Wablieft?

Belgium is strange. I've always said the Dutch were, but they're more like quirky neighbors at whom you just kinda chuckle. Belgians make you scratch your head. I pretty much walk around going "wablieft?"

What does this word mean? Funny you should ask...one of the things that makes Belgium much odder than its northern counterpart is the plethora of dialects. In Holland, you have proper Dutch, the "Queen's Dutch," if you will. Friesland (one NL province) has its own dialect, but outside of that everyone speaks the same Dutch with slight accents here or there. In Belgium, there are more dialects than you can imagine considering the Dutch speaking part isn't even half the size of this small place! Each province has a dialect, and within that each major CITY has a dialect. So while Gent and Brugge are 20 minutes apart by train, they have completely different dialects. Imagine people in Baltimore speaking different from the people in DC. And ditto for Philly, Boston, and NYC (ok, bad example...) It makes it hard to prove I can speak the language when I have no idea what people are saying because it's their city's tongue. It can all be summed up with wablieft- a word that doesn't actually translate because it's not real Dutch, but means "I didnt understand/what?/can you repeat that", kind of like the Yiddish "eh?"

Also making it hard to communicate? They use French keyboards in Flanders. Yes, the keyboards designed for usage of the French language, which employs the Q way more often than the K and mixes up everything in between. Which would make sense if they spoke French here, but they don't. The English keyboard makes much more sense for the similarly Germanic Dutch than a Romance keyboard, but again, it's not always about making sense...

For example, if you are driving straight down a road in Belgium, and there's a car on a sidestreet to your right, THAT car has the right of way. As in you're going straight, and you must stop so that the car who is already stopped on a perpendicular street can turn in front of you. Really?

And now for the weather report...you've never seen such crazy weather in your life. It cannot make up it's mind! I don't mind mild weather- mostly in the 60s, partly cloudy... that works for me. Except that will probably only be half of your day, just not a continuous half. To be safe, when going anywhere in Belgium, you should have with you at all times: an umbrella, sunglasses, a scarf, sunblock, a windbreaker/parka, bug spray, a fan, wellies, and a ski jacket. Just to be sure. In the wilderness of life, you can never be too prepared.

Now while I might find the Belgians strange, I MUST say they are easily some of the friendliest people I've ever met. Whether at work or class, on the street or bus, or trying to figure my way around a new city, Belgians are incredibly friendly and helpful. They just do some of the weirdest things. Wablieft?

xoxo
kw