The locals are very hard working, doctors here can start a day at out patients at 8am and keep on going for 12hrs with only an hour break. After that they try to squeeze in their real life, such as moving house, going for a drink with friends, seeing their kids. So yes doctors especially in the OBGYN department are very very hard working - yet they still seem relatively chirpy and smiling when they talk to patients.
Good manners are prime here - With an official hand shake with professional encounters and the cheek-kiss for 3times! I think its right cheek-left and then right again. But it might be the other way around. But this is only between girls or between a guy and a girl. The guys just shake hands. People are very respectful and helpful - they are also very educated with a lot of people knowing more than 3 languages proficiently and many extra certificates.
Here exercise is nearly a must, the parks and streets are filled with people jogging and running. You find people of all ages, participating in sports all the time. Its a great way of life - hence everyone being skinnier and fitter than the average Maltese person. Even though it is the country of beer, pommes frittes and chocolate - this is far from the usual diet - most people eat a sandwich or two for their lunch and then a light dinner early in the evening. Biking is also another factor of life, all over the cities loads of bikes and their lanes and their appropriate parking can be seen - its so great cos its a quieter and greener way to travel - also healthier.
Beer! Now I NEVER used to drink beer before I knew I was coming to Belgium, and this place has the most amazing beers on the planet. Forget your wines and hard liquors - Belgium has over 8700 beers in production, when considering the special brews. They have amber, blonde, brown, champagne beer, dubbel, Flemish red, hop accentuated, lambic, pils, saison, scotch ales, stout, table, triple, white beer, Christmas beers etc... Ive had some great peach beer, honey beer, beer brewed by Carmelite monks - to name a few. But BEWARE the alcohol concentration is very high, so even one beer can have the effect of two or three glasses of wine. OH and EACH one has their own special glass!
What else...the weather - well I was lucky when I was here, cos there was a country wide heatwave so it was gorgeous blue and sunny ALL THE TIME, apart from when there was a freak thunder storm (at 30deg Celsius). This last week it has cooled down closer to the regular Belgian weather, more grey and fresh which is welcome :)
Also its extremely interesting being in a country that is so divided - Flanders, Wallonia - there is a language barrier as the first half speak Dutch and the latter speak French. But it is more than just a language barrier - its a different cultural divide - similar to the french vs english speaking parts of Canada I guess...alas - interesting.
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