needless to say, when we finally arrived to the university, we were all extremely tired.  Other than that, Belgium has been amazing. 


One of the highlights of these past two weeks was our trip to Bruxelles. Bruxelles is one of the most beautiful cities that I have seen. The architecture is breathtaking! 

There is so much to do and see. One of the things we were the most excited to see was the Mannekin Pis. It's a statue of a little boy peeing, but there's a great story behind it. Legend has it that there was a fire and the little boy peed on it to extinguish it. So they made a statue in his honor. We thought it was going to be a grand statue. Everywhere we went in Bruselles, we would see the Mannekin Pis. In chocolates, in key chains, in very interesting bottle and wine openers, and in postcards. Once we actually found it, we were a little disappointed in its size. It was much more little than we had expected it to be. But it was dressed in a cute a little outfit. 

We had to do an intensive French course these past two weeks to get our French up to par. Today was the last day of class and we now have 4 days off to travel. Guess where I'm going.... 


PARIS BABY!!!