Carnaval in Binche, Belgium

Okay, so sometimes I like to wait a while before I post. Not this time because what I'm going to share here was an adventure and the hassle was worth it for what I saw in Binche, Belgium to celebrate Mardi Gras.

So, since the 14th century, the small Walloon town of Binche has had a unique Carnaval celebration. In 2003 it was named a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO. Not known for much else, Binche does Carnaval right and takes it very seriously. Starting at 4am or so, the Gilles -- about 1,000 or so men and boys -- begin to rouse their fellow Gilles and the town by marching around, banging drums, waving straw, ringing bells, and stomping their wooden shoes. They also start drinking around 6am.

In the morning there is a parade from the train station to the center of town -- the City Hall -- where all the Gilles wear their costume and masks that represent the sameness of everyone before God. (This is in part a religious and harvest celebration.) Once they reach the center of the city they take off their masks and mill around until 3:30pm.

At 3:30pm the parade begins. The Gilles put on these huge ostrich feather plumed hats, carry baskets full of blood oranges, and throw them into -- and at-- the crowd. The older kids, of course, throw them really hard, so many stores and homes put metal grates over their windows to protect the glass. The oranges represent wealth (gold) and are signs of good luck and prosperity for the coming spring. You *never* throw an orange back. The Gilles get testy. (And, they are carrying bundles of straw with which the could, if they wanted to channel "Black Pete" from St. Nicholas' Day, beat a person with.)

The Gilles I talked to (see picture above) told me that he'd been doing this for 40 years. He was going to do it for 10 more years so he could "retire" after 50 years and get the chance to participate as a Gilles in Carnaval with his son and grandson. The tradition is passed down on the male side of families. As for the traditions: they stomp their wooden shoes to "break winter." They wave the straw and ring the bells to tell winter to "go home" and to let the new and warm spring come in. And then the drums began to sound and he was off....

The parade lasts a long while and lots and lots of oranges are thrown and handed out. Belgians come with bags and fill them to the brim! I got a bunch myself, both on the fly and also handed to me. At one point I must have zoned out -- it's all a little overwhelming and the travel to Binche (as I'll explain in a moment) was difficult -- and was just staring at the whole thing when I realized that a young Gilles, maybe 8 or 9, was standing in front of me with an orange, saying take it. After I took it and said "merci" he just smiled and walked off to throw the rest of his oranges. Just really sweet. (Juxtaposed with the obnoxious gentleman to my right who kept yelling at people to move so he could take pictures and gather oranges from any and every Gilles he could nab.)

The festival goes on into the night with fireworks, but I and my Iranian friend (more on that in a second) had to leave around 6pm because of train issues....

So, getting there. Sadly, on Monday, there was a terrible train accident just outside of Brussels that has killed at least 18 and injured around 90 people. Train service has been really messed up all over Belgium and in France, the Netherlands, and even in Germany and England. Brussels is a major transportation hub. So, I knew today would be a little difficult.....

I got to Midi Station and got my ticket. Didn't see the train I needed posted so I asked and was told to take a train headed to the town of Charleroi and change trains in a town called Luttre. Okay, can do.

Well, I get to Luttre with a whole bunch of other people bound for Binche, including a very nice Iranian woman who speaks only Farsi and a little bit of English. At Luttre we all depart and wait. Then we're told, to get back on the Charleroi train, but not really told why. Just that we *should.* So I get on the train and happen across this Iranian woman. We'll call her MN who is having a hell of a time asking people what's going on. I manage to explain what the deal is and we end up sitting together and embark on a travel journey to Binche.

Once we get to Charleroi -- an old coal mining and metalworks town that is not on the upswing -- we are told that there are no trains -- none at all -- going to Binche or any town connecting to Binche. We have to take a bus. Fine. So MN and I and people dressed in face paint and balloon animal hats head toward the info booth for buses where they have....one person working. Yes, this is Europe. Yes this is the Latin part of Belgium. In the small info booth we hear English, French, Dutch, Farsi, Italian, Spanish, and many other languages and finally get our tram and bus ticket.

We board Tram 89 and head for the destination Andalouse. MN and I sit down and are facing this nice older couple. Hearing me speak English, the husband starts to give us the skinny on the tram ride. "It's going to take a half hour on the tram. Then we get on the bus. But all of this is worth one hour in Binche." It's obvious he and his wife have done this trip before. Now MN is zoned out, so I keep going with the conversation, especially since the husband was very proud to tell me that he learned his English 60 years ago in Lancashire and Birmingham, England. I decided to not tell him that I'm actually an American. (I'm often mistaken as being from England since I speak English and they associate English with England. I'm also told -- a lot, actually -- that I don't "look American" i.e. I'm not, um, overweight and I don't wear "American-style" clothes. Whatever that means....)

So, we take our 30 minute tram ride through the coal mountains -- literally -- of Charleroi and get off our tram and head for the bus. This ride is the least eventful of the trip and we make it to the outskirts of the center of Binche, are told "last stop" and head out, walking towards the festivity in the center of town.

The trip back was less eventful, since we now knew what we were doing, but still tiring. I was very glad ot have MN to talk to and wander around with. Between the two of us we managed to navigate the insane system the Belgian mass transit system had in this area of the country to get us to our destination.

It was also just interesting to meet someone from Iran. I know a couple of other people from Iran, but to run into someone from there in Belgium!? That's not something I wasn't expecting.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and one that I'll remember for ever. It was worth the crazy transportation problems. Of course, I wish I could have shared with with friends or family from back home, but they'll just have to deal with a slideshow and me talking "about the time I was in Binche for Carnaval."

Oh, yeah, I live in Belgium

On the way home from the archive today I had a moment that has been fleeting recently: “Oh yea,” I thought, “I live in Belgium.” It seems that after a month and a week that I’ve become a bit acculturated to my life here. I feel less like I need to be “doing something” each day. (Don’t get me wrong, though, I do plan on taking advantage of life here, but the need to have a planned activity is less and less.)

I’m trying to read more…for fun, that is. My usual fare is news on the intertubes, books for work, and non-fiction “fun” reading. But, my internet is somewhat limited now and with no TV, the thought of reading only for work and non-fiction isn’t always appealing. Thankfully Carly has placed into my mind books that she thinks I’d like and, so far, she’s been right. There are two big English language bookstores in Brussels, but a store near me has a good English language selection and so far I’ve made my way through Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (see more below) and Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth. I loved Pillars in part because I’ve fallen in love with the church of Our Lady of the Sablon. (See post below for picture.)

For those who don’t know, Pillars takes place in 12 century England and is set amidst the political and religious turmoil of “The Anarchy” in England. The central plot is the building of a cathedral in a small town. Birth, death, rape, war, building, love, humor, and sex – lots of sex – takes place and, well, it’s just a fun world to get caught up in. The descriptions of how a gothic cathedral could be built are vivid and I walk by one each day! It really made me look at the work of the church in a different way. Anyway, it’s a good read – even at over 1,000 pages.

As for R & G Are Dead, it’s one of my favorite plays. It’s absurdist – like Waiting for Godot, but takes Hamlet’s two “friends” as it’s central characters and tells us the story of them off stage during Hamlet and their thoughts and questions and, occasionally, answers. I reread it because I decided to see a production of the play here, in Brussels this past Tuesday. It was well done, very well done. I understood parts of it, but know it pretty well that it didn’t matter. It was actually a lot of fun to be immersed in French….

….which makes socializing a bit difficulty, but I like the challenge. To that end, I went out with my Belgian friend, SC, on Wednesday to see Up. It was spur of the moment and, I think, that has a lot to do with me feeling a bit more “at home.” I wasn’t planning on anything, it just happened. I met him and a couple of his friends who spoke mainly French. I got some of the conversation and they spoke a little English.

Up was great and it was nice to be out doing something “regular.” We got out tickets and then got food at Hecktor Chicken, the Belgian version of KFC. Again, not fast, but tasty. And, of course, they served beer and all the appropriate glasses.

All this fun is good, but the archive awaits.

A cool White Night....

This past weekend was Nuit Blanche in Brussels. Translated as "white night" or "all-nighter," Nuit Blanche is a late-night "reclamation" of urban space with music, art, dancing, clubbing, movies, etc. Most museums were open late and for free. A lot of other European cities have their own versions and, well, it's pretty neat.

I hit the town late with my flatmate, AS and his girlfriend and a couple of her friends from back home. AS is Pakistani and his girlfriend is Romanian. It's a mini United Nations here.

Anyway, we didn't have much of an agenda. Our attempt to meet up with some others failed, so we headed over to the Bourse (the old Stock Exchange) and encountered a group playing the drums and a guy playing a kazoo.

We wandered a bit, trying to find more events. Oddly enough, there was nothing going on Grand Place so we headed for another square, Albertine and there we found a small art exhibit and a lot of young Belgians hanging out drinking. (It seems that open container laws don't exist her.)

We wandered some more and happened upon a girl with a huge puppet spider "spinning" its web across a street and "attacking" passers-by.

Now, I was told I needed to go to a European techno-club. Well, I now have -- sort of. There is a big "gallerie" (or shopping arcade) called Ravenstein and there was a huge (and loud) techno dance party going on. We didn't join in, but we just hung around and watched and listened to the heavy bass beat do its thing and move the people on the floor to flail arms and make out. We left about about 15 minutes. I got my hearing back about 30 minutes later.

Then it was the the Royal Park and there was another dance party going on, so it was over to the Royal Palace (not much there) and then to BelVUE....

Now BelVUE is pretty cool. It's an old hotel right next to the Royal Palace. It's been turned into a museum of the history of Belgium. I spent about 2 hours in it earlier in the day on Saturday.

There is a restaurant on the ground floor and for Nuit Blanche it was turned into a ballroom dancing floor with a bunch of couples dancing to music.

We left there and continued to wander a bit and by this time it was late, around 1am and we decided to call it a night. One the way back I again stopped at Quick for a bite to eat and, of course, there was a problem with the order. There always is....and I got home around 1:30 and into bed around 2:30 or so.

All in all an enjoyable evening out with a nice and interesting group of people. Now it's back to the archive where I hope things pick up a bit. It's been slow going with boring records of corn imports and the like....

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.