HappyDays – Week ThirtyFour
Heat waves in the Netherlands, open swimming to cool down, and lots of fun social events kept our family busy in early July.
The heatwave was intense during the first week of July. I think it got up to 37C (98.6F) and it was so hot and uncomfortable that David’s school closed early on Tuesday and was completely closed on Wednesday. Extreme weather is … not great to say the least, and we were “only” dealing with heat, not with 1 in 500 year devastating floods. My heart goes out to the families of loved ones lost in TX, NM and NC in the USA from the heavy rains and floods.
I recently read this piece by Alexander Verbeek and hope that the USA can learn from its mistakes as the Dutch did.
After the Texas Floods: A Dutch Perspective
How the Netherlands transformed tragedy into protection—lessons America can't ignore
A catastrophic storm surge had caused more than 150 dike breaches across Zeeland, South Holland, and North Brabant. Within hours, seawater covered 150,000 hectares of land. In the village of Oude-Tonge alone, 305 people drowned. Twenty-year-old Jos de Boet lost 42 family members in a single night. Across the disaster zone, 1,836 people perished, swept away by what the Dutch call the 'watersnoodramp'.
This past week, as I watched the shocking images from Texas Hill Country, it made me think about my homeland's response to catastrophe. The Guadalupe River had surged 26 feet in less than an hour, killing at least 120 people and leaving more than 160 missing. At Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, 27 campers and counselors died as cabins along the riverbank were swept away. Like the Dutch victims of the 1953 flood, many were asleep when the water came.
However, the parallels are fundamentally different from those seen in Texas after water disasters occur. Despite being located in what experts call "Flash Flood Alley," a region with a long history of deadly flooding, insufficient action was taken over the decades to prevent a repeat disaster.
In stark contrast to what we've seen so far in Texas, the Netherlands had, within weeks of the Dutch disaster, established the Delta Commission. The ambitious Delta Plan was accepted in 1957, one of the most revolutionary engineering projects in the world. Under the motto "The shorter the coastline, the easier the defense," the plan shortened the Dutch coastline by 700 kilometers.
June 30 – Day 233
Monday was the second really hot day in a row and I went open swimming in the morning for the second day in a row. I went a total of four days in a row (Sunday-Wednesday) because the water was so incredibly perfect and it was so much better than swimming in the pool which can get busy.
There was a large volleyball tournament specifically for people in the hospitality business being set up on the beach and these chairs and umbrellas were set up. They are not normally there and it reminded me very much of the “beaches” that the city of Buenos Aires used to set up in the summer across the various plazas - and specifically “Buenos Aires Playa”.
July 1 – Day 234
Tuesday was scheduled to be a hot day and the school already said that the day would be short - getting out at 12:15 instead of 14:15. But at 10:15 it had already reached 30C inside the classroom and the kids were not feeling well. The teacher asked parents to pick up the kids. I missed the flurry of texts. Another mum scooped them up and brought a bunch of them home and tossed them in the canal behind her house and sent us this picture. Thank goodness for community and access to water.
July 2 – Day 235
Wednesday afternoon/evening the heatwave broke and storm clouds came in while we were cooling off at the local lake in the evening with friends. We even got to be in the water as light rain came down - that was special.
July 3 – Day 236
I spent the day working in AMS and saw this bell tower Montelbaanstoren in scaffolding. Not sure how long it will be under repair - but this isn’t anywhere near as big of a project as Big Ben in London, or the Dom Tower of Utrecht so hopefully it won’t take as long.
July 4 – Day 237
Independence Day in the USA, but didn’t celebrate anything like that here. Instead, IWCU had its yearly boat trip around the canals of downtown Utrecht. It’s a fantastic evening out and we get to bring our partners with us. There were 70 tickets available between two boats and the tickets always sell out super fast, so I was happy to get Santi and I spots early on. It was a lovely evening and the weather was absolutely perfect.
I made empanadas to bring as a snack, and it worked out really well. In a WhatsApp group of Argentines in Utrecht, another Argentine immigrant shared that they were selling premade “tapas” which saves a lot of time - just like you can buy in Argentina and I bought enough to make three dozen and they all were eaten up on the boat that we were one. Several people there asked me to have a pop up later in the year teaching how to make them. Sounds like a fun event - maybe I will have time in October.
July 5 – Day 238
Earlier in the year, I saw that the comedian Josh Johnson was coming to Europe and I bought two tickets before even confirming with Santi if he wanted to go. Things sell out so quick, you don’t even have much time to think about going.
We went on Saturday evening and it was a blast and my cheeks hurt from laughing so much. Josh talks a lot about his social anxiety and awkwardness. And yet, he had a meet and greet afterwards and he is so incredibly warm and kind and generous with his time. It’s very interesting how our self perceptions can vary so much from others perceptions of ourselves.
He puts up his sets on YouTube almost every week. Comedians can spend a year creating and honing a set and he does this almost weekly, I don’t know how he does it but am glad for his insight and comedy. He helps make sense of this world these days. The video below is from his show in Berlin the day before and much of the set we saw was the same:
July 6 – Day 239
Sunday was super chill after so much socialization and I was super happy to see one late wisteria bloom on the archway over our entryway. The China Rose Hibiscus is also in full bloom and super pretty.
There is a musician out of Spain whose music I love: Adrián Berenguer. One of his songs has been used a lot in a lot of “cute videos” online in the past four years: “Little Things” - including the videos I made for my parent’s 80 birthdays two years ago. I have bought several of his albums. He recently released a new album Metamorphosis and it’s chaotic and wonderful.
Metamorphosis is an album that talks about life and the different vicissitudes that a person can face. It is a set of pieces that try to express how we adapt to changes in new stages. It is an album full of energy, of leaps into the void.
With classical instrumentation but adapted to modern times throughout the album we can find instrumental combinations that immerse us in different moods. Energetic rhythms, fast strings mixed with overwhelming synthesizers. Metamorphosis is a journey through the expectation of the future and the calm of the past.