Brussels Days 1-2
It's cold, rainy, gray and drab. My hands are like ice and my nose feels like it's about to fall off. I've never drunk so much hot tea in my life, which I do to let the steam warm my nose and prevent the formation of certain solid-like structures that can obstruct my ventilation pathways. I'm in Brussels for work, and I'll be here for the next 2 weeks enduring 5-degree weather, the frequent rains and 6-hour days.Good news is, I have no jet lag which is probably a result of the fantastic pita I had for lunch. There's not much to see especially if you've been here before so I've taken to just wandering the streets and enjoying the ambiance. I don't think the city allows any building to have more than 3 floors, so much of the city is flat and retains the old world architecture that gives it so much charm.
For all the depressing grayness of Brussels, it's still a nice place to live. There's enough restaurants to satisfy my foodie cravings, the people are nice and speak English (which is quite rare for a European city) and it's small enough to feel very homey very fast. The only thing I'd have a hard time adjusting to would be how the sun is only out during winters from 10am-4pm. Imagine waking up at 8am when the world still looks like it's asleep -- completely dark and almost noise-less! I have enough trouble as it is waking up in Singapore where the sun almost blinds you in the mornings.
And the other thing, people here don't eat lunch. They shovel it in their mouths. We Filipinos like to linger over our food, savor it, have a good conversation with the meal and generally, enjoy the full experience. It would be quite rare to go for a regular lunch and finish in under an hour. But here, everyone wolfs down the food and they're finished and done in 30minutes. It's really quite disconcerting. I've just started on my soup and they're staring at me expectantly to stand up and clear my tray. Really.
I'm eating so fast now, I don't even have time to choke on my food. I need to find me some Filipinos to eat with. At least then, no one will look at me funny if I eat my pineapples with salt.
posted by moan @ 8:33 PM
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