Why “GiraZonneFlower”?

Yes, why this blog name? And what does it mean, anyway? Let’s start with that, as it’s the easiest part. “Gira” comes from “girasol” (sunflower in Spanish), “Zonne” from “zonnebloem” (sunflower in Dutch) and “Flower”, well… could be any flower of course, but in this case, definitely refers to sunflower.  So one beautiful flower reflected in a mixture of the three important languages in my life. The three languages, also, that I will use to write this blog. You’ll probably ask: why writing in multiple languages, wouldn’t that be too much work? Maybe it will be, and only time will tell. In an ideal world, I would do this to be able to reach out to a much larger audience. Just imagine how many people in the world speak English as their first (or second) language. And Spanish. And… well, Dutch maybe not that many, but it’s still quite a few potential readers on that tiny piece of earth I still call home even though I haven’t lived there for almost ten years now. But even if the audience would remain small. Let’s say, my Mom, a couple of good friends and stop counting. Even then, chances are still high the blog would be read in at least two, possibly all three languages. So yes, certainly worth it to give it a try at least.

Now, I must warn you that the three versions of my blog will not be identical translated copies of each other. Some blog posts will appear in all three languages (like this one), either completely translated or with minor adjustments taking into consideration the different audiences for each language. But some blog posts will only appear in two, or even just one language. Because I think only that specific audience will be interested in that specific post. Or because I feel it’s a subject on which I should definitely write in that specific language, and that language only. Or because I just don’t feel like translating that day. So for those interested readers who know several languages well enough, I would recommend to follow my blog in the different languages you are familiar with, so that you won’t miss any new posts just because they might not be published in your preferred language!

Back to the name. So what’s with the sunflower? Besides that it’s an incredibly beautiful flower (you’re allowed to disagree but won’t be able to make me change my mind about it), I’ve somehow felt identified with these precious gifts of nature for most of my life. Maybe because of their radiant yellow color. Maybe because they love the sun (I do, too!). Or even because they kind of look like the sun. Maybe because they attract butterflies and birds – some other gifts of nature I love. Or because they’re strong and keep their heads up. Most likely, it’s all of the above, combined with some other things that are not quite clear and tangible, but more like a feeling, a sense…

So in short, I love sunflowers. People who know me well know that a bunch of sunflowers equals a guaranteed smile on my face. At age 17, I used “Sunflower” as my alias for some publications in the high school newspaper. Our house is painted yellow on the outside (not quite sunflower-yellow, but still yellow). And just guess which is my favorite painting of fellow Dutchman Vincent van Gogh… So it seems like an obvious choice for the title of my blog as well. Sunflower. Zonnebloem. Girasol. Mixed all together as GiraZonneFlower. Hope you like it!