Census forms will be sent to every household the United States in the next weeks. Unlike previous years there will be no separate questions on language or heritage, so there's no opportunity to mark "Dutch" on the form for those Dutch-Americans eager to indicate their heritage.

The 2010 Census aims to count all U.S. residents -- citizens and non-citizens alike. It helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services.

In 2000 there were two forms, a short form and a longer form that one in every 6 households would receive. This is no longer the case; the long form has been replaced by the continuous American Community Survey. In 2004 this survey found that an estimated 5 million people in the U.S. are of Dutch descent. Incidentally, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) estimates that more than 31,000 Americans live in the Netherlands.

The 2010 census has a Dutch translation of the 10 questions on the form in a Gids voor Taalhulp (Language Assistance Guide).

As we wrote earlier, this week is the Dutch Art Now art fair in New York City. On Friday evening there was a party at the National Arts Club which drew a large crowd of art lovers.

Click on 'Read more' for pictures of the evening.

The temporary apartment we're staying at in Somerset is furnished, and many kitchen utilities are included. This is convenient. The coffee machine though, makes truly terrible coffee and we often resort to getting coffee from Starbucks or from the office of our apartment complex.

This morning we're having coffee from the new machine we ordered on-line: such a difference. It's small, for 4 cups, and makes great coffee.

If you look closely, you can see my reflection in the coffee pot and the filter holder.

From our correspondent in the Netherlands, Jaap Bosman.

Observations of a Celebration NL & NY 2009 is a newly released book with interesting observations on the NY400 celebrations. The Dutch government organized many festivities in New York City last year to commemorate the arrival of Henry Hudson in 1609 in New York. Mrs. Pel, the author, wanted to see the events and get an idea how the Netherlands was represented in New York.

In her book, which is in English, Mrs. Pel provides clever observations and illuminating interviews. Most observations are in the form of interviews; others are photo's. She also reports on an urban geographical survey she performed.

Mrs. Pel is a visual artist and urban geographer. The subjects for her projects often involve these fields, while her research methods come to production mainly through photography and interviews. Recently, her focus has been researching and documenting cultural celebrations, events and spectacles. The book is the final piece of her work in New York in the summer of 2009.

The book has 11 interviews with amongst others Frans Timmermans ("I would not mind working in the United States for a few years"), Roger Panetta ("why did the Dutch build a replica of the Hudson's ship Half Moon and present it to the United States as a gift in 1909?") and Henrik Spoon: "I feel like an ambassador ... I like to talk about abortion rights, euthanasia, and same-sex mariages".

The interviews offer a wide and surprising view of the celebrations and the people who were involved. Some quotes:

• Donna Henes, urban shaman and ceremonial artist: "I think the Dutch are a kind of schizophrenic society"
• Henk Scholten, director Theater Institute Netherlands: "In New York there is so much bureaucracy, our ideas were impossible to do, according to regulations"
• Bruno Doedens, landscape architect: "The Dutch are curious and have a straight-laced attitude"

Mrs. Pel tries to catch the meaning and the results of the activities in New York. She asks: "did we, the Dutch, make a difference in New York?" The answer is not a simple yes or no. In the interviews Mrs. Pel often asks as concluding question ”Where are we the Dutch heading? What would be the right direction to go?" and she tries to put the celebrations in the wider context of the Dutch culture. At the end of the book she doesn't draw final conclusions but leaves room for the reader's interpretation.

The interviews are accompanied by photographs taken from this year's celebration as well as historical documents from the 300th and 350th anniversary of the arrival of Henry Hudson in New York. Mrs. Pel provided Dutch in America with a copy of her book. It is available in bookstores in Amsterdam and through www.evapel.com.

Observations of a celebration NL&NY 2009
Author: Eva Pel, graphic design: Claudia Doms
ISBN 978-90-814965-1-3
129 pages, 17 x 22,5 cm, illustrated black and white and color.
www.evapel.com