Strained Tolerance

The Dutch have been known as some of the most tolerant and friendly people in the world. Amsterdam comes to mind as the extremely diverse and tolerant capital of the country. Although, overall most of the country is conservative, the trait of tolerance has become rather strained in the current climate of religious difference and economic unrest.
The Hague is where the extreme (far right) views of Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) in the Dutch Parliament, have brought to light some deep anti-Islam feelings in a portion of the Dutch population. Mr. Wilders spoke to the American people (not as a representative of Holland - but as himself) at the Anti-Islamic Centre Rally on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 (11 Sept 2010). Relatively unknown, but well received at the protest, Wilders said "A tolerant society is not a suicidal society" (Radio Netherlands Worldwide - Unknown Wilders delivers keynote speech at 9/11 demo by RNW News Desk). "[...] Most Dutch politicians kept their lips tightly shut after the speech by Freedom Party Geert Wilders in New York. Politicians on the right-hand side of the political spectrum were particularly quiet [...]" (RNW).
Geert Wilders faces court Monday "for a total of six days (over the course of a fortnight) on charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims" (RNW)

"[...] It is not just financial and economic developments that have a decisive impact on society. Developments within society likewise affect its quality. Social cohesion often used to be taken for granted in the Netherlands, but in recent years we have realis[z]ed that it is not a given. Even in the past, constant efforts were required to keep conflicts and differences of opinion under control. This is even more necessary today. Providing a counter-voice is the task not only of the government, but also of individuals and the many civil society organis[z]ations in our country. A harmonious society is built on respect, tolerance and common courtesy. It requires give and take, mutual understanding, and also the ability to adapt. This is a responsibility we all share. [...]" (Queen Beatrix' Speech from the Throne 2010, http://www.government.nl)

The State We're In - Keeping the faiths(s) was a very interesting show to listen to.The entire show is worth listening to, but I especially enjoyed hearing of the "unimaginable-to-many" story of a relatively new religion, Chrislam. It is a combination of Christianity and Muslim faiths.
"Christianity and Islam, of course, share the same roots. They're both what scholars call Abrahamic Religions. But what if they joined up and became one religion? It could happen, in fact, it already has... in Nigeria" host, Jonathan Gruber said in Keeping the faiths(s).
The story tells of a Christian pastor who had negative feelings toward Muslims. He ultimately fell in love and married a Muslim woman. "God wants to use me to pass on this message" he says. "Let's unite as brothers and sisters. Let there be no quarrel between Muslims and Christians. Nowhere does it say in the Bible or the Qur'an that you should kill your brother and sister to enter the Kingdom of God. He who kills will go to Hellfire. There must be a way we can speak to their hearts" (Keeping the faiths(s)). The rest of the show talks about proselytizing, atheism, and more.

Another recent story, Secret Jewish heritage converts neo-Nazi by Kristin Cuff, CNN, caught my attention. It's about a Neo-Nazi woman finding out she and her husband are Jewish. Her unplanned discovery is an emotional one. She had to go home to tell her Neo-Nazi husband that they are part of the people who they had hated so much. The couple made a complete life transformation. Their friend and mentor, Cheif Rabbi Michael Schudrich of Warsaw, Poland said, "The fact that they were skinheads actually increased the amount of respect I have for them. That they could've been where they were, understood that that was not the right way, then embraced rather than run away the fact that they were part of the people who they used to hate. I think also it says on a personal level, never write somebody off. Where they may be 10 years ago doesn't have to be where they are today. And the human being has this unlimited capability of changing and sometimes even for the better."Read the full story and see the CNN video clip here.

This story was especially interesting to me since one of my great grandmothers (*my MPM) (the one from Ede, NL) had hidden Jewish roots as well. I believe my Grandfather did not find out until her funeral in Iowa. I'm not sure when or exactly why she decided to hide it. I don't know who, besides herself, knew of it - but that is what I am doing now - investigating the reasons why.

*see the post titled The CODE for explanation.

Constitutional Monarchy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The capital city of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. However, the Royal family and seat of government are in the Hague (Den Haag). The government is a Constitutional Monarchy (CIA - The World Factbook).
The government fell in February 2010 after a 16 hour cabinet meeting discussing a compromise extension of the Dutch military mission in the Afghan province of Uruzgan. Twelve Ministers and State Secretaries of the Labour Party (PvdA) resigned. This is the third time Jan Peter Balkenende's cabinet has fallen. Elections were held in June to form a new government but party leaders have not been able to come to agreement. As scheduled, the Dutch military handed operations in Uruzgan to the United States and Australia in August.
The third Tuesday of September, known as Prinsjesdag, is normally the most important political day of the year. This is when the government presents the new budget for the next fiscal year. The Queen gives a speech from the throne and the budget sets the government's goals for the entire year. This Prinsjesdag the Dutch are still without a new government. Dutch Caretaker Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's (Christian Democrat Party) has presented his last budget to Queen Beatrix. The 2011 budget includes cuts of over 3 billion Euros.
Today, the 111th day of formation of the new government, coalition talks "appear to have resulted in a right-wing government supported by the far right" (RNW - Dutch right-wing parties reach agreement on coalition by Nicola Chadwick). [...] "Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders called it a historic moment," He said "who would have thought that the Freedom Party would have a huge amount of influence in government a couple of years ago." (RNW)  The new Prime Minister is said to be Mark Rutte. Maxime Verhagen is the new Christian Democrats (CDA) leader. Mr. Rutte is the leader of the Liberal Party (VVD) which have not possessed the position of prime minister since 1918. The new coalition government, Rutte says, "will be named Rutte-Verhagen", after the two leading parties.

Emigrating to Holland - Feelings

First of all, I love my family. I am very fortunate to have such a large family that loves one another as they do.
Second, we do not have plans to move to Holland. Just happy little thoughts and dreams of doing so. 

My personal experience in Holland left me with a feeling that I belong there. It has been six months since we were there, although we were there so briefly, I still have that same feeling. If we had the chance and courage to emigrate there, I believe we would go. It would be very hard to leave my family here - but at the same time, how often do I see my family in the states? I do not know but one or two in passing of my family in *Iowa and...*Michigan is it? It is even rare to see my "more immediate extended family" (who live in Washington state along with me) more than once or twice a year. I do see my brothers and their families more often than anyone - maybe once a month or sometimes more. My parents are now in Alaska so I see them very rarely, too. I realize that families grow up and out and as they get larger we have to focus energies on more specific targets and people, but I wish we all had enough time (and money these days) for all the extended family gatherings. I would love to meet all my family in middle-America, wherever they are... though I don't know if they feel the same way. There's only one way to find out - to be that one weird, distant relative who asks!

"What is the purpose of this post," you say?
Well, I came across a story at Radio Netherlands Worldwide in This Week in the Netherlands (by Davion Ford) of Caroline Pelders who, after living in Canada for thirty years, is emigrating back to the Netherlands with her husband and youngest daughter. She says "I've never had the feeling that I really belonged here. [...] I could try waiting for another 30 years, but then I would have been here 60 years. But if I still felt the same way, it would really have been a waste of my time" (taken from subtitles on video clip). It's interesting to know that the Netherlands has a similar "pull" for others as the one I feel (even though I have never lived there). Watch the video clip here:

The video clip also talks about Learning Dutch, Prescription Pot, and Spotting Child Abuse.

Coby's Gemarineerde Komkommers (Coby's Marinated Cucumbers)

I tried Coby's Gemarineerde Komkommers (Coby's Marinated Cucumbers) tonight. This recipe is from Let's Go Dutch by Johanna (van der Zeijst) Bates. This recipe has a photo in the book of how it's supposed to look. The photo is in a different part of the book and I did not see it until after I was done. My attempt does not look like the book's photo. I will try it again next time I have a cucumber ...or three medium cucumbers (since that's what I was supposed to use in the first place).

I used one large(ish) cucumber and I read through the recipe before starting. I should have read it twice. I sliced the cucumbers too thin and I was not supposed to mix everything together at once, but I did. I still liked the finished product but it's very acidic so I could not eat a whole lot of them. Again, I will try this again and follow the directions better next time.

Sometimes Everyone is Dutch

I have been "away" for a while. ...just trying to spend less time indoors at the computer (since the sun finally made an appearance here in the Seattle area). I did not intend to continue my "Everything Dutch" fixation while I was "away". Nevertheless, I picked up Stitch 'N Bitch and The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller (who happens to be Dutch too). These are handbooks for knitting and crocheting. I want to re-learn knitting and also learn crochet. It is such the opposite of what I do most days - and it is a very portable craft. I love it!
In the beginning of each book, Debbie talks about her Dutch family. "My mother met my dad and moved to America when she was twenty-four, but for most of my childhood we spent our summers back in Holland with her relatives. [...] And whenever relatives were gathered together, the women's hands were always working." She says that it didn't matter what they were working on"[...]--as long as their hands remained in motion, for, as my grandmother used to say, 'Idle hands are the devil's workshop.'"
"In my grandmother's time," she says, "knitting was not just a way to keep one's hands busy--it was also a way to save money." This also seems true today. I have seen so many things in stores that I just adore, but I refuse to pay what is on the huge price tag. Plus, I've always liked to do things myself... maybe too much so, sometimes. Even if I have no knowledge of how to do a specific project, I still barrel on - sometimes resulting in utter failure. I figure I will either learn as I go and find someone to help if I get stuck. In other rare events, when my attempts have left me hopeless, I may go to the store and buy the ready-made object. I believe doing things this way is more rewarding and appreciated by myself and everyone else.
I taught myself how to knit a few years ago. I knitted a few scarves and then was engulfed in school work until I got my degree. So far, I have gotten further along in my self-teachings, thanks to Debbie Stoller. Her books are written in a light-hearted, amusing way. They make teaching yourself to do these crafts much easier than you would think it would be otherwise. She makes it fun to learn knit and crochet. I have re-learned the Knit Stitch and now I can also Purl. With those two stitches I can do the Stockinette Stitch, Rib Stitch and the Seed Stitch (Moss Stitch) (my favorite). Next I will try to do a design using the Knit and Purl Stitches. This photo shows a dish cloth I made using the Seed and Stockinette Stitches. It tuned out to be a dish cloth because I was using 100% acrylic yarn (the cheapest) - it makes scrubbing pans easy.

Here's a link to the Stitch 'N Bitch website: Knit Happens

Monuments and TODAY

It was great to see Andre Rieu, here in America (on TV).

"André [...] Rieu (born October 1, 1949) is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating an international revival in waltz music with his 'Johann Strauss Orchestra'. He plays a 1667 Stradivarius violin." (Amazon.com)

I was recently going through some of my old photos. 

While I was in High School, I went on an East Coast Tour with a few of my class-mates. One stop was New York. I thought I would share a few photos from that trip, since it relates (roughly) to Andre being in New York and on the Today show and to my family going through the Ellis Island system. 

"The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986." (US National Park Service)

A friend and I hiked up all the stairs in the Statue of Liberty to look out the windows in her crown. From the crown, our view was of a bit of the island, water and fog (see second photo). Our legs were like jelly when we finally got down on the ground again.

"Opened on January 1, 1892, Ellis Island became the nation's premier federal immigration station. In operation until 1954, the station processed over 12 million immigrant steamship passengers. The main building was restored after 30 years of abandonment and opened as a museum on September 10, 1990." (US National Park Service)

One photo is Ellis Island as we approached it on the ferry. The next photo is some of the luggage left at Ellis Island.

Earlier that same day, another friend and I went to the Today show where we made it onto TV (well, my friend's mom saw me but not her daughter ...but she was standing right next to me ~ maybe someone jumped in front of her during our one second of fame).

The last photo is of a gift from Holland called The Netherlands Carillion. 

It "[...]expresses the gratitude of the Dutch people for American aid received during and after World War II. The carillon itself symbolizes the friendship between the people of the Netherlands and those of the United States... a friendship characterized by a common allegiance to the principles of freedom, justice, and democracy which has weathered temporary differences." (US National Park Service archive)

Andre Rieu in Rockefeller Center in NYC Tomorrow morning!

Someone! - Anyone! Fly me there tonight!
Ok, so realistically- I will be watching Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra performing on NBC's TODAY show (tomorrow - Wednesday 16 June 2010 @ 8:30am).

Andre Rieu is a Dutch composer who has been dubbed the King of Waltz. You can read about him and his life and accomplishments on his website (I have a link below)
A couple months ago I stumbled upon a video of him and his girls doing the traditional Klompen Dance (also linked below). I continued onto his website and after seeing a few more videos, signed up for his newsletter. The very next day, I got an email announcing the tour he would be doing in America and the stop in Seattle! Yay!

His Seattle date is on 6 December 2010 at Key Arena. I'm hoping to acquire tickets to that show.  If anyone I know would like to go with me, maybe we could get a group of us together... (there is a 8 ticket per household limit)... Let me know soon if you are interested.
Tickets range from around $50-$150 for just the tickets to the show. There's also The Waltz package for $300 (Package includes one Premium seat located within rows 2-5, and an Exclusive ANDRE RIEU merchandise item). Then there is The Andre Rieu Experience for around $1500 (Package includes one Premium seat located within rows 1-2, Invitation to afterparty with ANDRE RIEU and performers, Photo with ANDRE RIEU, Access to soundcheck, Buffet dinner, Exclusive ANDRE RIEU merchandise item, Autographed program book, Onsite event management staff, and VIP entrance and parking (where available))

Go to the Andre Rieu site
...I was just exploring his site again and found a recipe section! ...and his son is a painter!
I hope I'll be able to see him in December. I think this is all I can say now without sounding like an Andre Rieu nut.

Here's the video that started this section of my exploration... enjoy!