art & culture | street art | travel | London | expat life
Once a month I blog in Dutch. Today I talk about how exhausting and stressful it is being a perfectionist. // Op de eerste zondag van de maand blog ik in het Nederlands. Te veel moeten van jezelf. Ken je dat? Vandaag vertel ik je hoe mijn perfectionisme me vaak in de weg staat.
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In today’s personal review of November, brought to for you from my parents’ sofa in the Netherlands: my trip around the world, the blog posts I wrote this month and also my personal art and film recommendations!
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It’s funny to realise that while I might be a first-generation immigrant here in the UK, growing up in the Netherlands I was in fact a second-generation immigrant. I don’t think I’ve ever been discriminated. I’ve only experienced some of your ‘normal’ degree of prejudice at the most. But there are some moments that I still remember to this day that made me realise I had a different ethnical background than most of my Dutch classmates.
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On the first Sunday of the month I always write a Dutch-language blog post. // Vandaag de eerste aflevering van de nieuwe blogserie ‘The Expat Files’. Hierin deel ik niet alleen mijn eigen ervaringen als een Nederlandse expat, maar ook van andere Nederlanders in het buitenland én ook van immigranten in Nederland. In deze eerste aflevering vertel ik je over hoe mijn emigratie niet alleen mijn leven, maar ook mijn beeld op Nederland(ers) heeft veranderd!
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In today’s personal review of October, brought to for you from Braga in Portugal: when a family emergency makes expat life less glamorous and of course my film and TV tips and travel stories.
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Tell me, do you use the name ‘Holland’ or ‘The Netherlands’ when you speak of my mother country? Despite its common usage, the Dutch government recently announced they want to ban ‘Holland’ and rebrand the country’s name internationally. Why are they so eager to initiate such a huge and expensive undertaking? Find out in this blog post!
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It’s already over 7 years ago I dragged three suitcases full of my belongings on a plane from Amsterdam to London. Although I still feel very Dutch and am often baffled by certain British habits, by now I might be more integrated than I realise. From the way I answer the phone to greeting friends, here are 5 things I’ve had to relearn being Dutch in the UK.
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We all know of course that the British Museum is THE place to go if you’re interested in seeing ancient Egyptian artefacts in London. But did you know that the world’s fourth largest ancient Egyptian collection is housed in a small building on the University College London campus? I only heard of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology last week and was rather blown away by all the treasures it holds!
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What I love most about London is its rich history and the fact that some of the greatest historical figures have once called this city their home. Sometimes their former residences were quite extravagant, to say the least. In this post I’m sharing three of my favourite historical London homes with you that are far from any other house you have ever seen!
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London is a great city trip destination, but sometimes the busy metropolis can also get a bit overwhelming. You could retreat in one of the numerous beautiful parks dotted around the city for a moment, but why not combine a free and unique public art trail with explorations of a far less touristy side of London? The Line art trail runs between the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and O2 Arena and is suitable for families, art lovers, ramblers and even thrillseekers!
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