Consul General Series - 荷蘭駐港總領事 Annemieke Ruigrok
Hello, my name is Annemieke Ruigrok. I am Consul General of the Kingdom of Netherlands in HK.
您好，我是荷蘭駐港總領事Annemieke Ruigrok。
1) Any special language to say “Hi”?
有什麼特別的語言說“你好”嗎？
In the Netherlands, we would say “Goedendag”, that means “Hello”, “Good Day”.
在荷蘭，我們會說“ Goedendag”，意思是「你好」，「今天好」。
2) How about it is in the night time?
晚上呢？
Good evening is “Goedenavond”
晚上好，是「 Goedenavond」
3) Can you highlight or tell us more about the famous and unique festivals or events in the Netherlands?
您能否重點介紹或告訴我們有關荷蘭著名和獨特的節日或活動？
We celebrate our National Day which is the birthday of our King because the Netherlands is a Kingdom and our King is called Willem-Alexander. The whole country turns orange during the National Day. Orange is the national color of the Netherlands because the King is the head of the House of Orange which is his last name, so we wear orange in his honor and we celebrate King’s Day everywhere in the Netherlands. There are games for children, sing-alongs, parades and especially in Amsterdam, there is a very famous flea market, called “vrijmarkt” that everybody, especially the children are allowed to gather everything they want to get rid of and sell it. What is nice about our national day which is called “King’s Day”- “Koningsdag”, is that most of the time, it is very sunny and it is quite a spectacular festival for everybody from the Netherlands to celebrate King’s Day.
我們會慶祝國慶日，亦即是國王的生日，因為荷蘭是一個王國，而我們的國王叫威廉·亞歷山大。那一日，整個國家都會染上橙色。橙色是荷蘭的民族色彩，因為國王是奧倫治王室首領，奧倫治的英文併寫是與橙色一樣，那是他的姓氏，所以我們以橙色為名，並在荷蘭各地慶祝國王的生日。那天會有兒童遊戲、唱歌、巡遊等，尤其是在阿姆斯特丹，有一個非常有名的跳蚤市場，稱為「Vrijmarkt」，這是一個自由市場，每個人，尤其是兒童，都會收集他們不要的東西賣掉。國慶節．「Koningsdag」最好的地方就是大部分時間都非常晴朗，荷蘭的每個市民都會來參加慶祝國慶日。
4) Any supplement details about the culture that you want to tell us more?
在荷蘭文化方面，你還有什麼能補充嗎？
In the end of the year in the Netherlands, it is quite orderly and it’s a bit chilly which is even more chillier than here in HK today. Days are short, and the sun is coming up late and it’s going down early. But what happens in the Netherlands, especially at Christmas time, there are a lot of decorations around a lot of parties everywhere. People have Christmas trees in their houses, like the restaurants here in HK. Most of the time, they have the time-off between Christmas and New Year, so they are doing all sorts of family things together because there is not so much time or big festivals that do family things together.
到年底的荷蘭較為有秩序，而且天氣有點冷，比今天的香港還要冷。 日照時間很短，太陽較遲升起，較早落下。 但在荷蘭，特別是在聖誕節期間，周圍到處都是裝飾品，到處都有很多聚會，人們的房屋中都佈置聖誕樹，就好像在香港的餐館裡一樣。 大多數時候，他們會在聖誕節和新年之間休息，他們一起進行各種家庭活動，甚少時間或節日會讓大家一起家庭聚會的。
5) So it’s nearly for a month?
差不多一個月？
It happens, the whole month of December is kind of a festive month.
那是真的，整個12月都是喜慶月份。
6) I was told that there are some related Netherlands Cultural Association here in HK. So are there any celebrations for some special events in the year here in HK?
有人告訴我香港有一些相關的荷蘭文化協會。 那麼，香港今年是否有一些特別慶祝活動？
I think we have about three to four thousand Dutch people living in HK and they have their own Dutch association and come together every now and then. They celebrate King’s Day here too. Another tradition is the New Year's Dive in the Netherlands on the 1st of January. People run to the sea to swim, and in the Netherlands that's quite chilly and they also do it here in Stanley, but it’s a bit easier here because the weather is not that cold and the water is a little bit warmer.
我想大約有3到4千名居住在香港的荷蘭人，他們有自己的聯繫，時不時會聚在一起。 他們也在這裡慶祝國王日。 另一個傳統是1月1日在荷蘭的新年下水典禮。 人們奔赴大海去游泳，在荷蘭非常寒冷，本地的荷蘭人也會在赤柱游泳，但是這裡會輕鬆一點，因為天氣並不那麼寒冷，水也更溫暖一些。
7) It’s kind of a custom to swim in the sea?
在海裡游泳是一種習俗嗎？
It happens a lot in the Netherlands. In Summer, you can swim in the sea at various parts of the coast of Netherlands, we have beautiful Stanley beaches where you can go.
在荷蘭經常發生這種事情，在夏天，您可以在荷蘭各個海岸地方游泳，我們也有美麗的海灘可以去。
8) So how long has the Consul General been here in HK?
那麼總領事到香港來多久了？
I have been here in three and a half years now.
我來這裡已經三年半了。
9) How do you feel about HK?
您對香港感覺如何？
I really enjoy my time in HK. HK is a very diverse city, where a lot of things are happening. And you have the entertainment area in central and other parts of HK Island, and then there are times that you can go hiking. It’s easy to go from hustle-and-bustle of the central districts within 10 minutes. I am very partial to dim sum which is not good for me, but I really love the good Dim Sum.
我非常喜歡在香港度過的時光，香港是一個非常多元化的城市，時刻在變。 而且在中環和港島區的其他地方都有娛樂區，然後有時候您可以去遠足。 您可以從喧囂的市中心，10分鐘之內輕鬆到達郊區。 我很喜歡點心，對我身體不好，但是我真的很喜歡點心。
10) I saw so many CGs here in HK , and they love HK because they love nature and could easily go to the mountain or go to see the sea so easily. It is really accessible to nature. They like the scenery and the accessibility to go and get along with nature here in HK. That was one of the biggest reasons they liked it here.
我在香港見過這麼多的總領事，他們會愛上香港都是因為他們熱愛大自然，很容易就能走到山上或去看海，真的很容易接觸大自然，就像他們喜歡風景一樣 以及與香港自然風光共融的便利。 這是他們喜歡這裡的最大原因之一。
What I love about HK is that everything is very close, as you said it’s very accessible. Within 10 minutes, you are on the mountain, having a beautiful view in HK and then, you are back here in Central district, doing business and having your affairs, being on and so. That’s lovely.
我喜歡香港，因為一切都是緊密連接，正如您所說的那樣，交通十分便利。 在十分鐘之內，您就在山上，在香港享有美麗的景色，然後您又可以快速回到中環，在這裡做生意等等。
11) Any special cuisine you like here in HK?
您喜歡香港特色美食嗎？
Well, as I said, I really like the Dim Sum.
好吧，正如我所說，我真的很喜歡點心。
12) What kind of Dim Sum, like Cha Siu Bao or Cheung Fan?
什麼樣的點心，如叉燒包或腸粉？
I must say the barbecue pork, it’s not really the dim sum, but is always in the part of the menu.
我必須說我最愛叉燒，雖不是點心，但卻是菜單上常見的。
13) What’s the national flower of the Netherlands?
荷蘭的國花是什麼？
Well, I think that our national flower that you can consider, is the Tulip.
我們的國花是鬱金香。
14) It seems the same as Turkey. Turkey is Tulip too and I was told that it is a significant flower they love.
看起來像土耳其。 有人告訴我，土耳其也是鬱金香，這是他們喜歡的一朵重要的花。
I think the Dutch discovered the Tulip around the 16th century in Persia. They were already trading a lot of them. We are traders now and we are trading them. When they visited the Ottoman Empire, they discovered Tulip, originally from Persia, they took it back to the Netherlands, and over the centuries, that the Netherlands had become the biggest global major producers of Tulips all around. Therefore it is also why I said the Tulip Garden is very famous with all sorts of people, both in the Netherlands and abroad.
我認為是荷蘭人大約在16世紀在波斯發現了鬱金香，他們已經在交易很多鬱金香。 當他們到訪鄂圖曼帝國時，他們發現了原本來自波斯的鬱金香，並將其帶回荷蘭，並且在過去的幾個世紀中，荷蘭已成為全球最大的鬱金香主要生產國，因此這也造就成鬱金香花園在荷蘭國內外都非常有名。
15) So is there any big flower show or event every year in the Netherlands?
那麼荷蘭每年都有大型的花展或活動嗎？
As I said apart from the Flower Show, there are in some of the smaller villages, in the area where the Tulips are being grown, there are parades where we have floats in order to go through the street and they are all decorated with Tulips, showing different aspect of history of the village or famous people.
正如我所說的，除了花卉展覽外，在一些較小的村莊中，還有鬱金香種植區，在巡遊隊伍中，我們有花車可以穿過街道，並且都裝飾著鬱金香， 顯示村莊或名人歷史。
16) So finally, can CG teach us some language of the Netherlands, like how to say greetings or any special slangs?
所以最後，總領事可以教我們一些荷蘭的語言，比如說問候或任何俚語嗎？
Greetings are not very easy for foreigners to pronounce most of the time, if you want to say “Good Morning”, its “Goedemorgen”, “Good evening”, “Goedenavond”, if you are saying goodbye to people, you can say “Tot Ziens”, see you later, but you can also say “Doei”, that is really slang.
對於外國人來說，大多數時候打招呼並不容易，如果您想說「早安」就是「 Goedemorgen」，「晚安」就是「Goedenavond」，如果您要向人們說再見，您可以說「Tot Ziens」，待會兒見，但您也可以說“ Doei”，那是俚語。
There is of course one very famous Dutch words which lots of foreigners think it doesn’t exist in other language, that is the word “Gezellig” , most English would be translated into cozy, but it’s more than cozy, “Gezellig” is mean you are at ease, that you are having fun with your friends, family, having tea or dinner together, in your chatting and just feeling very much comfortable, so that’s for the name “Gezellig”.
當然我們有一個非常著名的荷蘭語單詞，許多外國人認為它不會出現在其他語言中的，就是「Gezellig」一詞，大多數英語會被翻譯成「cozy」，但不僅僅是「舒適」，「 Gezellig」是指您很自在，在與朋友、家人聊天時，一起喝茶或晚餐時，感覺非常自在，所以這個單詞叫「Gezellig」。
