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Valentine’s Day Survival Guide for the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 14, 2018
Although Valentine’s Day isn’t as big in the Netherlands as it is in the U.S., every year, there are more and more activities to celebrate. Whether this is because of the diverse expat community or because the Dutch are just simply catching on to this, the truth is that Valentine’s Day is making an appearance…
Crows and Dutch Ingenuity Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 7, 2018
Last month, I wrote about some very interesting projects started by the Dutch. I came across another one this month, that I would like to share with you: Crowded Cities. Sigarettenpeuken or cigarette butts are an issue in all major cities. In the Netherlands, 6 billion cigarette filters are thrown to the streets each year creating…
Back to Basics: Possession and Pronouns Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 24, 2018
One of the mistakes I’ve caught myself consistently making is to mix up all of the pronouns when it comes to talking about people’s things. If it isn’t using ik or je, I cannot seem to get them straight in my head. Ik heb hun auto gebruikt…zij auto….de auto van wie?!?!? What is a pronoun? The first question…
Strong Winds Cause Chaos in the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 18, 2018
In the Netherlands, we woke up to some of the strongest winds in years. The majority of the country was in code oranje and code rood for wind gusts of up to 143 kph. The hardest hit areas were in the Randstad, Gelderland and the north of the country. The zware storm caused lots of damage or schade in buildings…
Book Review: The Song and the Truth Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 17, 2018
My latest Dutch literature read is Het lied en de waarheid or in it’s English title The Song and the Truth by Helga Ruebsamen. Helga grew up in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) with her Dutch mother and her German Jewish father. Her family eventually moved to the Netherlands where she grew up. Het lied en de waarheid…
3 Examples of Dutch Ingenuity Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 10, 2018
One of the things that attracts many of us to the Netherlands is how incredibly modern the country can be in regards to projects and laws. It was the first country to grant same-sex couples the right to marry. It has an incredible dam structure that keeps the country above water. The Dutch landscape has…
4 New Year’s Traditions from the Netherlands Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 3, 2018
The 2017-2018 New Year’s celebration was my first in the Netherlands, and at home, we made it a point to be as traditional as possible. It was a very nice experience and the following are 4 traditions I learned: 1. “Alvast een fijne jaarwisseling” and “Gelukkig nieuwjaar” These are the two phrases you need to…