Archive for the 'Written in English' Category

Hygienic or not?

Published
by
ploenk
on February 4, 2010
in My Thoughts and Written in English
. 5 Comments

After a discussion about hygienic judgments in different cultures,
I can’t help but putting some of them online.

Please copy this list in a comment and add your opinion. Is it hygienic, not hygienic, or something else?

• Not washing mushrooms that come out of a plastic supermarket box
• Not washing rice that comes out of a supermarket box
• Using one knife to put spreads from different jars on your sandwich
• Using one spoon to eat out of different jars
• Leaving food on the table in a pan without a cover, so you can eat them the next day
• Leaving figs, nuts and chocolates on the table in a bowl so you can eat them next week

With a special question for those people who ever visited India:
• What’s more hygienic: Cleaning your ass with toilet paper, or with a bowl of water?

Bon appetit!

A must-see

Published
by
ploenk
on January 31, 2010
in Happy With..., My Thoughts and Written in English
. 1 Comment

It’s a very inspiring movie, Julie & Julia.

The stories of the women, the cooking, the writing, the setbacks, the positivity and the victories. It made me smile, it made me think, it made me want to achieve something alike.

Too bad my name isn’t Juliet or something..

Go and see the movie!!

Waar is je Engels gebleven?

Published
by
ploenk
on January 21, 2010
in My Discoveries, My Thoughts and Written in English
. 2 Comments

I can still remember all the complaints from my mom, my aunt and some friends: “Why do you write in English sometimes, it’s too hard!”
I told them: “I write in English so my friends from all over the world can read my posts”. I also told them they should learn to read and speak English, because it’s a handy skill.

Some time passed, and I continued writing posts in both Dutch and English. When I had an important message, I would use the international English. When I was in a hurry or just wanted to share a life action event, I would use my native and thus easy Dutch.

It all went well, until I discovered last week that I didn’t write a lot at all anymore, ánd if I wrote something, it was in Dutch. What changed my international minded mind? I still have a lot of international friends, I still think in English most of the time, and all the series and movies I watch lately, are in English without subtitles.

Maybe it’s because Boyfriend started to speak Dutch. He began attending Dutch classes and our conversations shifted from 95% English / 5% Dutch to 65% English / 35% Dutch. In a few weeks, he will be able to explain me all the Dutch grammar rules better than my mom, aunt and complaining friends together.

Speaking and writing Dutch became fun again. It’s like I discovered my own language again. I learned that I like to have simple Dutch conversations with people from abroad who are really interested and excited to learn Dutch. It just adds an extra dimension to my language and my life.

So, this doesn’t mean I will stop writing in English. Just like my decreased blogging doesn’t mean I will stop writing at all. It just means that I had a little break. Don’t worry, my English isn’t gone!

The Netherlands Covered in Snow

Published
by
ploenk
on December 22, 2009
in My Thoughts and Written in English
. 0 Comments

It’s white, fluffly and the streets of this country are covered in it.
Ra-ra, what is it?

Yes people, it’s called snow. The street of this country are covered in snow and people are euphoric.

This country is known for its rain ánd for its cold weather. One and one is two and two and one is three, right? If it’s freezing up in the air, around freezing point close to the ground and the clouds are empyting itself, you get snow. It’s easy as that.

You would think. But no. We haven’t had real snow in years and we were secretly missing it. We haven’t had real snow in years and we were not prepared for it. Highways are clogging up, railway tracks are breaking down and bicycles, oh my god, even bicycles are not working as well as they used to anymore.

All of a sudden, it takes forever to get somewhere. You need to find suitable boots, you need to walk, you use muscles you didn’t even know you had. It’s quite fun, I would say. Just a pity that the work must go on.

Snow… the perfect example of a love-hate relationship…

Week 51 in food

Published
by
ploenk
on December 21, 2009
in Food, My Life and Written in English
. 0 Comments

Monday: Home made Pumpkin Soup with Garlic Bread at Mom’s place before going to Brother1 for a Quilt Meeting.

Tuesday: Hollandse Stamppot made by Sista, followed by some serious Crafting and Tea.

Wednesday: Curry with two colleagues in a student house in Amsterdam, accompanied by some Gossip and wine.

Thursday: Beef Chimichurri with Long-Lost-But-Finally-Back-in-NL friend A., followed by a Yummie Chocolate Dessert on the couch.

Friday: Sushi @ Kyushu in Utrecht, YUM, with our new ‘We were on TV in a show called ‘All You Need is Love’, do you know it?’ friends.

Saturday: Super Chique Cheese Fondue after a sporty day freeze-biking and ice-skating in and through Amsterdam.

Sunday: Veggie Bring Your Own Dish Pre-Christmas Dinner in Utrecht, with about Thirty Couchsurfers.

Another weekend, another activity

Published
by
ploenk
on November 29, 2009
in My Life and Written in English
. 2 Comments

Indoor wall-climbing. It’s a good addition to our list of mountainbiking, hiking and skiing.

We are lucky to arrive early, with only one group of kids and a climbing couple to share the walls with. Our running shoes are not the best equipment to get up really fast, but we manage. We follow the coloured routes up to the top, and fly down again. It’s cool. Tiring on the muscles, but cool. When we leave the enter 1,5 hour later, the place is swamped by kids and another group of students comes walking in. We leave with happy hearts.

What will be the next adventure? Tips are welcome!