Archive for March, 2015
The Dutch kind of Humanitarian Aid – Bikes for Refugees! Posted by Sten on Mar 30, 2015
What could be more Dutch to give than… fietsen? The Dutch Minister voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (Minister for Development Cooperation) Ploumen visited a refugee camp in Jordan, the Al Za’Atari camp, to be precise. Most of these are refugees from Syria, and the camp has been there for 3 years now. People start living there, rather than just searching refuge…
Dutch Afkortingen (Abbreviations)! Posted by Sten on Mar 25, 2015
Every language has many afkortingen (abbreviations) to make… well, everything shorter! But what means what? Below some valuable abbreviations of Dutch words and expressions! Alstublieft – a.u.b. (also s.v.p.) – please Afbeelding – afb. – picture Aanstaande – a.s. – upcoming Bijvoorbeeld – bijv. – for example Circa – ca. – approximately Door middel van – d.m.v. – by means of Dat wil zeggen – d.w.z. – … which means En andere –…
Why We Do What We Do Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 24, 2015
Part of communicating is explaining why we do something. This “why” could refer to our motivation, to explain more or be more specific, or even something as simple as to the function of things. In Dutch, this can be explained with the words om + te + _______ (infinitief). If I want to explain why I…
Making Your Vote Count! Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 16, 2015
Last week I received an unexpected surprise in the mail. Although I am only a Dutch resident, I am eligible to vote in local elections. My family and I have always been big voters, and I was very happy to know that I am able to continue exercising this democratic right. What do I need…
Living in the Netherlands Means Integrating Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 9, 2015
The Netherlands was the first country to require a language and culture exam for those who want to live here (except for expats or students). The purpose of the exam is to push immigrants to integrate or integreren into Dutch life by learning the language, history and culture of the country. This seems to me like…
The thrilling question – Wie is de Mol? Posted by Sten on Mar 8, 2015
Wie is de Mol? is a Dutch TV game show that attracts millions of kijkers every year. In 10 episodes, 9 candidates and the Mol play many well-thought out games in a country far away from the small Netherlands. This year was the 15th edition of the show, and it was staged in Sri Lanka. The game is about…
Lets not be so simple…with our sentences! Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 5, 2015
When learning a language, we can sometimes be our worst enemies. We strive for perfection and yet miss a homework assignment or two (or gasp! class), we want to talk about more than the weather and colors but we don’t learn new words. For adults, our enemy is sometimes our intelligence. I don’t mean to…