One day I'll write about Dutch musicians that I like (this is Miss Montreal) but in the meantime...
Merry Christmas everybody!
Algún día escribiré sobre los músicos holandeses que me gustan (esta es Miss Montreal) pero mientras tanto...
¡Feliz Navidad a todos!
sábado, 24 de diciembre de 2011
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domingo, 18 de diciembre de 2011
The sound of goodbye / El sonido del adiós
Maybe you are not familiar with how the Dutch language sounds but to me it's an explosion of 'g', 'h', 'j' and 't'. Just the question 'how are you?' ('hoe gaat het met je?') is a clear example. And to be honest, it doesn't sound very musical... but oh dear, the surprise comes at the end.
When they say goodbye your ears are flooded with the finest melody. It's not just one word... it's a bunch of them, a sweet combination of consonants and vowels. If you say 'doei' they will reply 'dag', if you say 'dag' they will answer back with 'doeg', if you say 'doeg' they will reply 'doegie' and so on, always with a different word.
The funny thing comes when you see a group of friends saying goodbye to each other and you get to hear all the possible options at one time. It would go like: 'doei', 'haije', 'doegie', 'daaaag', 'toedels', 'doei doei', 'toedeledoki', 'doeg', 'laters', taubé', 'groetjes', 'toedeloeeeee'! :-) 'Google Translate' to hear it (click there on the speaker icon).
It could be defined as a delightful musical ensemble of sudden unexpected 'a capella' singers. Are you ready to say goodbye to 2011 in this musical way?
--
My sincere gratitude to my Dutch colleagues Elisa, Karen and Lonneke for their invaluable contribution to this post!
jueves, 24 de noviembre de 2011
Blood donation / Donar sangre
For years, I have been really looking forward to being a blood donor but unfortunately for various reasons I never could, until a few months ago. Then I started my research on how to become a blood donor here in the Netherlands and I discovered that the approach is quite different compared to the process in Spain. If in the last post I praised the Dutch efficiency for certain procedures, in this one I have to confess that I am quite disappointed.
Blood donation in the Netherlands
The Dutch system has a big amount of preliminary steps. At the donation center you fill out a registration card with your contact information. Then, once you are in the system and this can take a while, they will call you to schedule an appointment for a medical examination. First-time donors do not donate blood after this first examination, you have to wait for notice of your eligibility by postal mail. It can again take weeks until you receive this letter in which you will be informed of the date from which you are allowed to donate within a two-week window. Then the donation itself has the regular on-the-spot preliminary testing.
Blood donation in Spain
You walk into a local blood drive, hospital or donor center, you complete the tests in a matter of minutes, donate, and go. Your blood is of course thoroughly tested afterwards, and if any problem it will be disposed of.
After learning about the differences I’ve made my decision: I will donate blood in my next trip to Spain.
lunes, 31 de octubre de 2011
Buying a second hand car / Comprar un coche de segunda mano
Credits: Daniel G. Ríos.
Due to my profession I often talk about usability and user experience referred to online tools. Keep reading to see how important user experience is in 'real life' too, applied in this case to the process of buying a second hand car.
Once you have found the car of your dreams, and from my experience this can take a while, some paperwork is needed in order to buy it. Let's compare this process in both Spain and the Netherlands:
In Spain:
Be sure you have a full day free and do all the steps together with the seller.
Go to 'Hacienda' (tax office), find the right queue for vehicle transfers and be certain that's the one you have to be, because when your turn comes you don't want to be told you should have been queueing at the other, even longer, one. Once at the desk, hand out the forms 620 ('Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales') and 430 ('Declaración de Transmisión de Compraventa') both previously downloaded or bought, to the clerk. After submitting these papers the officer will tell you the amount to pay (currently 4% of the value of the vehicle according to the official valuation). If you are lucky enough you will be able to pay this amount after queueing again in the same office but it can be that you have to go to a bank and then come back. Once you have paid, present the payment proof (usually to another clerk, after another queue) and if everything is in order, your documents will be validated with a stamp.
With all these documents and the car documents, go to the "Jefatura de tráfico" office. Warning: there are only 3 in all Madrid province!. Wait the never-ending queue to pay again some taxes and then wait again at the next window where you and the seller will submit all the possible documents you can think of: the receipt of the payment you just made, yours and the seller's ID documents, car papers, photocopies, contract, etc. Finally you get the vehicle registration with your name on it.
In the Netherlands:
Take the car documents, your passport and, if not Dutch, a proof of registration in your municipality not older than 3 months. Go with the seller to the closest post office. There will be no queue. Fill in a form, pay 9,25€ and get the car documents registered in your name.
Moral: It's a big difference when processes are designed to make user’s experience easier, in this example the citizen, who should not interact physically with all possible administrations involved in one single process. Instead, the citizen triggers the process in just one place and afterwards, the entities involved communicate between them.
domingo, 9 de octubre de 2011
'Kinderboerderij' / Las granjas de los niños
I was not familiar with this concept: a farm open for visitors and specially designed for children where they can learn everything about farm animals. It may exist in Spain but I never saw it and here they are everywhere.
In cities it is very difficult to be in touch with nature and animals; these farms are the way to offer children and adults (because I love animals too!) the possibility to see and pet farm animals and learn how they live and are taken care of.
I recently visited the 'kinderboerderij' in 'Amsterdamse bos'. It's full of little goats and there are also some pigs, cows, horses... For a little donation you are allowed to bottle feed the little goats. Really cute! Something I recommend to everybody suffering this hectic life: connect back with nature whenever you can!
jueves, 1 de septiembre de 2011
#2 - Things you cannot find in Holland/ Cosas que no encuentras en Holanda
Photo by Grupo Alter.
Following with the series of posts about those things that a Spanish person misses here in Holland, there is a product that is always mentioned by all Spaniards at one given time: "Couldina".
This medicine is mainly composed of aspirin and a couple of more ingredients which are really good for congestion. For me, it is the best thing to fight a cold. It does not exist here in the Netherlands and I know a bunch of Spaniards who buy it whenever they go to Spain and bring it here for those future under-the-weather days.
Are you also living away from your home country? Then, please tell me about those things you are "forced to import" from your country because you simply cannot live without them!
jueves, 11 de agosto de 2011
Car registration plates / Matrículas de coches
Photo by: Krokodyl | CC BY-SA 3.0
Walking through the parking lot of the international organization I work for, I realized that the same letters were appearing in almost every car license plate. I'm not talking about 'CD' which everybody knows stands for 'Corps Diplomatique'. These letters were 'BN' and 'GN' and it couldn't just be a coincidence, so I did some research and I discovered that this actually means something:
"BN-GN: For vehicles whose owner is not liable to taxation such as staff from embassies without diplomatic status, consulates or international organisations such as ESA ('B'uitenlander in 'N'ederland or 'G'een 'N'ederlander meaning Foreigner in Netherlands or Not Dutch respectively)."
Source: Wikipedia, Vehicle Registration Plates of the Netherlands
I have to say now that I am just 'a normal person' :-), nor an ambassador nor an astronaut, thus my car license plate does not have 'BN' or 'GN'. Anyway, I am not so sure that I would like to have anything that says "I am not Dutch and I don't pay taxes here" to the rest of the world. Is this distinction really necessary? Would you like to have something like that?
lunes, 1 de agosto de 2011
The Westerkerk (by Manuel Dopazo)
Photos by Sonia Jiménez.
Once more, my friend Manuel has written a new entry for this blog. This thing of having “collaborators” it’s a real honor for me. Thanks again Manuel for your contribution!
Today in Pilar’s blog, I’m going to talk about one of the things I liked the most in Amsterdam: the Westerkerk (Prinsengracht 281). Surprisingly, this church goes almost unnoticed by the tourists (or at least, that was my impression). Perhaps being close to Anne Frank house, far more visited; not appearing on the top of things to visit in Amsterdam; and the fact that only the tower can be visited (the church is exclusively for the religious service), make it a lesser-known attraction.
There are two really impressive things about Westerkerk: firstly, the guided tours to the tower. These tours take place every half an hour (it's mandatory to book in advance) for a maximum of six people without backpacks! since some corridors are really narrow. The tour begins by climbing up a stone spiral staircase that makes you think “Oh my, I’m afraid of the way back!”. The visit is superbly organized: the tower has different levels in which the tourist guide stops to explain more about the building, the carillon and the impressive bells, so it does not feel tiring although the staircase becomes steeper and narrower as you climb it up, so you keep thinking “Oh my, now I’m reeeaaally afraid of the way back!” :-)
The second impressive thing about this visit comes at the end: the views of Amsterdam from the top of the tower. Well, it’s not actually the top which is not accessible, but the tourists can go 50-60 meters up and that’s more than enough to have a panoramic breathtaking view of the center of Amsterdam.
So, seriously, if you're going to Amsterdam or you are already there but never had the time to go to this church, please don’t forget to visit the fabulous tower of the Westerkerk!
Manuel Dopazo
lunes, 11 de julio de 2011
Vacation planning / Plan de vacaciones
Gorgeous sunset at Uluwatu temple, South Bali. Photo by SomosUno.
When you live abroad your vacation planning changes a lot, mainly because your home country (your hometown, to be precise) suddenly becomes a 'holiday' destination. Please note the scare quotes because it is not holiday at all. Everybody who lives abroad knows that. You end up stressed out and pressured to catch up and meet with one million people in only 5 days, besides taking care of your family and some other errands such as official paperwork and doctor appointments (because we all prefer 'our' doctors!).
In some occasions there is also time for a proper holiday, away from 'home' and... 'the other home' :-) The country you live in can have a major role when it comes to choose where to go on vacation. I mean, while living in Spain you go a lot to... Spain! because Spain is great for holiday and we all know it! Places like Valencia, Castellón, Asturias, Baleares, Canarias... As for going abroad, a lot of people go to Mexico, Dominican Republic or Argentina.
However, while living in Spain we never thought of going to Aruba or Indonesia just because they are not popular destinations there or even countries you hear a lot about. These two countries are more popular in Holland: Aruba is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Indonesia is a former Dutch colony. Not only you hear a lot more about these places here, you also have more possibilities to actually meet people from there. My best friend from Utrecht University happens to be Indonesian and she gave the best tips ever for the fantastic holiday I just came back from :-)
miércoles, 8 de junio de 2011
Biking à la Dutch / Pedaleando a la holandesa
Some people like taking pictures while biking, like my friend Tnarik.
I’ve been thinking of writing a series of posts on what our visitors, which have been quite a lot during all these years, think about Holland. We have heard the most extremely different things, from “Now we understand! You will never go back to Spain, this is greeeeaat!” to “We hate Amsterdam, it’s a dangerous city, we almost die... first run over by a tram, then a bicycle and then again, a tram”, including bizarre declarations like “Strange, I don’t see any poppy flower... hmph” (?!).
But one of our friends has gone beyond my expectations and has written his own post about the experience of visiting this country. Here it goes:
“In the Netherlands, as everyone knows, the bicycle is the most popular vehicle and there are hundreds, thousands, literally millions of bikes!!! But what not everyone knows (or at least I didn’t) is how they ride bikes in Holland... it’s just unbelievable. Really, you can think that you know how to ride a bike, but only when you get here and try to pedal on the streets of Amsterdam you realize that you have the skills of a 5 years old. It’s similar to when non native English speakers think they have an intermediate or even a high English level... until they speak to native speakers. Well, in the same way, Dutch could be considered the ‘native’ cyclists :-)Thanks for the post, Manuel!
Coming back to the point, it's amazing! The Dutch handle bikes with a breathtaking ease and skill... they are able to pedal at high speed for the city and, at the same time, avoid people, cars or any architectural barrier, check their mobile, send SMS... even read a book! It’s just incredible!”
Manuel Dopazo
martes, 29 de marzo de 2011
"A penny saved is a penny earned", Benjamin Franklin
Spotted at "Da Rosario", Hoofddorp. A very good Italian restaurant! Photo by: SomosUno.
Quoting this interesting Wikipedia's article about Dutch customs and etiquette:
"Accumulating money is fine, but spending money is considered something of a vice and associated by some people with being a show-off."Here is the proof. This (see picture) was found in an Italian restaurant in Hoofddorp where they kindly left this note on the table written in three languages:
- Dutch: "Bedankt voor uw telefonisch reservering"
- English: "Thank you for your reservation by phone"
- Italian: "Grazie per la vostra prenotazione telefonica"
This post is dedicated to Nadjejda and Matthew :-)
domingo, 6 de marzo de 2011
The deconstructed sandwich 'mixto': Uitsmijter
'Mixto con huevo" vs. 'Uitsmijter"
The simple yet delicious 'sandwich mixto' is how we Spaniards call a grilled ham&cheese sandwich. When you are hungry enough to need more than a 'tapa' but don't want to have a proper long lunch, the best thing is a 'mixto', and if you like it even more complete, then ask for a sandwich 'mixto con huevo', with an egg. The funny thing is that the top bread has a hole to see the egg yolk and this is serious stuff. That hole needs to be there! Otherwise it's not a proper 'mixto con huevo' :-)
Now here is the Dutch version: 'uitsmijter', pronounced outs-my-ter, more or less. And I dare to say this is the Dutch deconstruction of the Spanish 'mixto con huevo'. The slices of bread are not grilled and the ham goes on top of them and then the egg. The cheese is optional and goes on top of everything so it is not covered with more bread.
And here is the surprise... do you want to know about the origin of this dish? It comes from the German Strammer Max:
"The term Strammer Max (literally "stiff Max" or "tight Max") originated in the 1920s in Saxon slang, where it initially referred to an erection, the male name "Max" being often used as a slang word for penis (similar to the English "Dick" or "Willy"). The term was adopted into Berlin street slang and applied to a dish that was supposed to be especially strengthening to the sexual prowess of the person eating it." Source: WikipediaSurprise! So, what do you prefer: 'mixto con huevo', 'uitsmijter' or 'strammer Max'? :-D
domingo, 23 de enero de 2011
The mistery of number 8 / El misterio del número 8
Dutch number 8 (left) and an 'international' number 8 (right). Credits: somosuno.
If you have been in the Netherlands for a while you must have noticed this: number 8 is different, number 8 is like a sinuous snake, number 8 is like a suggestive belly dance... All Dutch people write it like that. Why, oh why? Is it a handwriting teachers' conspiracy? In the rest of the world, number 8 is just written as a plain number 8! :-)
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