DALINE (3rd year)

“I think my interest in traveling comes from my parents. They used to travel a lot before they decided to have kids, but they haven’t really stopped afterward. We all went to Iceland back in 2008, and it is one of the coolest countries I’ve ever been to. I have a funny story about that, which is kind of strange. We were sightseeing and my dad saw there were a lot of people with cameras about to start filming or interviewing someone. We found out that the president of Iceland was coming with the Crown Prince of Denmark and their wives to meet journalists for some pictures and interviews. There was no security, and we were the only people there except for the journalists. Once they arrived, they started chatting with everyone, including me, but I couldn’t speak Icelandic. So imagine this very confused kid, that almost started crying, looking for her mum. My dad was wearing a hat with “Canada” written on it, so he just started acting like he was a journalist as well. They actually believed he was from Canada there to interview them. He started saying “look up here,” and ended up taking two pictures of the couples. When we woke up the next day, one of the pictures in which they look up had been posted in one of the national newspapers. It was totally unexpected, and as a child, I couldn’t really understand what was going on. I miss traveling, and I think I’d always taken it for granted before. I’d like to experience living abroad once the pandemic passes, because I’ve always lived in the Netherlands, and I think it’s time for me to get out of my comfort zone and live somewhere else for a while. I got to know myself better in my little apartment here, and now I know that I want to seek new experiences, meet new people, and see new things.” (Daline, 3rd year, Den Haag)