I’ve just gotta indulge in a little bit of Belgium Bashing today. I just have to.

I’ve mentioned the requests for residency that are surely sitting in some forgotten pile of folders. I’m sure of it. I don’t know one person in Brussels who has ever actually received a residency card this way. I think it’s a practical joke on foreigners.

So, still seeking a little assistance, hoping I can find the right bureaucrat to poke with a cattle prod, I went to another window at the commune house (city hall) today. Each window has a different topic to deal with, and I was going to try another angle on this thing. All weekend, I checked and rechecked the official website for information. I gathered all my documents, I planned my day around the hours that they will see you. 8am-1pm. Later by appointment only.

So I spend this morning double checking that everything is in order. I go there at 11:45. But guess what? There’s a sign on the closed window that says “open from 8 to 12 1/4″. I’m irritated, but check my watch. 25 minutes to spare. Cool. But still there’s no one there. I wait, I peek around…no sign of life. So I call the phone number I find on a brochure of the window. The lady tells me, “you can come and talk to us when we’re open”.

“Yes,” I argue, “but that’s supposed to be now.”

“We’re open from 8-12,” she says shortly, daring me to point out that it is not yet 12.

I am breathing fire. So in the span of 15 minutes I’ve been told 3 different closing times and none of them is even being honored while I’m standing there! I say to her, “well, perhaps I can make an appointment.”

“Come when we’re open. Buh-bye.” Click.

I don’t know why I continue to be surprised when these things happen. It’s not the first time and it’s not the last, surely. But what the hell, I mean, c’mon! Does anybody in this god-forsaken government ever work? Does anyone give a damn about anything at all? Belgium is run worse than many third world countries I’ve been to! I don’t know how people who are from here can stand it. (Much less find the time or the guts to spend their time critiquing every other country in the world.)

I admit, I’m just using this as a place to vent. But hey, can you blame me? I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be fine. But forgive me: today, Belgium sucks.