20 Reasons Why - Gent

I want to share few random thoughts now that I’m leaving Gent, first stop of my itinerant master. Here there are 20 short considerations after a four-months stay in the rainy Belgium. Enjoy it!

1-First of all, Belgium is not perfect. I used to imagine that everything worked beautifully in Northern European countries. It is not like that at all. Trains are delayed here too, when it snows cities are completely paralyzed and the university system (at least regarding my master) is not well organized. The complexity of the federal government, then, competes with the Italian one: despite being a pretty small country (see point 7), there are a lot of ministries, commissions and parties. So, do not expect a flawless organizational system. However, here pedestrians and cyclists are respected (see point 3). Definitely a plus.

2- Gent resembles my Florence more than I thought: there are works in progress everywhere. New construction sites emerge every day (one week ago scaffolds appear even around my house) and is a continuous drilling, digging holes and renovating. Often, in the middle of a construction, the municipality finds itself out of money, so there are many buildings (and churches) incomplete or pulled up in a jumble of different styles (corresponding to the different ages in which they have been completed).

3- Gent is the bike paradise: there are cycle paths everywhere. However, be ready to fall a couple of times slipping the bike wheel into the tram rails (already three times for me). The Belgians are so used to see people falling down that they do not even help you to get up anymore (see point 11).

4- The weather is crazy. A single day encompasses the four seasons: it quickly moves from a bright sun to a dense rain. In addition, it often rains horizontally, and this leads to wonder what the hell you need the umbrella for. However, Belgian people take the bike (see point 3) even if it’s hailing… so at a certain point just act as a "local": throw away the umbrella and do not care about the rain.

5- Circus schools rock and are very popular compared to Italy (and less expensive).

6- If you go to Belgium there are four things you absolutely must taste: fries (Belgian fries, I recommend not to call them French fries), chocolate, waffles and beer (see point 19). It is not just "food for tourists": all the Belgians consume them in large quantities (surprisingly staying fit) and there is a continuous discussion about which is the best place to eat fries. Just in case, I have tried all of them, but I did not perceive this great difference (maybe it’s me, but fries are good everywhere precisely because they are fried).

7- Belgium covers only 30, 536 km² and has just over eleven million inhabitants but there are three official languages. In the south (Wallonia) they speak French, in the north (Flanders) they speak Dutch, in a small area in the south-east they speak German and in Brussels a little bit of everything. Among them, people from different regions speak English rather than in the official language of the other region. The Belgians of Flanders “hate” the Belgians of the French side and refuse to speak French. The Belgians of the French side “hate” the Belgians of Flanders and do not speak Dutch. So, if you were hoping to come to Gent to practice the little French you have studied (like me), forget it.

8- A person from Flanders is a Flemish person but the language spoken in Flanders is Dutch, not Flemish!

9- Parents give their children much more freedom. I often saw kids, let’s say, play "dangerous" games in front of their parents. While for an Italian mother it would mean carelessness, here it is seen as part of the normal education: play means trying. Try means also making mistakes. Getting hurt while trying means learning.

10- In Gent was born none other than the emperor Charles V of Habsburg. The locals are very proud of that, even if few people know (or perhaps avoid to specify) that the birth happened by mistake… and in the bathroom of the princely palace... definitely not very regal.

11- The Belgians are less open than the Italians. In four months I managed to go into a deeper relationship with only a couple of them. However, once you manage to know them better, they are very funny. Generally, Belgian people are very nice and available to help every time you ask, but first they let you try by yourself (see point 9).

12- Gent is an interesting city from an architectural point of view. The center seems ancient but many facades date back only to 1913, when they were built “in old style” in the occasion of the EXPO (which was a flop due to the imminent outset of the war). Walking through downtown, you can see many houses with windows bricked up: in ancient times everything was taxed, even the windows, so.... desperate times call for desperate measures. There is a square whose street lamps are connected to the maternity department of the local hospital and every time a child is born they light up, to welcome him into the community. Gravensteen Castle is located in the center and was used to defend from citizens when taxes were raised. On November 16, 1949, a group of students took possession of the castle, climbed the walls and began to throw rotten vegetables against passers-by as a protest against the imposition of a tax on beer (see point 18). The siege lasted for two days, until they were promised the revocation of the tribute. Since then, every year Gent's students celebrate the anniversary of this victory by drinking beer (see point 17).

13- Hitchhiking in Belgium works pretty well. Just a great deal of patience and a big smile are required.

14- Belgian boys do not really approach girls directly. I have been told that it is more likely that the girl is the one more proactive… Italian guys, you are definitely more skillfull!

15- Living close to Rabot, means living in Turkey: no laws, cars whizzing through the streets, Turkish music in the shops and (excellent and cheap) kebabs.

16- The sense of supermarket hygiene is different. Perhaps we Italians exaggerate when it comes to food, but here customers touch the vegetables without gloves (I mean, there are no dispensers of gloves), the shop assistant touches food and money with the same hands and the products prepared on site (bread, pastry... ) are often exposed on tables without any protection.

17- Gent has always lost all battles fought in history. Except one (see point 12).

18- Belgians hate taxes so much that they often joke by saying that tax evasion is their national sport.

19- Belgian beer is the best in the world. There are hundreds of them and they are all different: pilsner, blanche, lambic, trappist.... Each served in its own typical shaped glass. You will not be able to taste them all... not even in four months!

20- Thank you.