Sinterklaas is coming to town!

On November 16 Sinterklaas arrives to the Netherlands from Spain by boat. He comes bearing gifts for the children that have been good and visits the whole country until his departure on December 6th. The night before he leaves, children leave a shoe out where Sinterklass will place the presents and candy he has brought, and some even leave carrots for Sinterklaas's horse. This tradition is just as strong and alive as Santa Claus is in many other countries.

The tradition of Sinterklaas may date back to pre-Christian Europe with the pagan figure of Odin who was a God that the Germanic people worshiped. There is also the post-Christian tradition of Saint Nicholas who was the bishop of present day Greece, as after being canonized, became the patron saint of children. After being "banned" from Dutch traditions during the 16th and 17th century, Sinterklass sprung back to Dutch culture in 1850 thanks to the book Saint Nicholas and His Servant by the schoolteacher Jan Schenkman. It is after this book that Sinterklaas became the figure that he is today.

It is during this time that the Netherlands had many colonies, and like other emerging countries had slaves. It is because of this historical background that Zwarte Piet or Black Piet accompanied Sinterklaas; he was his slave. Other people argue that Zwarte Piet was not really black nor had African decent. His name has such word because he represented evil and not a certain ethnic group. Considering Sinterklaas was a bishop, this claim seems to be accurate as the Catholic church has, throughout its history, tried to scare followers away from evil. 

It is Zwarte Piet, an important character in such an old tradition, that has recently scandalized the world, and even caused concern from the United Nations. Not too long ago Zwarte Piet was depicted with big lips, afro hair and bright colored clothes. Although Piet's attire has lost the big lips and afro, Zwarte Piet has a distinct black face. The United Nations has gone as far as to appoint a commission  to investigate this celebration because some people feel Zwarte Piet is discriminatory.  

However, if you ask children and adults that grew up with the Sinterklaas tradition, they will tell you that Piet has a black face because he goes down the chimney to leave toys in children's shoes. His face, people assure, is black because of soot and not race. There is no recolection of Piet being a slave nor is he feared. Children look forward to seeing Piet because Piet is the one that gives candy and toys and makes jokes and has fun, while Sinterklaas is respectfully feared because he decides who has been good and who will receive presents.

So what can the Netherlands and its people do against these acussations of racism despite the fact that there are large numbers of immigrants and immigration procedures, compared to those of other countries, are welcoming? How do you adapt this tradition so that any hint of discrimination or racism disappears? Who should interfere?

My answer is very simple. The United Nations has no jurisdiction over cultural traditions nor can the Dutch government as an entity change it. The Netherlands is a democracy. It is the people who need to bring about this change. And how? By referring to Piet as just Piet, by making the soot of the chimney look like soot and not a skin color, by having Piets of different ethnicities in parades and stores and images and even storybooks. And more importantly, by embracing this holiday and enjoying it just as the children do, with no hint of discrimination, ill will or anger.

The Netherlands has been in some aspects a pioneer for equal rights and freedom of choice. This change is not really a change to the tradition but rather a better portrayal of who the dutch are? What image would the dutch want it to be?

Languages, writing and immigrants

I recently read an article about a dutch writer, Pia de Jong, who moved to the U.S. and was finding it difficult to write in English. She states that "she wasn't prepared for what the loss of (her) native language would mean for her."I have often felt this "loss" given the fact that I have moved. Although I am from Mexico, I do not consider Spanish to be my native language, however, I am from the U.S. so saying that my native language is English is often met with baffled faces. After five years of pondering about this issue, I have made peace with the fact that both Spanish and English are my native languages, but the only language that I truly cultivated for writing was English. As opposed to what de Jong says, I find English to be a very rich language, but I am aware that the richness I find is my own creativity. Conversations, novels, poetry and even communicating with a significant other have always been more fruitful in English. 

And yet, what can an immigrant writer do to continue writing and publishing? I often asked myself this when I lived in Mexico and would write. Everything I wrote was in English and the places to publish in English were few. What I came up with back then was to teach myself to write in Spanish. I often did, and, although I wasn't completely satisfied, I did improve. Since I have always spoken in Spanish with my family, it wasn't too hard. I had a Spanish speaking voice, I just needed to work on my Spanish writing voice. However, I am in the same conundrum once again. I will now live in the Netherlands and will once again be faced with the obstacles of writing, but this time the obstacle will be a bit tougher. I am barely learning Dutch, and although I have a knack for languages, writing in Dutch will be a whole new adventure. I have no Dutch voice. I will have to acquire this voice as I learn the language and adapt to living in the Netherlands. De Jong states in the article that she just couldn't find richness in the English language because "the Dutch have several words to describe their long light at the end of the day; Americans use only two: 'dusk' or 'twilight.'" The truth is that as I write this, I do not know how to say dusk or twilight in Dutch and this is just a small sample of the hundreds of Dutch words I do not know. 

The wonderful part to this conundrum is that I want to learn. I want to write and read and talk and think in Dutch and Spanish and English and Italian and French and whatever new language I decide to learn in a couple of years. I want to find the richness in the five languages I know. Perhaps I can start a new literary genre: the immigrant genre where one story, one novel, one poem, one essay can have a few words in a different language because the writer just couldn't find that sentiment or image in just one language. Languages given us more options to express ourselves. Wouldn't it be wonderful to exploit this in writing?

**The Dutch words I found for "twiling" and "dusk" are schemering, avondschemering, schemerlicht, schemerdonker, schemeravond, and halfdonker.**

To read de Jong's account please click on the following link: Washington Post: Finding my voice in a new language

Learning a new language

Learning a new language or, in fact, learning anything requires that a few but important set of circumstances combine to create a perfect environment. First and foremost, you need a very good motivation. If you are not motivated to learn anything, then your chances of actually succeeding are slim to none. You also need the correct environment. This, just like the previous, varies from person to person. Perhaps you are a problem solver and believe that full immersion with no type of lifeguard is ideal. For me, I like a challenge without feeling like an idiot. I enjoy knowing the answer or how to do something, but I also enjoy "getting it right." Another important aspect for my learning environment is a pleasant looking place. Perhaps this seems a bit snob, but I don't necessarily need luxury. I want to be at a place where I like to go. I like walking and looking forward to a class or a discussion. I like to walk around the streets and not only feel safe but feel like myself. And last but not least, you need the correct resources to make this happen. Whether these resources are money for tuition, books for further study, time in your day to devote to this and a place where you can study, resources are important. The stories of people learning math with no pen or pencil and wonderful and inspiring, but are really one in a million.

Perhaps this post is a bit nerdy, but this week I continued a journey into learning something that I truly enjoyed. Nederlands (or dutch) is the fifth language I learn, but this time, it has a different feel to it. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and more than I had in a long time. Five months ago, I began taking classes to learn Nederlands. I started in a school in Mexico that did not promise to be much but quickly turned into a pleasant learning environment. After a rocky start at another school in Belgium, this week I began classes at Maastricht University. When I visited Maastricht last April, I knew I loved the place the moment I walked out of the parking lot. It is a small but cozy city that has as much of a college feel as it does luxury and comfort. The restaurants are cozy and I love the shops. My favorite is a bookstore that is in a building that used to be a church. It is absolutely stunning. You drink coffee where many years ago, a priest offered mass. The university, I've been told, is known for its rigor and competes among the best. Yet, even with all the pomposity, everyone is laid back. It is a school where you see all types of students and faculty walking around. You see a language teacher wearing converse and a young student with a mini-dress; young teachers and older students; people walking and riding bikes; those that seem forgot to shower and others very clean. 

It is in these posts that I completely show my nerdy side. Yes, I am excited about learning and going to class. I am so excited that I chose my clothes the night before after studying for a couple of hours, I was nervous the night before and couldn't sleep, I arrived to class early to get a good seat, I felt motivated when I walked out after being challenged, went to the bookstore (the church one I mentioned) to buy more books to study and now I am writing a blog about learning. Today I feel like myself because I did the one thing I love to do: I went to school!

Happy learning :)