Vlamingen?

Qbynewbie

New but not a kid anymore :)
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
396
Reaction score
104
Location
Queensbury, NY
I am not Flemish but does it help if I like Jacques Brel? :D
 

Nickie

Not too old to learn
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
10,800
Reaction score
145
Location
Dendermonde, Belgium
Website
www.nickiefleming.com
Jaques Brel was not Flemish, he spoke French. I've nothing against French, let it be clear, but here in Flanders we don't often have to talk it. I don't feel at home in a town like Brussels, and prefer Antwerp or Ghent to it. To be honest, I wouldn't mind either that Flanders became an independent country, and Wallony and Brussels other counties.


Nickie
 

Qbynewbie

New but not a kid anymore :)
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
396
Reaction score
104
Location
Queensbury, NY
Nickie,

I know that Brel spoke French and lived part of his life in Paris. But he was actually of Flemish descent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Brel

I don't claim to be knowledgeable about the struggles going on in your country, but I am aware of the conflict. If I recall correctly, Brussels itself is one of the sticking points. But enough about politics!

I hope you find some Flemish folks to converse with. :)
 

jjwolfe

Registered
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Location
Lanaken
Hoi,

Kom eigenlijk uit Nederland, maar woon al 38 jaar in Belgie. Telt dat ook mee?

JJ
 

sageness

Registered
Joined
Sep 30, 2011
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Belgium?

Hi Everyone!

I didn't see a Belgium tread here. I'm a 30 year old Australian woman living in Gent Belgium. Wondering if anyone else is from my area?
 

Friendly Frog

Snarkenfaugister
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
4,942
Location
Belgium
Hi there! :welcome:

Also from Belgium, but from a different province (not that that means much in a tiny country as this one).
 

janischa

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
15
yay !

Yay, so happy to see a Belgium thread :) I'm half Belgian, half Malaysian, raised bilingual in Dutch and English....
Nice to meet you guys.....
Tell me something about yourself !
I'm a 33 year old female, living in Brussels, with a little 3 year old princess/monster (she was my 30th birthday present.... I tried pushing her out, but she insisted on having her own birth date...). I adore writing, but have only recently decided to take it more seriously and at the moment am concentrating on writing PB's and one YA novel. Anything else you're curious about, feel free to ask !!
 

Melhael

Indie writer
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
70
Reaction score
2
Location
Brussels
Website
terrydock.net
Hello again! ;)

I'm 33 (going on 34, fast) and living in Brussels. I was born in Liège, and so my first language is French. I write in English, though. (Or rather, I hope what I'm writing is actual English. :p)
 

Nickie

Not too old to learn
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
10,800
Reaction score
145
Location
Dendermonde, Belgium
Website
www.nickiefleming.com
I live in Dendermonde, so my first language is Flemish. But I do my writing in English. I went to uni in Gent, which is only 25 minutes by train.
Dendermonde is famous for its Horse Bayard (Ros Beiaard) and the yearly Reuzenommegang.
Are you married to a Belgian? And how do you like life in Flanders?
 

Friendly Frog

Snarkenfaugister
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
4,942
Location
Belgium
Wow, there are more Belgians here than I thought!

I wonder, do all of you write in English? Or is there anyone writing in French or Dutch?
 

janischa

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
15
english

@frog: I mainly write in English. I used to write in Dutch as well, but ever since i decided to take up my writing more seriously, I've almost completely switched to writing in English only
What part of the country are you from ? And what language do you write in ?
 

Friendly Frog

Snarkenfaugister
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
4,942
Location
Belgium
I'm from Antwerp. I too write in English, but rather more through circumstance than actual conscious decision. I wrote my first story for people on the internet, as a challenge, and somehow that never changed. So I have never written anything in Dutch, despite it being my mothertongue.
 

janischa

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
15
antwerp senior ?

ha, antwerp, so are you what they call a sinjoor ? :)
i used to live midway between antwerp and brussels (happy shopping in antwerp, happy working in brussels) but we recently moved to brussels so my daughter could learn french as well.
what type of work do you write ?

are any of you guys going to go to the SCBWI event in november ?
 

Friendly Frog

Snarkenfaugister
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
4,942
Location
Belgium
Heheh, no, I'm not a sinjoor. That title is traditionally reserved for people actually born within the old city walls. But I do have a bit of the antwaaarp accent.

I write short stories, mostly fantasy with the occasional sci-fi one.

What is the SCWBI event? I don't think I've ever heard of it.
 

janischa

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
15
association children book writers

the scwbi is the association for children book writers, but now suddenly it struck me that you actually don't write children's books :) it's an event this november with authors and illustrators meeting up....
 

Nickie

Not too old to learn
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
10,800
Reaction score
145
Location
Dendermonde, Belgium
Website
www.nickiefleming.com
@ frog: I do my writing in English. Just goes better than writing in Dutch. And besides, the public is bigger in this language.
Btw, my grandmother was a real Sinjoor, even though she moved through Belgium with her soldier husband and finally landed in Dendermonde (which still had a garrison before World War II).
 

Melhael

Indie writer
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
70
Reaction score
2
Location
Brussels
Website
terrydock.net
NaNoWriMo is starting in a few days, and I'll participate again this year (haven't done so since 2008). I'll be writing in French, for a change.

Urban fantasy, set in Brussels. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. :)

Any of you guys doing NaNo too?
 

janischa

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
15
500 days

Just heard on the news that it's now been 500 days that there's been no Belgian government in place. Doesn't seem to really affect daily life now, does it ? :)

Anyway, I won't be doing NaNo, but I will be doing PiBoIdMo, picture book idea month :) the challenge is to generate 30 picture book ideas in 30 days......
Though I would love to do NaNo as well, a girl's gotta set her priorities.....
 

Aeromir

Registered
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Location
Germany
Website
www.tomnunamaker.com
My wife is from Antwerp, and Gaby's sister lives in Gent! We live about 3 hours away from Antwerp in Germany but we come to visit Gaby's parents in Antwerp every month. They are 82 and almost 80 so we're trying to spend as much time as we can there. Gaby went to medical school in Gent about 25 years ago.

I'm an American and Gaby is a native Dutch speaker, but she also speaks German, French and English! I know a LITTLE French and even less Dutch. The languages I'm fluent in are programming languages (SQL, Javascript, ColdFusion, HTML, CSS, etc.. :) )

We just got home Sunday from our monthly trip to Antwerp/Gent. It would be nice to meet people from this board on our one of our trips!


Tom Nunamaker
 

Aeromir

Registered
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Location
Germany
Website
www.tomnunamaker.com
Just heard on the news that it's now been 500 days that there's been no Belgian government in place. Doesn't seem to really affect daily life now, does it ? :)

One of my friends in Belgium owns an old folks home. They are trying to expand it but because there's no government so no one can sign off on their expansion.

Apparently in Belgium, the number of beds for elderly patients is controlled by the government. Manu said they are trying to expand with an additional 100 beds but without government approval, their expansion project might not happen. There's already a shortage of beds and the forecast for the problem to keep getting more severe.