Every first Monday of the month, you’ll hear sirens at 12:00 (noon) for 1 minute and 26 seconds in whole Netherlands. For many expats this alarm is very frightening. Please don’t worry. It is only a practice alarm (it’s called Waarschuwingsstelsel). It has nothing to do with attacks from an enemy but it is a […]
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Take off your shoes… or not?
In many countries like Germany, Switzerland, Skandinavian countries, Turkey, Japan, Korea etc. it is common use to take off the shoes when entering someone’s home. In these countries it is considered a major faux pas to walk through a house with shoes on. This applies also to some places like daycares and schools in […]
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5 Tips to encourage your child to learn the local language
No matter if you are a long term international, if you move every few years or if you live in one place for a (bit) longer, one of the first concerns when living abroad is “do we have/want/can learn the local language?”. For internationals who move very frequently, it is totally understandable that they can’t learn […]
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About our TCKs being not-only-but-also
When a while ago I read this article about the 14 year old Annika Verplancke combining ballet and hip-hop in one performance, it hit me. Her performance is a great representation of what all Third Culture Kids do every day: they try to combine all the values, beliefs, customs, traditions, languages in the best possible […]
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4 tips to learn a new language for adults
When adults learn a new language they often opt for conventional language classes, i.e. learn the grammar and follow a textbook. If they need to attain a certain level quickly (cfr. A1-C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or CEFRL), they follow intensive courses where they immerse into the language for […]
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