Saturday 30 March 2013

Delhaize magazine


I recently found out that at Delhaize they have this magazine for free, which is published every two months (this edition is of March/April). It is a great way to learn some French with day-to-day vocabulary and, at the same time, they have nice recipes and great articles on food and cuisine. Go pick one up at your local supermarket!

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Yves Saint Laurent

Last weekend I have visited the exhibition Yves Saint Laurent - a visionary, at Espace Culturel ING. It is a very nice exhibition on the life and work of this great French fashion designer. The exhibition shows a large number of creations from his collections, jewellery and accessories, as well as drawings, sketches and other documents.


The normal entry price for adults is 6€, but if you have a students' card (thanks, Alliance Française!), you only pay 3€. In the end, for an extra 5€, you can participate in either of these workshops:
  • “Textiles-Tactiles” workshop: dressing of paper doll cut-outs, decoration of fashion posters and creation of “Love Cards” with various fabrics and objects.
  • “Textiles-Couture” workshop: create and clothe dolls and cuddly toys, accessories, bags and jewellery from recycled materials.
Then the dolls and the toys will be sold in favour of the ING Chances for Children project (to which the money collected from the tickets that give access to the workshops will revert as well). But you can also take your doll or toy home as a souvenir!

I participated in the paper doll one, where you can style up a known Yves Saint Laurent creation yourself, using all kinds of fabrics and beads for such purpose, and it was great. This is the final result, now hanging in one of my studio's walls:

And this is the original Yves Saint Laurent dress (a tribute to Tom Wesselmann) whose sketch I have used:

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Jip & Janneke


Jip and Janneke is a series of children's books in the Netherlands, written by Annie M.G. Schmidt and illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. The series is known for its simplicity and wit and started in the '50s. In order to commemorate their 60th brithday, HEMA launched this cute set of a plate, a bowl and a mug for 11€. I couldn't resist to buy yet this other souvenir, even though a Dutch one, but whose cartoons and books were famous in Belgium as well, because of the language.

Monday 25 March 2013

Moeder Lambic













This weekend I went to a beer tasting event, which took place in Moeder Lambic, organized by the Stage Committee. This bar has the ambiance of the old times, with its long wooden tables, but with a modern twist. We sat around and enjoyed as the waiters were passing by, explaining a little bit about each beer they brought. We tried 4 in total and smelled also a strange one (which smelled like smoked meat). We also ate some food on the meanwhile (various types of cheese, sausages and ham with warm bread). Overall, it was a good experience and we spent some good times there. The waiter was very helpful and he even gave us some restaurants' suggestions! And we got to try some very different beers, artisan and in their "raw" form (a kriek with no sugar added, for example, and you can really taste the difference from the other ones which are artificially sweet).

Cookies!

Photo by Filipa Bento
A great program for a cold day of snow (if you have an oven at home) is to bake. So, this weekend I invited a friend over and we were baking for the whole afternoon. We made all these cookies and I will share the recipe with you.

Ingredients:
  • 1 egg
  • 150g of sugar
  • 350g of flour
  • Half a cup of olive oil or butter
  • Half a cup of milk
  • One teaspoon of baking powder
You mix everything together and then separate the dough in two pieces. We then added some lemon peel to one part and chocolate to the other. You then put some flour on a table and in your hands and spread the dough in order to cut the cookies. Put them in trays in your hot oven and keep an eye to see when they are baked (it will take approximately 15 minutes).

Then you can let them cool (which happens fast as they are small and thin) and after decorate them however you like. You can find the decoration materials (vannilla and chocolate cream and candy, that's what we used) in the supermarkets or in HEMA.

Saturday 23 March 2013

HEMA

This week I have been to HEMA, which is a great shop for everything house related. The prices are similar to IKEA, but you don't have furniture, yet other things are available (like clothing, food, beauty products). Indeed, you have a great variety of stuff for very nice prices. Just to give you an example, I bought a toaster there for 11€. It is worth taking a look, as everything is very lovely and sweet. If you need just little stuff for your house, it is also more convinient to go there, as it is located in the center of the city (I went to the one next to Port de Namur, it is very close to the metro station).

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Pierre Marcolini


Pierre Marcolini is a haute chocolaterie maker from Belgium. They have a great shop in le Sablon where you can see for yourself their wonderful and tasteful creations. 



The prices are not exactly trainee-friendly, but the shop is worth a visit just to look at their creations, which are original and made with very detail and care.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

My first interview in Brussels!


This weekend I was interviewed by Fraternité 2020, which is Europe’s first citizens’ initiative whose goal is to enable more people to spend time in a foreign EU country, because for them mobility lies at the heart of the European project. Check it out their blog to find out more about the person behind A Trainee in Brussels!

Monday 18 March 2013

Chocolaterie Duval

Yesterday I was in Chocolaterie Duval, on a visit organized by the Stage Committee. This is a family owned business, working for 20 years in Brussels, specialized on the fine art of making chocolates for companies. Indeed, they are known for making great chocolate with the companies' logos, or with any design they request, which are then used in parties and events. The chocolate is produced in another factory, with their very own recipe and then on this chocolaterie they mold it into the shapes they want. The visit was very interesting, with a great explanation on the process of making chocolate (and live viewing of it!), including some very generous tasting in between.


















It ended up with space for people to ask questions and we learnt a lof of things, namely:
  • A chocolate bonbon with filling is called a praline;
  • A praline whose filling is of hazelnut and chocolate is called a praliné;
  • You should not keep your chocolate in the fridge;
  • The white chocolate is not really chocolate, as it has no cocoa, only cocoa butter;
  • There are dark chocolates with 85% of cocoa, when the normal average would be 40%;
  • When chocolate was first introduced in Europe, it used to be drank, not eaten;
  • The 5 things Belgium is famous for are chocolate (that we had figured out already, yum!), beer, waffles, moules and frites.

In the end, we could explore the factory shop and bring some of their marvellous delights home (they have some exquisite and exclusive ones, like beer praline!). If you're interested, check out their website for more information on organizing visits, opening times or to know how to contact them. It is definitely a must-do while in Brussels!

Sunday 17 March 2013

Tintin cookie box


This was my first souvenirish buy since I arrived in Brussels. I went to the supermarket and saw these boxes (they had them in 3 different designs) full of 1kg of chocolate cookies and I had to buy one. It costed 10,95€ and I have seen them being sold in shops in the center for 15€ or more, so check your supermarket if you also want yours for a cheaper price. I am determined to fit it into my luggage when I return!

Saturday 16 March 2013

Get ready for Easter!

Laundromats


Most houses in Brussels - like mine - don't have a washing machine, so we need to use one of the laundromats spread around the city to do the laundry. Close to my area (Etterbeek), I already found three of them, with very similar conditions and prices:
  • City Wash: Rue du Noyer, 61. Open 7 days a week from 7h to 22h. Washing is 3,50€ for 6,5kg and 7€ for 14kg. Drying is 0,50€.
  • Mega Wash: Place Marguerite. Open 7 days a week from 7h to 22h. Washing is 3,60€ for a medium sized machine. Drying is 0,60€.
  • Star Wash: Rue du Noyer. Open 7 days a week from 7h to 21h. Washing is 3€ for 7kg and 5€ for 10kg. Drying for 9 minutes is 0,50€.
I have only tried the last one (because it was the cheapest) and it worked fine. I went on a Saturday morning and didn't have to wait for using the machines, all of them were free (except for the 10kg ones, which are only two). It has the advantage of being close to one of the supermarkets I go to, so I left the machine working, went on to do the shopping and when I returned I just had to wait for a little bit until everything was done. Afterwards I used the dryer and I had my clothes there for 2 x 9min, otherwise they wouldn't have dried properly, as I had towels and linen among other clothes (but I guess that if you only have little stuff, 9min would be enough). When I arrived from the supermarket (at around 11h), almost all of the machines were being used and more people were inside, so I guess that with the course of the day the place will get crowder. On the other hand, City Wash is just like 300m down the road and as it is just a little bit more expensive than Star Wash, it was empty both times when I passed by, so I think I will try it next time. In all of them you have vending machines available, which sell unidosis of detergent and softner (but of course it'll be cheaper to buy bigger packages in the supermarket and bring them with you).


Bear in mind that the machines don't give you any change, so try to take the exact cash you need in coins. There's usually a machine there that will allow you to change your banknotes into coins, but it will charge you a small about for that. I usually take some coins out of my wallet during the week and leave them at home, so that on the weekends when I need to use the laundromat I already have them.

Friday 15 March 2013

Dress code

One of the things you'll probably start thinking as the beggining of your traineeship approaches (specially women) is: what will I wear? Many of the trainees have recently completed their studies and have little to none professional experience, so they wonder how they should dress in order to be appropriately presented in this new corporate world.

As mentioned in the FAQ's the EC provides for the selected trainees, there is no official dress code, however, you are expected to dress adequately. Well, this leaves us in the same point as we started: what does adequately means? There is no general formula to apply on this (even though, on one of the first presentations given for the trainees, they mention that men shall never wear white socks and women's skirts shall stay under their knees when seated), but I am going to give you a few tips which hopefuly will help you stuff the right clothes when packing.

The dress code for the Commission (and, from what I have seen so far, this applies to the other European Institutions) is described as smart casual. Which means you don't have to dress up in a very formal way, but you're also not supposed to come up with shorts and sneakers. Although I have seen people wearing jeans or leggings with short sweaters (and we all know leggings are not pants!) and of course no-one will say anything to them, but I personally do not find it work appropriate and would not appear here dressed that way. Usually women wear straight-legged pants or pencil skirts with a shirt and a cardigan or a blazer on top. Not too bright colors, everything in the tones of black, blue, brown, grey, cream, white and then maybe one piece or accessory a bit more colorful to top it up. Most women wear boots, flats or shoes, but some of them dare to come up in high-heels (a minority, though). Here are some examples of the type of clothes I see people wearing around here:


All outfits are from Mango. I had some difficulty finding clothes appropriate for the cold weather that we still have right now here in Brussels, as all shops already have their Spring/Summer collection on, but I think from these you can see the style I was talking about (even if now they are all topped up with warm coats, scarves and gloves).
As you can see, it is not a very formal style (you don't have to wear black pants with a matching blazer and a white shirt all days), but it is still not the type of clothes you would probably wear on a weekend or on holidays. For those of you who already had previous work experiences in the corporate world (in companies, enterprises, consultancy firms, law firms, banks, etc), you'll just have to keep the style you were used to and you'll probably be able to bring the clothes you were already used to wear and do not have to buy new ones. I am one of the people who just kept the style she was used to, as the dress code here is pretty much the same as of the law firm where I worked.

Bear in mind, however, that you should wear something more formal in the days you have special events (like a meeting with someone important, or a public conference you'll have to attend). You'll notice that the higher the people are in the internal hierarchy, the more formal they dress (it is completely different to be a Head of Unit or a Director who has meetings and events all days, or a secretary or a trainee who stays in the office most of the time). It also depends on the DG and Unit you work on, I guess. In mine, most people are lawyers, so they dress up in the style I have mentioned... I suppose that in some DGs where most people are engineers, journalists, human resources people, the style can be more informal and seeing people in jeans could be more frequent.

As for men, there's not much to suggest: all of them here wear suits, but during the office hours they hardly ever wear ties. Nevertheless, they have some ties saved in the office in case they have to leave for a meeting or a conference and, in those occasions, they always wear them. In the end, it will be up to you to understand what style you should adopt here and what is appropriate in the context of the work you'll be performing.