Celebrating Carnival in Limburg! Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 19, 2015
From Thursday of last week until Tuesday of this week, some areas of the Netherlands (specifically Brabant and Limburg) celebrated carnaval. These areas are traditionally more katholiek than the rest of the Netherlands, and perhaps that is a reason why the celebrations are still so big. It also helps that neighboring Duitsland, another big carnaval country, celebrates it…
A Dutch Love Story Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 2, 2015
The month of love has begun and I am happy to be able to do all the cheesy romantic things that come together with Valentijn’s Dag. I am a bit sad that I haven’t found too many decorations for the house for such a beautiful month, but I am getting by with pink, red and white…
Gunman in NOS Studio Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 30, 2015
Yesterday night, around the time of the 20:00 news, an armed gunman went into the NOS studios demanding air time. The young man, identified as Tarik Z, entered the offices with a weapon. He said he was sent to give an important message that concerned the people. Although he was armed, Tarik didn’t hurt anyone…
Snow day!!! Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 24, 2015
Today was for me the winter morning I have been waiting for since I moved to the Netherlands. I woke up early hoping the weather predictions were finally true, and that today I would finally enjoy a snowy day. To my amazement, our garden was a winter wonderland….white with snow! My first instinct was to…
Campaigns in NL 4 – “Klein Bedrag, Pinnen mag!” Posted by Sten on Jan 21, 2015
Pinnen (paying by debit/credit card) is very widespread in the Netherlands. There is even a verb for it! Pinnen comes from the word pinpas, which means debit card. This kind of payment got the honor of a verb of its own because it is used so much in the country. In many countries, there is an extra charge…
The Stadprins is elected! Posted by Sten on Jan 20, 2015
On Sunday, the 18th of January was the official day to elect the Prins van Carnaval (Prince of Carnival – Mardi Gras in Europe, which is also called vastelaovond in the Dutch province Limburg). This person symbolically reigns over the city during the days of Carnival, which is this year from Saturday, February 14 until Wednesday, February 18…
Do I use “de” or do I use “het”? Posted by Karoly Molina on Jan 13, 2015
Something I’ve struggled with in Dutch is distinguishing when a noun (person, place thing) uses de or het. I remember going over that while I was still living in Mexico, and although I know some of the rules, I cannot say I really KNOW them. Perhaps some of you already have this de or het dilemma out of the way, but…