Last week, the Crossing Border festival took place in The Hague. This is by far the one of the coolest festivals in the Netherlands, so we wanted to give you a run down of what went on- so you’re ready and waiting for next year’s, just like we are. Without further ado, these were our four favourite events at Crossing Border Festival 2019.

Hilary Mantel

If you read our piece about Crossing Border in October, you’ll know we were extremely excited about this event. Hilary Mantel is my favourite author of all time, but I don’t think I’d ever really seen her in conversation. She talked about the process of writing her first book, A Place of Greater Safety- and about how long she had to wait to see it hit the shelves. As an aspiring writer myself, that was really inspiring to hear about.

László Krasznahorkai

Another author we loved hearing talk was László Krasznahorkai: a Hungarian author whose work has become available to us English-speakers only within the last couple of years. He talked about the newest of his books to appear in translation: Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming. It’s coming out this fall, by the way. I was not personally familiar with Krasznahorkai’s work before, so it was really cool to listen to him talk and be pretty sure I had found my next favourite author.

Ongehoord

Now, Crossing Border festival is a combination of literature and music, as you know. So, one of the music events I was most excited about at this year’s festival was Ongehoord, a curated collection of musicians who performed varying pieces throughout at evening at Theater aan het Spui. We got everything from saxophones to flutes, and again, I found some really cool new musicians whose work I was excited to hear more of.

Son Mieux

In an awesome surprise performance, Camiel Meiresonne of Son Mieux played some of his best-know songs, including “Nothing”, “Feels” and “Easy” at Theater aan het Spui as well on the last evening of Crossing Border. Already established as one of my favourite Dutch musicians, getting to see a solo performance by Meiresonne was super cool.

So, get those tickets ready for 2020! We’re so excited for next year’s Crossing Border festival already. How about you? What did you see there? Let us know in the comments below. 

Feature image: Wouter Vellekoop/Crossing Border Festival 2019.

Are you ready to properly send away the summer with the Embassy Festival in The Hague? During this amazing two-day festival you can enjoy the countries across the world, without leaving the Netherlands!

This international festival on the 6th and 7th of September offers you a cultural, culinary and musical voyage of discovery and shows us that culture connects people and that togetherness and amazement go hand in hand. (yes, it’s just like DutchReview, but with fewer gifs and actual drinks and people)

Here is everything you need to know about these two days of cultural awesomeness. Oh, and even better? It’s all free!

What is the Embassy Festival in The Hague?

So, what’s it all about? The Embassy Festival celebrates the cultural diversity of The Hague. Considering 1/3 of the people living in the Hague have foreign roots, it’s the perfect place to host a festival which will celebrate people from all over the world. There’s no better way to celebrate our differences and bring us together than through an international festival, right? Last year around 60,000 people agreed!

Each embassy (for participating countries see the end of the article) will showcase their cultural richness by putting on activities and performances in relation to that country, with a lot of the program involving global music. This jam-packed event will, therefore, help to bring us all together – and we will learn something about other countries on the way too.

This year nearly 70 countries (or embassies if you will) will be participating in this exciting event, making the Embassy Festival of 2019 bigger than ever. So if you already live in The Hague – get out of the house! And if you don’t live there – jump on a train and go, go, go! Because there is nothing better than ending the summer at a colourful cultural festival in The Hague.

So what’s on the itinerary? Check out some highlights below!

Embassy Festival in The Hague – September 6th, Friday

Time: 5 pm – 11 pm

Place: Lange Voorhout

Program: International music performances on Opening Night Stage and Container Stage

Opening night at the Embassy Festival starts at 5 pm at the Lange Voorhout. This year marks the 7th edition of this festival, so it’s set to be a diverse and colourful program. On the Container Stage the Reog Ponorogo Street Parade from Indonesia will give a preview of their Saturday performance, with incredible costumes and “a lot of noise.” What a way to kick off!

Later in the evening, you can get a taste of Down Under, when True Vibenation hit the Opening Night Stage will a huge variety of instruments with big bass, beats, horns, and the sounds of ‘Afro Bounce’ – we don’t know what that is, but it sounds awesome!

If you’re getting a growl in the belly in the meantime, there will be stacks of delicious food and drinks to take your tastebuds on a trip around the world!

Embassy Festival in The Hague – September 7th,

Saturday

Time: 12 pm – 8 pm

Place: Lange Voorhout

Program: International Market, Classical Stage, Contemporary Stage, Container Stage, Creative Arena, Kids Compound

On Saturday, the festival will start off much earlier at 12 pm  to max out the time to enjoy the many activities throughout the day. You can enjoy various stages, such as the Classical stage, Contemporary stage, Creative Arena (world-mix of dance, music and theatre), a Container Stage (program includes acts from the cultural institutions) and a Kids Compound.

On the contemporary stage, there will be a wide variety of international artists, including hip-hop, soul, funk, urban extraordinaire A Mili, the tantalising movement of traditional Armenian folk singers and dancers Abovian Youth Ensemble, and some beautiful ferocity from Chinese KungFu and Classical Music. Don’t forget to delve into the Irish spirit of the folkband Harmony Glen and feel your feet involuntarily tap-tap-tap along!

Embassy Festival in The Hague – International Market

Also on the Saturday and connecting the paths to the different stages, there will be an International Market. Visitors will be able to try foods and drinks from all the corners of the world. Keen to eat some Maple Bacon cupcakes or authentic Maple Syrup from Canada? How about a Bosnian and Herzegovinian cheese pie, “Sirnica”, or the delicious “Ćevapi”? Maybe indulging in some exotic tropical fruit from Malaysia, or stuffing yourself with some street food is more your style. And that’s just a short taste test of just some of the 44 countries participating in the International Market.

Which Countries Will be Represented at the Embassy Festival in The Hague?

(because let’s face it, you want to check if your country is represented)

*takes a deep breath*…

For more information about the presence of these countries at the Embassy Festival, their website has a really good and informative page about the countries.

What do people think about The Embassy Festival in the Hague?

It’s an undoubtedly popular event – because who doesn’t love a cultural explosion and harmony of the people? Rawan Sulaiman, Head of Mission State of Palestine loves sharing a taste of Palestine with people all over the world.

“It is heart-warming to see people learning about and experiencing other cultures by exploring the lovely colours, rich flavours and traditional customs of different countries,” he said. “The Embassy Festival is a brilliant means to celebrate diversity, difference and tolerance in The Hague, the city of justice and peace.”

Philip from El Salvador agrees after coming every year to meet other friends from his home country. “We live all over the Netherlands, so it’s a great day to get together and enjoy our culture, the food and the music,” he said, adding that he knows of other groups that do the same.

Do you know your way around video-making and wanna do an internship? Perfect! Because we are looking for a Video Creator intern!

Let’s get to the important things first!

When?

Straight away! Or at the start of a semester. We’re looking for someone for 3 or 4 days per week, of which 2 or 3 days will be at our DutchReview office. For a minimum of at least 12 weeks, but longer would be better!

(Got a different time-schedule in your head? Contact us and we’ll see if we can work it out!)

Where?

Throughout the whole country of course, we’re reviewing the Dutch! However, our physical office is in Leiden at this awesome innovative spot called PLNT.

What will I be doing?

As our Video Creator intern, you will work together with the team for ideas for our Youtube channel and how to support our articles with awesome videos. After a short while you will be in command of our Youtube channel and will be entrusted to make it epic!

You’ll also be working with the team on anything from shooting new videos to editing weekly vlogs and will be in charge of production, shooting and editing. You must want to experience that international start-up experience with DutchReview and put your video-knowledge and skills into practice (and pure cinematized awesomeness!)

What will you be doing for me, DutchReview?

We’ll be helping you in the process to become a true bi-lingual content creator hero! We’ll take you along on the awesome journey of coming up with a weird idea to making a successful video. Your videos will be shown to our huge audience, with several of them getting more than 100K views the first time around. We’ll also teach you all you need to know about online publishing, SEO and pulling off actually funny Dutch-English jokes.  (Oh and the best bit? We’re also paying you for all of it!)

Do you have the following qualifications?

• You’re absolutely, positively great and have a excellent command of English
• You can film with different types of cameras and preferably have your own camera to film with as well
• You follow a relevant HBO or WO study (for example in the field of communication, media or journalism)
• You are skilled at Adobe Premiere Pro and/or Final Cut Pro. Preferably, you also possess Indesign, Photoshop and After Effects knowledge
• You are creative and full of ideas – we mean it when we say we really like independent thinkers!
• You can work independently and deal with deadlines
• You are a social media addict and are interested in Youtube and everything that comes with it. But also familiar with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• You have your own laptop to work on

Do I get paid?

It is a paid employment internship. The remuneration is €300/month for four days work a week and travel costs to and from the office. There are also free events, hotspots and free cheese to review every now and then!

You got me, how do I apply?

Before you apply, please send a quick email to abuzer[at]dutchreview.com asking if the position is still open. We get a lot of requests and although we love hearing from you, the positions are often filled quickly. Nonetheless, we are often looking for new talent so please inquire if you are interested!

Send your resumé and a short motivation letter (you can choose between English or Dutch) and possible links to your portfolio to abuzer[at]dutchreview.com.

The Dutch Design Week is that time every year all people that have any interest in design, art and pretty things descend upon the fifth city of the Netherlands; the smart and edgy Eindhoven. For more than a week the city is booming with countless exhibitions filled with beautiful, and sometimes thought-provoking, displays and set-up with the latest the world and the Netherlands have to offer when it comes to design and art.

So what to see during the Dutch Design week in Eindhoven?

The week has just started, I toured the town on Sunday and Monday and by no means is this a complete guide to the DDW in Eindhoven – because boy oh boy there’s just too much to see.

#1 Robot Love in the ‘Campina Melk Fabriek’

One of the cool things of the Dutch Design Week is that there are tons of different locations with stuff to see, most of these are old industrial spots which often only adds to the atmosphere. The Campina Melk Fabriek is just a few minutes away from the city center, so hop on a bike (pro-tip, bring or rent a bicycle) and go to Robot Love.

Robot Love is an ‘expo experience’ and presents a large-scale exhibition of contemporary art, various events, a fascinating educational program and the ROBOT LOVE Academy and Café. Basically everything is robot.

It evolves around the robot-related questions of life. How can we accept robots and learn to love em? Robot love is looking for the bond between humans and robots and signals that Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) must learn and be educated as newcomers. That requires love as well.

#2 Dutch Design Academy: Graduation Show 2018

Conveniently located right next to Robot Love is the spot where the graduates of the Dutch Design academy show their work. Instead of a boring thesis like I wrote, they present some of the best stuff I saw at the DDW. There’s a fuckton of it, almost all kicking ass, so let’s show you some marvelous stuff.

A. This purple ever-changing solar eclipse by Arjan Matteo Das that I definitely want in my home.

B. This breathing carpet, you blow – it lives up – itsa trip by Vivien Vuong. Totally tripping and want it in my home.

C. Golden Age Urban clothing line. It’s called TEAMS UP and this man takes art from the Golden Age, puts some dope-ass urban imagery in it and smacks it on sweaters, shirts and hoodies. I want it on my body.

#3 New News Room

Time to venture to Strijp-S, that industrial hubspot gem of Eindhoven. Time to venture into the future of the News Room as well at “MU’ next to the Ketelhuisplein. Exploring all the possibilities for news – reporting and consuming- that the latest technologies bring such as VR, algorithms and social media.

Some of it is a vision of what is sure to come to our media world, other stuff is pure post-modernistic or outright thought-provoking.

#4 The train of tomorrow (yes, by the NS!)

Taking up a prominent part of the Ketelhuisplein is that blue and yellow organization we all have to deal with once in our lives, the NS! Showing us a glimpse into the future of train travel.

Cynically it also involved standing in line and waiting for a VR experience. Ah never change NS

All jokes aside, there were some interesting takes there on what the train of the future could look like and what their motives are when designing it. You can experience the train of tomorrow by scale-model, VR or some possible set-ups.

There was also deconstructed OV-bikes and some possible hyperloop stations designs. All nicely dressed in a sauce of NS memorabilia with NS-conductors and railroad tracks.

#5 ‘Thank you for the Sun’

There’s so much to see at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven that I’m not joking when I’m saying that this article could have been called ‘718 things to see at DDW18’. For god’s sake, I haven’t even talked about the scale model and info about the 3D printed houses coming to Eindhoven.

But you have to end somewhere, and this last item bring you close to beer and bitterballen in the center of Eindhoven which is always a nice one to end a day with. Go to the ‘Markt’ square, they’ve put a redesigned petrol station (something which soon might be obsolete) and fitted it with warm lights and sand. Here’s a timelapse of it:

So that’s it, the Dutch Design Week runs until the 28th of October – but as you can see one might need more than one day to get a good impression of all that design candy.

Veel plezier!

The funniest comic in the Netherlands?

The closest Dirkjan ever got to having sex was when he was abducted by space amazones. But unfortunately for him, his stupid assistant, unaware of events, who mistakenly thought that Dirkjan was in danger, beamed him back to their space ship saying: “that was just in the nick of time, captain.”

This is typical of what the character Dirkjan entails. He is a dorky, somewhat stupid man, an eternal student type, but a very likeable comic character created by Dutch cartoonist Mark Retera. And is renowned for not having sex although he frequently encounters beautiful girls. Retera was famously interviewed by Dirkjan in an article for De Nijmeegse Stadskrant where Dirkjan complained that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. To which Retera replied to Dirkjan: “Sex and Dirkjan just don’t match, moreover you don’t have time for one, because you have to study. Oh but you’re not a student any more…”

Cognition scientist

Mark Retera (Eindhoven, 1964), who lives and works in Nijmegen, started drawing cartoons during his time studying cognition science at Nijmegen’s Radboud University. At the same time he provided his first cartoons of Dirkjan to student magazines ANS, het Algemeen Nijmeegse Studentenblad and Iris. Eventually the comic became so successful that Retera started to work full time on Dirkjan instead of actually doing something useful with his education as a cognition scientist. Although the psychology part of it could, if you think of it, be probably of some use to him trying to explain Dirkjan’s weird take on the world.

Gnomes and women

Dirkjan is faced with everyday problems. He encounters women, pizza deliverers and gnomes on a regular basis. But most of all he tries to deal with himself and his awkwardness in every possible situation. Always the eternal optimist, he tries to engage with women, but is always turned down by them. Even the simplest of jobs prove to be a giant hurdle for Dirkjan. Life for him is just an endless litany of trying hard, but not achieving anything. Pretty shitty for him, but golden material if you are a cartoonist. You feel like if Dirkjan were to succeed in anything, it would probably be the end of him as a cartoon character. As Retera fully admits: “Dirkjan has to fail, it is how I have drawn him all this time. Success for him would mean the end of success for me!”

And successful the comic has been. Published in all the major Dutch newspapers, Dirkjan has become a bit of a Dutch icon. Dirkjan T-shirts, Dirkjan calender’s, Dirkjan mugs, Dirkjan underwear and of course all the comic books, the Dirkjan shop is expanding all the time. Since 1996 Retera has released 23 Dirkjan comic books selling in total close to one million copies.

Pythonesque

Retera will be the first to admit that he was inspired by comedy from the United Kingdom and the United States. The likes of Monty Python and American Gary Larsons (The Far Side) are amongst his favourite comedians. When you see Dirkjan as a waiter reply to a customer who, whilst looking at his starter dish, says: “I did not order mushrooms” with “that is a basket with pieces of baguette” you know that could have been a Monty Python sketch. As could have been the cartoon in which ice cream seller Dirkjan offers a variety of ice cream to Superman who throws up right after his first lick and it turns out that Dirkjan sells vanilla, strawberry and (Superman’s only weak spot) cryptonite mocha. You kinda think, that can only happen in the absurd world in which Dirkjan seems to live.

As Monty Python and Pythonesque have become iconic words in British comedy representing what absurd and alternative comedy entails, Dirkjanniaans has all the makings of becoming the Dutch equivalent. There is no two ways around it: Dirkjan rules! This is why it’s definitely the funniest comic in the Netherlands.

The funniest comic in the Netherlands also has a video too.

Illustrations and video: COPYRIGHT Mark Retera 

Are you a fan of Dirkjan? Do you agree that’s it’s the funniest comic in the Netherlands? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to join our Facebook group for more Dutch stuff!

August is here and if you don’t have enough experience with the Dutch weather yet, it might be slightly challenging to get into that tropical summer feeling with all the rain and the grey clouds. Maybe you have already been to your Southern getaway and busy contemplating on how to pass the time now that you’re back to your routine. Maybe, you are still counting the days till you’ll wake up to a sunny day everyday with the view of the beach and a slight hangover from the night before. Either way; if you happen to be in the Netherlands to enjoy the rest of the summer, let us give you a helping hand with some of the concerts that we’ve picked!

Here are 8 of them to go to while you can still enjoy being outdoors whilst chugging a cold beer without wearing five layers of clothing:

1.Marilyn Manson 

American singer and songwriter known for his controversial stage image and some kick-ass tunes is coming to the Netherlands as a part of his ”Heaven Upside Down” tour in support of their tenth studio album carrying the same name. Don’t miss the show!

Date: 5 August 2017

Venue: TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht

Tickets: Currently sold out on ticketmaster.nl

2.Bryan Adams & Special Guests

Canadian legend Bryan Adams who is known for some of the classic hits including ”Summer of ’69” and ”(Everything I Do) I Do it For You” will be performing in Eindhoven as the Netherlands stop of his Europe ”Get Up” tour. Even if you don’t dig his tunes, this would be a perfect gift to give to your mama and tante for their girls night out! Let the ladies swoon once more!

Date: 12 August 2017

Venue: Strijp-S, Eindhoven

Tickets: From 53.90 EUR

3.Megadeth

If you are more into the metal scene, we have some good news for you! American metal band Megadeth is coming to the Netherlands with their ”Killing Road” tour this summer to get you head banging to their tunes. So get ready to rock out and rock on!

Date: 15 August 2017

Venue: 013, Tilburg

Tickets: From 42.85 EUR

4.Franz Ferdinand

Scottish band best known for their song ”Take Me Out” has been shaking the alternative rock scene for quite some time and this is your chance to hear them perform live in Amsterdam this August. They will be performing hits from their new album ”Demogogue” as well as much loved killer tunes.

Date: 29 August 2017

Venue: Paradiso

Tickets: Currently sold out on ticketmaster.nl

5.Metallica

Just because September is here, it doesn’t mean it has to suck! Heavy metal legend Metallica who is praised by Rolling Stone Magazine which ranked them 61st on their ”List of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time”, will be performing in Amsterdam. The iconic band is known for their long list of hits like ”Master of Puppets”, ”The Unforgiven I-II”, ”For Whom the Bell Tolls”, ”One” and ”Fade to Black” (I can go on and on about this).   So just grab your band t-shirt and get ready to smash it!

Date: 4 September 2017

Venue: Amsterdam Dome

Tickets: From 55.00 EUR

6.Tori Amos

If you were around in the 90’s then you’ve definitely heard of Tori Amos and her tunes. Classically trained pianist with her moving voice will be in Amsterdam and Utrecht for her ”Native Invader” tour. This is your chance to hear ”Cornflake Girl” live and make your 90’s self proud!

Date: 13-14 September 2017

Venues: Koninklijk Theater Carrre,Amsterdam and TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht

Tickets: From 62.50 EUR

7.John Legend

Prefer R&B and soul over the rest? Then this should make your day because American singer and song writer will be in Amsterdam in September. Perfect for enjoying with your girlfriends and enjoy his smooth tunes. Who knows, maybe his wife Chrissy Tiegen would be there too!

Date: 22 September 2017

Venue: Ziggo Dome

Tickets: From 53.90 EUR

8.The Rolling Stones

Talk about welcoming the chilly Fall with a bang! If you like rock music, then you must love the Rolling Stones. The British rock veterans are hitting the road once again for their ”No Filter Tour” and stumbling upon both Amsterdam and Arnhem for two concerts. If you want to hear some of their finest tunes like ”Paint it Black”, ”(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, ”You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, ”Sympathy for the Devil”, ”Brown Sugar”, ”Gimme Shelter” and many more, better hurry because the tickets are selling out fast. If you happen to see them perform in Amsterdam, come and find me in the crowd!

Date: 30 September – 15 October 2017

Venue: Amsterdam Arena and Gelredome, Utrecht

Tickets: From 82,50 EUR

Conclusion

Concerts are not quite your cup of tea? Fear not! If you prefer festivals over concerts, you can take your pick from Huntenpop (10-11-12 August), Lowlands (18-19-20 August) or Encore (19 August).

Liked more than a few of our concert picks? Get started on saving money or better yet, just win the lottery!

Name: Bobby Salomons

This guy:

Where are you from?

The infamous crazy North of Amsterdam.

Which city are you currently residing in?

Still the 020. Potentially against my will. If you are the police, call me. 

What do you do outside of being a writer for DR?

I’m also a published writer outside of DutchReview, working on my own cult movie blog – Cult Pro Review, I also drink slightly too much and eat other people’s food (Hi, mom!) 

What’s your favourite food?

Sushi, it’s like building your own aquarium on the inside where you feed the fish rice and warm sake.  

What’s your favorite thing about the Dutch?

Our straightforward openness and honesty. Though some may find it rude, I’m happy to share and receive things the way they are. It makes life just a little less complex and you know what people are worth. 

What’s your favourite song? 

The Allman Bros. – Midnight Rider. That way when I tell people my favorite song, I’ve already admitted and warned them I’ll be running off with all their gold one day. In all honesty, it got me through a dark period, it made me feel like I could just split if I had to. I didn’t though, but the option was there. Nice tune too. 

What’s the weirdest encounter you’ve had with Dutchness?

Dutch birthdays. My dad was an Indo (mixed-race Dutch-Indonesians) and I was used to lots of food, lots of talking and what not when visiting on birthdays – actual Dutch birthdays are lawn chairs, indoors in a circle, you have to meet everyone’s uncle/aunts (who aren’t actual family), you get one slice of cake and everyone sticks to their own group. I’m still not feeling it. 

Still reading? Want more? Read more of Bobby’s stuff right here

Name: Abuzer van Leeuwen

Where are you from?

Rotterdam! (Or the Netherlands, damn these questions are already vague)

Which city are you currently residing in?

Leiden

What do you do outside of being a writer for DR?

Doing even more DutchReview stuff! You think this website runs itself? That and playing with my kitty – eating – faking being sportive and laying on the couch while telling myself to improve life.

Why did you start writing for DutchReview?

The Netherlands is such a peculiar country and gets a lot of attention despite the puny size of this little nation. And then there’s also the image of being this open and tolerant country while at the same time Dutchies are about ready to go to war to decide on the right shade of black for ‘Zwarte Piet’ – so this interesting divide got me writing. I also felt, together with Frank Kool, that the Netherlands could use an English language news outlet that also did opinionated takes on current events – and then DutchReview also allows for you to shamelessly insert lame jokes.

What did you want to be when you were little?

An Astronaut, turns out that your parents are flat out lying when they say ‘you can be everything you wanted’. To kids reading this now, YOU CAN’T BE AN ASTRONAUT. Second to Astronaut was professional football player, that career also didn’t work out – luckily, in this case, my parents made it abundantly clear that I never had the makings of a varsity athlete. Third option? Running some English language website on the Netherlands, my parents also told me that was just a stupid dream, but in all fairness, this was back in the nineties and internet didn’t exist really.

What’s your favorite thing about the Dutch?

The cycling, sounds cliché but it is so easy and chill. Not to mention cheap and fat burning. Also a nice and often overlooked thing is that the Netherlands is filthy stinking rich, being born here helps. The Dutch directness also makes things easier sometimes, although admittedly blunter as well.

What’s the weirdest encounter you’ve had with Dutchness?

Probably when living abroad and meeting other Dutchies. After spouting out some Dutch phrases that must sound horrible to other people, the question immediately turns to where you can drink proper cheap beers and where to haggle a good cheap bicycle – perhaps accompanied by something about ‘how lazy and inefficient’ the local bureaucracy is doing things (but I lived in Italy, so that might be it). But being largely/halfly Dutch I might just miss all kinds of great encounters with Dutchness.

Read more of Abuzer’s stuff right here

Name: Noah BloemWhere are you from?

I’m Dutch, but I grew up in Dhaka, Jakarta, and New York City, so I’ve moved around quite a bit.

Which city are you currently residing in?

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

What do you do outside of being a writer for DR?

I’ve just completed my bachelor’s degree at Erasmus University College and am hoping to become a writer (of some sort).

What’s the weirdest encounter you’ve had with Dutchness?

I think my whole life has been a strange encounter with Dutchness. Being raised Dutch but always attending international schools essentially means you come to understand precisely why the Dutch are weird even as you’re learning to be Dutch. I mean, just imagine being a 6-year old at school and telling your friends that Santa Claus couldn’t possibly be real because he’s actually based on the actually-totally-real Sinterklaas. I can’t say I personally had this issue, though. I found out Sinterklaas wasn’t real at age 5 because my parents were terrible at hiding presents and decided it was perfectly fine to let their children play hide-and-seek unsupervised on the evening of Sinterklaas. Thanks, mom and dad.

What’s your favorite thing about the Dutch?

It may sound strange, but my favourite thing about the Dutch is their knowledge on water management. Seriously. You see, when normal people want to build a building in a certain place, but there happens to be an sea in the way, they say, “You know what, I think I’ll build this building on land instead.” When the Dutch want to build a building in a place that’s several meters under the sea, they say, “Fuck it, let’s move the entire sea out of the way.” It’s ridiculous, but it’s awesome.

What did you want to be when you were little?

I actually wanted to be a football player when I was little. I know, very original. And for those of you living in the US, I’m talking about soccer. My backup job was actually becoming a wizard. Not the Harry Potter kind, but more like the Merlin kind. That way I didn’t have to give up hope after I turned 11. So here I am, still hoping…

What’s your favourite food? Why?

I can’t in good conscience choose just one favourite food. There’s so many delicious dishes out there and my favourite usually just depends on what I feel like having. I have to say that I have quite a soft spot for Indonesian food though and I’m currently craving some soto ayam, so maybe that. Or maybe some rendang…or nasi goreng….and now I’m just hungry.