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Expat stories live on
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2018
Spring
In this issue | New ACCESS website! | Nuffic Alumni Network | Amazing shifts | Visit Leeuwarden, this year’s European Cultural Capital | Archives around the world | Connect International | Parthian chicken |
Setting the Standard
NEW! The Little Castle International Day Care Sixth Zein Childcare location in The Hague region is now open in Voorburg! Offering an award-winning approach, luxurious homely environment & large natural playground. Zein’s unique Early Childhood Curriculum focusses on the individual needs of each child, providing a high level of care and fun filled programme in an internationally oriented nurturing learning environment – ensuring a smooth transition into school when the time comes…
THE LITTLE CASTLE DAY CARE AGES 3 MONTHS - 4 YEARS OLD English speaking and a bilingual group Beautiful natural playground of +/- 4.000m2 with age appropriate play zones Large open central hall for indoor play Loving & experienced Early Years professionals with international backgrounds High staff to child ratio Vertical age grouping for siblings to be placed together Fresh organic warm meals and snacks prepared by the on-site chef Homely interior décor with wooden furnishings from Zein’s own furniture line Very high safety & hygiene standards Private parking and dedicated parents’ room with wifi connection
Zein International Childcare
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After School Care
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Holiday Camps
Contact the friendly team for more information or to arrange a visit 070 326 8263 2018 SPRING.indd 5
info@zeinchildcare.nl
zeinchildcare.nl 2/13/2018 5:36:54 PM
Letter from the editor
PHOTO: RUDI WELLS FOTOGRAFIE
Dear ACCESS readers
Mandie van der Meer-Danielski ACCESS Editor editor@access-nl.org
Having a baby has triggered memories of my own childhood: favourite games and toys, various misadventures with my brother… I find myself wishing I had brought photographs and artefacts with me from my mother’s attic, to better reflect on where I come from and how I grew up. Raising a child in a foreign land is, well, foreign. Nowadays I look especially to my past to inform my present and to plan my family’s future here. For those of us who’ve moved around every few years, or settled permanently in the Netherlands, we struggle to make room for shoes and luggage—and bicycles!— let alone for boxes of memorabilia. It’s a luxury to store our personal memories. We’re fortunate, then, to have the Expatriate Archive Centre in The Hague. The centre, celebrating its 10-year anniversary, collects and maintains archives from expats and internationals anywhere in the world. I encourage every one of our readers to contribute one story or one photograph to the collection. For as globalisation encourages mobility, future explorers will benefit from our stories, our lessons, our lives. Find out how to share your tales in the cover story by Sarah Bringhurst Familia. So how and where does a country as far-reaching at the Netherlands keep its memories? Pretty much all over the world! Alice Burke introduces us to just a few of the archives recording Dutch history and influence in the Americas, Australia, Indonesia and beyond. Jochem Lips explores the challenges of translating history in Arts & Entertainment. For our Food section, Stefan Penders cooks up an ancient Parthian chicken dish from the Romans, and there's exciting news from ACCESS at the centrefold! There’s much more in the pages to follow, so grab some oranjekoek in honour of Europe’s Cultural Capital Leeuwarden, and get reading!
Future explorers will benefit from our stories, our lessons, our lives
Finally, I offer big thanks Kelly Merks for the splendid work she did as interim editor of the magazine during my maternity leave. As Kelly and her husband soon begin their journey into parenthood, we here at ACCESS wish them great joy, and, naturally, meaningful memories, recorded carefully, to last many generations. ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 3
About ACCESS
Colophon
For 30 years ACCESS has been an independent
Publisher
not-for-profit organisation serving
Stichting ACCESS
internationals so they may settle successfully
Editorial content
in the Netherlands. Our mission is to provide
editor@access-nl.org
essential, comprehensive and unique services
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nationally, through the expertise and
070 345 1700
experience of our dedicated volunteers from
fnd@access-nl.org Editor
the expatriate community.
Mandie van der Meer-Danielski
Our magazine complements the services we provide through our Helpdesk, FAQ Guides, Counselling Service Network and Trainers Network. Our intention is to further facilitate our readers’ settlement process in your new home, by providing content which helps you better understand the country; discover things about it you may not have been aware of; encourage connection with your Dutch neighbours and colleagues; and offer contributors a platform to share your skills.
ACCESS Magazine aims to be: • welcoming • informative • educational • entertaining • original
Have feedback for us? Interested in contributing to the magazine? Please contact the Editor at editor@access-nl.org. We love to hear from our community! Executive Board: Chairman: Gary Hays, Valshebnik Consulting . Members: Koosje Ploegmakers, ABN AMRO - Godelijn Boonman, GMW Advocaten - Lowri van der Linden, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, Pauline O'Brien, Council of International Schools.
Assistant Editors Nancy Kroonenberg, Kelly Merks Design & Layout Marek Moggré, M-space Printer Edauw en Johannissen Drukkerij Cover image Expatriate Archive Centre Contents images (clockwise) Carmen Morlon, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Hans Jellema, pikselstock Contributors Alice Burke, Sarah Bringhurst Familia, Shimrit Florentin, Katarina Gaborova,
0900 2 ACCESS (0900 2 222 377) local rate 20c per minute
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Cathy Leung, Jochem Lips, Stefan Penders, Bob Powers, Karen Prowse, Molly Quell, Deborah Valentine, Olivia van den Broek-Neri, and
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DutchNews.nl.
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4 | ACCESS | WINTER 2017
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Spring 2018 Vol. 31 No. 1 Circulation: 4,500 Also available online at: magazine.access-nl.org
19
Contents 7 What’s On for Spring 10 Cover Story A home for expat life stories 19 Reviews The Dutchman behind Dunkirk 20 Health & Wellbeing Amazing shifts 22 Arts & Entertainment The challenge of translating history 26 ACCESS News Our new website
22
29 Education Nuffic: enabling graduates to stay 32 Dutch Lifestyle Corners of the world, tinted orange 36 International Community Connect International 38 Travel 6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden
20
42 Food Ancient Parthian chicken 45 Humour from DutchNews.nl
Copyright ACCESS 2018 All rights reserved. No part of the ACCESS Magazine may be used in any form without explicit permission in writing from the Publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication was correct at the time of going to press. However, ACCESS and its writers cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the information included.
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ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 5
Settling in, simply. We’re here to make it easier for internationals to work and register in the Amsterdam area. Qualifying companies can start the paperwork before arrival and a single visit to International Newcomers Amsterdam (IN Amsterdam, formerly called the Expatcenter Amsterdam) will complete the process. What’s more, our website has loads of valuable information on a wide range of topics including education,taxes, healthcare and housing. The cities of Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Almere, Diemen, Haarlem, Haarlemmermeer, Hilversum and Velsen are working with the Immigration and Naturalisation Services (IND) to bring you the IN Amsterdam services. To learn more please visit: www.inamsterdam.com
What’s On
Special events in March International Theatre Festival Brandhaarden 2018 stadsschouwburgamsterdam.nl/information-in-english
PHOTO: MARK VAN SMAALEN
20 March - 1 April – Amsterdam
Paleo Time International Fossil Show english.fossiel.net/beursede
Brandhaarden is an international annual festival organised by Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam honouring a single theatre maker. This year, theatre legend Peter Brook will be honoured. The Parisian Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord will take the stage with five different productions, a rare opportunity to enjoy their work right here in the Netherlands. The festival is meant to provoke thought about old versus new styles of theatre and the mix between them. Two of the productions are in English: “Battlefield,” which brings a peak scene from the Mahabharata into life, and “The Prisoner,” about a prisoner somewhere in the world whom we know nothing about.
10 March – Ede
PHOTO: R. JEAN LOUIS FERNANDEZ
Come see, exhibit, sell or buy fossils in this rocking fair whose slogan is: “For fossil collectors by fossil collectors.” Here you can learn more about fossils and get the advice of experts, as well as exchange impressions with fellow fossilenthusiasts. Entertainment and activities for children are also on the programme, so come have fun with the whole family.
The Dark Animal Kingdom nhmmaastricht.nl/exposities/het-duisteredierenrijk.html (Dutch only)
Through 6 May – Maastricht Discover the life of nocturnal animals— animals who become active at sundown—at this exhibition in Maastricht’s natural history museum. We all know that owls and bats like the darkness, but some surprising animals, like geckos and mice, also join the party. Activities for families and workshops for children create an opportunity to experience the life of animals that are only active when we are sound asleep.
ACCESS thanks our March Volunteer of the Month, Shimrit Florentin, for her contribution to the Winter 2017 edition of the magazine. She was mistakenly not named as a contributor. Thanks to Shimrit! And thanks to our Helpdesk volunteers for their list of best events.
Seafood Festival facebook.com/seafoodamsterdam
31 March - 1 April – Amsterdam Dive deep into deliciousness at this lekker festival. This is an excellent place to discover all that the sea has to offer, from shrimp to octopus. With such abundance you can try new, exciting combinations and fun drink pairings, or return to old favourites, there’s something for everyone!
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 7
What’s On
Special events in April Trajectum Lumen trajectumlumen.nl/en/tours
Taletún (Language Garden) friesland.nl/en/events/3493125596/taletun
Ongoing – Utrecht
PHOTO: ANNE HAMERS UTRECHT MARKETING
Explore the beautiful city centre of Utrecht through bright eyes! A local guide will show you around and point out historic monuments lit by light art installations in this luminous route. Combining ancient architecture and modern art, this is a true celebration of old and new with a touch of magic. (Also possible to enjoy for free without a guide.)
30 March - 28 October Leeuwarden The Taletún is an exciting event for children ages up to 12, and their families, that is all about playing with language. Here, children can enjoy stories, inter active installations and even invent their own language! Special activities for each age group make sure that everyone can join in the fun. You also have the opportunity to meet writers and enjoy various performances, so make sure to visit this European Capital of Culture 2018! (See also the Travel article on pages 38 - 41 for “6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden.”)
Motel Mozaïque motelmozaique.nl/en
19-21 April – Rotterdam
dojo.ministryoftesting.com/events/ testbash-netherlands-2018
12-13 April – Utrecht TestBash Netherlands is a two-day software-testing conference that promises a professional and friendly environment to share experiences and ideas. The first day consists of training sessions; on the second day, the conference day, you can enjoy talks by different speakers on a variety of software-testing-related topics. Come test them out!
8 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Bonfire Beach Festival bonfirebeachfest.com (Dutch only)
20-21 April – Scheveningen Food, culture, games, sports and music in a free access festival area— what more can you ask of a festival? Oh, yeah—a laid-back beach location at Scheveningen! This year a unique and exclusive fire show by the French theatre company Carabosse will be one of the festival’s highlights. So let the waves wash off the cold of winter and come give the rising temperatures a warm welcome!
PHOTO: CHARLOTTE VAN DEN AREND
TestBash Netherlands 2018
A festival that is also an adventure giving you a chance to (re)discover Rotterdam. During the festival you can join guided tours that will lead you to performances given across various locations in the city. Enjoy new music and visual art performances as you observe the city with a fresh perspective.
What’s On
Special events in May Want to post a community event in this magazine? Contact ACCESS Magazine at editor@access-nl.org subject: ‘What’s On’.
North Sea Regatta
Sum Thoughts
nsr.nl/english
ndt.nl/en/tickets/sum-thoughts
8-20 May – The Hague
8 March - 12 May Throughout the Netherlands
Fête de la Nature fetedelanature.nl (Dutch only)
25-27 May Throughout the Netherlands Salute nature in this weekend-long inclusive national festival. As part of the festival, any individual or group are encouraged and supported in organising an event celebrating nature with their local community. Nature walks, cooking workshops, games and stories—the sky is the limit. Creativity, community and nature— it doesn’t get more gezellig than that!
Sum Thoughts consists of four dance performances by the Nederlands Dans Theater. From a rhythmic performance created by choreographer Hans van Manen in Short Cut, to the short, sharp movements in mutual comfort by choreographer Edward Clug. The remaining two performances are world premieres created by former dancer and current choreographer, Marina Mascarell, and the choreographic duo of Sol León & Paul Lightfoot. Sum Thoughts allows both audience and dancers to experience a full range of (e)motion.
PHOTO: RAHI REZVANI
The biggest sailing event on the Dutch coast is back again and you can take an active part in the exciting sailing races! Not sure this is your cup of... North Sea water? Then come test the waters and cheer on from dry land. Social events are organised to make sure the fun keeps on flowing.
Poetry International Festival poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/pif2017/festival/events
29 May - 3 June – Rotterdam This thought-provoking festival invites visitors to enjoy language while contemplating messages. Come listen and feel the words, meanings and emotions. The festival offers a variety of activities and opportunities to attend poetry readings, workshops, talks and dialogues. Other forms of art, like film and music, are also honoured, so don’t miss it!
Children’s Route Along the River Dommel thisiseindhoven.com/en/visit/things-to-do
Until 30 May – Eindhoven PHOTO: PIETER VAN DER MEER
This 3K route offers a unique a dventure for children and families. This interactive and educational experience is meant to teach children about the river Dommel and the s urroundings of Eindhoven.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 9
PHOTOS CARMEN MORLON
Cover story
A home for expat life stories 10 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Cover Story
Archives are places where writings, documents, photographs, and other important cultural artefacts that tell the story of our shared history are kept safe. But why do we need to keep these materials in the first place? Who determines what is worth saving and what is not? And is anyone even reading everything that has been saved? Join us as we visit the Expatriate Archive Centre in The Hague to find some answers and learn why expats need their very own archive.
BY SARAH BRINGHURST FAMILIA
Whose stories will be told?
History is subjective. It is, in essence, no more than a collection of stories about the past, told of necessity from a limited number of viewpoints. Someone must choose which stories will be told and how to tell them. Human memory is fragile, unreliable, and suggestible. So historians focus on written sources, preferably recorded as soon as possible after the events. Hence, the idea of an archive as a place to store these records follows naturally enough.
application there—may be preserved in this or that regional archive. But even these documents generally contain data about people rather than stories told in their own voices. By their very nature, geographically-bound archives lack the interest or focus to preserve the full stories of those whose lives take them from one country to another. Unless someone takes the time and trouble to preserve the details of these international lives, they are doomed to fall through the cracks of history, unremembered. In the 1960s and 70s, historians began to take more interest in ‘social history.’ Social history is the lived experience of ordinary people, as distinguished from the sweeping events of political history. Accordingly, new archives started to spring up to meet the demand for personal documents recording people’s lives. “The Expatriate Archive Centre (EAC) in The Hague,” as our team pointed out in a chapter of the book Global Mobilities last year, “can be seen as a part of this movement that recognizes the lives and experiences of ordinary people, studies and analyses their stories, and places them within the larger historical narrative or revises it in light of newly acquired knowledge.” »
Most archives are official sorts of places. Governments keep archives, useful as they are in establishing an idea of shared national history. Depending on the country, one can usually find some combination of national, regional, state, provincial, and municipal archives. Corporations, universities, churches, and other institutions traditionally keep their own archives as well. By the very act of choosing what to preserve in their archives, these organisations make judgement calls about what types of stories and documents are important. What are often left out are the everyday stories of ordinary humans. This is doubly true of internationally-mobile people. Fragments of their lives—a birth certificate here, a ship’s manifest or naturalisation ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 11
Cover Story | A home for expat life stories
The Expatriate Archive Centre
The idea for an archive dedicated to preserving the life stories of expatriates, people who temporarily live outside their home countries, grew out of two books published in the 1990s. Judy Moody-Stewart and Glenda Lewin met and bonded over a shared expat past. They had, respectively, been living around the world with their partners who both worked for Royal Dutch Shell. They collected material for two anthologies about the everyday lives of Shell families posted all over the world. After the volumes were
From its beginnings as a dream to make expat voices heard, it has grown and professionalised into an important international repository of expat ego documents
published, the “Shell Ladies Project,” as they called themselves, kept the documents relating to the books in a sturdy antique suitcase. That suitcase, like them, had spent decades traveling the world. The response to the books was overwhelmingly positive. Moody-Stewart and Lewin sensed that the material they collected would have continuing value. This conviction was confirmed when they were joined by Dewey White, another “Shell wife” who was a social historian. White needed the materials they had collected to be preserved for academic research. She later explained, “Quotations from letters, diaries, postcards, and journals give voice and vision to the past. Historians and other social scientists require such primary sources as evidence for specific, unique details about people, places, emotions, and events available only to participants of these experiences. Without these documents, researchers have only the surmise of scholars based on secondary evidence. Even the most learned social scientist lacks the vantage point of personal, contemporary expression.”
PHOTO CARMEN MORLON
A permanent home
12 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
On a memorable day in 2003, Moody-Stewart, Lewin and White took the suitcase and all the original material for the books across town to a house on a quiet street in The Hague’s Archipel district. There, they opened up the Outpost Family Archive. Even though none of these women had archival training, they put their faith in the importance of the undertaking, as well as the ingenuity they had developed over their many combined total decades of conquering the challenges of expat life. The famous suitcase became a sort of mascot or symbol of the newly-formed archive. In 2008, the founders widened their scope. They formalised their mission to archive the life stories of expats and their families from all backgrounds and from anywhere in the world. As part of this expansion, the archive was officially constituted as a foundation and given the name Expatriate Archive Centre.
The EAC today
The EAC now holds more than 120 personal and family collections from over 80 countries, including over 20 different languages. Researchers in a variety of disciplines travel from around the world to study these documents and incorporate their contents into historical, sociological, and other writings. From its beginnings as a dream to make expat voices heard, it has grown and professionalised into an important international repository of expat ego documents. However, the EAC has remained true to its roots, not least in the fact that its archival activities are still carried out almost exclusively by a team of dedicated and skilled international volunteers. These volunteers organise, catalogue, and describe the material in the archive. They maintain the supplementary library of books on expat life. They also assist in public relations and other functions. Because the volunteers are often expats themselves and here temporarily, volunteer positions are regularly available for people who are interested in history and want to make a difference. Current volunteer Alex van Goetham says, “I felt welcomed onto the team from as early as day one and have since been excited to come to work here every day. Though my main aim for my time here was to develop my knowledge of an archive, I found myself quickly learning something new and different every week. From interesting conversations between volunteers and employees at the lunch table to stumbling upon fascinating life stories found within the collections, the EAC always has something to surprise you.” Inspired exhibitions
To make the collection more visible and relevant to both academic audiences and the public at large, the EAC conducts regular outreach events. These include small information mornings where local residents are invited to tour the archive and learn about its history. There are also larger, internation-
Did you k now.. The E . AC
PHOTO NATALIYA VOLOSOVYCH
co-fo unded milies In Glo Transit bal ion affi liate in NL.
the Fa
ally-focused projects. An academic symposium hosted by the EAC in 2013 brought together international scholars to discuss “The Expatriate Experience: Past and Present.” In 2015, the EAC partnered with ACCESS, The Hague Municipal Archives, international schools, and other expat-related organisations to present an exhibition titled “Expat Impressions of The Hague.” The exhibition drew on photographs and personal writings by expats living in The Hague from the 1950s to the present. It opened in the atrium of The Hague City Hall with an address by then-mayor Jozias van Aartsen. Conceived as a traveling exhibition, it has visited many locations in The Hague and remains available for display at schools, businesses, galleries, and other venues. » ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 13
German High School Diploma “International Abitur” opens the door to universities worldwide.
We prepare our students with the language skills they need to study in German, English, Dutch and French. www.disdh.nl
info@disdh.nl
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Cover Story | A home for expat life stories
Saudade can be viewed as an exploration of the sometimes complicated ways expats navigate the emotional side of their travels
The Saudade Project
Expatriate Archive Centre: xpatarchive.com In-depth artist blogs for Saudade: eacanniversary.com Saudade Exhibition: 11-15 April twelve twelve Gallery, Prinsestraat 53, The Hague
PHOTO EXPATRIATE ARCHIVE CENTRE
More info
The EAC celebrates its 10th year as an independent foundation this spring. The centre marks the occasion with its most ambitious project yet: an art exhibition and book honouring its founders, their vision, and the legacy that has grown from their dream of creating “a home for expat life stories.” Saudade: an Intersection of Archives and Art is named for a Portuguese word denoting the longing for an absent beloved. This word choice is a nod to the homesickness that expats often feel for the people, places, and lives they have left behind. The Saudade project gives the EAC an opportunity to explore its collection from an artistic angle, rather than the usual academic viewpoint.
Artistic director Natalie McIlroy, a Scottish expat in The Hague, was “keen to lead a project that encouraged artists to enter an archival collection, undertake research, and create new work.” McIlroy described the working method of Saudade as “rigorous and pluralistic.” She also saw a larger relevance for Saudade in the current political and social climate, pointing out that “in today’s society, in which the movement of people, whether in search of financial or personal safety, is under fierce scrutiny, an archive like the EAC is topical and crucial to understand the many reasons people relocate and start anew in a strange land.” Her website: nataliemcilroy.com Ten artists, five based in The Hague and five inter nationally, have each chosen something in the EAC’s collection and used it as inspiration for an art piece. The artistic media they have used are varied, from photography to sculpture to rubber stamps and fabric printing. To symbolise the inherently transient nature of expat life, all the art pieces have been designed to fit together into the iconic EAC suitcase. Personal associations
The artistic journeys of the artists have turned out to be deeply personal. They have connected experiences from the artists’ own lives with the stories they encountered in the archive. For example, Euf Lindeboom, a Dutch artist who spent several years of her childhood in Indonesia, found that her research in the collection of a Dutch family living in Indonesia around the same time period triggered many personal memories. Her art piece for Saudade was inspired in part by an occasion in which her brothers took her to a nearby botanical garden and dared her to stick her hand inside a carnivorous plant. Her website: euflindeboom.nl Some of the artists conducted interviews, either with those whose personal collections reside in the EAC or with other internationals. Thomas Nondh Jansen, an artist who was adopted from Thailand as a young child, interviewed expats about smells, tastes, and other ephemeral things that reminded them of their » ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 15
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Cover Story | A home for expat life stories
The paths that change us
Saudade can be viewed as an exploration of the sometimes complicated ways expats navigate the emotional aspects of their travels. For example, the loss of home, relationships, or even parts of their personal identity. The art pieces in the suitcase recall choices made, places and people left behind, but also friendships, experiences, and perspective gained. The artists remind us that while our inter national paths may be different, they inevitably mark us, change us, and develop us in ways we never could have imagined had we stayed at home. Visit the exhibition
PHOTO CARMEN MORLON
The underlying, intertwining stories—both of the artists themselves and the expats whose collections reside in the archive—are as fundamental to Saudade as the art pieces. The EAC is publishing a companion book to the Saudade project, which will be available for purchase. The Saudade exhibition will be open and free to the public at twelve twelve Gallery in The Hague 11-15 April 2018.
...while our international paths may be different, they inevitably mark us, change us, and develop us in ways we never could have imagined home countries. His art is based on these associations, which are as varied as chaotic traffic jams, the smell of spices, or what is the ‘real’ time in an expat’s home country. His website: thomasnondh.nl The Saudade project offers a glimpse into the inner lives of those who have left their original homes behind. Japanese artist Masaaki Oyamada, based in The Hague, expressed his “great joy to be able to deepen the understanding of expatriates, emigrants and immigrants, as well as their social environments through this project.” His website: masaakioyamada.com
With its mission to give expat lives their rightful place in history, the EAC is a unique institution even in The Hague, that most international of cities. Tucked away in its quaint little house-turned-office with a tiny garden, it holds a whole world of experiences and memories, kept safe for posterity and future research. Visit the Saudade exhibition to see it through the eyes of artists. Tour the archive itself during an information morning, or just be happy knowing that somewhere the stories of internationals like you can find a home where they will be treasured, preserved, and read. «
About the author Sarah Bringhurst Familia lives in Amsterdam and does PR for the Expatriate Archive Centre, serves on the board of Hiraeth Magazine, and blogs at casteluzzo.com.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 17
Education | Partner Feature
Discovering a hero through history Delving into the past, DISDH Grade 9 students Alizée, Anna and Chiara came face to face
Taking part in a history competition supported by the Federal President of Germany under the heading, “God and the world. Religion makes history,” the students won a special prize for the creation of the website paul-kaetzke.de in which they presented their findings. In The Hague’s archives, they discovered Dutch newspaper articles on Paul Kaetzke’s life and bravery. Old church records chronicled further facts relating to the German pastor and the difficult times during which he lived and worked in the Netherlands. In addition, an interview with Kaetzke’s youngest son provided the students with a personal view of the hero they grew to admire.
with the true story of a hero who helped save lives during the Second World War.
070 354 9494 www.disdh.nl
Paul Kaetzke was a pastor at the German Protestant Church in The Hague from 1935 to 1966. He was critical of National Socialism, and in the attic of his church on Bleijenburg Street in The Hague, he made the conscious decision to hide Jews and others fleeing danger.
“I did what had to be done. And I am not a hero.” – Paul Kaetzke Due to the danger involved, no records were kept. To this day, neither the number nor the identities of those hidden is known. It was in the attic above the church vault and between the organ pipes that Kaetzke hid those in need. This area was inaccessible for the church parishioners, making it an ideal hiding place. Moreover, the Nazi regime did not expect Jews to be given refuge in a German church. The present church pastor brought the students up to the hiding place. They physically experienced the narrow confines and darkness. They said, “We could imagine the fear, the danger and the hopelessness which those hiding must have felt.” Paul Kaetzke is indeed a hero who risked his life to save others. His memory lives on, and thanks to his courage, the three young students now see it as their duty “to take a stand for what they believe in every facet of their lives.” «
18 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Review
The Dutchman behind Dunkirk
duties from the sky. There’s very little dialogue in all of this; you could easily watch with the sound off and still follow everything. I recommend you don’t though–there’s a beautiful score by Hans Zimmer, and top-quality acting from Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Fionn Whitehead and more.
PHOTO: WARNER-BROS
The role of the cinematographer in this film is significant. Here, Nolan and Van Hoytema have an ace up their sleeves: they shot most of Dunkirk on 65mm IMAX film and the rest on 65mm film, with the sound recording bringing these up to 70mm. Now, there’s lots of techie stuff online explaining why 70mm is amazing, but I think Van Hoytema himself expresses it best when he says: “The reso lution of film is basically infinite. As a result, film still captures much more colour and detail.”
Strictly speaking, the 2017 movie Dunkirk is director Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, but an important presence behind the camera is the Director of Photography, Hoyte van Hoytema—a Dutchman.
BY CATHY LEUNG
In this stylish Second World War film, though there’s a strong, three-pronged story to tell, it’s told in an overwhelmingly visual manner with brilliant camerawork. Nolan is known as a bit of a perfectionist and he chose Van Hoytema (pictured above, left) for this responsibility. Indeed, Van Hoytema has now won several awards for his cinematography on Dunkirk. Surrounded by the German army, thousands of Allied soldiers await their fate at a place called The Mole. The small boat Moonstone participates in the mass evacuation project played out across the English Channel. Meanwhile, a steely airman carries out his
Can the untrained eye notice this added quality? I think so, but in a film like Dunkirk it’s incredibly subtle. The colour palette is already a muted one —military fatigues, a cloudy blue sea, wide sandy beaches, warplane cockpits, navy interiors, and night scenes. If you look for it, you’ll pick up on the “inky black” waters and the rich tones in the darkness. More likely, this format will just give you a general feeling of greater authenticity. Though Van Hoytema was originally rejected by the Netherlands’ film school, as an internationally renowned cinematographer he is now described by the Dutch press as taking on the mantle from Dutch Golden Age painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, revered “masters of light.” «
• Rent via Pathé Thuis and iTunes. • Available for purchase on DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, bol.com.
About the author Cathy Leung runs Broadcast Amsterdam broadcastamsterdam. wordpress.com, a non-profit producer of English language radio, video and television for Amsterdam. Tweets @cathycentral
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 19
Health & Wellbeing
Amazing shifts Before I moved to the Netherlands, I lived in warm climates. My friends knew that I loved the sun so they couldn’t understand what could I possibly do in a country full of wind,
ing around and excitingly commenting on how warm it was. To my surprise, some people even brought out a chair and soaked in the sun, sitting half naked in their tiny front gardens. I thought to myself, “It’s not that bad. This country is actually quite fun. What on earth were my friends back home talking about?”
rain and grey skies?
PHOTO: NBTC HOLLAND MARKETING
BY KATARINA GABOROVA
20 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Well, a few years back, one innocent April, I joined a friend to the beach in Scheveningen. It was 20 degrees Celsius and sunny. Dutch people were walk-
It all hit me a few days later as the skies turned grey. Suddenly, the country got cold and the wind was blowing so strong that I couldn’t possibly keep my hair out of my mouth. Okay, I got my friends’ message! After that, everything seemed so gloomy.
Shifting attitudes
How had I gone so quickly from a positive to negative outlook? Many of us expats and immigrants regularly experience such amazing shifts in our new country. We face various struggles and pitfalls: the language barrier; lack of physical and emotional support; living far from our roots, the known, loved ones, or from everything built by previous generations. Add to the equation peoples’ other general challenges like having the flu, helping the children manage busy schedules, keeping the household duties organised, cooking, etc. Then, there you are, having a day or two when you can’t help but think about what you miss tremendously or notice everything that saddens you. On top of that, we have been given the evolutionary capacity to emphasise the negative rather than the positive (known as negativity bias). It is our inborn critical survival skill to be aware of and to avoid danger. Did you know that negative experiences or the fear of them has a greater impact on us compared to positive experiences? Or that our attitudes are more heavily influenced by negative news as opposed to the positive? Then it will also not surprise you that, according to a prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky), we make choices primarily based on avoiding losses rather than on gains. Luckily, we can get around it. We can train our minds to consciously start focusing on the positives in our environment. It takes practice and effort but the result is surely worth it. Shifting to the positive
Try one or all of these tricks to help shift your attitude: • Write in your journal for a week about how much you are complaining and what annoys you the most. See for yourself whether anything can be changed or improved immediately. Complaining is venting; however, it may also focus attention on the negatives. Replacing one negative thought with three to five positive ones helps to compensate.
Reach out The ACCESS Counselling Service Network (CSN) supports the mental health requirements of the international community in the Netherlands. CSN is composed of licensed professionals speaking several languages, all personally familiar with the expatriate experience. Confidential ACCESS On-call Counsellor Contact Form: on-call.access-nl.org
For example, you may have just started studying Dutch. You may feel embarrassed to speak this new language, fearing that others will make fun of you. Encourage yourself with statements like: “I am brave to learn a new language. I am improving my cognitive abilities. I can pull myself out of my comfort zone and my confidence grows every time I do so.” • End each day by exercising appreciation. Write down at least three positive experiences and spend two minutes describing them in detail, such as a surprise from a friend, enjoying your puppy on the sofa, or a smile that came your way. • Do something nice for others. Random acts Did of kindness give a sense of belonging and you k now.. nurture our mirror neurons (which ‘mirThe N . etherla nds g an ave ets ror’ the behaviour of others). By making rage o f 45 sunny d a others happy, you become happier too. ys per (via KN
MI).
year
Now, if there is a grey sky, rain or wind or you are put to the test to see how fast you can climb out of yet another hole, pause for a moment. Look at the scenario as a challenge rather than a hardship. Even though you may not find a solution immediately, you certainly have the power to find the silver lining. «
About the author Katarina Gaborova is a licensed psychologist and NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) life coach and member of the ACCESS Counselling Service Network. Her specialties include positive psychology, integration challenges, stress management and more. psychologistinthehague.com
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 21
Arts & Entertainment
The challenge of translating history We went through a dark tunnel. Images flashed by to the left and right of us—people turning on lights, lighting candles, and then bonfires. Fashion changed as we kept on going, from modern jeans to primitive rags, until we ended up way back in the Stone Age. We looked around, gathered our bearings, and were a little confused—everything was in Dutch. What’s going on?
TEXT BY JOCHEM LIPS
PHOTOS: NEDERLANDS OPENLUCHTMUSEUM
Did we just arrive in a parallel universe? Though that would have been pretty awesome, Rodri, my Argentinian companion, and I had actually just walked into the main exhibit of the recently installed Canon van Nederland (The Canon of the Netherlands). As part of a larger national network of museums and cultural organisations, the exhibition, forming part of the Openluchtmuseum (Open Air Museum), features video, sound, games, and more to impart history.
The large circular room that we had entered was divided into ten different areas, each themed towards a distinct era of the past. As we went from the Stone Age to Roman times, trees and rocks gave way to wood and stone. The artefacts on display changed from skeletons and primitive tools to swords and pots, while large screens on the walls played videos of ships approaching harbours on the Rhine River. This all blends into a great experience for the visitor, though it might be difficult to connect the different episodes of history at times. Or, as Rodri put it, “It’s all a bit hard to understand. You [Dutch people] learn your history in school, but I am missing some context here. Something that glues it all together, like an overarching story.” Of course, the fact that there’s hardly an English word to be found in the entire building didn’t exactly help either. Budget or conspiracy?
I came home that day wondering why I’d just had to translate a gazillion labels and captions from Dutch to English, just to make sure that Rodri would ever want to come on a museum visit with me again. I had to consider that perhaps it is not so easy for non22 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Dutch speakers to learn about this country’s national history. As it was obvious that this museum had made some large investments, it had me wondering how much a few extra signs would have cost. Or was there some big conspiracy going on with the aim of keeping Dutch history for the Dutch only? Although it would have been great to uncover such a plot, I deemed it quite unlikely. I asked the museum what was going on—as the rest of the Openluchtmuseum does feature English. Maaike van Dam, spokesperson for the museum, elaborated: “The Canon of the Netherlands tells Dutch history in 50 chronological ‘windows,’ each of which symbolises a certain period, change in history. [It] is indeed aimed at Dutch visitors, though we do have a ‘z-card’ for English and German visitors that elaborates on each of the windows.” A little research goes a long way, it seems, as neither Rodri nor I was aware of this special card, which would have helped. It still would not have made the experience completely accessible for non-Dutch speakers, however, as the interactive audio-visual elements would still have been incomprehensible. Fortunately, Maaike did tell me that the museum has
the ambition to further develop the presentation for English- and German-speaking visitors. There’s still hope for those who prefer to come without a personal interpreter! Rodri and I emerged back from the Stone Age, passing through different eras of Dutch history, until we ended up in modern times again. Patting the timetravel dust off our clothes, we arrived into a large area. Dispersed across the room were some display »
History on your screen Some museums have apps to enhance the visitor’s experience, such as the Rijksmuseum or the Maritime Museum. An app called MuseumTV helps the user in picking their next excursion with the aid of videos. MuseumApp promises to deliver phone-guided tours through museums and city districts. The range of options on these apps is still rather limited in the Netherlands, but Google Translate can translate text on the fly by using a smartphone camera.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 23
Masaaki Oyamada / Euf Lindeboom Natalie McIlroy / Monique Prinsloo Carla Wright / Thomas Nondh Jansen Christopher Squier / Janne van Gilst Nico Angiuli / Kevin Andrew Morris
Exhibition 11th - 15th April 2018 Twelve Twelve Gallery Prinsestraat 53 2513 CB The Hague
Arts & Entertainment | The challenge of translating history
Did you k now.. Abou . t words
cases filled with old artefacts and associated captions, but dominating the space was a huge timeline of Dutch history. “This is the kind of background info that would have been useful,” Rodri said. Next time, we’ll make sure to get one of those z-cards!
1% of have
roots.
Englis h Dutch
Rodri and I experienced this first-hand at the Openluchtmuseum. We sailed trade ships across the seas, p laying the museum game Canon. It didn’t matter anymore who spoke Dutch and who did not.
Understanding beyond language
Of course it is worth noting that the Openlucht museum is located in Arnhem in the province of Gelderland, not exactly on most international visitors’ top places to visit list. Those visiting major Dutch museums such as the Rijksmuseum (National Museum) or Anne Frank House need not to worry, however, as the entire exhibition is multilingual to serve the throngs of tourists passing through. Luckily, a language barrier is not the same as an experience barrier. From the canals of Amsterdam to the hunebedden (dolmens, or prehistoric monuments) in Drenthe, some historic places do not need any translation to be appreciated. The same goes for visiting most museums and cultural sites—while words add context, a Van Gogh is still a Van Gogh, and an awe-inspiring medieval castle does not change its facades for anyone.
Final tip! Non-Dutch speakers won’t have to miss out on museums that don’t offer an Englishlanguage option. Check out MuseumkaartMatch museumkaart.nl/match. If you have a Museumkaart (museum card), you can find a ‘museum buddy’ using this platform. « Openluchtmuseum openluchtmuseum.nl/en Canon van Nederland exhibition canonvannederland.nl (Dutch only at time of publication)
About the author Jochem Lips is a recently-graduated tourism management student with a passion for travel. Whenever he’s not fixing bikes, he prefers to spend his time riding one, preferably in some far-away destination!
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 25
ACCESS News
Our new ACCESS w the community leads the way
For years, our Frequently Asked Questions Guides have been ‘hiding’ in various PDFs on our website. Well, not completely hidden. In 2017 alone, our guides were downloaded over 40,000 times by the international community from across the country and around the world.
Nonetheless, finding the guides was not very user friendly. Since we are here to serve, it was high time we reviewed how we could better provide informa-
A G Fe do 90, time 2017
tion to our website visitors. Now, all those questions we have been responding to over the years will be far more easily accessible—and at your fingertips. We are excited to share that this March, we are launching our new ACCESS website! For all phases and stages
The team behind ACCESS is made up of people just like you: internationals finding their way in a new country. So we know from experience the many questions one has just before or upon arrival. As life goes on, still other questions arise. Regardless of how long you, as an international, have been in the Netherlands, ACCESS has answers to the questions for each new phase of your settling process. In fact, for the longest time, our FAQ guide Leaving the Netherlands was among our most popular! 26 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
N ma sibl ded volu from coun t
website:
Mission and Vision guiding
ACCE S Guid S es eatur & e ownl s: oa ,000+ ded es in 7.
New si ade te posle by s dica ix ted unte e m fiv rs e tries !
by our partners, details on how to join our team as a volunteer, and more. Finally, you can reach out directly to our Helpdesk for any other questions you may have.
Mee tt ACC he ESS Cou n visit sellors : ed 9 time ,791 s in 201 7.
the way
Over the past six years, we have been keeping track of the questions from the community, ensuring we are up to date and aware of what it is people want to know. They are impressive numbers, steadily growing as we improve our communications, and increase our presence at expat centres and international fairs, and through our magazine.
To give you an idea, we responded to: 7,177 inquiries in 2014 8,876 in 2015 10,404 in 2016 12,072 in 2017
· · · ·
What you can find
Besides the quantitative data we used to guide our design process, at ACCESS we continue to be driven by our mission and vision, and the values behind them. We provide guidance: drawing from our collective knowledge and experience to guide others. Offering empathy and helping to manage the expectations of people arriving to live and work in a new country and culture. Our support is provided in confidence and our resources are objective, tested and trustworthy. We foster cultural diversity: by respecting the diversity of our community and appreciating that the guidance we provide must come from a place of creating understanding for the country of destination.
ACCESS d e welcom 313,302 unique o t visitors n the site i 2017.
What we collected from your inquiries (anonymously, of course) has allowed us to We facilitate connections: through the voltailor our new website to a few main categounteers we recruit, train and respect with ries. On our new website, you can find quesprofessional courtesy we provide a commutions and answers in these categories: nity within which, and from which connections are Relocating to the Netherlands made. We welcome partnerships with others who Housing & Living in the Netherlands share our vision. Healthcare Education We encourage growth: Personal development Dual Careers is at the core of what we do. For our volun Leaving the Netherlands teers, the community we serve and the 356 s organisations we are partners with. Our question re a You’ll also find a quick access tool to growth is defined not by more, but by d answere our Counselling Service Network—the improving and extending the service we ew on our n heart of our history. As always, you’ll provide to individuals, civic organisations, website. find information on our Childbirth government services and corporate Preparation Courses, events sponsored employers. «
· · · · · ·
Take a look! Visit us at access-nl.org. We welcome your feedback on the new website. Please write to us at info@access-nl.org.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 27
Education | Partner Feature
The International School of The Hague
A brief history by an observer What can I say about the International School of The Hague (ISH)? I should feel quite qualified to say a lot about ISH. I’ve been involved in some of the biggest transitions in the school’s history.
BY JOY DAVIS
070 328 1450 www.ishthehague.nl
From a small international stream as part of a Dutch school, to the 1,800-student Primary and Secondary School it is now, I have seen its development from different viewpoints: as a student, a relative, and now as an employee. After all this time, it still has a very special place in my heart. In 1993, when I was a shy and awkward 11-year-old, I started in what had just officially become The International School of The Hague. I loved all seven years I was a student there. It was a nurturing and safe environment. It provided me with a great education that helped prepare me for the world. And now that I work here, I still feel this is as true for current students as it was for me then.
In 2006, the Primary School and Secondary School joined in a purpose-built building on the outskirts of town next to the dunes in Kijkduin. From then on, growth, both p hysical and educational, has been exponential. For some, it can be seen as too much change too fast. I, however, think it’s exciting to see how the community surmounts these challenges. It’s truly amazing how the students thrive and adapt to all the technological changes to become genuinely enquiring and involved members of society. And the teachers who support them are passionate educators who love to find new ways of bringing their message across to each individual student.
So that students can continue to feel what I felt back in 1993 Although the school has undergone so many changes since it was the small school I attended, the essence of ISH has not changed. It remains a school that allows the kids to explore who they will turn out to be. It is one of the reasons why I am delighted to be a Communications Officer at ISH, being involved in finding the best ways to communicate with the whole school community and maintain and build the level of engagement. So that ISH continues to be a place where the community feels comfortable and able to prosper. So that students can continue to feel what I felt back in 1993. «
28 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Education
The Nuffic Holland Alumni Network launched an interactive website to assist graduates with entering the Dutch workforce. So far it has 60,000 registered members.
Nuffic: enabling graduates to stay BY OLIVIA VAN DEN BROEK-NERI
The country’s appeal
The number of internationals studying in the Netherlands doubled between 2006 and 2016. There are now 80,000 internationals in a Bachelor’s
or Master’s programme. “We are one of the main non-English speaking countries that offer Englishspeaking programmes. That is definitely a plus for us,” says Karen de Man, Communications Advisor at Nuffic, whose headquarters are in The Hague. “We have over 2,100 programmes in English.” At age 19, Warris Jacob chose to study in the Netherlands because of an international business programme offered in English, and because it was less expensive than studying in an English-speaking country. Originally from India, Jacob has remained in the Netherlands since graduating in 2016. “The Netherlands fits my needs as an individual,” says Jacob. “I like getting on my bike and going to work. On Friday evening, I can finish early and go for a run.” Aside from a good quality of life, Jacob points out that the Netherlands also supports entrepreneurship. “If you’re hard working, you’re going to be rewarded for it,” he says. Oana Chitu moved to Amsterdam from Romania in 2011 to study game creation and production. “I got to know a lot of people and things were working fine,” says Chitu. “I had no reason to leave the country!” She credits her programme with preparing her for the Dutch workforce. “They built this mindset and that has helped me as a person and in my professional career too,” she says. Nuffic around the world
Maria Kurbatova got connected with Nuffic while on an exchange programme at Fontys in Venlo. At a 2011 event in The Hague, she met the Director from Nuffic Russia and was asked to share her experience as a student. When she returned to Moscow, she became a board member.
PHOTO: DAVID VAN HAEREN
“We were organising events for people who had studied in the Netherlands and live in Russia,” says Kurbatova. After consulting with members of the Holland Alumni Network, she chose to pursue an MBA at Nyenrode University. “I was lucky to » ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 29
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Education | Nuffic: enabling graduates to stay
PHOTO: DAVID VAN HAEREN
According to research released in “Analysis of student mobility and stay rates per region - 2017,” the vast majority of graduates from outside of the EEA are more likely to stay in the Netherlands after completing their studies. The stay rate for these individuals five years after graduation is 45% in comparison to 32% for those who come from within the EEA.
Did . now.. u o y k national
inter in Of the uated o grad w e r ts h e n e w d stu 4,381 2007, ars NL in en ye e s re v e h ll sti later.
have that connection with Nuffic in Russia,” says Kurbatova, who has lived in Amsterdam since graduating.
English-language job platform
“We have heard from alumni that they are looking for job opportunities,” says De Man. “We thought we have to cater to that need.” The result is a feed for English-language jobs on the Holland Alumni Network’s website, already one of their most popular pages. Via this platform, alumni (and the general public) can share vacancies, including job and internship opportunities. Kurbatova says, “Sometimes there are opportunities that are not online—internal jobs. That’s where the network can help you!”
Keeping alumni in the country
The Holland Alumni Network has 20 Holland Career Ambassadors who help guide international students wanting to work here. When Jacob was first studying, there was no such network. “It was really hard,” he says, “especially for people who moved from outside the EU.” He is currently an ambassador at the network he describes as “a bridge between the student community and Nuffic.” A marketing manager living in Zoetermeer, Victoria Manolova moved from Bulgaria in 2009. “I like to share my experiences and to help [students] out,” says Manolova. As a Holland Career Ambassador, Manolova helps organise career cafés for international students looking for work. She says that the Orientation Year Visa is an important topic of discussion during these events. This visa allows internationals graduating from a Dutch university to look for a job for up to one year after graduation, and is especially important to those coming from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).
The future of the network
This year the organisation will ask companies to post their vacancies here. The network will also organise more regional events, inviting international students in the last stages in their studies to see what opportunities are available. The success of the network depends on the members, such as Jacob who says, “As an ambassador, what I can do… is link my Dutch network with the Holland Alumni Network.” « hollandalumni.nl Facebook: studyinholland LinkedIn: hollandalumni Nuffic is the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education. nuffic.nl/en
About the author Olivia van den Broek-Neri has lived in the Netherlands for over 10 years and is currently Project Coordinator for Communications & Events at Holland Expat Center South.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 31
Dutch Lifestyle
Corners of the world, tinted orange “The grit of New York’s earliest days is still to be found, on paper, at the Municipal Archives. Thanks to an inspired digitization project, the movers and shakers of New Amsterdam are all there… the people who founded a teeming little city at the southern end of the island they called the Manhattes. It was a rough place, but one that was uniquely infused by two things that were part of the Dutch mentality in the 17th century: tolerance and a free-trading sensibility. Roam through these documents—in the 17th century originals or in the 19th century English translations—and a realization dawns on you: New York was New York right from the start.”
So writes Russell Shorto in Island at the Center of the World, a history of Dutch Manhattan. Shorto’s book is based around an incredible set of records acquired in 1985 by the New York City Municipal Archives, and gives credence to the fact that the Dutch gave such crucial flavour and shape to this great city and what it became. For many, the story of New Amsterdam and the Dutch in America may be a familiar one, but the reach of the Dutch was global. Dutch contributions
PHOTO: PIETER MORTIER, VIA RAREMAPS.COM
BY ALICE BURKE
32 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
to commerce, trade, art and culture, internationally, can be seen in archives the world over, as well as the harsh impact of colonisation and the devastation of slavery. From Adelaide to Sheffield, and Colombo to Jakarta, we take a look at legacies traced around the world in foreign lands that Dutch forefathers grew to call home. The Americas
The records referenced in Shorto’s book on the Dutch history of Manhattan include a fascinating set of ordinances, court minutes, and administrative minutes, and offer us a glimpse into the lives of the Dutch in New Amsterdam at a time of immense change. They include business contracts, loan agreements, wills, deeds, court transcripts, marriage contracts, and much more. The Dutch had landed in the Americas in the 1600s. They claimed land in North and South America and across the Caribbean. Centuries later, in 2016, historical documents from the Dutch Caribbean islands were digitised as part of the project “Dutch Caribbean Collections up to 1954,” a collaboration among several institutions in the Netherlands and in Curaçao. In total, there are more than half a million scans available of books, articles, magazines, archive material, photographs and maps relating to the six islands long-ago colonised by the Dutch (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten). A research site launched in 2013 offers a detailed look into life in the Dutch Caribbean colonies between 1670 and 1870. The site, dutch-caribbean.huygens.knaw.nl, allows for searches by archives, their creators and also legislation. The archives cover collections in the Netherlands, the UK, Curaçao, Suriname and Guyana, focusing especially on slavery and multicultural relations. One can read through Church resolutions in Suriname, documents regarding instructions for the Orphans, Ownerless and Insolvent Estates Chamber, and various records from slave plantations and estate houses.
England
The Association for Low Countries Studies (ALCS), based in Sheffield, England, is an organisation that focuses on the history of the Low Countries. Dutch Crossing, published since 1977, is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal, devoted to all aspects of Low Countries Studies: Dutch language and literature; history and art history of the Low Countries; the social sciences and cultural studies; and Dutch as a foreign language. Coverage includes the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as other places where Dutch historically had or continue to have an impact, including the Americas, Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.
The archives mentioned here are but a drop in the ocean when it comes to surveying the scope of the Dutch and their global footprint Australia
The Dutch have a long history in Australia, with the first recorded landing there in 1606 by the Dutch East India Company. Bas de Groot, senior records management officer at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, has worked in records management and archives for over 15 years. He told us a little about his experience of Dutch records in the country: “Australia as a country has few specifically Dutch archives, but there are numerous collections within archives that have a Dutch connection, notably archaeological collections that document 17th century exploration, and World War II collections…” said Bas. He has recently embarked on a small research project “about Dutch migrants enlisting in the AIF [Australian Imperial Force-the Australian army] during World War I, using National Archives’ service records. » ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 33
19 - 21 April 2018 Cry Havoc! Koninklijke Schouwburg The Hague Shakespeare's words in a veteran's story By Stephan Wolfert (US)
Come join us to meet an international community of diverse women and share and connect at one of our gatherings or events. We meet on the first Tuesday of every month (except January and August) in The Hague.
For more information visit our website... www.connectingwomen.nl
Picture by Agnieszka Wielopolska www.TheEnglishTheatre.nl or 06300 500 18
Then Connecting Women is for you!
Koninklijke Schouwburg The Hague Shakespeare for the small ones! By Infinite Jest (UK)
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Are you looking to expand your horizons and meet new people?
21-22 April 2018 A Midsummer Night's Dream (5+)
24 - 25 May 2018 Mrs Picasso Branoul Theatre The Hague "Pablo was a bastard" By Carlijn van Ramshorst (NL)
20 - 21 July 2018 The Greatest Thing Zuiderparktheater The Hague A musical fairytale about LOVE By Silent Rocco and Ms Walker (DE)
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Dutch Lifestyle | Corners of the world, tinted orange
“And there are numerous Dutch clubs all over the country, notably in the big cities, that document some of the life of Dutch migrants post-World War II. Adelaide’s Migration Museum even has a number of Dutch items in their exhibition. Other than that, however, the Dutch as a migrant community tended to blend into Australian (British) society as much as possible, and quite often did not keep specific archival collections.” The National Library of Australia also holds a very large collection of archives from the Dutch colonies in Indonesia. Online database “Dutch Australians at a Glance” is also a treasure trove of information on Dutch-Australian history, and is supported by entities from both countries. Indonesia
Apart from the considerable amount of records in Australia regarding the Dutch East Indies (1800-1949), there is also a huge archival collection held at the National Archives of Indonesia. The task of archive management in the early period of Dutch presence in Indonesia fell upon the General Secretariat of the colonial government. Archive material received little attention during this period and was often unmaintained, resulting in an accumulation of material, and slightly more unusually, insect damage.
Did you k now.. . Dutc
h East India any (1 602-1 was th 799) e wor ld's fir st listed public comp any.
Comp PHOTO: HESSEL GERRITSZ, VIA RAREMAPS.COM
Foundation to focus on the renovation, maintenance and improvement of the historic Dutch churches and monuments on the island, before history is lost. The historic buildings under the foundation’s care comprise the Wolvendaal Church at Colombo, the Groote Kerk located in the Dutch Fort of Galle, the Cayman’s Gate Belfry at Pettah, and others. The National Archives of Sri Lanka also holds an extensive collection of records relating to the Dutch coastal settlements between 1640 and 1796. The world over
The archives changed hands during the years preceding sovereignty, which was won in 1949, and were moved to their current home in 1975. Indonesia also holds the largest archive collection related to the Dutch East India Company in the world, with documents dating from 1612 to 1811. Sri Lanka
The Dutch Burghers are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka, of mixed Dutch and Sri Lankan descent. With surnames such as Van der Straaten, Van Dersil, Scharff and Prins, the Dutch Burgher population show their heritage clearly, while making up less than 1% of the population today. In 2005, the Dutch Reformed Church of Sri Lanka established the Wolvendaal
The archives mentioned here are but a drop in the ocean when it comes to surveying the scope of the Dutch and their global footprint. It is possible, however, to get a glimpse of the breadth of travel and exploration carried out, and the role that the Netherlands played as a colonial power. Some Dutch travelled to dominate and conquer, but many voyaged to find new lives and grow new families in foreign lands. In archives throughout the world, we find corners tinted orange. «
About the author Alice Burke is a writer and editor based in The Hague. Connect with her at @auroraborealice.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 35
International Community
Connect International
BY KAREN PROWSE
for expats and international companies
PHOTO: EWOUD ROOKS
This year, Stichting Connect International (or Connect) celebrates its 20th anniversary! Founded in 1998, it continues to serve the international community in the northern Netherlands. Connect is proud to be one of the founders of the International Welcome Center North (IWCN), a cooperation between the municipality of Groningen, the University of Groningen, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and Connect. 36 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
What Connect does
An important function of Connect is providing practical information and personal advice to familiarise expats with all aspects of living, working and studying in the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe, to feel at home as quickly as possible. Equally important for members and non-members alike are the events and activities that Connect organises to facilitate further network connections as well as the intercultural trainings available to internationals and companies. “Moving from Amsterdam to Groningen and leaving work was a big change for me. I was very lucky to meet Nina at our Dutch course. Thanks to her, I got introduced to Connect International. I remember my first Coffee Morning....�
Knowledge and resource sharing
Connect offers twice-monthly Easy Dutch Café workshops focused on practical daily matters that every expat faces sooner or later: from grocery shopping to medical affairs, from the Dutch birthday party to traveling around the country on a budget, and more.
“Not only have I made many great friends through Connect, but I have also improved my Dutch (thanks to Janny), and learned several international recipes (thanks to Adeline).” There are also language learning opportunities for Connect members: courses and conversation groups are offered in Dutch and in English.
Contact
@
events@connect-int.org connect-int.org facebook.com/ ConnectInternational
Every week, Connect staff members select and translate into English the most interesting events and activities in Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland. Members receive Weekly Tips with the newsletter containing the most relevant news such as international vacancies in the north, changes in local law, etc., via e-mail.
Personal advice packages
“I was very surprised to find out that there were so many expats in such a small city and many felt exactly like me in many ways. I started to attend Coffee Mornings, Culinary Club, and Dutch Conversation.”
Practical information
For visitors who have a few questions, Connect maintains a wealth of practical and up-to-date information about the northern Netherlands. Visitors can visit the IWCN during regular office hours, email or call. Also included in Q&A visits is a weekly opportunity to meet a tax expert for expats seeking advice in financial matters.
International residents moving to the Netherlands have a great deal of organising and planning ahead. To fill the knowledge gap, Connect also offers its members a Personal Advice Package for €170: a twohour consultation tailored to assist with the process of moving to and settling in the Netherlands.
Connect is supported by its knowledgeable inter national staff, generous volunteers, a Board of Directors and an Honorary Board. People can join Connect online; a one-year subscription is €25 and offers many benefits. Connect manages and updates the IWCN website (iwcn.nl) with up-to-date, pertinent information and resources for internationals. The online resources offer an invaluable collection of interviews, articles, advice columns for newcomers, profiles of local businesses and reviews.
Clubs, events, courses and activities
Regular events presented by Connect are International Coffee Mornings in Groningen and Leeuwarden, Parents’ Coffee Mornings, and Pub Nights. Unique events vary throughout the year, depending upon the needs and interests of inter nationals in the region. In the past, these included Men’s Night Out with a Tesla, sports outings, a Sinterklaas party, and special regional occasions. Connect offers special interest clubs: Book Club, Writers’ Circle, Crafts Club, Arts Club, Culinary Club, Sports Club, Beauty Club and Running Club. All special interest clubs originate from Connect members who want to meet like-minded people to enjoy mutual interests together.
Lastly, on the Connect Facebook page the best of all activities are highlighted as well as entertaining facts, funny images, educative infographics, must-visit events and more—all related to expat living in the northern Netherlands.
Did you k now.. . abo
ut 187 ,000 ationa ls live in nor thern Nethe rlands .
intern
“Being a member of Connect International was a great opportunity for me, and I will miss it greatly.” - Burcu Inanc van der Meulen (Turkey) «
About the author Karen Prowse, an American expat for more than 20 years, has managed Connect since its early days and helped it grow into a major support organisation for expats in the North.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 37
Travel
PHOTO: HANS JELLEMA
6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden this year
BY MOLLY QUELL
If you’ve properly acclimated to living in the Netherlands, traveling more than an hour for any reason seems like an eternity. So if you’re living in the Randstad, Leeuwarden might as well be Lima. But whether you live in Lioessens or Lemiers, you should make visiting this northern city a priority. And here’s the six (and a half) reasons why.
38 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
1
If you do want to sample those Frisian baked goods, behind the train station you’ll find Bakkerij Nijstad for some oranjekoek and pretty much any other pastry you can imagine. Or for a nice lunch and a good cup of coffee (or so I was informed by my dining companion—I don’t drink the stuff ), Barrevoets offers a good sandwich. You can also get very good smoothies there.
It’s the European Capital of Culture for 2018
Dreamed up by the Greek and French culture ministers in 1985, the Capital of Culture designation is granted to two European cities every year. Under the title, these cities organise events highlighting European culture. For 2018, one of those two cities is Leeuwarden (and its province of Friesland more broadly). Together with the capital of Malta, Valletta, Leeuwarden is hosting a wide range of events, from museum exhibitions to film festivals this year.
3
The Keramiekmuseum Princessehof gets its name from the fact that it was once a small palace for Marie Louise, dowager Princess of Orange. The museum acquired a second building next door, a former 15th-century military building. The buildings themselves are beautiful but the collection of ceramics, started by Marie Louise, is the real draw. The permanent collection showcases ceramics throughout the ages and the museum also has a variety of exhibitions using ceramics in interesting and innovative ways. Plus the gift shop has a great selection of ceramic items and other cool things on sale, making for a great place to get a souvenir from your trip or a gift for someone who deserves it.
Highlights from the events include exhibitions about Mata Hari and M.C. Escher (see number six for more information about Leeuwarden’s famous daughter and son), the final of the Tall Ship Race, a weekend filled with giant French marionettes that will take over the streets of the city, and many more activities, all of which were crowd-sourced from the community itself. In fact, the Frisian mienskip (community) was the theme of the city’s bid, and the organisers credit that notion for Leeuwarden’s win. For more information about the events during 2018, check out the LF2018 website: www.friesland.nl/en/ european-capital-of-culture or www.facebook.com/LF2018. All programme materials are available in English, Dutch, Frisian and German.
Leeuwarden has three other museums that accept the Museum Card: Verzetsmuseum Friesland, Natuurmuseum Fryslân, and the Fries Museum. The Verzetsmuseum Friesland is actually part of the »
To have a great meal
Leeuwarden food is more than just suikerbrood and oranjekoek. (Both delicious baked goods.) There’s Eindloos (‘endless’ in Dutch), a cosy restaurant in the city centre which specialises in organic and s easonal food. They only offer a surprise menu so no need to stress about what to order. The nearby Post-Plaza Grand Café also serves up an excellent menu in the location of the former post office building. There’s plenty of room, comfy couches and a great cocktail menu. Or for something totally different, check out TOTT (standing for Talk of the Town), an inexpensive place specialising in saté, for which it was named the best in the Netherlands. tott-leeuwarden.nl (Dutch only)
PHOTO: PRINCESSEHOF CERAMICS MUSEUM
2
To visit the Princessehof Museum
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 39
Travel | 6.5 Reasons to visit Leeuwarden this year
PHOTO: SERGE KOUTCHINSKY
PHOTO: SERGE KOUTCHINSKY
Even though it’s unlikely we will see another race in the near future, you can follow the route… without the freezing temperatures.
Fries Museum and displays the history of the Frisian resistance during World War II. The Natuurmuseum features a variety of natural history exhibits and offers a lot of activities for children. The Fries Museum is where you can find history and art of Friesland (more on that in Reason #6).
4
To take an 11-cities tour
Anyone who has lived in the Netherlands through a winter has heard of the Elfstedentocht. This 200 km, 11-cities (how the event gets its name) speed skating competition is only held when the natural ice along the course reaches 15 cm in thickness. The first organised tour was held in 1909 with 22 participants, though stories of skaters skating to all 11 cities date 40 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
PHOTO: RUBEN VAN VLIET
back to as early as 1760. The last race took place in 1997, and every year any prolonged period of cold leads to bets on whether the race will take place. Even though it’s unlikely we will see another race in the near future, you can follow the route and visit the cities without the need for freezing temperatures. There are four other official routes: two by boat with one for larger ships and one for smaller ones. If you can’t sail, you can always try biking the tour. The official cycle route clocks in at 257 km. Walking is also an option. The 209-km hike will take you a while, but you’ll get to see a lot of Frisian nature. Of course, you can always drive.
5
To take in the stars
Leeuwarden is situated in the north of the Netherlands, and heading north has another benefit: there’s significantly less light pollution. The International Dark-Sky Association (Yes, that is a thing.) designates places in the world with minimal light pollution where you can best see the stars, known as International Dark Sky Places. There are about 40 such parks in the world and two are in the Netherlands.
De Boschplaat is a 40-square-km nature park on Terschelling, one of the Wadden Islands, a short drive and then ferry trip from Leeuwarden. De Boschplaat is open to the public 24 hours a day and includes eight designated spots for stargazers. Lauwersmeer National Park is a half -hour drive from Leeuwarden and is also reachable by public transport. It was underwater until 1969, when it was reclaimed from the sea and the saltwater was gradually replaced by fresh water. There’s little nearby light pollution and thus makes for an excellent stargazing location, but it also offers sanctuary for migratory birds and is also a good location for bird watchers.
6
Mata Hari and Escher
Leeuwarden boasts two of the most famous Dutch folks: Mata Hari and M.C. Escher. Born Margaretha Zelle into an affluent family in the Frisian town, Mata Hari’s family lost everything when she was 12. She married well, her only option for societal advancement in the early 20th century, but ended up divorced and desperate. So she moved to Paris to become a performer. And, according to the French, a spy for the Germans during World War I. An exhibition covering her life is on at the Fries Museum until 2 April as part of the Capital of Culture year. The exhibition brings together a wide variety of items from Mata Hari’s life, including her wedding dress and order of execution. (Mata Hari is pictured above, right.) Dutch artist Escher was famous for his black and white illogical sketches like Drawing Hands (1948) and House of Stairs (1951). He may have his namesake museum in The Hague, but he was born in the city palace in Leeuwarden, now home to the Princessehof Museum. The exhibition at the Fries Museum follows M.C. Escher, born Maurits Cornelis Escher, during his 73-year-long life, from studying at the Technical University of Delft (then called Institute of Technology) to his maths-inspired work to designing postage stamps. Starts on 28 April and runs until November.
PHOTO: DE MYTHE EN HET MEISJE, LEEUWARDEN-FRYSLÂN 2018
6.5
One tiny, but good, beer bar
Did you k now.. The n . a
me M ata Ha is Mala ri y for “e ye of the da y,“ or ” sun.“
The craft beer movement that’s dominating the rest of the country hasn’t quite made it the whole way up north yet. Cocktails have. The aforementioned Post-Plaza Grand Café makes an excellent Moscow Mule while Kelder 65 has a well-stocked bar whose staff can mix an excellent gin and tonic. But if it’s a special beer you want, off to De Markies you must go. It’s a small brown café with a large beer list. The tap list has a few staples (The Hague-based Kompaan, Haarlem-based ’t Uitlje) but also a few surprises, including a brewery from Virginia (USA) and a number of Dutch craft breweries from the northern provinces. Plus a bottle menu 200+ long. Looking for more tips? Visit leeneenfries.nl/en to experience Friesland with a local. «
About the author Molly Quell is a writer and journalist living in the Netherlands. She is a contributing editor at DutchNews.nl, where you can find her analysing Dutch politics and writing about beer and animals (together, if possible). @mollyquell.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 41
Food
Ancient Parthian chicken
f ar-away Egypt. The taste for Mediterranean foods spread to the locals, particularly in urbanized areas such as Nijmegen (Noviomagus) or Voorburg (Forum Hadriani). Vegetables that feature in a lot of Dutch cuisine, such as onions, leeks and endive, were first introduced to the Low Countries by the Romans. New herbs such as dill, coriander and mint gave flavour to boring old porridge and stew. Orchards—planted for the first time in the Roman period—grew newly cultivated varieties of apples, cherries, pears, peaches and plums. And for ancient Dutch carnivores, the Romans offered a delicious new treat: the chicken.
The Dutch love their chicken. Poultry is one of the most popular meats in the country, accounting for almost a third of Dutch meat consumption. We have the Romans to thank for that. For nearly five hundred years, the Low Countries were part of an empire stretching from Scotland to Syria. And with such a massive empire came new foods and flavours.
BY STEFAN PENDERS
Julius Caesar led the first Roman troops into the Low Countries in 57 BCE. His adoptive son Augustus, the first Roman emperor, made it clear that they were here to stay. Under Augustus and his successors, the Romans constructed a network of forts, camps and watchtowers right across the country. Behind these so-called limes, locals and Romans mingled, traded and worshipped. New treats
With the Romans came a food revolution. Roman troops were largely fed with local produce, but archaeological excavations in Nijmegen have shown that they also enjoyed imported goods. Wine, olive oil and fish sauce from Spain and Italy were commonplace, and troops also nibbled on dates from 42 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Eastern flavours
The Romans had been familiar with the chicken for many centuries. The birds played a role in divination (a means of attempting to foresee what will happen in the future) but also found their way to the Roman dinner table. The Roman author Columella even wrote a detailed how-to guide on breeding and keeping chickens. From the first century CE onwards, chicken bones also start appearing in the archaeological records of the Low Countries, suggesting the new bird caught on quickly. Kip met appelmoes or kip saté was not on the Roman menu. Luckily for us, however, we do have a few ancient chicken recipes. Most are from the only surviving Roman ‘cookbook’, De Re Coquinaria. The book was written in the late fourth century CE, and intended for a wealthy audience. Some of the recipes are a little daunting—roasted flamingo, anyone?—but most are not all that difficult or complex. Take for example pullum Parthicum, or ‘Parthian chicken’. The Parthian in the title refers to the Parthian Empire of Iran, which for several centuries was Rome’s arch-enemy in the East. Despite the hostilities, the Parthian empire was the main source of laser, a spice that features prominently in the dish. We don’t know if it was ever served at a banquet in the Roman Netherlands, but it’s sure to make one delicious meal for modern diners.
s d i e n t i d u a l ta r t s e r g n I r indiv Yield:
Fou
f
ur cut o
(or yo thighs
PHOTO: CAROLE RADDATO
hicken • 4 c ce) choi wine l of red ida m 0 0 2 • afoet p of as eeds • 1 ts of caraway s lery leaf ) ce sp • 1 t of lovage (or e sp • 1 t p of fish sauc s e) b t t s 1 a t • a to r t x e s (plu
Parthian chicken
Tips
“Dress the chicken and prepare it. Grind pepper, lovage seeds, and a modest amount of caraway seeds, moisten them with fish sauce, and dilute with wine. Put the chicken into an earthenware dish and pour the seasoning over. Dissolve some laser in lukewarm water, add it to the chicken and cook until done. Serve sprinkled with pepper.” (De Re Coquinaria, 6.9.3)
Asafoetida: Imported into the Roman Empire from India and Iran. The spice was a substitute for the real laser, an herb which had gone extinct in the first century BCE. Asafoetida is still prevalent in South-Indian cuisine and is available at most Asian supermarkets. Use it in curries, or any other dish in need of a garlicky taste. If you can’t find it, try mixing equal measures of onion and garlic powder. Lovage: Seeds are hard to come by, but the leaf is available in dried form from many online spice retailers. The flavour is deeply savoury and similar to celery; it works wonders in stews and sauces. Sauce: The wine mixture serves as a sauce but it’ll remain quite thin. Thicken it with some cornstarch if you wish; the Romans would have used wheat starch or old bread. «
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 2. Place the chicken pieces in a shallow oven dish. 3. Grind the caraway seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then mix with the asafoetida, lovage, fish sauce, wine and black pepper to taste. 4. Pour the wine-spice mixture over the chicken. 5. Place the dish into the oven and roast until done; the thighs should be ready in about one hour. Baste occasionally and cover if the chicken pieces are getting too dark. 6. Take the dish out of the oven and taste, add a bit more fish sauce if needed. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and serve.
About the author Stefan Penders is a historian and freelance editor. He’s currently working as a PhD candidate at Leiden University.
ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 43
Law | Partner Feature
Data protection and privacy are hot topics these days. Most of us have left a digital archive all over the internet. But what are your rights to that information and to have that information deleted?
The right to be found, or forgotten In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect and replaces the old EU Privacy Directive and the Dutch Data Protection Act (DDPA). The new regulation focuses on trans parency, including strengthening and expanding privacy rights. The GDPR also gives residents of the European Union two more rights: the right to be forgotten, and the right to data portability. The right to be forgotten
070 361 5048 www.legalexpatdesk.nl
44 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
Article 17 of the GDPR grants people the right to be forgotten. This means that a person can ask for personal data to be deleted once those data are no longer necessary. This right was granted by the Court of Justice of the European Union, after, in 2010, a Spanish citizen filed a complaint against (among others) Google. The citizen complained that an auction notice of his home in Google’s search results infringed his privacy rights because the issue had been fully resolved; the reference was therefore irrelevant. He requested that Google remove the reference. The Court ruled that
individuals have the right, under certain circumstances, to require search engines to remove certain personal data. This ruling applies where the information is inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive for the purpose of the data processing. Although the right to be forgotten is not entirely new, article 17 GDPR modernises European data protection rules. It is now clear that non-European companies, when offering services to European consumers, must apply European rules, and that it is for the company—and not the individual—to prove that the data are still relevant. The right to data portability
Under the GDPR, citizens are entitled to data portability. In other words, you can transfer your personal data between organisations that may collect data on you. This is to ensure that it is easy for you to pass on your data to another organisation.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, citizens decide for themselves which data they share and with whom The principle behind the right to data portability is to increase the control that citizens have over their personal data. Citizens can decide for themselves which data they share and with whom. This also prevents vendors from locking customers in by refusing to transfer personal data. If you have any questions about your rights under the GDPR or any other questions about data privacy, please contact our experts at the Legal Expat Desk. «
Humour
Dictionary of Dutchness Courtesy of DutchNews.nl
For fun, and to help internationals relieve their frustrations over
CARTOON ©BOB POWERS
Dutch acronyms and puzzling terms…
The Dutch Language Union ABN
Gehaktdag
MR
The official form of Dutch is known as Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (ABN), literally general civilized Dutch, or standaard nederlands. It is monitored by the Taalunie (Dutch Language Union). Every 10 years or so there are changes to the official spelling. Years ago, if you wanted to advance socially, you had to speak ABN. Not to be confused with ABN AMRO bank.
Gehaktdag, or mince day, is the name given in political circles to the third Wednesday in May when ministers present their departments’ annual reports, summing up their successes and failures. The somewhat strange label comes from the idea that if ministers have not done well, the opposition and the press will make mincemeat of them.
The abbreviation mr stands for meester in de rechten or master of law and is the official form of address for anyone, male or female, who has the title. So do not be surprised to see a letter from mr. Nicola Smit or the like. If you are addressing several meesters, the form of address is mrs. Nicola Smit and Jan Groen… The Dutch short form of Mrs, as in a married woman, is Mw. ACCESS | SPRING 2018 | 45
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46 | ACCESS | SPRING 2018
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How to buy a house in the Netherlands..
Save time and trouble. Buying a house can be a smart move for expats. Interested in knowing more about tax benefits, mortgage types and monthly costs? We’ll be happy to help. Read more on abnamro.nl/house and schedule a free orientation meeting with one of our mortgage advisers. At our International Client Desk we can help you in English. Or 25 other languages. So you feel at home in the Netherlands. Contact us any time. We’re here for you 24/7.