Submitted by Shawn Gaines on the 2018 summer session program in France and the Netherlands sponsored by the Department of English …
When we arrived in Brussels, Belgium, I was a little more used to the large crowds, although the crowds seemed a little bit larger in Brussels compared to Amsterdam. On the way to Belgium, I was surprised by the ease at which people can move between different countries in the European Union. When you cross the border between the Netherlands and Belgium it is like traveling between two states in the United States. There is no long drawn out customs and border patrol inspection and you don’t have to fill out any customs declaration forms. There were also fewer bicycles inside of Brussels. More people in Brussels took public transit or drove than rode bicycles. Another key difference from Amsterdam was the languages spoken in Brussels. Because Belgium is between the Netherlands and France, people there can speak French, Dutch and English. The hostel that our group stayed in was located in a predominantly Francophone part of the city. In addition to seeing Belgium, our group also took a brief excursion to Luxembourg. Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in the world. I was impressed by the large number of high-end clothing stores and restaurants inside of the city. People in Luxembourg also dressed a lot more formally compared to the Netherlands, Belgium and America.