Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Holidays, Netherlands, tagged abdication, boat regattas, celebration, ceremonies, concerts, coronation, Dutch, Dutch monarchy, King Willem-Alexander, Koninginnedag, music festivals, national yard sale, Netherlands, parties, Prince Willem-Alexander, Queen Beatrix, royal, services, throne on April 30, 2013 | 5 Comments »
Today was Queen’s Day, the biggest national holiday in the Netherlands. They’ve been celebrating the monarch’s birthday since the late 19th century, and this marks the fourth Koninginnedag festivities we’ve observed. I mentioned in another post that it’s a lot like a mix of New Year’s Eve, Fourth of July and Mardi Gras (with more […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Albert Heijn, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Family & Friends, Learning Dutch or Other Foreign Languages, Travel, United States, tagged America, different, driving, Dutch, English, expat, familiar, family, going 'home', going back, off kilter, Repatriation, sensory overload, travel, United States, university visits, visiting family on June 30, 2012 | 16 Comments »
I’ve been back in the United States for a week now, and I’m still adjusting. Daughter and I are here for an extended period visiting family, beginning to check out universities, attending a pre-college program (her) while I hole myself up to work on some writing projects, and so on. Oh, and eventually spending some […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Catarina Chronicles, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Netherlands, tagged 100 years, backpacks, bicycles, brick brownstones, celebration, centennial, culture, Dutch, Dutch flag, flagpoles, French doors, graduation, greenery, high school exams finished, home, neighborhood, Netherlands, outdoor living space, ritjeshuis, ritjeshuizen, sidewalks, street party, Ten Hovestraat, tree-lined street, vines on June 17, 2012 | 18 Comments »
Walking home the other day I happened to look up, as I am wont to do, and realized that they were back. I saw what has now become an annual sight, worthy of mention: the graduation backpacks are up the flagpoles again. […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Albert Heijn, Catarina Chronicles, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Exercise & Sports, Expat Life, Netherlands, tagged Albert Heijn, Arjen Robben, Dutch, Euro 2012, European Championship, European Championship tournament, football cards, football fans, Germany, Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbal Bond, national team, Netherlands, Olympics, Orange Lion, Oranje Leeuw, Robin Van Persie, Royal Dutch Football Association, voetbal, voetbal kaartjes, Wesley Sneijder, World Cup, World Intellectual Property Organization on June 13, 2012 | 14 Comments »
(Updated 14 June 2012) She’s baaaack. Catarina, that is. She of An International Trade Representative’s Got Nothing on Her and Head of Delegation Written All Over Her fame. My cute little nine-year-old neighbor has already been to the house two times in the past week. Euro 2012 is underway, and you know what that means: […]
Posted in Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Holidays, Netherlands, September 11th, United States, tagged Americans, Arlington Cemetery, civilians, Dodenherdenking, Dutch, honor, Memorial Day, military, Netherlands, remembrance, Second World War, service members, service to their country, silence, soldiers, Tomb of the Unkown Soldier, tribute, Trilogy to the Dutch, two minutes of silence, ultimate sacrifice, United States, World War II, writing on May 6, 2012 | 10 Comments »
When this week began, little did I know that by the end I would be writing what has essentially become my own personal Trilogy to the Dutch. I’d enjoyed all the excitement and revelry of my third Queen’s Day, stuck again by how virtually everyone gets involved in what is essentially one big party. There’s something about an entire […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Food and Drink, Holidays, Netherlands, tagged bands, carnival, celebration, drink, Dutch, Dutch national holiday, food, music festival, Netherlands, orange, picnics, Queen's Day, Queen's Night, street parties, The Hague, yard sales on May 3, 2012 | 10 Comments »
Never let it be said that Dutchies don’t know how to party. Seriously. Never say it. I’ve written about Queen’s Day before, and having celebrated the Dutch national holiday for the third year running, I can only say that it continues to amaze me. There’s something about it that makes me happy, and I’m not even […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Netherlands, Travel, tagged Dutch, travel, wanderlust on March 15, 2011 | 6 Comments »
This morning I was catching up on some of the blogs I follow, and found myself chuckling while reading Tiffany’s Clogs and Tulips. Author and blogger Tom McLaughlin (aka Borneo Tom) was guest posting, and wrote about traveling across the globe and always running into someone from the Netherlands. People, I am telling you, it is […]
Posted in Dutch Life, Expat Life, Light Bulb Moments, Netherlands, Travel, tagged cultural sensitivity, Dutch, German on February 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Standing in line at Centraal Station in Den Haag, waiting to buy tickets for a train trip to Belgium.Nederlanders queuing up patiently. Woman decides standing in line somehow doesn’t apply to her, so she goes up to the teller at the closed window and peppers her with questions while the poor teller tries to count […]
Posted in Netherlands, Oddities + Odds & Ends, tagged Dutch, nationality, scuba divers on February 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I suppose there are times when the nationality of a person is absolutely crucial. I’m trying to think of some examples off the top of my head, and I’m drawing a blank. Not to be discriminatory in any way, but I tend to prefer learning a foreign language from a native speaker. Certainly not an ironclad […]
Posted in Dutch Life, Learning Dutch or Other Foreign Languages, Netherlands, tagged Dutch, Nederlands, silly word, winkel on February 5, 2011 | 4 Comments »
I’m warning you upfront that this post is going to be a little juvenile. Okay, maybe a LOT. Every language has a few words that just seem, well, odd. Or silly. So funny-sounding that it’s hard to take them seriously. When you have to actually use such words, it’s hard to keep a straight face. […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Light Bulb Moments, Netherlands, Travel, tagged architecture, different, Dutch, Haarlem on January 24, 2011 | 2 Comments »
When I took this photo late last summer, I thought it was a great example of the juxtaposition of the old and the new. Husband and I were enjoying a lazy Sunday wandering around Haarlem, a favorite place to spend the day. ‘I really like how they built these modern buildings right next to historical ones,’ I recall telling Husband. […]
Posted in Expat Life, Learning Dutch or Other Foreign Languages, tagged Dutch, learn a foreign language on January 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
If you ever try to learn a foreign language, it is imperative that the first phrase you learn to say is ‘this is a very difficult language’. Or something to that effect. You might think you should learn ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ first, but those are words people, not phrases. (Okay, if you say ‘thank […]
Posted in Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Food and Drink, Holidays, Netherlands, tagged Christmas, doughnut, Dutch, Oliebollen on December 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Oliebollen are here! The Oliebollen are here! Those incredibly delicious, Dutch fried doughnuts dipped in powdered sugar. Eaten fresh and hot, they are amazing. Little Oliebollen stands pop up on street corners this time of year, beckoning with Christmas cheer. Wonderful plain or with apples or raisins or other fruits and fillings. A-maz-ing. I’m […]
Posted in Dutch Life, Food and Drink, What I Love/Miss, tagged Dutch, Food and Drink, gift wrap on November 22, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Since arriving here, there has been so much change in my life. So much that is new and different. It’s no wonder I keep a running list in my mind of things that never cease to amaze or delight me. And those things I miss. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this. What […]
Posted in Change, Dutch Life, Expat Life, First Year Blur, Netherlands, tagged change, Dutch, expat, move, Netherlands on November 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It has been about 18 months since we arrived to join Husband. Today I was walking over to the shopping street near our neighborhood, intent on running some errands. My mind wandered back to the first time I had gone shopping for groceries, or to the hardware store or the post office. I tried to recall […]
Posted in Oddities + Odds & Ends, tagged Dutch, geese, joke on November 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
At Daughter’s Dutch voetbal (aka soccer to Americans) club this weekend, I stood on the sidelines watching the game with the other team parents. Suddenly we heard the honking of birds. Several parents began laughing and speaking animatedly, pointing skyward. A flock of geese was passing overhead. Although I couldn’t understand many of the Dutch words, I understood […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Dutch Life, Netherlands, New to Nederland, Travel, tagged change, Den Haag, Dutch, expat, Holland, Netherlands, travel on November 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The first time you arrive somewhere, anywhere, you’re seeing it through fresh eyes. Sometimes when I’m driving around Den Haag, through the Dutch countryside, or close to Amsterdam, I’m transported back to the first time I saw it all. It was not quite two years ago, when Son, Daughter and I came to visit Husband. […]
Posted in Dutch Life, Exercise & Sports, Family & Friends, Learning Dutch or Other Foreign Languages, Our Animals, tagged Dutch, friendship, learning Dutch, running, serendipity on November 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Earlier in the week I received a message from my Dutch friend Katja. She’s currently in Washington, DC attending a seminar for work. She wanted to thank me again for the info about DC that I’d shared with her before she left. The weather was nice and she was enjoying her visit. ‘I love DC and can […]
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