Behind wtFOCK - Belgian culture

General

A federal constitutional monarchy. Six governments, three regions, three official languages and their communities.

The head of state: King Philippe - Mostly for ceremonies, international relations or impartial negotiations when forming the federal government.
A federal government, lead by the Prime Minister.
The North: Flanders. Five provinces. Flemish speaking, a dialect of Dutch. One government for both the region and the Flemish Community.

wtFOCK is set in this region of the country, in the province and city of Antwerp!

The South: Wallonia. Five provinces. French-speaking and German-speaking (only in the East Cantons, a region received after WOI). Three governments: for the Walloon region, for the French Community and the German Community.
Brussels. The capital. Bilingual. One government for the Brussels-Capital region.

Kindergarten: 3 years, from age 2,5/3 to 6.
Primary school: 6 years, from age 6 to 12.
Secondary school: 6 years, from age 12 to 18.
Has trajectories you have to choose from (like Latin, Tourism, STEM, Cuisine, ...) in departments ASO (General), TSO (Technical), KSO (Art) or BSO (Vocational). There is one extra year of technical studies if you've done vocational studies and wish to pursue higher education.
Bachelor degrees at university or university colleges: mostly 3 years, from age 18.
Master degrees at university: mostly 1 to 2 years.
Some higher education students live in the city they study in during the week (‘kot’ culture), but in the weekends nearly everyone goes home - to see friends/family, to work, do hobbies, ask mom to do the laundry, ...

School year: from the 1st of September until the 30th of June. University and university colleges start later.
Breaks: a week in October (not in university), two weeks during Christmas/NYE, a week in February, two weeks during Easter, two months in July and August. Different holidays like Ascension, Armistice, Pentecost, Labourday, … Free every Wednesday afternoon and weekends.
No entrance exams, except for art schools (portfolio) or the degree for medicine/dentistry. So anyone can study anything at any level. The exams in secondary or higher education are for assessment during the year and fall around Christmas, Easter and before summer.

Brussels: the capital of Belgium and Europe.
Antwerp: the city where wtFOCK takes place. It has the second biggest port in Europe (first one being Rotterdam) and is world famous for its diamonds and fashion (Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, ...)
Bruges: beautiful historical city, popular among tourists. Many other European cities are called Venice of the North, Bruges is one of them.
Ghent: Some would call it more of a hipster city? Many students live in Ghent, but it also has a lot of culture to offer.

French fries (in fact Belgian, not French). Often eaten in a ‘frituur/frietkot’, a sort of fast food joint for fries. Perfectly paired with the traditional ‘Flemish beef stew’, steak or mussels.
Chocolate (pralines). The best in the world. Côte d'Or is one of the famous brands.
Waffles. There are two types: the fluffy, light Brussels one in square form or the thicker Liege with uneven edges.
Beer. World famous with more than 800 varieties. From golden lagers (Jupiler, Stella) to sweeter cherry beer (Lindemans Kriek) and even Trappist monastery ones (Chimay, Westmalle). Belgians are allowed to drink beer (and wine) from age 16.
Sweets like cuberdon, traditional triangle shaped candy sold in Ghent. Or speculaas/speculoos/biscoff, with famous brands like Lotus or Jules Destrooper.
Jenever, aka Dutch gin, is the national spirit of Belgium from which gin evolved. Mostly filled with different flavors (apple, berry, chocolate, ...) and traditionally served at Christmas markets.
Traditional, local cuisine: Brussels' sprouts, croque monsieurs, waterzooi, white asparagus, croquettes aux crevettes, endives, filet américain, paling in 't groen, ...

A brother-sister rivalry, because of the shared history and language - yet independency.
Language: Flemish have softer, inwards of the mouth sounds in their dialect, compared to the clear-spoken Dutch tones.
Communication: Belgians are often reserved and careful at the beginning. Dutch are more direct and open to people (could border on rude).
Hierarchy: Belgians tend to be more formal to people that have a higher position than Dutch people. But Dutch are inclined to follow the rules, Belgians see rules as more guidelines.
Clichés: Dutch think Belgians 'are dumber', because of the time they need to check things with other people to be certain. Belgians think Dutch 'are cheapskates', because Belgians have a burgundy approach in life (= as long as it's good, why not spend/eat/do it?).

More differences and fun stereotypes to discover here:

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