“Six months ago I had this crazy idea to start my own language school. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and since I was already teaching Dutch to expats I thought why not open up my own school. There are many language schools in Amsterdam but instead of just creating a place where people come to learn the language I wanted to build a community, a place where people can feel a sense of belonging. My students come from all over the world, Brazil, Mexico, North America but there are also students who left their country because of war and terror. In my school everyone is equal and we are all learning from each other, no matter if you are a student or a teacher. When I was living abroad in Mexico I noticed it was very hard to meet local people when you are a foreigner. That is why I introduce all my students to my friends. I set each of my students up with a language buddy so its easier for them to practice. Whenever there is an event I invite them. For example, last week we went salsa dancing and everyone loved it. So far none of my students have left the school and they even come early to class just to hang out. When someone doesn’t show up I know they have a legit reason and I’m genuinely worried. The best part of my job is that I get to spend my time with awesome people. A few weeks ago it was my birthday. I tried to keep it a secret but they had already figured out it out because of Facebook. Each of my students had thought of my birthday. They bought me flowers, wrote me birthday cards and they sang ‘’Happy Birthday’’ to me in 10 different languages. I’m not going to lie, it made me cry.”
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I met Noémie at BenchesCollective – BankjesCollectief a really awesome initiative in Amsterdam which transforms public space into a meeting place for everyone. BenchesCollective is a movement that organizes the largest open-air café in the world consisting of ‘opened’ benches on the pavement in front of houses, in the park or on a city square.

A bench host decides what he or she wants to serve: a nice cup of coffee, home baked cake, a marble competition or dancing lesson. At the opened benches you meet your neighbours. From students, young families and chatty grannies to awesome people like Noémie. The next open-air café is on July 1st & 2nd. It’s a really nice way to meet new people so if you are in Amsterdam next weekend make sure to check it out.

“My father started selling books here in the 70’s not because he enjoyed reading but because he understood what was popular at that time. He was a passionate entrepreneur and a good salesman. When I was young I would help him during the weekends. Unlike my father I was very passionate about books and I couldn’t get enough of them. I learned so much from him and we made a really good team. I would read all the books we were selling so I knew a lot about the content of the books. He on the other hand knew how to sell books. We worked together until he passed away a few years ago. I still miss him every day but I have costumers coming up to me every week telling me stories about my dad and what a wonderful human being he was. Here at the market I can still feel my father’s presence.”

“After my relationship ended my friends told me to go on Tinder. I had never heard of such an app but I was open to it. I matched with a woman from The Hague. After chatting with her for two months we decided to go on a date. I drove to The Hague and we went to shore and we ate some fish. The week after she came to see me in Amsterdam. From that moment on we have been together. She is such a good person and I am so lucky that I have found her. Sometimes it amazes me how this world works though. If I would have swiped the other way we would have never met. We would not have been in a four year relationship and I would not have moved to The Hague.”

She made me count 1-2-3 ice cream to get her to pose for me.

“I grew up in Bulgaria. My dad traveled a lot for work and I would sometimes join him on his travels. Every new country we visited I would fall in love with and afterwards I never wanted to return back home. I always knew I would leave Bulgaria the minute I would be able to stand on my own feet. When I was 19 I packed my bags and left. In the past 3 years I lived in Milan and Amsterdam and I traveled to different continents. I noticed that whenever I would tell people I was from Bulgaria they had these negative associations with the country mainly based of what they heard through media. Of course it is not perfect but it made me think and focus on the beauty of the country. In a way I needed to be away from to gain the perspective that I needed to fall in love with the country I was born in. Even if its not perfect, it is still my home.”