During my stay at El Venado, a family run estancia in Argentina owned by professional polo player Federico Cendoya, I also met ‘Juli’ as we affectionately call him in Spanish or rather Jules-Henri in Flemish and French. At almost 3 years of age Juli can be considered a world citizen thanks to his jetsetter Yummy Mummy Stefanie Verduyn. Their home base is in Belgium but they spend 2 to 3 months a year at El Venado enjoying the estancia, horse riding and playing polo. Additionally, Stefanie travels frequently in search of fashionable accessories and shoes for her chain of boutiques in Belgium. Consequently, Juli has already traveled to Argentina, Morocco, Italy and France.
While JAM’s motto is ‘Never Too Late to Learn’, we concur that it is definitely never too early! From the time that Juli was in his mother’s belly, he listened to Language CDs. Growing up in Belgium, he is exposed to Dutch at home. As a baby, he also had a friend ‘Nelly’ who spoke to him in Russian and read to him Russian Fairy Tales. Most recently, he has started French lessons once a week. During his holidays at El Venado, he is exposed to Spanish and English and consequently, now back in his homeland only speaks to the dog in Spanish :) Having spent time with Juli at El Venado, it was amazing to see how quickly he picked up new Spanish and English vocabulary. His mother Stefanie prioritizes her child’s education and saids “I try to expose Juli as much as I can to other languages and cultures”.
Juli is pictured above in traditional 'Gaucho' attire.
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