In the year of 2005, my Dutch father and Australian mother decided to migrate their Dutch-born daughters (myself and my sister) to South Australia. During their four year stay in South Australia, they had two more kids, my baby brothers, and in 2009 they migrated to the States for a three-year work stay for ‘Treasury Wine Estates’. What was a three year stay for my father turned into ten, he fell in love with America and their morals on freedom and liberation. It was an easy migration, we got our green cards and our papers and earlier this year we became official citizens with very little hassle. My stay in the States was cut short to only four when I moved back to Australia with my mother. While my father and I were separated for upwards of six years, one of the ways we stay connected was through our Dutch history/culture. My father brought with him and kept our traditional Dutch traditions, one of which is ‘oliebollen’, a New Years/New Years Eve delicacy. Oliebollen are fried pieces of liquid dough and literally translated it means ‘oil balls’. Traditionally they have raisins in the dough and are covered in powdered sugar and they are eaten with the family to celebrate the new year.  When I returned back to the States, on December 27th 2018, we shared oliebollen once again on our new years, reunited with each other and our warm memories.

– E

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child