Sinterklaas Countdown

After purchasing my groceries and the last ingredients for Sinterklaas party on the 5th December I decided to take some pics of our local banket bakkerij. Actually the owners are our friends and I had already asked permission to photograph the shop from outside and their handmade delicacies.

It is difficult to take pics with all the glass reflections. Anyway, I try to give you readers an impression of elements used in the decoration of a Dutch bakery in a village somewhere in North Holland...

I greeted sweet I. (the baker's wife) from outside and she invited me to photograph also the interior - photo above. Her father-in-law came immeditely from inside the shop and told her "Hey I., somebody is making pics of our shop ! Why ?" She informed him that it was okay and it was just me: A.
Then I was invited by R. to make some pics from inside. He was just finishing some chocoladeletters. That's a Dutch tradition: chocolate made initials that can be given/exchanged as a little present as sign of affection. How lovely is that ?

R. in action: ambachtelijk werk, handmade precious work. Generally the letters found in supermarkets and department stores are just chocolate (white, milk chocolate or dark). By small businesses you can find more refined products, the letters are then decorated with different types of nuts, caramel and other ingredients.

Work in progress...

Wonderful work R. ! And thanks for inviting me in.

While walking back home my little girl mentioned: "I have just seen lots of Zwarte Pieten, mom !". I asked her where. She said: "inside the building we have just passed by". I went back to have a look inside the gym hall, maybe there were lots of dolls of zwarte Pieten on the ground or something like that. Or maybe it was just her imagination. For my surprise there were indeed some kids dressed up. I started to make some photos and suddenly some moms showed up, concerned about me. I asked my little girl to wave the moms goodbye and we went away. Some meters further I heard: "Mevrouw, mevrouw !" (madam, madam !) and a kid came to us holding a little bag with peppernoten (see photo below).

I thanked him and made also pics of him with my little girl. I also asked whether I could make more pics of the other "Peters". He promptly agreed. Check below:

Thanks kids !

Zwarte Piet (wiedewiedewiet...)

De Bijenkorf department store, Amsterdam

Zwarte Piet, wiedewiedewiet

Ik hoor je wel maar ik zie je niet

Break Time

Rachel (Canada) and Piia (Finland) eat and listen to Marina (Ucraine).

Joyce (Brazil), Hong (China) and Gloria (Indonesia) pay good attention as well...

Barbara (Poland) and Dimitrios (Greece).

C'mon darling, you cannot hide forever !

Show me your eyes...

Beatrice (France), Donald (USA) and Ehsan (Iran).

And we talk and talk and talk... Foreigners and specially foreign students have a lot of stress, Gosh ! We enjoy a lot these minutes together, at least I DO. Everyone is serious about getting the proficiency in Dutch in order to pursue studies or work in the NL. The rest of the group - Charlotte, Aziza, Magda... - was somehere else (where were you guys?). Our teacher does not join us during the break, of course not. But you can find him here.

Sinterklaas

Readers of this blog probably already know that in Holland one of the most popular celebrations during December month is the one of Sinterklaas. It is celebrated on the 5th of December, but practically during the whole month of November you can already watch TV programmes about him. My children specially like to watch Het Sinter Klaas Journaal (see photo below). The photo is from site www.medianieuwtjes.nl.

Provavelmente os leitores do Brasil e especialmente de Portugal já ouviram dizer que uma das celebraçõees mais famosas na Holanda é a festa de Sinterklaas, tradicionalmente celebrada na noite do 5 de dezembro. Cerca de três semanas antes da data já há muito festejo no país e um dos programas mais populares na TV 'e o "Jornal do Sinter Klaas" com apresentadora, entrevistas, novelinhas e tudo mais. Vejam a foto da apresentadora do tal jornal aí embaixo:

This is at one of the local schools (photo above). It is important to mention that the whole mythology around Sinterklaas in Holland did NOT merge with Christmas. They affirm that the figure of Sinter Klaas was distorted by Americans when they developed the figure of Santa Claus. Santa Claus also exists in Holland during the end of December, they call it with desdain "The Christmas Man" (de Kerst Man) and is ignored by grown ups and children. He is rather an exotic, decorative North American holiday character. Dutch people claim their Sinterklaas is "the real guy"!

When you start searching about Nicholas' life you discover he was a bishop born in Turkey. In the Dutch story he comes from Spain (Madrid, especifically) in a steam boat with his Moorish assistants and lots of presents for Dutch kids. Spanish people and Madrileños living in Holland get very surprised about knowing that, for they have never heard of it. Now, how much of "the real guy" is it ?

Some mothers and I spent a couple of hours during one evening last week busy with decorating the school rooms and common areas. You see the result on the photos of this post. I think one of the moms did it very well on the door above. She quickly made a drawing and then painted the glass (above) while other moms were hanging fake presents from the ceiling or wraping real presents from the school for the children.

And this is mischievous Zwarte Piet (Black Peter). In old stories of Sinterklaas from the XIX century he is presented as a Moor from south Europe, with Middle Ages clothes. Later he acquired an African appearance. He is NOT a slave NOR a servant, he is rather an employee. It is impossible for Sinterklaas to deliver all little presents to all children, he is very old therefore he needs lots of help with that.

Others say that Zwarte Piet is black because he has to go into chimneys in order to bring presents.

A figura nas fotos acima e' o Pedro Negro (em holandes "Zwarte Piet). Em estorias holandesas do seculo XIX ele era descrito como um personagem do sul da Europa, um mouro. Mais tarde passou a ser descrito como um africano com roupas medievais. Ele e' alegre, atrapalhado e trabalha para o S. Nicolau. Outros dizem que o Zwarte Piet se chama assim porque tem que descer pela chaminé com os presentinhos e por isso fica com a cara suja de fuligem.

A colleague of mine, also Brazilian, once told me he found (and still finds) the whole story and symbols very weird. Years, many years ago he had just arrived in Holland, never had heard of St. Klaas or Black Peter and was riding a bike in Amsterdam. He suddenly spotted a bunch of flashy dressed guys who were doing crazy in the streets: de Black Peter (s). He got so surprised, that he crashed with his bike and all into two of them. He ended up spending that evening in the hospital. This colleague of mine has since then acquired an absolute aversion to Black Peters.

And of course you have to place in your shoes also some carrots for Sinterklaas' horse: Amerigo. Dutch parents must check whether their (older) children have made some marks in the carrots. They will do it in order to check later whether the carrots were put back into the fridge.

Photo above: Amerigo, Sinterklaas and a Zwarte Piet. And: no, they do not arrive in Holland in a red car. They arrive in a steam boat all the way from Spain, remember ? If you wish to know more about the very controversial character of Black Peter click here. What I find curious is that the people playing Zwarte Piet do not make their faces just "dirty". They are blue eyed people with super black faces and red, exaggerated lips. It was a bit of cultural shock for me. Many foreigners of all ethnicities living in Holland detest the symbologies of Sinter Klaas and Zwarte Piet. I wonder what Americans people think of all that !

And if you a bad boy or girl during the year... "Traditionally, if a child had been naughty, the Zwarte Pieten would stuff the child in a sack and threaten to beat it with a broom or a stick. Then all the naughty children, in sacks, were said to be taken back with Sinterklaas to Spain (it is believed that Sinterklaas comes from Spain, where he returns at the end of the night)." Wish to know more about Sinter Klaas ? Click then here for the whole story on Wikipedia.

Yes, my little girl can also make some pics with her fake camera made in China !

Essa é a minha baixinha. Como eu estou sempre fazendo fotos, ela anda tirando umas fotos minhas com a camera de plástico dela, made in China. Fofa, fofa, muito fofa. Espero que tenham gostado da explicação rasteira sobre a celebração do Sinter Klaas. Acho que apesar das origens da estória se perderem no passado, a celebração tenta resgatar uma parte do mito. E é mais original que o Papai Noel gorducho de shopping center, pura invencionice de americanos. Nos próximos posts tem muito mais de St. Klaas nas vitrines de pastelarias e tortas, aguardem.

I Am Just Regular

Would you like to know the definition of a mother-in-law ? She is a woman who has spent at least the last 20 years of her life raising a boy that another woman (younger and immature) snatches from her in 20 minutes.
For those who cannot believe it: I have a wonderful relation with my mother-in-law. She has softned my life here in Holland. She has had a positive and supportive attitude about my decisions and deeds. Today she spent some time with my kids while I had to do some studying. FANTASTISCH !!!!

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Hubby has spent the weekend in Madrid with friends. Ok, I have spent many weekends away with colleagues and such. But I have always considered it was NOT my leisure time, just for the record.
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I would like so much to thank other bloggers who have domonstrated their appreciation to my hobby becoming a follower of the "Greetings...". It stimulates me even more making my notes and posting my photos around here. OBRIGADAAAAA !!!! I hope it becomes 50 by to the end of this year.

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I have already made some photos that are Sinter Klaas related. I hope to be posting here soon. We will be celebrating it on 6th December at my place. By "we" I mean: my little family, parents -in-law and sister-in-law with her family. The last two years we have celebrated it with a cheese fondue. First some pies and traditional sweets in the afternoon. I think it is not so spectacular having bread and slappe kaas (Swiss readers skip this post). I am a Brazilian who likes to spend hours and hours with preparations in order to bring 2000 samba dancers into the avenue. But maybe I will go for it, the cheese and a green salad. It is a sign that I do not want to be (cough, cough, cough) arrogant. Doe normaal. They appreciate when you are practicing "regular" skills, like anyone else. Uuuuh !

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Why did I post that photo above ? I feel that I am walking a lonely road. The road is a safe one. No wolves, no big suprises. I know where the road goes to up to February 2010.
But then it is a mystery.

Onderweg [Along the Way]

Today at the end of my Dutch lesson the teacher provided us with the lyrics of this song: Onderweg, from the group Abel. We had to fill in the blanks some missing words. It was a light listening exercise. I remembered this song immediately, I have been hearing it for years and years. Btw, memorizing lyrics is always a pleasurable thing to do when you are learning a foreign language. Plus... I have to confess that I quite fall for Joris' Breda accent and his soft "g". Better than the GRRRAW, GRRAUW, GRRAW you hear in the North Holland. You can watch and listen to the video clicking here.

Onderweg was for 17 weeks in the Dutch Top 40, 6 weeks of whick it was number 1. The single was number 4 in the Top 40 list during the year 2000. The main character describes a route he makes, while leaving home, taking a bus and then a train. And at the same time he remembers about the good times with a black haired girl he loved/still loves. But he finally reaches the sad conclusion that they are too different and maybe were not made for each other.

In the videoclip you see Birgit Schuurman, nowadays a known (well "known"... everything is relative) Dutch singer and actress. She is actually half Dutch half Chinese, and sister of very well known sex symbol and bad haired actress Katia Schuurman.

Ik doe de deur dicht
Straten lijken te huilen
Wolken lijken te vluchten
Ik stap de bus in
Mensen lijken te kijken
Maar ik wil ze ontwijken
Voordat ze mij zien

Het is allang verleden tijd
Dat je mijn verjaardag niet vergat
Je onvoorwaardelijk koos voor mij

Ik zie de velden
Langs mij heen gaan huizen
Het is stil achter de ruiten
Wie kan mij zien ?
In blauw verlichte treinen
Je hart is zo dicht bij me
Maar het klopt niet

Het is allang verleden tijd
Je zwarte haren en je lach
Dat je heel de wereld voor mij was
Het zit nog veel te diep in mij
Dat ik mocht delen wat jij had
Je door m'n haren ging en zei:

Je kent mijn stem niet
Wie ik ben is wat je nu ziet
Wil je dansen met illusies in gedachten ?
Ben je verder dan het heden ?
Wil je terug naar je verleden ?
Zegt je dat iets ?

Het is allang verleden tijd
Rode wijn op het terras
Dat je heel de wereld voor mij was
Het zit nog veel te diep in mij
Maar ik vergat hoe jij me zag
Dat ik zo anders ben dan jij

Ik loop de straat in
Maar het zal me nooit verwarmen
Omdat het mij niet kan omarmen
Wie zou mij zien
Het liefst zou ik willen schreeuwen
Ik zou oneindig willen schreeuwen
Maar het gaat niet
Jij bent niet alleen van mij
'K kan de wereld laten zien
Dat het zo beter is misschien

Het is allang verleden tijd
Dat ik vergat hoe jij me zag
Dat ik zo anders ben dan jij

"It ain't good if it is not Dutch"

I took this picture at my children's school. At the toilet door you see, translated word by word from Dutch into English: "Forget the door not close to do". It doesn't make much sense, does it ? The idea is of course: "Do not forget to close the door".
The word order is Dutch can be puzzling for beginners in the language. I would formulate the sentence: "Vergeet het niet de deur dicht te doen". I would even consider the sentence on the door grammatically wrong. But after so many years and exposition to the language I then accept the crazy Dutch logic (clogic). Forget the door not close to do. Forget the door not close to do. Oh, forget it !!


On the second and third pictures of this post you see a fridge. It is called in Dutch a "cool box/cabinet" (koel-kast). "Koe" means also "cow". Because this fridge is at school and the main purpose is the storage of milk for the children, somebody has made a joke about it: a cowcabinet.

At the moment I am following an intensive Dutch for foreigners course at the UvA. It is for students from the UvA who need tho follow a course at the university and therefore be proficient in the language. I think it is the best course for foreigners in the NL. I will get my NT2 - II right after the course, so that I can place it in my curriculum vitae. We have more than 20h of homework per week, must write lots of written compositions and I must watch more to the news on TV. I can read anything I want it Dutch - because reading is a passive skill. But will I be able to write anything perfectly according to the crazy Dutch order (the logic of the cloggies) ?

Well, this post is just to inform the readers that I will be blogging up to February to a minimum. Maybe a pair of photos from Sinter Klaas and then Christimas. I am also making a lot of research about the job market and applying for jobs. And the day only has 24 for everyone. No exceptions.

Wish me luck !