Tag: Canada
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~ Chapter Four
Read More: ~ Chapter FourCanada has made an amazing impression on me. This nation with its big lakes, big forests and high mountains is a very impressive country for someone coming from the flat Netherlands. I don’t think it’s pleasant living in mountains. You cannot cycle there, unless you already have a bike with thirty gears.
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~ Chapter Three
Read More: ~ Chapter ThreeSometimes I got the feeling that I fitted in better in Canada than in the Netherlands. There I was the centre of attention, and here I am just an old man who is often overlooked. This is also down to myself,
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~ Chapter One
Read More: ~ Chapter OneI set out to write about my experiences in Canada. I spent some time there, for four weeks. The second week of my stay, my son-in-law Pieter had a holiday and so we went out in a large camping trailer. Just about the whole family could sleep in it. You don’t see such beasts in…
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~ Postscript
Read More: ~ PostscriptOpa died two years later and Maaike found a notebook among his many books in which he had written down his experiences in Canada. He wrote with trembling hands, but remarkably well. It is up to YOU to discover whether his vision of Canada and especially the Dutch-Canadian community is the right one.
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~ Opa Departs for Canada
Read More: ~ Opa Departs for CanadaOpa Dekker. Eighty and still fit as a fiddle. A bit stiff in the bones in the morning, but by ten he is still resiliently walking around the block. A lifetime of hard work has not spoiled his body.
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~ The Raisin Bun
Read More: ~ The Raisin BunMy wife and I are well matched. We are both getting into our sixties and live in a prosperous city in Canada…at least one with a Dutch shop. I was born Jan Jansen and my spouse is called Tiny here, but was born Jantina Klazina.
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~ How it Turned Out
Read More: ~ How it Turned OutTo my great surprise, I was sent the booklet “Opa Dekker in Canada” six months after my stay in Canada. Whether I would please read it for a while and then give my permission to have the booklet printed. Well, that was fine by me!
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Let’s Have Some Fun
Read More: Let’s Have Some FunIt’s such a sad state of affairs in Canada these days. It’s all such serious business. But have you noticed that we can hardly laugh anymore?
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Have Mercy on Us
Read More: Have Mercy on UsSometimes a sudden emotion shivers within. Maybe, back in the garden, you hear a bird singing. Or a grandchild examines your face with pure-serious eyes.
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~ Bertus
Read More: ~ BertusBertus, our youngest son, was and is our worry child. However, he was never sickly, and by no means dumb. Just terribly mischievous. This child was different from our Wim. You could call Bertus a maverick.