The importance of being "a Maggi" - having a "bipartisan" foreign surname in a deeply divided country

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Some days ago I was talking to a fellow immigrant to Belgium like me about the sense of “guilt” we automatically perceive(d) when dealing with certain Flemish people when you can (still) speak only French.

He used a very accurate metaphor:

...while it’s not, because if you’re in Brussels it’s obvious that you will learn French first.

I totally felt the same, I can still remember the voices of certain guys telling me:

Of course, I know it’s important, but time is limited and you have to set priorities. If you don't want to feel alienated while learning a language that you'll likely use only for work at first, whereas you're surrounded by people who are hardly at ease with that - and you have to rebuild a life there - the most socially viable language is your first choice.

People in Brussels grasp some Dutch, often speak English better, and are definitely the most at ease with French. Why shouldn't you learn it first?

Of course nobody - and I hope fewer and fewer people - is going to neglect the Dutch language. There is a very simple reason for it: you need it to work and to feel less alienated at your workplace if there are not many foreigners.

Now that I can chat with both sides quite freely, I feel like I have some sort of superpower. 😂

Also, of course, when the name is foreign that’s another thing. When I say my name it's clear I'll never be one of the locals. My name doesn't sound either French or Dutch.

But, I have a secret weapon.

My surname, Maggi - if it wasn't clear enough from the title haha.

Thanks to the Maggi Empire of the Soup, a lot of people know it anywhere.

People often think it's actually my name as an abbreviation of Margareth or so, but then I explain and it's a bit of a pain when I have to do the spelling.

After a while, I realized that you can find Maggi products in local shops here in Belgium too. I didn't know how popular it was.

At some point, I don't remember when, I started changing my way of doing the spelling. Up to now, I've always needed it only in French and so I say:

Everybody has a moment of perplexity because that's not the answer they expect, but then they get it right and it's So. Much. Easier...!

Some days ago a Flemish friend asked me what was my surname.

I tried the same trick:

"Maggi..." (read with the Italian pronunciation)
- "Macci?" (there's no real "g" sound like in "joy" in Dutch)
"No, Maggi... Maggi..."

He didn't get it. So I got to the last resort:

"Maggi like the stock cubes, the instant soups!"
- "Ah! Maggi!" (read with the Flemish "g" sound, which would be more like 'Magghi' for the Italian orthography) - and a big smile appears :)

It’s enough to adapt the pronunciation to strike the right chord. I loved it.

I find very funny the fact that both “teams” can relate to something very familiar like a brand they’ve probably grown up with, that they may remember from some tv ads too.

I think it makes you instantly slightly more familiar.

Which means a little bit more integrated...

which is my objective.

I guess nobody knows that it’s a Swiss brand from a family with Italian roots, it’s just too popular and I like the idea of being connected to something “super partes”, but that doesn't feel foreign.