Rue Jourdan(straat) and Supersizing Belgian Style

That's the street I'm living on here in Brussels and it has two names. Because of the linguistic divide of the country -- the Flemish in the north and the Waloons (French speakers) in the south -- language is a very touchy subject here. Brussels, as I may have mentioned before, occupies a special place as its own enclave within the country. The center of the city is the City of Brussels (Ville de Bruxelles). Then, outside the old city walls or the petite ceinture (small ring), is the rest of the Brussels-Capital Region that has a total of 19 municipalities. I live in Saint-Gilles or Sint-Gillis in Flemish just outside the small ring which is a major road and the metro follows it around the city.

All streets in Brussels have the same convention Rue or Avenue (French) Jourdan (street name) straat (street in Flemish). So I live on Rue Jourdan (for the French speakers) and Jourdanstraat (for the Flemish speakers). It's even more confusing when discussion towns. I'll do that later....

So, anyway, I now have a place to live. A big room on the top floor of a house occupied by a Flemish family. I've met one roommate who is Pakistani. I'm loving the multicultural feel of this place. I still hope, though, to improve my French.

I had a wonderful time at SC's place in Ixelles. The hospitality of the Belgians is first class. It's a real nice college town. (Again, puts Storrs to shame, though SC's girlfriend was interested in the cows we have back at UConn.) This weekend is a big fair and market which I'll check out tomorrow and try my hand in a Belgian bar. On Sunday there is a beer festival at Grand Place (the big square outside of the City Hall). Should be fun.

I managed to do some touristy stuff on Thursday after I checked out what is now my home. I'm finding it easy to navigate and must thank Carly for the Streetwise Map. It's, as I said not long ago, phenomenal. I made my way over to the archive. Why is it that all archives -- at least the ones I go to -- were built during the high-era of neo-Stalinist design?! At least the walk over will make for it: past the Palais du Justice, Notre Dame du Sablon, and neat shops and such. The coblestones are killing my feet though!

I made my way over to the Palais Royale, too. Imposing building with beautiful rooms. Renovated by Leopold I who wanted to show off Belgium's power in the mid-19th century (because of the coal and steal of Wallonia (the French-speaking region) and his personal jewel, The Congo, he built lavishly). I was particularly taken with the Throne Room because it's, well, a Throne Room. No throne in it, but you can see where it was.

Eating is, of course, important and I've now had the traditional waffell or gauffre. Like NYC hot dog vendors, there are vendors all over and for 1.50 euro you can get a warm gauffre on the go. This evening I wanted something quick so I decided to try Belgian fast food. The place was called Quick...it wasn't. Like any American fast food place it was crowded and no one had any idea what was going on. I felt at home.

This gave me time to study the menu and figure out how to order in French. I'm trying very hard to use the language when I can. BUT, the main dishes at Quick are written in English only. "Fish Fillet." "Chicken Fillet." So, despite my intent to order "Un Chicken Fillet, avec frites et un Coca, s'il vous plait." The second I say, "Chicken Fillet" it's obvious I'm an American and the guy behind the counter (the manager, I think) goes right into English. Oh well...and as one would expect it tastes like generic fast food. The fries were just like McDonald's fries, but the coke was sweetened with sugar. (Oh, if you order a "Coke" here they will think you are looking for cocaine. So, it's "Coca"with a hard c.)

I think I'll end on that note....sorry for the mundane-ness of these posts. I should be doing some fun stuff this weekend -- fair and market in Ixelles and the beer festival at Grand Place on Sunday -- and I get into the archive on Tuesday. Oh, and I'll soon start dealing with Belgian officials on my residency permit. Should be fun.