123 posts tagged “belgium”

You may be aware that Mexico is not one of the most egalitarian societies on this planet, and socioeconomic differences are very much a part of the social fabric.  I was fortunate enough to grow up in a middle class family in the capital, with access to good schooling and domestic and international travel.

While growing up I think I tried to make the best possible use of these opportunities, but when I reached my teenage years I realised I truly disliked the pseudo-elitist environment I was brought up in, and got rather fed up with those social standards on what to wear, how to act, what kind of music to listen, what car to drive, when to gossip, etcetera.

Fast-forward 10 years.  I had been living in Finland for a few years and moved to Brussels to study my masters degree.  The school was not very big, so for extra-curricular activities and a couple of courses they tended to band together the undergraduate exchange students and the foreign graduate students for what one could call "economies of scale". 

Two of the exchange students were from Mexico, and one of them embodied pretty much everything I disliked of that environment I had left: the feigned (or real) ignorance and lack of curiosity, the social and religious conservatism, the gossiping and the materialism were all there, and I couldn't avoid this person for half a year.

Needless to say, the beginning was quite hard, but it definitely taught me to face my own prejudices and not only deal with it, but actually get along pretty nicely and (most importantly) sincerely.  While we didn't become best friends, I believe we were able to have a good working relationship, which is one of the most valuable lessons learned from my time there.

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

A slightly fruity dark ale with a strong flavour and a beautiful chocolate colour. However, I don't like beers where the taste of alcohol is too obvious, so this was not one of my favourites. I found it in a bar in Finland while doing a beer tasting.

 

I just found this one when I was uploading all my videos to Share on Ovi.  It's from Couleur Café, a music festival I attended in Brussels last year.

Your experience colours your point of view.  10 years ago I saw NY in a completely different way than now.

Of course, eight years living in Europe did that to a Mexican...

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

Extremely strong Belgian amber beer. Unless you are really into beers with high alcoholic content it is really not recommended, even if the bottle looks nice.

Here ends the Belgian beer review. I had some of these stored for a while (sorry for the delay), and won't be able to try new ales until I visit Belgium again.

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

Sweet and sour beer, very fruity and dark. Not a taste I would recommend unless you like bitter krieks.

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

Very strong abbey beer. Dark amber colour, good head with a malt aroma.

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

Fresh blonde beer witha slightly dry finish.

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

A rather unremarkable kriek. Not enough cherries to taste like contemporary krieks, which gives it more of a cider character.

This is a post in the Belgian beer review series.

Dark, heavy, bitter ale. Too bitter for me, but I know people that might like it.