Read the Rest of my article at Maastricht Region: To Live

All-You-Can-Eat Sushi!

Sushi is one of those foods that people either love or hate. Personally, I adore it; especially when I find excellent tuna sashimi. That’s why Dan & I were so pleased when we first discovered Kaishu, a sushi and teppen-yaki restaurant. Every time we’ve been there the sushi and hot dishes have been very good. Excellent tuna. And a widely varied menu means there is a little something for everyone; even those of you who would rather eat your fish cooked.

The restaurant has two floors. The upstairs features a sushi bar as you walk in the front door and a lot of seating in dark wood. This floor is well-appointed in a fairly classic Japanese restaurant style (lots of reds, rice paper panels, and fans). Additional seating is available downstairs and is less attractive, but we’ve never seen the restaurant full so it is unlikely you’ll be seated there. The waitresses wear kimonos, creating a pleasant dining environment.

In addition to their a la carte selection, Kaishu has several special menus. Our favorite is, of course, the All-You-Can-Eat. For 23-25 euros per person you can order anything you want off of a special menu for two solid hours. All they ask is that you eat everything you order. The same menu is available for lunch between 1pm and 4 pm for 16,50 euros.

Other special menus are:

• Thursday & Friday Sushi Night: 14,95 euros plus free soup
• Take Away: various prices
• Teppan-Yaki Set Menus: Between 45,00 and 65,50 euros

Kaishu is open 7 days a week. Lunch is served from 1 to 4 pm and dinner from 4 to 11:30 pm.

image (c) xpatarchive.com

Starting from a humble beginning as an old leather suitcase full of diaries and yellowing documents, the Expatriate Archive Centre has grown into a lovely residential office where a trove of expat-related documents and ephemera are collected for future research.

Why an Expat Archive

“To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible a collection of primary source materials documenting the social history of expatriate life.” – Expatriate Archive Centre Mission Statement

That is the mission of the Expatriate Archive Centre and they take it very seriously. Living and working abroad is one of the most influential decisions an expat can make, but the reasons behind that decision and the experiences after it vary widely. By bringing together the experiences of expats, organizations, and their families left at home, the Centre is creating a collection useful for all sorts of researchers interested in multicultural experiences, immigration, and even genealogy. The materials can also be used to support future expats by creating higher value experiences for them or simply by letting each of us know we are not alone.

Location, Location, Location

Front entrance of the Archive. image (c) xpatarchive.com

I believe the choice of the Den Haag as the home of the Expatriate Archive Centre was a coincidence, but it is appropriate. In addition to being the home of the UN’s judicial branch and the Dutch seat of government, Den Haag is home to a variety of international companies with a strong expat community. The Netherlands itself is quite centrally located for European-based expats.

Although the archive is located in the Netherlands, it accepts donations from expats living worldwide and in all languages. They have a relationship with a translation program to translate all contributions into English for access.

Volunteering with the Archive

The archive space is temperature controlled. Image (c) xpatarchive.com

Volunteers are the lifeblood of this young archive. While they do have a small, professional staff who maintain the archive, seek out new donations, and assist researchers, it is the volunteers who read diaries, scan materials, translate documents, and build the archive’s presence online and outside of Den Haag. New volunteers are asked to attend the regular Introductory Workshop to ensure that they know what they are doing and why it is being done. Other volunteers help conduct oral interviews and they have an additional training workshop as well.

Despite the distance of Maastricht from Den Haag, my archivist background simply made volunteering with the archive too good of an opportunity to pass up. I originally met Donna from the archive at the “I’m not a Tourist” Fair in Amsterdam but circumstances conspired to keep me away from the facility for several months. After my trip last Thursday I will be helping to read and summarize diaries, as well as sharing the Archive with the Maastricht area in the hopes that some of you will want to share your documents and experiences with the wider database.

Donating to the Archive

Example from the collection. Image (c) xpatarchive.com

The Expat Archive Centre is growing their collection of expat-related materials and they need your help. All expats, regardless of country of residence or origin are welcome to contact the archive with donations of diaries, journals, letters, paperwork, photos, audio recordings, newsletters, and other items related to your experiences. They are also beginning to archive some blogs/weblogs; with permission of the creators of course.

As with any archive donation, you will be asked to give the Archive control of the copyright. This will allow them to use the materials in research and/or simply care for the documents over time. You can require that some materials not be released right away if you are concerned about repercussions. If you have an item that you’re like to share but don’t want to part with, the archive will happily scan the item and return it to you in good condition. Please contact the archive at welcome@xpatarchive.com for more information and do please swing by the website to see more examples of the collection or sign up for a workshop.

Photos from the Archive’s website used with permission.

Yesterday was a good day. Dan and I visited Atomic comics in Sittard; the closest comic book store to Maastricht, followed by high tea at John Mullins. After our late “lunch”, I got some good blogging done and then we went out for drinks with a couple from our language class.

After dinner I discovered that Dave, a fellow Maastricht-based blogger from Random Walks in the Low Country, had recognized Maastricht Minutiae with the Beautiful Blogger Award. I’ve never received a blogging award nomination before and I’m very honored. I read Random Walks and really enjoy how Dave sounds so natural living here. His photos are always tipping me off to things that I’ve missed.

The award comes with some required actions, including writing seven things about myself and nominating up to 7 additional bloggers. So without further ado…

5 Nominated Bloggers

1. Invading Holland: Very funny.
2. 24 Oranges: The first expat blog I started following when we move to the Netherlands.
3. Crossroads Magazine: Great for Maastricht-related stories.
4. Franco Phoney: Whose blog about living in France I discovered via Absolute Write.
5. PlagiarismToday: Which isn’t about expats at all, but has great information about plagerism, copyright, and other similar issues.

7 (hopefully) Odd/Interesting Facts about Amanda

1. I was born in Alaska and lived in a small village above the arctic circle for 4 years.
2. I am the eldest kid in my family, but the only girl so I tend to be a bit of a tomboy.
3. I learned to like beer when working as an archaeologist.
4. I’ve been scuba diving twice; once in the middle of winter. In Greece.
5. I was hit by a car in Ireland in 2001. I’m mostly over my car phobia by now. >_>
6. I have an unexplained interest in abandoned shoes.
7. My personal philosophy in life is to “Organize Things & Help People”.

Beautiful Blogger Rules (change as desired)

1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Paste the award on your blog
3. Link the person who nominated you for the award
4. Share 7 interesting things about yourself
5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less

• Starting our business/Part one
• Expatriate Archive Centre
• Sittard Comics
• A train toilet that opens straight to the tracks