Tag Archives: Netherlands
Making Your Vote Count! Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 16, 2015
Last week I received an unexpected surprise in the mail. Although I am only a Dutch resident, I am eligible to vote in local elections. My family and I have always been big voters, and I was very happy to know that I am able to continue exercising this democratic right. What do I need…
Living in the Netherlands Means Integrating Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 9, 2015
The Netherlands was the first country to require a language and culture exam for those who want to live here (except for expats or students). The purpose of the exam is to push immigrants to integrate or integreren into Dutch life by learning the language, history and culture of the country. This seems to me like…
Lets not be so simple…with our sentences! Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 5, 2015
When learning a language, we can sometimes be our worst enemies. We strive for perfection and yet miss a homework assignment or two (or gasp! class), we want to talk about more than the weather and colors but we don’t learn new words. For adults, our enemy is sometimes our intelligence. I don’t mean to…
How do you destroy a house in Dutch? Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 26, 2015
In December, I wrote about looking for a new house and financing a house. Since then, Riccardo and I have been busy renovating our future home. It’s been a messy process, and we’ve had our share of surprises, but the house is starting to look more like a house and less like a construction site. The…
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…