Last night I hopped on my ‘moederfiets’ (mother bike)* and headed over to meet Julie and her parents. Julie will be the Dutch voice of Gabou from Haiti in the OGK series!
I had done a short presentation about One Globe Kids for her class at school, which also happens to be the same school where my two oldest boys attend. Julie was so enthusiastic about being a narrator that she surprised me with an apple cake to enjoy with tea during our talk! (It was totally delicious – thanks, Julie!!)
I never know exactly what to expect when I meet families for the first time, but after meeting so many different people, I basically know I’m in for some type of unexpected, special surprise.
Tonight, besides the lovely cake, the surprise went like this:
Julie’s mom: ‘Waar kom je vandaan?’ (Where are you from?)
Me: ‘Ik kom uit Wisconsin, in het midden van Amerika, twee uren nord vanaf Chicago.’ (I’m from Wisconsin in the middle of America, two hours north of Chicago.)
Julie’s mom: ‘Wisconsin….wacht…ik ken toch iets uit Wisconsin. Wat was het nog maar?’ (Wisconsin, wait…I know something from Wisconsin. What was it again?)
Me: (Hopefully, an inaudible sigh.) That 70’s Show? (The most frequent thing I hear from Dutch people who know anything about WI.)
Julie’s mom: ‘Nee’….(no…) (Singing, at first alone and then with Julie joining.)
“My name is Jan Jansen,
I come from Wisconsin,
I work in a lumberyard there.
All the people I meet
When I walk down the street
They say, “Hello!”
And I say, “Hello,
My name is Jan Jansen,
I come from Wisconsin,
I work in a lumberyard there.
All the people I meet
When I walk down the street
They say, “Hello!”
And I say, “Hello,
My name is Jan Jansen….”
Amazing! There I was, sitting in Dutch kitchen being serenaded by a young Dutch girl and her mom, and what was the song? One of Wisconsin’s favorite car songs AND a personal family favorite after the girl from Wisconsin went off and married a man named Jan!
I love surprises! Wonder what’s next!……………..Anne
* A ‘moederfiets’ is an ingenious Dutch invention – a bike designed to carry multiple children. While you can put front and back child seats on any bike, a mother bike has special features that make it safer for biking with kids: 1) a lower instep so mom is more stable getting on and off the bike; 2) a double kickstand, so the bike sits perfectly sturdily when taking kids on and off, no tilting to one side; 3) a spring to keep the front wheel from turning when parked and thus never upsetting the balance of the bike; 4) a slightly wider handle bar, to accommodate a child riding in a front seat between the handle and to keep mom from hitting her knees on said seat; 5) a strong, wide back rack for mounting a back child seat, side bags, and a “carry everything” rack, from which you hang a stroller (I’m not joking). It’s a work of art!
Stay Globe Smart, Anne Glick
