Dutch Culture with Bob van Heeks

Bob van Heeks introduced students to the foods, culture, and places to see in the Netherlands

By Holden Sparacino

On Thursday, the class met with Bob van Heeks, an Amsterdam ex-pat who teaches Dutch language classes in Burlington. Our evening with Bob was attended by students and instructors, to answer our questions and hear about everything from biking etiquette to foods to try to a few words and phrases to know.

We also sampled a few regional dishes brought from Kris (stamppot) and Bob (drop) while we learned. This class was just one of the ways that students are preparing for the upcoming trip (less than a month away already!), as this will be our first time in the Netherlands for most of us!

One of my favorite parts of the evening was hearing from students about what they are excited to experience on our trip. Although we will only be in Amsterdam for a few days (as our journey necessitates around 10-20 miles of biking per day to get where we’re going), students were excited to hear about Amsterdam’s picturesque canals, local foods to try, and more.

One trick Bob taught us – to get around, remember that Amsterdam’s canals are named alphabetically from the center to the outside of the city – Herengracht, Keizersgracht, then Prinsengracht. Photo: NASA

We are delighted to have some cultural experience under our belts before the trip begins! Preparation for the trip is in full-swing, and I am looking forward to using the phrases we learned in the Netherlands, especially when expressing our gratitude for the tour guides that will be teaching us about Dutch water resource management!

We look forward to sharing more during the trip, and dank je wel for following along here!

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