Smoutebollen: A Dangerous Christmas Temptation
Christmastime in Belgium is filled with wildly delicious snacks and goodies. Belgians have a penchant for deep fryers and throw a wide variety of food into the heat such as fries, kabobs, and cervelas. The deep fryer’s kick into high gear during festive season to includes sweet treats. The result is a myriad of ...
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Cream of Celeriac Soup with Wheat Beer and Bacon
[caption id="attachment_1191" align="alignright" width="300"] Chef Jeroen Meus[/caption] I've found the Jamie Oliver of Belgium and it's Jeroen Meus! He's young, wears cool sneakers, has funky hair, and approaches cooking in a casual way. Oh, and he is an amazing chef! He has his own cooking show called Dagelijkse Kost( or ...
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Belgian Football: The Red Devils
Since moving to Belgium I've made a concentrated effort to learn about and enjoy European Football. I must admit it took me a while to get over pansy players who dive compared to the rough and tough hockey players of the NHL. I've been slow to learn the 'hard' rules and still can't clearly define what constitutes a ...
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Love & Marriage: My First Belgian Huwelijk
[caption id="attachment_1149" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The happy couple[/caption] This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Billy's sister, Natasja and her fiancé Jelle. I was really excited for the occasion after hearing all of their plans for the past couple months. This was an eagerly ...
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Belgian Beer Weekend: The 14th Edition
Back in September, the boys and I journeyed out of Leuven for the 14th edition of the Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels. I haven't been to Oktoberfest in Munich yet, but I think this could rival the famous German festival in terms of quality beer. There were three beer stations set up in Central Brussels; the Grand ...
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Learning Flemish: Positivity, Equality, and Empowerment
After two full weeks of Flemish classes, I have made a few more observations and conclusions about the Flemish from their language. I realize that these are wide, sweeping generalizations but they are observations that have I had since my first month in Belgium as a tourist in 2011. 1. The Flemish are "glass half-full" ...
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Learning Flemish: My First Impressions
In Vlaams-Brabant, my home province in Belgium, the Flemish language seems to be a blend of Dutch, French, and English. Here in Leuven, I have become accustomed to hearing all three. Probably more English than usual since my Belgian friends are very accommodating and will switch to English to include me in conversation. I'm ...
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