The Sounds of War.
///Start of Transmision///
At around 1000 hrs this morning the war started… Since then the sound of mortars and gun fire has been near constant, as yet it is showing no signs of waning. Who or what they are fighting remains unclear. The media are ignoring the battle that is raging outside as if it isn’t happening… We’re stocked up on food, Though we are running low on munitions and medical supplies… Can anyone out there hear me… Help Us! God! Help Us! Please they are coming!!!
<static hisses across the wire>
Allochtonen, we komen je halen! <Translation: “Foreigners, we are coming to get you!”>
…
///End of Transmission///
If you’ll excuse the dramatism above, today has been non-stop fireworks, though I am very confused as to why they have been wasting money setting them off in the day time when you can’t even see the prettiness. So for the last 8 hours it has sounded like all out war on both sides of the house.
Yet as a slight aside, the fact that it is New Year’s Eve, means something rather personal to me, at approximately 15-30 minutes past midnight tonight it will be the time when I was born, Though I personally don’t care much for birthdays as it seems more an accomplishment for my mother who in fact did all the hard work of carrying me for 9 months and then going through the pain of the harder part that would’ve been ejecting me from her uterus.
Yet society suggests that it is I that should receive presents, cake and warm wishes on such an anniversary, seems backwards if you ask me, but heck there aren’t many people in the world who can claim that the whole world celebrates their birthday, so heck I’ll milk it a little.
But getting back to the fireworks, how much money do the Dutch spend on them each year? My next door neighbour alone must’ve exploded his way through €1000 already. Why do people spend so much on setting something off that they can’t see properly during the day when they are setting them off?
Hope you all had a good 2012.
Wishing you a happy new year,
Tim.
Help! ...I'm an EXPAT? 
Were are you in Holland? i lived out there for three years and then for another two. Wasnt into the whole Zwarte Piet thing at Christmas, thought it was a bit backwards really.
We are based in Rotterdam currently, but we are going to be moving to either Den Haag (The Hague) or Delft, in a few months time.
Zwatre Piet is a touch on the strange side, but it’s kind of understandable given it’s origins. It’s just a shame that some of the less enlightened youth use it as a reason to be outwardly racist.
2013 should be a better year I think.
The thing with Holland is you dont miss it until you have left. I had a really good life their. Lived in Zandfortt, Rotterdam, Hilversum and Aalsmeer. I worked in Blaricum and that is one of the most beautiful places along with Lauren. yeah the youth are more than a little bit right wing, though I never got any trouble from them. The thing is the Dutch come across as though they are left of middle, but they are definitely far right, you dont see anyone black working in the shops especially when you get out of the main cities. They have segregated schools their as well, and when I saw the sweets called Neger Zoeken then that said it all for me. I will let you translate the name of the sweets for yourself lol.
Unfortunately this is the way of all things, as the Gov.t’s of the world are pressured to become more open, the people of the world will become more ethnocentric and in some cases more religious too. Unfortunately things must get worse before they get better, remember the civil-rights movement in america?
With any luck, the next generation will not know what it is to experience homophobia, racism or fascism, however this may be at the cost of my own generation’s suffering.
We’ll see, lets hope for the future, and wish for the better.
-Tim.