Je-Mé Kruger-Baartjes

Je-Mé Kruger-Baartjes flew from South Africa to the Netherlands in early September. Read on for Je-Mé’s first impressions.

Je-Mé, why did you emigrate to the Netherlands?
Immigrating to the Netherlands has long been a dream of mine. When I was about 16 I came to Europe on holiday for the very first time and I really admired many things about it, the culture and good planning being amongst those things. Thinking it was perhaps a fluke, I came back a few more times, to different countries and in the end I was just more and more happy with my visits. I spent some time sitting down to crunch the numbers and decide where exactly I wanted to go and The Netherlands was first prize. Since I was only sixteen I had a bit of growing up to do before I could achieve this dream I had, but I am over the moon to be here. Since landing, and growing up a bit I have learned of many more benefits, one being an ability to be the “citizen of the world” I always dreamed I could be. This is the place where I want to raise my future children, so I am very excited for the opportunity to make it happen.

Can you tell us something how you do like the Netherlands?
I love the Netherlands so far, lots of people told me I needed to be weary of the people and of the weather but so far I’ve enjoyed both. There are of course a great many differences between South Africa and the Netherlands, but the broad strokes are that South Africa is warmer but also significantly less safe. I have walked home a great number of times now in the middle of the night by myself and not been worried I was in danger. The medical systems here in the Netherlands are also a bit strange to me, but I am sure I will eventually get the hang of it. I also just generally appreciate the way things are layed out, how easy it is to get from point A to point B (there is always a train or a bus or a bike or something) and as a nature lover the well maintained parks are a treat, especially when the ducks are around.

Please tell us something about the projects you are currently working on.
I am currently working at a subsidiary of a large grocery chain and we’re working on a couple of things. Many things have to do with improving either the experience of the users of the system (the shop employees) themselves or the improvement of the shop which leads to customer satisfaction in some way. It’s interesting work, especially seeing the impact made by the system you made so close up. I really like my team and the organisation in general, they’re a bunch of really fantastic people.

Did the process of emigration go smoothly?
It went surprisingly smoothly. The team at summit developers really put in the hard yards to make it a simple process for me. I almost couldn’t believe how simple it was. They even picked me up at the airport. I was a ball of nerves (like I always am) but I survived! I’m alone so that made certain parts of the move a bit more interesting, but I’m also here and alive and fine. Boer maak ‘n plan. The process is obviously still in progress, it’s not done when you land, or when you find furniture for your house. I’m not really sure when it will be done, but I’m feeling good about it so far.

Can you explain to the South Africans who are considering to go overseas how you did experience the support from us?
The summit developers / Aatop ICT team are incredibly helpful and incredibly patient with what I can only describe as an impossible number of questions. They even answered some of them twice when in my panic I needed that confirmation. They went above and beyond and even still stayed in touch after I touched down. I am very happy with the experience overall. Honestly the loveliest bunch of people you’ll encounter.