So I'm on location for Sourcesense, working on some HippoCMS deployments for Belgian clients. Belgium is an interesting country, with some really tough multilingual challenges (with at least three official languages, it really takes content management to another level).
Anyway - today was definitely a brain melt day. I've decided I am now incoherent in no less than five languages.
For the last week I've been consistently trying to speak French, with the occasional bit of German thrown in for good measure, and with an altogether too confusing switch back to English for a brief return to London on Friday. Except on Saturday, when a couple of waiters and waitresses in Bruges tried their Flemish and Dutch kung-fu on me, forcing me from croissants to bitterballen in less than 30 seconds (ahoy there, cultural stereotypes!)
And then this evening, I went to a fantastic Italian restaurant called Aglio e Olio, following the recommendations from the food and wine blog (a lucky find via google). Unfortunately, just as the blog forewarned, the staff were very Italian, spoke mostly French, and really struggled with English. It was worth battling through, as the food was wonderful and the atmosphere very relaxing. However, I remained frustrated that I just couldn't make the switch over to my (broken) Italian. I put it down to tiredness.
It did serve to bring home to me how smart the people I work with are when they flawlessly switch between languages. It (almost) makes me feel humble ;-)
Previously: Taking flight, dining out, island mentality.
p.s. Yes, it's quiet around here. Yes, it's likely to stay that way. I seem to have misplaced the 36-hour day. A brief look at dopplr will show you I have a packed schedule with only one free weekend through until end of August at the earliest. Methinks September should be renamed "HOLIDAY".
Technorati Tags: belgium, blogging, brussels, culture, dining, food, languages, sourcesense, travel
Posted by savs at July 9, 2007 9:13 PM