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Belgium does not have a clear image for countries abroad. When traveling abroad, the Belgians sometimes have to tell people: 'No, Belgium is not in Brussels, it is the other way round, Brussels is in Belgium.' Other small European countries bring clear associations to mind; Switzerland is immediately associated with banking, clocks and mountains, Holland with tulips, cheese and wind-mills. Often people abroad don’t even know that something is Belgian, while there are so many reasons to love Belgium.

Due to the lack of image-building and the fact that the Belgian culture and landscape is extremely varied, it cannot be summarized in a few symbols. Those who know a little about Belgium will come up with chocolate, beer and frites (French fries). At first site, a visitor to Brussels might think that the stereotype is true. As you get into the center of the city, two out of every three shops is either a lace, waffle, or chocolate shop, all having signs in two languages. But this will not be enough to create a national identity. The government is now trying to paint a picture of ‘a land where life is good, where good eating and drinking and open heartedness are coupled with an age-old generosity and a know-how that people envy far beyond the borders’.

Belgium is comprised of two primary cultural groups: the Dutch-speaking Flemings and the French-speaking Walloons. Though Flemish and Walloon cultures differ in several respects, they have more things in common than most are willing to admit. To generalize the Belgians, we can say that Belgian people are reserved, modest, self-critical, and tolerant and have a clear aversion towards telling other people how they should or should not behave. Belgians are also described as ‘open-minded opportunists’.

And what all Belgians have in common is a love for the ‘good life’, which they find in their excellent food and drink. It is especially noticed by foreign visitors that the food is excellent and the concentration of restaurants and pubs is very dense. Belgium is a gastronomical heaven and the only country in the world where McDonald's has been consistently losing money. And perhaps this is also the reason that the only few associations people make with Belgium are related to food.

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‘Culture Shock! Belgium’ is not a guide book in the usual sense, but a survival guide to customs and etiquette. It shows how to better understand and cope with the local culture, from greeting strangers and dining to giving gifts and handling numerous business and social situations.

It is quite a humorous book and very accurate about the Belgian life. The writer, Mark Elliot, is a British foreigner married to a Belgian. He has a very good view of the small thing in the life of Belgians, but also did an enormous amount of work on research of the history of Belgium. The readers of ‘Culture Shock! Belgium’ learn more about Belgium than they ever wanted to know. The book is extremely readable and recommended to anyone interested in Belgium.