Sure, I am Always Talkin’ Food, but I teach NT2 (Dutch as a second language) on the side. Mainly to young foreigners who came to Amsterdam for or with love and intend to stay. For privacy reasons the names in these columns are fictitious.
She is a little quiet.
Quieter than my other students who, upon entering the classroom, chat with each other and make jokes.
Laleh, instead, peers into her Dutch textbook.
She and her family have been in the Netherlands for two years now.
Her shiny long brown hair, which she usually wears in a low ponytail, falls elegantly over the brim of her thick woolen winter sweater.
She thinks the Dutch winters are very cold. Sometimes she even wears her winter coat in class.
In Iran she is a dentist, in Amsterdam a dental assistant. First she has to take an exam before she can start working as a dentist here.
And for that she must speak Dutch well.
Quite a job.
She finds Dutch a difficult language.
But Laleh is very ambitious. Last week she got her Dutch driver's license. Now she can drive on Dutch roads, where traffic rules are quite different from those in Iran.
It is a victory that encourages her to continue on her Dutch quest.
Laleh may be quiet, but she has perseverance.
This becomes evident in her homework, in which she describes her vision for her future: ‘Ik ga hard werken en succes hebben in mijn werk.’ (I am going to work hard and be successful in my work.)
Here in the Netherlands, that is. Because going back is not an option.
Not even for family visits.
As hesitant as Laleh is normally, she is vigorous when I ask the group to clarify through an example the meaning of the Dutch expression ‘het is verboden’ (it is forbidden).
She takes me aside and asks in a whisper what ‘showing’ is in Dutch.
Then she states for the entire group: ‘In mijn land is het voor vrouwen verboden om hun haar te laten zien.’ (In my country, it is forbidden for women to show their hair.)
Food from Iran
The Iranian kitchen is extremely varied. Renowned are the stews, kababs and the many rice dishes (plov). The latter are often mixed with legumes such as dried broad beans. Famous is also tahdig, the crispy golden rice crust from the bottom of the pot, obtained by steaming the long-grain white rice (polo) with oil and or butter. The popular side dish borani can be made of several ingredients, for example yogurt, spinach and garlic. In the picture: sabzi khordan, here with fresh herbs, soft cheese, walnuts and olives, and served with flatbread.
Food lingo
Stew - de stoofpot
Legume - de peulvrucht
Broad bean/fava bean - de tuinboon
Spinach - de spinazie
Garlic - de knoflook
Herb - het kruid