My Little Dutch ABC Book E

My Little Dutch ABC Book

E

 Engles ~ English

Engles, my favorite language because I’m fluent. Of course this is because I was born and raised in a country where English is the primary language. But living in The Netherlands has given me such an amazing appreciation for different languages. In The Netherlands, Dutch is the primary language but most of the country can also speak English fluently as well. Beginning at the age of around 10 years old English is taught to children.

When speaking to someone here, I usually ask if English is ok… or do they speak English? The response is usually the same… either yes, of course…. Or yes, a little. But after a few sentences I discover they are pretty much fluent. I always make sure to compliment the person on how good their English is and I make sure to thank them for speaking English to me.

My funniest story about the word Engles was when after a year of living here one of my daughters was here visiting and we had gone to the movie theater. Two of my kids went off to get popcorn, candy and drinks and as they came back, the movie attendant at the door said something to them. While my older daughter looked at him with a blank stare, my youngest, who was living here and attending Dutch classes at school said…  “spreekt u engels?”… Which of course he started speaking English. My older daughter came back with a huge smile on her face explaining that the younger one had spoken Dutch to the guy… and was saying something about bagels! Well…. Not quite a bagel … but close enough to communicate.

It upsets me whenever I hear back in my home country that people are upset by the amount of people that speak Spanish. To me, it’s an incredible a gift to be able to speak more than one language. I’m truly grateful that the people of The Netherlands have compassion with me and help me with my Nederlands. 

My Little Dutch ABC Book D

My Little Dutch ABC Book

D

Dames ~ Women

This is a great word to know… especially if you are needing to use the restroom. One of my first “emergencies” happened while pleasantly shopping at the mall in Eindhoven. At first, I was just casually looking for the little sign pointing me in the right direction. Then I decided to go into a store and ask for directions. As this was one of my very first weeks in The Netherlands, I had zero Dutch to my knowledge. So I politely asked the sales attendant if she spoke English. She said she spoke a little. Which I came to learn is a common answer when the Dutch are asked if they speak English. So I began my request….

Me: “Can you tell me where the restroom is?”

Sales attendant: Blank Stare

Me: Fumbling... Thinking... And getting a little panicky… “Can you tell me where the bathroom is?

Sales attendant: Blank Stare

Me: Now I’m embarrassed, smiling, and a tad nervous about my request. So I begin just using one word sentences. “Restroom, bathroom…Ummmm toilet?”

Sales attendant: AHHHHH TOITLET!!!  Yes! Go this way, make left right left.. blah blah blah.. and you’re there.

Me: “Thank you so very much!” I slink out of the shop mortified that someone knows I’ve asked for a toilet.

I still haven’t gotten used to boldly asking where the toilet is when I’m lost, but I do make sure I’ve got my coins ready to pay the attendant in the restroom. And I make sure I open the door that says DAMES (Women) not Heren (Men). 

My favorite Toilet sign

at Piet Hein Eek

My Little Dutch ABC Book ~ C

My Little Dutch ABC Book

C

Calendar ~ Kalender

Here’s a little information for those wonderful days of the week and months of the year. When at the doctor or government office or people that ask your birthday…. Always give the number of the day first, then the month, then the year you were born. So for example if your birthday is July 4^th, 1976… then you would say 4, July, 1976 or 4, 7,76. A tad confusing if you’re used to doing it the other way. But it gets even more fun when you go back home for a visit and you have to switch all over again. People usually just stare at you with disbelief that you would not know your own birthday.

And make sure you hang you Kalender in your bathroom. The Dutch have a great tradition of doing this and marking friends and loved ones birthday’s on their special birthday kalender. I love this tradition. Also, try to avoid the temptation to add your own birthday to their kalender, apparently it is not very polite.

 I read one very funny story of a lady whose mother in-law wrote her birthday in pencil and another daughter in-law in ink. I guess the mother is hoping the son will come to his senses.

Monday	maandag
Tuesday	dinsdag
Wednesday	woensdag
Thursday	donderdag
Friday	vrijdag
Saturday	zaterdag
Sunday	zondag

January	januari
February	februari
March	maart
April	april
May	mei
June	juni
July	juli
August	augustus
September	september
October	oktober
November	november
December	december

My Little Dutch ABC Book ~ B

My Little Dutch ABC Book

B

Bitterballen ~ smooshy fried balls that are delicious

Bitterballen or bitterbal if you are only going to have one, is a great snack to have while you are in The Netherlands and you are out at a pub or just sitting along a canal enjoying a glass of wine. They taste kind of like a meat, gravy, butter, flour with other spices that have been whipped into a smoothie consistency and then shaped into balls and deep fried. Throw in some toothpicks and mustard to dip them into….grab a bier and you got yourself a little party!!

My Little Dutch ABC Book ~ A

My Little Dutch ABC Book

A

Aardappel ~ Potato This is a great word to know as you will see and use it often. My most favorite part about the aardappels in The Netherlands is that apparently the people listened when Vincent van Gogh painted his famous paintings

The Potato Eaters in 1885

 and his painting 

The Potato Peeler 1885

  These painting were part of his famous series of Peasant Character Studies. When Vincent said peel and eat potatoes… the people of The Netherlands did… and so I have not had to peel any potatoes while I have lived here. 

I love it! They come in a variety of shapes 

Boiled

and sizes 

Mashed

and delicious dishes ready to be heated and served. 

Au gratin

But what ever you do... don't forget the frietjes and mayo!

Trip Trap Trip Trap~ Falling Down the Dutch Steps!

Trip Trap Trip Trap~ Falling Down the Dutch Steps!

One Snowy day a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a great idea to get outside to take some pictures of my beautiful Dutch home covered with a new blanket of snow. It was absolutely stunning.  Overnight, a few inches of fresh snow had fallen and surprised us in the morning. But being that it was still morning and I was still enjoying my morning cup of Joe, I hastily threw on my Sperry’s (they are boat shoes after all… water resistant) and grabbed my winter coat. Clicking a few pics in the back then coming through the house to head out front. I peeked outside carefully to see if anyone was around… then crept out in my pjs. That’s when I reached the top of my front porch steps, slipped, slammed onto my foot and fell all the way down. Luckily it was only 3 steps but they are made out of concrete…. So 3 was plenty! Scraped and bruised, I limped back into the house thankful that my neighbors hadn’t been out walking their dogs while I put on what for sure must have looked like a scene from a downhill Olympic skiing event crash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7frGJf77AA

In my current house I do not have the typical scary vertical steps. They are very forgiving but they only have a rail on one side. The other side of the stairs is open. Really quite beautiful but I cling to the rail on the way down. A tad frightening in the middle of the night.

When we were first moving here and we were looking for a house, I was shocked by the stairs or trap as the Dutch call them. 

And to me, that’s exactly what they are like… a trap waiting for me to fall down. 

 A lot of the houses we were looking at were row houses proudly sitting next to each other along beautiful Dutch streets. Tall and skinny… just how the heck would we ever get our furniture up those freighting stairs? But the ingenious Dutch have that figured out as well. On the front of some homes are hooks or hijsbalk that pull the furniture up and through the windows. Several things in our first house had to go through the back up and over a balcony and through a double door. I have no clue how they got my daughter’s furniture to the attic floor. I just decided they knew what they were doing and went to unpack boxes. Sometimes it’s best not to look.

Over the years now, I’ve been up and down many Dutch stairs. My favorite have been the stairs at the Anne Frank home in Amsterdam. You are so overwhelmed by the history that you forget that you are practically scaling a small mountain.

And of course I loved climbing up and down my husband’s man cave apartment stairs when he first moved here to The Netherlands. I literally had to hold the stairs in front of me and climb up like a ladder.

If you’re not climbing up and trying to not have a heart attack or ask for an oxygen mask at the high altitude levels, then you are on your way back down and trying to figure out how to position your feet as not to scrape the back of your heel or fall flat on your face.

Four weeks later and no medal in hand, I’m finally ready to tackle those Dutch stairs!! After the thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat.. I'm ready to try again!!! Oh and by the way... I didn't drop my camera! 

Victory is mine! 

Life Without a Drive Through Lane

Life Without a Drive Through Lane

This morning I was reading an article on the web called “10 habits you should pick up from your grandmother”. It got me thinking about my grandma and how different life is for me than it was for her. 

But I also was thinking about the fact that she never learned how to drive. She walked everywhere she went. We lived in a small little town so things were pretty accessible by foot. She was a school cafeteria cook and walked every day to work and then walked across town to our home so she could babysit me after school. Friends and family would always give her a ride if she needed one but for the most part, she walked. Kind of Dutch… she didn’t ride a bike but yep she was outside living life.

Well, for the past few months I’ve been in the States. My oldest little one was getting married so I was busy being the MOB (mother of the bride). 

With all the little details and busy busy work, I slipped quickly back into my American ways. Let’s see… I need to get some candle holders (hmmmmmm I’d love a cold drink from Sonic! 

You know.. I’m all about the ice, ‘bout the ice,  ~ No treble!) Hey Mom.. where are we going to lunch today? 

Well… we’re busy.. better go to  some place quick. 

Besides being insanely unhealthy to dine out all the time, it’s expensive. The convenience factor is so over the top in America and yet so hard to pass up as you drive past. The blaring lights beckoning you from the roads to pull over to their restaurant or they pump the smell of something yummy into the air so as you drive past you smell French fries or bread! When we weren’t driving thru, we were parking really close. Oh and the parking is free (usually).

Living in The Netherlands is quite different. First of all, the amount of bikers here is just shocking. 

The Dutch are like the US postal service unofficial motto… "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." - Herodotus, 503 B.C. (Inscribed on the General Post Office facility on 33rd Street and 8th Avenue in New York City.) (Source: USPS). 

The Dutch bike through all weather. And if they’re not bike… they’re walking. If you are driving past any normal village, city or town during lunch hour you will see tons of people walking around enjoying their sandwich 

or whatever while they go for a walk. Just a great excuse to get out in the air and hopefully a little sun. Most of the Dutch that I know bring their lunch to work with them from home. It’s cost effective and fast to eat which gives them more time to walk around outside or get work done earlier so they can get home to be with their families. This is just a great way to live. 

I mean if you’re bloated down with your McDonald’s lunch or 

Life Without a Drive Through Lane

Taco Bell delight you’ll be overly stuffed and have a hard afternoon being productive for your company. I remember being a small child and walking home from school to have lunch at home. The meal or sandwich was prepared and eaten. Then there was plenty of extra time to take a small nap or even play outside before walking back to school. There should be more of this in adulthood… even the nap. Even if it’s a ten minute recharge.

When we do dine out in the city.. There is rarely a drive through. Sure there’s a McDonald’s but not our idea of a fun Friday night. So we drive to the centrum, pay to park and then have to walk several blocks to the restaurant.

 Walking back to the car at the end of the night is definitely a great way to burn off those calories after a meal. And those people that live closer to the centrum will usually bike into the centrum for dinner. You get to park your bike for free and much, much closer to the restaurant.

Living life without a drive through…. Sounds like a move in the right direction.