Did you know that Holland is the most densely populated country in Europe? That the capital is in fact Amsterdam but that the government is seated in The Hague? And that the Dutch are known for the color orange? Why, you ask? Because it's the color of our Royal Family, the House of Orange. That's why we dress in orange and paint our faces at soccer matches, at the Olympics and on April 30th (a typically Dutch national holiday, known as the Queen's b-day, in fact it is the Queen mum's b-day but no-one seems to mind!) and that's also why our agency has borrowed that name! We decided to make it a bit more playful by dropping the letter "f " from the word " of " ; probably not the best choice because a lot of people seem to think that it's a typo! It's not! So now you know...!

More great things about Holland; we love to practice foreign languages and you will find that most people speak English, some French as well as German. Because Holland is so small and our public transportation system is excellent, you will generally not need to drive. Get on a train and go to Paris (about 4 hrs from Amsterdam) or take a bus downtown. Join your host family in trips to Germany (2 hrs), Belgium (an hour) or Switzerland (about 10 hrs) or be even more adventurous and hop on a plane to Italy, Greece, Spain or any of the Scandinavian countries. London is only an hour or so by plane and Ireland is also just around the corner. In fact, the Dutch feel that Holland is the center of Europe and if you look at a map, you can see why !

What other aupairs say

go to top of page

If all of this hasn't convinced you yet that Holland is the place to be, than maybe these au pairs can tell you why Holland is different and fun:

"Mandi from Toronto, Canada, 21 yrs old: Everything is so clean and nice and neat and the people are so friendly. I love the architecture, the history of the buildings and the culture of a country that is so much older than my own."

"Joanne from Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 yr old: I was amazed to see that people parked their cars on the street, that the houses did not have burglar bars and that everyone walked everywhere. Holland is safe and lovely."

"Jane from Napier, New Zealand, 19 yrs old. I really wanted to go to Spain but now I'm so glad I picked a family in Holland. I'm learning the language, playing tennis with the locals (and beating them :-) enjoying new table manners and customs and I saw SNOW for the first time in my life!!."

" Linda from Johannesburg, South Africa, 19 yrs old. I was an au pair in the US before coming to Holland and it was very different. In Holland I was able to cycle everywhere and practice my Afrikaans. My family is originally from Holland and it was such an opportunity to be able to see where they were from."

"Kellie from Townsville, Australia, 19 yrs old. It really impressed me to see the contribution that Dutch men make to the household; they help with the kids, cook, do groceries and the guys that we meet when we go out are always so attentive and polite! "

"Jen from California, USA, 24 yrs old: I cannot get over the size of the cars - did someone shrink them? They're cute though and I'm eager to get a ride in one of those cool little Smart cars. Oh and I love Indonesian food !"

An interview with a South African aupair

go to top of page