Archive for September, 2015
Fashion and Prinsjesdag 2015 Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 30, 2015
Earlier this month, King Willem-Alexander presented to the government and the Dutch people the changes for the coming year. Important topics such as health insurance costs, military expansions and the refugee crisis were all part of this very important speech. However, Prinsjesdag isn’t only about the king’s speech. One very popular topic related to Prinsjesdag is the…
Prinsjesdag 2015 Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 23, 2015
The third Tuesday of September is an important day in the Netherlands because it is the day the king will present the plans for the coming year. The speech is not written by the king, but the tradition is that he presents this plan. The following video explains what Prinsjesdag is. This year Prinsjesdag was on September 15…
Getting Creative in Dutch Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 16, 2015
One of my favourite activities to use with language learners is creative writing. Although not many students will enjoy creative writing assignments at first, the benefits make the effort worthwhile. With creative writing activities, language learners make use of the language in a more precise and thoughtful way because they must carefully select their words…
Netherlands + Hip Hop = Nederhop Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 10, 2015
I was at a dinner party last Saturday with my husband’s cousins and we were listening to music. Riccardo is a BIG hip hop fan so he quickly put some songs he liked (especially after seeing “Straight Outta Compton” a week ago). People started commenting on hip hop and the most baffling term came up…
Jerry Winkler – from uitschot to millionaire Posted by Sten on Sep 9, 2015
When Jerry was 14 years old, he ran from home, and lived in orphanages and boarding schools, until he was 18. Then, he was deemed old enough to take his life in his own hands. Battered by his past, he lived on the streets of Amsterdam, drinking and smoking up too much, and living from…
The European Refugee Crisis in the Netherlands: De Vluchtelingencrisis Posted by Jakob Gibbons on Sep 8, 2015
Lately one can’t turn on the news in the Netherlands without encountering a lengthy segment on the vluchtelingencrisis, the refugee crisis gripping Europe. Dutch news programs like the NOS Journaal and Nieuwsuur are devoting extensive coverage to what most sources call the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Last week the surfacing of one particular…
Yellow and Dutch – All you need to know about Dutch kentekenplaten! Posted by Sten on Sep 7, 2015
This March, a new kentekenplaten (car plates) system was introduced in the Netherlands. The old system was exhausted. Again! Here on the Dutch-German border, in the German part, we see the yellow kentekenplaten more and more. Famously here are the many Dutch that cross the border to do their groceries at the local supermarkets in Germany. Allegedly because they…