“Een nieuw jasje” for speed skating! Posted by Sten on Nov 16, 2015
Thialf blijft Thialf. Voor de rest wordt alles nieuw. With this slogan, the re-make of the most famous schaatsbaan (speed skating rink) of the Netherlands has begun. Before we go more into this slogan more deeply, you probably want to know what Thialf is! The old Thialf Thialf is an speed skating rink in Heerenveen in Friesland. It was opened by…
Tragedy in Paris Posted by Karoly Molina on Nov 15, 2015
Friday became to be one of the saddest and most tragic in modern history. As I arrived in Mexico City after a long flight to visit family, I was greeted with terrible news: Paris was under attack. When I first heard it, I thought it was a joke. How could Paris, such a beautiful and…
Was Yesterday the First Monday of the Month? Posted by Karoly Molina on Nov 11, 2015
Everyone who has lived in the Netherlands has heard the loeien of the sirenes the first Monday of the month at exactly 12pm. I remember the first couple of times I heard it, I was very confused. With time, it has becoming part of the noises in the Netherlands, just like bike bells and tram bells. If you hear…
Dag van de Mantelzorg on 10 November Posted by Sten on Nov 9, 2015
Tuesday, November 10 is the Dag van de Mantelzorg (Day of Caregiving). Before going further into what happens on this day: who are these caregivers? In the Netherlands, mantelzorgers are familieleden (relatives), vrienden (friends), kennissen (acquaintances) and buren (neighbors), who take care of family members, a friend or neighbor that is in need of chronic help. Basically, these are people helping others with whom they have already…
Het Straatnieuws uit Utrecht – Interviewing the Pope! Posted by Sten on Nov 8, 2015
The pope. There is no doubt about it, he is an influential and important person, not just in the Netherlands, but in the entire world. He has now become Onze Vriend in Rome (our friend in Rome). On Tuesday, October 27th at 11 AM, the Straatnieuws journalists arrived to interview Paus Franciscus (Pope Francis). After months of geheimhouding (confidentiality), since nobody was allowed…
Why is integrating such a problem? Posted by Karoly Molina on Nov 4, 2015
Earlier this year, I wrote about the requirement most immigrants in the Netherlands must go through: inburgering. In summary, those wishing to obtain a Dutch passport must take an integration exam within 3 years of their arrival to the Netherlands which covers topics such as language, history and the work force. An alternative to this is…
Fries – a language for itself! Posted by Sten on Nov 2, 2015
Fryslân – it will probably not tell you a lot. It is a word not from the Dutch, but the Frysian language, het Fries. Fryslân is the name of the Dutch province in which Fries is spoken: Friesland. Now, yes, there are many different dialects, and versions of Fries. But in this post, I mean Westerlauers Fries, or Standaardfries when I mention Fries. This is the…