Eindhoven Heroes

Eindhoven Heroes



















This is a new project to create opportunities for me to speak Dutch. It’s early stages at the moment and from the first outing I definitely need more practice speaking Dutch. The people who stop and talk Dutch with me are Heroes in my mind because they are helping some one.

Here are the Heroes.

Yoram

Yoram

Yoram helped make my Dutch more comprehensible by reviewing some of the questions I wrote. He was also patience and spoke Dutch most of the time with me.










Eindhoven Hero

















Dennis

Dennis

Dennis had just got some dancing shoes. He lives in Eindhoven and I think he was just going to some dance practice. He really likes dancing. Dennis also helped me rephrase a sentence.











Eindhoven Hero

















Naomi and Eileen were out together. They live very close to the centre of Eindhoven and they like the atmosphere and life of the Eindhoven. It’s smaller than other cities, so the dynamics are different. Everyone, is interconnected in some way and that’s great. They were just going to do some shopping.


Naomi

Naomi


















Eindhoven Hero


















Eileen

Eileen
















Eindhoven Hero


















I’ve got someone to look over my questions again. So the Dutch will be better next time. This is just the start, so I don’t mind that the conversations reverted to English but as time goes on, I want the conversations to stay in Dutch. That’s something that I’ve got to work on.

Thanks to all the Heroes.

Tot ziens.

Original Eindhoven Heroes Idea

Eindhoven and collaboration with 'the Dossier'

Jenny and Nicole











This Wednesday I teamed up with Jane from ‘the Dossier – Dutch Creative Files’ to meet strangers on the streets of Eindhoven.

Jane runs ‘the Dossier – Dutch Creative Files’, which is a web magazine on creative people and happenings in Eindhoven. Jane wants to make the site more interactive and is experimenting on ways to do this. Meeting strangers on the street is one way she wants to explore.

Jane is also looking at other avenues to make ‘the Dossiers’ more interactive, such as events and meetups. So if you live in the Eindhoven area and are into ‘creativity’ keep an eye on ‘the Dossier’.

For the interviews click here.

Levi
















Martijn

My first British Stranger

Mary

“As we left Christchurch, the roads were cracked and looking back, we saw fires burning there”

Mary was in Christchurch when the big one struck. Luckily she survived to tell the story and more importantly for us, to open her guesthouse.

Mary is a genuinely warm and charming woman, very chatty and worldly. She’s also a great cook and we loved her English breakfast. She runs the Gladstone Guesthouse, a homely place away from home. My girlfriend loved the room we stayed in, full of comfort and not at all like the sterile rooms you can get in some hotels.

If you ever need a place to stay in Faversham, Kent, than I'll definitely recommend the Gladstone Guesthouse for comfort and for Mary.

Aziz and Fatima - Malaccan Travel Helpers

Aziz and Fatima

Jonker 88 (restaurant with traditional Malaccan food) was full of Chinese but it also proved Jason right. On my table I was first joined by a Malay Tourist guide called ‘Andrew’ and a Hong Kongese tourist. After they had finished, two Malay students joined the table and the next leg of my Malaccan journey opened up.

Aziz and Fatima had a car and they showed me a Malay experience called ‘jalan, jalan’. I was staying at a hostel called ‘Jalan, jalan’ and I translated it as ‘road, road’ and then ‘crossroad’. They laughed. Like the sounds, ‘jalan, jalan’ is fun and describes many a traveller, whilst Aziz and Fatima also used it for ‘window-shopping’. To me, it meant travel for fun, without purpose.

Aziz drove us to the seaside first where lots of Malay were flying kites and then onto a beach. It was cooler and more spacious than the city. Aziz and Fatima were very bubbly and asked lots of questions about London. They both want to travel when they finished university.

Milik Ahmed, owner of the house


After, Aziz took us to a Malay Kampong (village) that’s within Malacca. We drove round and found an extraordinarily cute house. There, the house owner took us round his house, which was more like a living museum.

It was a fun few hours driving around with Aziz and Fatima.



Later that evening, I went to the weekend night market and ended up sitting at the karaoke end of Jonker Street. Next to me was a man who’s Gan Chinese (from SE China originally). He was an old guy who shared his satay and some Gan snacks. We talked about Malacca, life and China, to a backdrop of old Mandarin, Hakka, and Taiwanese songs sang live.

Life on the street is something that I miss, now I’m back in Europe. The UK is famed for its nightlife but it can be one-dimensional, based on drink and mostly for 20-30 somethings but the streets of Asia are for everyone, from the youngest kid to grandpas and grandmas. There’s food, games, shopping, lights and even some drink too, but I guess Asia has the weather for this kind of nightlife.

Traditional Malay House

















Me sitting in a cute Malay house

Meetup and one new Stranger

Thanks to Leon and Pieter for coming on Sunday, and off course Thalassa for being the host. Pieter came for Lina, as she had to go to the Hague for University.

Pieter is the chef for Petit Four, a restaurant at Klaasstraat 23B. We've met before when he was persuading people to come to his restaurant. He did a good job because I went there the next day.

Pieter outside Milk and Cookies

Venlo Strangers - Day four

These are photos from day four and the final day of this stage of the project. I'll think up some new questions and change a few things around. Thanks to everyone who participated so far. I learnt a lot about the Dutch and Limburgers. If you want to get in contact with me (if you want an electronic copy of your photo) - you can me email on christopher_rawlins@yahoo.co.uk

Wendy

Wendy had just finished her shopping and was about to cycle off. She has excellent English and was very smily. She goes most years to London, mainly to go to the shops.

Me - What are Dutch people like?
Wendy - Ignorant,
M - I havent' hear that one before. Why do you say they are ignorant?
W - Because they don't listen to other people. They believe that their opinion is the best, there's no need for them to listen.
M - Are you a Limburger?
W - Yes
M - Are there any differences between Limburgers and other Dutch people?
W - Yes, we are bourgondisch, more so in the south, which is where I'm from. We love to eat and drink. We love partying.
M - What do you enjoy doing?
W - Daytrips, going out to the park with my 16 month old daughter, mmm, travel and off course shopping.


Evelien and Joost

Evelien and Joost were fun to talk with and they seem to know someone at Milk and Cookies.

Me - Can you tell me something about the Dutch character?
Joost/Evelien - People are different from different parts of the Netherlands. The main one, is between the north and the south. There are three main rivers that divide the country, the Maas, the Rhine and the Scheldt.
M - What are people like from the North?
E - Direct
J - Blunt
M - And what about the south?
E - They are 'bourgondisch', how do you say that in English? They love good food, wine, to party.
M - Are you Limburgers?
J & E - Yes
M - Are you also different to other Dutch people?
J & E - Yes
E - Especially in the south, they're very hard to get in touch with. In the north we are more open-minded.
M - I enjoy photography. What do you enjoy doing?
E - Me too, I don't have much time now, I love painting too.
J - Running, drinking beer
E - He brews his own beer too.
M - Really, like which ones?
J - I've done 5-6 so far. The results are usually surprising.




Dominic

I met Dominic in Hapas. He was chasing after his energetic daughter. He was very charming and full of jokes.

Me - What's the Dutch character? For example, some would say that the British drink too much.
Dominic - Yes, we like to drink too.
M - Are there any differences between Limburgers and other Dutch people?
Dominic - Yes, we are more 'bourgondisch'; more like the French. We enjoy ourselves more.
M - What do you enjoy doing?
D - Playing with my kids.

Wendy

Wendy was the 20th and last person for this part of Venlo Strangers.

M - What are Dutch people like? For example, people think that the British are polite, quiet or now drunks.
Wendy - Yes, people are different of course, but in general, they're simple, direct, and not polite, not like the British.
Me - Are there any differences between Limburgers and other Dutch people?
W - Yes, we are different. We are not like the northers, not so direct, we are..., how do you say in English?
M - causal, laidback
W - Yes, that kind of thing
M - What do you like doing?
W - Horseriding

Strangers in Venlo - Day two

Gerry

It was a cold day in Venlo but the streets were much busier than Tuesday, especially where the Saturday market is held.

I went to the Limburg Museum at first, since one of my questions is about the Limburg character, I thought this is a must go place.

I met Gerry there, who volunteers one day a week to work at the museum. She's originally from Overloon - Noord Brabant and she knows about blogs because her daughter runs a blog too. Gerry also introduce me to a new Dutch word 'ruimdenliend'.

Me - 'Can you tell me something that's typical of the Dutch?'
Gerry - 'Yes, they're friendly and ruimdenliend, how do you say that in English? They don't mind what other people do.'
M - 'They're are open-minded'
G - 'Yes, they're open-minded, it doesn't matter whether you are a woman, gay, black'
M - 'They let people be what they want to be?'
G - 'Yes, they let people be what they want to be.'

M - 'How are Limburgers different from other Dutch people?'
G - 'They are 'bourdondisch', they like to eat and drink, they like to enjoy themselves, but this is more so in the south.'
M - 'Do you think this is a true reflection on the people in Limburg?'
G - 'Yes, but less so here. It's more in the South.'

Unfortunately, Gerry won't be here on Sunday but she might send someone else along.

Kaber at his shop


Kaber owns a Doner Kebab store in the big market square. He's laidback and friendly.

M - 'What are Dutch people like?'
Kaber - 'They're very kind people.'
M - 'Do you think there's any difference between Limburgers and other Dutch people?'
K - 'There's a difference in the language and the accent but other things, mmm, no not really, mmm, well, they're kinder.'

Rick and Floor outside Cafe Central


I met Rick and Floor in the square outside the townhall. I was surprised at the name 'Floor' and Rick did say that it's the same spelling as the 'floor'. They both like meeting up with friends and Rick is very into his sports, especially hockey and tennis.

M - 'How would you describe Dutch people?'
Rick - 'They are open to their friends but less so to strangers. We don't go up to people and ask them questions like you.'
M - 'I think most British people don't do this either.'
Rick - 'Ok, yeah, we are not like the Spanish, Italians and Greeks, they're open to everyone. They talk with everyone.'


Rick and Gerry also did a Limburg pose, which made me laugh.

Strangers in Venlo

Thalassa from Milk and Cookies


Finally started to meet some strangers in Venlo.

This time I want to meet at least some of the strangers again, so I needed to a find a venue. I decided to go with Milk and Cookie, at Parade 22, Venlo. This is where I met my first Venlo stranger, Thalassa. Thalassa opened Milk and Cookies with her business partner last June.

Thalassa is from Southwest Netherlands, she graduated last year and ever since has been hard at work at Milk and Cookies. She's very approachable and easy to talk with.

Me - "What's a typical Dutch characheristic?"

Thalassa - "Oh, that's 'nuchler', you know?"

M - "No"

T - "Mmm, sober, in the sense of common-sense. We do the right things and get things down"

M - "I understand that Limburger's are different, how is their character different to the rest of the Netherlands?"

T - "I'm not from here originally, but I'm from the south, you know, below the 'river', and close to Belgium, so we are more like Limburgers. We enjoy life, we like to drink and eat. We are more 'bourgondisch', in the north they are more 'nuchler'.

Thalassa enjoys playing with creative ideas and concepts. Milk and Cookies is one of those concepts and her and her partner hope to build this concept by eventually opening more 'Milk and Cookies'.

Since she's working on Sunday, she'll be giving her invite to a friend. So, there'll be at least one mystery guess on Sunday.

Thea


I met Thea and Annie where Venlo has its Saturday market. They were heading towards town, my guess towards a cafe but I didn't ask. Thea did most of the talking because I have no Dutch and she has reasonable English.

M - What are the Dutch like?

T - Friendly, helpful.

Annie


M - And what about Limburgers?

T (ask Annie in Dutch) They enjoy life a lot. They love talking, they're good to guests and the carnival is big here. Everyone loves it.

M - What do you do for enjoyment?

T - We like going to cafes.

Frans from Pieter Breughel Art Shop


Frans is the owner of the Pieter Breughel Art Shop
, which sells modern paintings and sculptures. He's enjoyable to talk to, likes to play golf because it gives him pleasure and enjoys going out restaurants and for some drinks. He also wished me much success, which I liked.

Me - "Are you from Limburg?"
Frans - "Yes, I'm from Venlo."
M - "Do people from the Netherlands have a special characteristic? You know, like the British are considered to be gentlemen, they like to drink etc."
F - "They are humorous, I like English humour. Yes, the Dutch are friendly, and they're open-minded."
M "Yes, the British consider the Dutch to be open-minded that way so many of them like coming here. You're from Limburg. Do you think they are different to other Dutch people?"
F - "Yes, Limburgers like the good things in life, we like to eat and drink, we like to talk and there's the carnival too. Also, now means now in the north but here it could mean in 15 mins"
M - "Why do you think there's a difference?"
F - "Limburg is made up of a lot of small places. Each of those places has their own orchestra and carnival group."
M - "Yes, I kinda know this. In Stejl they have something like this, in English they're called 'Circle of Friends' and they have a red flag with a devil on it. I don't understand why they use the devil?"
F - "I don't really know either, you'll have to ask people in Stejl but they are well known and they're the only one like this in the whole of Limburg.

Updates on Strangers

The Gay Man - from the Taipei 101 series


No blogs, no pictures and no updates would suggest that the '100 strangers to friends' blog had died. But this isn't the case.

I've been busy on a collaboration with my good friend Lewis. We foolishly started Taipei 101; a project where we were to hunt down 101 people of different backgrounds and interview them about Taipei. Most of the interview were in Chinese, so they're still mostly untranslated and we've ended very behind in getting the interviews up on the 'Taipei 101' blog. In the end Taipei 101 has turned out to be Taipei 48.

The Spicy Boy; from the Taipei 101 series

Despite not completing this project, it was great fun and we ended up learning lots about Taipei that we didn't know before. Also we both felt that people in general are incredibly nice and tolerant. At first we were surprised at how co-operative people were and then as it continued we became to expect it.

The Betelnut Girl - from the Taipei 101 series

Adding in the strangers from the 'Taipei 101' series, I'm now up to 118 strangers. Also, I took some more strangers on a recent trip to Malaysia. I decided to travel without a travel guide book, so that I'll be forced to talk with strangers. It worked!

The Bin Man - from the Taipei 101 series

For interviews: The Bin Man, worth a read, especially what he says about protecting his wife. The Spicy Boy. The Gay Man

I'll write more about this project in my next post.

Penghu Strangers - first week of June

Xu, Guo Zhen, a photographer with 10s of trophies; outside his wife's restaurant on Cimei

Hi everyone.

I've just come back from Penghu, a group of 64 islands off the west coast of Taiwan. I had a great time there despite the wind and cloud, though I do have a suntan. It wasn't cloudy all the time!

Xu, Guo Zhen, is a photographer and helps run his wife's Vietnamese restaurant on Cimei. Penghu's most southernly island. Xu, Guo Zhen, takes photos of Cimei's landscape and nature. He's won numerous awards for his photography and certainly knows what he's taking about. Because of him, I'm taking one of my lens for a clean. He also plays keyboard for 'live' Karakao and has a great knowledge of plants.

If you want Vietnamese food when you're in Cimei, you can follow the ads painted on the walls from the main port in Cimei. They also have Vietnamese coffee, mmmm!!!

Hygeia and Xingyi looking gorgeous on the sunny island of Cimei. Xu, Guo Zhen suggested the composition, one I think works well. (Certainly better than the other two portraits this time round)

Hygeia works on Penghu, studying a special kind of coral that can move with the tide. This species is only found in Penghu and only off the coast of Baisha, near the aquarium. It looks different to most coral, in that it's long and has no branches. She sounded like she loved her job. It's certainly different to working in an office.

Xingyi was on vacation. A friend of a friend put her in contact with Hygeia as she wanted to travel to Penghu. We bumped into her on her last day. She was in Magong city busy buying presents before taking a flight back to Taipei.


Xun,Cha Ya runs Erkan Min Shu, a guest house where people can stay in traditional style houses. Sorry about the portrait, not one of my better ones :(

Xun, Cha Ya is only in his twenties yet he's running a beautiful guest house and he's an excellent cook. We stayed at Erkan Minshu for a night. The rooms and 'houses' are in the same style of Erkan village next door. They looked great and were also comfortable too.

Erkan has numerous traditional houses. It prospered because the people of that village traded Chinese Medicines brought over from China with people in Taiwan. Whilst many places in Penghu have traditional houses, Erkan stood out as most of the homes are still occupied and it feels much more lively than the other old places we visited.

Erkan Village, a village with lots of traditional houses that are still lived in.

Penghu was fun. We also went fishing and took quite a few boat trips. I should've got more strangers but hey,,,, I was on holidays. I'm a bit dispointed that a couple of the portraits didn't come out well. I'll definitely have to rethink my night photos.

Anyway that it's for today. I'll be back soon

Ciao

Zonghong, the helpful and informative hike leader

Yesterday, I joined a hiking group led by Zonghong on a hike across Yangmingshan's Fish Road Historic Trail. We started at Huang Creek on the Jinshan side and walked up to Cingtiangang before going onto Jyuansi Waterfall. The weather was great and it was sunny when we got to the highest point of the hike.

The striking Zong Hong has a facebook page for hiking. He leads different hikes and it's free to join (it was yesterday anyway). Zong Hong told me some of the background of the walk we were on. The Fish Road Historic Trail developed during the Qing times to transport 'salty' fish to Taipei. It was the cheapest way of getting fish from Jinshan to the Taipei. The Qing route is very direct, straight up the mountain. Later, the Japanese build another trail following the Qing route but as it for horses, this route zigzags up the hill.

Jeff, a hiker who hiked the whole trail with us yesterday. And he also handed out some nice sushi

Jeff, Longda and Ivy were also on the hike. They walked the whole route. The original route was just up to Cingtiangang, where many of the other people on the hike left.


Longda was on the hike yesterday.

Ivy was on the hike yesterday. Thanks for the chocolate cookies


Sam, is not a stranger but he wanted to get his photo taken.

Sam is not a stranger. He's a hero. This Chinese New Year, when me and my girlfriend couldn't find a hotel in Tainan, Sam came to the rescue. He drove us round for about an hour, until we found a hotel and then he took us out for dinner and paid. That's the Taiwanese for you - great hospitality.


Sheila, the English Tour Guide at Zhongshan Building (presidential palace). She gave us an enjoyable tour of this fascinating and surprising place

Sheila is an English Guide at the Zhongshan Building, a kind of presidential palace in Yangmingshan. Zhongshan is incredible because it is built over a sulphur vent. The 1,100 meeting hall has a sulphur vent between the stage and the seating. Originally pipes were build so that the sulphur could escape but overtime these got blocked up. That means, the floor is now being pushed up by the sulphur and is very uneven. A highlight for me, was sitting on the presidential seat, I felt rather important when I did that. Zhongshan Building is on the back of the $100NT bill. It's definitely worth a visit.



Lukas, we joined him on the Zhongshan building tour. It was great meeting someone from Europe and catching up with the situation there.

Lukas, a software engineer from Poland, was also on the tour of Zhongshan. He has been in Taiwan for about three weeks working on software for headphones. He had been working most of the time and was spending his last day in Taiwan doing some tourist things. He was looking forward to an evening at Shilin Night Market. He was wearing a strange contraption on his finger as he had a snowboarding from last winter.

18th May Shoot

Raven and Basel looking cool and relax.

It was a hot one yesterday!!

Taipei was roasting but the people were still chilled. Yesterday was significant in that I passed the 50 mark. I'm now up to 54 strangers. I also learned some more Chinese and more about the culture in Taiwan.

Raven and Basel are friends. We talked about how Taiwanese people choose crazy English names. Raven said many people loved to choose names after animals or things they like. Raven's English was good, just as well as he didn't understand my Chinese. Basel works in the shop behind him on the picture.


Jeffery and Sonar out with their bikes. Jeffery was the 50th stranger of the project.

Jeffery is number 50! He's a very lucky guy and I'm sure being number 50 will change his life. Anyway, he and his girlfriend his 'girlfriend' Sonar (Sonja?) were walking their bikes when I met them. They seemed to be enjoying their time and were very relaxed when I took their photo.


Eric outside Family Mart

Then I met Eric, outside a Family Mart. I really confused him with my Chinese but in the end he understood what I was asking for. I'll have to review my Chinese for explaining this project.


Eric and Paint helping out for a day at the blood donor place.

Eric and Paint were the last two people I met yesterday. They were volunteering with 'give blood - Taiwan.' They were holding signs and encouraging people to donate blood. I talked with them for a while. Paint, named by his wife because he likes to draw/paint, was there with his wife and daughter, Susu. His daughter, three, is very cute. Paint, gave me some metal chopsticks to use when I eat in a restaurant. Thanks, protecting my health and the environment. Paint told me there's a movie out on this subject - does anyone know what it is called? Eric normally works at AIG (does Paint work at AIG too?), an insurance company. We talked quite a bit as his English is good and he helped explain about the 'chopstick movie.'

So ends another day in Taipei. Thanks everyone for your help.

May 12th Shoot

Chelsea was very chatty and curious. She made my day when she said that I was an artist

Hello Everyone

It was windy in Taipei City yesterday. I like it this way. Yesterday, I met five new strangers around Taipei 101 and Warner Village areas.

Chelsea was waiting for a taxi. She makes clothes for TV stars and was going to return some clothes back to the TV company. She lived in Cambridge for a year so we spoke in English. Chelsea was great to talk with and she asked lots of questions. One was 'How do you choose who to take photos, do you choose happy people or sad one etc?'

First, I look whether someone is busy or not. It's surprising how much people use mobile phones when you look! Happy or sad? I think in general I go towards happier people, simply because I feel they are more likely to say yes and also if someone is very sad, I don't think I'd know what to say to them, especially if I'm going to say that in Chinese.


Sometimes it's good to break the rules!! Taking sweets of a stranger is one of them, but only if they're sugar free. This is Julia, working as a Wrigley's promoter

Julia is promoting Wrigley's chewing gum. She was near the graffiti-ed 'Statue of Liberty' if you want some. They've set up a Wrigley's Bar, so you can sit down in comfort and chew, instead of chewing on the go.

Louise is a fellow photographer. She also has a blog, so I'm looking forward to seeing that. I'm curious what type of pictures she takes.

Louise is a fellow photographer and she was out in full force yesterday, including a tripod. I saw her later taking a photo of an 'advert', I think. Louise has a blog too.


Cindy has excellent English. She was very casual and just let me take some pictures.

Cindy had obviously shopped a lot yesterday and was taking a rest. Her English was perfect because she had lived in the States for a few years. She was very relaxed and didn't take much notice of the camera.

Grass was very much a happy chap. He made a joke about this name but I didn't get it, sorry Grass


Grass was fun to talk to. He laughed a lot and when he wasn't laughing he smiled. He made some joke about his name but I really didn't get it.

Yesterday was a short day on the streets of Taipei. I hope to get out there again today or tomorrow to meet some more 'strangers.'