Culture Shock! Belgium: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

I bought this book prior to going on sabbatical for a year in Flemish Brabant. The advice and background in this book proved to be very useful, and even when it wasn't essential, it helped reduce frustration at some of the more difficult aspects of the process. An example is the multiple visits to City Hall in order to obtain a residency permit, as well as the police visit to the house. Chapters on banking, transportation, and eating are particularly good, although things change fairly quickly, so some information was already dated. The best aspect of the book is how comprehensive it is, which is impressive for a single-author volume. The only quibbles are some missing or incorrect details. The worst missing piece of advice (for an American) is the lack of mention of the "no right-on-red" rule for cars and cyclists, which turns out to be fairly universal in Europe. Thankfully I haven't gotten a ticket in my car sharing adventures, but only after it was pointed out by an American riding behind me to an event. (There was mention of the "priority on the right" rule, which is important and non-intuitive.) The other thing is a slight bias against (or ignorance of) the Dutch-speaking side of the country. The author points out some examples of where the Dutch use French words and the Flemish don't, but for each of these, there are several more the other way around. And while Leuven is a Dutch-speaking town, I've heard a fair amount of French used, without eliciting any apparent rancor. That's not to say that there isn't tension between the two main language groups, as there has been for decades.

A well researched book that is sooooo much more than a 'travel guide'. Although lots of facts are available, it is all done with a sense of humour that I appreciated. Some 'laugh out loud' moments on public transport :) I also learnt some things about my Belgian partner. Things that I thought were his little 'quirks' are indeed Belgian traits...good to know!With the move planned for next year, I feel better prepared and excited about what lays ahead - thank you.

Util.No es lo mismo ir de turista que ir a trabajar o estudiar. El libro describe bastante bien la cultura de Bélgica, por lo que en ese sentido, si lo buscas con idea de vivir allí, es útil. No obstante hay que actualizar bastantes cuestiones sobre hospitales, tarjetas de pago, etc, para lo que es mejor ir a otras páginas webs oficiales.

I read some of this with my Belgian boyfriend, and we laughed a lot because it's really not that accurate.