Blog: Mozanne van Willigenburg
"I am still incredibly grateful that my parents moved here!"
"If you manage to find your place in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, you’ll never want to leave"
Lots of different friends from various cultures. Lots of hustle and always something to do. New Year’s with firecrackers everywhere. Everyone is free to be themselves. It was a culture shock when I moved from Amsterdam to Zeeuws-Vlaanderen at the age of six.
So I can’t really call myself a true Zeeuw. Although I feel more Zeeuw than anything else. It was a real culture shock for both me and my parents to come live here. My mother started her own clothing store just across the border and my father found work here too. They thought it would be better to raise me in Zeeland.
I moved here in 1996. In Amsterdam, I had lots of different friends. Here, of course, I had to start all over again. I remember sitting alone on the bench in the schoolyard. Homesick for my friends and parents. I had no one to talk to here. It was a tough time. Until a girl came up to me—her name was Kyra—which meant a lot to me at the time, and I still remember it to this day. After that, it didn’t take long before I made lots of friends here too and started to settle in. (The praying at school three times a day never really stuck with me ;))
I always heard the saying in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen: ‘Just act normal, that’s crazy enough.’ Unfortunately, I never really fit into that and just did my own thing. At first, I found it difficult to find work that truly suited me. I studied retail at ROC and then went to Breda for a bachelor’s in Media and Entertainment Management. Of course, the entertainment business is hard to find here. Still, I found a job where I can apply everything I’ve learned and where I get a lot of joy—at The Dog Company. And that’s less than 2 km from our house in the Walsoorden countryside. Who would have thought?
When I was younger, I dreamed of moving back to the city, but if I’m honest with myself, that wasn’t what I truly wanted. The peace and the water are things I could never live without. Now, when I go to the city, I’m so happy to come home again. I’ve really become a country girl. That’s why I’m still incredibly grateful that my parents moved here.
It can sometimes be hard to find your place here if you’re from outside Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, but once you do, you’ll probably never want to leave.
