“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.

“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.”

“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.”

“After our first kiss I asked him if he wanted to meet me again the following day. He said yes without hesitation. From the very first moment I felt that I didn’t want to be separated from him anymore. A few years ago, that was before we moved to Amsterdam, I asked Gi to marry me. It wasn’t a romantic thing, I just wanted to organize our legal stuff. I’m not a party guy, I have never been so I wasn’t keen on having a big wedding. We got married on a Tuesday. All I wanted was to be married to this man. We went for an ice-cream afterwards, it wasn’t a big deal, but it was us.”

I photographed Andrew and Gi in 2013 when I just started Humans of Amsterdam. After I took their photo in 2013 I was too shy to ask them for their story. When I worked on my book I wanted to meet them again so this time I could actually get to know them a little better. Now they have 2 pages in my book which they totally deserve. To read the rest of their story make sure to order the book 🙂 Also know that by purchasing the book you are making a huge contribution to Humans of Amsterdam and the continuation of this project. To order the book see the link in my bio: http://tiny.cc/mq2pky

“I was two years in a relationship while I was in love with someone else. Not a day went by without thinking of him. A few months ago I decided to end my relationship and now I finally get to be with this person. The love I have for him is so intense that sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming.”

Ed van der Elsken (1925-1990) is seen as one of the best street photographers of the Netherlands. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam currently has a big exhibition of his work and they’re organizing a photo contest in honor of Ed’s work. I was asked to be an ambassador of this photo contest. I took this photo last year at the Central Station of Amsterdam and selected this to be part of the contest. The reason for selecting this photo is that it reminded me of one my favorite portraits of Ed (Google: Ed van der Elsken, girl in subway). The assignment of the contest is to capture the interaction between you and the person you photograph. To enter you have to share (before May 1st) your photo on Facebook or Instagram and use #deverliefdecamera, #fotowedstrijd and @stedelijkmuseum. The winning photographers will receive a spot in the Ed van der Elsken’s exhibition in the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam.

“I used to work in New York in a Diner. One day a handsome Italian man came by to have breakfast. In the next few days he came back every morning to have breakfast. Only on the sixth morning he came by and I realized he was only there to see me. He was Italian but he lived in Amsterdam. I had already planned a eurotrip the next month so when I told him that I was coming to Europe he invited me to come to Amsterdam. I’m usually not that spontaneous but I could not come up with a reason not to see him. Who would have thought back then that four years later I would still be around.”