A night at the movies

A solo trip to the movies a few nights ago reminded me how similar, yet different, things are here compared to home. I ate a light dinner before the movie so I wouldn't feel too guilty about the bucket of popcorn I'd eat at the theater. After getting my ticket I pondered the evils of my beverage choices while waiting in the concessions line. In the states this would be easy: Coke or diet. In Belgium it's Coke, diet, or the always tempting beer. I opted for my tradition and ordered a large Coca Cola Light, knowing as a result that my ears would be ringing in the morning after a night of lousy sleep. I'm not a fan of the Belgian's taste for sugar on popcorn so I picked the less popular salt option...it was stale as usual.
The theater was mostly empty since it was a Tuesday night and the Harry Potter film had already been out a few months. I headed toward the assigned seat that was printed on my ticket: rij 11, zetel 12. Row 11 was completely empty except for another solo guy sitting in seat 13...right next to me. I chose a different seat figuring the odds were good that I wouldn't be moved. Soon another loner came and parked himself on the other side of what was supposed to be my seat. I took a few minutes before the film to (over) analyze things...16 rows, more than 20 seats in each...over 300 seats total...counted the people...less than 30. In a theater that was less than 10% full the only 3 guys without dates were supposed to be seated next to each other. The ticket people were having a good laugh: "Hey, let's sit the losers together!"

During the first preview the film stopped abruptly. In the states people would call out immediately to make sure someone was in the booth and that they were paying attention. That all-American "let's get 'r done" attitude. I think Belgians would sit patiently and quietly until their stale, sugary popcorn was finished. Good and bad points from each culture. I decided I'd wait it out, at least until it became obvious that no one would help us. It would have been priceless if I'd screamed something in English just to see the looks on people's faces. Instead, we waited patiently for the minute or so before the film rolled again (it seemed like an eternity to me...since I'm American and all).

The usual 30-45 minute previews were only 15 minutes. At intermission I paid my .30 euro for the use of the toilets. I glanced at the Dutch and French subtitles from time to time to see if I could learn a new word or two. It's the subtle things that emphasize our differences.

As I expected, the movie was good and my ears were ringing the next morning from a restless sleep...I should have had a beer.