Some Common Questions - Answers

* How much cash should I one carry for taking care of initial expenses?
For one month food expense could be upto 200euros per person. This is exaggerated cost considering you buy all costly items in the shops nearby instead of going to shops where u get for low cost and cook at home most of the times. Travel in and around Leuven should not be more than 27-30euros per month as you can get a monthly or three month or yearly pass in the bus De Lijn. If you forsee any other costs, let me know so that I can tell you an approximate expense that you may incur.

* Is currency card from banks like HDFC, Axis, Citibank, etc a better option than carrying cash?
Such Currency cards are not accepted at all shops or ATMs. You can withdraw cash from some ATMs. Better is to open a student account (no or least maintenance charges) and add money to this account and use Belgian account debit card in shops. If no bank offers you free account, then Keytrade Bank is one such Bank. You choose if its safer by having cash in Currency Card as u can withdraw or by hard cash. Later on after you have the account and debit card, you can start using that. Be aware that Belgian Debit cards cannot be used for online transactions.

* What documents should I carry while travelling and will be required at point of entry?
- Apart from passport you will not need anything. Just as add on you can carry copy of your medical certificate. If you want to work here while you pursue yr higher education, then needless to say that all yr educational certificates in original and copies are required. I hope u r nt travelling with yr family.

* What type of plug converters should I get for laptop adapters, mobile phone chargers and other electronic stuffs? You will not need any converter if its 2 pin plug. If 3 pin then you will need a converter. you can buy them in Brussels. Costs abt 2euros.

* Should I buy an international calling card to call back home for initial few days? If yes, which one shoud I go for? If you have access to internet then no calling card is required. Calls on freecall.com will cost you 2 euro cents a min if calls are made to Indian mobile num or less if calls are made to Indian landline num. I would suggest you to finish your calls when you have access to internet.

* Later, what will be the best option to call to India? Answered above

* How easily can one get a mobile connection in Leuven and in your opinion, which one would be a good deal? Lycamobile is cheapest in case you are working. But otherwise it seems there are a lot of options for students under student plans. I have no clue. Please check with students ;)

* What would be weather like in first week of Sept?
I am planning to get few woollen stuffs from India and buy rest of them there? Could be raining or just moderate temp in September. Until October end, it would not be cold. It will in fact start then. Sweater and a rain jacket (optional thermal wear) shd be enuf from India. You can buy warm wear here. Thats better as you could guage yrself abt how warm you need to be.

* What are the options for vegetarian food in Leuven? Is it possible to manage without cooking myself :-) ?
Sandwich, Pizza and falafel are the only options apart from Indian food in Indian hotels for vegetarian. A veggie falafel would cost abt 3.5 euros.If you calculate the cost yrself, you would start cooking as the basic ingredients are far cheaper if you start cooking at home.Sandwich could cost anywhere between 2-6euros. Same is the cost of pizza. Cola is cheaper only in the supermarkets.

* Is the size of bed and pillow similar there and in India? Should I get single or double bedsheets?
single bed size could vary from 70 cm x200 cm to 80cm x90cm double bed size varies from 140x200 to 180x200 cm. Pillow size and shape can be anything.

* I read that one can wash clothes in public washing machines. Is there any other option? What are the options for ironing?
U can try washing at home by soaking clothes in soap water. And washing in the bath tub itself. Drying would be a problem due to weather conditions. In case there is a balcony, u can dry it there. Still it will not be possible to dry clothes in winter without dryer. Ironing: Pressing clothes at home with electric iron box which can be bought from India or bought here locally costs abt 9eur.

* Should I get toiletries, cosmetics, etc in stock or is it fine to buy them there itself?
Not sure if the ones u get here suits ur skin. Atleast for the first one month its better to get from there. Cold cream for skin is a must. You wud nt get soaps like Savlon, Dettol in the local shops. In Pakistani or Indian shops that might cost abt 1-2 eur. You get another one in Delhaize. It does nt have any fragrance. It costs abt 70cents for 3 soaps. Except for Fragrance, we felt it was good. This is subjective to one person. To wash clothes, you may need Ariel or any other soap powder or soap. The soap powder cost is abt 3-6euros a kilo.

* In one of your posts, you wrote that Reebok shoes would be available in 20Eur. That's cheaper then in India. Is it same for other brands too like Nike, Adidas, etc?
Havent found any other till now. Just Reebok when there is sale.. and price cud be 15-20eur. Its upto yr discretion on what all u will buy here and what you will get it from there.

* I have bought an electic rice cooker. Will that be fine? Do I need to get a plug converter for it too? Or I can buy converters at reasonable prices there itself? Answered earlier

* How much should quilts and blankets cost there?
You cannot probably carry thick bedsheet or quilt from India. It costs abt 20-30euros and thats the cheapest price.

Added in the interest of other people who are in search of answers for similar questions..

Looking forward for more queries :-)

Frightening / Worst / Bad experience in Belgium

Well this blog is to document one of my worst experiences here.

But that may be because I was new to this country and I did not know how things work here.

This incident happened in the month of august. It was just one month since I arrived in Brussels in Belgium. I had quit my job in India for my dream of exploring Europe. I have travelled with my husband. And so I was on a job quest mission here.

I had applied in so many companies and so many websites. I had also sent my CV to so many consultants here. Naturally I was getting calls for so many interviews in and around Brussels. By then I had travelled in metro and Delijn bus in Brussels. On this day it was an interview in a place called Merelbeke in Belgium which is in the Vlanderen region of Belgium and close to Ghent. How can I even forget the names.. Never!! I cant..

So I had done a bit of research as usual before going to the interview place about the train and bus routes and had calculated an average time it might take for me to be present there for the interview. I had started from Brussel Central in a train to Melle as the place was close to Melle station than Merelbeke. I bought a ticket to Merelbeke and alighted at Melle; a station before.

That station was a deserted one. Hard to see any station master or anyone in the station. There were just 4 people who got out of the train. I walked towards the bus stop n realized that the bus had left 2min early. So now you can imagine how important 2 minutes is and the train can ruin your life. It was 9.30am and the interview was at 10am. I had decided to walk the 4.5km stretch. So I called up my sweet husband for the route who in fact supported me in this cause and was on call guiding me with the route and I made it 10min late. In fact I ran a lot to make it up; but in vain :(

You might be wondering that nothing till has been disasterous and how come this lady considers this as the worst experience in her life?????

The actual worst part will start shortly and you will soon realize that in spite of being meticulous and prepared, you should have the courage and self confidence. Read on !!!

After the interview was over, I came to the bus stop and I checked the bus timings at the stop and I was atleast 20 min early or may be 10 min late. I had no ticket!! Mind you. I had no ticket and could buy one in the bus like in Brussels or even India. This is what I thought and sat waiting for the bus. Then the bus actually arrived. I confirmed from the driver if the bus was going to the Melle station and he said yes. All is fine... Now comes the ticket part. He asked me for a ticket. I showed him the money and said "Please give me a ticket to Melle station". Can you imagine what the answer was ?? I dont remember his exact words as it was spoken in Dutch and the driver did not know English. The reply was "If you do not have a ticket, I cannot take you in. Please step out of the bus." What would I do? I was so disheartened. Not just because I did not get into the bus as I was already tired walking/running for the interview but because I had another interview in the noon and I would miss the train if I cant make it to the train which was 30min from then. So I decided to run and with all my efforts, I ran and walked so fast. I could not see the train till I came to the station. When I was climbing the steps, the train flagged off. Now you can visualise how even few seconds matter.

Ok so i thought I shall wait for the next train which was an hour later. I started gazing at the deserted station. To my surprise, I realised that this station had no display or no board or no announcements about which train arrived and which train is departing. And to add to this fact, the trains do not have any board or display abt the train name/no/originating and destination stations. So how can I conclude if that was the train which i missed. Its just by the matter of time. And there was no train till another 45 min and some trains stopped by. But how do I know this is the train I need to take? What if the train I am supposed to take is late by some time? Who will tell that. Nobody except the haunting silence in the place. There will be a TC in every train. But not all of them will get out of the train to flag off. They just bend out of the train and flag off which you might not even notice!!

Ok.. So I took a train which was a min earlier than the departing time of the train which I was "supposed" to take. The TC stamped the return journey time on the ticket. After a few stations, I observed that the train was going in another direction and the stations that were seen were not similar to the ones in the route i came in the morning. The TC arrived after sometime and I asked him "Is this train not going to Brussels?" He opened his eyes wide and said "Brussels? No! Mechelen". Imagine my state at that time. Oh!! destiny had favoured me to this place on earth... hmmm.. Ok. Then I asked him if there is a train to Brussels from there and I heard Yes from him. I was happy and made my way to the train which took me to Brussels. So the TC will not even tell you that you are in the wrong train unless you ask specifically. But in a station where there is no display or announcement or when the trains do not even contain a board/display, I wonder how people get to know abt the right train.. Certainly there must be a way out for this which I may not be aware of!

So "Expect the best and be prepared for the worst!!!"