Some Fun Facts!

Well as of Thursday morning, I have officially been offered an aupair position and I have accepted!!! I’ll be leaving in less than a month for an entire year! I am going to be working for a single mom and her three girls…that’s a lot of estrogen! There is an adorable little two-year-old as well as a ten and thirteen year old. I’m hoping I get to be an awesome role model. Oh, and THEY SPEAK ENGLISH! You don’t know how much of an added bonus that is! I will be going to the Netherlands in a little city just south of Amsterdam. I’m super excited! However, I figured I don’t know much about this little country I’ll be visiting and you might not either! So here are some fun little facts I’ve discovered on that wonderful thing called the intra-web.

-The Netherlands and Holland are the same country.
-The 'Netherlands' mean "Low Country" in Dutch. About half of its surface area is less than 1 meter above sea level. Its highest point is 321 meters (1,053 ft) above sea level
-Dutch people are on average the tallest people in Europe…great
-The Netherlands has the highest population/area ratio in Europe

-Orange-colored carrots appeared in the Netherlands in the 16th century. Before that carrots were white, yellow, black, purple or red. Orange carrots are said to have been bred in honor of the House of Orange, who led the Dutch Revolt against Spain and later became the Dutch Royal family. Orange is still the official color of the Netherlands and a sign of patriotism. The Dutch national football team wears a bright orange shirt.
-The Netherlands had many Dutch colonies including Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and New York City.
-Though the countries capital is Amsterdam, the government resides in The Hague
-There are twice as many bikes as there are cars

-After Scandanavians, Dutch people are the second biggest coffee drinkers…I’ll fit right in!
-Pot is legal, mushrooms are legal, abortion is legal, prostitution is legal, euthanasia is legal, and gay marriage is legal.
-Gin was invented in the Netherlands under the name of Jenever. It was first sold as a medicine in the late 16th century
-The country is home to the Heineken and Amstel brewing companies

-Tulip bulbs used to be a form of currency
-Some famous painters include VanGough and Rembrandt.
-The Dutch invented the microscope, the pendulum clock, the telescope, the audio tape, video tape, compact disk, and CD-ROM
- The IKEA headquarters are not in Sweden, but in Holland

Well there you have it. I’m sure there’s lots more to learn, but this is all I can tell you without visiting the country. Look for future installments where you actually get to hear REAL and personal facts!!!