When someone tells you they live in the Netherlands, where do you think of? Amsterdam; probably, with its glowing red lights and fancy cafes on every corner. Rotterdam: perhaps. It\u2019s in that song from years ago, and it\u2019s also the big city that got blitzed in one of the great wars. Utrecht? Another well known city in the south that attracts the party-goers and hardcore shoppers. The list is pretty long, but there\u2019s a pattern here\u2026 these places are towards the south.<\/p>\n
I live up north, in the Province of Friesland. Over the Afsluitdijk, about an hour and a half from Amsterdam and Utrecht, and two hours away from Rotterdam.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where Frisian cows come from!\u201d I was excitedly told, when I notified old colleagues or friends about my impending move to the lowlands.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t they have Frisian horses there too?\u201d I was asked.<\/p>\n
Well, they were both right. Friesland is home to those patchy black and white cows and the silky black horses. And argriculture, mainly (if you hadn\u2019t guessed). But Friesland is also home to the eleven city tour, a yearly race that sees people cycling through all 11 cities of the province, tall ships races, fierljeppen, which is basically canal jumping with a massive pole, Kaartsen, a hand sport with a tiny, golf sized ball, ice skating champions, Doutzen Kroes, and, possibly most annoying (after Doutzen\u2019s beauty), their own damn language.<\/p>\n
I knew this before I left, and yet I didn\u2019t think it to be a problem. Yet it kinda is. Now I\u2019m studying for the lesser used language in this province. I\u2019m studying Dutch when most people talk Frisian. It\u2019s kinda hard.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kinda hard when you\u2019re at parties and everyone talks Frisian rather than Dutch. It\u2019s kinda hard listening to your colleagues talking to each other in Frisian, whilst you sit there munching away on your cheese sandwich. It\u2019s kinda hard sitting around the table with your boyfriend and his family when they slip back into Frisian and take that conversation to places I\u2019ll never reach. It\u2019s kinda hard when the kids at school don\u2019t want to learn English and they think the only way to communicate back at you in frustration is in Frisian.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kinda hard but it\u2019s ok. It\u2019s my time to learn, not their time to accomodate me, I tell myself between mouthfulls of Friese Dumkes, or Frisian thumbs, as they\u2019re translated. Disclaimer, they have nothing to do with real people\u2019s thumbs, don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not that <\/em>kind of place.<\/p>\n I\u2019m learning Dutch first though, so that I am a good citizen of the country as a whole. Once I\u2019ve got the gist of the National language, I\u2019ll start with Frisian. Because I\u2019m not a superhero. For me, learning two languages simultaneously is not a viable option. Learning one is hard enough. Did you know, I\u2019ve been absolutely knackered since the day I moved here? I genuinely put it down to my poor, overstimulated brain being bombarded with new words every day. And I do love it. I love words. I love learning new words. But I find it hard. And Dutch, tells me my boyfriend\u2019s father, is super super hard. A \u2018rot taal\u2019, if you will. I think he says this to make me feel better for not being able to pronounce certain sounds, or say sentences in the generally correct manner. It works. He does make me feel better.<\/p>\n Many people have told me, with satisfaction, that Frisian is closer to English than Dutch is. Cheese is \u2018tsiis\u2019 (ts-eeeee-ss) for example. A baby is a \u2018baern\u2019, like how the Scottish say it. A key is a \u2018kaai\u2019, rather than the Dutch \u2018sleutel\u2019. The words \u2018eat\u2019 and \u2018sleep\u2019 may be spelt differently in Frisian, but they\u2019re pronounced pretty much the same as they are in English. I should be rejoicing, but with that short and sweet list, my knowledge of Frisian stops almost completely\u2026 apart from the words that still sound like Dutch with an accent. I understand bits and bobs, that\u2019s for sure, but not the whole she-bang.<\/p>\n Another thing I\u2019ve found to be difficult, is the lack of English speaking expats up North. Through Instagram, I\u2019ve met (figuratively, not literally) a number of great people from around the globe who live here in the Netherlands. They help me to feel like I can do this \u2018live abroad\u2019 thing with aplomb. We understand each other, figuratively and literally, which is a bigger help than you can imagine, especially when you communicate with almost everyone in a foreign language and really miss crumpets and real fish and chips. The problem is, they all live in the south. I\u2019ve only found two English speaking expats up here.<\/p>\n But what about Friesland itself? It\u2019s basically rolling flatlands of fields and dykes stopping the sea from absolutely devastating the land. I\u2019m pretty sure the least air pollution lingers over Friesland, too, because we have lots and lots of green, and trees, and water. It\u2019s beautiful. Especially in the summer. There\u2019s even a place in Friesland named \u2018The Venice of the north\u2019, or, as it\u2019s literally called, Giethoorn, where everyone lives on their own teeny-tiny island, separated from everybody else by teeny-tiny canals. There\u2019s also easy access to the Dutch islands from the harbours around here. Perfect for summer days out, or a long weekend when you want a break. There are even some wicked towns and cities dotted around this province, Towns and cities that could easily compete with the likes of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht, too. I\u2019ll show you around them soon enough.<\/p>\n Until then, that\u2019s enough rambling about this place I call home.<\/p>\n Speak to you soon,<\/p>\n Simone x<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When someone tells you they live in the Netherlands, where do you think of? Amsterdam; probably, with its glowing red lights and fancy cafes on every corner. Rotterdam: perhaps. It\u2019s in that song from years…<\/p>\n