Le Saint Nicolas

This past Friday I participated in the Festival of Saint Nicholas. It is a traditional carnival celebration mainly found in Belgium and small parts of the surrounding countries of Germany and France. For all of the students in their final year of high school (rhétos) we wear a shirt for the day as well as a lab coat that classmates write messages on. On the back of these lab coats, kids have different cartoon characters or figures from well known pop culture and media. The purpose of the day is a reversal of roles it is a day when the Rhétos are the teacher and the teachers are the students. As a class we organized a show to perform for the underclassmen with a guest feature of Saint Nicholas himself. At different points throughout the show students were called up to the stage and forced to do embarrassing things or answer embarrassing questions. If they answered incorrectly, performed particularly well, or were just called up, they received a shaving cream pie to the face.

The actual day of Saint Nicolas is December 6th and is a celebration similar to that of the Christmas traditions found in the United States and Europe. Saint Nicholas comes to town and asks the children if they have done their best this past year. He then looks in his rather cumbersome book to verify whether or not they are telling the truth. Good children receive presents from him while the bad ones are beaten or given coal. The tradition is for children to receive foods and candies in their shoes (this can be seen in the American Stocking tradition) This is not to say that Christmas is not equally if not more so celebrated. Saint Nicholas is the celebration of a real saint, a man who lived and preformed good deeds, which is why he is celebrated. At the same time, Christmas is centered around a fictional fantasy fabricated in the light of the real man of Saint Nicholas. At the same time the inversion of power, which can be seen with the Saint Nicholas festivities is directly related to Christmas celebrations.

In the United States, Saint Nicholas was related to the festivities of carnival celebration. When this type of event originated in Europe it was intended to be a complete reversal of roles. The peasants would enter the homes of the rich and demand food and drink and would cause mayhem.  It was the one time a year where they had power over their superiors. This was largely accepted because it was known that the next day the norms would be restored. One of the reasons that this carnival festival was celebrated at this time a year was because it was a time of great plenty. The crops were being collected and stored and the animals were undergoing slaughter because they would not survive through the winter. Therefore there was plenty of resources to share and experience in excess.  However one of the reasons that Saint Nicholas came into play was because when the celebration moved to the United States, the church banned these activities from happening. There were many behaviors considered immoral by the church which took place on this day, which was why it was not allowed to be celebrated. By incorporating this saint, Saint Nicholas, it allowed for the celebration of carnival to continue because he was a good man who preformed good deeds and was not consumed by the mayhem that conducted the day.

It was super cool to be a part of this tradition in Belgium because for me it also created a great feeling of community. All of the rhétos in the area were all together sharing in the fun of the day wearing the same lab coats and having a great time causing mischief in Verviers. It is a holiday that I would love to have come to the United States!

I AMsterdam

This pas weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to Amsterdam. One of my best friends here in Belgium met some kids from Holland on her vacation to Egypt and they invited her and two friends to come and stay with them. So off we went the three musketeers, Riley, Claire and Eliza to Amsterdam for a short jaunt.

When I think about Amsterdam there are certain things that come to my mind and I think the minds of many people I know. For a lot of folks, Amsterdam is the city of prostitutes in the Red Light District and marijuana in the coffee shops. However, the city is so much more than that and was a beautiful place to visit. At the same time it is not as if these perceived elements and ideas are completely false.

Drug laws in Amsterdam, Holland are based on the idea that every human being may decide upon the matters of his or her own health.  This is one of the reasons why euthanasia for terminally ill patients is legal. One of the first steps that Holland took was to split drug use into two sections. Hard drugs which include cocaine, LSD, morphine, and heroin are illegal. Soft drugs which including cannabis in all its forms and hallucinogenic mushrooms are legal under conditions of personal use. The drug code has four main objectives:

1. To prevent recreational drug use and to treat and rehabilitate recreational drug users.
2. To reduce harm to users.
3. To diminish public nuisance by drug users (the disturbance of public order and safety in the neighborhood).
4. To combat the production and trafficking of recreational drugs

According to an article in the New York Times:

The de facto legalization policy in the Netherlands did not, in itself, affect rates of marijuana use among adults or young people. But rates of use among young people increased when the number of coffee shops increased and the age of legal access was 16. Then these rates declined when the numbers of coffee shops was reduced and the age of legal access became 18.

That being said it is obvious that marijuana is a presence in the city, but not an overwhelming aspect and the same is true of the hookers that one finds in the infamous Red Light District. When I asked our host what he thought about this aspect of his culture he said that it was not even something that he thought about. One Saturday evening him and his family (including his grandparents) took an evening stroll down the narrow alleys lined with windows and illuminated with red or blue lights displaying the scantily clad young women and men. As an American, I found this incredibly shocking that he found that to be such a normal thing. When I tried to explain to him why I found it so strange, it was clear that he could not comprehend why I felt the way I did. He understood the words I was saying, but could not wrap his head around the feeling. That was definitely a big difference between our cultures.

Another great difference that I as not anticipating in Holland was the number of people engaged in activities outdoors. As we drove to our home for the weekend, we passed several runners, bikers, hikers, roller skiers, people rowing crew, and people just out walking. This is not something that I have become accustomed to because that is not a normal occurrence where I am living in Belgium. It is rare that I see people out for walks with their friends or family or even out running. In my opinion the people in Holland were much more health conscious than the people I have encountered in Belgium. There was a plethora of people engaged in exercise both for their health and as recreation. Another thing that I noticed was the number of people seen smoking cigarettes was significantly less. It was something that reminded me of the United States because I have found that there are fewer smokers in my area of America than in Belgium (however, more than in Amsterdam)

The most shocking thing that I saw were bikes. When our host (Auke) picked us up from the train station and began driving he mentioned that it's said if you can drive in Amsterdam, you can drive anywhere. I quickly learned why. It is a law in Amsterdam that if a biker is hit by your automobile, it is you who is responsible no matter who is at fault. Bikes were EVERYWHERE. They were in the street, on the sidewalk, in the city squares, everywhere. Note the bikes in the following picture:

I thought this was such a great thing to see. It was clear that bikes were a much easier way to travel through Amsterdam. I think that if I am returning to State College for higher education, I will invest in one. It was inspiringly prevalent in the lives of the Hollandais.

Jambo, A day of Multiculturality

Today was our school's Journée Multiculturel or Diversity Day, as we like to call it in The United States (or on the Office). It was a concept that I was very familiar with, but was given a different feel in a foreign country, and being a "diverse" member of SFX1.

We started the day with by watching the film "Bend it like Beckham" For those who are unfamiliar with the premise of the movie it goes something like this. A girl named Jess lives in England and is a member of a very traditional Indian family. Her passion is playing soccer (futbol) but it is forbidden by her parents. She meets a white girl and joins an all girls team. Conflict arises of course because of a boy and because Jess has dishonored her family by disobeying their wishes and complicating the marriage of her sister. I think that this film could be connected to the theme of the day, because it had two clashing cultures (traditional Indian and contemporary British) which were brought together by athletics (more importantly soccer because it is an international sport)

One of the interesting aspects of our day of multiculturalism was that there was a large focus on the multiculturality, which surrounds us. At Delta when we had diversity day, we looked a many different ways that people can be diverse and in some ways it was not directly connected to us. In Belgium, we talked about people's backgrounds and countries of origin, and there was a representative of the culture there to speak. There was a presentation on the different clothes in different cultures, and all of the clothes belonged to the students that were presenting. We saw outfits from Morocco, Kenya, Japan, France, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was also a very well organized day that was very inclusive to everyone at SFX.

At the same time, there was not as much as an emphasis on different ways that people can be diverse. The emphasis rested only on what kind of background people had. In addition, I thought that they day could have added an aspect to how we can bring diversity together, not to homogenize it, but to learn and share the differences of individuals. In a country where I find there to be a different genre of racism, I am surprised that there is not a stronger push for acceptance of unique qualities. I would think that there is such a strong push for acceptance and equality in the United States, because of our past with silencing this right for different types of individuals. In school the subject of our history of oppression is frequently brought up but we are also opening discussion on how we can man amends for our wrongs and strive for a more socially just community. There are many extremist views in the United States, from the most liberal of democrats, to the Grand Dragon of the KKK, however I have not yet encountered such differences in the views of the Belgian citizens. It is perhaps because of this that there is less of a discussion of different forms of diversity, because of the less extreme differences in views.

Back from Potatoes and Beer

I have just returned from a week long vacation in the beautiful country of Ireland. And that is how I would describe it, beautiful. It was an atmosphere that I had never before experienced different from both my home in Pennsylvania and my home in Belgium.

I parted from the Charleroi airport early Thursday morning, and upon my arrival in Dublin, I was immediately taken aback by the use of English. It had become completely normal for me to overhear causal mumblings in buses and in places of business and understand nothing. Therefore, when I arrived and could understand everyone it was a striking difference. I imagine that this is just a simple preview of what my experience with culture shock will be upon my return from exchange.

One of the most striking things that I noticed about the culture of Ireland, was how openly friendly and genuine everyone was. We entered into a café a couple of hours after we had walked through the town of Dublin for the first time. The man behind the counter greeted our tired American scowls with a grand smile and asked "Now, what can I do to bring a smile to ya lasses?" This was followed by our server giving us a free map of Dublin, and not charging us full price for our coffee and pastry. The rest of the week continued on the same note. Everywhere we went we were greeted with generosity and open hearts. It was a truly inspiring moment in life to be around such continual kindness. I had not noticed before traveling to Ireland the striking difference between the openness of various cultures. In addition they were excited to know more about us as foreigners in their country.

Another difference that I noticed between Ireland and Belgium, was the view of Americans. Never once was I personally victimized in Ireland because of my nationality, however, in some cases people were a little more less impressed with my American culture. In Belgium, it is common for me to hear about how much the Belgians openly admit to loving the American pop culture. For example they enjoy slang and the music of The United States. However in Ireland they would say that America does these things well, and at the same time they have such a strong cultural presence in it of itself that that is not all they see or think of when it comes to my country of origin. I found that Ireland had a really strong diverse blend of culture. There was a lovely blend of tradition, American influence, and Irish underground culture. All of these elements made it a unique place to visit and a place that never once seemed monotonous. One day I will travel back to this beautiful land, and hopefully be able to stay for more than one single week.

This is Halloween!

Perhaps one of the second most popular holiday in the American culture is Halloween. Being my absolute favorite holiday I was concerned when I heard that it was not a particularly celebrated holiday in Belgium. In fact from what many of the other exchange students had told me, it is not a particularly celebrated holiday around the world. I was fortunate enough to travel to Ireland over the holiday and was able to experience Halloween from it's roots.

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, whose 2,000 years old origin can be traced to  Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the natural and spirit world became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids (Celtic priests,) to make predictions about the future. In order to secure themselves in a pleasant future the Celts would have huge bon fires where the would throw sacrifices of animals and crops to please the Druids. They would also disguise themselves in order to frighten off the evil spirits that would attempt to interfere with the ceremony. Nowadays, Halloween is Celebrated much the same way as it is in The United States, with Trick or Treating, special fall foods, and of course Halloween parties for all ages.

As for America, celebration of Halloween before the second half of the 19th century was extremely limited because of the very strict Protestant belief systems that were found in that area. Then as the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups as well as the American Indians began to blend, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. Some of the first celebrations included public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell fortunes, dance and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities frequently featured the sharing of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. It had begun to develop as a very strong community event, which is still a tradition that is upheld today. In the second half of the 19th century, new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing Ireland's potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Stemming from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today's "trick-or-treat" tradition. As years progressed towns found more and more ways to make the celebration more community friendly and community involved. Halloween parties moved into schools and became a common element in the lives of children across the country.

My Experience with Halloween in Ireland was excellent. I was surprised that not only was there celebration on the date itself, but several days before as well. People could be seen in costume starting on Thursday for the Monday event! At the same time, there was not much of a difference between the way that the event is celebrated back home. This was a great comfort to have something that was so familiar in a world where so much is different.