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What makes you really Dutch? Posted by Karoly Molina on Nov 25, 2020
This month, I received notification from the Dutch immigration department or IND that I had been approved by them and by the king to become a Dutch citizen…een echte Nederlander! Even though I was confident the outcome would be positive, I was zeer blij or really happy to get the official response since I plan…
A Decade with Premier Mark Rutte Posted by Karoly Molina on Oct 14, 2020
This month marks the 10th anniversary of Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the head of the Dutch government. The 10 years have been marked by a world-wide financial crisis and its aftermath, the shooting of flight MH17 in Ukraine, the refugee crisis, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this post, I want to point out…
The National Anthem of the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 23, 2020
Last weekend, I went to the Liberation Concert in Margraten, Limburg. This concert takes place each year in the fall at the Netherlands American Cemetery to remember all those whose fought during World War II. You can read more about this concert in a previous post I wrote. At the beginning of the concert, philharmonie…
Dutch Commercials: Amstel and Coolblue Posted by Karoly Molina on Aug 26, 2020
Recently, there have been a few commercials that have caught my attention because they are a quick way to learn a few new words. In this post, I want to focus on Amstel’s beer commercial titled Proostnamen and the series of commercials from the online electronic store Coolblue. Amstel Amstel has been around since 1870 when…
Reinforcing the Houtribdijk in the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Jul 29, 2020
One of the many wonders of the Netherlands is the intricate system of dikes that protect the country from flooding. The dikes or dijken have also worked as a way to to create more space in this relatively small country. In this post, I want to talk about one particular dike, the Houtribdijk, and the…
The (New) Canon of the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Jul 1, 2020
Earlier this year, I wrote about the Dutch canon. The new version of the canon has been made public and in this post, I will review some of the changes and controversy. De Canon van Nederland As I mentioned in an earlier post, the canon of the Netherlands is the accepted rules or standards for…
Practice Dutch with these Tongue Twisters Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 24, 2020
When you learn a new language, sometimes you have to teach your mouth and tongue to move in new ways to get the right pronunciation. Tongue twisters or tongbrekers are a fun way to practice and in this post, I want to share a few. Knap de kapper The first tongbreker is about a kapper or hairdresser named Knap…