Editor's note: the book reviewed here is written by a contributor to this website.

"At the USA" is a book by Petra Glorie, who documents her experiences as a recent Dutch immigrant to North Carolina. It is the result of a blog she started just before moving to the States and covers about four years. In a humorous and down-to-earth tone the book, written in Dutch, gives an insight in some of the subtle but important differences between the Netherlands and the USA.

Dutch in North Carolina

The book starts with Petra and Ron having arrived in the States, looking for a house in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. Petra: "I started my blog in 2005, with our preparations for moving to the States. I wanted a way to stay in touch with my friends and family at home. The book picks up from the moment we arrived in the States."

The book describes Petra's everyday life in NC and her adjustment to new habits and lifestyle. For example, when Petra and Ron decided to build a brick path in their backyard, the folks at the local Lowe's were amazed that they were doing this themselves. Petra and Ron on their end, were almost intimidated by the level of service they received in the store, from the advice to the help with loading of their car with the bricks -- "We were smiling and couldn't possibly picture this great service at the Gamma store in the Netherlands..."

A recurring and funny theme are Petra's experiences at the DMV. Somehow, Petra ends up in many hilarious situations, which makes the book very entertaining (for example, the chapter on the escaped sheep). Her two dogs Connor and Stacey are main characters in many chapters.

For Petra, one of the highlights of the book is President Obama's visit to North Carolina. Says Petra: "He came to Raleigh a few days before he became President, and we went to see him. It really struck me then that I was in the States. In the Netherlands the American President was always very far, and now we saw him in real life!"

From blog to book

Petra says that the idea to make a book really came from her readers. "They encouraged me to write a book of our experiences".

"I started working on it in August 2009. It took me 18 months to make a selection of my blog posts for the book, and to rewrite them for publication." Her husband Ron adds: "She went through all 1250 articles, and carefully selected them. Only 106 articles made it in the book; that selection took a long time."

"At the USA"
Author: Petra Glorie
ISBN: 978-90-816629-1-8
229 pages, paperback. Written in Dutch.
http://www.attheusa.com

I'm looking forward to my French class tomorrow evening; I'm really enjoying the course. It's a nice group of people, the teacher is very good and the place has a very pleasant atmosphere. Most importantly, I feel my French is improving.

The homework assignment for tomorrow is to describe a couple of situations from a comic book, to practice describing emotions and the passe composé versus the imparfait. The comic book is Gaston Lagaffe, one of my all-time favorite comics.

In Dutch of course, Gaston is known as Guust Flater, with a name very similar to mine. I believe my parents own all books of Guust Flater -- and I read them all a thousand times.

Since the 1950's, tens of thousands Dutch-Indonesians emigrated to the United States from the Netherlands. The majority moved to Southern California and Los Angeles is now home to the largest Dutch Indo community, with some 100,000 people.

This weekend the Los Angeles Times writes about the Dutch-Indonesian community:

The California dream represented a myriad of personal and professional opportunities for the Indo diaspora. More than a few followed family and friends who had already arrived on the West Coast. Some traveled coach across America in bumpy railcars from the East Coast, tired of the same chilly climate they’d so disliked in the Netherlands. For a few, collecting fan cards of favorite actors and memorizing lyrics to big-band songbooks had made the Golden State a beacon since childhood. And for all practical purposes, it was a logical choice: The postwar economy boomed, jobs and housing were plentiful, schools were good and, much like in Indonesia, the weather was glorious year-round. They may have longed for home, but they knew they could belong here.

The article mentions the Indo Project, an English-language resource for Dutch-Indonesians in the U.S.:

Bianca Dias-Halpert, who was born in the Netherlands and raised in the U.S., has spearheaded the Indo Project, one of the few English-language cultural resources. “The Indo Project has been a work in progress since 2005,” she says. “There’s a wealth of information about us in Dutch, and the community in the Netherlands is well connected, but there’s almost nothing here. After a visit back to Holland, I saw how disconnected we were from our culture.”

LA Times: The Long Way Home.

Dubbel Dutch is a Dutch store and lunch place in an eclectic neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. A bright orange storefront tells you that you have found a piece of Holland.

"I started Orangepackage.com, an online Dutch store, ten years ago", says Eef Tulp, the owner. "I came to the United States with Hewlett-Packard, where I worked as a marketing program manager. Orangepackage.com started in my basement, and I shipped packages with Dutch food from there. Business started to increase, and I noticed that a lot of customers would come visit me in that basement. So, three years later I opened my store."

The store is small but cozy, with five seats inside and some outdoor seats. The left wall is occupied by large shelves full with Dutch products and behind the lunch counter you'll find Eef, or one of the other Dutch ladies who work in the store.

Dubbel Dutch is located near Rigers University and is a popular destination for lunch. "It's about half-half -- we get local customers who come here for our sandwiches as well as Dutch folks from the entire region", says Eef.

Dubbel Dutch attracts has won several awards for its sandwiches, such as Best Sandwich of Denver. Of special note is the Old Amsterdam sandwich -- it's a delicious "broodje gezond" on a fresh baguette with Old Amsterdam cheese. A big part of the success of the sandwich store is the bread which is super fresh and delivered daily by a European bakery. Dubbel Dutch serves Douwe Egberts roast coffee .

The store serves as a hub for the Dutch community in Denver. "We organized a big New Year's celebration last week", says Eef, "with oliebollen and a large crowd of Dutch people. It was a lot of fun". The New Year's celebration at Dubbel Dutch is a tradition. "We have a good relationship with the Dutch clubs in the area, and we coordinate the events so there's no duplication. They organize the Sinterklaas celebration for example, and we do the New Year's oliebollen party."

Dutch items available in Dubbel Dutch include speculoos, Heinz sandwich spread, van Gilze stroop, mixes for Dutch pancakes and poffertjes, anijsblokjes, Dutch mustards, Maggi and Conimex products and many more. The store carries multiple types of stroopwafels, windmill cookies and liquorice. The cheese cooler is filled with various cheeses and some meats. Bitterballen and kroketten are available as well.

Dubbel Dutch
4970 Lowell Boulevard
(303) 480 9100
http://www.dubbeldutchdenver.com

The orange store front.

Owner Eef Tulp.

Interior of the store.

The cheese selection includes Old Amsterdam, Goudkuipje, Leyden cheese with cumin, Gouda with herbs and many others.

A wooden shoe to help support the table.

Many different varieties of drop are available. The store sells drop in high volume, and it tastes very fresh.

Books for sale, trade or borrowing.

Dutch items.

A cow decorates the wall.

We visited the store in early January, and there were still a few chocolate letters and speculaas cookies left. Note the paprika chips, a flavor that can't be found in regular stores in the U.S.

Indonesian condiments.

Tulips.

Today I had a flat tire, for the first time in 90,000 miles.

I was driving on the Durham freeway when I heard a strange noise, and after a few moments I realized that something was wrong with the car. I couldn't quite tell what it was. I left the freeway, and thankfully there was a parking lot right at the off ramp.

I called AAA roadside service, and within 45 minutes someone came and replaced the tire with the emergency one. It actually didn't look too difficult, and if it ever happens again I might try it myself. I went straight to the car dealership to get a new tire installed.