Conquering Babel Helps Expats Learn a New Language

Brussels Expat, Claire Handscombe

One of the most important steps, an expat can take towards integrating into their new home country, is learning the local language. Learning a new language can be a daunting task, but one expat in Brussels is here to help. Claire Handscombe is a private language tutor who has recently published an ebook on how to learn a new language, called Conquering Babel.

We took some time to read through Claire’s book and found it practical and inspiring. We asked her a few questions about her expat experience here in Belgium and her new ebook.

10 Tips for Successful Expat Living | Flashback

Expat life means big changes.

This week I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely new expat in Brussels. It reminded me of our early days here and all of the challenges we need to overcome as expats. As I was giving her some advice, for her new expat life, I thought it would be worth sharing this post again. It’s 5 years old, but all of the advice still holds true.

Hopdog – Healthy Hotdogs in Brussels

Hopdog and owners Sameul and Chady (photo via Hopdog)

Hotdogs probably aren’t the first food that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘gourmet.’ But a new company in Brussels is trying to change that. They’re called Hopdog and they’re taking food in a bun to a whole new level.

After one quick look at Hopdog’s website and menu, we decided we had to give these healthy, gourmet hotdogs a try. So, we grabbed a couple of willing friends and went to taste-test.

Travel from Belgium to India – It’s Easier than you Think

This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Incredible India

Visiting India from Belgium is easier than you think

Here in Belgium, it is incredibly easy to travel to other European countries. What you may not know is how easy it can be to travel to more exotic destinations. We wrote a lot about our travel experiences in India, back in March, but we failed to tell you how we did it. Today we want to show you how we travelled from Belgium to India and how you can get there too.

How to Leave Belgium – Travelling from Belgium by Plane, Train or Automobile

Grab your bags… It’s time to escape!

Anyone who’s lived in Belgium for a while knows, sometimes you just need to escape – be it for better weather, better customer service or just a change of scenery. Luckily, there are a variety of ways to leave Belgium and an endless supply of places to visit.

Here on CheeseWeb, we write about travel a lot, but we don’t often write about how we travel. That’s about to change. From now on, when we post about a particular destination, we’ll give you the details on how you can get there from Belgium too, just in case we’ve inspired you to follow in our footsteps.

To start off your travel planning, we’ve compiled this huge resource we lovingly call How to leave Belgium. (We assume it will help you find your way back to Belgium too!)

The Saint John City Market, New Brunswick, Canada

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Atlantic Canada

A bustling Saturday at the City Market

As travellers, we dream for far-flung destinations; palm lined beaches, vibrant cities and postcard-perfect landscapes. But in our search for the exotic, we often neglect the unique and interesting places right on our doorstep. In over six years of travel writing, I have never once written about my hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick. Today I’m going to change that, by showing you my favourite thing about Saint John – The City Market.

One of the things I love most about living in Europe is the market culture. Even the smallest town has a place where locals can gather to buy fresh produce, meats, seafood, baked goods and handcrafts. I’ve fallen in love with markets in Paris, Arles, La Rochelle and Pau in France; Barcelona and Valladolid in Spain; London, Helsinki, Krakow and Amsterdam to say nothing of our fabulous markets here in Brussels. And yet, for years, I had neglected the one special place I had grown up with – The Saint John City Market.

Why You Need to Visit Bitche, France

Bitche, France drew us in with its name, but we discovered there are plenty of reasons you should visit this beautiful town in the Grand Est region of France.

7 Reasons you should visit Maritime Canada

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Atlantic Canada

Exploring the beautiful Bay of Fundy coast in New Brunswick

When Andrew and I tell people in Europe we’re from Eastern Canada, we usually get the confident response “oh, you’re from Quebec!” Of the 3 Canadian cities most Europeans have heard of (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal) Montreal is the easternmost. However there’s still a lot of Canada hanging out east of Quebec.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island may be small, but what they lack in size, they make up for in personality. We Canadians call it the Maritimes, and we think there are many reasons you should visit us on the east coast. Here are seven of the best:

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

When I was in university, I had a poster on my wall of a beautiful castle. It was built of pale grey stone and had turrets and arched windows. It was perched on the edge of a lake and was surrounded by forest. I didn’t know what it was called or where it was located but, for my young self, it represented all that was wild and romantic about travel. I longed to visit it someday.

It wasn’t until many years later, I learned my dream castle was actually Kylemore Abbey, located in the stunning mountains of Connemara, Ireland. At that time, it wasn’t open to the public and I believed I would never get to see my poster castle in person.

Alison Cornford-Matheson