Dutch in Translation

           My Mexican friend Karen has many gifts. One of them is being a mentor. Her mission is to empower educators by giving them sparkling red shoes and leading them through the yellow brick road of understanding.  As if with a magic wand, and while I was still in Mexico oblivious to the fact that a few years later I'd move to the Netherlands, she showed me all the fun there was not in helping students learn but in leading them to understand. I'll forever be grateful. Thank you, my dear Sagittarius. (Our birthday is on the same day!)      This October, after eight years of friendship where both of us endured broken relationships, sickness, loss, fought battles, p ersonal growth , and even her daughter's wedding in between, she made a dream and a promise come true by spending a few days in Eindhoven before arriving in Israel, her final destination. It was my turn to build life-lasting memories. During the few days she...

Our First Camping Trip   Relles Mühle       Two years ago, my sweetheart and I talked about the possibility of camping. I got overexcited, as I tend to do when an adventure awaits around the corner, but he said, "Maybe next year." I was not pleased, but he was right. He usually is, not always, but quite often. (Don't tell him or I will never hear the end of it!) Why was it better to wait? To begin with, I had just moved to the Netherlands from Mexico. On top of that, we were trying to figure out: how to be together, who we were as a couple, and which were our new roles as individuals and as a family.      Fast-forwarding, I'm delighted to report that it's been two years and we feel... Well, I'll leave it to the amorous you to complete that phrase. I don't want to be too corny, as my darling would say.       Anyway, now that the hard part is over, we are focusing on enjoying more of the simple things i...