A Dutch Treat

In my life I've always felt it was important to take what people say about others with a grain of salt, meaning “the phrase comes from Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, regarding the discovery of a recipe for an antidote to a poison.^[2] In the antidote, one of the ingredients was a grain of salt. Threats involving the poison were thus to be taken "with a grain of salt," and therefore less seriously.

An alternative account says that the Roman general Pompey believed he could make himself immune to poison by ingesting small amounts of various poisons, and he took this treatment with a grain of salt to help him swallow the poison. In this version, the salt is not the antidote. It was taken merely to assist in swallowing the poison.” Wikipedia.

When I moved to The Netherlands, I was told “Don’t expect to ever see your neighbors or get to know them, they just don’t do that.” Well, if I had listened to that I would have never had the wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know some fabulous women. It’s not in my personality to not get to know others. I truly enjoy meeting new people and discovering their joy in life.

My neighbors not only welcomed me into their little community, they include me in neighborhood gatherings. I wave to them when I see them and they wave back. And when we see each other at the market we greet each other with a kiss (three… right, left, right). A beautiful greeting of friends.

Twice a year, the ladies of my neighborhood have a gourmet dinner fully prepared and served by ourselves. Yes, I’m including myself as I’m part of this group. At my first time to dinner, I was timid and apprehensive as I didn't speak Dutch, but my lovely neighbors included me and spoke English to me.

The recipes are always in Dutch, but whoever is my partner always laughs with me as we work our way through making our portion of the dinner.

 It’s so beautiful to see all of us in our aprons working together to create not only a special meal but a special evening. 

The evening starts around 6:00PM or 18:00 and lasts well into the evening, usually around midnight. The meal we prepare is not only delicious but beautifully presented as well.

As my neighbors float effortlessly between Dutch and English laughing and smiling, I can’t help but smile and enjoy this lovely time in my life.

Just yesterday, I had stopped my car to chat with one of my neighbors. She was out sweeping leaves. I was asking when to put my leaves in the street. We laughed and chatted about other things, our smiles warming the chill in the air. As I began to drive away, she shouted “I love you!” and I shouted back “I love you too!” And I meant it. These women are not only beautiful on the outside; they are beautiful on the inside. I’m truly blessed to have such wonderful neighbors and friends. It makes being away from my family and friends from home so much easier. I’m so grateful to these women for making my stay here in The Netherlands feel like home. 

26-21

Well, Ohio State beat Michigan today. And as much as it pains me to hear this news, I know that somewhere in the stands at the Ohio State University is a family that is smiling. They know that a girl half a world away in The Netherlands will be toasting to the memory of their fallen family member, Rodney Renfrew.

When I was a little girl growing up in Plymouth, Michigan, my mother's friends all used to gather in the city's park after the game. Who ever lost the game, those friends had to sing the other team's fight song to their friends. The bantering was all done out of love for each other and their friendship.

And so... as I can't be there to sing... I'll send this little song to all. Rodney... Here's to you! We are ever so grateful for the sacrifice you made for our beautiful country. Thank you so very much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SelCTpqCI-I

And one of my favorite things the OSU band does.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEBw5XvguD4&feature=related

Rodney's grave in Belgium

A Day of Thanks

Thanksgiving day comes but once a year

Before the holidays ring in with cheer

A unique opportunity to spend dinner with USA’s best

Turkey, stuffing and pie.. you know the rest

We gather together with family and friends

A moment in time we don’t want to end

Basketball, ping pong and a cool crisp night

Smiles and laughter, such a wonderful sight

How grateful we are to a commitment that never ends

Happy Thanksgiving to our Troops, Family and Friends

A Little Soap from Neverland

Peter Pan Statue

Kensington Gardens, London

 Remember when Peter Pan couldn’t get his shadow to stay on so he was trying to get it to stick with soap. Well, silly, that didn’t work. You have to sew on your shadow. But in celebration of Peter’s ingenuity, I have a little surprise for you. I’m so excited to see how my homemade soap turned out! Rumor has it that it’s almost ready. My friend Helen has been keeping a close eye on it as it sat patiently to be set and formed correctly to be the perfect soap.

In the beginning of October, I blogged about wanting to give away something to one lucky reader. My friend Helen asked if I’d like to come over and make soap. To read about our beautiful day go to…  http://americangirlinholland.blogspot.nl/2012/10/my-beautiful-english-day-in-dutch.html

Well, I think the soap will be ready in a week or two so it’s time to see who the winner will be. If you would like a chance to win a couple of bars of homemade soap (by me), then do two things.

Enter to Win this great gift by leaving a comment on this post. Tell me which of my stories has been your favorite. Be sure to include your email address! A winner will be randomly selected on December 1st and contacted via email.

This soap will be coming from the second star to the right, and straight on till morning. Just think lovely thoughtsJ

Proost

What’s better than a day with friends? How about.. a day with friends and a day of wine tasting? With the holiday’s fast approaching and our schedules about to get busy, some friends of mine and I all decided to spend the day together in Eersel, The Netherlands. We started with lunch at Café Vierteen on the square in Eersel. After lunch it was just a stroll across the street to Ad Kuyten Specialiteiten.

This beautiful little specialty shop is nestled into the charming Eersel village square. The owners this past weekend were celebrating 30 years of success and what better to way celebrate than hosting a wine tasting.

 With wines lined up from France, Italy, Spain and more, my friends and I strolled, sipped and laughed our way through the many different delights. Some of us enjoyed the whites and some of us enjoyed the reds. I got stuck on #42. Yes, I realize that is a very large number for a wine tasting but I didn’t try ALL of the wines before this one. We did have one kind woman come up to us and ask who our BOB was. For my American friends, Bob is the designated driver of the group. So the Dutch always ask “Who’s your Bob?”.  Yes, we would all be safe.

Munching on crackers and making our selections we all carried out our goodies. Happy with our day, happy with our purchases, happy to be with friends.

To making each day count!

And to Ad Kuyten Specialiteiten, congratulations on your thirty years, may you have many more.

Proost!

Berlin ~ The Capital of Cool

On a recent break from school our family decided to go to Germany to visit Berlin. Many of my friends had been there and couldn’t say enough positive things about the city.

On the way we stopped at the concentration camp, Bergen Belsen. This would be our first trip to a concentration camp. As we wound our way through the German country side, we enjoyed the beautiful little villages dotted into the landscape that still show signs of yesterday. We came upon the camp site knowing that there would be a museum, memorials, and very little else.

Leading into Bergen Belsen

 The camp had been burned to the ground to get rid of diseases that ran rampid during the war. Bergen Belsen was first a prisoner of war camp and then a concentration camp. It is estimated that around 50,000 people died at Bergen Belsen.

Inside one of the women's barracks. No where to move the dead they were usually just right there among them.



 We walked through the museum silent, stunned and horrified as we watched film documents, read letters, and looked at artifacts left or donated to the museum. Outside we walked along the barren area of what remained of the camp. New trees and signs of life were among the memorials.

Walking out in the barren camp. Signs of new life.

 

 Bergen Belsen... life is destroyed

Massive mounds like small hills scattered throughout the camp. Upon closer inspection~ mass graves each holding thousands and thousands of innocent people. Among them somewhere.. Anne Frank.

 Just a marker... She's sadly buried in mass grave with close to 5,000 other people.

We then drove on to Berlin, the capital of Germany or as our walking guide called it “The Capital of Cool”. And cool it was! Our hotel was located right by tons of shopping and restaurants. Our first stop…

Hard Rock ~ Berlin Style!

 Hard Rock Café~ Berlin! I’ve made it my goal to visit these restaurants when traveling because I enjoy an American tasting hamburger (not meatloaf style) and I love picking up a new t shirt from their store.

 Shopping at my favorite Christmas store

We spent a few days just shopping and enjoying the city. But our real joy came on a recommended walking tour of Berlin.

Taking the U2 at Zoo Station

 Catching the U2 train at Zoo Station (yes.. loving the connection of the train station and the band U2) we took the train from the west to the east. This formally was not possible to do as it was blocked by the Berlin Wall. The barrier of the Berlin Wall was thrown up overnight but the complexity of a barren death zone grew over time.

Looking through The Wall

Graffiti on The Wall

Part of the Berlin Wall that remains 

Our tour guide gave a wonderful view of the history of the city of Berlin from the beginning, through the mess of World War II, The Berlin Wall and up to today. We stood over the ruins of Hitler’s bunker, and even against the warning of our tour guide as being an absolute tourist trap, we had our picture taken at Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie 

Heading to the East side 

Checkpoint Charlie
(Hey.. I am a tourist!)  

We read heart wrenching stories of people trapped on one side or the other of the wall, away from family and loved ones and the attempts that were made to get through to see each other. We walked along the streets of Berlin that wound around historical buildings and eventually through the Brandenburg Gate.

Brandenburg Gate
 After the war and the separation of East and West Berlin, the gate was right at the border just inside the Russian side. After the wall came down, the people of Berlin flocked to the gate to celebrate.

The Brandenburg Gate lit up during a light show



Later, as I stood in the dark in the center of the Jewish Holocaust Memorial lost in thought, lost from our group and lost from my family; I couldn’t help but think of the 6,000,000 Jewish people murdered. Disoriented and feeling a bit helpless I felt a small sense of the turmoil that has divided this city in the past.   

In the Jewish memorial

I really enjoyed my visit to Berlin even with  the wide range of emotions that I experienced.

Berlin…. You’ve come a long way baby!