Follow the jump links to learn more about Belgium Flanders:
Lifestyle and Family Living
Teen Life
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts Lifestyle and Family Living
Family life is very important in Flanders. Teenagers are used to deferring to parents at all times, and parents maintain authority and expect the children to follow their rules as long as they live at home.
Both parents usually work and you will be expected to do your share of the housework and daily chores like the other children in your host family. This reflects the particularly Flemish style of working out compromises and “pragmatic anarchism.” Despite the dislike for imposed discipline, the Flemish are well-organized and self-disciplined people.
You may be placed anywhere in the Belgium Flanders region. Most families are in suburban (40%) or rural (40%) areas, although urban placements are not uncommon (20%).
Flemish host families, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.Teen Life
While every situation is unique, your social life will probably center around family and a small group of friends.
Flemish youth enjoy attending concerts, going to the movies and sharing a drink or meal together. Besides sport activities they also enjoy participating in youth movement activities (such as the Scouts or social and political groups). The two most popular sports are soccer and cycling.
We suggest that you speak to your host parents early in your stay about the rules of the household with regard to socializing.Dress and Appearance
Dress is casual, but neatness and cleanliness are important.
Teenagers wear jeans, T-shirts, sweaters and shoes or sneakers.
As in many parts of Europe, a wardrobe consisting of a change of clothes for every day of the week is not necessary.
You may also bring one nice outfit for special occasions – shirt and tie for men, a dress for womenDiet and Meals
Flemish cuisine is much more than good chocolate and beer. Some say that it is actually one of the best in the world. Certainly, Flemish people enjoy eating (they are said to be real bon vivants) and families get together regularly for the evening meal, while during the midday meal everyone is either at work or in school.
Meat and seafood are common staples, accompanied by bread and potatoes, and often cooked with oil or broth. One of the things Flemish are particularly proud of are Friet (chips or fries), which they claim to have invented.
Some other traditional Flemish foods are the stoofvlees (stewed meat in a sauce prepared with brown beer) or the famous waffles now eaten all around the world.
There is not much junk food, and raiding the refrigerator is not done.Educational System
As the Belgian constitution prescribes local freedom to organize education there are various kinds of schools. Yet, two basic types of schools prevail: those run by the regional, provincial or local authorities (community education) and the independent or “free” schools usually run by religious institutions, principally the Catholic Church. Both systems receive financial support from the government. The law sets standards for all schools, therefore all are quite demanding.
Independent schools are allowed more freedom to set their own philosophical approach to curricula while the community education has to be more neutral offering several kinds of educational philosophies.
The school year runs from early September to late June. Students attend school Monday through Friday except Wednesday afternoons. It is not unusual to study 2-3 hours a night and sometimes during the weekend.
Before Christmas and a month before the end of the school year there are exams, and promotion to the next level is subject to grades and approval by the teachers’ council. Because of the rather strict rules, quite a few Flemish students have repeated a year.
Compulsory school subjects are: French, mathematics, history, geography, sciences, religion or ethics and physical education. There are optional courses such as foreign languages, arts and computer sciences. School education tends to be rather intellectual and sports or artistic activities have less importance in schools, but most teenagers do these kinds of activities after school.
As an AFS students you will be most probably placed in the 5th or 6th grade (the 11th or 12th year) of what are called “general secondary schools” (ASO). These are academic schools, but it is possible to attend an artistic (KSO), technical (TSO) or vocational secondary school (BSO). For students enrolled in the last year of secondary school, there is usually an optional school trip abroad lasting about ten days. The costs vary from €300 to €400.
All instruction, with the exception of foreign languages, is done in Dutch. In the beginning, you may find it hard to follow, but as you learn more of the language, school will become less challenging, so be patient, work hard, and keep at it!
While it may be possible to obtain academic credit for the coursework you successfully complete abroad, AFS cannot guarantee this. Please discuss your plans with your school before you go abroad.
Geography and Climate
Belgium is nestled between the Netherlands, Germany and France with 65 km of developed resort coastline where the North Sea meets the English Channel. About the size of Taiwan, Belgium is divided in two main regions that partially reflect the language division. On the north is the Dutch Flanders, with flat lands. On the south is the French Wallonia, dominated by the picturesque Ardennes (the mountain range between France and Germany).
Belgium has a temperate climate with mild average summer and winter temperatures. It has lots of rain, especially during March and April.
Population
Belgium is densely populated, with about ten million people living in slightly more than 30,000 Km². Brussels is the capital city and Antwerp, to the north, is the principal industrial and port city. The two major ethnic groups that form the Belgian population are Flemish (58%) and Walloon (31%).
Language
There are three different language regions in Belgium. In Flanders (northern Belgium), Dutch is spoken by 6 million inhabitants, while French is spoken by about 3.5 million in Wallonia (southern Belgium). Nevertheless many Belgians speak both languages. German is spoken by the 70,000 inhabitants of the German area near the eastern border. English is also widely understood.
Participants in the Belgium Flanders programs will be expected to learn and speak Dutch. We encourage you to learn as much as possible prior to departure but AFS Belgium will also arrange Dutch language lessons for you in you local host community during the first months of your stay.
Government
Belgium is a Constitutional Monarchy. The head of state is King Albert II. The head of government and a new constitution was adopted in 1994. The new constitution created a federation of three regions based on the three languages spoken.
Religion
The majority of the population is Roman Catholic (75%).
Spending Money
The Euro is the official currency.
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about $100-$300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- Belgium is one of the biggest producers of cartoons and comic strips in the world. To mention just few of them: Tintin, The Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Marsupilami, Spirou.
- Belgian chocolate is considered among the best in the world.
- In a book on different European characters, R. Hill describes the Belgians as “open-mined opportunists” noting their pragmatic and accepting attitude.
- Many towns do re-enactments of the medieval times once a year, when the whole town is set to look and live as centuries before.
