The “ui” Conundrum Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 10, 2014
The first time I came to the Netherlands, I was ready to get to know my future country and even more excited to learn Dutch. My significant other picked me up at the airport, and we began our drive to our “home” for the two coming weeks. On the highway, I spotted the first Dutch…
How the Dutch do Charity – Particularly once every Year Posted by Sten on Jun 6, 2014
Giving money to charity is nice. We all know that. Many people donate some amount regularly to a certain cause, but no challenge or strings attached to that. The Dutch got an idea how to tie a challenge to it and actually get people involved. You might have heard of Alpe d’Huez, an infamous French skiing…
Welkom (to me)! Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 5, 2014
Hello fellow readers and language learners! My name is Karoly and I am happy to be contributing to this blog! In case you are wondering from my name, I am not Dutch by birth, but I am by love. I recently moved to the Netherlands to live with Riccardo, the man I love, and Mona…
Food With Alessia #2 – Pancakes! Posted by Sten on Jun 3, 2014
Here it is: The second video of Food with Alessia! This week, we will have pannenkoeken (pancakes) with a variety of toppings! De Pannenkoek The pancake is originally from Asia, but came to Europe already in the 12th century. The original did not have any eggs, but boekweitmeel (buckwheat), some milk, water and butter. It…
Time to Say Vaarwel Posted by tiffany on Jun 1, 2014
Well, dear blog readers, here we are… my last blog post for Transparent Language. My family and I are relocating to the United States and with the upcoming move and the uncertainty of the future, a further commitment to the blog just isn’t doable. Sharing this Dutch language journey with you here has been an…
A bus on water – the Waterbus! Posted by Sten on May 30, 2014
In the Dutch west, to be exact in the surroundings of Rotterdam called the Rotterdam-Drechtsteden, the people have developed an interesting, peculiar way of transport. They call it the waterbus (water bus). It is, as its name suggests, a bus on the water. It is much like a regular ferry. The waterbus uses the OV-chipkaart, so you can…
A Cookie From Your Own Dough and Other Dutch Idioms Posted by tiffany on May 28, 2014
What would a language be without its own unique sayings? In English, for instance, we color our communication with a number of clichés. How often have you heard someone talk about it being just the way the cookie crumbles or wax poetic about home, sweet home? Turns out, the Dutch also love their expressions. But…