McDonald´s Mexico Vs. Mc Donald´s Belgium

Everyone has been in McDonald's, I think at least more than five times. I have been in McDonalds from different countries but I had never realised the differences that exist. I have read in Business books that many resturants, such as this one, have to make some changes even though they follow the same kind of line everywhere in the world and Belgium is not the exception.

While I was waiting in the row I started to look carefully at everything that was in front of me and then my eyes stopped when they saw something red in the refrigerator that said "Jupiler" and I was like: "It can´t be possible, I am must be confused or looking something different", but then, when I was closer, I read again Jupiler, so I was not wrong, what I was looking was real beer.

For me it was very strange because in Mexico there's any McDonald's or any similar restaurant, such as Burger King, that sells beer but I guess everything has to due with the fact that in Belgium beer is like drinking water, I mean, is very usual and it would not be strange to have a hamburguer with a beer. In Mexico the only think you drink while you eat in McDonald's is soda, water or ice tea, but never beer and not because mexican people do not like it, but because it would be very weird to mix the flavors. 

How would you grade the service?

First of all I would like to start by answering the question of this title. I would grade the service in pubs and restaurants as bad, at least if I were in Mexico it would be like this. Why? 

When you enter a pub or a restaurant in Mexico, commonly there is a hostess that receives you in the entrance and gives you a table. After that, a waiter or a waitress comes to your table and gives you the menu so you can select whatever you want, five minutes later comes back and asks you if you are ready to order, so you order and he or she bring you your drinks or dishes. 

Now I want to tell you my first experience in a Pub in Belgium. We decided to sit in the second floor because the first one was very crowded and we were a lot of people so we needed a big space. We waited like 15 minutes and no one arrived, so one of my spanish friends went down to see what was going on and one of the employees told him that we had to go down, order, pay and then we had to take our drinks upstairs by ourselves and also when we finished we had to take the empty glasses downstairs. Of course I was like: what are you telling me? I could not believe it, for a moment I also thought that they were going to ask us to wash the dishes!

 

I have gone to other places too and it is more or less the same and actually I have not seen a lot of waiters in a place. Usually there is just one person inside the bar and one waiter, but it is definetely very different from Mexico but I am getting used to.

As I was telling you, it's different in Mexico but I don't mind. It is just about culture and it is good to know how it works in other places in the world, at least for me it is very interesting. Maybe this difference could be seen as disrespectful or sometimes a little bit rude but I guess they do not see it this way and it is very normal.

International Dinner

The last week we had an International Dinner in our studenthome. Actually, we try to make these dinners every week, but sometimes there are some complications because of the different schedules and other things. But that doesn´t matter. Anyways, as I was telling you, we had this international dinner and the host country was Spain.

As you should know, spanish people are everywhere and here in our home there are about 10 students from different regions and cities so they cooked also very different dishes.

When it was time for the dinner I was very vey impressed because when I entered the living room I saw that the place was decorated and all seemed to be perfect. It was like this:

Of course everything looked very tasty and I was telling all the spanish people: "Oh I hope that the food is as tasty as it seems" or "Espero que la comida esté tan buena como se ve".  Well I can say that it was very good. I tried all dished and I gotta say that I tried them twice or even more.

Some people asked that if the mexican food was similar to the spanish, but it is not and the example (at least for me) was the international dinner. The dishes were very different. Almost every dish has eggs and in Mexico we eat eggs, but in a very different way.

There was something called "salmoreja" that is a regional dish from Cordoba that even some other spanish people had never tried. It is something made with tomatoe and you can see it in the picture in the small glasses. They also cooked many "tortillas esoañolas" and many "empanadas".

Just half and hour had passed and all the dishes were empy so this means that the food was very good, at least I liked it a lot and I also liked the experience of trying different food!!!

Gentlemen or is it just culture???

Some days ago we were in a pub having some beers and talking about many different things, but nothing serious. Suddenly the conversation turned into a very good comparison between the boys from Mexico and the boys from Spain.

We, mexican girls, were talking to the spanish girls and telling them that in Mexico is very common that when you have a boyfriend he pays everything for you. For example, if you go to the cinema or to a restaurant or any other place he always is in charged of the check. Actually, even if he is not your boyfriend and it is only a date or even a friend, he pays. Of course the spanish girls were very surprised and impressed and they were like: Oh my God I am moving to Mexico!!! 

Spanish girls told us that in Spain it doesn't work like in Mexico. They tolds us that when they go out they pay 50% and 50%, which means that everyone pays for his/her consumption, actually they said that sometimes women pay everything!!! I could not believe that.

Of course when the boys overhead our conversation they were arguing that is not their responsibilty to pay for everything because they are still studyng and they do not have an income and they are right, but in Mexico being a student is not an obstacle. 

Anyways, it was very interesting to share our traditions and see how culture is very different from one place and another. I mean it is not bad how spanish people think I think it is right but of course in Mexico is not like that so when I date someone I always expect him to pay for everything. It is just about culture!

Women can do it too

It was 23:30 or something like that when my friends and me were running to get the tram, but...TOO late, the tram was gone!!! Definetely we were not walking because it was too cold and our home was not near so we decided to look for a taxi.

To my suprise when we found an available cab the driver was a woman, which is not very common in Mexico. Actually I recently watched a documentary film that was about women drivers in my city and from a population of 412, 537 women, there are just about 10 women drivers and I am talking only about the ones that drive cabs because the buses are only driven by men. Can you belive that? 

 

I think here we can mention something about Hofstede's dimensions. Eventhough it has nothing to do with men vs women, it has something to do with the way women are seen in my country. I want to share the comparison between Belgium and Mexico, the ranking is at follows: Mexico 69 vs Belgium 54, so make your conclusions!

I think that driving a taxi or a bus is not about women or men. It is only a job that can be donde by anyone!

The Top Business Game: Belgium 4 - Mexico 1

It was a cold thursday morning but it was not as the other days. I usually wake up and go to school, but this day instead of going to school to take classes I went to play a game: The Top Business Game. I gotta say that I was kind of angry because on thursday I only have one class but because of the game I had to spend almost all the day in Mercator.

I actualy did not know what I was supossed to do there so I was not expecting too much. When I found out that I had to be with belgian people I was feeling unconmfortable and not very happy with the situation but let me tell you how I changed my mind!

When I sit with my partners they didn't say a word so I thought that maybe they were feeling just like me, but then when one of them spoke and asked me where I was from, everything changed. Why?  Because since the first moment I told him I was from Mexico he sarted speaking in Spanish!!! Of course just a few words, such as hello and how are you? But I thought it was very nice from him and since that moment everyone started participating so I felt very comfortable and happy for being in that team, besides we were first place and I think it was also thanks to the good communication we had.

But this doesn't end here, after the game we went to one of my team partner's apartment to make the presentation and I gotta say that it was very fun. These guys were very nice to me, actually one of them just offered to take me to Brugge or the most interesting places here in Belgium. 

As you can see the outcome of all this situation was very good so I just learned that it is not good to judge people or some situations just because you have heard some things or because you do not feel like being there. In the end, the most unexpected things are the best!

My first day in Ghent, Belgium!

Almost two weeks ago, I arrived to one of the most beatiful cities I have ever met: Ghent. Ghent is a city in Belgium, close to almost everything so I could say that this is one of the reasons of coming here.

Since I come from Mexico, 12 hours away from here (or more), I thought that I would find many differences about culture, language, places, etc. The first thing that I could say it was very different from Mexico and here in Belgium is the way in which we say hello or goodbye. So let me tell you my story.

When I arrived to the train station someone was already waiting for me: Margot. Margot is a girl from the same school where I am studying so she offered herself to pick me up. She was very nice to me, she took me to her apartment so I could send a mail to my parents telling them I was fine. While we were there she offerered to me some food and she also told me that we could go to the supermarket to make some shopping of the most importants things that I needed at the moment.

After we finished shopping we went to my Student home so I could unpack all my stuff and finally rest. When Margot and me say good bye it was kind of weird because I hugged her thinking that it would be a nice gesture from me since she helped me a lot and because for me and all mexican people that would be very normal, but I felt that she was like:"What are you doing?". Of course she didn´t tell me anything but I think it was kinf of weird for he that a girl that she barely knew hugged her.

As I was saying, in Mexico is very common that people, even if it is the first time that they say hello to each other, hug and kiss as best friends, but here in Belgium I found out that people do not usually do that. The just say hello, but the do not kiss or hug. I guess it`s all bout culture!