EURO2012 has only been going on for two days and I’m already caught up in the fever and charm of it all. It’s quite something when you’re watching the European football championship while being in Europe, and especially in a country where the fans are so devoted. Though I love so many things about the…
Category: Dutch Quirks
My Maastricht Shopping Adventures
Maastricht isn’t a huge city. I don’t know if it’s because of that but all the shops tend to be clustered in one place, conveniently called “Markt,” and yes, readers, I did not mistakenly omit the “E” from that word. So, say you need a fancy item of clothing for a certain scholarship recipients event (true story)…
It’s Finally Happened: I Have a Bike
I can’t think of a better way to kick off 2012 in the Netherlands than by two things: blogging again and buying a bike. Yes, you read right. After four months of living in the lowlands, and being hell-bent on refusing to even get on one, I finally managed to gather my nerves together and…
Bad English Has Many Purposes: Discovering the Hell-Buddy
I was on the verge of falling asleep yesterday in my class on Innovation and Quality Management. No wait, that’s not right. I was asleep, but with my eyes open. It has everything to do with the fact that I now do my finest studying after midnight and nothing to do with the fact that…
The Unofficial Song for the Netherlands, In My Opinion
The Dutch national anthem Wilhelmus is beautiful, both musically and lyrically, as well as historic. Wikipedia, my always trusted source for last minute research, states it is most probably the oldest national anthem in the world. And I’m pretty sure that the Dutch know and sing this with pride and dedication. Unlike most of the…
Things and People I Never Knew Were Dutch
Even though I published a list yesterday dealing with several companies I never knew were Dutch, I have to admit once again, that it was too brief . So in the spirit of that, this list will focus on little random items that originated in the Netherlands. Honestly, I could go on and on. Edam…
Companies I Never Knew Were Dutch
I have to admit this: before I had this very crazy idea of going to the Netherlands to do my master’s degree, I had absolutely zero interest in Dutch culture and quirks. Which should make you wonder what exactly drew me to going there. Sure, I always knew that the Netherlands is the land of…
Even Bikes Are Designed By Gender
You know how the Lebanese are obsessed with way-beyond-their-annual-salary-fancy-so-big-they-block-traffic-in-the-already-too-small-roads-of-Beirut-cars? The same can be said about the Dutch and their bicycles. I think saying they are everywhere would be an understatement. Of course, I’m all for bikes, for the obvious environmental reasons. I’m not too fond of them though because I never really learned how to…
Beyond Beirut 