Most people here speak English... which has taken some pressure off me, so I felt like I could really try to adjust to a new home, new culture, and new people, before needing to learn and get by with a new language.
Now that my life feels much more "normal" (or maybe it's me that feels more normal), I find myself noticing, following and being a little more confident with the Dutch language. I still have a very limited vocabulary, but I feel like a two-year-old, who keeps repeating words, and asking "what does this mean?", as I'm trying to learn new words each day. I think this is a good exercise for my brain!
One thing that has surprised me is that I think I have learned some Dutch grammar by noticing some mistakes Dutch people have made when they speak English. When a Dutch person makes a grammatical mistake in English, it's often because they are translating word-for word. I know this is frustrating for some Dutch people who are trying to improve their English, but it's actually helpful for me, as it highlights some of the grammatical differences between our languages.
Two significant and notable differences are the way you address people, and nouns that have genders. The word "you" is translated differently, based on your relationship with the person or people. "U" is used to address people in a formal relationship, or elders. "Je" is used to address friends or kids. I'm still working on differentiating between these situations (for example, which do you use with a cashier at the supermarket? What about a waitress that's serving you?) I'm also working on pronouncing them clearly... apparently my "uw" and "je" sound almost the same. I think in English, we use a much lazier "u"... to make the "uw" sound here, I think you actually have to purse your lips.... I think that's the trick.
One thing that has given me a chuckle is this phrase, which I have heard a few times: "I will take him for a wash tomorrow" (him, in this case, is a car.) It reminds me that nouns have genders here. I have to be careful not to laugh, though, because if you're speaking in Dutch, it's perfectly normal. To me, it sounds like your car has become your personified prized possession. Of course, this may be true of some people, but I don't believe it's true of the people who I have heard it from. The nice thing is that I *think* you can also use "het" which means "it" to refer to something... so I think I can get by, for now, without knowing the genders... I think.
Friday 23 March 2012
Saturday 10 March 2012
Milk
People drink milk here like it's going out of style.
Martin and I were at a friend's parents' house for lunch the other day. The drink options were: halfvolle (1%) milk or karnemilk. Of course we had tea and coffee after lunch, but milk only during lunch. When we had lunch with his Oma and Opa, the drink options were: raspberry-flavoured yogurt drink, mango-flavoured yogurt drink, or plain milk. Milk is not just meant to wash down your food, but it's meant to be enjoyed as part of the meal... and lots of it!
Karnemilk is probably Martin's favourite drink (it may even rival coffee.) I have been scared off of this milk, because of the strange-looking streaks it leaves in a glass after being consumed.
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I finally googled it, and discovered that it's the equivalent to buttermilk! Seriously!? Since it's so popular here, it's also really cheap (relative to CDN prices). Bring on the baking!!
No wonder the Dutch are so tall :)
Martin and I were at a friend's parents' house for lunch the other day. The drink options were: halfvolle (1%) milk or karnemilk. Of course we had tea and coffee after lunch, but milk only during lunch. When we had lunch with his Oma and Opa, the drink options were: raspberry-flavoured yogurt drink, mango-flavoured yogurt drink, or plain milk. Milk is not just meant to wash down your food, but it's meant to be enjoyed as part of the meal... and lots of it!
Karnemilk is probably Martin's favourite drink (it may even rival coffee.) I have been scared off of this milk, because of the strange-looking streaks it leaves in a glass after being consumed.
.JPG)
I finally googled it, and discovered that it's the equivalent to buttermilk! Seriously!? Since it's so popular here, it's also really cheap (relative to CDN prices). Bring on the baking!!
No wonder the Dutch are so tall :)
Friday 9 March 2012
Fashion...
More specifically, men's fashion.
I now live in a land where men wear appropriate-sized pants, fastened with belts, around the waist; the actual waist. And boys are taught to be men.... hence, they also wear their pants, with belts, around the waist. It's quite refreshing, actually!
I now live in a land where men wear appropriate-sized pants, fastened with belts, around the waist; the actual waist. And boys are taught to be men.... hence, they also wear their pants, with belts, around the waist. It's quite refreshing, actually!
Wednesday 7 March 2012
More differences
1) Going to the movies is a special way to spend the evening. The women are dressed up, the cinema is very clean, and there's a pauze half way through the movie, for a 15 minute coffee break! I'm guessing that the average adult would go to the movies an average of 2 or 3 times a year.
2) All public bathroom stalls are fully enclosed. The doors reach the floor. It would take some quantum physics for a child to play the "crawl out from underneath the locked door" trick.
3) Digit groupings are different. There are a lot more "two digit" groupings here. In Canada, we would give our phone numbers like this : 1-234-567-8901. Over here, I give my number like this: 12-34-56-78-90.
4) At the store, change is rounded to the nearest 5 cents. If your bill comes to 1.97, you pay 2.00, and get 0.05 back. 0.01 coins are hardly used. AND tax is included in posted prices... no surprises at check-out.
5) Stop signs are scarce. I apologize if I've written about this before, but it still shocks me a bit. I think I know where one stop sign is in Barneveld. But as I'm sitting here, I'm not 100% sure if it's a stop sign. Instead of stop signs, you always know who has the right of way, slow down as you approach an intersection, be very alert to possible traffic (four-wheeled and two-wheeled traffic), and continue if it's clear. No need to stop if there's no traffic. This is actually quite nice, especially on a bicycle (stopping and starting on a bike just breaks the flow of the ride.) However, it's actually dangerous if you stop when you shouldn't, and I found it intimidating when I first started riding around town.
6) Squeeges are probably the cleaning item of choice.
7) You only pay for phone calls that you initiate (no fees for "airtime" for an incoming call.)
8) There are no fans in the bathrooms.
9) Most "powder rooms" (1/2 bathrooms) have only a single cold water tap. Every time I wash my hands, I think "wash with soap and warm water..."
10) There are more doors inside the house, containing each living space. This makes it easy to heat only rooms that are used during the day, and keep the entrances as buffer zones.
2) All public bathroom stalls are fully enclosed. The doors reach the floor. It would take some quantum physics for a child to play the "crawl out from underneath the locked door" trick.
3) Digit groupings are different. There are a lot more "two digit" groupings here. In Canada, we would give our phone numbers like this : 1-234-567-8901. Over here, I give my number like this: 12-34-56-78-90.
4) At the store, change is rounded to the nearest 5 cents. If your bill comes to 1.97, you pay 2.00, and get 0.05 back. 0.01 coins are hardly used. AND tax is included in posted prices... no surprises at check-out.
5) Stop signs are scarce. I apologize if I've written about this before, but it still shocks me a bit. I think I know where one stop sign is in Barneveld. But as I'm sitting here, I'm not 100% sure if it's a stop sign. Instead of stop signs, you always know who has the right of way, slow down as you approach an intersection, be very alert to possible traffic (four-wheeled and two-wheeled traffic), and continue if it's clear. No need to stop if there's no traffic. This is actually quite nice, especially on a bicycle (stopping and starting on a bike just breaks the flow of the ride.) However, it's actually dangerous if you stop when you shouldn't, and I found it intimidating when I first started riding around town.
6) Squeeges are probably the cleaning item of choice.
7) You only pay for phone calls that you initiate (no fees for "airtime" for an incoming call.)
8) There are no fans in the bathrooms.
9) Most "powder rooms" (1/2 bathrooms) have only a single cold water tap. Every time I wash my hands, I think "wash with soap and warm water..."
10) There are more doors inside the house, containing each living space. This makes it easy to heat only rooms that are used during the day, and keep the entrances as buffer zones.
Thursday 1 March 2012
Flavours
I think the Dutch- and every culture or nationality, for that matter- have some specific flavours that they prefer.
Peach and apple are common fruit flavours. (Red peach is the "red" flavour of gatorade here- not fruit punch or cherry.)
Sweet pepper (or paprika). Almost all chip flavours have something to do with either pepper, onion or garlic. The variety of chips sounds something like this: paprika & onion, paprika and garlic, paprika and onion and garlic, sweet chili paprika, paprika and chili paprika... I haven't found ketchup chips or all dressed chips yet. Too bad for me!
Almost all cookies or desserts are either apple or almond-flavoured.
Cinnamon and nutmeg can be used to flavour anything. I have been served potatoes, brussel sprouts and red beets, all flavoured with nutmeg, and I've been told of other vegetables that are to be served with nutmeg or cinnamon. For me, cinnamon is for baking, and nutmeg for baking or for on oatmeal. (They also don't eat oatmeal or porridge here. Breakfast is always a cold meal, mostly with bread, cheese, apple spread, peanut butter, and maybe some yogurt.)
Applesauce is like gravy. It's the perfect topping for beef, mashed potatoes, or whatever you'd like! (I haven't adjusted to this yet.)
Chocolate? Well, yes, there is chocolate here, and is it ever delicious! I'm talking melt-in-your-mouth milk chocolate that you can buy at any store! But there's nowhere near the option of chocolate-flavoured desserts. I have had some of the best ice cream cake here (mixed-berry) but it couldn't replace a DQ cake. "Red fruits" or "forest fruits" is a typical flavour for teas, juices and ice cream cakes. It seems that tiramisu and strawberry are more popular flavours for puddings and icecream, than chocolate. Layered cakes also seem to be more common. Layers of crunchy mixed with layers of pudding and whipping cream. Yum!
People think I'm crazy if they discover that I like peanut butter with my banana. This must be a Canadian thing!
I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies, and of course, the people who ate them said "they're good", but it was nothing compared to the reactions I got for oatmeal raisin cookies! I think the Dutch people love their cinnamon and raisins. I also think the Dutch prefer spice to sweet. I think in Canada, we like very rich sweets. But this is all just in my personal opinion, based on the limited number of Dutch people who I have conversed with about food.
Peach and apple are common fruit flavours. (Red peach is the "red" flavour of gatorade here- not fruit punch or cherry.)
Sweet pepper (or paprika). Almost all chip flavours have something to do with either pepper, onion or garlic. The variety of chips sounds something like this: paprika & onion, paprika and garlic, paprika and onion and garlic, sweet chili paprika, paprika and chili paprika... I haven't found ketchup chips or all dressed chips yet. Too bad for me!
Almost all cookies or desserts are either apple or almond-flavoured.
Cinnamon and nutmeg can be used to flavour anything. I have been served potatoes, brussel sprouts and red beets, all flavoured with nutmeg, and I've been told of other vegetables that are to be served with nutmeg or cinnamon. For me, cinnamon is for baking, and nutmeg for baking or for on oatmeal. (They also don't eat oatmeal or porridge here. Breakfast is always a cold meal, mostly with bread, cheese, apple spread, peanut butter, and maybe some yogurt.)
Applesauce is like gravy. It's the perfect topping for beef, mashed potatoes, or whatever you'd like! (I haven't adjusted to this yet.)
Chocolate? Well, yes, there is chocolate here, and is it ever delicious! I'm talking melt-in-your-mouth milk chocolate that you can buy at any store! But there's nowhere near the option of chocolate-flavoured desserts. I have had some of the best ice cream cake here (mixed-berry) but it couldn't replace a DQ cake. "Red fruits" or "forest fruits" is a typical flavour for teas, juices and ice cream cakes. It seems that tiramisu and strawberry are more popular flavours for puddings and icecream, than chocolate. Layered cakes also seem to be more common. Layers of crunchy mixed with layers of pudding and whipping cream. Yum!
People think I'm crazy if they discover that I like peanut butter with my banana. This must be a Canadian thing!
I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies, and of course, the people who ate them said "they're good", but it was nothing compared to the reactions I got for oatmeal raisin cookies! I think the Dutch people love their cinnamon and raisins. I also think the Dutch prefer spice to sweet. I think in Canada, we like very rich sweets. But this is all just in my personal opinion, based on the limited number of Dutch people who I have conversed with about food.
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