My home country, Holland

Nikki D’Amato, Melanie Traflet

Introductory Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRJYOQQ2ZKs

• The country is separated into 12 providences

• The 23rd densest population in the world

• Capital: Amsterdam• Official Languages:

Dutch and Frisian• Population: ~17 million• Government:

Constitutional Monarchy• Religion demographics:– 30% Roman Catholic– 42% do not identify with

a religion– 20% Protestant

Fun Facts

North and South Holland shown together within the Netherlands

Fun Facts

• National symbol is a Lion

• Westernized style of dress

• The tulip is the symbol of the Netherlands – It arrived from the

Ottoman Empire in the 16th century

Store in Amsterdam

Interior of the Maison de Bonneterie mall in Amsterdam

Canals of Utrecht

• ¼ of the Netherlands is below sea level

• The sea level continues to rise and the land continues to disappear

• Most imports/exports are mostly waterway based

• 27 airports, 744 merchant marines• Schiphol is the biggest international

airport in the country and the 4th biggest airport in Europe (after Paris, London, and Frankford), and planes that land there are actually landing 4.5 meters below sea level

• Holland is famous for their canals and they do their best to protect and maintain them

• According to UNESCO, the canals are cultural heritage of “outstanding universal value”

One of the 17th Century canals in Amsterdam

Water!

Bikes!

• Bicycles are a common means of transportation in Holland (particularly in Amsterdam), with almost every Dutch person owning a bike

• There are over 15,000 km of bike tracks in Holland• There are twice as many bicycles as cars• Fittingly with the bike trend, one in every three Dutch people

belongs to a sports club• One can embark on one of countless self-guided bike tours

throughout the country• Some bike tours offer bikes complete with GPS!

Keukenhof, my favorite place

to visit• Garden of Europe • Lisse, South Holland• ~7,000,000 flower blubs• Open annually from the

last week of March to mid-May

Vondel Park

• “the Central Park of Amsterdam”• Attracts thousands of people daily; about ten million

people a year• Considered a national heritage monument• It has a rose garden, winding paths, and ponds but also

a restaurant, bar, tea house, film museum, and open air theater which hosts performances in the summer

Madurodam• Tourist site located in the Hague• Miniature Holland• If the tourists missed anything while

sightseeing they can come here and see it

• Great place for kids and adults, because it is very entertaining

Education

• Children can start pre-school as young as 2 ½ • School is mandatory from ages 5-18

(although most children start at age 4)

• Public school is freeTypical school day 8:30am to 3pm Monday-FridayLunch typically lasts an hour

• A Dutch flag and school bag are often hung outside the home when children pass an exam

An International school in Amsterdam

Education

• “Primary Schools” refers to students ages 4-12• After age 12, children are tracked for their

educational system• The education standards there were set in place by

the Dutch Ministry of Education• Educaide (the professional help desk for Bilingual

and International students in the Netherlands) advises educators, children, their parents, and authorities in a wide range of issues pertaining to such students

• 99% of the total population is literate(with “literacy” meaning age 15 and over can read and

write)

My favorite dessert from home, and a family recipe… Danish shortbread cookies!

What is Shortbread?• Most people consider shortbread a cookie,

but some people consider it a biscuit or even a cake.

• There’s a lot of discrepancy about how shortbread cookies got their name but the back-story is that the Scottish bakers who invented the cookie wanted to avoid paying a tax that the government had on biscuits, so they classified it as a “shortbread”

• It is said that they chose the word “Shortbread” because of the cookie’s crumbly texture (from an old meaning of the word short)

Where is Shortbread from/ Where is it now?

• Invented in Scotland• Considered a luxury

because they are expensive and so they were reserved for special occasions such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve and weddings

• Ended up spreading all over the world and is now a treat that is consumed year round

• Today there are several companies in the United States that manufacture shortbread exclusively

How do people eat it?

• Tea-time accompaniment• Milk• Coffee • Wine • Champagne

Learning Styles

• Auditory: Learners learn through hearing it, and we were speaking the whole time.

• Visual: Learners learn visually (written words, pictures, video), and we had the powerpoint with written words and pictures (and video).

• Applied: The cultural video we showed was a real life video taped in the Netherlands.

• Independent: They like learning by themselves and we didn’t have the students put into groups to learn the material, they learned on their own.

Works Cited• http://www.answers.com/topic/shortbread

• http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/activities/events-in-holland/keukenhof-21.htm

• http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/610-03504341/The-Netherlands-South-Holland-Gouda-young-woman-in-traditional-costume

• http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/NL-957899

• http://www.hollandpass.com/things-to-do/

• http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3624361

• http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/Cities-in-Holland/Utrecht-1/Culture-in-Utrecht-1/canals-of-utrecht.htm

• http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~ne34/fun.html

• http://www.bike-netherlands.com/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortbread

• http://www.passionateparenting.nl/education/the-education-system-in-the-netherlands.php

• Netherlands: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107824.html#ixzz1s5idsm2x

• http://dutchfood.about.com/od/aboutdutchcooking/ss/3DailyMeals_4.htm

• http://southholland.angloinfo.com/countries/holland/food.asp

• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107824.html

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html

• http://www.answers.com/topic/shortbread#ixzz1s2z2RYeW http://www.educaide.nl/index.php

• http://www.answers.com/topic/shortbread#ixzz1s2zrDpWp

• http://www.answers.com/topic/shortbread#ixzz1s2yuLjy5

• http://www.answers.com/topic/shortbread#ixzz1s2zycEV2

• http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/Cities-in-Holland/Amsterdam/Culture-in-Amsterdam-1/vondelpark-in-amsterdam.htm

• http://www.visitholland.nl/index.php/Homepage/fun-facts-about-the-netherlands.html