Archive for February, 2016
Het Schrikkeljaar – 3 Questions Answered About The Dutch Leap Year Posted by Sten on Feb 29, 2016
Every four years – except century years, unless they are divisible by 400 – we have a schrikkeljaar (leap year). 2016 is one! Today, it is one of the rare schrikkeldagen (leap days), and this has implications of course! Also in the Netherlands… 1. Waarom houden we schrikkeljaren? (Why do we have leap years?) I think this video explains perfectly why…
How V&D Went Down Posted by Sten on Feb 29, 2016
Vroom & Dreesmann, or V&D is as Dutch as klompen, or cheese. Every medium to large city in the Netherlands has a V&D in its city center. They sell everything from writing utensils, books to clothing, pans and food. Well, I should rephrase this. Because something bad happened to V&D. As you might already guess from…
4 Things I Dislike about the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 24, 2016
I’ve lived in the Netherlands for a couple of years and I think in this time, I have been able to see a good variety of Dutchness. There are plenty of things I like, but there are some things I find simply vervelend. I decided to compose a list of 4 things I dislike about the Netherlands…
6 Ways to Read More News in Dutch Posted by Jakob Gibbons on Feb 23, 2016
Especially when learning a small cultural language like Dutch, it’s nearly impossible to separate the language from the culture of the people who speak it. That’s why jezelf op de hoogte houden (keeping yourself up to date) on current events in the Netherlands, Belgium, and other parts of the nederlandstaalgebied is a great way to…
Volkskrant: I am not Dutch Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 17, 2016
The writer for the Volkskrant, Nadia Ezzeroili, published a very interesting and controversial column titled Ik ben geen Nederlander: Nederland en ik, we gaan uit elkaar. In this column, Ezzeroili begins by comparing her relationship with the Netherlands as that to a partner or spouse. She recomends that maybe it is time for both to go to…
The Dutch Version of the Correspondents’ Dinner Posted by Sten on Feb 15, 2016
Last Wednesday, February 10, the Dutch press held their version of the US Correspondents’ Dinner at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. The idea is to copy the Correspondents’ Dinner and have the “President” of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, make fun of himself, his fellow politicians and the press. So comparing to President…
4 Times Dutch is Very Important! Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 10, 2016
Everyone who has been to the Netherlands knows how easy it is to get by without any Dutch. The majority of people speak English and the Dutch are known to be extra happy to be able to speak English. As a foreigner, this may give the idea that the Netherlands is a place where you…