'Merika, YEAH!

Before my departure into the land of Chocolate and Fries, it was brought to my attention that perhaps I would be greeted in a foreign land with hostility and disdain due to my American heritage. Every county has the stereotypes that come to mind when the name is mentioned. In the minds and hearts of many Americans that I have had the pleasure of knowing, Belgium is equivalent to chocolate, waffles, and beer. Or, on the contrary, rather unknown to the majority. Being an American, I thought that the image of Americans was not one of high quality around the world. As a culture I was not completely aware of its ubiquitous nature and massive presence in the lives of the everyday citizens.

I took it upon myself several nights before I boarded my plane, to explore some American stereotypes. The subject came around after speaking to another exchange student about stereotypes of Australians (kangaroos, BBQ, boomerangs) and lead to us searching for the opinion of Americans. What we discovered was that the Americans are perceived as being fanatically patriotic, lazy, and obsessed with something that was referred to as "peaunutbutterandjelly." Once we recovered from our boisterous laughter we looked further and found copious contradictions to the view of our country. For example, it was said that Americans are lazy, however they are also work-workaholics. Americans are stupid, but the United States provides all of the worlds innovators/inventions. With this in mind, I had not a clue what to expect when I arrived.

As it turns out, the opinion of Americans has not been as horrible as I had thought it would be. The other day I was engaged in a discussion with members of my Rotary club and their spouses about the competitive nature of sports in America. One of my good friends here in Belgium is a swimmer in Texas. She, like many high school swimmers in the USA, practices every day before and after school and has been participating in said activity for many years now. They people I was sitting with admire the dedication and the excellence that they perceive Americans to have in the field of athletics. High Schools in America practice everyday whereas in Belgium, many activities meet two or three times a week. One of the benefits to this mentality is that anyone can and does play and participate in sports or activities.  A critique of the American way is that if you want to join an activity at a later stage in your life, it can be very difficult to compete with the students who had decided that they wanted to play soccer, for example, at the age of four. If you have not been a participant in soccer from that age, then you cannot be on the team.

I did not know when I arrived that American pop culture would be a prevalent as it is in Belgium. Everyone listens to the newest American songs and watches shows on television that are originally from the United States. Many products from America have made there way to Europe as well. For example Philadelphia Cream cheese is a popular product. As it turns out, I don't have to be quite as embarrassed about being an American as I thought I would have to be.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

One of the most notable differences in my daily life in Belgium is how I get around. Though driving is forbidden by the laws of Rotary, it does not seem to me that being permitted this luxury would change my daily life by much. An aspect of the culture that I am really taking a liking to is the abundance of public transportation. During the day, it is possible to get almost anywhere in Belgium without stepping behind the wheel of a car. In addition, there are far fewer automobiles in this country than America.

For myself, there are several theories as to why this is so. One of them would be that the infrastructure of Belgium, and many other European Nations, is incapable of supporting the vast amount of roadways that the United States is capable of. America is a rather young country and being the age that it is allows it to have grown up in a time of adaptation to newer technology through transportation. Europe is thousands of years old, and when the narrow alleys and cobble stones were put in place, the idea of automobiles was not even a faint glimmer in the distance. Once they were a reality, there was not much done to re-invent every roadway in the country.This would be costly and incredibly time intensive.  In the United States roadways are fairly large with well developed highways systems that can take a person anywhere in the country. At the same time, there seems to be less of a need for that in Belgium because of the highly developed bus and train system that is in place.

The earliest trains were invented in 1550 in Germany. Made of wood, these "trains" were powered by horses and pulled along wooden paths that were created across the county. Years later, during the time of the Industrial Revolution he steam engine was invented and revolutionized the transportation of goods and services. It was through these inventions in Europe that the foundation of European transportation was created. Thanks to this early creation, nowadays one can travel almost anywhere in Europe by railway. I personally find this to be very convenient. For the most part it is much less expensive than the 152 dollars I could be spending to fill my gas tank once a week. Instead that price is reduced to roughly 55 dollars a month to travel through the country! Moreover, the transportation system is rather well organized creating ease in the planning of events. I could definitely get used to never having to drive a car.

Tik Tok On the Clock, But the Party Don't Stop

This past Thursday I celebrated my 18th birthday in Belgium. In this country 18 is a very important age. It is the legal adulthood and maturity, the legal age of responsibility, the age of criminal responsibility, the right and obligation to vote, the right to be elected (except for Senate), the legal age for driving, and the minimum age to stop school. However it is also an age sprinkled with ceremony. My host mother inquired what it was that I wanted to do for my birthday. He own daughter had rented out a hall and payed a DJ to come when she celebrated this special day. This did not seem completely out of place because I am familiar with the coming of age celebrations that are practiced in America. In the United States, for the most part, turning 16 is the biggest party age as opposed to 18. For my birthday I had two friends over for the actual evening, followed by a night out with other friends Friday night. It was brought to my attention that parties in Belgium are very different from the types of parties that I have been able to attend in Pennsylvania.

When someone says the word party, depending on the age of the person, various images come to mind. In the United States we have birthday parties, movie parties, sweater parties, house parties, etc. It seems to me that the same types of parties exist in Belgium, though on a larger scale. Through a conversation with my host sister she explained to me how strange it was when I mentioned having numerous people over for a "party" at my house. She said that parties normally happen outside of the home and with organized events. For example, there are organizations throughout the towns that sponsor youth events, such as Scoot (Girl/Boy Scouts) and la Jeunesse (the young people). These events have a mandatory 5-6 euro entry fee plus anything you buy inside. With the previous statement I refer to the purchase of alcoholic beverages or soft drinks. It is rare to have a large number of people over to a persons house, without also having plans of partaking in another event. What I have noticed that commonly happens is that students will have their friends over for pre-party fun followed by a group departure to the main event. Although this is a behavior that is indeed found in the United States, in my experience, I have found that it is not always the case. House parties are more common place. For example, if a student's parent's leave them alone in the house for a weekend, they have more of a chance of having an event in that location as opposed to searching for an external hot spot.

One of the contributing factors of this difference in parties is that youth in Belgium is not prohibited from consuming alcohol. Drinking is an act that can, and does, take place in a public domain. It is because of this that I think there are more events for young students that are organized and well attended. In addition, these events last well into the wee hours of the morning, and are not ended by local law enforcement intervention. It is completely acceptable for such parties (soirées) to take place. From my experience through friends and movies, events are more secret. There are tricks used to avoid being reprimanded by the law or even by parents. This kind of secrecy can be seen in the use of red plastic cups for drinking. Because these cups are not clear, the liquid within cannot be seen and therefore remains a "mystery." In Belgium, one can use a clear cup because it is legal to drink.

Big parties and events are more frequent in Belgium than in Pennsylvania and are commonly the entertainment for the weekend. Though I have not yet decided whether or not this is something I prefer or not.

Are you there God? It's me Belgium.

During my academic year at SFX, I am required to participate in a religion class. This is a logical course considering the school's affiliation with Catholicism. Regardless, it has not been at all what I have expected. From what my Belgian friend had told me, her religion teacher talked about the glory of Christ, and promoted strongly the following of his teachings. My experience has not been the same. Instead, I find myself in a class whose purpose is more philosophical. This I found to be very interesting and has prompted me to pay much closer attention in said lessons.

My first text received in this study was entitled "Socrates, Jésus, et Bouddah" I found this to be an interesting topic to be covered. The article summarizes that all of these wise figures possess the same attributes, which should be followed in regards to religion. When people gather to form their groups, they twist the ideas of these three men, but all one has to do is follow their core philosophies to live a good life. To give such an article in a class is not a concept with which I am all that familiar. Due to my attendance at the State College Delta Program, I have witnessed an slight openness to the topic of religion in school. However, in Belgium it is acceptable to not only discuss it, but to offer opinions on the ideas that are presented and personal opinions. For me, I feel as though there is less concern with offending certain religions by making uninformed, or even well informed, statements.

My teacher inquired my opinion on how religion is portrayed in the United States. She is curious if I find it more prevalent in America or in Belgium. Despite my difficulties with the french response, what I hope the students recieved from my statement is that, religion a rather taboo topic in America. Along with politics, it is among the subjects that are generally refrained from mentioning in public spaces. However, it seems to me that religion plays a larger role in a larger number of people's live in the States. After a brief discussion with my teacher after class, she told me that there were a lot of people in Belgium who associate with a religion, however do not attend church regularly and do not follow all of the expectations of a particular faith. For example, not all Belgian Catholics follow lent, like she supposes that most American Catholics do. Her perception of religion in America is that the people who identify with the vast diversity of faith, are very strict practitioners.

When considering from where this perception might stem from, I am drawn to the potential conclusion of a time that people came to America searching religious freedom. One of the things I think America does well is providing a space for it's citizens to practice their religions and express their beliefs how they deem appropriate. This causes a lot of variety in how people choose to follow a faith. It creates people who are very strict and serious about their beliefs and also people who do not find what they are looking for through traditional ideologies.

At the same time, her perception of religion in Belgium would be that there are not a lot of people who take it particularly seriously. I found this surprising because of the number of religiously affiliated public spaces. I attend a catholic school as do most of the exchange students I know. In the United States there are not as many high schools who are religiously affiliated. In fact, almost all scholarly institutions in Belgium have a religious connection. This religion would be Catholic, which is consistent throughout much of Europe.

I find that the presence of religion in Belgium is indeed less than that in Pennsylvania. While there is less variation with denominations, no one mentions their affiliation in Belgium. Whereas in America I know the religion of almost all of my friends.

Religion remains a topic that is difficult to discuss however, it is always interesting to learn of other people's impressions of the interpretation of religion in another country.