Month: November 2017

As a fellow Dutch person, I will give you 15 facts on the beautiful and mysterious country of the Netherlands and as a bonus, some food and treats to try if you ever go there!

15 Facts on the Netherlands

1. There are over 600 museums in the whole country!
2. More than a quarter of the country is below sea level, including most of Amsterdam (the capital). There is a man-made dam around the county’s connection with the ocean, and if it were to break only around 2/3 of the country would survive.
3. Dutch people are said to be the tallest people in the world.
4. Although Dutch people speak Dutch, around 85% speak English as a second language.
5. We love licorice, making us the country which consumes the most in the world!
6. Holland was said to be the first to legalize homosexual wedding.
7. There are more bicycles than people.
8. We hold the largest flower garden in the world- the Keukenhof.

9. On every first Monday of each month, everyone sets off their emergency alarms as a check up.
10. We have a second Christmas! On December 5th, we celebrate ‘St Nicholas’ or the coming of Sinterklaas. Some celebrate this and not Christmas, but by now most people just celebrate both.
11. In dutch, Nederlands (Netherlands in Dutch) literally means ‘lower lands’ which by now must be obvious why.
12. During World War II, when there was a lack in food, the Dutch would feed on Tulip bulbs.
13. Told by the United Nations World Happiness Report (2013), the Netherlands was named fourth happiest country in the world.
14. KLM, the national airline is the oldest airline company in the world.
15. The Dutch national flag is the oldest tricolor flag. It was created in 1572.

Food and Treats to Try

– Salmiak drop (licorice). This is honestly my favorite candy on Earth but when it comes to any kind of licorice, either you hate it or love it.
– Stroopwafel. This is a soft flat waffle-like biscuit stuffed with caramel. Normally eaten as a snack or treat but its also great for breakfast.
– Pepernoot. This is a little round biscuit which is a tradition to eat during Saint Nicholas. Often it is also mixed with soft pastel-colored sweets.

www.pepernotenfabriek.nl

– Kroket. This is probably as Dutch as it gets! It is a thick sausage like roll. It is fried and covered with bread crumbs and filled a mix of mash potato, ground meat, cheese, and/ or vegetables. It is normally served with bread and mustard. In addition it is so traditional that it is almost impossible to find a restaurant which doesn’t serve it (apart from fast food restaurants like KFC or McDonald’s).

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/56576539038892525/

– Poffertjes. These are kind of just really small crumpets (Thick pancakes with air pockets) served with icing sugar. Still super delicious though!
– Chocoladeletters (Chocolate letters). These are large 3D letters made out of chocolate. They are usually eaten during the celebration of Saint Nicholas.
– Tony’s Chocolonley. This is actually a thick chocolate bar which comes in all kinds of flavors: Milk, dark, white, salted caramel, milk and nuts, coffee, nougat, honeycomb, coconut, licorice, etc…!

DE CHOCOLADEREPEN VAN TONY’S CHOCOLONELY.
©TONY’S CHOCOLONELY

– Chocolade Hagleslag. Chocolate sprinkles usually are eaten for breakfast on a slice of bread.

Some more examples might be included in this video.

Work Cited:
www.pepernotenfabriek.nl
http://www.denoordoostpolder.nl/nieuws/49350/alles-over-pepernoten-het-meest-gegeten-koekje-in-14-weken-tijd/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/56576539038892525/

10 jaar Tony’s Chocolonely: Teun speecht

When I grew up, I started nursery school in Conakry, Guinea. At this time I don’t remember enough about it to tell you about it or my nursery school in Senegal.

I then moved to the Club Aldiana, Senegal. It wasn’t actually a city but more like a villa with a hotel, pool, sports clubs, school, etc… My dad worked there before it permanently closed down, therefore I was put in nursery school there too.

Wolfschmidt

We then moved to Accra, Ghana. I went to a small British school called Three Bears School. This is where I had began official school and stayed until year two, or the end of grade 1. Its was really small meaning it was a school only for Nursery, grade prep, year 1, and year 2. And with about 15 students per level, making the over all around 60-90 students. There was a wide variability of cultures going from Wales to Mali to Thailand in just my class. When I came to the end of year 2, I was about to be put in a local Ghanaian public school, however my dad got a job opportunity leading us to Ivory Coast.

I now went to the International Community School of Abidjan. In the first few years, the school took place in a building that could be taken as a really big house. We were only around 100 students from almost all nationalities, even more diverse than in Ghana.

However many things had changed for me. There were almost only american accents, people were more physically and mentally active, and the work got more visual and fun. As the years passed by, the school changed campus to an actual school campus one or two years after the presidential crisis in 2010-2011. The school’s population grew until we were around 500 students. The culture diversity grew and along with the growth came new teaching techniques and we started having after school activities.

After a harsh leave from Abidjan, moved to Dakar, Senegal. I now go to the school ISD (International School of Dakar). This was a really big change for me because the schedules are different, the room placements and organizations are different, and this school is obsessed about sport. This love for sport is to the point where if your new and you really want to fit in you have to join a main sports team (volleyball, basketball, or soccer). People at ISD are culturally diverse but still have conflicts about open-mindedness… Also there is a lot of drama. Over all my opinion is that the school here is not very efficient (for example the teachers are not aware of cyber-bullying) however when you find the right people and the right schedule (for example, playing basketball after school), ISD can be a very fun and positive atmosphere! Honestly, If I don’t go back to ICSA (which I most-likely wont), I would love to spend the rest of my school years at ISD!

Citations:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2743248

One thing that I haven’t mentioned is that I am obsessed with Japanese culture and way of life. Not only do I like anime and mangas, but I LOVE Japanese food and style of fashion.

However one of the main reason is the open-mindedness of the country. Now I’m going to come out a little to prove my point, but personally, I feel that I am too open-minded… I get frustrated really easily when someone says something wrong or misplaced about someone being different. One main example would be homosexual people. I have grown up in a family where I have learned that it is just as normal to like the same gender as to like the opposite. When I come into a school where some people have religions which go against the ideal I grew up with I have trouble handling that. And my religion isn’t as accepting of the idea either but happiness comes first in my world. Anyways, Japan is super open-minded and if I were to go there or live there, I feel that even if I don’t speak Japanese just the fact that I’m in an open-minded society I would feel at home.

For example, the other day I came across an article on SnapChat were they were talking about ‘genderless teens’ in Japan. Technically there were teens of any gender who would wear what they want. Both boys and/or girls could wear skirts or dresses. They could wear anything they wanted, freely. When I read this I felt like I could live in a society with people like that, not being genderless myself though. It was the most inspiring thing I had read in a long time.

I also have family in Japan, my mom’s cousin, who is an anime/ manga creator. He took part in the creation of shows such as Code Lyoko, and he is the creator of the space ship “Aloha” in Space Dandy.
Currently he has fun recreating his children’s drawings:

I don’t remember the last time I saw him or my distant cousins, and I would love to get to know them…