Zwarte Piets

I don't have too much to say about this week. School was hectic as usual. I gave my first real test on Friday. It got a lot of criticism from the students and some other teachers, but I was quite happy with the result. I was there until 7 grading it. And for another almost two hours after that drinking wine and talking with colleagues.

Eindhoven's Main Cathedral (a little different from what we saw in Band of Brothers)

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I don't know how, but I totally forgot about it! We even had a couple friends over for dinner, so it would have been the perfect way to celebrate. It was Naomi's day off, and she could have even made something nice. A chicken is the biggest thing that will fit in our oven though...

Museum of Modern Art

Yesterday we left for Eindhoven. Naomi's best friend had a housewarming party and we were also able to visit with her dad. Eindhoven is the technical center of the Netherlands. Phillips is from there. It is the 'smart' city. Bombed out during the war, so it is a modern sort of place. Nicer than Rotterdam though. We went to a modern art museum this morning which was mostly strange. I don't think Naomi or I care much for modern art.

A central street at sunset.

On the way to the train, we saw a parade of Zwarte Piets. Kind of a long story, but there is a Dutch version of Santa Claus - Sinterklaas. He lives in Spain for most of the year but arrived here two weeks ago by boat. He rides around on a white horse and has lots of little helpers - like elves but a bit sillier. They make lots of funny mistakes. They are also black (they paint their faces). Some people are upset because they think it is racist. I find it a very interesting tradition - and am a bit surprised it still exists. They also celebrate Christmas here, but it is not as big due to Sinterklaas. There is more to the tradition for older people - a bit of a white elephant joking thing with poems designed for gift exchange. This can turn into quite the long story...

Random parade of Zwarte Piets.