“I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.” George Bernard Shaw wrote these words in his play, Widower’s Houses. I get it. The whole point… Read More »5 Ways to Feel at Home in Delft and The Netherlands
In the honor of Mother’s Day, I talked with two inspiring moms who were willing to share their experiences living in the Netherlands. They both… Read More »Living in The Hague
Working on a project that helps individuals settle and, as we say, ‘land softly’ in a new city is challenging during these times. As coordinator… Read More »A story of MENTORING
Increasing numbers of refugees entering the EU has sparked debates about helping them to successfully resettle into their new communities. Last year, Delft Mama Julia Candy interviewed some refugee families about their integration and how other Mamas could help on a more individual basis. Join us as Delft Mama Hagar Taha provides an overview of some organizations that serve refugees. She also shares an interview with the head of one such organization, Unity in Diversity.
Read More »Unity in Diversity: A Fresh Voice In Refugee Work
Agashnee Bodos stepped in as coordinator of Delft MaMa’s revamped SLiDe programme earlier this year. SLiDe, short for “Soft Landing in Delft”, was originally designed to provide mentorship for newcomers to Delft in order to ease their transition. We’ve asked Agashnee to explain a bit about the revamped programme, what she expects to see in the future, and how you can help.
At the moment Agashnee is on maternity leave with her first child. We wish her all the best, and look forward to her return later in the year.
“Moving to a new country is always an adventure. Choosing the right home for a family makes it even more exciting, but sometimes also more complicated.” Delft MaMa Xenia Gabriel starts off our new blog series with some tips based on her family’s experiences finding their home in Delft.
by Lynette Croxford When arriving in Delft not speaking the language, I spent quite some time worrying about schools for the precious ones. My agitation… Read More »Children & schools in Delft: School options and what to expect
When I first started to write about the Delft moms of the week, to be honest I didn’t have the slightest idea how to interview… Read More »Delft mama of the week: Tarja
In the summer of 2016 my family and I moved from the sunny Costa del Sol to the not-so-sunny town of Delft, and I wasn’t… Read More »10 things living in The Netherlands has taught me
Citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands*, vassals of the King Willem Alexander “the first”, let your hair down, dress up in orange from top to toe and celebrate that His Royal Highness is hitting 50 tomorrow Thursday the 27th of April.
If you arrived in the Netherlands after that date of April 2016, you should know that on Koningsdag nothing is bizarre.
(*that includes Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten)
Read More »His Royal Highness Willem Alexander King of the Netherlands is 50! and we are all celebrating him
Sine invites me to her house for the interview. When we step in the elevator she tells me many of her neighbours are older people.… Read More »Delft mama of the week: Sine
When one thinks of The Netherlands the first images that comes to mind may be bicycles, flowers, windmills and cheese. In fact, it does make sense and I was imagining exactly these kinds of things before coming to live here, but the truth is I have learnt that this country is way much more than that. As I had never thought about living here, I wrote a quick list with six things that was only possible to understand after moving to this foreign land.
If you aren’t a native English speaker like myself, when you first start talking to Masha you’ll most likely think you’re talking with someone from… Read More »Delft Mama of the week: Masha
Delft MaMa, represented by a group of kind-hearted volunteers, was one of the 140 institutions present at the largest expat fair in the Netherlands. This annual event… Read More »Delft MaMa takes The Hague
Tis the season to be jolly…and for those that celebrate Christmas it is also the season of over-abundance, over-indulgence and rosy-cheeked children whining to the… Read More »Living in an ex-pat bubble
It’s the time of the year a lot of people working in sync with the academic school year have just found themselves relocated in the Netherlands. A new wave of people arrives every summer and face similar challenges every autumn after the sparkling, upsetting, amazing period of settling in. One of the things that fascinates and often intimidates most newbies in the Netherlands is the bicycle culture and the unique traffic in general.
I have met a number of newly arrived parents in the last couple of months. They have been equally curious about many things, but especially about things to do with traffic. Can you keep your foreign driver’s license and if so, for how long? How different is it cycling between the cars than on a sidewalk? Where do you get your bike and more importantly how do you lock and store it? What are the general traffic rules?
You can always decorate your bike to make it easier to recognize when you need to spot it in a sea of bicycles.
