Sinterklaas

As all Dutch people know Sinterklaas is very important in our society. I'm not very patriotic, I don't really feel Dutch (colleagues call me a 'wannabe kiwi with an Irish accent'), people don't guess me as Dutch (different accent and I am not tall enough...) but I love Sinterklaas, the Zwarte Pieten and the culture around it. I love the things we do in our family with the teasing poems, the fake presents and of course a real present at the end.

Naturally I told my friends about it, handed out chocolate 'Sinterklaas' [yes, they have it in the supermarket, at the Dutch section...'is there a Dutch section?' I can hear people think? Yes there is. So what's in that Dutch section? Well, speculaas, Dutch mayonaise, Dutch pickles, knakworsten (yup, the real ones), stroopwafels (yup, the real ones) and now chocolate Sinterklaas]. And of course I told some of my colleagues, I got some pictures of the Internet and summarised it in an email (for the non-Dutch: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas)

Now. So what. Well, get this. The past few Mondays I have been co-ordinating some development work with some tutors. I don't really know them, I'm just guiding them in the innovative process, but we get on quite well. This Monday, Kirsten says at the end that she has something for me...Much to my surprise, she reads out a Sinterklaas poem!

Maaike is an outdoors woman,
she really knows her stuff.
Rafting, hiking, camping, tramping,
she's no Paddy's piece of fluff!

To NCALE, she's dedicated,
she's thorough and she's committed.
But without 5 decent coffees a day,
she smiles, but through teeth gritted!

This Christmas away from her Dutch home-land,
missing family and friends too.
Merry Christmas from us all at CPIT,
to Maaike,a new kiwi true-blue!

I felt really special, or better said: I still do. To make it even better, Kirsten sends it to my manager, her head of school and some of my colleagues. My office partner Heather response was this:

Maaike is a rafter,
a biker, and a hiker...
Maaike's eating speculaas, dancing jigs, doing Haka!

Maaike tells us that she likes,
to eat a lot of bread.
If she can't get any,
it makes her crazy in the head!

Maaike was a tomboy,
climbing all the trees.
Clamboring up the roof tops,
with a monkey-like ease.

Maaike thinks she's Irish,
but I bet she never met at dawn,
a wee green mischievous man,
we call a leprechaun.

Perhaps that is because
she's really one of them
in heart and soul and accent
a true multi cultural gem!

I have fantastic colleagues...again!