Tijn in Curaçao
Participant
Tijn
Programme
Internship
Country
🇨🇼 Curaçao
Duration
7 weeks
Short bio
Hi, I’m Tijn and I’m 18 years old. I’m now in the 3rd year of my Sport and Movement course in Utrecht. For school, I did my internship with The Power of Sports for 2 months.
How satisfied were you with the support from Holland?
I’m really happy with the support I had in Holland. I ended up at The Power of Sports through school, because I had to find an internship placement abroad. Once I had signed up I quickly had a meeting with Ruben, which was really nice because he explained clearly what I could expect and what they expected of me.
My story
“Once my internship had started, I actually enjoyed it straight away”
Tijn · internship in Curaçao
I was actually supposed to leave for Curaçao on 3 January 2026, but something else happened. The airspace was closed because of the situation with Venezuela. After some delays and the winter weather in Holland, I left for Curaçao on 9 January. Once I arrived I was given a warm welcome straight away by the people who were already in the house
Once my internship had started, I actually enjoyed it straight away. I did things I also did back home in Holland, such as teaching PE lessons, helping at the after-school club and coaching hockey training. It does take a lot of adjusting though, because things work very differently in Curaçao. You have less equipment, poorer pitches and no sports hall. Even so, it’s a really fun challenge to turn something small into something fun, and the children absolutely love it.
Communicating was sometimes tricky, though. The young children don’t really speak or understand Dutch, so with them it was a lot of hand gestures and improvising.
Alongside your internship there’s also plenty of free time to do fun things. The beaches are beautiful and the nightlife is really varied, with lots of different fun places. Other than that, it’s nice and relaxed with very little stress.
What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?
If you’re in two minds about going, definitely do it, it’s a unique experience!!!
a few tips
– hire a car, then you can do lots of fun things in your free time
– don’t forget to enjoy it!!!
Tijn’s photos
