Our first meeting of the year has taken place last Saturday on the 21st of January. A small group of au pairs from all over the world bravely signed up for our annual ice skate meeting. How exciting it must have been for them, because 90% of the au pairs that joined us had never been on skates before.

The au pairs travelled from all over Holland to gather in Nijmegen, a small city in the east of Holland. With 10 layers of clothing and a big wool coat the au pairs all arrived, ready, though a bit scared of what might come... and how they might fall.

When the group was complete we took off to our icy cold skating location, the Travium in Nijmegen. After hiring the skates and pinching their noses putting them on (rental skates are not that hygienic) they were headed to their first challenge, the kids skate hall!
This would be it, for some their first moment on ice. They helped one another get on the ice and slowly but surely they started to move forward. Inching their way to the other side of the hall, without even falling once.
Between all those racing and screaming kids they started to learn and get the hang of it. The au pairs helped each other out and skated together, laughing and smiling, sometimes almost but never actually falling.

When practice was over it was time for the big guns. The big ice skating hall was awaiting our au pairs as they happily stepped on and skated along, getting better every minute.

Around 2 p.m. it was time for a break, coffee, tea and soda for everybody! Everyone had a story to tell, to share with one another. No moment passed by without laughter or chit-chat. And they all were surprised when we told them we thought the current weather in Holland (which was 8 degrees above zero) was really nice for this time of year. 'It's freezing, you think this is nice?!' Marilee, one of the au pairs from South-Africa said. 'We are used to the cold back home in Wisconsin' Carly from the US replied. While others talked about their home foods or the current shopping prices at the mall, it was fun for all.

Finally when the afternoon ended and everybody had exchanged numbers, it was time to head home. Or head towards Burgerking of course, we know old habits die hard ;-).

We hope all of the au pairs that joined our meeting had a wonderful time on the ice. Hopefully and quite possibly we'll see you all next time, at our city meeting in Utrecht!