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Marlies van Exter

The tattoo on my ankle blurry, the changes in my life razor-sharp

17 September, 2022 by Marlies van Exter
de omgekeerde cultuurshock

It lasted two and a half years. Two and a half long, uncomfortable years. At first, I showed no symptoms. But after a few weeks, I started to feel under the weather. Out of place. Lost. Disoriented. As if I had come home in the…

Categories Blog English Tags cultureshock, travel

Want to work on inclusion? Changing your language could be a starting point

12 June, 20215 January, 2021 by Marlies van Exter

‘Where you from?’ sounds like an innocent question, right? However, not for Andrea. She was born and raised in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. But her interrogators, mostly strangers, rarely seem to be satisfied with…

Categories Blog English Tags communication, exlusive language, inclusion, language, racism

Exploring the mind: traveling during coronatimes

14 June, 202115 April, 2020 by Marlies van Exter

Some of the most useful lessons I’ve ever learned were taught to me by a dead man. He had passed away some years already before he came into my life, but goodness, did he come into my life. I still vividly remember the pain…

Categories Blog English Tags coronatimes, goenka, meditation, quarantaine, travel, vipassana

Surinamese adventures: are you experienced?

12 June, 202126 February, 2020 by Marlies van Exter
the flag of Suriname

Suriname was one of the first countries that entered my travel bucket list and there were a few reasons for that. First, there was Orlando, my friend’s father, who was born and raised in Suriname. He used to tell us these fantastic childhood memories, that triggered…

Categories Blog English Tags backpacking, paramaribo, suriname, travel

About Friendship & Red Ribbons: World AIDS Day

30 November, 202128 November, 2019 by Marlies van Exter

Have you ever met someone with whom you immediately had such a strong connection, that you were sure that you had been friends in a previous life? It happened to me about 10 years ago, during a weekend break in…

Categories Blog English Tags aids, hiv, red ribbons, world aids day

Storytelling for peace in Palestine

12 June, 202129 July, 2019 by Marlies van Exter
Apartheid Wall

I am standing in a bomb shelter in a kibbutz, somewhere between the beaches of Eilat and the barbed-wired border of Jordan. It’s extremely hot. The rattling air conditioning is working overtime. Outside the…

Categories Blog English Tags bethlehem, history, israel, palestine, storytelling

From Paraguay with love: when home’s not home

12 June, 20217 May, 2019 by Marlies van Exter

My friends always joke I am from Paraguay. Paraguay. That small South-American country with less than 7 million inhabitants, sandwiched between Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. Famous for its hot lowlands and…

Categories Blog English Tags brazil, culture differences, paraguay, rio de janeiro, the netherlands

World Tuberculosis Day: the power of storytelling

12 June, 202125 March, 2019 by Marlies van Exter

Every year, on 24 March, it’s World Tuberculosis Day. For most people, tuberculosis is “a disease from the past” and something very distant from their life. But did you know that tuberculosis is the number 1 most deadly…

Categories Blog English Tags brazil, photovoice, rio de janeiro, storytelling, tuberculosis, world tb day

Alternative Ways to use storytelling

12 June, 202112 February, 2019 by Marlies van Exter

Paris. City of love, the Eiffel Tower, grand cafes and the best croissants in the world. More than 21 years ago I was here for the last time. France had become world champion for the first time by beating the Brazilians with…

Categories Blog English Tags homeless, language programme, paris, refugees, storytelling

What’s in a (company) name

12 June, 20213 December, 2018 by Marlies van Exter

The magpie. Can you think of a bird that generates more disgust and distrust than this noisy chatterer? According to many, the number one enemy of songbirds, a plunderer of nests, a thief of shiny objects and in some cultures…

Categories Blog English Tags company name, history, magpie, metaphor, prejudice, what's in a name
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