Carla Cayen, Welcome Desk Volunteer at Holland Expat Center South By Olivia van den Broek-Neri Holland Expat Center South has volunteers working at its Welcome Desk in Eindhoven. These persons welcome internationals to the region and help answer their questions. In each issue, we ask a different volunteer to share his or her story as to why they are in Eindhoven. For this issue, we spoke with Carla Cayen–de Jong who is from the United States and lives in Eindhoven. When she moved to Eindhoven almost 20 years ago, there was no Expat Center.
“I think that the Expat Center
me it took a number of years to
points out that she still keeps
is a brilliant thing, because
acclimate to the lifestyle.”
in touch with the people who
there wasn’t such a thing when
attended
those
events
she
I moved here almost 20 years
A natural host
helped organize. “We really made
ago,” she says. “It makes life so
Her welcoming personality and
lifelong friends!”
much easier for people!”
desire to help people drove her to assist other internationals
It
Despite not having as many
who were in her same situation.
Eindhoven;
resources
as
current
was
a
different there
things
time
in
were
not
organized
for
day
“I enjoy hosting things, showing
many
internationals do, Carla was able
people the way,” she says. This
internationals, and people really
to settle, but it took time. “For
is apparent in what she has done
stuck together. “If someone didn’t
in the past.
show up, you would inquire. It was very tight-knit.” Even today,
A time before Holland Expat
Carla meets up with a group of
Center South and The Hub
those people on a regular basis!
Carla moved to Eindhoven before two important organizations for
Carla
internationals existed: Holland
representative
Expat Center South and The
International
Hub. Despite that lack, she used
Eindhoven. Today, we are lucky
her hosting skills and love of
to have her as a volunteer at our
helping people to give back to
Welcome Desk!
the international community by organizing events. “I organized dinners and events that
would
get
people
out
and together,” she says. Carla
was
also
an for
Women’s
area the Club
