Lost in Translation

Belgium is fascinating to me, in many respect. I'm not quite sure if it is a good thing either. One thing which I find particularly interesting is the language issue. In Malaysia, we all speak any language we like, but everybody would understand you if you were to speak Malay or English. It is widely accepted that Bahasa Malaysia is the national language, with English as our business language. The reason is very simple - that we are all of different ethnic and cultural origin.

In Belgium, there is no such thing. There is no national language. I was told by my colleagues that should the Belgians win any medal at an international sports event, the Belgian may choose to sing the anthem in any language they wishes. There is one national anthem but it exists in 4 different languages. This to me, is very, very fascinating. Apparently, this is done out of respect for the individuality of each Belgian. They are free to speak in any language they wish and there is no expectation to learn another form of language which should unite all Belgians. Fair enough!

What's even more interesting is the street names and signs. The 2 major languages in Belgium are Flemish (a variant of the Dutch language) and French. And the country is greatly divided into 2 regions for these 2 'groups'. Brussels is the capital of Flanders, but is multi-lingual. So you will see street names in both languages. However, these street names are not merely spellings in either language. They actually do a literal translation of the name of the streets, whenever possible! For example, there is a street close to where I live which is called Rue de Coq, in French. Its Flemish name is Hanstraat. So, if a friend of yours have given you the name in one language and you don't speak either one of the languages, you'll be in big trouble. Our GPS for example, is sometimes unable to find an address because it has the address in only 1 language, which isn't the one in the address we're searching for. For places which has no particular meaning, they will attempt to spell it as how the speaker would have pronounce it. Uccle and Ukkel are both same place, as is Anvers and Antwerpen, which is known in English as Antwerp. So it is very easy to get Lost in Translation in Belgium.

This doesn't stop here. When a word is taken from another foreign language, there will be a direct translation for this borrowed word. Although, to be fair to them, it isn't unique to Belgium. For example, the word 'steamboat' referring to a particular Chinese dish is translated into French as 'bateau vapour', which literally means 'steam boat'. I was just thinking how funny this will be if it were in Malaysia. Imagine inviting your Malay friends over for a steamboat dinner, "Jemputlah ke rumah malam ini, kita makan kapal wap!", literally translating "You're invited to my home tonight too eat a steam boat!". It isn't entirely wrong, but somehow doesn't sound quite right, does it? Or, if you're Australian trying to speak Malay, you'd say "Neraka berdarah! Mahalnya beg ini!" when you want to say "Bloody hell! This bag is expensive!". Having said all that, Malaysia has been equally guilty. We all snigger when the government was trying to promote IT by converting English terminologies into Malay. Come one, admit it that you still think 'batang ria', 'cakera keras' or 'tetikus' is still funny! I once read my sister's notes from UM - there was a particular object called 'cakera liut' a.k.a. floppy disk. I bet you that you couldn't have guessed that!

My conclusion is - Asians are probably more likely to accept a foreign word as is for many possible reasons. It could either be - we just want to be posh, and it's cool to speak with various foreign words thrown in OR we just couldn't be bothered to change anything OR we are just too accepting OR we borrowed it, so we will not attempt to mask it as one of our own (which doesn't quite explain the high level of piracy which Asia is famous for) OR there could be many other reasons. I can't explain why the Europeans will not easily do the same though because I'm not one of them. So what do you think?

Faire du Jardin sans Terroir

We have been somewhat successful with our garden this summer, despite living on a 2 bedroom apartment on the 4th floor. Eversince I left for university, I have been living in flats & apartments in 3 different continents. It has probably been more than 10 years now, that I have not had the luxury of having a garden to plant my herbs and for me to do some experimental horticulturing.

You see, whenever I find something I like from the supermarket, I'll try to see if I can replant them. So far, I managed to seed 2 citrus trees - I'm pretty sure at least one of them is a lemon and I hope the other one is actually lime. Beau Pere told me that it'll never bear fruit, but I read that it might work if I graft it with another tree. I also managed to cultivate Thai basil, simply by placing the springs in a glass of water. It survived well when I planted them into a pot, but it was winter and didn't survive for too long, even in doors. Actually, they died from neglect. We went on our Christmas holidays for about 1 week, and without watering, the basil died. I also have a pot of turmeric and chilli plants. I 'pollinated' the chilli plant by touching each flower with a chopstick. I'm pleased to see about 15-20 chilli fruits emerging from my 2 trees. Not too bad for something I seeded myself.

We bought 10 strawberry plants from Cora for €5. I managed to kill 4 of them through my over enthusiastic watering. The remaining 6 were infested with aphids, which I sprayed with a vengeance with insectecide. The plants have produced about 20 - 30 fruits or so, not too bad for our investment. Hopefully, they will survive the winter to give us another harvest next spring. The first harvest were not as sweet, but the subsequent 2 were heavenly. The berries were left for a lot longer to ripen, and I've never tasted any better strawberries.

I just love gardening. It is one of the few things that keep me amused while living here. I guess, it's probably a narcistic behaviour - that I love seeing the fruits of my labour. Je don't care, and I am not going to apologise for it.

Waiting on an Angel

Ok, the title of this blog has got nothing to what I'm writing about. I'm actually listening to this song now, and I think it's by Ben Harper. It's quite a nice and easy song to listen to. Am writing during lunch break at work by the way. To heck with it all... I've been working long hours in the past few days and today, I just feel a bit tired. That's my excuse really.

So, the weekend is coming. We've got nothing exciting planned. It is summer now in Belgium but the weather doesn't always agree. We may have 1 day of sunshine for the weekend, at least that's what the forecast says. Will be heading out to Carrefour Drogenbos to get a 750Gb HDD (currently on specials), but I'm sure we'll walk out with a lot more than what we originally planned but that's shopping for you. Who honestly stick to their shopping list when shopping? If you're one of them, kudos for your strong sense of discipline! Other than that, I'm supposed to rip all my CDs and DVDs into the newly acquired HDD. That means, we don't have to log the lot back to Australia when we leave.

So, what am I really waiting for??? Next weekend, the 'beau parents' will drop by for a visit. I'm already planning what to cook for them. We're also planning to have a sushi party (ordered from Cyril Lignac's resto) which will be accompanied by some chawan mushi and miso soup, made by moi! We'll wash it down with some champagne to celebrate LouLou's graduation from VKI (one of the many places he graduates from). Will also stock up on some Japanese beer and if we're lucky, some sake too! The night after, we will probably have some Korean BBQ, which we have done twice at home and have grown to love.

Okie dokey... back to work now... back to data migration... urgh!!!!!

First Spring in Brussels

It is April, and in the Northern Hemisphere, it is Spring. Here, in Continental Europe, we experience Giboulets. I have been super optimistic for spring. I have lined up a small planter with strawberries. Thankfully, they were saved on time when Giboulets brought several centimetres of snow in early April. As optimistic as I was, I am not a fool because I am not expecting any strawberry from my plants. They are mainly here to remind me of the possibility and the best to be experienced from leaving all the sun I have left behind. Giboulets' work of art on our lawn
This April, I feel like I have grown up. I finally went to see a dentist to fix a broken tooth from a super yummy Parisian baguette. I actually drove to work, although I still have my trusty Fab sitting next to me, in case I panic. I'm not quite sure what he can do for me if the unthinkable happen but knowing that he's right there provide some sort of confidence. To top it all off, this weekend, my sis gave birth to a nephew. I am still waiting for photos but I don't suppose she will be getting online soon what with a 1-year old and a 1-day old in her hands.

It has been 2 weekends during which, I have tried to make French sourdough bread from scratch. It is still not perfect but Fab told me that I have done much better than he did, even on my first try. Isn't he just fabulous? This weekend, I made bouef bourgignon. I am not a fan of French food (is this a sacrilage?) because it is much too rich for my palette. I don't really like cream or anything dairy apart from cheese. My MIL can only cook French, and I have eaten quite a fair bit of what she puts on the table. Still, I am not entirely convinced that French food is my thing. So, I shall try to cook it myself and see if I can start to appreciate it. If I can read and follow instructions, surely, I can cook French, non?


Yup, it is hardly the mid of April and yet, spring has dawn on my life this year. It is time for growth and development. So here goes everything...

Je ne sais pas

So I have completed my 3rd work week, and there's lots more to go. I've spent 2 of those weeks at a client site. In my own office, I hear French spoken all the time. The secretary tries her best to speak English to me on my first day, but since then, she speaks French to me. I speak my broken French in return.

At the client site, people speak mostly French, it being in Wallonia. However, I do hear English widely spoken. I do not feel at all out of place for there are others there who do not speak French. I feel quite comfortable. On my first day there, I noticed that the guys shake hands with one another but ladies get pecks. I thought - hmm... they must be really close to one another. However, I find it odd that the next day, I get pecks on the cheek too followed by the usual 'bonjour'. It has been a while that I see this now, and I still find it odd. But, if they treat me as an equal, I must be an equal... quand même, quoi?

A bum no more

It was my first day at work today. It started just like any other first days at work - the endless HR forms, many presentation from various departments, introduction to people whose name I'll never remember etc.

I got my temporary car, it was a German onem diesel and sounds like a little lorry. Hubby was supposed to drive it back for me because I am not allowed to drive until I get my permanent license. The plan was, hubby will drive slowly, and I will tail closely behind. The plan worked, until we get to very narrow lanes. I managed to snag my side mirror against a car parked on the shoulder of the lane. Other than that, it was a rather smooth drive. So I did rather well for my first right-hand drive in years.

C'est tout pour maintenant...

Is Summer Leaving?

The days are getting shorter, and it isn't really my imagination. I know this because, when we go for our weekly grocery shopping on Friday evening, it was a lot darker today when we were loading the car. The trees are having a slight yellow tint. Having lots of trees around in our neighbourhood, autumn this year should be pretty. I am bracing myself for a much colder winter than what I'm used to.

I haven't been doing much in the past 2 weeks. Les in-laws were here last week. It was nice to see them, and I wish I could go back with them to France. This week, I'm bumming around, being a complete couch potato + housewife. I am trying various new recipes. Les in-laws brought a crate of nectarines and plums. I've been trying to use them up in cakes etc. They also brought a lot of yummy goodies from France. The foie gras is long gone, the bread has been turned into bread & butter pudding last night, the plums and nectarines are ripening nicely. When it rains here (it happens a lot actually), I long for the breezy, warm summer days in South of France. And we are both slowly putting on the weight as a result of our dormant and excessive eating. Our exercise regime is just the odd walkies or 2 during the weekends. I am storing up for my winter fat!

My jobless days are numbered. I got news yesterday, that I will start working next week. I am a bit anxious about starting a new job in a new country. I hope I have nice colleagues who will make working life a little bit more exciting. I am meeting a client tomorrow, and if they like me enough, I will be working there. Their office is on the other side of Brussels. Do I look forward to driving through the awful Brussels traffic every morning and evening to get from home and work? Belgium love traffic lights. They have it at the oddest places, and they don't seem to stay green much and when they do, they tend to let many other traffic to pour into the same lane which had just turned green! Try getting out of a roundabout here! It is like a trap which I assumed means priority to you once you're in it but none of that. Once you're in, you realise that the guys from the right also has priority, which are those folks who are waiting to come into the roundabout. And they will just go in expected you to make way for them. If you do end up in the round about, watch out for them.

'nuff complaining. Me must go now... Time to go and watch more tv!