Day Thirty One - Stranger in a Strange Land

Wow, what a difference language makes! I'm writing here from Brussels, Belgium and am feeling quite inadequate. Being alone in a country that speaks a language other than the only one I know is a very daunting experience. This is my first day away from English so I suppose I just haven't gotten accustomed to the situation. I can't even read my map! My CS host Steven was kind enough to outfit me with his map of Brussels but it's in French so reading the names of the places I'm going is sort of hard. The street names are of course all the same language as on the map so at least that part is easy enough.

I expected it would be difficult at times but it has just been a shock to me today. Although in reality there are probably many people around that speak at least passable English. But even knowing that, when I see all the signs, billboards, and even my map, that are in French or Dutch makes me feel like I am in way over my head. I don't know a lick of either of those languages. Not to mention it does make reading food labels to make sure they are vegan very difficult. Lucky for me there are some labels that have many languages on them and I just have to keep searching until I find the labels that have an English portion. That makes my life that much harder, not only do I need to find vegan food but I have to find vegan food that is in English. Great, just what I wanted to have to deal with.

Despite my negative tone so far, I am happy to be here in Brussels. Yes, it's different. Yes, it's difficult. But that's all part of the experience. I'm very glad to be on the move again. London was fantastic, I really loved it, but I'm here to travel so travel I must. At first I was bummed about leaving my temporary home in Shepherd's Bush with my friends Rhea and Matthew but now being in Belgium has reignited the excitement of travel within me. Now if only I could figure out where the hell I was going...

I suppose being a stranger in a strange land will become second nature after a while. Plus I will probably pick up bits of language here and there. I already have the basic greetings and polite phrases memorized in French. It's great to be using them on a regular basis, it really inspires me to learn a new language. I've always thought that would be great to be multi-lingual; yet back in California the only other useful language is Spanish and if I didn't use a language on a regular basis I would forget it. People in Belgium usually know at least some of four different languages! French is mainly spoken here in Brussels and southern Belgium, Dutch is spoken mostly in northern Belgium, German is spoken near the German border, and many people also know some English. That's crazy to me.

For now I'm going to head back out into the concrete jungle and brave the elements to see some more sights. I can't stay cooped up in this apartment for too long. Wish me luck!

Vance the Lance.