LAST October, I went to study in Brussels. Since I had studied English literature at university, many of my friends wondered why I chose Belgium. My answer was very simple - I think Brussels hosts the headquarter of many international institutions, including, of course, the EU and NATO; it is closer to most of Europe than Britain, and it costs less to live there.

Money is no longer the biggest problem for Chinese students here. Instead, we feel more concerned about being integrated into the local (European) culture.

Difficulties are natural. First, language problems can always pose an obstacle. Belgian universities, including mine - with the largest Chinese students' population - are usually Flemish-speaking ones; and Flemish is a difficult language to learn. Without knowing the language, Chinese (and other foreign) students lose out on some of the flavour of the local culture

Another difficulty is posed by the time-consuming and complicated administrative procedures required for foreigners to register legally to stay in this country. For example, it usually takes two weeks to three months for foreign students to obtain the compulsory identity registration from the local community administration.

Without this identity card, we can't do many things, for example, register for language schools, legally travel outside the country and return, since students' visas are for single entry into Belgium only.

Belgians are also surprisingly reserved. This also adds to the difficulty of getting to know about the local people and culture.

However, we have a group of active online discussion administrators who really devote themselves to collecting information about living, studying, travelling and working in Belgium to share with us online and help us overcome "cultural shock".

Reality might have dampened some of our romantic feelings about Europe; but it has not annulled it completely. After all, studying overseas is not just about academic issues, but also concerns methods for solving difficult problems, and I will continue learning about these through the coming New Year 2004.

The author is a former Shanghai Star reporter