Identity

On July 11 the Flemish community celebrated its national holiday in commemoration of The Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, when a Flemish troup of peasants, artisans and noblemen defeated the French army in a heroic David versus Goliath-scenario (or so the story goes!). The media reports and concerts in several Flemish cities made me ponder the question of national identity - whether I see myself as Flemish, Belgian, Kiwi or some sort of combination of all three. Living in Fukuoka has complicated the matter even more because while I would of course never consider myself Japanese, certain elements of their society (politeness etc.) did strike a chord and are now part of my own perspective. Hm, one thing is certain: my connection with my home region of West Flanders is still strong but with every year that passes I do feel a shift, and adjusting takes longer everytime. Ah well, it's all part of being an expat, I certainly don't have a reason to complain about the life Vaughan and I lead!

An intrinsic part of Flemish/Belgian identity is the passion for cycling, and the event of the year is without a doubt the legendary Tour de France, which occasionally passes through our country as well. This year the race entered Belgium a mere 3km from my mother's house, so we went along for a few hours and witnessed the madness!

Before the cyclists themselves show up there's a endless parade of sponsored cars, floats and loudspeakers to get bystanders excited and try to sell merchandise. I love the 'La Vache Qui Rit' cheese so hence this shot of their float throwing free goodies into the crowd.

The peloton of 180 cyclists whizzed by so fast that all I managed was to take one picture and then they were gone! 2,5 hours of standing for 3 seconds of sport? Just about worth it...