Tsibai !!!

I am back in Manipur after almost a month of being away. I haven't forgotten that I have not written here since Brussels, but I just didn't have the time to sit and type my evenings away. That - and the fact that the internet has been on a snail pace mode the past week.

There is a lot to write about --- daily challenges, post-Brussel blues, lost packages of Belgian chocolates, and most importantly - how the hell am I going to bring all my favorite things back home when I finish my mission here!

I have some ideas already but none seem to be good (yet).... but anyway that will have to wait for a couple of months more. And since this blog will be here for a longer time, I'll beg off writing for now.

I am late for my badminton match.

Official Belgian Beer Review

Okay... Just before we go down to the foamy news, let me check on a few things:

1. Mind well rested - check!

2. Photos up loaded to faceboook - done!

3. Hot bath - done!

4. Note on beer tasting experience - here!

I am sad to say that I haven't tasted 300+ beers... I just didn't have five stomachs, the ability of rock stars to drown themselves with barrels of alcohol, nor the money to finish my beer tasting scheme everynight whilst in Brussels. I am sure I have tasted less than 20 (including the fruit beers -- which to me are awful! -- see pic here!), and although I think I could have done more, I have to limit myself to 3 pints a night. And come to think of it, I don't know if there is anybody (including Belgians, themselves) who have tasted 300 varieties of brew.. The first beer I tasted was a Kapittel tripel. I was "hit" immediately seconds after I tasted it. But my taste changed as the days went on (and on and on).

So how did I fare? I think I handled the pallettes (a tray of 5 varieties of beer) very well, though I enjoyed the taps (draught beer) very much. Beer price ranges from 1,20 euro to 7 euros, depending on the size and type of beer. And like I said, I hated the pinkish fruit beers because they taste like cough syrups! I like anything with a double or a triple blonde or anything that is dark amber in color.

And what are my favorite Belgian beers? Here is my official list, un-prejudiced and based entirely on palatal gustations. Here it is in a very particular order:

1. Dubbels -- examples are the Westmalle trappist and Witkap. They are amber in color and alcohol content ranges from 6-8%.

2. Abbey beers - Grimbergen is on top two of my list, and this is followed by Leffe.

3. Trappist beer -- (probably because they were brewed in Trappist monasteries???) like Chimay and Westmalle (again)... Also Orval, Rochefort and Achel.

4. The blondes -- not all blonds are fun... but Duvel is worthy mentioning here. Brigand is also nice - after meals.

5. Trippel (3x the % alcohol) -- includes Rochefort which is nice if you don't walk 20 minutes in freezing snow after.

6. The etcetera -- I didn't really like them but I tasted them nevertheless. These are Kriek (made from cherries -- I remember what you said Greetje!!!), Palm (which is a ladies' beer, but I liked it because it doesn't taste fruity), Brugs (common but nice!), Adler (also common), Lindemans.

Well... have you counted how many I have tried?

5. Beer in hand -- this I forgot.

Gotta go. Writing made me thirsty.

Adventures in Belgium

Well... here I am in cold Bruxelles having my third glass of Grimbergen double blond (6,7% alcohol). The day had been tough as we were discussing issues like sexual gender based violence (SGBV) and reproductive tract infections. In fact the past week had been tough too. There were a lot of activities and practical stuff that -- truthfully -- one can learn in a semester -- and we crammed all of it in a week. Some of the topics were familiar as I have been exposed to them in my previous missions, but the nitty gritty things (which I don't need to mention here) were all star trek language to me. And okay.. let's not talk about these things here. It is better that you know that there are more than 300 varieties of Belgian Beer!!!

As soon as the snow was out (like it deterred us from going to pubs at night!!!), I went shopping and bar hopping in downtown with some of the workshop participants. Now, we are a funny bunch: 20 females:3 males. Talk about pressure, here!hehehe. But honestly, I feel like the group has known each other for a long time. There are no hang ups and no prima donnas.

My colleagues here are pretty cool. We talk just about anything, argue about some issues and agree on a lot of things including our beers (and dancing). So here are some pics which were taken during the past week. Hope you all like them! And just something more before I go.... Tomorrow we go bar hopping again in down town B. I am hoping to taste my 16th type of beer!

Belgian Snow

It has been snowing since last night and the temperature has gone done to -11 degrees centigrade. It has been difficult for me to adjust at the sudden change in temperature -- sure, India had been cold the past few days but ----- this is one is extreme! I took a picture of me (of course at 7:30 am when it started snowing (note the background on the last pic -- and see the snow falling) and some more pics at 11 am. Sadly, I didn't bring winter clothes as I left most of my (wonderful) jackets in Manipur. But, well... life goes...

I'll post more pics in the next few days....