Amsterdam Day 112: Adventures in Learning New Languages

I am slowly trying to learn new vocabulary to add to my very limited Dutch. Up to this point I have had a hard time distinguishing between the H wound and the G sound. But I had an experience that forever helped me learn. The H makes a sound like the H in hi. The G to my American brain sounds like a very guttural H where you try to get flem out of your throat. I don't think that I am really exaggerating there much. To a Dutch person, those sounds are very different. 

So here I was practicing a scripture in Dutch to help get my pronunciation right. The scripture is about the Holy Ghost. In Dutch, holy is heilige. Well apparently my H was a lot more guttural like a G than it was supposed to be. On olde gentlemen was helping with my pronunciation and smilingly said that I need to make sure to use the H sound instead of the G sound. He wouldn't tell me why, but I was very happy for the help. And that is how I will remember the H sound verses G guttural sound. 

Oh yea, in case you were wondering, I was talking about a horny ghost instead of the Holy Ghost. That is embarrassing in church. 

Amsterdam Day 110: Sinterklaas' First Visit

There is about a 3 week period where Sinterklaas sometimes visits people houses at night and sometime doesn't. The tradition is that you put your shoes out with hay or carrots and Sinterklaas may or may not drop of a present. I don't think there is a very clear knowledge of how often he comes during this period. For some families it seems very random. For some it seems like every week. And for a few select families, he comes every night. We shall see how often he comes to our house. 

Cameron is at the age where he is very excited about this tradition. Very early we set out out shoes. Apparently we are supposed to sing songs by the fireplace because Sinterklaas hangs out up there to hear children singing. Since we do not know any Sinterklaas sings yet, we sang the song for Sint Maartin and we sang Jungle Bells. After all, we keep saying that Sinterklaas and Santa Claus are cousins. So maybe Christmas songs work too. 

Very early in the morning, Cameron ran downstairs and discovered that Sinterklaas had in fact come to our house last night. 

The shoes are up on the mantle because we are watching a neighbors dogs and we didn't want the dogs to steal any of the snacks. Later, I'm sure the shoes will be by the fireplace. Sure enough, each of the kids had a kazoo, a little finger flashlight, and a large chocolate letter, matching the first letter of their name. Seems like a very successful first night. Who knows how often he will come in the next weeks. We shall see. 

Amsterdam Day 109: Sinterklaas Came to Town

The official start of the Sinterklaas season was today. Sinterklaas joined us from Spain with his Zwarte Piets. Sinterklaas enters the Netherlands by boat and then goes to all the cities by horse. He went on a long parade through the city. We live near the end of the route so we had some time to explore before he arrived. As we entered the town hall, this was our first experience with the Zwarte Piets. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Y3GKbXf7U

Here is the description from Wikipedia about the Zwarte Piets. 

Zwarte Piet (pronounced [ˈzʋɑrtə ˈpit]; English: Black Peter or Black Pete, Is the companion of Sinterklaas, in the folklore of the Low Countries. The character first appeared in his current form in an 1850 book by Jan Schenkman and is commonly depicted as a blackamoor. Traditionally Zwarte Piet is said to be black because he is a Moor from Spain. Those portraying Zwarte Piet typically put on blackface make-up and colourful Renaissance attire, in addition to curly wigs, red lipstick and earrings. In recent years, the character has become the subject of controversy, especially in the Netherlands.

The parade did arrive around 1pm. It was a longer parade than I expected and a lot more Zwarte Piets than I had expected. Most kids were wearing their Zwarte Piet hats and their Zwarte Piet clothes. 

Here is Sinterklaas riding his horse Amerigo surrounded by a lot more Zwarte Piets. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VXvvCuLd_-0

Apparently, these guys and girls will be all over the city for the next 3 weeks. They were handing out candies and small gingerbread cookies to everyone as they went by. They also placed the treats in people's hats and pockets. They candy is not individually wrapped which I thought was interesting. 

In case you are wondering, there is a makeup kit for this. And here is a pic. 

Amsterdam Day 106: Sint-Maarten's Day

Sint-Maarten (St. Martin's Day) is a popular children's feast day in many parts of the Netherlands. Typically, in the early winter evening of November 11, small groups of children can be heard going up and down the street singing songs and reciting poems, armed with lit lanterns. As a reward they are given sweet treats, in a custom similar to American Halloween, but not quite as commercial.

Traditionally, the children's lanterns were made of hollowed out turnips or sugar beets dangling on a string tied to a stick, but these days Dutch children often make their own brightly decorated paper versions at school.

What probably started as a custom that allowed impoverished children to beg for alms during the harsh winter months has since become a fun holiday. There are no strict rules about what children may recite or sing, and many kids make up their own nonsensical rhyming songs, or songs that contain humorous or satirical elements.

Here is a group of children that came to my door singing songs about Sint Maarten. 

http://youtu.be/uv4KIT5bWlc

Jannica shared this about the holiday. 

For Sint Maarten a holiday that people in The Netherlands celebrate we give out candy to children who sing a song about Sint Maarten. Just a few minutes ago I was giving candy to a little girl and she said  (in Dutch) " ummm... Ik heb twee? " ( in English)          " ummm... I have two " it was really adorable. Love this holiday!

Amsterdam Day 104: Jannica's First Bike Accident

First before I say anything I am alright. Today when I was on my way home it was dark and rainy. I was riding my bike home without my light because it doesn't work now and we haven't had the time to get a new one. Not two minutes away from my school I was hit by the front of a car. He couldn't see me because I was really close to the side and he was also turing onto the road that I was on. He didn't see me and he ran into the front of my bike. He stopped and asked if I was okay and if everything was good. I told him yes and thank you for stopping. After he left I took a few steps and knew I couldn't continue to ride. I just put my bike on the ground and sat on my bike ( remember it is raining ) I call my stepmom to tell her that I got hit. This lady came up to me asking if I was alright and telling me that I needed to get out of the rain. She helped me get me and my bike to the apartments across the street where she lived. I waited there for my stepmom. This lady was very helpful to me. My stepmom picked me up and I got in the car and told her that my ankle was hurting on my left leg and that I scraped my right leg. I am at home being so grateful that I didn't get seriously injured.

Amsterdam Day 105: More Random Statues

I thought I'd start with this odd and disturbing statue that we spotted while leaving Bruge. I thought it was so odd that I flipped a u-turn in the car to come back around and get a picture. I can't quite tell if that is a very see-through and deep cleavage ballerina outfit, a slip, or some kind of lingerie. 

This beauty is also in Bruge, Belgium. This one was seen from across the canal so I couldn't get any closer. I have no idea what the statue is doing, but it appears to be looking at something, I think. 

This statue is in Antwerpen near the castle on the river. The little guys appear to be looking at the big guy's crotch. They seemed amazed and the tall guy seems proud. Not really sure about this one. 

I liked this one because it was made of a different material. That appears to be a woman laying down and a couple of horned deer next to her. I found this one in a small park in Zoetermeer. 

And this one from Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam is just cool. It reminds me of the giant chess pieces in Harry Potter. Apparently they remove them in the Winter for the Christmas market. 

Amsterdam Day 99: Fall Bike Ride into Amsterdam

Today we decided that we would adventure into the big scary city of Amsterdam in our bike and with kids. We have gone into the city before by bike. And we have gone into the city before with kids. But we have never riden into the city with kids on their bikes. That place is crazy. 

We started if in the Bos, the huge park right by our house. They have a fun rope park that the kids can play on and a cool fort building place. Plus it was a good break point for the kids.

We continued out adventure into the city. Bev did a really good job, although she kept swerving to the left. But it kept the bikers that were passing on their toes. 

We ended up spending a very large part of our day exploring the many children's play areas in Vondelpark. Vondelpark is so much fun and so huge. There was also a moment where we laid down on the grass and enjoyed the sun on our faces (because it was too cold to have anything else exposed to the sun). 

Bev did a great job biking all the way there and back. Cameron had a great time. And Charlie was able to ride on our bikes most of the time. Although at one point he was very mad that I made him get off his bike. It is just too dangerous for a 3 year old to bike himself on those paths. And sure he understands my concerns now.