Archive for 'Culture'
This Dutch Treat is Racist Posted by Sten on Jun 6, 2016
At least, so they say! Today, I have a rather controversial post for you. It is about “chocolate-coated marshmallow treats”, as Wikipedia likes to call them. I am talking about these things: Negerzoen and its origins What is controversial about them? In the Netherlands and Germany, they are known as Negerzoenen or Negerküsse, which literally translates to “Nigger Kisses”…
Book Review: The Dinner Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 1, 2016
My latest Dutch read has been Het Diner by Herman Koch. A week after having read it, I am still struggling with what I think of the characters…which for me means it was a great read! Herman Koch was born in Arnhem and grew up in Amsterdam. He was an actor for the famous series Jiskefet and…
4 Ways to Get Dutch People to Actually Speak Dutch with You Posted by Jakob Gibbons on May 31, 2016
Every Dutch learner learns this real fast: the hardest thing about learning Dutch is getting Dutch speakers to speak Dutch with you. Welcome to the linguistic conundrum that is Northern Europe, those wealthy countries along the North Sea where English fluency is upward of 90% and people tend to automatically speak English to foreigners. I…
Can You Say This Correctly? – 4: Tony’s Chocolonely Puur – Samenstellingen Posted by Sten on May 30, 2016
One of the hardest things about learning Dutch is pronunciation. Whether it is about the ui-klank (the “ui” sound), the G-klank (the “G” sound) or other sounds you might have a hard time with. This series, called “Can You Say This Correctly?”, is about providing a speech example that I recorded. I will give the Dutch text, a translation…
The First Asparagus Picking NK Posted by Sten on May 29, 2016
Yesterday, the first Nederlands Kampioenschap (NK) (Dutch Championship) asperges steken (picking asparagus). Deelnemers (participants) from the twelve Dutch provinces competed on the aspergekwekerij (asparagus farm) Boereblij in Blaricum, province Noord-Holland (North Holland). Last year, we covered the first NK tegenwindfietsen. The Dutch like to invent creative championships to compete against each other! Het Kampioenschap The deelnemers…
Birthday Cake or Birthday Pie? Posted by Karoly Molina on May 25, 2016
In Limburg, pie is king! When there is something to celebrate, pie is the one who is always present. Correction: vlaai is always present! Vlaai has definitely been something that has grown on me. I used to never think of pie; now, I crave it. Perhaps it is the slagroom-art pies have or the fact that everytime…
3 Things You Have To Know About Broodjeaapverhalen! Posted by Sten on May 23, 2016
You may have heard of them – Broodjeaapverhalen (Bread with monkey stories)! But maybe you haven’t! What is a broodjeaapverhaal? And why this weird name? What about a famous story? 1. What is a broodjeaapverhaal? Broodje means a roll, or a bread, with something on it. This is the word that comes right after. So, a broodje kaas, like in…