I’m a Afrikaans farm girl coming from Brits, living in the Netherlands now, and working here as an au pair... I’m here since the 28th of December 2007 and will stay till the end of this year.  Its alot of fun living aboard, meeting new people and having some cultural exchange.

I’m staying in a small historical town called Schiedam which isn’t far from Rotterdam. I’m still exploring and adjusting to the the cold weather, and the fact that a bicycle and train are my transport now. The police are so aware of whats going on and controling everything, they even stopped me in my first week telling me I’m riding on the wrong side of the road with my bicycle... I mean... can you believe it? Coming from South Africa and being a farm girl in the Netherlands, and now using a train to get where you want takes alot of guts!! Each day is different from the previous, new excitment, laughter and also tears.

The Netherlands, or Holland, as most people will say, is a very flat, small and exciting country with a big population, and citizens from all over the world. Holland is very popular for their Windmeule and Tulppe and then of course the traditional shoes... Holland just celebrated Carnaval’ which is a big thing here... Oh, don’t forget the famous Amsterdam with its Red Light District. The one thing that was totally different from SA was that in the Netherlands you don’t feel like you’re living in a jail, its unbelieveable! Freedom! I’m a working as an au pair for four days a week, and then the other days hanging out with other au pairs, and just exploring the Netherlands, I’m busy doing a Dutch Course in ‘Rotterdam’. Several times we have had au pair meetings and training, in other parts of the Netherlands where I’ve met girls that came from as far as Mexico, Indonesia, Poland, and Russia. I’m just missing the warm beautiful African sun, ‘kookkos’ and ‘lekker biltong’ and don’t even talk about the braai! For the exception that I miss my friends and family, it’s great to be in the Netherlands, it’s a one time opportunity to see the world, meet different people, and make new friends...

If you live aboard: enjoy it and remember there’s 1000’s of other South Africans that are missing home with you!

Greetings out of Schiedam
Ilze Oosthuizen