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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana forward Percy Tau says it took him time to adjust to the culture, playing conditions and people in Belgium with his loan side Royal Union Saint-Gilloise.
Tau is on the books of Brighton who he signed for from Mamelodi Sundowns at the start of last season, but spent the year on loan with Les Unionistes.
The player enjoyed a stellar campaign as he was named the Proximus Player of the Season in Belgian's second tier.
However, the 25-year-old said it was not all plain-sailing as he had to adjust to the challenges of playing in Europe.
He said: "I'm just trying to take everything as it comes, and then focus on my [own] journey, I think to remain focussed is way more important.
"There's a lot of important things that some people might not see in that way, but they're allowed to have a say. But some things were important to me and I'm happy that I was able to go through that process and I was playing football.
"I think everyone is happy when they're playing football, so, yeah.
"Football is football. Regardless of where you play, if you focus on the football then everything else becomes easier.
"I was just playing football, and it wasn't new to me. I first went loan on Witbank Spurs, so it's just something that I'm used to.
"It's to prepare me for what's coming and to understand the culture, understand different leagues, understand different coaching.
"So, I think I've adjusted well, even though there were things that were actually difficult for me to handle, travelling a lot, 10 hours every time coming to the national team, that was new to me.
"And then there was having new teammates, I was at Sundowns for seven years, so I had to build relationships again, so that also took some time. But I think the process was also actually good."
Tau is in the Bafana Bafana squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt where he is expected to play a key role for Stuart Baxter's side.
