Who am I/ are we?

The primary writer and editor of this blog is me. Ms. Dufresne. I am a social studies (in the Netherlands more like social science), European/International Orientation (EIO) teacher and mentor at Marnix College in Ede. I am a native English speaker and in fact, I come from North America. Though I get a sense of great satisfaction when people say to me, “yeah, but you’re pretty much Dutch!” In fact, I love being part of both worlds! Or one could even say, a world citizen…which is what our students participating in this exchange are well on their way to becoming!

But, I don’t want this blog to be about me or limited by my experience of the exchange. That’s why I will regularly be asking people to submit posts, in which case I will take on a more editorial role. So, please, if you have something you think should be posted here e-mail me! 

s.dufresne at marnixcollege.nl 

Of course I am not doing this exchange all on my own, so I would like to introduce Mrs. de Boer and Miss Nijenhuis. Mrs. de Boer, an English teacher by trade, coordinates all the bilingual activities and programming at Marnix College.  Meanwhile, Miss Nijenhuis, a geography teacher passionate about teaching her subject in English (and very good at it), is the 2^nd teacher leading the exchange. Together we have been planning and recruiting students since the beginning of the year for this very exciting endeavour!

Miss Nijenhuis

Hello everyone! I am a Geography teacher at Marnix College who teaches my subject in Dutch and English to students from grades 7 to 12. In addition, I am a mentor for a group of sweet bilingual 7^th graders. Contrary to Ms. Dufresne, I grew up in the Netherlands. Despite my Dutch brevity, I, like Ms. Dufresne gain great satisfaction from people complimenting me saying that my English doesn’t sound Dutch. 

I love exploring the world – which means I have travelled quite a bit within the continent of Europe and beyond its borders. The more places I visit, the more I realize: 

a) how Dutch I really am (I always miss having a bike while I’m abroad)

b) how small our own country is (though it is a great place to live!)

…and most importantly, how precious broadening  ones horizon can be! 

The latter is exactly what I hope all students will experience with this exchange – to take a little step out of your own comfort zone, broaden your horizon and gain knowledge about the similarities and differences between the enormous land mass of Canada and that small, flat place I call my home, the Netherlands.