Author Archives: kristininholland

You Are What You Post


I grew up in Solvang, a small Danish-themed tourist town in California, and like many Americans, there was a soundtrack to my childhood. It started out with a hodgepodge of what my older brothers and parents listened to: The Beatles and The Velvet Underground (artist-musician brother), Blue Oyster Cult and Rush (football star party-animal brother),Continue reading “You Are What You Post”

December Excitement


I have experienced a strange duality of interests over the past few days. In The Netherlands, we experienced a freak snow storm that resulted in code red warnings, early closures of businesses and horrendous travel conditions that basically shut the country down for two days. Despite all of the hassle, it was stunningly beautiful andContinue reading “December Excitement”

My Freedom, My Individuality, The Catalonia within me


When we visited Barcelona three weeks ago, my excitement was threefold: 1) I was there to celebrate my brother- and -sister-in-laws 25th wedding anniversary; 2) I was about to revisit La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, a magical place I have kept alive in my memory since my first visit 13 years ago and 3) IContinue reading “My Freedom, My Individuality, The Catalonia within me”

Family Night in Prison


If I were to tell you one of the highlights of our summer vacation was spending a night in prison, would you think I’d completely lost it? But I’m getting ahead of myself. Our vacation started out well enough. We arranged to stay at a house in Haarlem for five days and had done theContinue reading “Family Night in Prison”

Presentation during 6-24-17 Parelroute 2017 Bezuidenhout


Have you ever walked through your neighborhood and heard one of your neighbors playing live music and wished you could walk in and listen? Glanced into an open window to see art lining the walls of a ground floor residence and wished you could enter that home like a gallery? Or wished to enter thatContinue reading “Presentation during 6-24-17 Parelroute 2017 Bezuidenhout”

The Passion Dutch Style


When you’ve lived in a country long enough–even if you tend to live in a bubble or under a rock–eventually local cultural phenomena infiltrate your consciousness. As Easter approached this year, I had one of those moments where something that had vaguely hovered on the periphery a few years in a row suddenly punctured my littleContinue reading “The Passion Dutch Style”

Pornographic Chickens & War


The internet is life changing. Even though I live abroad, I can see my friend’s children growing up through Facebook (or at least get little glimpses), I can ‘meet’ bloggers from Chile, Canada and the United Arab Emirates and find groups of people with similar interests.  I can look up things on Wikipedia, read fromContinue reading “Pornographic Chickens & War”

He Got me at Ambulatory, but What about Gimcrack?


When we were first dating, my husband used complex English words, some of which I, as a native English speaker, didn’t even know. Consider the word “ambulatory”, which means to the ability to walk about (thus not bedridden). I don’t know how ambulatory came up, but he correctly guessed the meaning at a time when I wasContinue reading “He Got me at Ambulatory, but What about Gimcrack?”

Life Cycling


Have you ever had one of those days where you feel as if that voodoo guy in Indiana Jones’ Temple of Doom has just reached in and pulled your heart from your chest, exposing it to the world for all its vulnerability and capabilities? Today was one of those days. I got to keep myContinue reading “Life Cycling”