NETHERLANDS - Expat Contests Page 2

Expat Blog Awards 2013

Seven Weird Things Tourists do When Visiting Amsterdam

Tourists are strange. Anyone who has ever encountered a tourist will know this to be true. They do strange things and ask strange questions. It is as if the simple act of leaving their own country for a short while frees them of the restraints of all normal and understandable behaviour. This is no more evident than in the city of Amsterdam in...

Writing Contest October 2012

The Long Way Home

In February of 2010, my husband and I (then 30 and 28, respectively) went out to dinner with two American couples who were supposed to help us decide if we wanted to move from the United States to Delft, the Netherlands. One member of each couple worked at the university that had offered my husband a post-doctoral position, and we sat down...

Education and International Schools

The Normal King - Singing for the coronation in an International School in the Netherlands

I am at work. I work in an international primary school in the Netherlands. It’s the end of a busy day. I’m with group 6, the 9/10 year olds. We’ve already been adding decimals, listing homophones and interviewing the tourist board for our travel and tourism project, but now we are learning the song for the new Dutch King. The Queen has...

Writing Contest March 2013

The Thoughts That May Cross An Expat’s Mind During Their First Month in the Netherlands

You’ll discover that “Punta Nell” is not a tropical destination. It’s the ending to Dutch websites. punt nl = dot nl = .nl “Where is this ‘Punta Nell’ place? Somewhere near Punta Cana? And why is it constantly being mentioned on the radio and TV?” You’ll wonder how Expats before you survived during the times of...

Expat Blog Awards 2013

The Top "Views of Delft"

On a rainy day of the Dutch variety, I led a group of American college students on a three-hour tour of Delft. “Can you take us to the spot,” their professor asked me, “where Vermeer painted View of Delft?” I looked at the students. They had already explained how their luggage was waylaid in Brussels, and how they’d stopped at an...

Education and International Schools

The wheels on the school bus go round and round

When we were still going to playgroups, my girls’ favourite song was “The Wheels on the Bus”. They learned all the movements, and we sang it at home. Little did I know then that the bus would be the very vehicle taking our eldest girl to her school. Choosing a school for a child, any child, can be a daunting task. There are questions...

Expat Blog Awards 2013

The WSD's Top Ten Signs You are Becoming Dutch

Anyone who has been living the expat life for a while will tell you that there comes a moment when you look in the mirror (yes, figuratively you silly gooses) and realize – shock, horror! –you are becoming one of them. Here me and The Shoes offer (completely free of charge, you lucky things!) a guide for expats in that waterlogged...

Writing Contest March 2013

Top 10 Places to Steal a Kiss in Amsterdam

The view from Canvas rooftop café The Dutch are not the most demonstrative people in the world, so when you want to show your affection best if you are subtle.  Anyway, there is nothing finer than smooching when no one is looking.  Here are some random places where you can sneak a kiss in Amsterdam.  Have more ideas?  I would love to...

Writing Contest March 2013

Top 10 Reasons Being An Expat Off The Beaten Path In The Netherlands Is Best

My family of 5 recently became expats in The Netherlands at the end of 2012. We have a 4 year old boy and 2 year old twin boys in tow. When faced with our living options, we could choose from any number of larger cities surrounding Tilburg (the location of my husband's job). True to our lives as doing the unpredictable- we chose a path in a...

Writing Contest March 2013

Top 10 Tips to Fully Enjoy Life in Amsterdam

Ride Amsterdam is a city of bicycles. If you know how to ride a bike, you have to get one and ride it everywhere. From the beginning you'll be amazed by the great biking infrastructure, the overcrowded parking spots, the way locals are riding their bikes and how they manage to use them to carry anything – from shopping bags to children,...