A Note On Waffles

Before I came to Brussels I admit that I never really liked waffles. A lot of that has to do with me not much liking syrup, but I was just never a huge fan.


But let me tell you this: Belgian waffles are not like waffles in The States. I have seen "Belgian Waffles" on menus and in restaurants, but making a normal waffle and calling it "Belgian" does not make a Belgian waffle. Neither does making a really big normal waffle.


For one thing Belgian waffles aren't made out of batter, they are made of dough. They roll it into balls and squeeze them in the waffle maker rather than the old pour and flip method of American waffle makers. The other major thing is the sugar. For Belgian waffles you need waffle sugar: 

See waffle sugar comes in chunks. The chunks are mixed into the dough and then cooked up. Some chunks on the edges even get a bit caramelized. 

And the best part? No syrup required!

Week in Review: Week 5

It's Sunday--you know the drill! Week in Review take 5:

• Friday we took a quick day-trip across the border in France to go to a Flemish tapestry factory. When we got there they told us it had actually been moved...back to Belgium. Oops.
• While we were in France we took the opportunity to eat at KFC. It hit the spot.
• Saturday I went to Morocco. And by that I mean I walked outside of our door. This weekend is our neighborhood's carnival/garage sale/market weekend where they shut down some streets and bring out the market stalls. It smelt, looked and felt just like Morocco.
• There was also a marching band of clowns. That bit was not very Moroccan.
• We sat for a couple of hours on some steps, just eating apple beignets and watching everyone walk by. It was QUALITY people watching.
• Those kilos of chocolate I told you about last week? Yep, a dangerous thing to just have sitting in your room.
• Classes are going well--we finished our third unit this week. One more unit to go until it's midterm.
• My conversation classes are by far my favorite.
• Friday night Janee made a Pakistani dish she learned in Africa. It was pretty tasty.
• Hary is still gone to Syria. He will be back in Brussels early Wednesday morning. I am looking forward to some good stories!
• It has been warm this week--like upper 60s and even into the low 70s. I feel like we had our winter and now we are on to spring. Something tells me that when winter really does get here I will be disappointed.
• I took yesterday to do some class reading and paper writing. I only have 7 more papers to write in my entire graduate school career! Who's excited?!
• I need to get busy on post-grad./pre-tirement/sabbatical/quarter-life crisis trip planning. Who's got ideas?
• There were ponies at our little street fair yesterday.
• In Chocolat fashion I decided to buy some chocolate with chili peppers in it. I know this was a really dumb observation, but it was HOT! And sadly too hot for my weak taste buds.
• When we finally made it to the Flemish tapestry factory, it was right outside of Gent, Belgium. We went into the little town and had a looksy. I was very impressed. It was a bit like Brugges but not as frozen in time.
• Also, this week I figured out Google Talk/Voice. If you get a call from (325) 455-0440, answer! It's me!
• I know this is unbelievable, but just this week I had my very first, real deal, made fresh on the street Belgian waffle. It pretty much lived up to the hype.

OK, some pictures below to enhance the fun! Bonne journée!

Castle in Gent

Moi at the canal in Gent

A very small portion of our carnival/street market

People watching and sneaking a picture

A closer look at the apple beignets. In typical fair fashion there was plenty of fried food all around.

Ponies!

My first real waffle

Week In Review

Welp, I have finished my second week in Brussels! A few random bits from the week:

• Today (Saturday) we fed the homeless--we made at least 400 butter and ham/cheese sandwiches and a giant tub of soup then fed almost 200 or so people at the main train station. I had a blast.
• It was nice to do something where language wasn't an issue.
• Afterwards we ate Domino's Pizza, which tasted almost exactly the same as Domino's stateside.
• Ta Sharafna--That's Arabic for Nice to meet you, but it's so fun to say it that I like to use it as an exclamation and/or insult.
• Friday I helped with the youth. For fun I gave them a random assortment of items and told them to build something that could transport an egg safely to the sidewalk from the third floor balcony.
• They were 2 for 4. I was surprised no one used the pillow case or trash-bag I gave them to make parachutes.
• By Tuesday I was really fed up with French.
• By today I had reconsidered. I also realized I have already picked up a surprising amount of French (at least when it comes to understanding).
• Probably the most used French word I have learned so far is méchant which translates more or less as mean, or mischievous.
• Hary told me I seemed older than 24. Why? He said it was because of my big head. Janee tried to persuade me that he was trying to say it's because I had such big (mature) thoughts.
• Méchant
• After dinner conversations have ended almost every night since I got here with Hary trying to persuade me to marry some random Arab guy or another.
• We registered 29 students for English classes. We are offering 2 grammar courses and a conversation class. Students range from Moroccan, Belgian and Brazilian to Congolese, Syrian and Sri Lankan.
• I adore our Moroccan neighbor's tiny 14 year old son Houssin. He even offered to bring over tea for us when we were doing inscriptions (registration).
• Actually, I pretty much love the entire family.
• The African church that meets downstairs in our building is LOUD. I mean, crazy Hell-fire-and-brimstone loud.
• I have started thinking through travel plans for after the beginning of the year. Very exciting.
• Greetings I have received so far: wave, handshake, head nod, one cheek kiss, 2 cheek kisses, 3 cheek kisses. It is incredibly hard for me to judge what I am supposed to do. Needless to say I have already created some awkward moments.
• The songs/instruments/rhythms of the Arabic music last Sunday made me feel like I was going to church where they were singing flamenco

OK, that's probably enough to give you a taste! I should probably also mention that I have been tasting Moroccan/Turkish/Syrian/Iranian/Iraqi sweet after sweet. Life's not too terrible these days! : )