My “steepest” apologies, Jan Hendrik and Barbara

Okay, so I caught a little grief from Jan Hendrik and Barbara, whose staircase I outed in the early days of my Holland stay as being “STEEP.”

This blog is my attempt to assure Jan Hendrik and Barbara that they should not feel singled out! In fact, I encountered many more neck-breaking stair cases throughout my stay in Holland. And not everyone was as kind as Jan Hendrik, who carried my black beast of a suitcase up and down.

My conclusion? If stair-climbing should ever be named an Olympic event, I am positive a Dutchman will win.

A few potential courses:

Heroes

On Tuesday, Anne arranged to spend the evening with a young girl she mentors, Halima. Originally from Morocco, Halima is fifteen and is approaching her exam year in school (the year that Joy and Milou just passed). Anne mentors her on a variety of subjects, including English. On this particular evening, Halima was working on a book report about the novel “Heroes.” Anne asked if I would help out since my English is passable. ;)

I include this evening on my blog not only because it was interesting to meet and spend time with Halima, but also to say WOW about the volume of work required by Dutch students learning English! “Heroes” was about an American soldier returning from war with a disfigured face (I skimmed through the book in order to help – it was uplifting, let me tell ya), and Halima had to answer 26 pages worth of intense essay questions! One question required she write a conversation about what she’d say to a rape crisis counselor if she ever needed that sort of help (like I said, the book was really uplifting). Keep in mind – English is Halima’s third language.

The key Learning here (which I have thought during my entire stay in Holland but was really brought home to me when tutoring Halima): it’s lame to speak only one language. It’s even lamer to live in a country where learning (to fluency) a second language isn’t just simply a given as part of the fabric of our education system. Boo America. I wish Halima could have answered me this hypothetical question along with her 26 others: Where are the heroes (preferably multilingual!) who can improve America’s education system!?

Rant over... here's Halima, Anne and I studying.

I Love Lunch

I thought we had a great lunch system at Jackson Spalding. Dine out when you want to at one of the many wonderful nearby restaurants. Grab a healthy sandwich at MetroFresh, or an Asian salad at Fresh2Order. Walk over to Colony Square for some Chick-fil-A. In the mood for Mexican? Head to Twisted Taco. Or bring your lunch, and eat with co-workers in Jackson Spalding's "Oasis." Too busy? Pick up Maximo’s from downstairs and eat at your desk. Errands to run? Take care of them at lunch.

That's all great, but for years to come I’m going to miss the Van Luyken lunches. Every day in Haarlem lunch is provided, and the office eats as a group. At 12:30 p.m. sharp, work stops, and everyone gathers in the lunchroom. You get in line, grab a plate, slice yourself some fresh cucumber, grab a fresh tomato or two, then sit down in front of a delicious array of Dutch “sandwich” items. Fresh, soft bread. Various meats and cheeses. Numerous spreads, like bacon/egg or gouda cheese spread. Go on, make yourself a couple of sandwiches (that means you’ve put a piece of bread down with a variety of toppings on top – the Dutch don’t use two pieces of bread for a “sandwich” like we Americans do. Also, sandwiches are eaten with a fork/knife). Don’t be shy! Get yourself some yogurt. Add fresh fruit – kiwi, anyone? Cherries? Add some honey. And don’t forget your light-as-air cracker with butter and hagelslag for dessert.

Though I teased Hans that I would simply miss the food aspect of lunch – that is not true. Almost as good as the food ;) is the camaraderie built over daily discussions. It’s the only part of the day where everyone at Van Luyken sees each other. I know that Jackson Spalding is too big to instate a lunch system like this one on a daily basis (nor would many people want to do so, I think), but I think we should consider implementing something along these lines once or twice a month, or something. And not in the form of an official meeting or presentation, but just a lunch, where we all spend time talking, exchanging ideas or even making fun of the new girl who can’t speak our language. ;) Just a joke… I don’t think my Van Luyken co-workers made fun of me (in front of me) in Dutch. Well, I don’t think they did it that much, anyway.

But they had to have snickered at me, taking all of these pictures.

Bas in line.



The fresh cucumbers and tomatoes that showed up at every lunch.


The meat and cheese trays.

The Van Luyken crew in action.

Around the table. I am about to go for thirds... seriously!