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Barbara Vermeulen in Netherlands
Published Date
12 January 2010
Home Town in SA
Cape Town
Now Living in
Oegstgeest, Netherlands
Occupation
Management Assistant and Office Manager at IT company
Best Thing About the Country?
Well organised, public transport and the Dutch are friendly, but direct, people. We live in quite a central part of the country, five kilometres to the nearest beach, two hours drive and you’re in Belgium, two and a half hours and you are in Germany. I love the rich history, castles, old churches and pretty towns.
Biggest Cultural Difference?
I am proud to say I am now trilingual. My surname is Dutch, but the pronunciation is slightly different than in Afrikaans. Difficulty number one is changing the pronunciation you had of the words you used in Afrikaans, to make it Dutch. My maiden surname (Du Toit) must be pronounced in French, because if I say it in Afrikaans they don’t have a clue what I am saying. The most fun part was figuring out which words belong to the Dutch language and which didn’t and if the meaning would be the same. It was a trial and error situation.
Top Things to Do or See?
1. Keukenhof, a big garden full of the best tulips and other flower exhibitions (open April to May).
2. Take a canal cruise, either an organised tour or rent your own boat (sloep).
3. The Leiden Saturday market. Every town has a market usually twice a week, you can do most of your grocery shopping there - flowers, fruit and veggies and maybe some lekkerbekjes or kibbling (fried fish with sauce)
4. A day in beautiful historic Amsterdam with its 1,000 bridges, small alleyways, large monuments and cosy cafes.
Article Image
We moved to the Netherlands, also known as Holland, the country of windmills, tulips, clogs and cheese, in 2005. At first we lived in Bodegraven, a small town halfway between Leiden and Utrecht, where very few people speak English. In the cities you have no problem finding people who can speak English. I guess in a place like Bodegraven they don’t really need to be able to speak English, not really a place a lot of foreigners live.
Six months later, we moved to Leiden and lived in an apartment overlooking a gracht (canal). In the summer, boats would come by with the people looking happy, relaxing and sailing with friends and family. We moved to Oegstgeest because we wanted our own house with space, a garden and a cat. We love to explore new places and planning trips and vacations.
I work for a Dutch company and have colleagues from about 15 different countries. We have found one South African shop, the only South African restaurant, a decent boerewors and biltong supplier, the British expat shop in The Hague and the British and Australian expat shop in Leiden. These supply our typical South African food, cooking and baking needs.
Six months later, we moved to Leiden and lived in an apartment overlooking a gracht (canal). In the summer, boats would come by with the people looking happy, relaxing and sailing with friends and family. We moved to Oegstgeest because we wanted our own house with space, a garden and a cat. We love to explore new places and planning trips and vacations.
I work for a Dutch company and have colleagues from about 15 different countries. We have found one South African shop, the only South African restaurant, a decent boerewors and biltong supplier, the British expat shop in The Hague and the British and Australian expat shop in Leiden. These supply our typical South African food, cooking and baking needs.
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