Misnomers

Maybe these misnomers are retribution for all the Belgian inventions that no one attributes to Belgique. Sure, we know BELGIAN CHOCOLATE and BELGIAN WAFFLES. But how many Americans know the Smurfs are Belgian, and even FRENCH FRIES! Survey says: 0

Thus our first week here en Belgique the 50 study abroad students were put up by our program in the Sleep Well Youth Hostel. Now, I know you may be thinking, "Sleeping well is something I normally associate with names like Plaza, Ritz Carlton, or Four Seasons. But not cheap, crowded youth hostels." There's a good reason for that association. It's similar to how the smell of tequila instantly brings back that one terrible night when...well let's just say you know to stay away.

As far as hostels go, Sleep Well was actually great. The showers unpredictably alternated between freezing and scalding, and I blew the electrical outlets in a room of 8 guys on the second day, but we did survive. The 8 guy room soon smelled of feet, smoke, cheap vodka, and stale beer, which meant that sleeping with the window open was practically a necessity. Unfortunately enough, yours truly occupied the top bunk closest to the window. So can I slay I slept well? Nope. Was it worth it to get to where I am now? Absolutely.

Misnomer #1: Sleep Well Youth Hostel
Betternomer: We're What You Can Afford So Deal With It Youth Hostel

One convenient thing about WWYCASDWI Youth Hostel was location. Right next City 2 Mall. Wait, did I say "mall"? The formal definition (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mall) aside, malls usually have a food court, department stores, clothing stores, and no tricky escalators. Our enormous group of 50 used the metro station under the City 2 Mall on our first little trip together. Little did we know what the escalators sometimes do in Belgium.

They start out harmless enough as moving steps. So maybe you continue a conversation you've been having by riding it backwards, because it's an escalator and you trust it. Not en Belgique. You could hear 50 different reactions as many people literally stumbled onto the discovery that an escalator is liable to flatten into a moving walkway (and then become an escalator again) without telling you. "Oh!" "Cool!" "Holy Shhhh--" "What was that?"

Misnomer #2: City 2 Mall
Betternomer: Best 2 Watch Your Backs In Here, Américains!