Tonight, I joined Arie Jan on the couch to watch the 8:00 news to catch up on world events. Something serious must be going on inside Holland, I thought, as there on the screen was a somber looking Dutch man speaking before an expansive collection of brightly colored microphones. His countenance, continuously lit up by flashes of light,Continue reading “Dutch headline news can really break through the ice”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
A home of our own in the city
Sunday night we slept in our new home. We are still lacking lamps, dressers, a decent dining table and a slew of other items, but we have the essentials: beds and linens, a few chairs to sit on, boxes of toys and kitchen items, and each other. And we are happy. I have never livedContinue reading “A home of our own in the city”
Book Happy
Friday morning, I got up at 5:45 am to shower, get dressed, make tea, sit on the couch and call America. The phone rang four times before I heard a familiar voice pick up. I was soon on speaker phone listening to my girlfriends cheering because I had “joined them” for book club night. Seeing that I’m nowContinue reading “Book Happy”
A time bomb detonates
The content of my current Dutch lessons is starkly different from any other language course I have taken. We cover topics like subsidies available through the government, dealing with the belasting dienst (tax office), whether or not it is okay to embrace unemployment as a lifestyle, assimilation, asylum seekers in the Netherlands, etc. These andContinue reading “A time bomb detonates”
I Promised Snow
When we had made our decision to move to the Netherlands, we developed a game plan on how to best acclimate our almost four year old to the world changing news: He would soon be leaving the land of his birth, his American family and friends, and the sunny central coast of California, home toContinue reading “I Promised Snow”
Thoughts on Egypt and their Military
Over the past few weeks, I have skimmed articles in Dutch newspapers about Egypt. The pictures speak a thousand words, but in this case, I had one thing wrong; I had envisioned the high number of injuries as a result of brute military force. Yet, the pictures did not show a line of soldiers withContinue reading “Thoughts on Egypt and their Military”
An Ugly Crack in Dutch Hospitality toward Asylum Seekers
Wednesday in Dutch class, the teacher circulated copies of a daily newspaper, and in pairs, we chose articles to read from the paper. Each pair was to give a summary of the article to the class and share five words they found moeilijk (difficult). Sounds straightforward enough. Although two women chose a harmless article about aContinue reading “An Ugly Crack in Dutch Hospitality toward Asylum Seekers”
Vicarious epiphany: Insights from The Art of Living and the process of letting go
Okay. The process of letting go is far too complex to be solved in any one blog post. Yet, I feel compelled to share with you what I experienced a few days ago in an “Art of Living” based meditation http://nl.artofliving.eu/ I was provided a little bit of wisdom that is already working wonders in my ability to breatheContinue reading “Vicarious epiphany: Insights from The Art of Living and the process of letting go”
kristininholland 