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.