Vis à Vis speelt HaRT

Pentecost (Pinksteren), Whit Sunday or known in Dutch as Eerste Pinksterdag, is an important Christian Holiday in The Netherlands. It is is seven weeks after Easter Sunday which commemorates the Holy Spirit's descent from heaven onto Jesus' followers. It is generally a normal spring Sunday and a popular time for outdoor music festivals, short breaks and longer vacations.  

This long vacation is also time to relax and to do some recreational activities. For us, we were invited by our Suriname neighbour to join on his 55th birthday celebration. But on the same day, father of Dennis was also invited us to watch a theatrical show here in Almere. Thus, we decided to stay at the party for only 2 hours and went directly to the show. The show was free for all the volunteers here in Almere and Dennis' father was one of the volunteers. He got four free tickets for the show and gave it to me, Dennis and a close friend of him.

The theatrical show was played by a group, Vis à Vis and the title of the show was 'Hart'. It was a dramatic and comedy love story in a bizarre outdoor environment. They used ingenious style for their equipments and props. Mostly in the theatre, you would find some luxurious paraphernalia but  Vis a Vis used things that you could find in the garbage can. The setting of the show was an afvalscheidingsstation/waste separation station where people brought their trash there and separate the components of the waste based on their materials. The acting of the characters and the effects were really amazing and also the sophisticated musical arrangements that make up the evening a real cinematic experience. I had fun watching it! Even there were some parts of it that I didn't understand because my Dutch was not yet enough. But still, thanks for Dennis for translating it for me and the act that helped me to understand the whole picture of the story. This was also my first Dutch Theatrical show and I would never forget this spectacular show.

Wonder of Spring

The bright flowers popping through.
Leaves starting to stretch out.
Warm,gentle winds.
Warmth of the sun.
Songs of the new hatch lings.
Buzz of the bees.
Rat a tat tat of the rain.

The spring (Lente in Dutch) is the season between winter and summer. Spring months are March, April and May. It is also a favorite season for many people, and it is certainly easy to understand why this is so. The spring is when the earth comes back to life after a long cold winter, and it is in the spring when the first flowers begin to bloom and the green world begins to return after its winter slumber. It's time to wake up and spring back into action. The world around us is coming to life again and now is the time to renew, recharge and freshen up the world around us.  

The sounds of spring also make a smile form on my face, the sounds of kids running to school or playing in the park. I could also feel the warmth of the sun, smell the fresh air, see the green grass and flowers,and hear the chipping birds every morning. This season is also time for gardening, fishing, home improvement, biking, hiking, horse back riding and outdoor sports like football and baseball.

One day enjoying the early Spring through biking

 

 

 

 

Flowers start to bloom along the road

Freezing Netherlands!

This last few days, The Netherlands converted into freezing landscape because of the decreasing temperature  from zero degree Celsius down to -10 degrees or much more lower. Last Friday (3 February), a heavy snow invaded The Netherlands which brought major traffic problems, train and plane cancelled. But of course, for the children, it was nice to play outside, throwing the snow ball, making a snow man or skating over the frozen rivers.

Playing on snow with kids (Robert and Kaye-lyn), Nanthicia and Dennis

According to Wikipedia, a cold wave was registered in the Netherlands, with a low of −18.9 °C (−2.0 °F) in De Bilt, the lowest recorded since 1956, and a national low of −22.8 °C (−9.0 °F) in Lelystad, the lowest temperature recorded all over the Netherlands since 1985. . A homeless man was frozen to death on February 2.  People have been ice-skating on the canals of Amsterdam.

After a few more days of freezing weather, the cold snap brought misery to Europe especially in Ukraine which is reportedly the biggest hit area with nearly 100 deaths in the country. Most of these deaths were due to people being homeless and not having a place to stay warm. But for The Netherlands, it was the most exciting moment for them to hold again the Elfstedentocht, a natural ice-skating marathon in the northern province of Friesland that goes through 11 cities and covers 200 kilometres.The last four tours were held in 1997, 1986, 1985 and 1963.Dutch people speculated about the possibility to organize this mythical tour in Friesland. Unfortunately, the ice was not good enough to handle the race. The ice didn't reach the required thickness which should be at least 15cm length. Frustrations or sadness was felt by some of the Dutch people for stopping,organising this event but still, they were looking forward that it's going to be happen in the near future.

Walking on the frozen lake

Photos of Winter 2012

A New Page For Book 2012!

We will open the new book.
Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity
and
its first chapter is New Year's Day.

 With the beginning of year 2012, a new era begins and with it comes new hopes and new opportunities. Every year teaches us some of life's most important lessons, and with that learning we put our step forward into the new year. Many of us take New Year's Day to look back at the past year. Some of it we'll never forget. Some of it we'll want to forget. We draw resolutions if we want or need to change it. We make commitment by ourselves, aiming for a goal to achieve them by the next New Year.  If we succeed, we’re the better for it, and if we fail , we still have chance to try again for the next New year.  For this year 2012, I just want to improve more my Dutch and have confidence in speaking with it. I hope I can make it by the end of 2012 so I can find a better job or continue studying in a Dutch school with my Nursing degree. I do believe that nothing is impossible if I will strive hard for and accomplish it. 

My First New Year's Eve here at Holland

Fascinating fireworks, arousing parties with live musical performance and fun and laughter is what marks the beginning of a new year. Our celebration for New year 2012 is just a simple party with full of enjoyment and laughters. We invited few of our friends named Eric, Frank, Rene, Nanthicia and Dennis' father. Actually, our main plan for the upcoming New year is to celebrate with my cousin, Cristina and her family in Middelburg and later have short visit in Antwerpen, Belgium but when we heard from Dennis' father the he would celebrate alone in New year's eve as well as Dennis' friends, Eric and Frank, we decided just to be here at home and throw a small party with them. I prepared  Filipino dish - fried rice, Adobong manok with pineapple chunks, and embotido for dinner as requested by our visitors, Eric and Frank. They brought traditional Dutch foods, appelflappen  (small deep-fried pies filled with apple) and oliebollen (deep-fried balls with powder sugar) and some cocktail drinks. Father of Dennis brought a bottle of Champagne and his Yahtzee game where we could play while waiting for the clock to turn into 12. After having a great dinner, we decided to play a Yahtzee game. We had fun playing on it where you throw five dice and make more point scores to make certain combinations. While playing on the second round of Yahtzee game, Nanthicia and her boyfriend, Rene arrived  and brought with sushi and  Heineken beers. They arrived after dinner because Nanthicia need to work on that day. We had  a great time while waiting for the year 2012. Watching music videos, sharing experience, drinking, and eating some chips, sushi, toast. Pon was another sweet Thai friend of mine who was also the mother of the children I take care of, shared with us her home-made oliebollen and greeted us personally. At 12 o´clock midnight, we greeted each other a 'Gelukkig Nieuwjaar' and had toast of Champagne. After that, we went outside to watch firework displays

New year in Netherlands

Dutch New Year (Oud en Nieuw) consists of Oudejaarsavond (New Year’s Eve) on December 31 and Nieuwjaarsdag (New Year’s Day) on January 1. Families gather together at home to play board games and watch traditional summaries of the year by popular Dutch comedians on TV. The streets become deserted and even the bangs of premature fireworks taper off to an creepy silence as the midnight hour approaches. There is also a long tradition of eating foods, which contain a lot of oil or fat, such as oliebollen and appelflappen.

On the evening of December 31, may people hold or attend parties to celebrate the end of the past year and to welcome the New Year. In some towns and cities, public parties are held or public bonfires to burn Christmas trees are lit. At midnight, people kiss each other and wish one another "the best wishes for the new year" and may hold a toast with champagne or sparkling wine. In addition, many people and some organizations let off fireworks to mark the start of the New Year. In a number of towns and villages, New Year's Dives are organized. This involves taking a dip in the freezing cold North Sea at Scheveningen beach in the Hague.

 New year in Philippines

Additionally, midnight mass or media noche is one of the significant New Year traditions in the Philippines. Also, firecrackers are very famous in this place and have a big role in the New Year practice in Philippines. Skies is lit with divers sort of firecrackers which signifies prosperity and happiness all through the year. In the Philippines fireworks are recognized as “paputok”.

My First Christmas in Holland

How did I celebrate my first Christmas in Holland?

The Christmas this year was the first time that I didn't celebrate it  in my own country - Philippines. For the whole 21 years of my life, I always celebrate Christmas with my family in the Philippines. But now, I'm living now here in The Netherlands and trying to establish my life here. I could say that it was sad to be far from your loved ones but there was also in the other side that would experience it for the first time and make you happy. So it was really mix emotions of  sadness and happiness. But still, there are some ways to ease your longingness with your loved ones such as sending mails to them, calling them on phone and the most accessible now is using the Internet- Skype, Yahoo Messenger, MSN, Facebook etc.

Last 10 December 2011, me and Dennis attended a Christmas Party here in Almere with the Samenleven ladies together with their families. I joined in Samenleven ( a group of Filipinas who got married or had relationship with a Dutchman) before I arrived here in Holland. I saw their website while searching informations about the Civic Integration Exam. I found it interesting where I could meet them here in Holland and be friends with them. Ate Ranessa was the first one I meet. She was also living here in Almere and we study in the same school. She was very kind, friendly and helpful. She gave me a lot of advices about the life here in Holland, how to study Dutch, our school and a lot of things. She invited me on the party and encouraged me to attend it. We went there where I met them all personally. We had a great time there where we ate different, delicious dishes which prepared by each of families, gift-giving and received each one of us a present, and the children practiced 'Mano po' which was the Filipino gesture of respect.

Here in The Netherlands, the Dutch people celebrate Christmas for two days: 25 and 26 December. They call it 'Eerste en Tweede Kerst dag' (First and second Christmas). These two days are spent with family, singing carols, playing games, watching movies, reading Chritsmas tales and indulging in holiday feasts.They eat a large breakfast or brunch and a special Christmas meal. Some people plan and cook a large meal with a range of luxurious foods at home. These meals could include game meats, roast pork, fondues or gourmetten (the most typically Dutch Christmas meal, a style of eating that involves a grill on the table so that everyone can cook bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables themselves). Second Christmas Day is often spent visiting family or, weather permitting, going ice skating or on an outing. Leftovers are enjoyed on this day.

25 December 2011 - I had a wonderful Christmas dinner with Dennis, Jeroen (Dennis' brother)  and their father, Ton. I prepared Chritsmas cookies, lumpia shanghai and coffee for snack time and a gourmet schotel for dinner. For the lovely dessert, we had vanilla and chocolate nuts ice cream. After that, we exchanged gifts where we had our raffle names last time we celebrated Sinterklaas. This was the list of gifts what we received that day: Anne- small wallet and pantoffels, Dennis- a gift card worth of 20 euro, Jeroen - 100pcs of DVDs, and Ton- a Yatzee play game.

 26 December 2011- Dennis, Jeroen and I had a delicious dinner with Chicken Rollade, vegetables and baked potatoes. I made a Leche Plan for our dessert.

Christmas 2011

Sinterklaas is also for adults!

Traditionally, the Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas on the eve of 5th December, with festive family parties when gifts and surprises are exchanged. This celebration is the most awaitng event of most children here in Holland, which children sing Sinterklaas songs and put their shoes next to the window or door, or, by the fireplace or heater, along with a nice drawing, a wish-list and a carrot or hay, and maybe a saucer of water, for the horse. Children are looking forward in the next day or on 5th December to receive presents from Sinterklaas if they are behave well, that is the idea believed by the children where Zwarte Piet keeps a record of all the things they have done in the past year in a book and that good children will get presents from Sinterklaas, but bad children will get chased by Zwarte Piet with a stick. Most of the parents, significant family members or friends are the only who put presents on their shoes or dressed like a Sinterklaas so as many children as possible get a chance to see Sinterklaas and get a present. The main reason for this is to teach the children what is good  and bad, and the thought of gift-giving or sharing with others.

Sinterklaas Slinger

Sinterklaas is basically for children but here in the Netherlands, adults also join on this celebration. Dutch people love to have fun with their family and friends especially making surprise to them. The element of surprise is a small gift may be wrapped in a huge box, or it may be hidden and require following clues to discover where it is. So yesterday, me and Dennis, including his father and brother, held our first Sinterklaas celebration because we would not have much time to do it on 5 December. Even we don´t have yet kids in our family, we decided to celebrate it just to have a family bonding with fun, enjoyment and surprises. I told Dennis that it would be more fun if we were going to play a game like what we did last year together with Dennis´friends. But I planned to divert this game which suited for us  that would make interesting and enjoyable for the father and brother of Dennis. I was thinking to make a Sinterklaas board game with full of consequences and rewards but I was lucky to find the same board game I was thinking of in one of the stores here and it was nice that it´s not so expensive to buy it. It was also the same game where some members of the Badminton club held their Sinterklaas celebration last Friday night. I bought also a Sinterklaas decoration (Sinterklaas slingers) to feel more the spirit of celebration. It was great that all of us were enjoyed and surprised last night. 

Sinterklaas cadeautjes

Sinterklaas board game

You might also like this: 

Sinterklaas 2010 

AAP Sanctuary for Exotic Animals

Aap Sanctuary For Exotic Animals Slideshow: Ellehcar’s trip to Almere, Flevoland, Nederland was created by TripAdvisor. See another Almere slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

Welcome Back in Holland

All our hardships in arranging some documents in the Netherlands Embassy, DFA, and IND had borne into a fruitful result which was to bring me back here in Holland. Finally, we were together now after few months of waiting and experiencing so much stress. It was hard to be far away from your loved one wherein you couldn't personally share your feelings to her/him. We so much missed each other and now, we could hold and fall more in love  to each other. 

I had my flight through Malaysian Airlines last 19 July wherein the airplane departed at 15.05 in Manila International Airport (NAIA Terminal 1) and arrived at 18.40 in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I waited for almost 5 hours in Kuala Lumpur and took the KLM flight from there going to Schiphol Amsterdam Airport which took 12 hours of travel. I arrived in Schiphol at 5.55 wherein I was so glad to  see Dennis was waiting on me in arrival area.

 Dennis was so sweet! When we arrived at home, I was surprised with some decorations in the house and bouquet of rose on the table with welcome card on it.  

Aside from that, I never expect that I would receive more flowers from Dennis'dad and our friendly neighbour named Mala. It made me feel special on that day and I knew that they were so happy that me and Dennis were together again.