After grammar school I studied educational science at the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) in Amsterdam. I worked for many years as a teacher in Psychology, Philosophy, Psychopathology and Personal Development at a nursingschool, where I learned a great deal about health care, general hospitals, psychiatric institutions and institutions for mentally handicapped people.
At the same time I studied Italian, my great language passion. In 1987 I became a parttime teacher in Italian and in 1991 I passed my examination for interpreter-translator Italian-Dutch. I am very much interested in the culture “behind the language” and realized that people are not only influenced by their own family or character, but also by the culture they belong to.
Dolomites The Island of Levanzo - Sicily
My work:
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Intercultural Trainer Dutch Culture on behalf of IOR Global Services (Northbrook USA), Global Workers Experience (Amsterdam) and the Academic Language Centre of the Leiden University. I work with expats in international companies and foreign university students (Leiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Trieste-Italy etc.). I am also a Dutch teacher and regularly organize Dutch classes.
Between 1999 and 2009 I was an Intercultural Trainer at the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) of Amsterdam in the Understanding the Dutch trainingprogramme for international managers and expats who work in a multinational like Shell, Unilever etc. -
Teacher in Italian and translation Italian-Dutch (ITV-Utrecht, Volksuniversiteit-Amstelveen). I organize also trainings and lectures on Italian culture.
In 2008 I received my certificate as a counsellor-coach from the Academy for Coaching and Counselling in Haarlem. I currently offer individual coaching for international managers.
Lecture How to deal with the Dutch? Leiden University for international students 2011
Keukenhof - Lisse The Netherlands