Sinterklaas is the Dutch corruption of St. Nicholas, a person who was alive in the 4th century. He is famous for the good deeds that he did for children and the poor. Over time, he became the patron saint of sailors, merchants and, in particular, children. His feast day is on December 6, but more emphasis is put on its eve, December 5.
According to tradition, Sinterklaas visits every house by riding over the rooftops on his white horse. His helper, Zwarte Piet, climbs down the chimney to place presents in children's shoes. In exchange, the children sometimes leave a carrot or some hay for Sinterklaas’s horse.
On the eve of his feast day, people are given presents "on behalf of Sinterklaas". Each present is accompanied by a poem about the recipient, usually written in a friendly mocking style. The recipient opens his or her present in front of everyone and reads out the poem.
On Monday night, the AIESEC drinks had a Sinterklaas theme, as it was the first time we had all met since December 5. Each of us had been given the name of someone else to buy a small present and write a poem for. All of the presents (and accompanying poems) were arranged on a table in the middle of the room. Then the ceremony began, one person at a time, so we could all listen to the poems.
I was secretly wishing that Sinterklaas had brought me a tiramisu, but my real gift was much better - some thick socks, a big black scarf, a santa hat and a chocolate letter. My poem was two pages long and it rhymed very well. (I was very impressed with all of the poems). After I opened my presents, I said "Dank u wel, Sinterklaas!" and chose who was next.
Monday was even more special because we welcomed another trainee. Her name is Agnieszka and she is from Poland. What's even better is that she lives at my place - her room is directly beneath mine! I now tell everyone that I live at the "trainee house".
She is quiet and friendly. I think that she will get on well with the AIESECers and the other trainees.
I am much more busy at work compared to last week. This is a good thing as I like to make a meaningful contribution and being busy makes my time at work seem to pass by faster. Today and yesterday I have been proofreading contracts and trust documents (fun for me) and researching the business environment of Russia - where our client is hoping to set up a company.
I have cancelled my plans to visit the UK for Christmas (to see my sister and cousins). The travel options were too expensive for me. This is a good lesson in making sure that travel plans are prepared well in advance, when the prices are much more flexible. I intend to put this lesson into practice when preparing my plan for travelling after my traineeship.
As for Christmas, I am confident that there will be other trainees, like me, staying in The Netherlands. I will be sending an e-mail to the "trainee list" soon, to see what ideas we can generate.
posted by James 7:49 pm
I have just been on another expedition outside of Tilburg. This time, I visited Rotterdam and Zeeland.
I left home just after 10am on Saturday, with only a lightly packed bag. I stayed at Ingeborg’s place on Saturday night. She has a spare mattress and plenty of bedding, so it wasn’t necessary for me to pack a sleeping bag or pillow. I managed easily enough with the little I brought with me, so it is funny that I used to pack so much on earlier trips.
Ingeborg recommended that I take a trip on the Spido boat. For EUR 8, I could go on a 75-minute tour of Rotterdam harbour, with commentary included. After a brisk walk from Rotterdam Centraal Station, I arrived at the Spido office well in time to purchase my ticket for the 12:30pm trip.
My trip was on the Spido boat named the "Abel Tasman". As we boarded, I noticed that it was moored next to a boat called the "James Cook"!
The weather was chilly and this was reinforced by the breeze from the harbour. Most of the passengers opted to watch from inside. I chose to bear the weather on the open-top deck – a better position to take photos from.
The boat traveled some 8 km west of the Erasmus bridge before turning around and exploring some of the harbour’s smaller inlets.
The Port of Rotterdam is the biggest in the world. Last year, it processed a staggering volume of over 4 million standard-sized shipping containers. Some of the specialised machinery on the docks was huge! I was impressed by the machine that could effortlessly lift a full shipping container and place it precisely onto the back of a freight truck, ready for further transport.
We were also shown a special floating dock, used for ship repair. This dock can be temporarily flooded, allowing a ship can sail into it. The dock is raised and the water is released so that the ship can be worked on. When the repairs are complete, the dock is reflooded enabling the ship to sail away.
After the Spido trip, I decided to visit the Netherlands Architecture Institute. I have developed an interest in Dutch architecture, particularly in Rotterdam which has many interesting buildings.
There were a number of exhibitions in progress. In one room, surrounded by a large curtain, there were 15 models of buildings by Neutelings Riedijk Architects. On the top floor were the best Dutch and Flemish graduation projects of the last academic year as selected by the professional journal of design and visual communications.
My favourite "exhibit" was the Museumhouse Sonneveld. This house, built in 1933, was designed according to the Dutch Functionalist style, "Het Nieuwe Bouwen". When the Sonneveld family moved into their new home, they left all the possessions from their old house behind. The new house was fitted with the most up to date furnishings and domestic conveniences of the time. I could walk around the house and listen to a well-researched commentary of the rooms and the family, using a complementary audio set.
I stayed at the Museumhouse until closing time. By that time, it was dark outside. I walked to Ingeborg’s house, buying some hot chips to eat along the way.
We had a quiet evening. Acco came over at 8pm and we ate dinner while watching a movie on television. I was tired, so I went to sleep after the movie had finished.
On Sunday, Ingeborg, Acco and I went to Zeeland. We spent the first part of the day in Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland. Middelburg is a small town and I liked its atmosphere. In this way, it reminded me of Groningen. It has many old buildings, the age of each evidenced by the date of construction appearing on the top of the wall facing the street. As it was Sunday morning, we were literally the only people walking along the streets. We admired the buildings and took typical tourist photos. I like looking at the symbols at the top of the each church spire. I saw a mermaid on one and what looked like a rooster on another.
It was very cold and even my white puffy jacket was barely enough protection. I would often run on the spot and jump over small walls just to keep warm.
Our main goal was to visit the Delta Expo – a museum and information centre encompassing a tour of the huge storm surge barrier which marked the final piece of the Delta Project. The Delta project is a series of bridges, dikes and dams built in strategic locations around Zeeland and Zuid Holland.
It was created in response to the flooding disaster of 1953 in Zeeland. A high tide, combined with a powerful North Western Storm had raised water levels to unusually high levels. The dikes were breached and much of the Zeeland inland area was flooded. 1835 people drowned and countless homes and farms were destroyed.
The storm surge barrier separates the Eastern Schelde from the North Sea. The original plan was to create a fixed barrier. However, such a barrier would have removed the effect of the tides from the Schelde and adversely affected the ecosystem. These environmental concerns were taken into account by opting for the storm surge barrier. The barrier is usually left open, so the tidal flow is left unaltered. It is only lowered in extreme conditions.
Back in Rotterdam, we went to a cafe where I ordered what was promoted (by Ingeborg and Acco) as the best apple cake in The Netherlands. Such an opportunity doesn’t arise often, so I went for the heated slice of apple cake with a scoop of cinnamon icecream. I savoured this dessert, lingering over each forkful. I think it tasted nicer, after we had been out in the cold many times that day.
Acco and I walked back to the train station and I said goodbye to Ingeborg, who caught her tram. She returns to Norway next fortnight. I’m not sure if I will see her again, but I have her e-mail address so we can keep in touch.
I got to the train station within one minute of my train leaving. I ran along the tunnel, weaving past the “slow-walkers”, up the stairs to platform 7, just in time to firmly place my two palms on the closed door of the train as it slowly moved away. No matter, as I just waited for the next train, 20 minutes later.
I am pleased with the travel I am doing. I have been away for four out of the last five weekends. I have also been to 9 of the 12 provinces in The Netherlands. I am only yet to visit Drenthe, Friesland and Flevoland.
posted by James 9:23 am