
If you have been on this globe for a while, you have already experienced and seen a lot. And you also want to show the beauty every now and then. A good reason to make a personal website.
I was born in Lichtenvoorde in 1968. My mother's parent's nest was also there and my father's family came from Winterswijk, so it was logical that my birthplace was in the Achterhoek. I also got a sister here. I have described Lichtenvoorde as I know it from then elsewhere on my website.
In 1976 my father found a job in Twente and houses were built in a beautiful location in the Woolderes in Hengelo. So in February of that year we moved there and as an 8-year-old boy I went to the Woolderschool. Two years later I had another sister and our family was complete.
In 1980 it was time for secondary school and my parents chose the Bataafse Kamp. Later I found that an increasingly better choice, because the school was close to the city center. I cycled there every day when all the traffic was also thundering through the center of Hengelo.
Pubertal phenomena and discovering Hengelo's nightlife meant that I only started studying at the University of Twente in 1987. It had to be Chemical Technology.
In the following years it was a combination of studying and working at the cleaning company. I had already started there when I was still at pre-university education and eventually I did that for 11 years. I think I worked more than 90% of the time at Hengelo's town hall. That really became my building, I've seen all corners of it.
During my studies I discovered that education seemed more fun to me than research work and I wanted to start teacher training at the U.T. in 1993.
I was born in Lichtenvoorde in 1968. My mother's parent's nest was also there and my father's family came from Winterswijk, so it was logical that my birthplace was in the Achterhoek. I also got a sister here. I have described Lichtenvoorde as I know it from then elsewhere on my website.
In 1976 my father found a job in Twente and houses were built in a beautiful location in the Woolderes in Hengelo. So in February of that year we moved there and as an 8-year-old boy I went to the Woolderschool. Two years later I had another sister and our family was complete.
In 1980 it was time for secondary school and my parents chose the Bataafse Kamp. Later I found that an increasingly better choice, because the school was close to the city center. I cycled there every day when all the traffic was also thundering through the center of Hengelo.
Pubertal phenomena and discovering Hengelo's nightlife meant that I only started studying at the University of Twente in 1987. It had to be Chemical Technology.
In the following years it was a combination of studying and working at the cleaning company. I had already started there when I was still at pre-university education and eventually I did that for 11 years. I think I worked more than 90% of the time at Hengelo's town hall. That really became my building, I've seen all corners of it.
During my studies I discovered that education seemed more fun to me than research work and I wanted to start teacher training at the U.T. in 1993.
However, the Ministry of Defense thought that I first had to fulfill my military service and that happened in Havelte. At the end of that period disaster befell our family, my father became seriously ill and eventually died. My mother, my 2 sisters and I had to go on alone....
After the teacher training my working life started: after a small replacement job in Deventer I ended up at the Stedelijk Lyceum in 1996, first briefly 'op Zuid' and then at the Kottenpark.
There colleague Ton Jansen made me curious about the world and together with him I made my first big trip in 2002, to Mexico and Guatemala. I had a taste for traveling and on this website you can see where I've been and what I've seen.
From 2006 my partner Mary-Ann came into my life and since then I have been doing most of my travels with her. She was my great support in a number of difficult periods. In 2007 my hips were so worn that they had to be replaced. I chose the clinic of Dr. de Smet in Ghent, because he used the BHR method. I am still very satisfied with that. At every check everything turned out to be in order.
It became even more difficult in 2015 when I was diagnosed with anemia and with the next diagnosis of colon cancer. And in two places. It ended up being 3 surgeries and my life has changed forever, although it could have been a lot worse. Elsewhere on this website you will find more information about these interventions.
However, this difficult period was also the reason for a new high. In a weekend in Haarlem in January 2016 Mary-Ann proposed to me and on May 19, 2017 the time had come. We celebrated this marriage grandly in Hotel 't Lansink and the Twentsche Bierbrouwerij, which was then still located in the Hazemeijer building.
After the teacher training my working life started: after a small replacement job in Deventer I ended up at the Stedelijk Lyceum in 1996, first briefly 'op Zuid' and then at the Kottenpark.
There colleague Ton Jansen made me curious about the world and together with him I made my first big trip in 2002, to Mexico and Guatemala. I had a taste for traveling and on this website you can see where I've been and what I've seen.
From 2006 my partner Mary-Ann came into my life and since then I have been doing most of my travels with her. She was my great support in a number of difficult periods. In 2007 my hips were so worn that they had to be replaced. I chose the clinic of Dr. de Smet in Ghent, because he used the BHR method. I am still very satisfied with that. At every check everything turned out to be in order.
It became even more difficult in 2015 when I was diagnosed with anemia and with the next diagnosis of colon cancer. And in two places. It ended up being 3 surgeries and my life has changed forever, although it could have been a lot worse. Elsewhere on this website you will find more information about these interventions.
However, this difficult period was also the reason for a new high. In a weekend in Haarlem in January 2016 Mary-Ann proposed to me and on May 19, 2017 the time had come. We celebrated this marriage grandly in Hotel 't Lansink and the Twentsche Bierbrouwerij, which was then still located in the Hazemeijer building.

We have also passed the 50 years and in the meantime we have visited many beautiful places in the Netherlands, Europe and the world. A permanent place in it still has the annual visit to the Christmas market in Germany. We still do my mother a great favor with that. We took the photo below in Lübeck in 2019.

Traveling has also shaped me. I always immerse myself on the spot in the history and culture of the area where we are. This has given me a lot of understanding for others and it has made me (in my opinion) a better and more complete person. Whoever follows me on Twitter, for example, will notice that I will always take a position against oppression, exploitation and exclusion. Places like Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng have left an indelible impression on me and I still have a hard time enduring poverty....
But it can also be simpler: by delving into the history of a city or area, you simply better understand what you are actually looking at. And the more you get around, the more you understand about this intricate puzzle called world.
I hope that with this website I can at least motivate people to see a part of the world and see something different than just as a tourist or holiday maker. Have fun browsing my site!
Marc Stronks
But it can also be simpler: by delving into the history of a city or area, you simply better understand what you are actually looking at. And the more you get around, the more you understand about this intricate puzzle called world.
I hope that with this website I can at least motivate people to see a part of the world and see something different than just as a tourist or holiday maker. Have fun browsing my site!
Marc Stronks