interview
Finding my space 21/02/2007 00:00
When Latvian student Gunta Badovska fell in love with a Dutchman and moved to Amstelveen from Riga, she found some of the differences in culture and style between her homeland and Holland frankly peculiar.
Name: Gunta Badovska
Nationality: Latvian
City of Residence: Amstelveen
Date of Birth: 3 May 1977
Civil status: Samenwoning
Occupation: Student Dutch language
Education: Masters in Social Psychology from the University of Riga
In the Netherlands since: 2005
Gunta Badovska: Amsterdam is
Love brought me to the Netherlands. I met my current boyfriend while I was on holiday in Turkey recuperating from a difficult period in my life. It was love at first sight and we both knew immediately we would live together. It was also clear that I would come to the Netherlands, because the Dutch language was easier for me to learn than Latvian was for him. He had also bought a house and had been working in a steady job for several years, while I was living in rented accommodation and had just switched jobs. 
a beautiful, romantic city
After eight months I moved to the Netherlands. Although I hadn't completed my Master's thesis, I arranged to finish it in the Netherlands. This arrangement was also a lot cheaper than my boyfriend's fortnightly plane trips from the Netherlands to Latvia, not to mention the enormous phone bills we were running up!
In the beginning it was rather strange to leave my busy life - my job and studies - in Riga to live in Amstelveen. But I started doing a course in Dutch immediately and quickly made a lot of friends.
The nature I miss
I'm glad I'm living in Amstelveen; it's greener than Amsterdam, but you still have the advantage of living next to a big city. Nature is beautiful in Latvia, there are so many forests, rivers and lakes, and the countryside is mostly hilly. When you go hiking you sometimes don't meet any one else for days – that's how expansive it is.
In Latvia, a lot of people do things outside at the week-ends. During the winter, skiing and snowboarding are popular sports, and in the summer you can go camping, sailing, swimming and hiking. A lot of people stay in summer residences in the summer months. They even stay there during the week if the location isn't too far from their work.
I really miss all of this in Netherlands. It's so crowded here and gardens are so small. Sometimes they are only 20 square metres, while in Latvia a garden is at least 600 square metres!
Nodding off
There are hardly any highways in Latvia and the existing routes are poorly maintained. However, here in the Netherlands there are so many good, smooth roads, which is really relaxing. However, I often fall asleep because there is little to see in this flat countryside.
What women wear
In general women pay a lot of attention to their appearance in Latvia. Especially in the capital, women wear high heels and elegant clothes. To be honest most of the time elegance comes before practicality, which is quite different from the Dutch women's approach. To be honest I must be becoming a bit Dutch myself, because when I go back to Latvia now I feel like a rural resident. The first thing I always do is pay a visit to the beautician, manicurist and hairdresser! I have the feeling that the Dutch woman pay more attention to their appearance when they are older. I mostly see very elegant and well-groomed women in their fifties.
Bike after bike
In Riga you see hardly any bicycles. They are associated with the countryside, where they are used as a means of transport or to exercise. In the capital people hardly ever cycle. All those bicycles in the cycle-ranks are so typical of Holland, as are old, rusty bikes.
Brick upon brick
Riga architecture
I think Amsterdam is a beautiful, romantic city, but it also feels a bit like the country because of all those identical brick houses. I miss the allure and elegance of the Jugendstil in Riga, with all its architectural embellishments.
In the Soviet period a lot of the Jugendstil creations were neglected and that is a pity. The houses are plastered and sometimes the paintwork is all cracked, Amsterdam on the other hand is very well-maintained.
Weekend shoppers
In the Soviet period there was hardly any choice in the stores, but now we have compensated for that and supermarkets, which are much larger then those in the Netherlands - they are almost all hypermarkets - also offer more choice. Opening times are longer as well. I really don't understand how people in the Netherlands can do their grocery shopping when they work all day. A lot of Dutch people do their shopping on Saturday but I really don't want to do that on my weekends! Besides, how can I know what I want to eat for the next four days?
The quality of products in Latvia is better as well. Over here the meat often has a rubbery taste to it. In Latvia most of the products come from small farmers and everything is biological. You don't even have to label it that.
Dutch mealtimes
In Latvia we tend to eat a hot meal at midday. I missed that a lot in Holland in the beginning. I was hungry all day and could only eat 'for real' in the evening. Now I am more used to this. At midday I make pasta or a salad and I eat my main meal in the evening.
Usually the service in restaurants isn't good here. I always remember the restaurants where the service is good because I think it is important. Often the interior of restaurants are a bit old-fashioned and in some small restaurants I get the impression that I am having diner in some one's kitchen!
My foreign friends and I often make jokes about Dutch birthday parties. "Make sure you have something to eat before you go!" In Latvia you don't eat before you go to a birthday party because you know a lot of food will be served and sometimes even a full meal. The cake you get here as a starter is the dessert over there.
Fast friends
I think the Dutch are friendly in day-to-day contact and easy to connect with, but I have the feeling it remains a bit superficial. Latvians are less open and spontaneous, but in the end, I think they are more serious about making friendships. I must admit that I don't have any Dutch friends except my boyfriend's. I only make foreign friends myself.
I think another difference is that Latvians are often more friendly with their colleagues. You hang out with them more, also in the week-ends. For instance it is normal to organise a company party where a sauna is included. There are a lot of nice hotels with saunas and they are very popular for parties.
Lasting romance
Lastly, let me tell you about the first impression I had of the Netherlands, something which remains lodged in my memory.
I had visited the Netherlands twice before my immigration, to attend the marriage of a Latvian friend of mine to her Dutch boyfriend. I discovered that a famous Latvian writer of children's books was also living in the Netherlands and was married to a Dutchman. The couple had been in love for years but she was only able to marry him at the age of 80. I think it is a very romantic story and I was lucky enough to meet her in Holland.
In short, the Netherlands has been a country of love for me and everything has worked out in the end.
21 February 2007
Gunta Badovska told her story to Nicole van Schaijik, who owns and operates Talent Taaltrainingen (Dutch Language Courses), based in Amsterdam (www.talent-tn.nl).
(Tel: 020 420 66 59or email: info@talent-tn.nl).
Translated from the Dutch language by David van Bakergem.
[Copyright Expatica 2007]
Subject: Expat profiles
2 reactions to this article
Viktorija Mironova posted: 25-04-2008 | 9:30 AM
I am also coming from Latvia, live here for over 6 years and I agree with what Gunta says about the abundance of nature in Latvia and the lack of it in Holland, the elegance of women in Latvia, the allure of Riga architecture, the friendship long orientation of people in Latvia and of course biological food where western style supermarkets are slowly taking over which are dominated by the mass production products predominantly from Germany, France and Holland while local farmers are slowly pushed out...alas!
Holland has its own beauty and I like the freedom of "be what you want to be", the sea, the flowers, the winds, the canals, the friendliness in cosmopolitan areas, straightforwardness of Dutch people, and the optimistic outlook.
SALWN posted: 03-06-2008 | 11:04 AM
salwn posted: 03-06-2008 | 10:51 AM
this is a report show you the percent of islam according to european nation and the islam will be the first relegion the all the europe
Very Important And Danger Report
The Future Of European’s Land
Europe's Muslim street
By omer taspinar
Visiting fellow,foreign policy studies
slam may still be a faraway religion for millions of Americans but for Europeans it is local pllitices.the 15 million Muslims of the European union(eu) –up to three times as many as live in the united state-are becoming a more powerful political force than the fabled Arab street. Europe's Muslims hail from different countries and display diverse religious tendencies,but the common denominator that links them to the Muslims world is their sympathy for Palestine and Palestinians. And unlike most of their Arab brethren growing numbers of Europe's Muslims can vote in elections that count.this political ascendance threatens to exacerbate existing strains within the trans-atlantic relationship.the presence of nearly 10 million muslims versus only700.000 jews in the france and germany alone helps explain why continental Europe might look at the middle east from a defferent angle than does the united states.indeed French and german concerns about a unilateral u.s. attach on iraq or Washington 's blind support for Israel are at least partly related to nervousness about the muslim street at home .whether Brussels,berlin,paris,or Washington like it or not ,Europe muslim constituencies are likely to become an even more vocal forein policy lobby .two trends are empowering europe's muslim street:demographics and opportunities for full citizenship.it's worth remembering hat eurpe's consequence of actions taken nearly a half century ago.during the postwar labor shortage in the 1950's and 1960's ,tunks,Algerians,Moroccans,Tunisians,and Pakistanis were called to help spur europe's iconomic recovery. No host country expected these 'guest-workers' as the germans called them with characteristic frankness ,to overstay their welcome .like all good guests ,they were supposed to leave ,preferably when the recession hit and the party was over in the 1970's .they didn't .instead ,their families joined thim ,and new generations of European turks.algerians,and Tunisians,and Pakistanis were born.more are on the way.today the muslim birth rate in Europe is three times higher than the non – muslimsone .if current trends continue,the muslim population of europe will nearly double by 2015 ,while the non-muslim population will shrink by 3.5 percent. A parallel process of muslim enfranchisement is accompanying this population surge.nearly half of the 5 million to 7 million muslims in france are already French citizen .the situation is similar for most of the 2 million muslims in great Britain .most recently,in 2000 ,germany join the countries whrer itizenship is granted according to birthplace instead of ancestr.the new german citizenship laws added already a half million voters to the rolls and have opened the road to citizenship to all other muslims in germany.whith currently 160.000 new muslim citizens a year ,the number of voters might total 3 million in the nest decade. In germany and elsewhere in Europe, a muslim swing vote is already having a critical impact.consider the ilectoral push that newly enfranchised 'german turks' gave to germany's incumnent social democrat(spd)-green coalition in last september's down-to-the-write election.these muslim germans pnished the anti-immigrant Christian democrats,sho oppose turkey's membership to the eu.and they expressed their gratitude for efforts by the spd green coalition to change the archaic laws of german citizenship.the bad news for the german Christian democrats is that in the next general election in 2006,roughly 1 million german turks will e eager to cast their votes.a big boost to the organization capacity of muslims in Europe cane most recently from france ,home to europe's largest mulsim community.the country's diverse muslim community is now represented by a unified French council of the Islamic faithu-apotential boon to its lobbying colut.french mulslims have also gain higher political visliblitity with the inclusion in prime minister jean-pierre raffarin's govermment of two cabinet members of north African origin.armed with the power of the vote and quickly learning the mechanics of lobbying,the muslims street in Europe is on its way to having more political weight then the arab street of Egypt or Saudi Arabia.but the attacks of September 11 have cast the growing influence of European muslims in a more ominous light.although the overwhelming majority of muslims living in Europe(or for that matter,the united states)are peaceful and law abiding,many European governments worry under their breath about the role of some European mulsims in past and future terrorist attachs-a concern stoked by the discovery of al qaeda cells in germany ,france,italy and Britain .given these not-so-latent suspicions and prejudices,one casualty of a major Islamic terrorist attach on European soil would likely be europe's budding multiculturalism.another major concern is the relationship between europe's muslims and what is perceived in some quarters as europe's growing anti-semitism..true, continental Europeans are much more supportive of the palestintan cause.overal,Europeans have a difficult time understanding how a small country like Israel can have so much influence over the sole superpower.but few in the u.s notice that the communities most resentful of Israel n Europe are muslim.the perpetrators of anti-Semitic incidents in france are not right-wing extremists protecting the 'french race' from jewish contamination:the 400or so anti-semitic incidents documented in the country during 2001 have mostly been attributed to muslim youth of north African origin.such incidents tend to spike upwards mbility also contribute to the frustration of muslims in Europe, who aften fell discriminated against.on the positive side,demographic growth and enfranchisement are already integrating European Muslims into the politicalmainstream and have the potential to produce a moderate type of euro-islam.yet the implications of a more vocal muslim lobby in europe's middle east policy offer no good news for the u.s .home to a minuscule jewsh minority and growing muslim masses,Europe will only get better at confronting the u.s at the game of ethnic-looby influence-a small price to pay, perhaps,for the emergence of a truly multicultural Europe.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Firstly some facts about the orginal name of allah is it god of pagans:
SEE THIS :
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open this link to see the pictuers
http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-photos-moon-worship-archealolgy.htm AND
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/islam.htm
See also: www.peter2.net/moon_god.html
Also: moongod.htm
the second ,please send to this address he is expert of the islamic affairs in everything :qafltv@yahoo.ca and www.fatherzakaria.net and then click on the botton books in the upper and read what you never hear and see in all your life like lie is permitting if they proclaim or introuduce their book to none muslims,and do you hear about the adult suckling ,women can suckle some one to become her son and ...ect very straing things but they hid it to not dislike the none muslims,just open the books and read .this is few things from may things if you send to qafltv@yahoo.ca the will send you or tell you how the satan also belived in islam and become muslim and inspire the quran www.thequran.com
God bless all bye i hope all the europe weak from sleapy and come back to the christ.
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Dear friend ,hi jesus bless you,i send you this message
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==============================================
1-Verses from letter of saint paul to ephesians about loving wives
http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B49C005.htm
verses Verses from letter of saint paul to ephesians
about loving wives and not be bitter against them.
chapter 5 verses from 21 ,25 to 30.
-------------------------------------------------------
2-vereses from letter of saint paul to colosians
http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B51C003.htm
verses Verses from letter of saint paul to colossians
about loving wives and not be bitter against them.
chapter 3 verses 19 and 25.
============================================
if you want to read the verses of love your wives in the
gospel please open this
:http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B49C005.htm
(chapter 5 verses from 21 ,25 to 30.) and also see this
link:http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B51C003.htm
(chapter 3 verses 19 and 25.)
HAPPY SAINT VALANTINE DAY ,SEE YOU BYE.SEE
anyone want to convert to the christianity send him this
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things and very dangerous things open this site:
http://www.webstarts.com/sites/0306/bio_search_designer@yahoo.com/s_1196930084416/
but if you want to read also the arabic text convert from the view menu
and then choose encoding and then choose more and then unicode utf-8
==============================================
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if you send me i will provide you areport witch show you that the birth of rate of islam is very high and in the future will be the first relegion in the europe
c u bye.
----------------------------------------------------
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archive
word of the day : Sorry
meaning : Sorry
phrase of the day : Ik spreek niet goed Nederlands.
meaning : I don't speak Dutch very well.
- I currently work and live in Holland, but I will soon move to Belgium (Antwerp) while continuing to work in Holland. I was told that I can choose whether I pay income tax in Holland or Belgium. Is this true? Hello Amy, I am afraid it is not a matter of choice. 1. Most national income tax systems levy on world wide income on the basis of residency in the country 2. Tax treaties form an exception to this general rule, where a resident may be taxed in the other treaty country on certain types of income, and the "home country"will credit or exempt that part of the income. 3. If all your work days are spent in NL, and you reside in Belgium, Nl has the right to levy on your employment income. Belgium will exempt this income, but if you have other income than employment income, the applicable (progressive) rates will be applied,taking into account your world wide income (so inclusive of NL employment income). 4. Please note that changing countries halfway through the year creates a "split" in taxation; part of the year taxed as resident, and part of the year taxed as non-resident with Nl sourced income. 5. You should also look at premiums social security; most of the first brackets in income taxes consist of social security premiums, for which different rules apply. If you do your work exclusively in NL, you will be covered and liable for premiums in NL. If you work in both B and NL, you will be covered in B. kind regards, Robert Bosma Asked by : Amy Answered by : Tax Expert Robert Bosma
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