After the huge hit of the parties in Leuven group on Facebook I have decided to take it the next level. A blog about daily life in Leuven! What to expect as a foreigner, how to deal with Belgians, and of course all the latest news on all the parties and social activities going on in Leuven.
I remember the first day I arrived in Leuven like it was yesterday, I walked out of the train station and my breath was taken away. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. I myself come from the States, close to New York, and I initially thought that nothing could ever beat the Big City, that was until I arrived in this little picturesque town. Although of course a million times smaller than New York City, it has so much to offer. And I knew right away that I had found my home. This was about six year ago, I was naïve 18-year old girl, and I didn't know what I had gotten myself into.
It didn't take that long for my honeymoon phase to blow over, soon I realized that, even though the States and Europe may not seem that different from a distance, up close Belgium is like living in outer space! The food is different, the parties are different, the Belgians are different, and boy do they have some weird habits in their culture! Yes there are the awesome fries, and all the different beers, parties never end here, and it is full with students, something to do every day, except for the weekend, because then every single Belgian person goes home to their parents. It doesn't matter whether they are in their first year, MA, PHD, they ALL go home, EVERY weekend. And why? I still haven't figured that one out yet. These are all issues that I want to discover, and I want to share my experience with all of you! Because I know that Belgium is a whole different world, but once you know all the tips and tricks, I guarantee you will absolutely fall in love with this town.
Besides giving you a party tip every single day from September onwards, I will also try to give you a word of advice on a regular basis, and if there are certain topics that you want to be discussed, feel free to let me know! Enter the discussion, share experiences, that is my main goal here. For now I can give you the tip of 'Beleuvenissen', this Friday there will be live music all over the city, there will be food, and drinks. It'll be the perfect opportunity for you to encounter the true Belgian culture. Not to mention that Milc Inc. will be performing that night. They're Belgian, and they were very famous in the '90s, it is a kind of music I had never heard before, since we didn't have this kind of 'dance' music back in the States, but I promise you, this will not be the last time you have heard it, there are regular parties that will take you back to the '90s, and why the hell not!? The music back then wasn't all that bad! Hope to see you all soon, and to hear back from you! In the mean time, spread the word!
Lots of love,
Sophie
Dear Sophie, hi !
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI really like your idea fort his blog.
I give you a picture of me: I’m Belgian, and I’ve been living in Leuven for three years now.
I’ve always been really interested in travelling and meeting people from other cultures, when I got here three years ago I really wanted to get international friends.
It took some courage in the beginning stepping up to internationals and make friends, but now, three years later : almost all of my friends are internationals and I’m volunteering yearly in the buddy program, the welcoming days, etc.
Currently, I’m organizing the Dutch conversation group in the summer, and over the years I’ve had many interesting talks with my international friends about the Belgians and Belgian culture. They learned me how to look at the Belgians from an international point of view.
Today, I’d like to complete your blog entry with some data & think with you.
The picture that ALL Belgian students (no matter whether they’re bachelor of Phd) spend every weekend with their family is too black and white. I can tell you that this not the case for at least a portion of Phd students that I know.
But it is the major tendency among Belgian students I guess.
What are the reasons for this ? I’ve thought about it over the last three years (since my international friends made me notice the weekend-going-to-family-behavior) and my answer would be that it’s because the Belgians are kinda tribal. Meaning: they like to stick with the people they know, be it their family or their known friends.
That can make it hard for an international student to befriend a Belgian when this Belgian has a circle of friends already.
But it can be just as much a problem for a Belgian student when he/she tries to befriend that Belgian: when I came to Leuven 3 years ago, I stayed in a residence holding a mixture of nationals and internationals. Since I hadn’t any friends yet, I tried to befriend all nationalities, and I did feel reticence on the part of my Belgian residence-mates to befriend ‘yet another’, because they already have (enough) friends, see ? The result was that I made a lot of friends among my international residence-mates, who were very keen about making new friends (and meeting the Belgians) since they’d just arrived.
Here I stop for today, I just came back from Beleuvenissen. Tommorow I’m travelling with a nicely mixed national/international company to the Gentse Feesten ;)
Kind regards,
Stijn (You can find me on fb under https://www.facebook.com/stijn.vantongerloo)
Most common complaints about Belgian students that I heard from my friends :
BeantwoordenVerwijderen- cold/distant
- keep talking in Dutch when you're there
- not interested in meeting internationals, sticking to Belgian friends
-
Hiiiii
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI really like Your blog! I m wainting for more notes and helpful information! I m a erasmus student from Poland. I was in Leuven month ago to find a room and I did it:) Leuven is beautiful, My breath was taken when I saw stadhuis for the first time!
I m gonna live o n l y with Belgians. I hope I m gonna learn the culture and dutch faster then! At the weekends I ll be not alone with internatuoanl students I hope. Opinion from my friend about belgians.. They are really helpful and nice but it takes some time to get the trust from them..