Office Borrels
A few weeks ago we hosted one of our annual office "borrels," very similar to cocktail parties in the US. This particular borrel was the IFOR New Year's get-together, done by our staff so that friends and associates have an opportunity to see the office and meet our team. We provisioned the event with a wide assortment of Dutch drinks and snack foods and provided some entertainment for the quests (usually all from North Holland). I may have mentioned that I have been learning a new song, like I was doing while in Rochester, NY, but this time as an effort to study the Dutch language. An acquaintance of mine at the local library, Hein, suggested the song, a classic Dutch "lied" called Ode aan Maastricht , as he has been learning a new song in English by Scottish singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald. So, I took the challenge. My musician friend Srdan Kekanovic in the adjacent office found out about this and talked me into singing the same song with him playing the