The Dunes

Many people throughout the world associate dykes and dams with The Netherlands. However, there are natural water barriers that are less known....the dunes. The home of my Wassenaar host family, Jaap and Gre Blaak, was nestled in the sandy dunes and perfectly complemented the surroundings. The first day Gre and I went for a walk to admire the views from a high point. On my last day, after numerous threats of being abandoned, Jaap and I cycled through the dunes to the beach. I had to keep a close eye on Jaap, just in case he decided to pull a fast one and 'inadvertently lose' me in the dunes :-)

On the way, we stopped and paid respect at a monument in the dunes (Waalsdorper Vlakte) honoring Dutch victims of WWII, especially the hundreds of people who were executed. Most of those people were imprisoned, interrogated and tortured in Scheveningen and many were finally shot at that spot in the dunes.

On the Farm...

Yesterday we arrived in Hellevoetsluis, a fortress which used to be a marine harbor. I think we may have scared our new hosts because when we arrived we 1) were crying 2) had about 30 suitcases. Nonetheless, our hosts welcomed us with open arms. We had lunch and tea and then headed off to our new homes for the week. My hosts Monika and Gerat (hope I spelled that right) live on a farm that was built in 1805. The house is almost as old as the United States! The house is beautiful and very large. It is built in the old Dutch farm style with bricks, old tiles, and an attached barn. There is even a section which used to be the carriage house. Monika teaches German and Gerat is a cardiologist. Once again, they both speak several languages and are sure to be great hosts. Animal count: 3 and 3/4 cats (one has half a tale), 2 shetlon ponies, a goat, sheep, chickens, very loud early-rising roosters, an adorable little dog, and 6 humans. There is also a beautiful garden and a pool. The weather has been amazing and I was able to spend a couple of hours by the pool before heading to dinner!

The End of Week Two

Wow, week two flew by! We have been so busy. I have to say that each of us fell in love with Wassenaar and were sad to leave. Our program was great, the people were wonderful, and the experience unforgettable. There were definitely tears when we left. A shout out to John and Hans for all of their hardwork. The town of Wassenaar is definitely one of the wealthier sections of Holland and I felt a little bit like I was on Wisteria Lane. The houses were quite large and immaculate. The people all knew each other and the town felt very safe and cozy. I fell in love. My family was great...again. When Renee hopped out of her car and came running to me saying "I'm your mom for a week!" I knew I would love this family. Renee and I clicked within the first ten minutes and I felt like I'd known her all my life. Her husband Laurens is the current President of the Wassenaar Rotary Club. He is a historical restoration architect in the Hague (where he has a very historical and lovely office in what used to be a hidden church). The two of them together make a great pair. I was lucky in that their 25 year old son is currently living at home. He invited over some friends and it was great to talk with a group of younger people. It was interesting to see what kinds of questions they asked me about the US compared with what Rotarians asked. I managed to get Friday off and go sailing with one of their son's friends. It was such a great way to see the countryside...from the canals! The weather was perfect. We had a farewell BBQ Friday night and Saturday we're off to Hellevoetsluis for week three. I spent the first two weeks here trying to learn how to say the name of this town and I finally got it! There are several new sounds that our language does not have and they're hard to learn!

Parliament

Thursday we had a private tour of the Parliament building and met with a former Parliament member. The Dutch government system is very different from ours in that it is proportional representation. Each party receives their number of seats in Parliament based on the percentage of votes it receives. There are currently 10 different parties in Parliament! All of these parties would fall on our liberal side...even their most conservative ones. I asked how anything can get accomplished with so many parties. The parties form coalitions with other parties in which they promise to vote together on certain issues. The Prime Minister is chosen from the party which received the most votes. The Queen is also considered part of the Government and the Court is not included in they system. The whole thing was very interesting and would take a long time to write out...but that's an overview.

Dinner at the Beach

Dinner at the beach was soooo nice. The weather the past week has been unnatural (by Dutch standards). It hasn't rained in about 10 days and it has been around 20 degrees celcius. Just wonderful! I've even managed to get some sun.

Wassenaar Windmill

Thursday we visited the local working windmill and had a tour by the miller. The Netherlands has only about 30 or 40 working windmills still left. It was interesting to learn how the windmill actually works to produce flour. Also, we learned that windmills actually orginated in Afghanistan.

The Peace Palace and the International Court of Justice

Last Wednesday, I had a private tour of the Peace Palace and the International Court of Justice, which was awesome. The idea for a Peace Palace began back in 1899 with the first international peace conference, which was held in the Hague and was the first of the "Hague conventions." However, it wasn't until 1906 when construction on the Peace Palace began, funded by Andrew Carnegie. It officially opened in 1913. The Palace includes: the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the Peace Palace Library. I was very lucky to receive a tour from a security guard who works for the International Court of Justice. This was great because I didn't have to crowd in with 100 other tourists and I was able to see things I may not have otherwise seen. The palace is gorgeous! It has many different types of marble, lots of stained glass, and statues or other gifts from all countries. The United States gave a statue of Lady Liberty which is placed at the top of the main staircase. The International Court of Justice is the judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles conflicts between countries and also gives advice to countries when asked. The Great Hall of Justice is quite impressive. It is where the 15 judges sit to hear these cases. For example, a recent case was between Ecudador and Colombia regarding herbicides. I also visited the Peace Palace Library, which is the largest collection of international law books and publications. We then had tea and coffee (because that's just what you do here) and then went to the beautiful gardens. It was all very surreal. Why the Hague? No one could give me a definite answer except that the Netherlands has remained fairly neutral in all European conflicts. There is a peace flame which burns continuously outside of the palace as a symbol for world peace. It was really a great experience!

Deja Vu_Wassenaar

I have to say, sitting on the beach was reminiscent of Jamaica, eating fish, feet in the sand, collecting sea shells... then cold water snapped me back to reality...this is the North Sea, Monique! Not the Caribbean Sea!!!

Wassenaar Village Tour

On our tour of village center, we visited the Wassenaar Dorpskerk (Village church). The current church has been in existence since 1573, which makes it the oldest church in Wassenaar. There were two rather curious holes (photo left) in the walls. These holes allowed people (such as lepers) who were not allowed in the church to hear the sermon.

That is preventing disease transmission at its best!

Bio Science Park at Leiden University

The visit to the Bio Science Park at Leiden University was coordinated by drs. Jaap Blaak, and it provided a look into the ever growing field of biotechnology. We had 4 presentations, 2 of which were from the CEOs of start up biotechnology companies (to-BBB and FlexGen). To-BBB is involved in modifying the delivery system of drugs for better entry into the brain. This technology may prove to be invaluable in the treatment of diseases of the brain with efficacious drugs that would otherwise have poor penetration. FlexGen has created a prototype instrument that can produce custom DNA microarrays within 24 hours. DNA microarrays play an important role in genetic research and medical diagnosis and potentially in population disease surveillance.

The Netherlands, small in land mass, big in innovation.