BRUSSELS, BELGIUM-MORE THAN JUST BELGIUM WAFFLES

We have arrived. It’s hard to imagine almost a year ago many of us were submitting applications. After a seven hour flight where day and night transformed within three hours, we’ve now touched down in Brussels, Belgium-home of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization-I told you I was going to find out who this NATO was), the European Commission and the European Union.

After going through a very efficient customs, we got all of our bags and it’s good to say everything made it, except my work issued phone/data device (another story, another blog). We had a very prompt bus driver awaiting us with a sign that said MMF. As we boarded I noticed something-a cappuccino machine. On a bus? Only in Europe. This is when I realized that our fellowship in Europe had officially begun. What had also began was personalities being woven into a quilt of memories, where we would be intertwined into each other lives; some for the duration of the trip and others for the duration of our time on Earth.

As we were riding on the bus I noticed something on the highway that was colorful, expressive yet unsuspecting-graffiti. I guess social disobedience in the name of expressing one’s self exist worldwide. We wove through the Europe common roundabouts and made it to our hotel. The crispness of the morning air woke everyone up in a hurry. Well everyone except me-due to the man that sat next to me that seemed to think the bathroom was a VIP room in the club and that he had all access too. So my sleep was truly minimal on the flight. We had three hours to check in and breathe before our lunch briefing on the European Union. I hit the pillow and next thing I remember the phone was ringing to remind me it was time to come down stairs. Let the hectic schedule begin.

We all gathered in a quaint room in the hotel eating area, where we were greeted by Christina and Elise-two charming ladies who would be our local coordinators for our duration in Brussels. As we got our food, we sat through a very insightful and interesting briefing on the European Union by Irina Tanasescu, Director, Brussels Forum, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of European Studies, Free University of Brussels.

Afterward, we started our walking excursion around Brussels. If you ask me to describe Brussels, I would have to call it “European Gumbo”. It’s a collage of French, Dutch and German cultures, architectures and cuisine. We continued to taste the gumbo on our walking tour through the hills and valleys of urban Brussels. If you didn’t have on comfortable shoes then Epsom salt became your best friend.

We then went to the African neighborhood in Brussels. I heard about it but to see it for myself was a good experience. Now, it reminds any average African-American of your Harlem’s, Five Point’s (Atlanta) or the old 63^rd and Halsted in Chicago. However, this was their economic and cultural Mecca. From beauty shops, restaurants and travel agencies this was their home. I will get into the African settlers in Brussels later on or invite you to read a book called “King Leopold’s Ghost”.

After all the walking, and smelling all the flavors in the air, we stopped at an African restaurant and partook of some appetizers consisting of some fried chicken, somosas, and plantains. The plantains were some of the best I ever had-period!!!! We then went to one of Brussels’ oldest cathedrals. After more walking and sightseeing, we stopped for dinner at our African restaurant where we made the pit stop. We were served a dish that helped me connect African-American cuisine with Africa. It was a simple baked chicken with gravy based from palm oil, served with rice and a vegetable resembling collard greens, but tasted similar to calaloo.

After dinner and a quick stop in the hotel, we headed back out. Why? Everyone had to have some Belgium Beer. Nuff said. I don’t drink, but I’m a trooper, so I rolled out with the crew and Elise and her boyfriend took us through the infamous Boucher’s Alley. This place is home to a row of consecutive restaurants where you can get a smorgasbord of seafood, meats, pom frites (French Fries) and everything in between. After learning I had more “brothers” than Darryl, Marc and Xavier (due to everyone calling me brother in order to get me to stop in their restaurant), we reached the beer garden. This was more like Beer Buffet. The book of beers looked like a magazine.

Walking back, we were overtaken by the scent of Belgium waffles. So, some of them got waffles, while one dared to go into a “Quick Burger” and learned soon enough that he "couldn’t have it his way." You're allergic to onions. Too damn bad. You don't want pickle. Pickle is what you get. Witnessing this, I ventured in to the one establishment I detest-Subway. Natalie, gave me a taste of the Belgium waffle and I have just two words-THE TRUF. It was crispy, flaky, sweet (with no syrup) and light. It was the perfect completion to a long day of seeing Brussels by foot.

SUNDAY

The next day we took a journey to the outer parts of Brussels, not realizing we were about to take an outer journey through history. We went to the Royal Museum of Central Africa. This place is truly beautiful. The grounds remind you of a well kept colonial mansion. Inside were edifices of gold and floors of marble and some of the finest woods that the Earth could offer. The real treasures were the artifacts that the museum housed. The evolution of Belgium’s colonization of the Congo and its independence was a mental history lesson that will never be forgotten.

After the museum, many of the fellows would take the train to Bruges to see old Belgium. I went back to the hotel. The jet lag was kicking in something bad, so I had a tourist appointment with my bed.

That evening, we broke bread with a number of Marshall Memorial Fellows from Europe, journalist, Permanent Representatives to the European Parliament. The discussion on climate policies and if the US will repeat the EU’s mistakes was led by James Kanter, EU Correspondent of the International Herald Tribune. The discussion was fruitful because of the variety of perspectives in the room. An added treat was that this was taking place at the same time that the European elections were concluding. Many of our esteemed guests invited us to go down the European Parliament to par take in the celebrations as “US Observers”. You know how we do-ingenuity and making lemons out of lemonade afforded many fellows an opportunity to see first hand post-election activities.

MONDAY

The next day, we began our day with what else-breakfast. The hotel offered us breakfast everyday. I never had Indian stewed chicken and curry fries for breakfast. Hmmm…I stuck with the Fruit and Fiber and croissants due to the long schedule ahead for me. Our day began with a meeting on Immigration in the European Union with Pawel Busiakiewicz, a policy officer with the Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security for the European Commission. Here we talked about how immigration is driving the transformation of the European Union Member States and creating a more “borderless” system.

Our next two meetings took an interesting twist because of the comparative contrast of the two subject matters. First, we had a lunch meeting with NATO officials-Jonathan Parish, Senior Policy Advisor for the Office of the Secretary General and James Snyder, Public Diplomacy. The conversation featured discussions on the role of NATO-past, present and future and how since 9/11/2001, the focus has included security issues west of the Atlantic Ocean. We continued our productive discussion with Michael Matthiessen, Personal Representative of the Secretary General, Council of the European Union. Michael discussed and fielded questions regarding the different roles of the European Union and how it’s contributing to global issues.

After a long day of meetings, a nice change of place was about to happen-host dinners. Part of the program includes a host dinner where a local citizen who is involved with the German Marshall Fund host a few fellows at their homes for dinner. My host, Daniela Manca, was a former employee of GMF. Daniela was an AMAZING host. She also invited a few friends over, which made the evening more fun because we got to interact with a great group of people on a personal level. She also laid out the spread for us (Autum of Seattle and Sonya of Cleveland) and sparked good conversations ranging from politics to music to life in general. If it were not for the early morning meetings, I suspect we would have stayed well into the early morning. So to Daniela, Roberto and all of our lovely dinner guests, THANK YOU!!!

TUESDAY

After we pealed ourselves out of bed, we started our last day of meetings with Pekka Hakala, Advisor to the Director General of DG Communications for the European Parliament. This session talked about the awareness campaign for the European Elections that were taking place upon our arrival to Brussels. We talked about the outreach strategy, the target markets and success measures. What’s interesting about this is this campaign was organized by the actual European Parliament on a non-partisan level. I was sitting there trying to imagine the US Congress or Chicago’s City Council actually waging a campaign to get more voters to come out and vote.

We then headed over to the Flemish Parliament, where we met with Sven Gatz, Leader of the Parliamentary group of Open VLD . We talked about the issues that were more localized to the citizens of Brussels. We continued our conversation on local issues, which was a good change of pace, particularly since we’ve been talking more of international relations.

We then traveled by tram/subway (we’ve been taking public transportation most of the time, which was nice, especially for a city boy like me who uses public transportation) to the law offices of John Day. This session was set up by one of the current summer fellows, Chad Readler, a partner with the Columbus, OH office. The firm presented what it was like to deal with the European Commission from a participant’s perspective. What was refreshing was the discussion on the Court of Justice and how it’s becoming more and more a major player in the European Union.

I then took a tranquil taxi ride to the Free University of Brussels for my individual appointment. I met with a faculty member who has been advocating the use of eLearning in the University system. I had an interesting conversation about how eLearning is not heavily embraced by the University’s administration. This was in comparison to our institutions in the US where “virtual learning” is almost a necessity, due to the rising demographic of non-traditional students. My individual meeting host was gracious enough to walk me to the train station that would be comparable to my Metra system or any regional train system. I got a Belgium waffle at the station (they’re addictive) and listened while she talked to me about what it is like to work in Brussels, some of the cultural nuances and what has changed. I also noticed how the train station was not conducive to the physically challenged passengers and she shared with me that when she injured herself, other passengers would have to carry her up and down the stairs. Some things you have to learn by experiencing them.

After returning to the hotel, some of the fellows who were free wanted to go back to Boucher’s Alley for some mussels. I was free and wanted some seafood, so I went. Although I don’t eat mussels, I must admit this restaurant we went to did them pretty nicely. After our journey back to the hotel including a waffle stop (it’s becoming crack like now), I made it back in time to pack, hit the sack and get up at the crack of dawn for my adventure on a European train that will sure to leave you in a “Notorious” frenzy. All in all, Brussels, Belgium is way more than Belgium Waffles. It fact it’s a gumbo of cultures, nationalities, societies, histories and mysteries all rapped in one. Just be careful visiting-you may actually want to stay. Talk to you soon.

For pictures, visit Brussels Pics