When filling in forms in the Netherlands, many internationals struggle when confronted with voorletters and tussenvoegsel and wonder what and why they need to fill in these parts of the form. In most forms one is asked to indicate voornaam, voorletters, achternaam, and sometimes there is also a field called tussenvoegsel. Voornaam is the name […]
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How to deal with negative comments about one of our cultures
Every person that has spent some time abroad has probably made this experience. It can either be during a vacation or during a long(er) stay in another country. Someone just says something judgmental about our culture, our nationality, the way we look or dress, the way we speak or the way we do things, and […]
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Conversations when meeting family and friends “back home”…
Internationals sometimes ask me about how one can make sure that during our stays “back home” we have meaningful conversations with our family and friends? Many internationals spend hours in planes, trains, cars, wait in long lines – in traffic, airports, train stations etc…. – having their journeys delayed on their way “back home” or […]
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Internationals struggle to pass on their home languages
Families who live internationally, i.e. who spend several of their children’s developmental years in another country, and whose home languages are different from the communities they live in, usually struggle to pass on their home languages. Especially if these are not English. – This is not an assumption, this is a fact. I observed this […]
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Children can help us in case of emergency
As parents we hope that our children will never have to experience this, but it can happen that they are the only ones who can help us in case of emergency. I know it’s scary and we all may not want to even think about this. I know many families where one of the parents […]
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