Brussels the melting pot

The city where I'm now based is truly a melting pot. Walking accross the street you can listen to 10 different languages, and if you're not used to it (as opposed to actually craving it like I did) I suppose it can be a little overwhelming. The difference with, for example, France, is that all the different communities tend to live more or less together, which isn't easy, but requires tolerance from everybody involved. To give an example, on Friday I was partying with the Erasmus exchange guys, who come from Spain, Finland, France, England and Poland. On Saturday I was out with a French friend who has lived in Finland, New Zealand, Ecuador and now here. On Sunday I was with some Mexican friends walking through downtown, and this week I plan to have a beer with a British friend who was in Japan and is working here now. Another good friend of mine (Kiwi, but lives in Singapore) told me the other day that my pictures in Flickr make Brussels look like a more interesting place than he thought of given the impression he had from the news, and I have to say that he's right, this is a much more interesting place than it is regarded of. As long as it stays so in the right ways everything is fine.