Hello everyone!
I have just returned to Seville from my holiday vacation to Holland- and I had the best time EVER! i seriously think this will go down as my favorite vacation to date- it was so much fun to hang out with janneke and her family. i also got to see my other dutch-iowa-going friend, aagje, but only for a day :(
some highlights include: 2 Christmases in Venray (a small town in South Holland), AMAZING FOOD (God bless Janneke's mom!), sweet presents (a dutch phrasebook, the Kite Runner (in Spanish), a moroccan scarf and Grandma's Boy DVD (a hilarious movie)), a trip to the Hertog Jan brewery, a visit to the Openluchtmuseum- a museum that shows you how the dutch lived back in the day, brief trips to arnhem and across the border to germany, hanging in nijmegen (a nice college town where janneke studies), a day trip to amsterdam (my favorite foreign city-beautiful!), new years in eersel with aagje and her family, and gezillig-ness.
and now, a few observations on the great country that is Holland:
- a charactaristicly dutch house (or any building for that matter) includes a very steep, narrow staircase that one has nightmares about falling down. i was absolutely amazed when janneke and her brother giel would just bound down the stairs so fast, whereas i would take each step carefully, slowly, trying not to break my neck.
-the people in holland are SO. freakin'. nice. I'm serious. I am always taken aback by the kindness of the dutch, no matter if it in the store, on the street, or at a party. it reminds me of iowa. i was absolutely delighted when on christmas eve in venray, almost everyone janneke and i encountered wished us a merry christmas. this is a big change from spain, where although people can become very warm once you know them, people are stone-faced on the street.
-it is mind-blowing the level of english the dutch have, especially people of my parents age and down. many speak a smattering of other languages as well. i truely believe this is because the dutch do not dub over foreign movies and television- they use subtitles. even for cartoons like the simpsons or family guy. this way, the dutch are trained at listening to english even at a very young age. it really puts americans to shame with their knowledge of other languages.
-though Dutch cuisine isn't world-renowned, there are some delicious specialities out there. appelfloppen (apple turnovers), snert (hot pea and sausage soup- it really is good!), pannekoeken (dutch pancakes- sweet and savory!) and patat met (french fries with mayonaise) are delicious. i am particularly parcial to dutch cheese (the old cheese, oude kaas, was my best friend and my enemy) and the beer is also good (hertog jan is an excellent beer if you ever get a chance to try it).
-everyone has a bike. i mean everyone. the country is so flat and makes it suitable for riding around town or the countryside. and get this- the most common crime in holland is bike theft!
-the bathrooms are quite interesting. the name "water closet" literally describes them. its often a tiny little closet with a toliet inside. no space for anything else.
-the legal drinking age in holland is 16. a 5 YEAR difference with the USA. janneke's younger brother Giel is 16, and it was crazy to see him drinking beers with us. but he never got out of hand at all. and you can't get a driver's license in holland until you're 18.
-speaking of legal, contrary to popular belief, marijuana isn't legal in holland, it's just tolerated. its sold in "coffeeshops" shops, that are advertised by that name or a cannibus leaf. they are not allowed to have advertisments saying "MARIJUANA!" or "POT HERE!" for example. the Dutch philosophy is to tolerate a soft drug like marijuana, in order to focus on combating harder drugs. interestingly enough, its more the tourists than the Dutch that frequent the shops. Maybe the "semi-legalness" of it makes it lose its excitment for its residents. hey, its not a system for every country, but it seems to work for holland and definitely falls within their country-wide philosophy of "tolerance".
-prostitution is legal in holland, which is crazy to me. I passed by two Red Light districts- one in Nijmegen and the famous one in Amsterdam. Even though I had been to Amsterdam 3 times before, i never saw the Red Light district before this trip. It is surreal. There are girls in lingerie, standing in windows, like mannequins. most of them looked very, very bored. as disgusting as some people may find this concept, my friend JJ explained it to me awhile ago very sensible terms- every country has prostitution, whether they hide it or not. By regulating it, the government can control it. The prositutes pay taxes like any other working citizens. interesting, huh?
-3 kisses is the customary greeting in holland (although a handshake is suitable for guy to guy). this is different from the spanish 2 kisses. man i love the kiss greeting. it's so much more elegant, don't ya think?
-i LOVE the dutch language! it sounds like a fairytale. i am absolutely delighted by the fun sounds of words like slagroom (whipped cream), aardapelen (potatoes) and
sinesappelsap (orange juice). i want soooo badly to speak dutch fluently. my announcing this usually gets strange looks from the Dutch, since not too many foreigners take a keen interest on learning their language (the Dutch are excellent linguists, and most can say such slang american slang words that keep you amazed for days). but i am absolutely determined to speak good dutch.....
- the country is beautiful. windmills, beautiful gingerbread houses, tulips (in spring though) and canals. it's a fantasy country!
if i think of more observations, i will add them (i shudda written them down!)
but seriously, if you are ever considering visiting the great and beautiful country of the Netherlands....DO IT! you won't regret it!
