Kristen was born in Bayville, NJ, which was then a sleepy town amongst the Pine Barrens and the Barnegat bay… the town was simple, with dirt roads and bungalows inhabited in the summer season by folks from the north (commonly referred to as “benniesâ€). Kristen was the first child of what would become the Berdetta clan. The clan didn’t offer much in the way of guidance, comforts or wisdom so one had to make their own way. After a university stint, a lot of debt, too many boys and family feuds, Kristen packed up and headed out west (well as far west as a Jersey girl could handle… that would be Pittsburgh). There she took up shack and career in that land surrounded by the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela rivers. Kristen was a bit of a black sheep amongst the Yinzers and never really fit in, though, she did learn a great deal about how to make steel and how to mine coal. Kristen realized one day that she would never be a true Yinzer and decided to leave Pittsburgh and the United States for that matter! Through a lot of sweet talk and pleading Kristen got an international assignment in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. No, Amsterdam isn’t a country, yes, The Netherlands is the same country referred to as Holland, yes, smoking pot is legal, yes, there is a red light district, yes, there are windmills, yes, there are lots of tulips, and no, nobody wears wooden shoes! Along the way, packing up in Pittsburgh and moving to Amsterdam, Kristen fell in love with a Frenchman, Mathieu. The Frenchman was, of course, not moving to Amsterdam as Kristen was… Kristen was sad but she knew moving to Amsterdam was best for her and her career. Kristen and the Mathieu suffered a long distance affair and eventually Mathieu moved to Amsterdam where they were both happy. Not long after the happy couple married in the south of France in the presence of many friends and family (even some of the certifiably crazy ones). Although terribly happy in the Netherlands, Kristen and Mathieu have repatriated back to NJ recently (for their careers)... reverse culture shock is bound to be plentiful. We will need lots of TLC from our Jersey friends!Check out krisandmat.com
