Bit about Belgium

One thing that struck me about Belgium when I first got here was the seemingly endless levels of government. The following video is a good summary of how it all works:



One for all the politics buffs! Now you should pass that test on Belgian constitutional law with no worries.

If you had to have 56 tattoos, where would you have them?

Well, the press here in Belgium has been very interested in the story of Kimberley Vlaeminck. Kimberley, 18, went to the tattoo artist in her hometown of Kortrijk, near the French border. She originally claimed that she had asked the tattoo artist for three star tattoos on her face. She claimed that she "fell asleep" as he did them, and awoke to find him finishing off the 56th tattoo. Woopsee. She initially told the press this mix up was due to a language barrier, as she speaks Dutch, whilst her tattoo artist is a Romanian who only speaks English and French. She has finally come clean and admitted she asked for 56 all along, and made up the story about falling asleep when her parents saw her face and, to use the original Dutch, "Hit the f***ing roof".

So, when a confused young girl seriously scars her face for life, what else is there to do for the Belgian press than make fun of her? The Belgian newspaper "Het Laatse Nieuws" has produced a gallery of less than sympathetic photoshopped images for the amusement of the masses. You can see them at the following link, and can cycle through the photos by clicking the word "volgende" in the top right of the gallery.

What is the Dutch word for "sympathy"?