PDF - Connect International

Connecting
Worlds
Connect International serves the international
community in the provinces of Groningen,
Friesland, Drenthe and Noord Holland.
Supported by an international staff and Board of Directors, we provide quality
relocation services and practical information to help familiarize international
residents with all aspects of living, working or studying in the Northern
Netherlands, as well as organizing events and activities to make connections.
Services:
● Immigration services
● Home search & set-up
● Social events, activities & clubs
● Career services
● Business events
● Books & guides
● Information sheets
● Knowledge database
Join Us!
You can register to become a Connect
International member via our website.
For a small yearly fee, you receive the
Connections e-magazine newsletter
delivered directly to your email inbox,
you have access to the Connect
International
community
through
organized events and you can use the
Connect library with a selection of
English books and much more.
Visit: www.connect-int.org
2 / Connections #48
Welcome New Members!
Connect International would like
to welcome the following new
members: Dorina Buda, Erin Paske,
Viveca Dorothea, Kory Rene
Hutton, Orsolya (Orsi) Rétallér,
Hortense Stuve-Thompson, Alireza
Karimpoorheidara & Naghmeh
Arvand
Attention Writers!
Enjoy Writing?
The Connections Newsletter is
seeking volunteer writers who
enjoy writing on a theme,
informative articles, or opinions
they want to share. Interested?
Contact us at
publications@connect-int.org
Connecting
Worlds
Connect’s Partners
Helping to welcome the world
UNDER
ONE ROOF
PLATINUM:
Provincie Groningen
Provincie Friesland
Provincie Drenthe
GOLD:
N.V. NOM
GasTerra
SILVER:
ABN AMRO
ASSOCIATES:
Nijestee
Everything you need to make
yourself at home in the Netherlands
Contact:
Connect Head Office:
Herestraat 106, Room 1.06, 9711LM Groningen
Telephone: 050 7440087
Email: info@connect-int.org
connect@connect-int.org
Website: www.connect-int.org
https://www.facebook.co
m/ConnectInternational
https://twitter.com/@c
onnectintcwc
Connect Noord Holland (Alkmaar):
Bovenweg 121, 1834CD Sint Pancras
Telephone: 06 25394234
Email: connectnoordholland@connect-int.org
https://www.facebook.com/
pages/ConnectNH/1852497
51488726
https://twitter.com/@Conne
ctNH
3 / Connections #48
Connect International has a full membership
Publication Team:
Publisher: Stephanie Fermor
Assistant Editor: Margaret Metsala
Contributers to this issue: Stephanie Fermor,
Karen Prowse, Margaret Metsala, Traci White,
Lori McKinney & Hortense Thompson
Interested in advertising in Connections
E-Magazine?
Advertising Rates per Issue (10 issues per year) :
1/4 Page (12.5 x 9.5 cm)
€25,00
1/2 Page (12.5 x 19 cm)
€50,00
1 Page
(A4 - 21 x 29.7cm) €100,00
Contact publications@connect-int.org for more
details.
March
Calendar
March 2014
4 / Connections #48
March
Events
CONNECT
(Groningen, Friesland & Drenthe)
Writer's Circle
Date: 12 March 2014, 7:30 pm
Craft Club
Date: 4 March 2014, 10:30am
Boys Night Out
Date: 13 March 2014
Culinary Connect
Date: 7 March 2014
Beads Weaving Workshop
Date: 16 March 2014, 2:00 pm
@ office Connect International,
Herestraat 106, Groningen
Book Club
Date: 10 March 2014, 8:00 pm
@ Lysette's house in Haren
Connect for Coffee
Date: 11 March 2014, 10:30 am
@ La Place, V&D in Groningen
CONNECT Noord Holland
(Noord Holland)
CNH Photo Shoot from 12:00-17:00
Date: 1 March 2014, 12:00 pm
@ Mireille's Studio, Alkmaar
CNH Baking Workshop in March
Date: 2 March 2014, 1:30 pm
@ the home of Begoña, Heemskerk
CNH Kids & Coffee
Date: 7 March 2014, 9:00 am
@ the home of Georgina, Heiloo
CNH Coffee Connection
Date: 10 March 2014, 9:30 am
@ the home of Lori, Heemskerk
CNH Kids & Coffee
Date: 12 March 2014, 9:00 am
@ the home of Sarah, Oudorp
5 / Connections #48
Craft Club
Date: 18 March 2014, 10:30 am
Connect for Coffee
Date: 25 March 2014, 10:30 am
@ La Place, V&D in Groningen
CNH Connect for Coffee
Date: 14 March 2014, 8:00 pm
@ the home of Martine, Alkmaar
CNH Walk and Ladies Who Lunch in
the dunes.
Date: 17 March 2014, 10:00 am
@ Starting point is Caroline's, Bakkum
CNH Book Club
Date: 19 March 2014, 8:00 pm
@ the home of Caroline, Alkmaar
CNH Play Afternoon 14:00-16:30
Date: 26 March 2014, 2:00 pm
CNH Connect for Coffee
Date: 28 March 2014, 8:00 pm
@ the home of Erika, Noord
Scharwoude
Your
Stories
A yoga life, is the life for me
Interview by Lori McKinney
Majella Teeuwen has a passion for yoga. In this interview, she shares a little
about her journey to discovering yoga and starting her own yoga practise,
Yoga Inc. in Alkmaar, Noord Holland.
Majella, yoga is not just something
that you do, it’s your passion. Could
you tell us what ignited that passion
for yoga?
“I grew up in a family that was
passionate about health, wellness and
fitness, so that’s always been an active
part of my lifestyle, but my love and
passion for yoga didn’t come until
much later on.
After leaving school and gaining a
diploma in business, I entered the
corporate world as an executive
assistant.
It wasn’t long before I
realized that this high
stress,
demanding
and non-rewarding
career wasn’t the
place for me, and I
yearned
for
something
more.
After some time, I
decided to pursue
education in health,
fitness and personal
training. I worked in
the industry for a
while, but the real
click wasn’t there for
me, so I went back to
the corporate world.
6 / Connections #48
It wasn’t until I made a trip home to
Ireland that a friend invited me to a Hot
Yoga lesson with her. I accepted, and
little did I know it would change my life.
I knew that I had found my passion,
and I needed to share this with others.
I gathered as much information as I
could about how to get started, and
after two years of extensive practice,
with a recommendation letter in hand, I
left my husband and pets behind and
spent the next six weeks training
extensively at the Absolute Yoga
Sanctuary in Thailand.“
Your
Stories
Could you share the types of
yoga that you teach and the
benefits?
“Yoga Fit- This is a new type of
yoga emerging from Thailand,
which has a fitness element to
it. It has been structured to
firm the body using yoga
postures. It is challenging but
also fun, since it also is
practiced using dance music.
Hot Yoga- This type of yoga is
practiced in a room that is 39
degrees C., using 50 different
Hatha yoga poses, and
designed to increase balance,
strength and flexibility. The
heat also serves to detoxify
your body, deepen stretches
and safely increase intensity of
your practice.
Birkram Yoga- Which is also
especially designed for the
heat.
Regardless of which type of
yoga you choose, the list of
benefits are long; including
reduction of stress, back pain and migraines, improved immune system and
breathing, detoxification of the body and mind, plus much, much more.”
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
“Aside from being passionate about yoga, I also have a love for traveling. I’m
originally from Dublin, Ireland, but it was on a vacation to Italy four years ago
where I met my now husband, Stefan. After traveling back and forth between the
Netherlands and Ireland, I moved to Velserbroek, where we began our life
together.
7 / Connections #48
Your
Stories
“My goal is to continue to
help people feel great in
their bodies, help them
remove stress from their
mind and lift their souls
through this wonderful
practice.”
I love living here and love sharing my
passion for yoga with others. I believe
in its benefits, and believe it is
important for a healthy body, mind and
soul. My goal is to continue to help
people feel great in their bodies, help
them remove stress from their mind
and lift their souls through this
wonderful practice, which is not limited
to age or fitness level. My goal is also
to eventually have enough clients to be
able to open a yoga studio in Alkmaar.
I would also like to take a moment to
give special thanks to Sarah Dekker
Flynn, who has been practicing with
me and supporting me since I
graduated in Thailand.
She’s
8 / Connections #48
graciously opened her home and
allowed me to practice regularly there
with the Connect girls, and I’m grateful
not only for her support and
encouragement but also her hospitality.
My business has taken off thanks to
her opening her home for us.
My website is currently in the
construction phase, but I can be
reached via email at:
majellaward@hotmail.com,
or via the telephone at: 06-24436029.
I would also like to offer all Connect
members a free trial yoga lesson. I look
forward to seeing you there.”
Entrepreneur
Feature
9 / Connections #47
Entrepreneur
Feature
How it all came to be(ad)
Article by Hortense Thompson, Photography by Traci White
One chilly winter evening, a fellow classmate and I crossed the Grote Markt
in Groningen. We had just left our Dutch class at the RuG and were en route
to the hobby shop Pipoos, in the Oosterstraat. She needed material for her
card-making hobby. Since I had never been to Pipoos I decided to
accompany her there.
Upon arriving at the shop we each
went in a different direction, my friend
toward the back of the shop while I
browsed the supplies and books.
Suddenly my attention was drawn
toward something sparkling on a
display in the front of the store. I
quickly made a beeline to find out what
it was. I looked closely and saw beads,
lots of beads--different types in a
variety of colours. What a selection!
At that moment I tingled with
excitement. I MUST have beads...but
which ones should I buy? Unable to
make a selection I quickly picked a
small circular packet with about six
colours. I hurried home, settled in and
admired my purchase. Whilst admiring
those tiny wonders, I realized that I had
no clue about what I should make or
how I should further proceed. So I
turned to the one resource that I had
available – the internet. I googled
“beaded jewelry” and a new world
opened up before my eyes. There were
so many beaded items – bracelets,
necklaces, earrings, anklets, bare foot
sandals! Not only were there beaded
accessories but there were beaded
dolls, beaded dresses, beaded flowers
and beaded rocks!
It soon became clear
that the one small
packet of beads would
not be enough to
experiment with, so
the next few nights
were
spent
researching material,
patterns
and
techniques. Soon, I
knew the techniques,
the names of the
popular
designers,
where to find suitable
10 / Connections #48
Entrepreneur
Feature
free patterns and most
importantly
what
supplies were actually
needed.
I
experimented with all
the techniques and
selected
two
favourites: netting and
right-angle weave.
After a few years of
creating pieces from
other designers, I
started to create my
own designs. One of
the first designs was published in
Doe! Magazine. The collection of
designs grew rapidly and the
decision was made to try and get
some of them published. This
decision led to the publication of
three books and later a project in
Beadwork® magazine.
Today I am still as enthusiastic about
beading as I was when I first started.
I also enjoy teaching this craft to
others and helping others to
discover the joys of beading. I will be
giving a workshop through Connect
International on 16th March. As for
those beads I first bought, they were
never used; they were too irregular
in shape and size. Those beads
have long since joined ranks with my
collection of leftover beads.
11 / Connections #48
Information
Center
Volunteering in the Netherlands
By Traci White
Volunteering can be a good way to connect to your new community and a
good way to give back for International Women’s Day on 8 March. In the past
three years, these are some of the groups I’ve been a part of as a volunteer,
and I encourage all internationals here to get involved, too!
Amnesty International:
This NGO’s regional office for
Groningen,
Drenthe
and
Friesland is located in the city
of Groningen. Their local work
mostly entails helping with
fundraising activities, digitally
and in person. To provide
examples of some of their
events the group hosted
Nahed Selim, an Egyptian
writer, in Leeuwarden on
International Women’s Day in
2012 and in October 2013, the annual regional activity day was held at the
Westerbork camp near the German border.
To see if you can contribute in some way, check out http://goo.gl/1xRm1p.
TEDx:
TED talks are bite-sized snacks for
your brain, and the TEDx events
focus more specifically on local
speakers. Everyone contributes on
a volunteer basis with the common
goal of being a part of an
inspirational event. In October, the
main TEDx Groningen event is held
and other related events - TEDx
Women and TEDx Youth - happen
throughout the rest of the year. To
see when another TEDx event
www.tedxgroningen.com
12 / Connections #48
will
be
held
here
in
town,
visit
Information
Center
The Earlybirds Fondation:
This group provides free photo shoots
for families of premature babies. Not
every
pregnancy
goes
exactly
according to plan, and these children
and families deserve to have some joy
brought to them. While photography is
the majority of what the group does,
there are other opportunities to
contribute, from crocheting ‘earlybirds’
– tiny stuffed toy birds – to providing
clothing and other gifts that can be
given to the families.
For more info, see
www.earlybirdsfotografie.nl
The Didi Foundation:
Two Dutch sisters – Wike and Renee
Been - were traveling through Nepal in
2006, when Wike learned about Ideal
Women Development Center, a
Nepalese NGO. After the sisters
returned to the Netherlands, they
started the Didi Foundation and
secured €50,000 for the first dedicated
domestic violence shelter in the country
outside of Kathmandu – Ideal Home.
The program generates income from
selling clothing and accessories, which
the women make themselves and in
January 2013, I traveled to Nepal to
document the shelter on the occasion
of becoming independent of most
foreign aid. My project, ‘Nepalese
Sisterhood: Sustaining Empowerment’,
opened at the Openbare Bibliotheek in
Groningen last year on International
Women’s Day. While the shelter is
primarily self-sufficient, donations are
still greatly appreciated.
To find out about how to donate, please
see www.stichtingdidi.nl.
13 / Connections #48
Information
Center
Connect:
You’re already a member, which is
great! Did you know that the office is
run with help from volunteers from all
over the world? Furthermore, your
fellow members run workshops and
other activities for internationals to take
part in and get to know each other.
If you’d like to volunteer in the office or
potentially host your own event, get in
touch! http://www.connect-int.org
To find out about other volunteer opportunities in Groningen, try these sites. Most
of them are in Dutch, but you never know where your skills and talents could be of
use!
www.vrijwilligersgroningen.nl
http://gemeente.groningen.nl/vrijwilligers/participatiebanen
http://www.happietariagroningen.nl/volunteer/
http://www.jasmijn.info/nl/vacatures
How can foreigners volunteer?
According to www.vrijwilligerswerk.nl,
most foreigners can do volunteer work
in the Netherlands, except for people
who are waiting for a residency permit
to be processed and are not asylum
seekers. All other foreigners who are
legally allowed to reside in the
Netherlands can do volunteer work.
However, as of 2014, employers have
to obtain a special permit if they want to
have foreigners working for them as
volunteers.
Organizations must have a volunteer
work declaration to allow foreign
14 / Connections #48
people to volunteer. The declaration is
given out for the execution of specific
tasks and functions and not in the
name of the foreigner, which means
that the employer is not required to
request a new declaration if they want
to have more foreigners do the same
work.
A volunteer declaration is granted if the
following working conditions are met:
1. Functionally unpaid;
2. Non-profit;
3. Providing a general social benefit
Places to go
Things to see
Join us for a day out at Orchideeën Hoeve!
15 / Connections #48
Taste of
Dutch
Let’s get cheesy!
By Stephanie Fermor
The Netherlands, the land of lush green pastures with windmills slowly
turning in the background, while a young girl with blond hair, a pair of clogs
on her feet and a strangely shaped hat on her head, sits milking a cow. This
stereotypical view of the Dutch is not without reason as the Dutch have been
producing cheese since 400 AD and today are one of the largest exporters of
cheese in the world.
The Dutch produce many varieties of
cheese to tempt you, but the most
typical and well known one is the hard
(or semi-hard) cheese, Gouda.
Gouda accounts for approx 50% of all
the cheese produced here in the
Netherlands.
Gouda is categorized on how long it
has been aged. The younger cheeses
are mild and creamy tasting, and as
the cheese ages it develops a drier
texture and more intense flavour.
16 / Connections #48
'Jonge kaas' (aged for 1 month) and
‘Jong Belegen kaas’ (aged for 2
months) are very creamy cheeses and
well suited for sandwiches. Older
Gouda cheeses are fantastic for
cooking, ‘Extra Belegen’ (aged for 7-8
months) is a perfect substitute for Jack
or Cheddar cheeses. The oldest of
Gouda varieties, such as ‘Oude Kaas’
(aged for at least 10 months) and
‘Overjarig’ (1-2 years), are lovely to eat
in crumbly pieces with some mustard.
Taste of
Dutch
But Gouda isn't the only Dutch cheese. There are actually many others, such as:
'Edam' is the second most produced Dutch cheese. It is semi-hard with a mellow,
salty taste that intensifies with age.
'Geitenkaas' which is goat cheese, is a bright white semi hard cheese, perfect for
grating or slicing and on sandwiches.
'Maasdammer' is a sweet nutty cheese full of holes; it tastes similar to
'Emmentaller'; a Swiss cheese.
'Boerenkaas' is a creamy farmer’s cheese made with fresh unpasteurised milk.
'Delft's Blauw' is similar to other blue cheeses, with a rich, fairly mild flavour.
You can also buy different types of cheese that have herbs and spices running
throughout, such as cumin, nettles or mustard seeds.
If you wish to jump right into Dutch cheese land, then a trip to a traditional cheese
market is in order. Alkmaar has a market that runs every Friday through March till
September. Visit www.kaasmarkt.nl for more info. And while in Alkmaar, why not
visit the cheese museum! It is a
great place to learn more about
the history and process of Dutch
cheese making!
17 / Connections #48
Information
Center
We only accept plastic
By Stephanie Fermor
You may have heard about it in the past months: the Dutch railway company
Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS in short, will be getting rid of the paper train
tickets and only allow the plastic OV-chipkaart as a valid way of travelling.
But this is not the first time the
matter has come up. The NS first
announced the desire to stop the
paper train tickets in 2011. They
also had a date: the end of 2012.
After a lot of complaints from
travellers
and
travellers'
organizations, the NS came back
on their announcement, assuring
that the paper ticket will remain...
only to re-announce the end of
the paper ticket a year later, with a
new date: autumn 2013. In that
very same autumn of 2013, it was
postponed to January 1st 2014. And
then it was postponed again, to 'several
months later', the first quarter of 2014.
But this time they really mean it!
If there are no more postponements,
the above means that in about a month
we will all have to be using the €7,50
costing OV-chipkaart with a minimum
balance of €10... or doesn't it? The
same
travellers
and
travellers'
organizations from before have made a
strong case for the NS to keep the
paper ticket in some form, or shape and
the NS gave in. According to the
website of Rover, the biggest travellers'
organization, the new 'paper ticket' will
basically be a throwaway OV-chipkaart:
made of paper, but with a chip inside it.
18 / Connections #48
So you will have to check in and out.
Which is important information for any
friends or family visiting you in the
Netherlands from now on!
You may still wish to consider getting a
real OV-chipkaart though because the
NS did make it clear that the
chip-enhanced paper tickets will come
at a higher fee than the current tickets
from machines. And printing out an
E-ticket may also become a lot more
challenging if there needs to be a chip
inside it. So save yourself the hassle
and request your own OV-chipkaart
sooner rather than later. You can do
this on the website below, in English, or
in Dutch if you so prefer!
https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/aanvragen/
?taal=en