Connecting Worlds
Connect International serves the international community in the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. Supported by an international staff and Board of Directors, we provide quality relocation services and practical information to help familiarize international residents with all aspects of living, working or studying in the Northern Netherlands, as well as organizing events and activities to make connections.
Services:
Join Us!
● Immigration services
● “Buddy” -system
You can register to become a Connect International member via our website. For a small yearly fee, you receive the Connections e-magazine newsletter delivered directly to your email inbox, you have access to the Connect International community through organized events, you can ask us any questions you may have and much more.
● Free access to books & guides
Visit: www.connect-int.org
● Home search & set-up ● Career services ● Social events, activities & clubs ● Business events ● Personal support & assistance
● Knowledge database
Welcome New Members! Connect International would like to welcome the following new members: Tibor Agocs, MariaLuisa Vincenzoni, Tuomas Heikka, Joseph Gardella, Alessio Bogon, Brijesh Chodavadiya, Vadzim Tonka, Sushant Shiromani, Jing Li, Venutha & Nithyanandan Manoranjan.
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Important Dates
IMPORTANT DATES Autumn School Vacation Times 2016 Primary Education & Secondary Education Schools Basisonderwijs & Voortgezet onderwijs North Netherlands
15 Oct 2016 - 23 Oct 2016
Week 42
Mid-Netherlands
15 Oct 2016 - 23 Oct 2016
Week 42
South Netherlands
22 Oct 2016 - 30 Oct 2016
Week 43
Some schools do run different vacation times, so be sure to double check with your school for exact dates.
Other Dates Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown
2 October
Animal Day (Dierendag)
4 October
Thanksgiving, Canada
10 October
Yom Kippur
11 October
United Nations Day
24 October
Sukkot begins at sundown
27 October
Halloween
31 October
Connect International Office: Gedempte Zuiderdiep 98, Groningen Postbus 16, 9700 AA Groningen Telephone: 050 7440087 Email: info@connect-int.org Website: www.connect-int.org
Editorial Editor: Stephanie Fermor Assistant Editor: Margaret Metsala Writers: Stephanie Fermor, Margaret Metsala Send all letters and submissions to: publications@connect-int.org
Editorial and advertising in Connections is based on material, written and verbal, provided by contributors and advertisers. No responsibility is taken for errors or omissions, and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. All material in Connections is subject to copyright provisions. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission by the publisher.
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What’s on: October 2016
CONNECT EVENTS During October 2016 Writer’s Circle Wednesday 5 October, 19:30 hrs Book Club Monday 10 October, 20:00 hrs Janny’s house “Practical matters in your daily NL Life” workshop Wednesday 12 October, 19:00 hrs Het Concerthuis (Groningen) International Coffee Morning Friday 14 October, 10:30 hrs Doppio Cafe (Groningen)
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Pub Night Friday 21 October, 18:00 hrs The Cabin (Groningen) Culinary Connect: Korean Cuisine Thursday 27 October 13:00 hrs Adeline’s house, Winsum International Coffee Morning Friday 28 October, 10:30 hrs Doppio Cafe (Groningen) Crafts Club: Beading workshop Sunday 30 October, 14:00 hrs Het Concerthuis (Groningen)
What’s on: October 2016
OTHER EVENTS Events in Groningen, Friesland & Drenthe Wijnfestival 30 September - 2 October, Groningen Wine festival. 15 euro entry fee, includes a glass and 5 wine tokens. www.goo.gl/X609g3
Kinderboekenweek 5 - 16 October Children’s book week. Events will be taking place across the whole of the Netherlands. www.kinderboekenweek.nl
Zeldzaam Mooi Markt Sunday 2 October, Groningen Annual hobby & craft market held on the Vismarkt, Groningen. www.zeldzaammooievents.com
Noorderpoort Muziekfeest Friday 7 October, Groningen Music festival to celebrate Noorderpoort 20th anniversary. Held on the Grote Markt. www.goo.gl/VrF2C6 New Blues Festival Saturday 8 October, Assen First edition of blues music festival featuring Sven Hammond and DVL Ft. Guy Forsyth & The Hoax! www.goo.gl/MMx27R
Stranger Things Monday 3 October, Groningen (plus more dates through out the month) English improv comedy show at The Silo www.strangerthings.nl/shows/
Stoffenspektakel Wednesday 5 October, Groningen Large fabric and haberdashery market at the Martini Plaza. www.stoffenspektakel.nl
4 Mijl van Groningen Sunday 9 October, Groningen Annual 4 mile sponsored run from Haren to Groningen city centre. Money raised helps support numerous charities. www.4mijl.nl
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What’s on: October 2016
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Days 15 - 30 October, Drenthe Come carve a pumpkin for Halloween at De Pompoenerie, Nieuw-Weerdinge. Carving workshop costs €3,50 (excl a pumpkin). Pumpkins cost between €3,50 and €10 depending on the size you pick. They are open Monday to Saturday each week. www.pompoenerie.nl/halloween_pompoen dagen
Flower Power Markt Sunday 16 October, Friesland Farmers from the region offer their fresh organic products. Plus natural wellness and heath items, handmade products and a variety of workshops and activities. www.flowerpower.frl
Rondleiding Hooghoudt Sunday 30 October, Groningen Open house at the Hooghoudt brewery. www.hooghoudt.nl/bezoek-ons/open-huis
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Places to go, Things to see
POKÉMON GO! Got to catch ‘em all!
Over the summer the Netherlands (and the rest of the globe) got overrun with Pocket Monsters: Pokémon! If you weren’t one of those who had downloaded the app, you surely saw people who had, roaming the streets and gathering in public areas around monuments, with their eyes glued to their mobile device. Back in July, a survey by Multiscope, showed that 10% of people in the Netherlands above the age of 18 were playing Pokémon Go! Which isn’t surprising given it is the most downloaded app with over 100 million downloads worldwide via the Google play market back in August. The game works by using your phone’s GPS for your real-world location and augmented reality to overlay Pokémon on your screen on top of what you see in front of you. As you walk around, you will come across Pokémon in the wild which you can catch and collect, train and battle with. You can advance in the game by earning experience points which you get for catching Pokémon, hatching Pokémon eggs etc, and the higher level you are, the stronger the Pokémon you can catch and train.
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Places to go, Things to see
For me though, the best aspect of Pokémon GO is that it has a completely different and unique level of social interaction than any other mobile app. It encourages you to get outside moving and exploring, and interacting with others who are playing the game. One key feature is Pokéstops and Gyms. A Pokéstop is a point in the real world, often a work of art, monument or important building. When you visit a Pokéstop you can claim items such as Pokéballs (so you can catch more Pokémon) and potions to use after battling with your Pokémon. People can also set lures on Pokéstops which attract Pokémon to that spot, and also attract other Pokémon GO players who want to catch those Pokémon too. This summer I spent so much more time outside because of the game. I would spend the whole Sunday afternoon in the park near me; it has several Pokéstops and gyms. Other people would be there too, and you couldn’t help yourself but ask what level they were and what their best
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Pokémon was, and also sharing tips with each other on the best places to go to catch Pokémon. I also visited Groningen city centre to explore what Pokémon I could catch there and visit different Pokéstops. I found many hidden pieces of art by searching for Pokéstops and discovered things about the city that I didn’t know, even though I lived there for 5 years before moving close to Zwolle. I spent over an hour at the
Places to go, Things to see
Museumbrug which has 3 Pokéstops within reach, all of which were lured at the time. There were also so many other people there, over a hundred, and whenever a new Pokémon popped up, it rippled through the crowd as everyone noticed it and let others know it was there while catching it themselves. The game is also constantly being updated. Recently Niantic brought out an update that allowed you to select buddy Pokémon. In the future there are planned updates that will introduce Pokémon trading and the ability to battle directly with other players instead of doing it only through gyms. There are currently 150 Pokémon to catch, the first generation of Pokémon. But in 2017 they plan to add the second generation to the game, giving a total of 251 Pokémon. This will also add Pokémon breeding so that you can hatch baby Pokémon. And I am sure they have plenty more updates planned for the future too.
If you are already playing Pokémon GO, or thinking about trying it, here are a few really helpful sites to help you on your way. See where there are Pokéstops and gyms around Groningen city center via this website goo.gl/24uMiE (It also shows the location of some Pokémon). See a Pokémon in the sightings tab but can’t find it? Use fastpokemap.se to scan nearby and help locate it. This Dutch Pokémon GO site has lots of tips and information relevant to playing in the Netherlands www.pokemongofans.nl If you want to start playing, you can download the app via the Google Play store or Apple store. Be sure to install the app released by Niantic, as there are many additional apps out that complement playing Pokémon GO, but aren’t the actual game. Written by Stephanie Fermor
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Taste of home
PUMPKIN PIE The best pie begins with an excellent crust
To bake a beautiful pumpkin pie you need to start with the crust. For this I recommend, if you have one, a trusted pastry recipe using, instead of lard or shortening, a lard that you render yourself. The Marktslager (find him on Groningen Vismarkt on a Tuesday, Friday and Saturday) has, starting in October, two choices: a lard they have rendered - or fat that you can render at home. When I first saw unrendered fat, I balked, even though they offered the very best there is - a beautiful slab of fat from around the kidney. Well, 10 minutes later, I was back telling them I'd buy it. It seemed worth a try and, I must say, it was. It made the flakiest, most delicious pie crust. That's my top recommendation. Alternatively you could use a ready-made pie crust or ready-made pastry (look for ‘taartdeeg’) from the supermarket. This pumpkin pie filling recipe comes from Kate Aitken, Canadian kitchen goddess of the 40's and 50's whose no-nonsense cookbooks with basic ingredients earn a place in Canadian kitchens to this day. So, forget about the canned spiced pumpkin pie filling and try this: Dutch markets have beautiful, strangely small but sweet pumpkins. To be on the safe side, buy two. The day before making the pie, stab a couple of holes in each, place them on a baking try and bake until they are soft. Let them cool and put them in the fridge.
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Pie filling ingredients 180g / 1 1/2 cups Pumpkin flesh (pompoen) 2 eggs, lightly beaten (eieren) 120g / 2/3 cup brown sugar (basterdsuiker) 1 tsp cinnamon (kaneel) 1/4 tsp ginger (gember) 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (nootmuskaat) 1/2 teaspoon salt (zout) 240ml / 1 cup whole milk (volle melk) 120ml / 1/2 cup whipping cream (slagroom)
Taste of home
When it is time to make the pie, cut open the pumpkins, discard the seeds, and scoop out all the flesh. Add all the ingredients in to a large bowl and blend well using a blender or hand mixer. The recipe will work with lower fat milk and without cream. You can also make it less sweet, or be more generous with pumpkin; it is all down to personal taste. Pour the pumpkin filling into the prepared pie crust and place into a preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 230C / 450F, then turn the heat down to 180C / 350F and bake for a further 25 minutes. The pie is ready when the filling is set. There are 6 servings. This pie is the pride of the Canadian Thanksgiving table. Enjoy! Written by Margaret Metsala
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Information Center
A B C ... And what comes next
A new school year and your child will be moving up a grade (or ‘groep’ as they are called in Dutch), or maybe starting school for the very first time. Not all schools use the same teaching methods, especially between the international schools and Dutch schools. But regardless of where you decide to send your child, at the end of each school year every primary school pupil should be, more or less, on the same level of basic skill sets. It is handy to know what skills your child will be focusing on during the school year so you can complement their studies at home too. Here is an overview of the basic standards for each school year to help with this.
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Groep 1 / Pre-K / Reception From 4 years old In this group, the focus is still mainly on learning through play and exploration.
Groep 2 / Kindergarten / Year 1 From 5 years old Children will begin basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills, working tasks on their own, as well as part of a larger group.
Groep 3 / Grade 1 / Year 2 From 6 years old During this group children start a more structured teaching program, often introducing the idea of a standard school day. They work on improving their reading and writing skills. And also arithmetic skills such as adding and subtracting with numbers up to 20 and counting numbers.
Information Center
Groep 4 / Grade 2 / Year 3 From 7 years old By now your child can often read whole sentences and will begin to focus on spelling and learning grammar rules. They also begin to learn their times tables.
Groep 5 / Grade 3 / Year 4 From 8 years old Further development of reading skills continue, moving up the reading book levels. Children also begin to be introduced to additional languages and topography.
Groep 6 / Grade 4 / Year 5 From 9 years old Children will start learning about long division and fractions. Reading and writing skills continue to improve, including that of additional languages such as English if attending a Dutch school. They may also be asked to write and/or present a book review to the class on occasion.
be more common too. As well as continuing to improve reading, writing and arithmetic skills, students will learn linguistics and more in depth topography of Europe.
Groep 8 / Grade 6 / Year 7 From 11 years old Getting ready for high school, during this year students will have more homework and are encouraged to work at a higher tempo. Reading, writing and arithmetic skills will cover a higher skill set and children will learn about the topography of the rest of the world.
Talking with the school your child attends is always a good idea and can help you help your child to achieve their full potential. You can find out more about educational system here in Netherlands on the IWCN website. www.iwcn.nl/settling-in/education
the the
Written by Stephanie Fermor Groep 7 / Grade 5 / Year 6 From 10 years old Many schools begin to issue homework from this year onwards. Book reviews will
With thanks to her Mother-in-Law who teaches at a Dutch Primary School and helped compile the overview. Connections #73
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Information Center
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES IN ENGLISH If you speak mostly English and are looking for volunteer work, there are a surprising number of opportunities that require little knowledge of Dutch. It takes some knowledge of Dutch to navigate the websites, which are all Dutch, to find such gems as: carpentry work, feeding animals in children’s farms, helping at a festival, working in a garden that produces food destined for a food bank, delivering meals, and doing English guided tours in museums. Here are some places to look: Humanitas could have opportunities to teach English. Also, every two weeks they run a training course for volunteers. https://www.humanitas.nl/
Check a museum website for openings. They might need tour guides in different languages.
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Vrijwilligerswerk.nl, has openings for jobs such as taking someone from a village to a hospital appointment, and a number of one-time only jobs. https://vrijwilligerswerk.nl/
At Onlinevrijwilligerswerk.nl, one of their listings seeks volunteers to work for Oerol, (a festival). http://onlinevrijwilligerswerk.nl/category/or ganisaties-groningen/
Here are some local suggestions for Groningen: Vrouwencentrum Jasmijn sometimes have opportunities to teach English. http://www.jasmijn.info
Information Center
Hortus Haren often need people to help with weeding, pruning, painting, electrical and carpentry work. Currently they are looking for a volunteer to translate their website into German. Since it is not in English either, perhaps a volunteer could offer to do it. http://www.hortusharen.nl
MJD Groningen, Samen Sterk in de Buurt, http://www.mjd.nl/ has opportunities that include working with animals.
Friesland has some here:
The Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum is seeking tour leaders in German and English.
Vrijwilligers Academie Fryslan offers volunteer training. They seek a wide variety of volunteers such as chauffeurs, cooks, and people to do garden maintenance. http://www.vrijwilligersacademiefryslan.nl/
Drenthe has openings too:
Vrijwilligers Groningen, has listings that include garden maintenance, feeding animals in a children’s farm, cooking, housework, etc. http://onlinevrijwilligerswerk.nl/category/or ganisaties-groningen/
Welzijnswerk, has openings for help at the food bank, meal deliveries, gardening, drivers, building maintenance, etc. http://www.welzijnswerkmd.nl
This year, National Volunteers’ Day (Nationale Vrijwilligersdag) is 7 December 2016. Happy volunteering!
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