Turning Dutch: Multicultural

Showing posts with label Multicultural. Show all posts

Monday, 27 June 2016

How to Get (and Keep) Your Bilingual Child Writing

I've been living in the Netherlands for more than fifteen years and although my daily life is conducted in Dutch, writing remains the weakest area of my Dutch language skills. I need to really think about every single word and sentence I write. So it's no wonder that this is also the area I find hardest whilst raising my children to be bilingual. And it's the topic I have chosen for the Multicultural Kid Blogs carnival about raising multicultural children.

Why Bother with Writing in a Second Language?

The first question you may be asking yourself is why bother. Gone are the days when we hand write everything; we have computers now. We have auto correct and spelling check. Why spend so much time trying to teach our children to write in a second or third language? The Russian Step by Step team sum it up:

"Yes, everyone will agree that in the modern world we have a lot less opportunities to use handwriting than even 50 years ago. Everyone, even toddlers, use the “screens” and start typing at a very early age." Russian Step by Step

But there are still many reason whys handwriting is today still an important tool to help your children improve their language skills. Russian Step by Step give four great reasons in their post Why Learn the Russian Handwriting? which apply to other languages too.

The European Mama also points out just how far handwriting is cultural - it differs across the world, and not just because of the different alphabets:

Writing is something special!

How Do Children Learn to Write

Bilingual Avenue has a whole podcast dedicated to helping you understand How do kids really learn to write, as well as this one to support you in teaching your child to write in the home language.

Of course, to be able to write in a language a child also needs to be able to read, which is the theme of a great post on Spanish Playground, tips to help teach those first steps to reading: Spanish Syllables: Learning to Read.

Multilingual Parenting shares tips in a post called 'From bilingual to biliterate':

"What you can do as a parent to nurture this interest is being a great role model for literacy. Read lots of books to (and later with) your child. Following the words with your finger while reading allows your child to make the connection between the sounds, letters and words. Write notes, cards and letters. If you have nothing else to write on a day, make writing the shopping list something that you do together." Multilingual Parenting

Use day to day chores to practice writing, make use of technology and get your children writing emails to family members in their second language.

Make Writing Fun to Keep Children Engaged

Being able to write in a language is important and there are ways to encourage, motivate and help your children develop an enthusiasm for writing in a language that is not their native tongue.

Adam Beck (Bilingual Monkeys) advocates making literacy development fun - and as far as I'm concerned keeping it fun is one of the best tips for parents raising multilingual children. His idea of Silly Stories is a sure fire way to get children laughing and learning!

Another idea over on the blog Family Life in Spain is to use story cubes to create stories that can also be written. My children love story cubes but we have only used them to make up verbal stories so I love this idea of taking it further and actually writing down the little tales we make up.

Fun is also the key to this post by Raising a Trilingual Child - not just fun but food too!

"Apparently there is nothing as easy and fun as teaching your child letters using an aromatic Italian mortadella! One evening I was preparing appetizer for kids, I took a big piece of mortadella, the Italian heat-cured meat sausage, and started slicing it and cutting it in cubes and sticks." Raising a Trilingual Child

There are eight more creative tips on Discovering the World Through my Son's Eyes to keep your children engaged in reading and writing from bingo to mini books. She realises that as parents raising bilingual children we sometimes need to think out a little outside the box:

There are other ideas and tips in the post "Easy way of teaching your bilingual kids to write in a minority language" on how to get your child writing in their second (or third) language over on Raising a Trilingual Child, who also reminds us of something important:

Just Start Writing

I journal. I write daily. I read daily. I read with my children on an almost daily basis (if not me then my husband does so we alternate between Dutch and English books). And I hope by doing these things the importance of reading and writing, in both languages, becomes engrained in my children - that practicing these skills just come naturally to my boys.

Writing can be in many forms:

Journaling - I am currently exchanging journal entries with my eldest boys using The Time Capsule and Between Mom and Me, journals that have been made especially for children. I have written before about how to use journals to encourage writing in a second language - and it's a tool that really works for us.

A Pen Pal - Read why everyone should have a pen pal here.

I have five more ways in this post: 5 Ways to Encourage a Child to Write in a Second Language

And finally, in his blog post "Do This One Simple Thing and I Guarantee You Greater Success On Your Bilingual Journey" Adam Beck explains just how important writing is as a tool on your bilingual journey, not just for our children but for us too, to help us raise our bilinguals:

"Just start writing: No matter who you are, or what your circumstances are like, if you make writing about your bilingual journey a priority in your life—a firm and regular routine—you will inevitably strengthen your awareness and your actions, and accordingly, your children’s bilingual development." Bilingual Monkeys

Monday, 11 January 2016

Tales from the Expat Harem - Book Review

I believe that a book that transports you to another place is the most rewarding read you can get. A book that allows you to experience a different culture or unknown feeling from the comfort of your easy chair, bed or garden, or even the less comfortable perch in the smallest room in the house, is one to rave about.

Reading Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey (Seal Women's Travel) (UK link - for US link see Amazon picture below) will make you feel like you have experienced a little of life in Turkey. It is nearly three hundred pages of expat women telling their tales about life in a country that bridges east and west, that even within its own borders joins the modern and the traditional.

5 Ways to Encourage a Child to Write in a Second Language

My three boys are bilingual, speaking Dutch as their mother tongue and English as their second language. It struck me recently that even though we talk and read in English at home every day my eldest hardly gets any writing practice in his second language. So I'm making an all out concerted effort to change that and I have been thinking of ways that he'll find interesting to encourage him to pick up a pen to write in English.

Santa v Sinterklaas: How We Explain it to Our Children

For some reason this year I have seen lots of questions from expats in the Netherlands about how to get their children to wrap their heads around the whole Sinterklaas versus Santa Claus thing. And when blogger Linda (Wetcreek) posed the question on my My Love Hate Relationship with Sinterklaas post, I thought I'd share how we have handled it.

The truth is that years ago, probably five or six when my son started to get a little about what was going on with Sinterklaas, my Dutch husband and I realised that the cultural clash we had when it came to the festive season actually mattered for our children.

My husband grew up celebrating Sinterklaas on the 5th December, and I grew up in complete British oblivion where 5 December was just another winter day. Until he met me, he had never had a present on Christmas Day. My Dutch in-laws changed the rules during my first Christmas in the Netherlands and there were presents under the tree - but for all of them it was a completely new concept that gifts were exchanged on the 25th December. Prior to my arrival Christmas was about a family meal.

So, from the start of our relationship it was clear that we had two very different experiences of Christmas - a Dutch celebration at the beginning of December which was alien to me, and meant nothing to me and a Christmas Day that was a much bigger affair for me than it ever was for my husband.

So I adapted, I embraced pakjesavond for my children (let's face it, if you have Dutch children there is no other way to approach 5 December) and we go completely Dutch.(This year I actually got to sit on Sinterklaas' lap - which may be taking the 'embracing' a little far - what do you think?) My husband led the way for a few years until I got the hang of it (the rules are there are no rules) and now I feel pretty confident that I could run the Sinterklaas show if I had to.

However, when it comes to Christmas, we do it British style. We hang stockings on our doors on Christmas Eve, and Father Christmas fills our stockings with little gifts and leaves presents for us under our Christmas tree.

Christmas is a bigger affair than Sinterklaas when it comes to presents, and the children know that Father Christmas will visit in a matter of weeks after pakjesavond. I guess we are lucky because so far I have never heard my children comparing their gift list to their friends - and I am pretty sure they do not feel hard done by on the 5th December. Better still, when my eldest laid in bed on the evening of the 5th December this year he uttered, "It's a shame pakjesavond is over." Then his eyes lit up, and he said, "But we have a visit from Father Christmas to look forward to!"

How do we explain it? Well, I'm British. My children are half Dutch, half British. Father Christmas comes to us (and not to other Dutch children) because my sons are half British. If anyone asks them about Christmas my sons happily reel off,

"Father Christmas comes to us because my mama is British."

When my eldest was younger he asked if Sinterklaas knew Father Christmas, and we told him they are friends and colleagues. They share information about what children have been up to during the year - they help each other. He was happy with that. Two different figures, two different occasions.

End of Christmas story. I hope it's as easy for you..........

How do you explain cultural differences to your children during this festive period?

Thursday, 6 November 2014

5 Reasons Everyone Should be an Expat at Least Once in Their Lives

If you're not an expat, you should be. At least for a while.

When I was a teenager, I planned to be an expat. A translator living in France to be exact. Then my great expat plan took a back seat, maybe even got shelved, whilst I worked out a career and all that grown up stuff. Then, as is often the case, expat life just kind of happened whilst I was making plans for my non-expat future.

Though it was never part of the original plan to wind up in the Netherlands, that's where the turn in the road led, and I followed it. I'm glad I did. Aside from my beautiful family, I gained a whole new life.

Expat life changes things. It changes you. Whether you plan it or not, whether your stay overseas is a temporary move, or one meant for a lifetime, being an expat is enriching. It's life changing. And that's why I think everyone should do it, at least once in their life.

If you're still not convinced, here are five reasons why.

You Meet Amazing People

When you move to a new country you, by default, meet new people, people different from the ones in your social circle back home. You meet people who speak a different language, who are from a different culture, who have a different background.

Friendships grow with people from all walks of life, people who make your expat life colorful and enriching. Without even trying you learn about other countries, other cultures, other attitudes and traditions.

Of course, let's be real, you'll also meet arseholes; unfortunately they live abroad too - but thankfully they are in the minority. Avoid them and you'll do just fine.

You Immerse Yourself in New Cultures

When you move abroad you try new foods, you take part in new traditions and learn new customs. You are party to new ideas, new ways of doing things. You listen to new music. You see different political and economic systems in practice. You celebrate new holidays. You see the arts and heritage of a country first hand.

If you are lucky you even learn a new language.

You learn about a country's past, and you learn what traits a nation treasures, what ignites a nation's pride. You notice the details, things you don't read about in school books, or learn about in travel books.

If you open your eyes, you'll see a little piece of the world through someone else's eyes.

You Fall in Love with Your Birth Country

When you become an expat,
you see your birth country in a new light

What is that saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Well it's true. Nothing gets you looking at your birth country with rose coloured spectacles quicker than leaving it. I never really understood what it was that made me British until I left Britain, and then it all became incredibly evident. It turns out, you can take a Brit out of Britain but you'll never take the Brit out of the girl.

You start to appreciate all those things that make up your national identity, and realise that your home country culture, customs and traditions really have moulded you.

You notice the things that are dear to you from your own culture (for example, I never realised how attached to Bonfire night celebrations I was until I left England and 5th November just became a regular day) and which customs seem ridiculous and disposable.

When you become an expat, you fall in love with your birth country, including all those funny little quirks and odd habits that you never get a second thought to when you were living there.

You Realise Just How Much it's People, Not Things, That Really Matter

Living overseas, even temporarily, forces you to re-evaluate everything; to look at what you actually need and what you want in life. It's a clean slate, a chance to start anew and dump the baggage you no longer need to carry with you - both physical and mental baggage.

You start assessing what you miss from your 'old' life, what you actually need to move forward and what it is in life that really makes you happy.

You focus a little less on the material and more on the emotional aspect of life. You focus on the truly important things in life. You appreciate the true worth of those friends and family that were on your doorstep before you moved, and you sincerely value the worth of new friendships.

Relationships matter more than material goods when you have to start over. You realise it's people, not things, that really make the difference in life.

You Meet the Better Part of Yourself

When you leave everything familiar behind and set your feet down on new territory, you soon learn what you are capable of.

You uproot your life and replant it in, what seems at first, a hostile environment. You do everything to make sure it thrives. Because you must.

You learn to think differently, to think outside the box. The rules you once knew have been discarded and it takes time to learn the new rules - so you'll improvise. Maybe you'll get creative with your career, or amaze yourself with how determined you can be, or how passionate you feel about realising a goal.

You notice both huge and subtle differences and learn to be more open and flexible, because you have little choice. You become more accepting of change, because you have to be. You go through an unconscious self-improvement course and come out the other side stronger, more aware of yourself and your capabilities.

As an expat, you'll get to know yourself a little better, and you'll meet the better, more courageous part of yourself.

Over to you:Why else should you become an expat? What has been the biggest advantage of your expat life? Do you think everyone is cut out for expat life?

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Straying From The Path to Now

Unknown to my younger self, I am sure that the path I have been on since I was a teenager was one leading me to a life abroad. It just wasn't a direct path. Sure, there were signs, hints and indications in my youth that a life beyond the borders of my birth country was something I should prepare for. That my later life would involve speaking a second language should have been clear to me at an early age.

My first trip abroad was a family holiday to Tangiers in Morocco. The unfamiliar sounds of an unknown language spoken all around me, the rich vivid colours of North African wedding attire sparkling in the glaring evening sun, the enchantment of a music so different to Western pop, the smells of exotic food cooking in the streets all served to pique my curiosity about life beyond the borders of my home land.

A school trip abroad to La Rochelle started my long lasting love affair with France. I homed in on modern languages, namely French and German for my GCSEs and continued my French to A-Level. My love of the French language went beyond the allure of my Liverpudlian French teacher. A school trip to Berlin a year after the wall fell enticed me to be a part of something bigger, it lured me to take a closer look at the world away from my own doorstep. Foreign languages became an integral part of who I was, who I was to be.

I centred my university degree search around being able to use my French. I eventually picked a European Studies course in Bradford, which included a study year in Toulouse. I use the word study lightly. It was less of an academic study year, more of a cultural immersion. I loved the smell and bustling of the local bakery every morning, I loved watching the old man in a beret that shuffled to the local supermarket in his well worn but clearly loved checked slippers, I loved browsing at the snails in the freezer compartment as I did my grocery shop - week after week failing miserably to pluck up the courage to actually give them a try.

After graduation jobs with companies like Michelin kept my French alive but when I later chose a career in Human Resources the need to speak a second language soon dissipated. My path seemed to change, leading away from where I had been sure I would go.

As a teenager I’d envisioned a life for myself abroad, in France, where I spoke the language and loved the culture. Somewhere along the way I got distracted and forgot where I was headed. My linguistic mind stayed with me, laying dormant but patiently waiting whilst I strayed from the path I should have been on.

And then one day my little brother met an American girl, online in a chat room. I was clueless. I had no computer of my own and had no idea how you could ‘meet’ someone in a chat room. After what seemed like no time at all he announced he was moving to Long Island, NY to get married. One family globetrotter fled the nest. But my own path kept me firmly rooted in England.

I needed to write a dissertation to finish my Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources but the absence of a computer at home made progress slow but Father Christmas (disguised as my father) saved the day and I became the proud owner of a personal computer. It became my indispensable companion. It was to put me back on the right path.

For a reason I no longer remember nor can imagine looking back, my brother’s once uttered words, “go try a chat room. It’s fun” popped into my head one evening. I did a search and ended in a chat room talking to a Mexican. Just as I was getting bored with the whole 'chat room' experience a pop up appeared from another chatter. This time it was a Dutchman. My boredom vanished.

Christmas and the millennium were closing in and my days were filled with MSN Messenger and an endless string of emails. After that fateful evening I never entered a chat room again. Online chatting turned into a phone call on New Year’s Eve. Talking on the telephone turned in to visits to each other’s homes in foreign lands.

Seven months later my wonderful boss moved on and in his place came a woman who had a reputation for clearing the decks and bringing in her own people wherever she went. Business trips that were planned months ahead were suddenly superfluous and I whispered to my dad that something was afoot. I knew something bad was looming. He told me I was being paranoid.

Then one evening, sure enough, I was summoned to the dragon’s den. She informed me that my position would end in two months. Walking home with tears streaming down my face I made a call to the Netherlands with my mobile phone. I shared the lowlights of my evening and told my Dutch partner that I needed to find a job fast so that my mortgage didn’t become a problem.

“Or instead of finding a new job there, you could move to the Netherlands…” he said and I could hear the smile on his face.

And suddenly I was back on the path I was destined to walk on.

Thursday, 17 April 2014

My Reverse Expat Bucket List

Instead of keeping track of all the things I still want to do in life, I loved Erika from America's idea of capturing all the experiences and achievements that she has already been fortunate enough to have.

And as a contra to some of the most recent posts I have written about the tougher aspects of expat life, I thought it would be nice to dwell on all the great things I have done, seen and achieved because of my expat life.

You can read more about how this idea evolved here. But I don't want to just throw my reverse expat bucket list out there - I want to read yours too, hence the idea of a blogging link up. You can find the link up button and a picture you can use at the end of this post.

So here goes. This is my reverse bucket list made possible because I became an expat and moved to the Netherlands.

Be a mama to three beautiful Dutch boys
Abandon your comfort zone and take a huge risk
Expand your world
Fit all your worldly possessions into a borrowed police trailer and take it from England to the Netherlands to make a new life
Marry a Dutchman
Get married at a mill (even if it is water and not wind)
Live daily life in a second language
Go through the classic culture shock curve and come out smiling
Adapt to a new culture
Appreciate your British culture
Learn what is important in life by watching the Dutch masters of work life balance
Have Dutch people speak Dutch back to you when you speak Dutch to them
Have three bilingual children
Have three dual nationality children
Bring three children up in two cultures
Visit four countries in one day
Find three ways to travel from the Netherlands to England
Take a high speed train to Paris
Visit a Christmas market in Germany
Drive to Denmark and visit Legoland
Drive to Euro Disney
Visit Movie World in Germany by car
Visit Muiderslot
Visit Keukenhof at its most beautiful
See the Dutch flower fields up close and personal
Visit the Zaanse Schans
View the Netherlands from above in a very, very small plane.

Fly it yourself for seven seconds before you freak out and give the control back to an experienced pilot
Have a family photo session outside the Dutch parliament
Get back on a bicycle after a twenty year abstention
Plan for a home birth
Plan to give birth without pain relief
Have three children born in a Dutch hospital
Welcome kraamzorg in to your home three times and realise just how lucky you are to have postnatal help
Own a home abroad
Cook a Dutch meal
Eat a sweet pancake and call it dinner, not pudding
Eat speculoos with abandonment
Eat an orange tompouce
Eat Indonesian food
Renovate an old worker's house in The Hague
Understand the terms and conditions of your mortgage written solely in Dutch
Watch The Bridge spoken in original language with Dutch subtitles and understand what is going on
Watch Borgen in Danish with Dutch subtitles and totally get it
Watch a Dutch film and actually laugh at the funny bits
Watch a musical in Dutch and sing along - quietly
Read a book you are not familiar with in Dutch and be able to follow the plot
Listen to Dutch music
See Dutch musicians in concert and sing along - quietly
Meet inspirational people from all corners of the world, including from countries you barely knew the existence
Love the diversity of culture in your life
Make Dutch friends
Be brave and quite your job in the corporate world and start a career you are passionate about, one that makes your heart sing
Take a distance learning course in journalism
Start a blog about expat life
Write expat articles
Write for Smitten by Britain
Have an idea for a book
Interview the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both the north and south sides
Celebrate Queen's Night in The Hague
Celebrate Queen's Day in Amsterdam
Celebrate Sinterklaas
Celebrate new year's eve in the Netherlands
See a Chinese New Year celebration in The Hague
Celebrate Bonfire Night in Amsterdam
See the preparations made for a Nuclear Security Summit
Stand two feet away from the Dutch Prime Minister
Stand so close to a Dutch Crown Prince you could almost touch him, a risk not worth taking because of the inconspicuous security he has near him
See behind the scenes at a Dutch hospital
Get whisked away to hospital in a Dutch ambulance
Go on natural ice - a frozen pond or canal
Hang a birthday calendar in the smallest room of your house instead of writing birthdays out year after year
Learn it is better to pay to use a clean toilet than to visit a dirty one for free
Use a cheese slicer without losing a finger, or a part thereof
Go to a Dutch birthday circle and survive to tell the tale
Watch a football tournament with English and Dutch teams in the Amsterdam Arena
See a football team you care about make it to the World Cup Final
Help out in a Dutch classroom for a morning and be proud that the children actually know what you are saying to them in Dutch
See Bruce Springsteen in concert in Feyenoord's stadium

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<a href="http://lifewithadoublebuggy.blogspot.nl" title="Expat Life with a Double Buggy"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0N6ik1LnF-b7CpjdqQ8Yn8g85ywT1Czd8tSzxer-Z80tW2UfPEFjOZhEVBWNMxbLsD2eOvaG8y9WqvG_ddeeXi6YSRDvtv1yvFJ1C3LHosBfoOfQk2OQiP6fMGDX_pBAKihGZfcLM3Y/s1600/ELWADB+LinkUp.JPG" alt="Expat Life with a Double Buggy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Monday, 31 March 2014

10 Hard Expat Lessons Learnt on the Way to A Happy Life Abroad

No matter how idyllic expat life looks, there are lessons to be learnt

It is impossible to be an expat for thirteen and a half years and not learn something. I have watched expats around me, and learnt from them. I have learnt some things the hard way, but looking back I wouldn't have it any other way. Every experience has helped mould me and the expat life I lead today. I have reached a point of happiness, contentment and satisfaction with the life I have carved out overseas with my husband and three sons. But there is no denying there have been bumps in the road leading to the present day. There have been tough, tough days. But each bump is a lesson learnt. Here are ten bumps.....

1. Habits can be broken. When you move to a new country the things you are used to doing, and the way you do them, may no longer be acceptable, possible or feasible. It means changing what you do and how you do it.

2. Necessities can become unnecessary. All those foodstuffs you thought you could never live without? Turns out you can - with a little weaning and cold turkey. That particular shop you loved? When it's gone the world doesn't stop turning. You may miss things for a while, but eventually you move on. You learn to live without.

3. Every negative feeling has an end. Expats go through culture shock, even experienced expats who have done it all before in different countries. It's a lot easier going through a hard, negative period when you know those feelings will come to an end. It is part of the expat package.

4. Your way is not always the right way. The people in your host country may do things a little differently. They may turn everything you know on your head. And sometimes you find a better way of doing things.

5. For everything there is an alternative or a substitute. Can't get something you deem essential? Ask around and the natives or seasoned expats will have a secret ingredient as a replacement for you.

6. Adapt or wither. You cannot move to a new country and expect life to carry on as it was. And truth be told, if that is what you want why move in the first place? If you don't change your mindset, embrace change and adapt to your environment you will lose a little piece of yourself every day until you realise you have withered away to a shadow of your former self. Tough lesson, but true.

7. Go local. Learn the local language. Being able to confidently communicate with the local people helps you adapt, feel at home and find your way around your new environment. It makes everything a little less daunting and the idea of leaving the house a little less scary. Learn about the history and culture of the new land you call home, even if it is a temporary home. If you know why things are the way they are it helps you accept the things that may be wildly different from life as you knew it. Learn about the politics of your new home.

8. Explore. There is a whole new world around you. Seeing new sights is uplifting.

9. Make friends with the locals, they are your best tour guide, information source and linguist aides. Make friends with other expats, they are the voice of experience and they know what you are going through.

10. Expat life is not a holiday. Normal life continues at home or away with all its ups and downs. Moving overseas does not mean there is no more drama in your life, or that you can escape what happens back 'home'. Sometimes it can actually make problems worse as solving issues back in your home country is harder. Expat life is not an escape from life.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

5 Things I Love About my Expat Life

Welcome to this first post in this month's Celebrating Expat Life Blog Link up series. The idea is to share the many positive things about living overseas, the great things about bringing your children up in a multicultural and multilingual environment and focus on the things that make your expat life great. You can grab the link button at the bottom of this post, as well as link your own post using the InLinkz link. If you tweet about this link up please use #ELWADBlinkup. Meanwhile, here's what I love about my expat life.

Expat life is no holiday, but if you're doing it right there are a mountain of positive things to get out of living overseas. Here are 5 things I love about my expat life.

1. I Have a New Comfort Zone

My comfort zone disappearing on the horizon

Moving abroad took me so far beyond the borders of my comfort zone they became a speck on the horizon. From the moment I stepped on the ferry in England to a new life in the Netherlands I couldn't see my comfort zone, even if I squinted really hard. It turns out that that one way ferry ticket was also a ticket to a whole new comfort zone. All those things that were foreign a decade ago are now a huge part of what makes me feel safe, at home and content. I'm not sure if my safe circle expanded or moved entirely but I do know that my expat life revealed that I am more resilient and more capable than I had ever imagined. I have taken a risk with my career and made difficult personal choices because I feel stronger and braver for having made the move abroad. Being an expat has made me challenge myself more than I ever would have back on British soil.

2. Expat Life is Enriching
I love that so many new things came into my life when I became an expat: people, food, music,

sights, language, culture, travel experiences, books, films, traditions, celebrations. Being able to watch The Bridge in Swedish/Danish with Dutch subtitles and understand 100% of what is going on gives me a huge sense of satisfaction and pride. The people I meet are colourful and culturally different from me. And I love the fact that even after more than thirteen years of living in the Netherlands I still discover and learn new things on a regular basis. Being an expat gives a new spin on the humdrum of daily life.

3. Expat Life is a Cultural Adventure
My husband was raised in a different culture to me. He grew up with different traditions and customs, he listened to music that is unfamiliar to me, he celebrated holidays I had never heard of before I moved here in 2000, he went to school in a system that I have no first hand knowledge of. I watched TV programs that he never saw, my British education had a different emphasis than his Dutch schooling, I ate cereal each morning for breakfast as he tucked into his hagelslag. Life was very different for us as children and as a couple now we try to find a middle way through both our cultures and pass the best of British and the best of Dutch to our three sons.

4. Expat Life Gives Me the Best of Two Worlds

As an expat in the Netherlands I get to celebrate Dutch Sinterklaas and British Christmas. I live my life in two languages, in Dutch and English. I eat ginger nuts and speculaaskoekjes. I can whip up (or mash up) a stamppot at the drop of a hat or prepare an English trifle. I can get off the telephone having spoken to my dad in English and switch to Dutch to talk to my father-in-law. I appreciate a good Dutch Queen's Day celebration (soon to be King's Day) and could watch the British Queen's Jubilee celebrations with a sense of pride. There are many things that were no part of my life fourteen years ago which now make up my expat world - but I still get to keep many of the things that have been part of my life since childhood. I truly have the best of both worlds.

5. Expat Life Makes me Appreciate my Roots
Most of the people I have contact with on a daily basis are Dutch. I stand out like a sore thumb, even though I can communicate with them in (my imperfect) Dutch. There have been times when I have struggled with this, but that is no longer the case. The longer I live away from Britain, the more I understand what characteristics, habits and behaviour makes me British, and why I can never wholly blend in with the Dutch - even if you ignore the fact that most Dutch people tower over me. I have actually grown to be very proud of my British roots, and the Dutch love hearing about how things are done in Britain compared to their home country. I'm the only British expat living in my street. As far as I know I'm the only British parent at my son's school. Being British makes me stick out from the crowd, and I have grown to love that.

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<a href="http://lifewithadoublebuggy.blogspot.nl" title="Expat Life with a Double Buggy"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0N6ik1LnF-b7CpjdqQ8Yn8g85ywT1Czd8tSzxer-Z80tW2UfPEFjOZhEVBWNMxbLsD2eOvaG8y9WqvG_ddeeXi6YSRDvtv1yvFJ1C3LHosBfoOfQk2OQiP6fMGDX_pBAKihGZfcLM3Y/s1600/ELWADB+LinkUp.JPG" alt="Expat Life with a Double Buggy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday, 27 February 2014

Celebrating Expat Life - Blog Link Up

Spring highlights the positive in
everything

This is a heads up of a blog link up I am starting next week if anyone would like to join in. There will be a link tool on my post each week where you all can add your posts.

It's the first blog link up I have run, inspired by the Multicultural Kid Blogs carnival I put together on the topic of love. It was such fun to see other's views on the same topics and I figure celebrating expat life is another topic many of us have first hand experience of - and lots to say.

I have also been inspired by the flowers shooting out of the ground, the sun which keeps showing its face and the birds which are busy nesting - all the signs of spring are around and that is a reason to look at the positive side of life, of expat life. So without further ado, here are the four weekly prompts for March.

"As spring hurtles towards us I think it's the perfect time to celebrate expat life - and the advantages of parenting as an expat. Our children are raised in a multicultural, multilingual environment - and that is worth celebrating!

Each week in March there will be a different prompt to look at life as an expat. Here are the titles I will use, (you'll need to adapt for the right nationality/language where relevant).

Wednesday 5th March: 5 Things I Love About My Expat Life
Wednesday 12th March: 5 Reasons I'm Glad my Children Are *Dutch & British*
Wednesday 19th March: 5 Reasons I'm Glad my Children Speak *Dutch & English*
Wednesday 26th March: 5 Lessons I Have Learnt from the *Dutch*"

Hope to see some of you linking up from 5th March.

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Latest Smitten by Britain Post: A British Breakfast

Boiled eggs and toast. A harmless topic you would think. Alas not if you are a multicultural family it turns out.....

"Picture the scene: a typically Dutch dull, grey Sunday morning, sitting around the breakfast table with visitors from Britain. I chose this morning to soft boil some eggs, toast some bread and cut it up into strips as part of the morning feast."

Things were about to get messy and confusing..... Read the rest of my latest Smitten by Britain post to find out more.

Thursday, 13 February 2014

Love Makes the World Go Round & Moves Us Around the World

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, the day of love and romance, at least it is if you go in for all that cards, flowers and romantic dinners malarkey (can you tell I might be past all that, what with three children and a vague recollection of the last time my husband and I were out alone?) In any case, it seems the perfect timing for a Multicultural Kid Blogs carnival on the topic of love.

I remember my first (and last) love triangle like it was yesterday, rather than the thirty five years ago it actually was. It was early primary school, in Warrington in Cheshire in the North of England. My class ~~was forced~~ lovingly created Valentine's cards for each other. The recipient of each child's creation was a free choice and before we left school that Valentine's Day, our handcrafted cards were distributed amongst the class.

Horror of horrors I took two cards home with me. I was guilt ridden. Tears rolled. I felt awful for the boy who had given me a card but had not received one from me in return. I went home and immediately began making another card so I could give it to him the next school day. I was oblivious to the fact that he probably went home and thought nothing more of it. The unfairness of it all ruined Valentine's Day for that little five year old me. (Sensitive? Me?)

These days of course this situation is avoided with the idea of fairness and exclusiveness, as Aisha Ashraf tells in her piece about Valentine's cards in her children's school in Canada for Global Living Magazine. But in my day, you lived with the guilt and the disappointment, and surprise surprise I got over it and survived the many more Valentine's Days that followed.

Photo Credit: Nithya Ramanujam

So, back to love. Love is not the same around the world. It means different things to different people, to different cultures. Love takes different forms. Love is expressed in different ways, shown by different acts depending on the culture of where you live and who you are showing the love you feel to.

Varya writes about what love means to her and how she teaches her children to show love on her blog The Creative World of Varya. Rina Mae (Finding Dutchland) describes how her husband expressed his love for her in her blog post When in Rome. Jaime of Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails shows her children love through her 10 Simple Ways to Spend Quality Time with Young Kids. Leanna, of All Done Monkey, highlights that sometimes we have to be creative with how we show our love for someone else in her post Monkey Kisses and Dinosaur Hugs.

In the Netherlands, I love you is expressed by the words, "Ik hou van jou" (spoken as "ik how von yow") and Valentine's day is relatively low key. There are cards in the shops but that is about the extent of it. Are the Dutch a romantic lot? Not particularly. They certainly don't have a reputation for romance, in fact according to CNN's World's most romantic nationalities the Dutch don't even hit the top ten. The British don't feature either. You are in luck though, if romance is your thing, if you are with someone from Spain, Argentina, Italy, France or Brazil. Maria Babin, the Trilingual Mama, writes all about je t'aime in her post "Love Makes the World Go Around in Paris" and discovers it's not a phrase flung around in France's capital.

But is romance really about love? Of course not, at least I don't think so. There can be romance and no love. There can be love and no romance. Love is more solid. It's a foundation. Sara Ager (A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy) highlights that love can be most powerful when it's low key in her blog post, "10 Things I've Learnt About Love in the Real World".

"Love is what makes the world go round; love is what keeps us moving around the world."

Photo Credit: Ben Earwicker

Long lasting love isn't about fireworks and sparks, for me it's more about the solid foundation of a couple. The first building blocks of a family. Love is what makes the world go round; love is what keeps us moving around the world - growing our multicultural families. I'm an expat because of love. I live in the Netherlands because of love. I have a beautiful little family because of love.

I'm just one of many who has crossed both country and cultural boundaries for love.

Like Aisha Ashraf who reflects on her ten year wedding anniversary on her blog Expatlog.com, with a beautiful piece called "What price a woman's heart?" She counts her blessings that her husband refused to adhere to religious, social and cultural expectations around marriage. She highlights that sometimes marriage has nothing to do with love.

Olga Mecking, The European Mama, shares her intercultural love story in her piece called, "And Not Because He’s German: My Take On Intercultural Relationships" and highlights that love looks past cultural differences to the man or woman beneath.

And of course sometimes we use the word love to describe our passion about other things in our lives; our interests, our careers, our hobbies. Thereza Howling writes about the importance of Loving What You Do on her blog A Path of Light. And I couldn't agree more - you should love what you do, and do what you love. The alternative is slowly withering away inside.

Whatever love means to you, however it is shown in your life there is little doubt that without it the world would be a greyer, lonelier, less passionate place to inhabit!

We would love to hear from you what love means to you and your family - how is love expressed in the country you call home? How do you say 'I love you' in the languages you speak? Have you made a life change for love - be it for a person, a job, a hobby?

Monday, 3 February 2014

To Learn Dutch or Not to Learn Dutch - That is the Question.

Should you have to speak Dutch to live in the Netherlands?
Photo Credit: Danagouws

A week ago, junior social affairs minister, Jetta Klijnsma, put a proposal on the table for temporary welfare cuts for those claimants living in the Netherlands who do not speak Dutch. It's not the first time this idea has been put on the political table, and each time the idea hits the headlines, there is controversy. It certainly opens up a debate. A fierce one at that.

In 2009, Utrecht council wrote to 1300 benefit claimants threatening that their benefits would be reduced if they did not attend a naturalisation course (inburgeringscursus), even though this group were Dutch passport holders and were not obliged to undertake a Dutch course.

In 2011 the council in The Hague put a stop to some benefits after recipients refused to take Dutch language courses. In 2012 85 people lost their right to benefits in The Hague when they failed to begin a language, despite repeated warnings about the consequences.

The theory is, according to councillor Norder in The Hague, that such measures provide an incentive to learn Dutch, and therefore enables participation in the Dutch labour market.

The proviso of receiving benefits from the government is that a claimant makes every effort to find work as soon as possible. Without any command of the country's language this job search is made much harder.

The Green party representative for The Hague, David Rietveld, questioned whether those following a Dutch course were then actually able to secure work, though he did say he had no problem with those people refusing to learn Dutch losing their benefits.

In 2012 the VVD wrote a proposal to this effect - anyone receiving benefits should have to prove that they have a command of the Dutch language, by means of an inburgeringsdiploma, or proof of eight years in the Dutch education system. Without this proof benefits would be reduced.

The latest proposal is a watered down version of the original coalition agreement which wanted to make Dutch language skills a compulsory part of eligibility for Dutch welfare benefits. However, this clashed with international law and had to be revised.

In his first King's speech last September King Willem Alexander announced that the Dutch welfare state is a thing of the past, and instead we need to think along the lines of a 'participation society'.

It is all part of the political pledge to make the Netherlands less of a welfare state and help welfare recipients become more employable. The Netherlands has traditionally been known as a country that looks after its citizens, in many cases, a little too well, and the changing political and economic landscape means changes are necessary. The generous welfare system can no longer be afforded.

As an expat, this is a topic which fascinates me. I'm a linguist, and have been since I started secondary school, so the idea of moving to country and refusing to learn the national language seems odd to me personally. I started learning Dutch before I moved here, in fact I started trying to understand at least the basics as soon as I met my Dutch partner.

When I moved to the Netherlands in 2000 my command of Dutch was basic. And that is an understatement but I kept at it. In the first few months in my new land I job hunted. It's no surprise that without a competent level of Dutch my options were limited to international companies with a working language of English, of which there are surprisingly many in the big cities.

However, with no reasonable command of English or Dutch there is no way I would have been able to find a job in 2000 when I arrived. Had I refused to learn Dutch at that time and therefore reduced my job opportunities significantly, would it have been reasonable to claim money from the Dutch government, from a system I had contributed nothing to? There seems to be only one fair answer to that.

If you search expat fora a common question from people thinking about moving here is, "Do I need to learn Dutch to live in the Netherlands?" And the answer is generally, "Not necessarily." This is because of the number of international organisations based in the country, plus the excellent linguistic skills of the Dutch population. But do those reasons make it right to move to a country and refuse to learn the local language?

I have my own opinions. I'm a linguist. I believe it is impossible to integrate into a society when you don't speak the local language. And no, it is not easy to operate in a second language. There are many personal and cultural situations that make learning Dutch (or any other language) an uphill battle but a flat out refusal to make any attempt to speak Dutch certainly doesn't make a fruitful life overseas particularly viable, in my opinion.

Should benefits be reduced for those refusing to take and then pass a Dutch language course? The answer to that is not a straightforward yes or no. I can perfectly understand the argument to reduce hand outs to those refusing to help themselves in the job market, or who point blank do nothing to help themselves be employable - and that is not just based on the ability to speak the national language. However, there are also some genuine situations where I can imagine it is extremely difficult to reach a competent level in a second language and thus withdrawing benefits would have dire consequences.

It remains a well-debated topic, not just here in the Netherlands, but around the world. Over to you - I would love to hear your thoughts.

Should those moving to the Netherlands make every effort to learn Dutch? Should welfare benefits be reduced for those refusing to learn a local language? Is the same debate raging in the country you call home?

Sunday, 28 July 2013

Last Clue! Multicultural Kid Blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt

Today the last clue is revealed for the Multicultural Kid Blogs Pinterest scavenger hunt. It's been two weeks of summer fun and I hope you have also discovered lots of great blogs. Is your Pinterest board now complete? Then submit your board using the Rafflecopter on the MKB web page. You have until the 31st of this month to send in the link to your board. Good luck!!

Friday, 19 July 2013

Multicultural Kid Blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt: Today's Clue

Get ready to start exploring!

The Pinterest Scavenger Hunt has officially begun!

This contest is sponsored by Multicultural Kid Blogs to celebrate the official launch of our website.

The Scavenger Hunt will run from July 15 to July 28. Participants have until July 31 to submit their entries, and the drawing will take place on August 1.

You could win one of four fabulous prize packages!

Details about the Scavenger Hunt can be found below.

Today's Clue

Are you parenting one of the 20%?

Now take a look around on this site and try to find the post that fits the clue. Once you think you've found it, pin it to the Pinterest Board you've created just for this contest.

Be sure to pop over to Creative World of Varya for the other clue for today. A full schedule and rules of the game can be found below. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom for more chances to win!

How to Play:

Create a Pinterest board specifically for the contest and name the board "Multicultural Kid Blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt." Each day a new clue (or two!) will be revealed. Follow the clue to the blog of the day and pin the post described in the clue. (Any image from the post is fine). In the Rafflecopter below, enter the link to the Pinterest board you created for this contest. The Rafflecopter will also have lots of other ways to earn extra entries. The only required entry is the link to your Pinterest board. Please note: You can enter the Rafflecopter at any point during the contest. Obviously your board won't be complete until the end of the contest, but you can enter the link in the Rafflecopter before then. If your name is drawn at the end of the contest, we will check your board at that time. The final clue will be given July 28. Participants will have until midnight Pacific time on July 31 to finalize their boards. The drawing will take place on August 1. Winners must have pinned all of the correct posts to their board. Winners will be notified via email and must respond within 48 hours or another name will be drawn. Good luck, explorers!