Citizen of the World

The Hague is known for being a highly international city. Home to the International Court of Justice (the Peace Palace), the International Criminal Court, Europol, aka the European law enforcement, and the headquarters of the largest corporation in the world, Shell Oil, the city of peace and justice, as it is appropriately named, welcomes thousands of expats to its doorstep each year. The population of The Hague is approximately 500,000, plus two if you count Ryan and I, with a whopping 49% of the population representing non-Dutch nationalities. Ask any Dutch resident about The Hague and they will tell you that it truly is a culturally diverse and unique place to live, one that I believe cannot really be duplicated.

I recently landed a new job working for an international education non-profit organization. The organization has three global centres, the one I work at in The Hague, one in Asia and one in the U.S., as well as three other offices with employees working across the globe. There are over 30 different nationalities represented in the office I work in alone. I must say it has really been an eye-opening experience for me to be working alongside individuals from so many different backgrounds, cultures and countries. So far I have met great colleagues from the U.K., Spain, Hong Kong, France, South Africa, Ghana, Australia, Czech Repulic, the Netherlands and Iceland. I have often thought to myself where else would I have ever had this opportunity? How much there is for me to learn and take away from this experience.

We have also joined the only English speaking Roman Catholic Church in the city. Given that Masses are said primarily in English, the parish is attended by people from around the globe who are living and working in Holland. Some are here for only a few years, while others plan to be here for a much longer duration. Each person who steps into our new church home brings with them their own customs and style of worship. This was most beautifully displayed at our priest's Silver Jubilee Celebration. Just a few weeks after our arrival, Fr. Sjaak, our Dutch priest, celebrated his 25th anniverary to the priesthood, where there were Indonesian dancers, African drums, Spanish musicians, and scripture readings in multiple languages. We have joined several groups in the parish and have met some amazing people, all with their own stories and unique perceptions of the world.

Although I am an American and am grateful that it is my country of origin, I am excited for the opportunity to see the world through another lens, and become a global citizen. If you think about it, we are really one nation, with one citizenship in the City of God. He has created us differently so that we may learn from one another and grow in Christ's love. God is stretching me to put my prejudices and prenotions of others aside and really embrace those around me. The more I do this, the more joy I am given with each new person I meet.

The world is definitely much larger than I ever realized, and God's greatness even larger. I know now that had we never decided to leave the comforts of our familiar surroundings, and stepped out in faith, this blessing would have passed us by with the special gift to become a citizen of the world.

Winter Landscape



Winter Landscape with Iceskaters by Hendrick Avercamp (c. 1608)

Avercamp's famous painting "Winter Landscape with Iceskaters" is on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I was fortunate to view the original with my mom back in December and admired the detail and realism with which the artist depicts a snowy scene in Holland hudreds of years ago. If you look closely you can see all of the different mini scenes happening in the painting, people working, skating, sledding, falling, and there is even a bare bottom and a man urinating! (which I cannot find, can you?). This pastime of taking to the ice on a cold winter day is as true today as it was during the Golden Age when this masterpiece was created. I was not aware of this tradition when I laid eyes on the painting above, but I have since had an up close glimpse of how the Dutch enjoy the cold weather.

This past week temperatures have plummeted below freezing, with the average being around -7 C (20 degrees Fahrenheit). Imagine this after we've been experiencing one of the mildest winters that the Dutch can remember! The bulbs were beginning to poke their delicate faces above ground and we even saw some cherry blossom trees in January coming to bloom (I hate to know their fate!), but alas, the freezing weather has finally arrived and we got our first snowfall this Friday. I watched the puffy white flakes fall from the sky out the window of my office building, and I have to admit, I was excited with the realization that we were actually going to experience what I have read about and seen in classic Dutch winterscapes.

Supposedly this is not at all common, at least in recent years. In fact, up until just a few years ago the southern region of of the Netherlands had not seen temperatures this low. The Dutch follow the weather reports diligently in order to ascertain whether or not the canals and small lakes nearby are frozen to a sufficient depth and are safe enough to step foot on. My boss at work told me we should definitely check it out as it would remind us of us scenes like "Winter Landscape."

We decided to take our corgi out for a walk to discover for ourselves what was happening just outside our warm apartment. Although it has been a bit challenging maneuvering around with our daily activities, it is nothing compared to home with the flat roads, immediate sanding, and short distances that we need to travel. I hope you enjoy these snapshots of the winter landscape here in The Hague. I know we have!

The Binnenhof and the Hofvijver (large pond in front) frozen over



On the weekend everyone took to the ice!





Creating a mini ice rink on the frozen pond.





The ducks just "chillin"

Snow corgi! Somebody loooves the white powder.