salaamu alaikum,
Seek out the local community in the city you are staying. There's Muslim student organizations in universities often so check them out as well. Stick to islam and be yourself, if someone doesn't it like it then you report to your program head. Don't compromise your deen to please them.
you can read about belgium here
http://www.euro-islam.info/pages/belgium.html
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I am a Brussels resident, and to be frank, I never saw Muslim women begging on the streets. Most beggars are organized Eastern-European gangs and locals. My guess is that it was an imposter, using the scarf just to draw attention and get some money.
It is true that the Belgian government does a lot for Muslims. Immans are state-paid, and it's illegal to phrase anti-Muslim remarks in public. You will not be harassed if you phrase anti-Christian remarks, but you will be fined or put on trial when you admit to be anti-Muslim.
It's also true that there is a very generous social security system in Belgium, and we have a guaranteed income for those who don't work. Muslims are over-represented in that system, but only males. Women and girls find work easily, they study longer, and they are under-represented in crime statistics.
But it's also true that most street crime in Brussels and in Antwerp (another large Belgian city) is perpetrated by male Moroccan youth gangs. I myself was beaten once up into hospital at night, once robbed of my cell phone by Moroccans, and one time harassed by Algerians that were vandalizing a public railway rest room.
Those are not isolated incidents at all. Local women that walk lightly dressed in summer are often scorned as "*****s" by Moroccan male youth, and male ǃ˙Muslimsǃ˘ do most violent rape in Northern Europe.
http://fjordman.blogspot.com/2005/12...in-sweden.html
I am also residing in the island of Mindanao, Philippines, 5 months per year. It's interesting to observe the difference between the position of Muslims in Mindanao on one hand, and in ǃ˙Eurabiaǃ˘ on the other. We in "Eurabia" can draw valuable lessons from the Philippine approach.
From:
http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1609_0_25_0_C