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The Dutch Courier was first published in Victoria on behalf of the Associated Netherlands Societies in 1970 by Max Leening. The idea of the publication was to connect all the different Dutch clubs in Victoria through a publication that functioned like an extended newsletter. Since then the Dutch Courier has spread it's wings and became the national printed newspaper for the Dutch Community in all of Australia.
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Born in Sydney, played for Oranje
‘I was always interested in the Australian players who came to Europe when I was playing,’ Graeme Rutjes, former Netherlands International, tells me. We’re chatting via What’s App, Graeme at the golf course he manages near Utrecht, me at home in Hobart.[1] What makes Graeme unique amongst Oranje players is that he was born in Australia, the son of Dutch emigrants. ‘When you’re Dutch and playing football professionally but born in Australia, that’s something special. It was written about when I started, and when I made the Dutch team. Born in Sydney but Dutch.’ Graeme’s parents arrived in Australia in 1956, newly married and looking to start a new life. Graeme was born in 1960. The Rutjes were settled near Centennial Park, his mum raising two boys, his dad working for Hunter Douglas, the Dutch window and blinds manufacturer, when Graeme’s Opa in Holland died suddenly. In the winter of 1963, the family returned to Holland to support his widowed Oma. ‘I was born there but I can’t remember anything of my first three years.’ Graeme grew up in Rotterdam and followed Feyenoord, one of Holland’s biggest clubs. He started playing when he was ten and a couple of years later, he and team-mates went to Feyenoord to try out with their youth team. They were turned away. The Dutch system didn’t allow for kids to simply roll up, wanting a game - they had to be invited to trial by a club. ‘Most players are selected by the clubs when they are eleven or twelve or thirteen, and then by the time they are eighteen or nineteen, they’re in the First team. I started when I was nineteen, going to Excelsior - I did it by myself.’ Excelsior is the minnow of Rotterdam’s three senior football clubs.[2] Graeme had begun studying economics at Erasmus University; Excelsior’s grounds were next door, so he approached the club to trial with them. The trainer of the Seconds, Rob Jacobs, let him train with his team, liked what he saw and invited him back. Graeme spent a year with the Seconds before debuting with the senior side in 1980; he stayed five years, amassing 149 games, and settling into the role of defender. He also continued with his studies, lugging textbooks to training camps and onto the buses carrying the team to and from matches. ‘In those days players liked to play cards and games on the buses. I had my study books with me.’ Graeme transferred to KV Mechelen in the Belgium League in 1985, staying with the club five years - and 153 games - through its greatest era, including a European trophy and a domestic cup and title. Six years - and another 152 games - at RSC Anderlecht, one of Belgium’s most successful clubs, followed. Australian players first appeared in Continental Europe around this time, catching Graeme’s attention, especially those playing in Holland and Belgium. Striker Eddie Krncevic, starring with Anderlecht while Graeme was at KV Mechelen, made a particular impression. ‘I really liked playing against him. Always a hard fight, clear duels. He was a tall, slim guy and he could jump very high. Like an Aussie rules player. He knew how to jump and stay in the air; he was always hard to fight against. And when it was over, all the elbows, and we’d kicked each other, it was done and over with,’ Graeme laughs. ‘He was fun to play against.’ ‘Graeme’s one of the best defenders I ever played against,’ Eddie tells me later. ‘I couldn’t score on him. I finally broke my duck in a Belgian Cup match at home. The return game at Mechelen I didn’t touch the ball, he had me in his back pocket.’ [3] Graeme also played against Graham Arnold. ‘Another tough player - wasn’t mean, hard to fight against. Same as Eddie, the duels were tough, but afterwards, always fine.’ Frank Farina was a star in Belgium in this period. ‘He was a good striker, smart, quick for the first few metres, hard to play against…and a nice guy.’ Paul Okon was a teammate of Farina’s though his defensive role meant he and Graeme rarely clashed. Aurelio Vidmar topped Belgium’s goalscoring while at Standard Liege in 1994-95. ‘He was smart, not sneaky, he had a nose for the goal.’ Such a nose that Graeme recalls hitting him hard early in an important end-of-season match when he was at Anderlecht. Anderlecht went on to win the game.[4] Eddie knew of Graeme’s Australian background, at one stage urging Socceroo coach, Frank Arok, to cap him. But no one ever approached Graeme to play for Australia. ‘I might have switched if I hadn’t made it into the Dutch National Team. But it never went that far.’ While at Excelsior Graeme had played for the Dutch ‘B’ team; in top form at KV Mechelen, he was named in the initial squad for the 1988 Netherlands European Championship campaign though missed selection in the final squad that went on to win the country’s first major football competition. He finally made his senior Oranje debut in March 1989, a 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union. That same year Graeme graduated from University with a Doctoraal, the Dutch equivalent of a Master’s Degree; avoiding the card games on the team bus had paid off. In a unique ceremony, he received his award from Thijs Libreghts, the Manager of the Netherlands team at the time. ‘It was special because normally professional football players in Holland don’t study.’ He played another twelve games for Oranje over the next two years, including in the disastrous Dutch Italia 90 World Cup campaign. With the core of the successful Euros side still playing, including such talents as Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, the Koeman brothers, Gerald Vanenburg and Hans van Breukelen, Oranje was one of the favourites for the tournament, but the team, riven by big egos, dissention, and politics, fell apart. Scrapping through to the Round of 16 through three draws in the Group stage, the Dutch were then eliminated by eventual winners, West Germany. ‘We were never a team. In 1988 everybody wanted to fight for it, but in 1990 there was no cohesion, no glue. It was strange. The players were like little islands instead of a team,’ recalls Graeme.[5] Graeme made it to the Eredivisie the ‘long way’ and juggled studies with football for much of his career. He played his role in successful teams, played hundreds of senior club games, played for the Netherlands several times. He must have highlights? ‘Actually, making it as a professional footballer was the highlight.’ He expands. ‘I saw so many young players, eighteen or nineteen, when I started at Excelsior who I thought were better than me at the time. But they never made it. You need something special in your attitude to get to your goal of being a professional player. Yes, playing for my country was a highlight, winning a European title with Mechelen was a highlight, but if you look at it, the life of a professional footballer and getting paid to do what you love, then my whole career was a highlight.’ His answer makes perfect sense to me. After finishing at Anderlecht, Graeme returned to the Netherlands, taking up a role owning and managing a golf course in Zeeland. Soccer has still drawn his interest at times - he joined Feyenoord in a business advisory role in 2011 and later became Technical Director at NAC Breda but gave it away to return to golf management and development. With Graeme’s drive, I presume he must have a low golf handicap. He chuckles. ‘It’s terrible. I got stuck on nineteen. I still think I can play a single handicap. But when golf is your work, not even on your own course but any course, you look at the grass, the hospitality, the clubhouse, how the greenkeepers work, is it a two-tone mow or full mow, how the tees look, the feel of the course. It’s more work than relaxing.’ Ah, okay, so his focus is on the other aspects of golf rather than chasing that little white, dimpled ball around. These days his involvement in soccer is limited to being on the KNVB disciplinary committee, a role that’s been simplified in recent years with the introduction of VAR and disciplinary issues largely being sorted out during matches. Graeme’s interest in Australian soccer was piqued once more when Guus Hiddink arrived as coach of the Socceroos in 2005, and again when his former teammate in the Dutch National team, John van ‘t Schip was at the helm of Melbourne Heart and Melbourne City. But his interest in the country extends beyond soccer - he has a genuine affection for the country of his birth. He’s been back twice with family on extended trips travelling across the country. ‘I really like Australia. I like the way of living - not laid back, but there’s a certain relaxed attitude around. I like the people, they’re normally optimistic and happy. Sydney would be a great place to live - I could have lived there.’ And if he had, who knows, perhaps he’d have taken his place alongside Krncevic, Arnold, Farina, Okon, Vidmar and co., playing for the Socceroos… RSC Anderlecht has a short highlights video of Graeme Rutjes, available here: https://www.rsca.be/en/media/video/best-graeme-rutjes [1] Interviews with Graeme Rutjes, 21 October, 10 November 2021. [2] Feyenoord play in the south of Rotterdam and are one of the Netherlands ‘Big Three’ clubs, along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven. Excelsior play to the east of the city. The third club is Sparta Rotterdam, based in the west of the city. [3] Interview with Eddie Krncevic, 6 Dec. 2021. Born in Geelong, Eddie was an Australian soccer pioneer, one of the first Australian players to make their way to, and succeed in, Europe. His Belgium career spanned more than ten seasons and included titles with Cercle Brugge and Anderlecht; in 1988-89 he took out the leading goal scorer award while at Anderlecht. He’d played Australian Rules at high school in Melbourne, at one point even being offered a trial at Essendon after kicking seven goals in a schoolboy’s match. He told me he credits Aussie Rules with helping his aerial game, as he knew how to use other players for gaining leverage and height. [4] Graham Arnold had stints in Holland (with Roda JC and NAC Breda) and Belgium (Standard Liege and Charleroi) over eight seasons from 1989. Frank Farina won a Belgium Championship with Club Brugge, the same year he was awarded the League’s Best Foreign Player (1989-90). Paul Okon had an outstanding five years in Belgium also playing for Club Brugge, winning two Belgium titles, and taking out the League’s Best Player award in 1995-96. Aurelio Vidmar won the top goal scorers award while at Standard Liege in 1994-95. John Aloisi was also at Standard Liege, and later Antwerp in this period. [5] For an account of the Dutch Italia 90 debacle, see Ch.18 of David Winner’s Brilliant Orange – the neurotic genius of Dutch football (2010). 
The Christian Slaves of Depok: A Colonial Tale Unravels by Nonja Peters (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2021) Book Review by Dr Kathryn Pentecost (October 2021) The Christian Slaves of Depok: A Colonial Tale Unravels (2021) by Dr Nonja Peters is a highly readable and thoroughly researched book which details the little-known history of a group of colonial slaves that were once ‘owned’ by Dutch merchant Cornelis Chastelein (1657-1714) in Java. In addition to extensive historical and sociological research into the Christianisation of the Depokker slaves, Peters interviews contemporary descendants of the original group of slaves to whom Chastelein offered up parts of his extensive land holdings in his will. Chastelein was a fourth-generation member of a highly entrepreneurial and innovative family. Born in Amsterdam, he was a member of the Calvinist Reform Community (which included Walloon Protestants) – the unofficial state religion of Republic of The Netherlands which played a prominent role in socio-cultural, public and administrative life in Europe and South-East Asia. Before ‘Indonesia’ was a colony of the Dutch government, it was the locus of a thriving international trading company which we know colloquially as the ‘VOC’ or Netherlands East India Company or Dutch East Indies Company. VOC stands for Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie. Essentially, it was the first multinational company in the world, and the largest trading and shipping enterprise during the years of The Dutch Golden Age in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In August 1675, Cornelis arrived in Batavia with his sister Ida and they both quickly became part of the Indisch aristocracy because the Chastelein family were related by blood or marriage to people in the top echelons of the society. Belonging to such a group also ensured for Cornelis a quick passage up the ranks of the VOC. Dutch historian L. Busse described the VOC thus: ‘VOC was a “strange company” as some VOC officials sought something more than material profits – ancient oriental knowledges, treasures, cultures, medicines, languages, scientific discoveries.’ (Peters, 2021: 65) Despite their ‘superior knowledge, vision, mission’ however, VOC officials all owned slaves (Peters, 2021: 65). Many VOC administrators established country estates in the Batavian hinterlands where they combined business, entertaining and family life with slave ownership. In 1687, after his wife died, Chastelein became a plantation owner and kept expanding his land holdings over the years. In 1699, he also had a country house built. His slaves cultivated the land and produced pepper, coffee and indigo. In addition to his other children by his wife, he had two daughters by the Balinese nyai/concubines – one of whom (only) he adopted. In his final testament dated 13 March 1714, Castelein offers us a unique perspective of his estate and his visions for the future of his “freed” slaves (Peters, 2021: 123). He offers the lion’s share to his only son Anthony while also providing for his adopted daughter Catherina to whom he leaves a parcel of land. The demise of the VOC and the birth of the Netherlands East Indies colony (1816) leaves in- tact the lifestyles of many former VOC employees and merchants. Slavery ends officially in 1860 but the hierarchical feudalism of its inception continues into the state-sponsored colonial era. Depok was a place of isolation. Consequently, the Depokkers were prevented from mixing more widely with groups of equal status in Batavia and Bogor. This led to what is termed ‘endogamy’ and their Christianisation also contributed further to creating a community forced to ‘marry-in’ because they were discouraged from mixing with Javanese Muslims or the Chinese. After Chastelein’s death, the Depok estate became essentially a ‘dessa bestuur’ – or village municipality. Even great changes in the Indies over the late colonial period of the 19th century had minimal impact on Depok because of its relative isolation. Missionaries kept track of births, deaths, marriages; translated the catechism book into Malay; built churches and educated the Depokkers. In 1854, it became possible for Depokkers to apply to be considered ‘legally Dutch’ (Dutch Nationality Act) and this Gelikgesteld (equivalence) put those that succeeded on a similar social footing generally as ‘Indos’ (Indo-Europeans) (Peters, 2021: 234-5). From the late 1870s, some Depok families began to use Dutch education and status as landowners to apply to be registered as Staatsblad Europeanen (Gazette-Europeans), and this offered them the chance to apply also for Dutch passports (Peters, 2021: 235). It is not known how Depokkers acquired their surnames (Peters, 2021: 241). Somehow the 150 – 200 freed slaves morphed into 12 family names: Soedira, Jacob, Leander, Laurens, Jonathan, Tholense, Joseph, Bacas, Isakh, Loen, Samuel and Zadokh (Peters, 2021: 243). Peters (2021: 245) makes the point that: Information on the early histories of the Depok families is scant. The available aspects of their histories in this book are told by current members of the family post-diaspora in the mid-20th century. Most were born overseas after 1950 and have few documents at their disposal. The older ones have only their memories… A major drawback is that most family albums and documents were lost when Indonesian revolutionaries destroyed Depokker homes in October 1945. To make matters worse, most older family members stayed in Depok when the younger ones left for NL. Indeed, recovering ‘lost’ histories is no mean feat. Peters’ work resonated with me because I had spent five or more years researching my own ‘Indo’ family history in Java. While my ancestors were not slaves, nevertheless, like many of those of ‘in-between’ status in the late colonial period, their situation mirrored the ‘Dutchification’ of the Depokkers, the hardships experienced in World War II and the Indonesian revolution and their ‘exile’ to the Netherlands (etc.) Today, many Depokkers describe themselves as ‘in-betweeners’ floating between the Indonesians and the Dutch – seen as Indonesian in the Netherlands, seen as Dutch in Indonesia (Peters, 2021: 433). Cornelis Chastelein gained mythical status amongst the Depokkers of Java and the Netherlands. Fact and fiction are much enmeshed. (Peters, 2021: 426). Peters’ book pays homage to the resilience of the original Depok slaves and rescues from potential obscurity the stories of this specific group of people. Body copy (minus headers) = 981 words Reviewer bio: Dr Kathryn Pentecost has written for Inside Indonesia and continues to write for The Indo Project. Her doctoral thesis is titled: Selamat jalan, sampai jumpa lagi (Farewell, until we meet again): Transcultural family stories from colonial and postcolonial Indonesia (www.academia.edu). Dutch News
3/12
The first person to go through a fast track court hearing following the riots in Rotterdam on Friday night has been jailed for five months, two suspended, by magistrates. Sharon M, who is 26 and from Spijkenisse, has also been banned from the centre of Rotterdam for a year and ordered to pay €1,000 for the damage caused to a police van. The court said M, who has previous convictions for violence, admitted throwing stones at police, but said she had become swept up by events. ‘I am really sorry for what I did, and if I could turn back the clock, I certainly would,’ M is quoted as saying by broadcaster NOS. In total, 49 people were arrested during and after Friday’s riots in Rotterdam, which sparked copycat trouble across the country. 4/12 Selftest The Dutch government has announced that people with mild cold symptoms can take a self-test for coronavirus, rather than being advised to get an official test immediately. The new advice, based on recommendations from the Outbreak Management Team, follows weeks of reports of struggling coronavirus testing centres at maximum capacity. People are advised that if their home test is positive, they should then make an appointment for a public health institute PCR test, so that the test is registered and contract tracing can commence. If not, they should still follow social distancing and handwashing advice, and test again the next day if symptoms continue or worsen. Kitchen cupboard Caretaker health minister Hugo de Jonge said in a statement: ‘It is good to know that self-tests now appear safe and trustworthy enough to use if you have symptoms…I hope that this means more people will choose to test themselves if they have symptoms. So make sure that you always have a few in your kitchen cupboard.’ Requality, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace Dutch companies consider equality, diversity and inclusivity to be important in the workplace, but primarily for the well-being of employees rather than its positive impact on corporate success, according to a survey of 2,200 companies across 14 European countries. In total 38% of the respondents said they expected diverse teams to be more innovative and 37% said that investing in equality and diversity measures would lead to better business results. In the Netherlands, however, just 23% said they expected diversity would lead to more innovation and 19% said it would boost business performance. ‘Strengthening equality, diversity and inclusion is a prerequisite for success and growth,’ said Henry Barenholz, the Netherlands country manager for HR software company Workday, which carried out the survey. ‘We also know that you don’t achieve that overnight. The results of this study show, for example, that in 60% of Dutch companies the management considers equality and diversity to be important, compared with 80% in Spain, Denmark, Italy and Germany.’ The survey also showed 21% of Dutch respondents see diversity as a source of conflict and polarisation. Dutch cultivated meat Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest high profile investor to put money into Dutch cultivated meat company Mosa Meat, the company said in a website post. DiCaprio has been a longtime champion of global environmental issues and has provided more than $100m in grants to a variety of programmes and projects over the years, Mosa Meat said. The award winning actor has also invested in Israeli cultivated meat maker Aleph Farms. ‘One of the most impactful ways to combat the climate crisis is to transform our food system,’ DiCaprio said in a press statement. ‘Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms offer new ways to satisfy the world’s demand for beef, while solving some of the most pressing issues of current industrial beef production.’ Mosa Meats was founded in 2013 after Dutch researcher Mark Post showcased the first burger on live television in London. That project had been funded by Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google. The research had involved extracting cells from living cattle and growing them under laboratory conditions into strips of meat that were then combined into a single beef burger. Just Eat Takeway founder Jitse Groen and animal feed maker Nut 121 murders in the Netherlands In total, 121 people were murdered in the Netherlands last year, four down on 2019 and in line with the general trend of the past few years, according to calculations by national statistics office CBS. The murder rate fell across all age groups, apart from in the under-20s, where the number of killings rose from 10 to 18. Children are most likely to be murdered by a parent. Chat checkouts Some 200 Jumbo supermarkets will be opening up tills where clients can stop for a chat rather than pay for their shopping as quickly as possible. The first ‘Kletskassa’, or chat checkout, as it has been dubbed, was opened in 2019 in Vlijmen in Brabant. Its success prompted the group to plan for another 200 to be operative by this time next year, particularly in shops in areas where loneliness is an issue. Dolfinarium The Dolfinarium marine park in Harderwijk may only sell eight dolphins, two walruses and two sea lions to a Chinese zoo if the animal welfare standards are equal to those in the Netherlands, farm minister Carola Schouten has said in answer to MPs questions. The Dolfinarium, which opened in 1965, said in April it was transferring the animals to a marine zoo in China because of subpar living conditions in the Netherlands. The animals were kept in tanks too shallow to dive to the depths they are used to. The decision was part of a general shake up following the publication of a report by government inspectors last year. In the report, officials said that while the animals are well cared for, questions remained about the performances the animals were trained to take part in, the tanks they lived in and the interaction with the public, in particular the photo opportunities with dolphins and sea lions. Read more at DutchNews.nl: |
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Dutch blogs in DutchWie heeft hem al gemaakt?!'Bokkepootjestaart met advocaat en vanillepudding' op veler verzoek. Een heerlijk Limburgs recept voor bij de koffie, door het Recepten Uit Limburg team.
Klik hier voor het gehele recept en andere leuke blogs. |
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Blogs op de werelwijven website over aardbeving + online yoga
Een aardbeving in Melbourne
op 22 september werd Melbourne rond negen uur opgeschikt door een aardbeving van 5.8 op de Schaal van Richter. De aardbeving was in de buurt van Mansfield, maar velen in de staat Victoria zijn opgeschikt. Vooral de mensen die zich binnen bevonden, voelden het. De muren trilden en het gegrom van de aarde voor de mensen die dichter bij het epicentrum wonen, werd als een geluid ervaren dat nooit eerder gehoord was.
Lastig uit de drukken gevoelDe meeste mensen om mij heen voelen zich compleet shaken up. Of het nu de stress, of werkelijk de tremor van de aardbeving is, die dit vreemde lichamelijke gevoel veroorzaakt, kunnen niet veel mensen zeggen. Facebook vriendin Maaike reageert op mijn bericht: “Is het raar dat ik nu een borrel nodig heb?”
We kunnen het even niet van ons afschudden. De reacties stromen binnen! Astrid dacht aanvankelijk dat haar dochter iets aan het verschuiven was. Het was de tweede keer dat ze het meemaakte, maar eenmaal buiten was de beving nauwelijks voelbaar. Annemarie laat weten het doodeng te hebben gevonden en Paul schrijft dat het de “sterkste aardbeving ooit gevoeld in Melbourne” is.
Liz vond het geluid het ergste, maar ook het schudden van het huis en de ramen. “Ik dacht dat het ging ontploffen”, schrijft ze. Bij Stephen bracht het herinneringen terug van de aardbeving in Limburg 1992.
Een voorbereid mens…Toevallig had ik net een dag eerder een e-mail ontvangen van het Rode Kruis om met mijn community te delen. Het was informatie om voorbereid te zijn op rampen zoals wild fires en wateroverlast. Toen de aardbeving er was, realiseerde ik mij dat ik eigenlijk niet echt wist wat ik moest doen.
Ik ging naar mijn kinderen en vroeg ze om naar buiten te komen. Zij zeiden dat als het echt erg is, je onder de tafel moet zitten of in de deuropening staan. Dat leren ze op school. Weer realiseer ik me dat ik niet opgegroeid ben in Australië en dat we dit soort onderwijs niet kregen in Nederland.
Dat zou eigenlijk wel moeten, want ook in Nederland komt een aardbeving wel eens voor en onlangs waren er weer verschrikkelijke overstromingen. Wat moet je dan doen?
Het advies van de SES (State Emergency Service, een overheidsinstantie die informatie verstrekt en rampen bestrijdt) is duidelijk:
Drop to the ground, take cover by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture and hold on until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table of a desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building. Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting features or furniture. Do not use a doorway except if you know it is a strongly supported bearing doorway and it is close to you. Stay inside till the shaking stops. Do not use elevators.
Goed om te weten, want ja het is wel fijn om te weten wat je in een stressvolle situatie moet doen. Mijn kinderen hadden het antwoord: “Mam niet zo gestresst. We weten wat we moeten doen.”
Carole Overmaat
op 22 september werd Melbourne rond negen uur opgeschikt door een aardbeving van 5.8 op de Schaal van Richter. De aardbeving was in de buurt van Mansfield, maar velen in de staat Victoria zijn opgeschikt. Vooral de mensen die zich binnen bevonden, voelden het. De muren trilden en het gegrom van de aarde voor de mensen die dichter bij het epicentrum wonen, werd als een geluid ervaren dat nooit eerder gehoord was.
Lastig uit de drukken gevoelDe meeste mensen om mij heen voelen zich compleet shaken up. Of het nu de stress, of werkelijk de tremor van de aardbeving is, die dit vreemde lichamelijke gevoel veroorzaakt, kunnen niet veel mensen zeggen. Facebook vriendin Maaike reageert op mijn bericht: “Is het raar dat ik nu een borrel nodig heb?”
We kunnen het even niet van ons afschudden. De reacties stromen binnen! Astrid dacht aanvankelijk dat haar dochter iets aan het verschuiven was. Het was de tweede keer dat ze het meemaakte, maar eenmaal buiten was de beving nauwelijks voelbaar. Annemarie laat weten het doodeng te hebben gevonden en Paul schrijft dat het de “sterkste aardbeving ooit gevoeld in Melbourne” is.
Liz vond het geluid het ergste, maar ook het schudden van het huis en de ramen. “Ik dacht dat het ging ontploffen”, schrijft ze. Bij Stephen bracht het herinneringen terug van de aardbeving in Limburg 1992.
Een voorbereid mens…Toevallig had ik net een dag eerder een e-mail ontvangen van het Rode Kruis om met mijn community te delen. Het was informatie om voorbereid te zijn op rampen zoals wild fires en wateroverlast. Toen de aardbeving er was, realiseerde ik mij dat ik eigenlijk niet echt wist wat ik moest doen.
Ik ging naar mijn kinderen en vroeg ze om naar buiten te komen. Zij zeiden dat als het echt erg is, je onder de tafel moet zitten of in de deuropening staan. Dat leren ze op school. Weer realiseer ik me dat ik niet opgegroeid ben in Australië en dat we dit soort onderwijs niet kregen in Nederland.
Dat zou eigenlijk wel moeten, want ook in Nederland komt een aardbeving wel eens voor en onlangs waren er weer verschrikkelijke overstromingen. Wat moet je dan doen?
Het advies van de SES (State Emergency Service, een overheidsinstantie die informatie verstrekt en rampen bestrijdt) is duidelijk:
Drop to the ground, take cover by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture and hold on until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table of a desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building. Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting features or furniture. Do not use a doorway except if you know it is a strongly supported bearing doorway and it is close to you. Stay inside till the shaking stops. Do not use elevators.
Goed om te weten, want ja het is wel fijn om te weten wat je in een stressvolle situatie moet doen. Mijn kinderen hadden het antwoord: “Mam niet zo gestresst. We weten wat we moeten doen.”
Carole Overmaat
Hoe doe je dat toch vragen mensen mij vaak. Een gezin hebben, een Nederlandse krant in Australië runnen, in het bestuur van SNBN zitten, poffertjes maken in het weekend, fotograferen en yoga-les geven. Dat laatste is mijn manier van balans vinden. Yoga geeft mij tijd.
Doordat ik yoga in mijn ochtendroutine heb, ben ik gefocust om alle bovenstaande dingen te doen. Uiteraard helpt het dat ik mijn werk bij de krant en het bestuur van Stichting Nederlanders Buitenland Nederland leuk vind om te doen waardoor deze ook niet voelen als een baan. Het is mijn manier om mensen te ontmoeten en onderdeel te zijn van de community.
Verbinding onlineSinds de lock-down geef ik yoga-lessen online. Terwijl ik echt een mens ben van ‘elkaars energie willen voelen en een community bouwen’, heeft de lock-down zowel mijn studenten als mijzelf geleerd dat je niet in dezelfde ruimte hoeft te zitten om verbonden te zijn. Als wereldvrouwen weten we dit natuurlijk al jaren. Neem het voorbeeld dat je net aan iemand in Nederland denkt, en precies dan belt die persoon je. Wel of geen dichtbij contact, we zijn sowieso verbonden en die verbintenis kan echt ook gewoon online tijdens de yoga les.
Of je die connectie hebt, ligt natuurlijk ook aan de yoga juf. Bij de een heb je die connectie wel en bij de ander heb je dat niet. Net zoals je niet met iedereen even grote vrienden kan zijn. Dus wat dat betreft, kan je gewoon gaan shoppen want er zijn zoveel mensen die online lesgeven. Zeer waarschijnlijk heeft iedereen je wel iets te bieden (en jij hen).
Je eigen plek thuisAls je online yoga lessen volgt, moet je een eigen ruimte voor jezelf organiseren in je huis. Dit was ook de eerste opdracht tijdens mijn teacher yoga training, maar nu moesten mijn studenten dus op zoek gaan naar hun plekje in huis. Het voordeel van een eigen plek is dat je je daar dan vanaf nu waarschijnlijk altijd even terugtrekt als je het nodig hebt en dat is fijn. Thuis heb je bovendien altijd meer hulpmiddelen dan je wellicht denkt: een muur, kussens of bank om tegen te leunen of op te zitten wanneer nodig.
Tijdens mijn yoga klassen probeer ik een community te bouwen door altijd even met de studenten te praten. Vaak komt dan een algemeen thema naar boven waar mensen graag aan willen werken en daar ga ik dan tijdens de les op in. Mijn klassen zijn vooral gericht op ademhaling en rustige beweging. Stapje voor stapje begeleid ik je om beter te zitten voor een meditatie.
Doe mee!Nieuwsgierig en wil je meedoen? Stuur me een mail naar editor@dutchcourier.com
Je betaalt per les; de kosten zijn 15 Australische dollar of 9,55 Euro en betaling kan via een Nederlands banknummer of banknummer in Australië. Net wat voor jou eenvoudiger is. Vertel er direct bij welk tijdstip je goed uitkomt en dan kan ik kijken of we een geschikt tijdstip kunnen vinden. Bij genoeg animo kan ik de les ook in het Nederlands doen. Doe je mee?
Links in dit artikelOver dit Wereldwijf: Carole Overmaat - Australië
Hey, Ik ben Carole Overmaat en woon in Australië. Ik studeerde CMV Vrijetijdskunde in Rotterdam en woon sinds 2005 samen met mijn man Ron en twee kinderen in Melbourne. Het avontuur vinden we in de dagelijkse dingen. Acht jaar geleden startte ik mijn programma Dutch TV. In 2018 nam ik ook nog de Nederlandse krant de Dutch Courier over. Voor de wereldwijven zal ik voornamelijk vloggen over mijn avonturen hier 'Down Under.'https://dewereldwijven.com/2021/06/10/yoga-meditatie-online-lessen/
