Name: Carole Overmaat

Place of birth: Arnhem

Current place of residence: Melbourne

Previous place/s of residence: Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Leiden

Connections to Australia: Live here and have a Dutch TV program

Connections to The Netherlands: All my family still there

What is your level of fluency in English/NL?  Dutch is good, English is average

Family background: Mum is born in Indonesia, because of the dutch colony. Dad is born in Arnhem.

If you have children where were they born? 2, Joerie in Leiden and Antonie in Melbourne

If you have children are you raising them bilingually? Yes

What are your feelings about Australia? Great country to live in! Very relaxed.

What are your feelings about The Netherlands? Far away, customer service is low. Not ready to go back.

Depending on which country you are based in, do you visit Australia/The Netherlands at all? Yes, the Netherlands once in 1,5 year

How do you communicate with family in the other country?  How regularly?

My dad by msn or By skype. My dad just contact me whenever he sees me. So that can be every day.

Do you celebrate Dutch/Australian holidays/traditions if you are living in the alternate country? Yes.

Any other information you’d like to share on your Dutch/Australian connections?

I started Dutch TV 2 years ago. It is a program about Dutch people in Australia.

It is based in Melbourne now, but would be nice to cover more from the rest of the country. It is more about interesting Dutch people and what there influences are in Australia in their field. So a lot of topics coming along.

From music, theatre, art, sport, favourite Dutch meal, Dutch language etc.

It is screened at Channel 31 in Melbourne at 7.30pm, but the rest of Australia can catch up at: www.dutchtvonline.com

I recently started film and editing lessons for kids from 8-12 years old. Will be interesting to see what will happen with that. Because sometimes you just need a few tips to make your film just that little better.  When adults want some lessons that’s possible as well. So do you live in Melbourne please contact me via the website (you can click on the image below).