Hello there!

My name is Annelies Derkinderen and I am from Ottawa, Canada. I moved to the Netherlands in July of 2019. My father is originally from the Netherlands, hence the very Dutch name I was given. I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. As a child I spent a great deal of time outside which carried on throughout my adolescent and adult life. I love all seasons for different reasons, but I adore winter. Call me crazy, but there is something magical about winter and the quietness it brings to the outdoors when fresh snow has fallen.

I learned how to downhill ski at the age of 6 and haven't stopped since. Ottawa has the longest manmade canal in the world and I've spent many weekends ice skating and downhill skiing with my family. Skiing is my favourite thing to do and I miss it dearly since moving to the Netherlands. Having said this, I feel fortunate to be so close to other countries in Europe that do have skiing and snow. I will be sure to take advantage of this next season.

I graduated from Carleton of University with a degree in Sociology and was not sure what I wanted to do after university. I ended up taking my CELTA qualifications in Toronto, Canada and become an English Foreign Language Teacher. A few months later I moved to Thiaumont, Belgium, situated in the Ardennes and was hired on as a teacher at a language school. I spent two years there and taught both business English and English to all ages of children and teenagers. It was a great experience to live and work surrounded by nature.

From this experience I realized that I loved teaching and applied for Teacher's College in 2009 and moved back home to Ottawa to become a teacher. Since then I have taught across all grade levels from kindergarten to grade 8 and specialize in Special Education.

Next to my passion for teaching, I have a passion for traveling! I have travelled throughout Canada, some areas in the US, through Europe and South East Asia. In 2018, I decided I wanted to travel and further my practice in yoga. I had been practicing yoga for 8 years and decided to take a short leave from teaching. I decided to start my travels in India a go to the place where yoga originated. I signed up to take a 200hr teacher training course in Rishikesh and was on a flight to India end of January 2018. It was the best decision I ever made and I had such a wonderful experience I returned again to explore more of India. Most recently, I travelled in the Rajasthan region and visited Vrindavan, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and back up north to Rishikesh. On my next visit, I plan to explore the south of India.

Fun facts about me:

Nickname: Ona

• I have an older brother who lives in the Philippines

• Favourite season - all the seasons but I love autumn and winters

• Favourite sports - skiing, swimming, hiking

• As I child I was terrified of dogs

• In high school I practiced Muay Thai boxing

Namaste!