Our journey of friendship began on 2nd june 2023 evening at the buddy to buddy match dinner which was organized at Thuis Wageningen. I arrived at the dinner hall at around 6:30pm and I met Tania, the buddy to buddy coordinator. She handed me a name tag with my buddy’s name Merel to wear and from that instant I was curious and excited to meet a new Dutch friend/buddy. As I sat down and gazed at the door, my buddy walked in with a name tag of my name Wycliff. I waved at her and she sat across from me at the table.
We talked a lot during the matching dinner where we both shared our interests and likings. She told me how her Dutch name Merel meant a black bird. She told me how she likes to visit the farmers market in Wageningen city centre and the thrift stores (Kringloop).
We planned a visit to the farmers market and I was fascinated by the variety of fresh farm organic food and flowers and the prices of items. Later we visited the thrift stores and I was captivated by the antique and old tech items which brought back my childhood memories. As we strolled around the shop, my buddy bought me a Dutch book to help me learn and practice my Dutch.
We planned a number of activities like watching movies at the cinema, attending concerts, theater plays and one of my favorite was the Openlucht Museum in Arnhem where I learnt a lot about Dutch history, culture, development and innovations through time.
We kept in touch and shared with each other our travels and exciting moments through the lens since we both love photography and adventure which made our friendship stronger. We are looking forward to taking on more adventures and doing more activities together in the future.
Lastly I would recommend the buddy to buddy project / connection cafe as the best way of making new friends, learning Dutch, immersing yourself into Dutch culture, doing fun activities and getting to know the Dutch residents if you are new in the Netherlands.