All is normal in Belgium
Occasionally I check the news headlines back in the “old country”. Loosely translated, the top headline on Google news Belgium reads:
“Minister Vande Lanotte requests investigation into higher beer prices.”
Belgian minister of economics requests investigation into higher beer prices. Salud!
Johan Vande Lanotte is Belgium’s new minister of economics and I actually had him pegged as one of the more reasonable politicians in Belgium.
Here in Peru, most Peruvians have a fairly low opinion and approval rating of their politicians. What’s interesting to me though is that during any conversation I have about politics with a Peruvian (for the most part I stay away from the subject) most Peruvians somehow think politicians in those far away Northern countries are really the proverbial cat’s meow.
I love Europe but the leaders there live in such a fantasy world.
My World Cup post…
The World Cup is just now getting exiting. No Peru, no Belgium, que triste. How I long for the days of Jean-Marie Pfaff and Enzo Scifo.
Fearless forecast: Paraguay beats Uruguay by a score of 2-1 in the Final on July 11.
I know, I know, saner souls might predict something like Brazil – Germany or Netherlands – Argentina, but wouldn’t it be great for once if 2 small South American countries had their moment in the spotlight?
Speaking of Brazil and Argentina, I kind of like this video of Pele appearing on the first night of Maradona’s TV show. These two have been trading barbs for a long time but don’t show any sign of animosity in this segment. As for who’s the greater of the two, I don’t see why people get so hung up on that, they’re both legends.
For all of their off-the-field issues, people like Pfaff and Maradona are larger than life characters that I can’t help but like a bit… could it be because I’m kind of a character myself 
Idiots with MBA degrees
I could devote a whole blog to idiots in suits, also known as MBAs, but it would take away from the generally optimistic world view I have and try to share on this blog.
However, I just couldn’t resist this one, from Time magazine: Belgium’s looming beer crisis.
Just a teaser… Clearly 14th. century monks were more capable of running a business than today’s idiots in suits:
And if you can stomach reading through to the end, here’s what the people who gave you the financial crisis, Government Motors and $400 Amazon stock plan for Belgian beer:
Belgium is of course my home country, so this one hits close to home. There’s also a Latin American connection in that AB Inbev is largely controlled by Brazilian investment bankers, stemming from one of the mergers that made the company what it is today.
Excuse the French, but if some people can screw up a wet dream, I guess even screwing up Belgian beer is possible for idiots in suits.
Go read the full article at Time.
Not in Peru…
We’re in Belgium, it does exist, and the chocolates are great!!!
Que rico chocolate!!!
Next up, waffels and Belgian beer. I’m going to fly back to Peru as a pimpel-faced teenager 
In this great future – part 2
A while ago I wrote about difficult times in the recent history of Peru, borrowing words from Bob Marley “in this great future, you can’t forget your past…”
The same is true for Belgium, where we are currently spending the holidays with my family. Life wasn’t always easy here either. Take a look at the main square in my town, nice and picturesque in the snow…
Main square in Oostakker, Belgium
There’s a cute gazebo in the middle of the main square, where we were being all touristy…
The gazebo in the main square in Oostakker
Patricia on the gazebo
But take a closer look… the gazebo is built on top of a World War 2 era bombshelter, the red door is the original entrance. When we were kids we’d go inside and play, although it often had standing water inside. It’s not the only bombshelter in town, there are several more scattered around.
Entrance to WW2 era bombshelter
In Peru there are so many young people that a middle-age white guy like myself is positively ancient, not many people are around with any recollection of World War 2, but in Europe there are still many people who remember WW2. My grandmother used to tell us about how they slept in a home-made shelter they dug in the backyard, my grandfather was in the the Belgian army at the beginning of the war. My other grandparents had a farm and would secretly help people with food when the rations weren’t sufficient.
“in this great future, you can’t forget your past…”
About us
View from Machu Picchu, Peru
Read the story about 2 tickets to Lynyrd Skynyrd, love over gold, and our move to the beautiful city of Cusco, Peru.
Ward Welvaert & Patricia Carrasco
Cusco, Peru
contact: ward DOT welvaert AT gmail DOT com
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