By Otti Thomas
The Netherlands has more than 150,000 residents with roots in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba. Thousands of these residents are successful in their own way. During 2018, Foundation Ocan, originating from the Consultative Body for Dutch Caribbean persons, will put one of these persons in the spotlight every week. Featured here is Xynara Dedier from St. Maarten, who is active as a nursing teacher in Rotterdam.
In her own words:
Growing up, I lived on St. Maarten and Aruba. I was born on St. Maarten, lived on Aruba from two to nine years of age and again on St. Maarten until 15. My mother felt that I was too young to become a police officer so I chose the registered nurse course which I then followed on Aruba. It was on my mother’s recommendation as I would also always gain employment in that field.
I worked three years at the Medical Center on St. Maarten. Because I love new challenges, I went on to work for two years at the Ambulance Department but I did not want to work shifts until retirement. I was curious about other career possibilities and looked for something that I could combine with a family.
I had always been fascinated by the CSI television series and this led me to start the Forensic Research course at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. However, I was not strong in physics and found the course material too difficult.
My second passion was assisting people. As a registered nurse, I enjoyed showing new colleagues around and explaining things to them. I completed the Nursing Teacher’s course at the University of Applied Sciences Leiden and I now teach at the Zadkine MBO in Rotterdam.
It provides me with the opportunity to pass on my knowledge of nursing in the Netherlands, St. Maarten and Aruba. I still work occasionally in healthcare because it is important as a teacher to be abreast of the practical developments.
Obstacles
My introduction to the Netherlands was a culture shock: I had to get accustomed to the cold, the manners, that everything costs money and that everyone is pressed for time. People do not greet each other, but are often occupied with their own affairs.
Dutch kids use words for which we on St. Maarten would really get a lash. Much happened during the first year: I initially lived in Arnhem with my brother; I moved to Amstelveen two months after; I started to work when the Forensic Research course did not work out; I lived for a couple months in Delft in the house of a friend that had gone abroad.
My boyfriend from St. Maarten came on vacation after this; he stayed and is now my husband. Naturally, we wanted a space for the two of us. I moved back to Arnhem for a period and my boyfriend to Dordrecht and eventually we got a house in Rotterdam. It is demanding to move four times within the space of a year but I never regretted my choice. I also had lots of support from my brothers in the Netherlands.
Help
As a teacher, you are more than just a teacher. Kids sometimes come to school with personal baggage. They speak to me about topics that they would not do with older teachers. Moreover, many of the Zadkine students come from St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Curaçao. The school encourages them to speak Dutch; but when they are down, it is good that they are able to explain in Papiamentu or English what is bothering them.
I understand their feelings of homesickness and the trouble that they have with the Dutch language. I give them tips from my personal experience because I took the Dutch language exam four times before passing it. For example, I advise to speak an hour of Dutch per week with someone. I did so as well with a friend during my studies.
Inspiration
I am glad that I contribute positively to society as a teacher, but I also want to see my mother happy. If I accomplish something, I do so for myself in the first place, but I am aware and acknowledge that my mother worked hard for that. When my sister and I graduated, she decorated our house on St. Maarten and sent us pictures. She said, “I am proud of my two children.”
I also look forward to that which is yet to come – everything that I will experience in the future. I want to start my own family and I am also not yet done with studying. I see a role for myself as a nursing teacher on St. Maarten. Because that future is largely in my own hands, that realisation gives me energy.
Grateful
My mother was strict in a constructive manner. She said that we need not come home without a diploma and therefore needed to persevere, yet she never put us under pressure. She listened well and gave us room to follow our own path and make our own mistakes. Another role model was my aunt, who at a young age became manager of American Airlines on St. Maarten.
In the Netherlands, I had plenty support from my family, my field supervisor and that of a friend that also did the nursing teacher’s course. Coincidentally, she had done an internship on St. Maarten so that created a bond. We always supported and motivated each other and believed that we should push forward.
Advice
I think it is important to develop yourself in several areas, whether you remain on St. Maarten or choose to go abroad, it is important to be open to new things and be interested in happenings in the rest of the world. Especially when you go abroad, it is good to realise that there may be other rules to which you must adhere to. It is good to have a good network of persons that support you – people that remind you of what your goal is in those moments when you forget it.
Foundation Ocan supports Dutch Caribbean persons in the achieving of their individual and shared ambitions and objectives. Visit www.ocan.nl and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
