It went like this: A friend asked on Facebook, “Hey, who will watch my animals while I am on a journey?” I knew that she lives on a beautiful farm in the Netherlands, so I…
Blog
Still Life
This month, I am hosting different days of silence in the Netherlands. I feel very honoured to be able to host a day in which I combine silence and writing. When I sent out the…
What to do when you face loneliness?
It is Christmas break. The snow is slowly falling down, and I should be happy. I see people on the street visiting their loved ones. People visiting others. They all seem to belong somewhere. My…
Wedding
The wedding of Sasha and Ellie. What a party! What preparations! What a feast! What excitement! Every detail was in place. Sasha is the son of our friends Biljana and Đeno Nikolić. They played a…
Heights (and depths) of 2018
19-12-2018 19-12 1999: first kiss;-) 19-12 2000:engaged 19-6 2001:married Highligth of this day;-) At the end of this year, I gladly share some heights and depths of 2018.(2016 , 2017) Visits from and to friends…
The agony -and beauty- of language learning
Ajmo lepotica (Serbian) Ajmo ljepotica (Croatian) Let’s go, beautiful (English) I bought my vegetables at the market, and the woman greeted me friendly with: Ajmo ljepotice, vidimo se! Language learning is a real challenge, not…
The Arrival of Winter and the Shaping of Community
Today a guest post by our co-worker Helen. She gives an impression of our work in the village. I gladly share: Winter arrived quite suddenly here in Croatia, with an immediate drop in temperatures…
Pepper seeds in the pocket of a refugee
“Hey!” I exclaimed when I saw peppers in full bloom in the garden in the middle of Germany in the summer. “Usually, you see peppers more to the south than here.” “That’s right,” answered the…
The War I Did Not Know About
“Yes!” shouted Femke. She had just discovered that 83% of the Dutch children who watch this program on the national television (jeugdjournaal) voted that they did not learn enough about the First World War. This…
I love you, Grandma!
Laurens had been homesick. The change to his new school was a big one. And, for a few weeks, he cried every night that he wanted to see grandma and grandpa and play in the…
The world around my table
Finally: The blog title Here he goes! But What Do We Call This? was a question I asked a few weeks ago when we finished our blog course. It took me a while to find a…
Elvira, a woman with vision
The temperature in Osijek has dropped about 28 degrees in the last few days. Last Friday, we sensed it coming and dove one more time into the Drava river and kissed it goodbye for the…