Expat Journal

GEZILLIG TOGHETER Hub

A year ago, I organized a ladies' dinner at my house, and now it's become a tradition with some friends. Seated around the table, eating pizza, we began to think, "What if we tried to do something?" (not related to food!).

As internationals, most of us suffer from a lack of friendships and connections with local people. We want to feel less like strangers and more connected to those who have lived here all their lives. But it's complicated.

One thing that doesn't help is labels: during various events dedicated to listening to and welcoming migrants, there's always a division, with internationals on one side and locals on the other. Us and them.

Then, there's the issue of work. Many spouses have skills and talents that they cannot utilize because of language barriers, lack of diploma recognition, or the absence of external support, which hinders fulfillment outside the family sphere. Lack of support also affects many Dutch people, especially women, who have to wait for the school schedule to resume their careers.

But the time wasn't ripe yet, nor were the objectives so clear, and someone was missing. So the project rested a while longer.

You know when they say if you start a diet, you should tell as many people as possible? Somehow it's like having witnesses to this commitment. I've never done it for a diet (and I never will!), but when it came to projects related to passion or work, talking about them was a way to exorcise the fear of starting, to confront myself, to have support, to involve other people, and yes, to have witnesses to the endeavor.

I was 30 years old when I got my counseling diploma. Almost all the psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists we had studied had formed a community (note: even without the help of social media!): in some cases, they were spaces where various activities could be done, from group therapy to meditation to creative workshops, while in others, they were therapeutic and personal growth spaces.

I don't know if it happens to you, but when I dream, I dream big. In reality, I scale things down a lot, but I always start with complicated projects in mind and shared happiness. At 30, I dreamed of a ranch in Montana (I still had the image from "The Horse Whisperer") where I could hold meditation retreats, workshops, and more.

In the last 12 years, my life has changed, my priorities and needs have changed. I've repeatedly tried to create shared spaces. Then life happens, and there have been several deviations. Being a sharing project, finding companions with whom to dream together hasn't been easy.

Another dinner, another pizza, new additions to the group, and the name of our project Gezellig Together was born, a Dutch word related to feeling at home, among friends, and the English word, a language that is a meeting ground between internationals and locals, linked to community.

Our desire is to create a community without labels.

The other goal of the project is related to talents. With the #gethub project, we want to promote the exchange of talents, skills, and ideas among community members to promote work projects and collaborative workshops.

We debut on April 11th! Where will this road take us?