The Dutch Experience

Untold stories

2009-11-07T12:40:00.002+01:00

Naturally seven

2009-10-10T09:43:00.001+02:00

One Who

2009-09-26T18:35:00.000+02:00

Is it that addictive?

2009-06-16T23:32:00.003+02:00

Wise words

2009-06-10T17:37:00.002+02:00

I was listening to a touching story today from a colleague that put me slightly in the "philosophical" mood, but talking about health problems reminded me with an Egyptian way of saying, "الصحة تاج على رؤوس الأصحاء لا يراه الا المرضى" or "health is a crown over healthy people's heads but only ill people can see it", or in other words people would typically tend to only value health when they are sick. Watch out for your health!

Why don't you just bike

2009-06-09T17:08:00.001+02:00

a new fav

2009-03-03T21:51:00.000+01:00

Wise words

2009-02-22T13:01:00.001+01:00

'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.' - George W. Bush
'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.' - George W. Bush
'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'. - George W. Bush
'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.' - George W. Bush
'The future will be better tomorrow.' - George W. Bush
'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.' - George W. Bush
'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.' - George W Bush
'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe . We are a part of Europe' - George W. Bush
'Public speaking is very easy.' - George W. Bush
'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.' - George W. Bush

'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.' - George Bush
'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.' - George W. Bush
'For NASA, space is still a high priority.' - George W. Bush
'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.' - George W. Bush
'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.' - George W. Bush

The Mom song

2009-02-15T18:31:00.002+01:00

Does it sound familiar ;)

Joke of the day

2009-02-07T22:41:00.002+01:00

Q: what is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
A: Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets

Inspiring

2009-02-05T21:53:00.000+01:00

Tech is heck

2009-02-03T20:02:00.001+01:00

For the first time.......

2009-02-03T19:52:00.002+01:00

Adding to the list, today was the first time for me to give a presentation in Dutch.........and yes, people understood what I was presenting!

First time in my life

2009-01-12T19:37:00.002+01:00

The past period has marked many things for me to experience for the first time in my life. From amongst many, was the first time to have breakfast, lunch and diner of one day in three different countries, without being on transit in any of them. And if Poland would have been further to the east, it would have been three different continents, but the three meals were at my homes in the three different countries!

I have been through many culture shocks in my life and was delivering sessions for people preparing for short and long term travelling experiences, but it was the first time in my life to experience a severe culture shock. Although it is not easy to go through one, and many people would consider such situations as "bad experiences" but I am glad to experience this as it was a tremendous learning lessons for me.

I have been in many situations in my life where I was amongst people who are not communicating with any of the languages that I can survive with, but for me to feel that I am communicating with them smoothly and we fully understand each other is something new for me. The past month I started feeling that Ola's (my wife) great family is truly mine too.

This has not happened yet, but I have got some feelings that after I have been to the Egyptian National Security office and getting my name out of the black lists, that the next time I will come back to Egypt, I will enter the country just as "normal" people. I mean getting out of the airport without the extra checks that I have first experienced when I was nine years old!!

Untranslatable

2008-11-23T16:11:00.002+01:00

الزوج : يااااه أخيرا الحلم بيتحقق ..

الزوجة : عاوزني أبعد عنك ..... ؟؟

الزوج : لاااا.. متقوليش الكلام ده مره ثانيه ..

الزوجة : إنت .... تحبني ؟؟

الزوج : اكييييييييييييد ...
الزوجة : طيب ممكن تفكر تبعد عني ؟

الزوج : لا طبعاً ؟

الزوجة : طيب ممكن تهديني بوسه ؟

الزوج : طبعا.. و على خدك كمان ..

الزوجة : طيب تعتقد إنك ممكن تضربني في يوم من الأيام ؟

الزوج :لا طبعا ... انا مش من النوع ده من الرجال .

الزوجة : ممكن أثق فيك ؟

الزوج : ايووووه...

الزوجه : يا حبيبي ...

بعد مرور سنة من الزواج ...

وفي ذكرى زواجهما كان هناك حوارٌ آخر
.

و الآن
(أعد القراءة من الأسفل للأعلى

Egypt is not that bad

2008-11-05T19:47:00.002+01:00

A fellow Egyptian was talking to me about how bad the situation in Egypt became and how terrible life in Egypt is, by that people would presume everybody's lying to them by default before they would check that it is not. The sarcastic thing that the following day I wanted to collect the remaining dosage for my dear colon's medicine from the pharmacy when I discovered that the prescription decided to hide somewhere. Anyway, after calling my doc to write me a new prescription and getting to know that he can actually send some sort of "text" to the pharmacy, so I decided to "try my luck" with the pharmacy (which barely works). Well, after trying to explain to the lady what exactly happened and that they should have some sort of "text" from my doc (that took my some 15 mins), she looked at me with a big balloon over her head reading,"aha, you think you are smart and you gonna take the medicine without a prescription, nah", but yeah, was obvious that they face many situations like people trying to be "smart" and get medicines without prescriptions. I mean sometimes it can get super bureaucratic that Max Weber himself would feel ashamed and would take you ages to get the right medicine. The good thing about the Netherlands that you only need to be really really very persistent to get what (according to "them") you should not get, so at the end I got the medicine.

The smell of paradise

2008-09-25T22:50:00.002+02:00

This was so far the wackiest story heard lately. It is a true story that happened in Jordan.

This took place in a jewelery shop run by an old guy who seems to be quite religious. On of those evenings, a man entered the shop and asked the old guy to fix his broken ring. The jeweler was surprised from the way that man looks as he was so white with white hear, white clothes, and white long beard, when the jeweler asked the white man to sit down and wait until he finishes fixing his ring. A couple entered the shop and where looking for necklaces when they started asking about prices, but the jeweler told them to wait until he finishes fixing the ring of the old man sitting beside them. The couple were shocked and they ran quickly out of the shop. Few minutes later, another man entered the shop and asked the old guy to fix a bracelet when he told him to wait until he finishes with the old man's ring. The man started looking around when he started,"dude, are you crazy? there is nobody here!!", and then he left the shop. The old guy started fearing and murmuring some Quran verses, when the old guy calmed him down,"man do not be afraid, I am a messenger from God and only true believers can see me and I came to grasp your soul to paradise as I was just coming from your house in the paradise and I was drinking from your river in there and eating from your garden in there". The jeweler was so happy to hear that and he started thanking God, when the old guy continued,"and I have brought this handkerchief from your house in paradise to entertain you with paradise's smell. Take it and smell it". The jeweler sniffed and showed how amazing the smell is, when he sniffed very deeply,"oh, it is a smell that would blow your mind, what a sme...." and then he passed out.

you can imagine what happened lately, as not long time after, the jeweler waked up to find that everything is stolen from his shop as the white man, the couple and the other man are all members in a gang.

Ramadan

2008-09-21T00:36:00.002+02:00

Well, another Ramadan for me in NL, but this year it started with my all-dutch-colleagues staring after knowing that I am fasting with a sympathetic look as if saying "poor him, he has got to go through this", but actually they have got no idea how we Muslims enjoy the month.

As every Ramadan for the past few years, I did some of the meditation and thinking about the reasons for fasting and having such atmosphere. This year I have remembered my short trip couple of years ago to Ghana when I realised that Ramadan gives a perfect chance to people who has not got the chance to be in such places and experience what the "others" are living at. I remember talking to some of the foreigners who were living there and their stories about not having power or water at their homes because their landlords have to have some deals with other local people. Or other stories about transportation and that they have to stay everyday in the bus for anything between 10 mins to 2 hours until the bus is full of people before driving them to work.

Last year I had this talk with a french colleague at my previous work when she was saying how upset she got when she came back home to discover that the water is cut and her neighbours said that it will stay cut for 2 days, but then such situation just remind us the luxury that we living at by having a supermarkt downstairs where we can pick whatever we want whenever we do, or having an cable internet with which we can contact our friends/family who are thousands of miles far. Not mentioning (this is valid only in Cairo) ordering whatever food you fancy at whatever time of the day and will arrive at your point in the planet (of Cairo) within 30 mins.

Ramadan has proven (by statistics) that Muslims around the world has higher tendency to good will doing intensively during the month as I remember couple of years ago they counted the food served at ma2det el-ra7man (the free food street tables) in Egypt donated by people that it can feed around 30 million people!! 30 million people that can be a population of an average country.

Allahum takabal seyamana and happy Ramadan to all

A Better idea

2008-05-17T18:39:00.002+02:00

A message by George Carlin

2008-04-30T16:28:00.002+02:00

George Carlin being recognised as the second best stand-up comedian in US of all time, he delivers some good shit, listen up to that;

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Dutch exodus

2008-04-30T14:15:00.002+02:00

It's been my third time to watch this event which the Dutch call koninginnedag "Queen's day" or technically "ex-queen's birthday". Obviously the only point for celebrating this day is that it's a spring day and it's nice to take a day off. Actually the first time I've seen this event in Amsterdam, I felt like the Dutch do something like pilgrimage, only that it's not for any god, but for music, cheap bear and sex. It's amazing watching a huge amount of people wearing orange garments, stuff and everything that you can and can't imagine. Probably when they started celebrated this event, they couldn't imagine that after sometime, people will be dancing on that day to Indian music, which I hear now from my appartment in the centre of the town, or that some group of Buddhist priests playing their own music and dancing to it. Hearing a sound of glass breaking every 15 seconds and seeing a beautiful view of Amsterdam's streets covered with 20 cms of garbage and all kinds of trash, the event sounds to me more of a good incident for people to express their vandalism in all different ways. This can be by painting everything exposed to the crowd in orange even police cars, or pissing on parked cars.

George Galloway

2008-04-27T12:46:00.003+02:00

I have never ever seen a western who understands mid-eastern conflict better than this dude. and yes it's true, Hezbollah, though a Shiite organisation, which had been always unfavoured by Muslims, Christians or definitely their cousins, Jews, but the Lebanese war gave them a huge boost in terms of ideological support from all mid-easterns and even more that a big majority of people are sympathising with them.

Dangerous Minds

2008-04-26T23:30:00.005+02:00

At least for me, it has been one of the best that Hollywood has produced. While watching this movie, although a bit old (1995), it feels like "life", it feels like a piece of art. Actually, it is a piece of art. It starts with that person Louanne (Michel Pfeiffer) who seems to be a hopeless, fresh-divorcee and desperate for whateva-job, facing a super desperate situation. Once she starts working hard on trying to get onshore, feels like everybody and all circumstances against her. She is the power, she got the guts to stand against norms and say a big NO. As we say in Egyptian, "youda3 serouh fe ad3af 7'al2oh", literally translated into, "God puts his biggest secrets in his smallest creatures", meaning that never get fooled with the smallest tiniest weak-seem-to-be thing, because it may disappoint you and turn out to be the strongest.

If you would get any learning points out of this movie, would be, if you believe in a certain way and you are hundred percent sure that it is the right way, then screw the whole world and you gotta fight your ass off working on it, even if it takes you swimming against the flow. Never give up to the idea that your environment, people, culture, norms or whatever you would think of as an obstacle can stop you.

Another learning point that people sometimes do little things or at least this is how they seem to be, but in fact they do a tremendous harm, and you can not imagine how small could it be. Like in the movie when the principal of the school dismissed the student and did not want to listen to him, because the student did not knock the door before coming in, which led the student to get to the street and get himself killed.

A quote from Louanne, the teacher, is "There are no victims in this classroom" and this was her counter claim against the society and the environment where those dudes are living at, but in fact it just shows that if anybody want to do anything, they will do it as long as they really believe in it. In fact, life made me strongly believe that the smartest of people are often to be found in criminals or busted dudes, not that I want to be one or even to claim being smart, and lately I got to know that sometimes the dumbest of them would be found among those dudes who are perfectly suited and looks slick.

There are many things that you can learn from this movie, but in fact I was looking at the title of the movie just after watching it for the (too many)th time to realise something, that probably what is meant by "dangerous minds" are not the "special" students, but actually everybody else who think of them as a hopeless case, everybody else who would be an obstacle toward changing them.

How to recognise a Dutchman?

2008-04-26T17:46:00.007+02:00

This has been a norm among expats at any spot in the world, but it should not be taken as any kind of stereotype, as it is just a criticism to "a culture".

so, how to recognise a cloggy?

The Dutch population in general are known to be nice and kind people whenever it come to anything other than money. When a guy tells you that he has been to your country few years ago and he still has some of its currency and he would like to exchange it for today's rate to the cent-value, it means that you are standing in front of a Dutchman.

When your landlord who's overcharging your rent, gets a verdict from the court to lower the rent four times and you, out of nobleness and utopian values, suggest that the verdict is unfair for him, so you would pay only half the rent and he starts to negotiate for 5 euros, then welcome to Holland.

When you invite a friend at your place and he eats your dinner and do not leave you any food, and then leave the after-dinner-crap for you to clean it and do not even say thank you, then you know that it is a cloggy-man.

When you find an old lady at the supermarket cursing and swearing because she can not put her shopping kart back in the raw because it has a different size and that she can not take her 50 cents back, then guess where this lady came from.

When it is your birthday and your colleagues at work are wondering why you did not invite them for a drink, then you are definitely dealing with some cloggies.

April 30th 2006

2008-04-16T21:59:00.002+02:00

It was exactly two weeks to two years since this happened to me. It was one long day spent in Amsterdam on the Queen's day when I was coming back to Arnhem, where I used to live for sometime. I simply overslept in the train and got to a wrong station where the conductors offered me a free ride back home!!

Today, again something similar happened when I overslept in the train coming back from work to wake up and find myself in the very empty parked train in the middle of nowhere!! after trying to find anybody inside it, I decided that a good solution would be opening the door and getting out of it to discover that I am in the trains garage area. Well, finally somebody shown up and he lead me to the exit and even told a colleague to drive me with his cab to the central station.

Good attitude cloggies, keep it up