Random Zondag

Yet again, another random blog entry! I have a full schedule and little time to blog, so I will share here today two relevant & random topics.

First, I am out of canned pumpkin puree. So. . . I found online how to make pumpkin pie from real pumpkins. In the spirit of Canadian Thanksgiving and the upcoming American holidays, I think it's nice to share with fellow expats how we can make pumpkin pie from the real deal. To do so, it's easy. This website [click here] has a great step-by-step with pictures, and they also share how to make pumpkin pie crust. To find a good pumpkin, outside of what little is offered in the Netherlands at the supermarket, groenteboer [English: a produce market, specializing in only sales of produce] or the markt, search for the nearest pompoenkwekerij [English: a nursery specialized in growing pumpkins] near you via a search engine like Google or ilocal. Many cultures eat pumpkin, and one of these especially is the Surinamese.

If pumpkin pie is not your favorite, there are many other options for cooking pumpkin. My husband doesn't like pumpkin pie because of the texture, but he loves pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread. He tried pumpkin cheesecake and didn't know until afterwards it was in fact pumpkin cheesecake. Also, he loves roasted pumpkin seeds. This website [click here] shares pumpkin recipes and also other great autumn [Dutch: herfst] themed recipes.

Next: TV. . . And why some assume everyone here can speak English. Just last week I answered our home phone. It was a friend of my husband's calling. My husband wasn't home, so I took a message. There was a misunderstanding because of his strong dialect, so I needed for him to repeat himself a few times. Finally, I asked him, "Kun je in Engels spreken? Want dat is toch makkelijker voor mij om je te begrijpen." [English: "Can you speak English? Because that is easier for me to understand."] He laughed. "Nee," he said. "Ik kan alleen een beetje Engels hoor." [English: "No, I can only speak a little bit of English."] I was surprised because of his career and because he is the same age as I am, but I've never met him and don't know him well. He later explained to my husband on the phone why the English he learned in school was no longer a strong point for him: He never uses English.

So goes the assumption. In the Netherlands, and also a few other European nations, TV program language soundtracks are not dubbed over. Instead, they add Dutch subtitles and leave the original language soundtrack. Children's programming is typically only in Dutch, and most movies and programming aimed at children about age 12 is shown in English [or the original language soundtrack] with Dutch subtitles. Some European countries do not add subtitles. Instead, they dub over with their own language. So if you are watching a movie in Germany on television, it is very possible you will hear only German. 99% of the programming on German televsion is in German, and this is the same for some other European countries. Even Grey's Anatomy, for example, will be in German. Occasionally on German TV, they have an option for you to listen to the original language soundtrack of a movie. But this happens less frequently than usual.

Here is an example of an American movie [a promo commercial] on Dutch television. Hint: If you are at work, children or near someone who is offended by PG-13 language, please turn the speakers down for this first video. The language is not 100% clean according to most people:



And here is a Dutch program. In Dutch! But of course! Dutch is, after all, the native language in the Netherlands:



[This video is Jan Smit meeting Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima. . .]

And one last thing: Zondag, in the title of this blog entry, means Sunday.

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