Owner: Random Walks in the Low Countries URL:http://randomwalksinlowcountries.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:16:28 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Occasional thoughts and observations on the expatriate experience from an American scientist living and working in the Netherlands. Site statistics:Click here
Where to find vast, echoing silences 2008-07-23 10:01:00 A beach at sunrise Mountains after a storm Sailing out of season A rural snowfall Within prairie grass Hallways after the Social Plan and, in summertime on blogs authored by the Dutch...'hope everyone is having fun vacations!
Virtues in open debate 2008-07-20 04:23:00 Former US Senator Jesse Helms died this month. He was an arch-conservative senator representing North Carolina, and was the most vocal critic of progressive social causes in the Senate. His opinions were often bigoted, his inflexibility was infuriating, his campaigns were a model for everything that is wrong with American politics. I can't imagine anyone who embodied the pole of
Being right for the wrong reasons 2008-07-18 11:15:00 I've grown used to living with long-distance social interactions as an expatriate, with co-workers and extended family living thousands of miles away and many hours delayed. While this separation sometimes makes it difficult to understand events, I still feel like I usually know what's happening since I can infer the likely causes.So, for example, I've talked with colleagues about what positions m
Two sides of identity 2008-07-17 05:06:00 Job hunting is a sure route to self-discovery. I've been updating my resume and preparing for interviews, sending inquiries and following up on referrals. At each step, I have to think about fundamental questions of who I am, what my experience means, and what I want. The answers have to be written down in very clear and succinct prose, maybe two paragraphs that a busy person will take time to Read more:identity
Bits and bobs for 'Hump Day' 2008-07-16 02:59:00 Reason for hope: The Economist reports another reason to savor wine and dessert after a good meal. When high-fat foods, especially red meats, are digested, they release various oxidizing toxins, implicated in cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. Red wine and fruits contain substances that react in the stomach to neutralize these toxins before they are absorbed. It doesn't mean that I can Read more:Hump Day
Engaging with the future 2008-07-10 11:56:00 The swirls from life's counter-phase flows are everywhere now. A wave of folks has washed in from the US to learn what was done here and to take what they need to continue the product. They are meeting a outward current of Dutch headed out to new assignments, garden leave, or vacations. Inevitable eddies form, trapping issues large and small in swirls of accountability. I've kicked job-hunting Read more:Engaging
The Dutch Social Plan process 2008-07-08 14:38:00 Our Dutch
workforce voted in favor of the Social
Plan proposal at our company last week, officially kicking off the transfer of the business back to our headquarters in the US. Events will move quickly now, and the entire process should be complete within a few months.For me, it has been an education. I don't think that our US folks really understood the process when we began, highlighting the im
The family road trip 2008-07-06 05:00:00 It's been fun driving a big triangle of seven-hour trips across Germany this week, first from Arnhem to Berlin for a conference, then Berlin to Zurich to spend a day with my brother and his family, and finally Zurich back to Arnhem for work Monday morning. The Dutch only drive long distances when there are three week's vacation waiting at the far end of the road: then they will drive 30 hours
Happy 4th of July 2008-07-04 14:14:00 I'm in Berlin this 4th, attending a cardiology conference. I was surprised to find that they were celebrating the 'American' 4th with gusto here: there were paired German and US flags fluttering everywhere and a soundstage near the Brandenburg Gate that wouldn't be out of place in Milwaukee. It turns out that a new American embassy is opening here today, and the city is celebrating. Read more:Happy
Keeping it in; letting it out 2008-07-02 11:33:00 Sometimes, blog writing is a struggle with my own inner demons. There are days when things go badly, and I come home frustrated and disappointed. Then I set down to write. Usually I use the opportunity to try to find some happy things in my world to talk about. And other times, well, I don't ('sorry, readers: sometimes it can't be helped...). The 60-Second Science podcast alert
Dutch humor 2008-06-30 14:19:00 One of the things I've come to appreciate about the Dutch
is a sly, frontal humor that is obvious once you see it, but easy to overlook. Herewith, a few examples, popping up around the plant in the waning days of the company: By explanation (Top left to lower right, as if reading): The company motto, originally with a timeline cut in half, now extended by ten (wit
Cross-border banking, taxes, investments (and learning to read) 2008-06-29 14:22:00 'Clearing out a few notes of advice before the start of the new week...Disclaimer: This essay describes my personal knowledge and experiences with cross-border finances. It is not intended to substitute for getting personal advice from a professional advisor. Getting started, I also recommend reading the US-Expatriate-Handbook, available on-line from the West Virginia University College of Busin Read more:banking
, Cross
Making a list; checking it twice 2008-06-28 14:49:00 Touch of Dutch has pointed to shops that offer American grocery products for expatriates: the corresponding shop for Dutch expatriates to find a touch of home is The Dutch Shop. I always enjoy these sites: they catalog the nation's comfort foods, along with things that nobody would eat if they hadn't been raised to love them. I made my weekly outing to the Presikhaaf Winkelcentrum, one of o Read more:checking
Into the dawn mists 2008-06-27 06:19:00 The Social Plan negotiations ended yesterday with a presentation to the employees about the shutdown arrangements and severance proposals. There is now a week's period for consideration and discussion before the vote, and a simple majority will determine the outcome. I'm not a part of the arrangements, since I'm here under expatriate rather than Dutch, contract. But the hallway conversations soun
The mind-body problem 2008-06-26 11:23:00 I'm back from Cambridge: 'will catch up with events later, but, in the spirit of academic philosophy, will pose a koan for the day.1) The human body is a material thing.2) The human mind is a spiritual thing.3) Mind and body interact.4) Spirit and matter do not interact. These four statements are inconsistent: any three can be true but they negate the fourth assertion. This allows four dif
Winding up the month 2008-06-23 11:36:00 'feeling a bit melancholy today. The situation at work has been a difficult one. Because the facility will certainly be closed, people are losing belief in the future and in the value in what they are doing. As the same time, no positive alternatives can be started because the Social Plan needs to be negotiated first (and rightly). It leads to a tilted sort of twilight environment where there are Read more:Winding
Nine Lives video through Rome 2008-06-21 09:29:00 'Trying something different today: a bit of an exploration of media sharing.William and I took a long video
capture with my Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot camera while we drove on the scooter through the center of Rome. It's about eight minutes long, and is a bit bumpy because of the scooter's engine vibrations and the cobblestones. The audio is live, but mostly wind noises and the occasional bit Read more:Lives
Seeing Rome on two wheels and nine lives 2008-06-19 15:47:00 <Sigh> 'really in a mood to write a bit on what's been happening at work the past month since the transfer and layoff was announced, but things are still up in the air. Negotiations are ongoing regarding advice, settlements, and pensions, and it needs to conclude without my two cents here. I have opinions, though. So, for now, continuing in Rome... Today we decided to ta Read more:Seeing
Two days in Rome 2008-06-18 15:03:00 My son returned to the Netherlands with me last weekend: after a few days exploring Arnhem and Amsterdam, we shifted south to Rome. He said that he wanted to use his Latin (live and learn) and see the artifacts that he had read about in class. It's a hot day here, merging into a beautiful evening. We walked over to the Coliseum, and it didn't disappoint either of us. A da
'not the Dutch I remember... 2008-06-17 16:30:00 ...but a delightful midsummer evening with a packed house in Arnhem's Korenmarkt square, enjoying their Euro2008 win over Romania. 'Something about numerously drunken Netherlanders lighting orange flares and smoke bombs with every goal, then swaying and singing "We are the champions" en mass at the win, is going to be an endearing and enduring memory. Read more:Dutch
Catching up back in the Netherlands 2008-06-16 16:34:00 ** It was a busy week in the US without a break and, despite having fun catching up with friends and kids, it still feels good to be back in the Netherlands
. My son came back here with me: we'll spend a few days here and a few days in Rome, catching up on life's next steps. I asked him what he wanted to see or do while over here: running the car around the Nürburgring Race Track turned out to be
Live Olympic coverage in Europe 2008-08-09 02:10:00 While event schedules and scores are always available at the official Chinese Olympic
site (above), I was looking for live streaming coverage of the various events from the Internet. Unfortunately, NBC's streams will not play in Europe
. EuroSport is streaming their cable channels, 1, 2, and News, for a 4.50 euro fee, but it's only selections and summaries of events. Fortunatel
Opening ceremonies 2008-08-08 14:47:00 I settled in to watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics on EuroSport this evening. The first half was sprawling and colorful: thousands of synchronized performers and very high-tech ground visuals. It culminated in Sarah Brightman singing atop a huge video globe.The Boston Globe has a wonderful photo collection that really captures the event. And the final segment, where the suspended runne
Pepper Potts, Mark (54), and a world map of peace 2008-08-07 14:58:00 [Pepper
greets Tony when he comes home from Afghanistan]Tony Stark: Hmmm. Your eyes are red. Tears for your long lost boss? Pepper Potts
: Tears of joy. I hate job hunting. Tony Stark: Yeah, well, vacation's over. Job hunting is such fun. There's always a mixture of anticipation (the whole future is awash with possibility) and dread (loss of familiarity and security). But, the prospects are
The Sonsbeek sculpture garden 2008-08-06 11:02:00 One of the nice things about living in Arnhem is the Sonsbeek Park, a wonderful area of woods, meadows, and waterworks adjacent to the city center. My apartment is located a few steps away from the park, which fills with people, fountains, concerts, and exhibitions each summer. The park is sponsoring a sculpture
show with works by about 30 artists scattered throughout the park. The
Guilty pleasures 2008-08-05 14:23:00 I'm starting to wonder about the Dutch taste in popular culture. It started in the video store. I usually browse the new releases, "DagFilm", expecting that I'll find recent big-screen blockbusters with a sprinkling of European art-house fare. Instead, I find a few thrillers, a low shelf of cartoons, and a large rack of horror films. I would estimate that fully half of Read more:Guilty
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