Worries..

I´m so worried about my MITIM colleagues in South Korea... Hope everything will be ok and you´re safe there!

Splitting Country

The discussion about splitting Belgium in two, Flanders and Wallonia has been going on for quite some time.  Here´s latest discussion about the issue.

I think it would be sad to split Belgium up... What would happen then? Would Flanders join Netherlands (doubtful) and Wallonia France? Or would they both be independent countries? What about the German-speaking people? And where Brussels would locate in that case (it is located in Flanders, but majority speaks French)? Would there be Belgium anymore?

Oh no, it´s too sad to think even... I wish those nationalists would be able to embrace diversity and find a solution that wouldn´t need a nasty divorce... 

Floods

As I wrote in the previous posting, the autumn is here.. It´s been raining quite a lot so there are a lot of floods (although I haven´t seen in Brussels yet). Well, other parts of Belgium are fighting against the floods, unfortunately it has caused already death of two persons.


It´s not too cold yet (if comparing to Finland) but the wind is quite something.. I don´t know if it´s because of the moist and coldish weather or have I been neglecting my sports and good diet too much, but I have annoying flue right now. I really can´t afford to be sick now... 


Oh yeah, if you´re interested, news about Belgium can be found from the Flemish De redactie.be (also in English!) and the Wallonian (or French language) Le Soir and rtbf info. 

 (me in Antwerp few weeks ago)

Autumn in Belgium

It´s autumn here for sure.. It´s been raining now almost all the time for past week. I don´t really mind the rain, I just miss my pink Nokia Hai rubber boots! 

MITIMs back in Finland and Russia had their research seminar in St.Petersburg. We exchange students were also asked to write the report and presentation slides for today. In addition, we need to peer review someone else´s work and write 2 pages report about that. Hmm, I actually feel lonely now. I miss the group spirit and the sharing of ideas.. And of course I know that the guys are having great time in St.Pete at the moment... ;)

From the park close to the King´s house

Comparing

I notice that time to time I compare my experiences from St.Petersburg to the experiences in Belgium. That is kind of weird, since they literally are to different worlds in many ways. Why to compare? 

...

Well, it comes automatically... I guess it is human nature to compare life to the past and make conclusions whether this is better or worse. But Russia and Belgium are different - or are they really? 

The political scene is mysterious in both countries (at least the unprofessional, not deeply interested point view of mine is this). In Belgium the system is highly bureaucratic and complex apparently due to the three languages (Dutch, French and German). There is provincial and local governments, regional and community governments (for different languages)  and finally the federal government. And they have a king who has the final say in things. Well, I checked all this information from Wikipedia and I´ve talked with my Belgium friends about this but still it´s not quite clear.. 

In Russia the political system is also quite mysterious, but that´s because I´m not sure who is really pulling the strings in that country and is it really democracy there.. Well, I have to be honest, I haven´t looked into the system so deeply. But in conclusion, the amount of bureaucracy is amazing in both countries, maybe that is the curtain of mystery there... 

It´s both beautiful and ugly at the same time in the two countries. Brussels is weird city, but I like it. The architecture is quite inconsistent and it´s a bit dirty to what I´m used to (and my expectations towards the capital of EU). But the parks and the art deco -styled houses are absolutely beautiful. St.Petersburg is absolutely beautiful except the Soviet styled buildings, and it is extraordinary how something so different and adventurous is so close to Finland (again, I had different expectations to ex-Soviet city). Yes, it was also a bit dirty and ugly there but still I liked the city a lot.

In both countries I should watch my back when walking alone, specially during the evening/night. Oh, and the stability of the internet access is not guaranteed in neither of the countries, or even sometimes the availability of warm water. I´m not sure actually are these issues only guaranteed in the Scandinavian countries or have I just been lucky for the first years of my life.

The food... mmm, the food... It is different in both countries, but it is so good in both countries. In Russia, I loved the soups and the pies with a cup of tea or a glass of sparkling wine. In Belgium, it is the sweet stuff, waffles, chocolate and cherry beer... 

Well, the differences.. Firstly, language of course, due to EU and NATO offices, there are a lot of foreigners working here who don´t speak French or Dutch, so almost everywhere you´ll get customer service in English. In Russia, you need to speak Russian. 

Belgium is more multicultural than Russia (although in Russia there are many nationalities and "clans" inside that huge country, so maybe this issue can be debated). The shops are open longer in Russia (which is nice), although as a similar thing I´d say that the variation of shops (specially clothing) is so much better in both countries than in Finland.

In Russia, I had my very own, close MITIM group (which I always miss). Here in Belgium I don´t have constant same group to go to the lectures with, but still I´ve met really good new friends. And I´ve had so great time with an old friend of mine, E.  

In conclusion, there are obvious differences and there are unexpected similarities, but in both places I´ve felt at home (or I still feel)... Both cities will always have a special place in my heart. 

<3

Well, I´ll come back to this topic later on for sure...