2011 - 2012
In January 2011 I decide to volunteer for the third time at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. In February 2011, I return to Stipo, though this time as Office Coordinator. Amongst other responsibilities, I am in charge of arranging Office appointments and the programming and organisation of internal and external events.
2010
I start a four-month contract at Stipo to help organize various network meetings, a symposium, translate and develop hand-outs and set up a functioning online library system for the Stipo library. I also continue the research on cultural clusters with Hans Karssenberg. In May, my contract ends and I start working as a care assistant at a care home in Puttershoek. Besides this, I also continue working at Bonheur Theatre.
2009
After years of postponement, I decide to finally go travelling in Central America. But first, I help out as a volunteer at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and watch 32 films in 9 days. In May, I larrive in Cuba, where I follow a 6 week Spanish course at the University in Havana. In July, I leave Cuba for Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. After four months of music, salsa dancing, many city trips, pyramids, forests and white, sandy beaches, I return to Rotterdam. In October, I start a three-month Internship at Stipo. With Hans Karssenberg, I carry out an International research on cultural museum clusters as comparative material for the Museumplein in Amsterdam. Besides this, I also investigate the ways in which Stipo networks and how it can potentially improve its internal and external network moments.
2007 - 2008
I move back to England to follow a Masters in ‘Cities, culture and regeneration' at the University of Liverpool. A big attraction to studying in Liverpool that year is because it is the European Capital of Culture, along with Stavanger in Norway. I love the city! I thoroughly enjoy the study, socializing, Scousers and discovering more about the city and all it has to offer. For my dissertation, I decide to focus on Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture: specifically, my research focuses on how the EU uses the event as a means to form a shared European identity for European states. Identity creation and the search for a balance between the needs of the local population and the needs of tourists intrigue me.
2006
I decide to move back to the Netherlands to work for a year, whilst I decide what to do next. I take on a job at a call centre in Alexandrium (Rotterdam) and follow various courses, including Spanish and belly-dancing. I also resume my work at Bonheur Theatre and every few months, I fly to England to visit friends in Leeds.
2003 - 2006
I move to England to study ‘Human Geography and International Development' at the University of Leeds. The two subjects fascinate me. I am especially interested in how societies (and trends) develop and function in a increasingly smaller globalised world, and how this translates on an urban scale, through processes such as gentrification. In June2006, I complete my BA degree.
1997
We move back to the Netherlands: this time, Rotterdam. Culture shock! But with time, some close friendships are formed and Rotterdam slowly becomes my new ‘home'. At the Rotterdam International Secondary School, I complete my IGCSE's and IB. Through my Dutch teacher, I become a volunteer at Bonheur Theatre and I develop a strong interest in Cuba after reading Guillermo Cabrera Infante's ‘Three Trapped Tigers'.
1986
Due to new job opportunities, my family moves back to Africa: this time to Tanzania, East Africa. I grow up here, loving the warmth, nature and the relaxed, friendly African mentality. I complete my primary school at the International School Moshi (Arusha Campus) and start my first years of secondary school.
1984
Born as the youngest of three children in Ramotswa, a town in Southern Botswana. After a year, we move to Dordrecht in the Netherlands.