Saturday 4 July 2009
Saturday 4 July 2009
Stock up on the tastes and smells of home.
A small country with no obvious start or finish.
Sunbeams' guide to the white, blue, green, yellow...
One of the best healthcare systems in the world.
Survive the pitfalls of the city's streets.
Expat women in Belgium and France most satisfied.
A moving piece about a 'school refuser' son.
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Belgians are passionate about bread and things to put on it, Expatica's blogger writes.
I wake up with a start and look at the clock. It's 3am. I must have a slice of bread with peanut butter. 
There is no bread in the house and there are no 24 hour supermarkets here. But I don't despair; I can go to the vending machine around the corner.
That's right, a bread vending machine. They are all over my neighborhood, as well as the rest of the country. They are stocked by the local bakery with fresh loaves each day, so you never have to miss your favorite sandwich snack.
You see, Belgians love bread. No-carb diets just wouldn't be a hit in this country.
On Sunday mornings we, like everyone else in our town, make a pilgrimage. But we aren’t going to church; we're going to De Broodmolen, our local bakery.
If I get there early enough, I can have my favorite 10 grain bread, butter croissants, baguette and appleflaps.
If I want to be totally decadent, I could indulge in the sinful looking cakes, tarts covered in fresh fruit or chocolates of all shapes and sizes, in any flavor imaginable.
There is a local bakery, just like mine, in even the smallest towns, all over the country.
Not so in my Canadian home town. Truly fresh bread required a trek of many miles and the prices could stop your heart. Once I had a taste of the good life though, I couldn't go back to processed white bread in a bag.
Fresh bread is a way of life in Belgium
I remember commenting to a Canadian co-worker that I bought fresh baked bread and it usually only lasted for 2 or 3 days before it gained hockey puck-like consistency. 
This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.
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Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.
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