La Grand Pres, or, The Price is Wrong

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 I usually translate stuff like this, but, in this case, I have no idea what it means and I am too lazy to Babel Fish it right now. Suffice to say, the title of this post refers to the only mall I have seen in my short time in Belgium. And it’s a fairly cool mall. It has a Carrefour, which is sort of like a French Walmart. It has the variety of goods, but none of the low prices.

I think it would be interesting to host a game show here in Belgium, maybe a knock off of The Price is Right. I would line up all of the products and have people guess the prices. For instance, I would hold up a 30 meter roll of Reynolds Wrap, and play the High/Low game. My lucky contestants would get to guess the price. Hint: it will always be on the high side. Ok, back to the aluminum foil. Take a wild guess how much the runs for.  Go ahead, it might be fun.

5 euros? Nope.

3 euros? Not even close, and, you forgot the hint. Higher.

7 euros? Uhm, you might be getting warm.

10 euros? Pshaw, we pay ten euros just to go into a bathroom out here.

If you finally guessed 12.95 euros, you’d be right on the money. I picked this item up, looked at the price, and, with a horrified gasp, immediately put it back down. I may have swooned, not sure. And, it’s not just the aluminum foil that is expensive. Pretty much everything costs an arm and leg in this place.

That got me to thinking about something that happened on Sunday, to my co-worker Keith, who has been staying with me until he gets his house together. Specifically, he woke up on Sunday to run some errands, and came back in, looking a little freaked. I asked what was wrong, and he told me: someone had smashed the passenger side window on his rental car and heisted his jacket and the charger for his navigation thingy (a Tom-Tom, I think – more on the importance of this later). Well, what could I say? I was not surprised, and I reminded him of something we had seen on the road when we went out to a nearby restaurant: big piles of glass up and down the street every 10 feet or so. I had mentioned at the time that when I got a car, I would not be parking in that neighborhood. We laughed about it and got something to eat. Now, doesn’t seem so funny anymore. But.

But. After the incident with the car, and observing how expensive everything is in this country, maybe rampant theft is not so surprising. I don’t mean to generalize, as there are plenty of good people in Mons. It’s just that:

*Consumer goods are out of this world expensive (remember, the VAT? About 21% of purchase price on most goods).

*Petrol runs about 6 to 7 euros a gallon, and the streets are filled with cars, even though the local mass transit is really very good.

*The average Belgian pays out at least 60% of their salary in various federal and local taxes (including income and road taxes for cars).

So, I guess what I am wondering is, what kind of money does anyone here have left over after all of this? Especially considering that the per capita income of this area is about 20 to 22,000 euros a year? I know, before you mention it, I know: health care is free, as is, I believe, education. Still, how much of the average American income goes into health care? If you have insurance, not that much, when you think about it. Of course, companies pick up the tab for this in many cases, but they also get tax breaks for doing so.

How does anyone afford to live in this place?

Which brings me back to the smashed window. Keith made a big mistake. He, as I mentioned earlier, has a Tom Tom, which, I have been advised, *will* be stolen if left in the car. He didn’t leave the Tom Tom in the car, but he did leave the charger, and thus, now he has a smashed in window and his jacket is gone.

Unfortunate, but, as I have observed, fairly typical. He cruised up to the Hertz today to exchange his car, and the rental agent didn’t even bat an eye, just waved him in and started working up the paperwork to get him a new car. The agent told Keith that this happens all the time in Mons. Keith said next time he would just leave his windows unrolled, but the agent advised against it, indicating that the car would be stolen if he did so.  Instead, he suggested leaving nothing in the car at night, and keeping the glove box open so that any would be thieves would see that there was nothing in the glove box to be stolen. No reward, no broken window.

Given all of this, I am rethinking my decision to live in Mons. Guess I’ll wait and see how it goes. I am planning on getting a rental car of my own (went out and bought a Tom Tom of my own this evening!), and, the first time my window is smashed, I am severing the lease and moving out of town. There are some nice places outside of town that appear to be in quieter surroundings. And, with a car, doesn’t seem any reason not to do it.

*****

Update on the banking situation. Met with a very nice assistant manager at the Fortis today, who took the time to speak with me about traveling around Europe. He suggested a trip to Paris, and I did not have the heart to tell him I’ve heard enough French at this point, and that I might take a break and head over to London in a couple of weeks.

After the bank, where I was able to open up the required bank account, I headed over to a travel office that does business right inside the perimeter of the SHAPE base. For a very nominal fee, they will arrange for transportation and hotels anyplace in Europe, and even in America. The nice gentleman at the counter tried convincing me that a trip to Euro Disney would be perfect for a worldly man such as myself. Not sure how to take that, I grumbled, snatched a London brochure off of the counter, and stalked out of the place. I will be back, though, and I will have more to post about than life around Mons. Honestly, I am ready for some type of trip, to somewhere. It’s been a month here in Belgium, and I have not been outside of the country yet. That will have to be remedied.

I am also still working on getting the pictures of Brussels on to my computer and uploaded. That task will be made easier, I hope, when I get my Internet connection tomorrow.  Speaking of that, dealing with the national Belgian cable company is much like standing in a bucket of gasoline and setting oneself on fire. Sure, it might have seemed like a good idea at some point, but, pretty soon, you’re thinking: what the hell have I done? More on this later, as my neighbor just came home, and once he starts downloading whatever it is he downloads (do I really want to know? Absolument pas!) my connection speed goes down the tubes.

Night y’all, come back again soon, ya hear?

*****

BTW, if anyone wants to send me something, send me Tabasco sauce, please. Please. Now. I am literally on my knees begging. For the love of God, please.

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Filed under All Work and No Play, In Belgium, In Mons