by Clarissa | Dec 25, 2014 | dutch life, family
This year Christmas has been different for quite a few reasons: we’re now a family of four; we’re living in the Netherlands; but primarily because this is the first year that we’ve been at home, rather than visiting either my parents or my in-laws....
by Clarissa | Dec 17, 2014 | dutch life, family
It’s quite fun to learn nursery rhymes in a different language – it makes you appreciate the differences 🙂 as well as the difficulties of translating what are essentially poems/songs! Some differences I’ve noticed: – Little sheep, little sheep,...
by Clarissa | Dec 8, 2014 | dutch life, libraries
I’d assumed that public libraries were something that would be the same here as in England, but that’s not the case. It’s not so much the practical details, as the underlying philosophy. Firstly there is a membership charge for those over 18 (~£50 a...
by Clarissa | Nov 30, 2014 | dutch life
It’s funny starting to learn a language as an adult; however much you can deride most language learning at schools in the UK, it’s difficult to replicate. And it takes a long time to get vocabulary and grammar to a level that’s good enough to be able...
by Clarissa | Nov 16, 2014 | dutch life
If you’d asked me before we moved I would have said the UK was a child-friendly place. But it’s nothing compared to what I’ve experienced here! For example, shopping. Taking a small child shopping is often fraught with cries, whines, complaints,...
by Clarissa | Nov 9, 2014 | dutch life
Home is an elusive concept; what makes a place your home isn’t something I could easily explain. We’ve been living here for nearly three months now, but last week we all went to the notary and bought our house. A big step, but as we’re already living...
