Dutch Immigration share: Peterson - Here, I can be free to be myself
Born in California A artist and painter Sharma Peterson (52 years old) lives in the Netherlands for most of his life and has dual nationality. She loves gun control laws and stupid comedy in the Netherlands, and loves to be lost in the beautiful crowds and streets of Amsterdam.
How did you come to the Netherlands?
I met a guy in a bar in California and it turned out he was Dutch and he would be in California for a few months to pursue his PhD in Computer Science. We fell in love and he said, "If you saved enough money for the air tickets from the Netherlands, I will buy you the air tickets." I said, 'Hell, yes! ’ So I did. I came over with a backpack, a box of books and my dog.
How do you describe yourself and why?
I would say I am an immigrant. I don't have to give up my US passport so I can go back to the US, but I'm not particularly thinking about it because of all the political and social things that are happening there. I never really felt like I was suitable for America. I feel much happier here.
How long do you plan to stay?
I have lived here for 27 years and have exceeded half of my life. I have a company and almost all my friends are in this country. I could imagine moving to another country in Europe, but my feeling is that I want to spend the rest of my life here. That's because the living standards here are incredible, I know amazing people, and my whole life is built here.
I really like the diverse culture of Amsterdam. I think this is great. You can meet people from all over the world. I'm no longer with the guy I'm here, but that's a little bit of a circle because I'm now married to someone who is also from California, but I met him in Amsterdam.
Do you speak Dutch ? How did you learn it?
I speak Dutch quite fluently. I knew I wanted to stay here when I came here, so I immediately started trying to learn Dutch. Because I'm with a Dutchman, I feel immersive. However, he also suggested that I turn on the radio and keep listening to Dutch news, and I did as I did. I also watched a lot of Dutch TV. I watched Van Kuten & De Bee, the two Dutch comedians, compiled a lot of words and performed a lot of political sketches, which was great.
In the 1990s, I went to a Dutch language school funded by the government. The course for one semester is 50 rupiah. I took two semesters and later took grammar and spelling classes to pass the Free University test. Another thing I did was that I bought a large Van Dell Dutch-English dictionary. It has two volumes and is really heavy. I would sit down and read them and start drawing the words, and I made an ABC book with illustrations in Dutch.
What is your favorite Dutch thing?
gun control. I just think it's safer to have gun control here. I'm not afraid of what I looked like when I was in the United States. This makes your life easier. Living here will be much less stressful.
Have you become a Dutch?
My husband is American, so in our house we are doing our American things – cooking black beans, swearing, in American slang. In the outside world, I am just a part of Dutch culture, speaking Dutch, and being with the Dutch.
I'm in between and I think it's a weird question because, especially in Amsterdam, with so many different types of people, it's hard to say exactly what the "Dutchman" is unless in a generalized way. I think there is a lot of freedom here to be yourself, and I feel like I can be myself and myself is what I really like here. So maybe to some extent, this is the Dutch or Amsterdam.
Which three Dutch people do you want to meet the most?
I want to meet Rembrandt learns painting from him.There are so many speculations about how he makes pigments and is able to achieve so many spectacular effects in his paintings, I would love to know how he did it.
The second is the rap Mondrian . Because I've painted more abstract over the past four years, I want to talk to him about how he developed his system of abstraction and what he felt was driving the symbolism of his colors. I want to learn more about what he is doing.
The third one is Map Gith. She is the woman who cared for the Anne Frank family. I just think she is an amazing hero and her courage is very inspiring to me. I am a military wife and I am always scared when my husband is deployed. Thinking of Miep gave me courage.
What are your best travel suggestions?
When you arrive in Amsterdam, you are at the Central Station, don't walk down Dhamrak! Walk on the street and get lost as much as possible - don't take street drugs! Meet all kinds of good people, because that's all about Amsterdam.
tells us some of the amazing things you found about the Netherlands.
I am a pacifist raised by Berkeley in , but I married a military man. Because of this, I try to break them down, transform them, and deprive them of their power while drawing guns. I painted the gun into a landscape painting. When the Dutch looked at these paintings, they tended to look at the scenery rather than guns. However, in my experience, many Americans tend to see guns and not see the scenery. I think that with gun control, the Dutch don't need to worry about being on guard against guns all the time, nor do they think so much. I found this very culturally interesting and surprising.
If you have only 24 hours left in the Netherlands, what would you do?
I will call all my friends to hold a big party to say goodbye, and I will find a good home for my paintings as much as possible, hoping some of them will live longer than I do.
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