Groningen walking tour
A Groningen walking tour to introduce you to this young, dynamic and hip city with a world-class university and plenty of history to discover.
Life in Holland
The Polder Model in Action
Ever heard of the Dutch polder model? It’s a political term referring to consensus decision-making in the Netherlands, but it’s used in organizations too.
Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) updated
In the five years since I last wrote about Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) things have changed, mostly for the better. Black Pete is disappearing.
Expat wellness: Life as an expat
I haven’t written an article in a long time about expat issues, despite the fact that my articles about expat life still get regular readers. My posts about renouncing my citizenship, in particular, are in my top 10 nearly every day. So when I was approached by Aetna International to collaborate with them as an…
The Beauty of a Dutch Commute
A couple of times a week, I commute to my part-time job in Leeuwarden, in Friesland province. Sometimes I drive, but as much as possible, I like to take the train. I start by bicycling to the train station in the center of Groningen, parking the bike and boarding the train. The train trip takes about 35…
Christmas Compared
It’s almost Christmas, and I’ve been thinking a lot this year about the holiday as an event. Perhaps because I was much less busy this year than in previous years leading up to it, I’ve been noticing more. Note added at Christmas 2020: While I wrote this back in 2015, these observations still apply ……
WinterWelVaart: Groningen’s Christmas Market
WinterWelVaart is Groningen’s annual Christmas market, with an unusual maritime twist that makes it extra special!
Zwarte Piet Updated
It’s that time of year again: Sinterklaas is approaching, along with Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). I wrote about this two years ago and then again last year, so I thought I’d add a short update today. Changes in Zwarte Piet The Zwarte Piet debate continues. Or rather, a vocal minority condemns it as racist while…
The most beautiful Starbucks?
You know how sometimes you get so used to what you see every day that you stop noticing it? I’ve walked by the Starbucks in the Groningen central train station hundreds of times in the course of commuting to and from my job up in Leeuwarden. I just didn’t pay much attention to it until…
Black Pete redux
Speaking of local traditions, Sinterklaas is approaching again, and with it, the controversy over Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). As I posted last year, Sinterklaas (the holiday) takes place on December 5th. On that day, as well as the weeks leading up to it, Sinterklaas (the person) delivers gifts to children, landing on their roofs on…
St. Maartens Day: A sweet local tradition
Today is St Maartens Day here in Groningen, a children’s tradition that is relatively unique to this area. On the 11th of November, once the sun goes down, children go door-to-door begging for sweets. Instead of threatening “trick or treat” like on Halloween, the deal here is that they sing a song, and in return,…
How Americans see the Dutch
When I posted about how the Dutch see the Americans, it wasn’t particularly complimentary, so I promised to write the opposite post: how the Americans see the Dutch. (Nederlands vertaling beneden) Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one of them and spend money, I will receive a small percentage of what…
10 Things the Dutch Think about Americans
“You’re not like most Americans.” A student of mine, a trainee English teacher, said this to me. I laughed, and the conversation moved on to other topics, but I’ve been thinking about what he meant by this. What the Dutch think about Americans – and I dare say this applies to other Europeans too – is…
Bicycle baptism
All we were trying to do was to get out of the car while it was stopped in traffic. The plan was to walk to the restaurant two blocks away while my husband went to park the car. It made sense. I stepped out on the right side, but not before saying to the kids…
Watery Hubris
That’s part of this admirable hubris: complete and utter self-confidence.
Jew cookies and Negro kisses
With such names, we become the “them” in “Us versus Them.”
Is Black Pete racist?
To state the patently obvious, it’s terribly racist in this day and age for a white person to dress up in blackface and play a comic character.
Driving, Dutch-style
One culture chooses to flout law #1 and obey law #2, while another culture obeys law #1 and flouts law #2.
Do you miss it? About homesickness
People place their home where their parents are.
The Dutch and their bicycles
I’ve pointed out before that one of the things I like about the Dutch is that they ride bicycles. And it’s not just that it’s politically correct, non-polluting, and good exercise. I’ve lived here for 15 years, and the way the Dutch use their bicycles never ceases to amaze me. For example, to the Dutch…
Skating Mania
The Dutch weather service reported predicted ice thickness along with weather forecasts.
Things I Like about Holland
I’ve received a couple of complaints – one from Albert, my husband, and one from Robert, a colleague and friend – that I complain too much about Holland in my blog. Well, first of all, in my defence, I’d like to point out that writing a rant is far more fun than writing about good…
How to be Dutch
Here’s something I wrote about five years ago, but it still applies! How to Be Dutch There’s been a lot of talk in Holland lately about immigrants and about how and how much we should adapt ourselves into the Dutch culture. Clearly we need to learn Dutch, no question about that. But there’s more to…
A rant about Dutch supermarket shopping
I’m sure there are plenty of rude supermarket shoppers the world over, but this is something that’s happened to me numerous times here in Holland: I’m in line at the check-out. They’ve just opened up the line, so I’m the first one there. I start unloading the groceries from my cart (a week’s worth for…