Lutgarde and Stephan have been back in Belgium just about a month and a half so they decided to have an "American party" to have a time to reconnect with friends and family that they haven't seen in a long time and to tell them a little about their time in the States. To make it really feel American, they served hamburgers!About 40 people came and I really enjoyed getting to meet some of their friends and family. I felt pretty bad that I couldn't speak French and wasn't able to interact with a lot of the people there, but I still was able to really enjoy just sitting and watching everyone, taking in what I could from the few words I could understand (I also mastered "Bonjour", "Merci" and "Au revoir") and just watching everyone interact with each other. What I always fi
nd is that no matter how different our languages and cultures may be, we're all pretty much the same. Humans are humans and, in the end, we all want the same things. So I just sat and watched and soaked it all in.
nd is that no matter how different our languages and cultures may be, we're all pretty much the same. Humans are humans and, in the end, we all want the same things. So I just sat and watched and soaked it all in.Also, fortunately for me, a number of their friends and family spoke English and were very kind and willing to sit with me and make conversation with the 'foreigner'. I enjoyed a lot of very interesting conversations about Belgian politics (anything you want to know, just ask me!), American politics, travel, cultural differences and so on. One couple in particular I sat and talked to for about an hour and I'm pretty sure we discovered the answer to almost all of the world's problems in that time. Not bad for an hour's work, eh?
These are experiences that you only get when you know someone in a country. Opportunities to see the "real" country, to experience even a little bit of the real culture, not just what you read about in books or see from your hotel balcony, but how the people treat each other, what makes them laugh, how they spend their free time. A very cool opportunity, indeed.
One of the things that I most enjoyed watching throughout the day was the customs of greeting and saying goodbye. Whenever someone new would come in, they would go around the room and greet each and every individual person, one by one. If a family came in together, each member from the parents down to the kids would go around and do the same. The women greeted everyone w
ith a kiss on the cheek, the men greeted others either with a kiss (for the women or even another man to whom they're very close) or with a handshake (if they're less familiar), even if there were people they didn't know. I love that. It shows such a regard for everyone in the room to go around and specifically greet each person individually. It also makes for a warm, friendly environment and a different sense of comfort than I experience when in a similar situation in the US. And, of course, when leaving it's the same process: "making the loop" to go around and bid farewell to each and every person individually. Dig it! And totally going to try to implement it when I get back to the States. So be forewarned.
ith a kiss on the cheek, the men greeted others either with a kiss (for the women or even another man to whom they're very close) or with a handshake (if they're less familiar), even if there were people they didn't know. I love that. It shows such a regard for everyone in the room to go around and specifically greet each person individually. It also makes for a warm, friendly environment and a different sense of comfort than I experience when in a similar situation in the US. And, of course, when leaving it's the same process: "making the loop" to go around and bid farewell to each and every person individually. Dig it! And totally going to try to implement it when I get back to the States. So be forewarned.
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