As my days in Belgium draws close to an end, I thought I would record my experiences here in my blog.
I landed in Belgium on February 8, 2002. I came here along with Vasanth. 2 weeks later, Later Jeeva joined us. This was my first abroad trip. So the whole flight experience, the sight of foreign land, people, language etc., was creating jitters. The apartment given by company was top-notch and fully furnished. It was a three bedroom apartment. Each room had television, AC, cosy bathrooms. The big hall had large television, stereo system, cosy sofas, exotic paintings. The kitchen was completely furnished with microwave oven, electric oven, Electric stove, Refrigerator, Dishwasher, and all cooking utensils. We also had Washing machines, driers, Vaccum cleaners, Iron box, Coffee maker, Fax machine etc., On top of this there was a cleaning lady appointed for changing bedsheets, cleaning rooms every fortnight. What else one need?..The accommodation way exceeded my expectations..
The first thing that I noticed was there was absolute silence in the town [Turnhout]. I couldn’t see people outside their homes. And there are no ceiling fans! I am so used to sleep under the fan, that I found it awkward to sleep without it. It was very tough to sleep during the first 10 days. In the middle of night, I will wake up only to find myself drenched in sweat. The room will become very hot. I opened the window only to find the chilling cold winds. So, I was going in cycles increasing and decreasing the temperature in the room until my body acclimatized to the conditions. Later, I understood how to control the temparatures and Airconditioners.
The workplace was another pleasant surprise for me. The team with which I work is a very small, close-knit group. There is a strong team-spirit and cohesion within the team. So naturally the team excelled in all it’s projects. Well, back to the story..I was given 19″ LCD monitors, high-speed machines etc., The colleagues were very friendly and supportive. So everything was in place to start work and we did very well to fit in the groove quickly. One thing that I noticed is the people here are very friendly and polite. You can see everyone saying “Thank you [Bedankt]”, “Please [Alsjublieft]”. I have started using such phrases too..[But definitely I can’t say “thank you” to the Bus conductor in India..He will look me as if I am crazy].
Some key moments and highlight during my stay in Belgium:
1. Visited many places including Paris [France], Amsterdam & Rotterdam [Netherlands], Barcelona [Spain], Munich & Garmisch [Germany], Luxemborg, Salzberg [Austria], Zurich - Interlaken [Swizterland], Copenhagen [Denmark] and ofcourse Brussels - Antwerp - Brugge - Oostende - Ardens in Belgium. Italy and UK are still in my TODO List. Will get an oppurtunity someday in future. I have bought souvenris from each place and they decorate my showcase back home.
2. Quenched my Gadget appetite by buying quite a few Electronic items. Digital Camcorder, MP3-CD Player, Mobile phone, MP3-Harddisk player, Home theatre system, Laptop accessories like Cordless mouse, USB Drive, Wireless router-cum-ADSL modem etc.,
3. Started learning Dutch language by going to classes. Later had to discontinue because of long offshore trips.
4. Managed to Stay away from home for nearly 11 months. Longest I have been away from my family 
5. Tasted the beer for the first time. My intial reaction was “Why does Beer taste so horrible? I can prefer the neem paste that my mom gives every week!!”. So started off with mixing 50% coke and 50% beer. My friends ridiculed. Later was able to consume it. I have taken beer only on very few occasions. Now, it has come to a stop again. To be honest, I tried it only for glamour and to say proudly that I can drink beer too!. Inherently, I hate alcoholic drinks. But Belgium is very famous for beers. Unfortunately, I am not able to appreciate it very much. But I love the Belgian choclates..Awesome!
6. For the past few months, I have started cooking. One of my new friends, Dilip taught me quite a few dishes. Now, I can honestly say that I can cook decently.
7. Ofcourse, this whole MBA thing wouldn’t have happened if I had not come to Belgium. My perspective has broadened. I started looking things outside the pigeon-hole. Jeeva provided me some initial inspirations with MBA.
8. Started appreciating Formula 1, Tour de France, Billiards, Squash, Football etc., Good break from cricket.
9. Had my first exposure to X-Box. Thank to vasanth. Got oppurtunities to play quite a few games. Halo, Dead or Alive, FIFA 2002, Formula 1, Halo 2, Ghost recon are my favourites. The pleasant memories of playing against each other will always linger in my mind. Also learnt about blogging from him.
10. Started listening to music apart from Tamil film music. Now I can honestly appreciate variety of music.
11. Got some very good responsibilities on the work front. I felt in the spotlight which pushed me to excel. Learnt a lot in the professional front. Only for the past 5-6 months my learning has come to an end. Again this is because of the shift of focus to MBA.
12. I am a regular visitor to Fitness centre. Thanks to physical problems I had 1.5 years back.
13. Travelled to office in bicycle during spring and summer. [8 kms one way]
14. Experienced extreme weather conditions. Average temparature in Belgium is 9 degree celcius. In winter the temperature goes as low as -11 (the lowest I have witnessed). Watching snow was mesmerizing. How come God is so creative when it comes to Nature? Witnessed the whole tree changing colour from lush green to yellow to orange and then shed it leaves, only to regrow much more vigorously.
15. Travelled to India only for a weekend for interviewing candidates (I can’t believe i did it!).
I will keep updating this page, as and when I recollect some experiences. But I will have some emotions while leaving this place permanently. Even though good times lie ahead in India, this place has given me peace of mind more than anything else.
You’ll have fresh salads and fruits