Easy Dutch Café

In October 2015 Connect International introduced a new type of event – Easy Dutch Café.

Each edition of the Easy Dutch Café takes place twice a month: once in the morning and once in the evening. This way both those who work full time and those who are available only during the day have a chance to attend.

Every month the theme of the Easy Dutch Café is different. For example, in October the topic was “Grocery shopping and food-related rituals in the Netherlands”, in November – “A survival guide to Dutch food”. In January we talked about “Transport & Travel in the Netherlands”. The logic behind choosing a certain topic is to target an issue that many internationals are struggling with or would like to learn more about.

For every edition of the Easy Dutch Café we prepare a brochure with the general information on the topic (including examples of related Dutch customs, culture and communication), spiced up with practical tips, and a hand-out with topic-related vocabulary and phrases. During these meetings we not only provide information, we encourage participants to share their personal experiences, to ask questions, but also to answer other questions from their own perspective. Following the “theory” we invite everyone to go to the “real world” and to try to apply and test their newly acquired knowledge.

We also try to plan every edition of the Easy Dutch Café in a different place somewhere in Groningen city centre, as it is an additional chance to let our members discover the hidden gems of the city. So far Easy Dutch Café takes place only in Groningen, but we plan to bring them to Assen, Leeuwarden and Emmen in the future.

The Topic for the Easy Dutch Cafe in February is Medical Affairs in the Netherlands: how does the medical system work here, what to expect from the GP, what to do when you one gets sick, where to get the medicines, etc.

Visit Connect International website for dates of upcoming Easy Dutch Café events.
www.connect-int.org/events-activities