Initially they stayed at a small apartment hotel just behind BurJuman Centre while they looked for the perfect villa. Although Bur Dubai was very different from the tree-lined streets they had left behind, they enjoyed their time there. The hotel was small and friendly, the boys played safely in an inner courtyard and the family could walk to the Creek and shop in the local bazaars.

 

After 8 months they found their present home in Umm Suqeim.   It took them so long because they wanted a quiet neighbourhood, a big garden and a villa which was light, airy and had the right feel about it. “Some houses you come in and there’s nothing – they don’t give you feelings – I always listen to my heart!” smiles Janita. 

 

Dubai was a big adjustment for the children. Fortunately they already spoke fluent English, having attended a small British school in Holland, but “In Holland you play outside on the street with your bicycle and the neighbourhood boys” says Janita “Here you are inside, it’s too hot most of the time, it’s different.” The older one has had problems settling in, “He feels locked up and he misses his friends” says Janita “but the younger one makes friends very easily.”

 

Janita was trained in fashion design, graphics and textiles. Her work – embroidery, drawing, painting and craftwork – is of stunning quality. While a student she won a French fashion design competition and when the Director of her art school saw her draw he said “Stop it, I can learn from you.”  For a while she worked as a pattern maker and also ran her own shop in Amsterdam selling children’s clothes which she’d designed and made herself. Now however she prefers to use her skills for own pleasure and is never as content as when she’s working at home surrounded by her silks, fabrics and art supplies.

 

She hopes to stay in Dubai for many years – as long as they continue to enjoy it and it makes sense for her husband to have an office here. “It’s a whole other world than Amsterdam” she says.   “My heart is still with my friends in Holland, it’s taken me a long time to make new friends, but now it’s good.”