Around 9 am Thursday we all boarded the bus to start day five of our trip. We were very excited to arrive at our first stop for the day Carrefour, a grocery store similar to Wal-Mart in style. Before we hopped off the bus, Professor Martens asked each group to find 5 similarities and differences between this store and one in the U.S.. The group that returned with the best examples would win a secret prize. 

While in the store, everyone found many examples to present. For example, immediately when we walked inside we noticed a wall of cool handheld personal scanners.  As shoppers come in, they are able to grab a scanner and scan the items they want to purchase as they shop. The scanner automatically totals the amount and accounts for coupons and discounts.  This way, shoppers know exactly what their total will be before they check out.  We thought this was really unique and probably made shopping way more convenient. Unlike U.S. supermarkets there were also a large amount of employees in every department either staking the shelves, cleaning, cooking, or helping customers. The food products also had many distinct differences. There were chip flavors like pesto and ketchup plus an entire aisle devoted to cooking oil. In the U.S it is standard to have at least one bathroom in the store for customers to use free of charge.  Unfortunately, we had to learn the hard way that bathrooms are not standard and if they do happen to have one, it most likely will cost you a few Euros! After we boarded the bus each group talked about what they found. The chicken group won the comparison and contrast supermarket competition and received a cool Smurf Belgian candy.

Our next visit after the supermarket was to a farm that raised cattle and various crops. We were very lucky to visit this mixed farm which was made possible by David Carpintero, a representative of Monsanto. It was a large and historic looking farm set up as a square formed from the house and three barns. We were informed this was very typical for Belgian architecture.  The breed of cattle that were raised there are Belgian Blues, a very unique breed because of their noticeably larger amount of muscle when compared to other breeds. The owner of the farm, Manu Laruelle,took us on a tour in the order a calf would grow. First, we saw a mother cow who had just had a c-section. A Belgian Blue calf has to be born through a c-section because natural birth is too risky for both the cow and calf. Next, the farmer showed us the young calves which was a one of the groups favorite parts. The calves stuck out their tongues at us and we took a lot of photos with them. After seeing the full grown cows, we went down the road to look at some of the crops that are raised in the area. Dirk Hyndrikx and Benoit Colinet from Monsanto Belgium showed us the four crops being grown on the land. On one side of the road there was a winter wheat field. On the other side, there was an apple orchard in the distance and closer up there was a chicory field and a sugar beet field. These types of crops seem to be staple crops in the region. The farm visit was very beneficial for us because some of us do not have a farming background and this is very new to us. People with previous agricultural knowledge were able to learn even more useful information about how the U.S. and European farms differ. Overall it was a great day, we felt so fortunate we to have the opportunity to talk to the farm experts and take time to experience a supermarket in Belgium.