About a week ago the Netherlands held a National Day of Mourning for the civilian plane that was shot down over Ukraine. My flight back home was on that day.
Utrecht University released the names of some of the victims. I didn’t know any of them personally, but the Netherlands is a small country, so there’s a good chance I’m only two degrees of separation away from them.
Curiosity led me to search them up on Facebook. Turns out I’m only one degree of separation away — we even study in the same buildings. Privacy measures prevent you from looking at much else other than their profile picture and cover photos, but it’s easy to imagine them as one of your friends or classmates.
It’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen Mom and Dad’s face. (I can see my brother’s on Facebook). We would Skype together throughout the year, but the connection would always go to to their land line instead of the computer.
I haven’t forgotten what they look like, but it would be interesting to see how (and if) they have changed from what I remember. Marc says they’ll probably have less wrinkles since I’ve been away from home (ha ha).
And how have I changed? I won’t know the full extent of that until life starts to settle down.
In terms of outside appearances, I have some facial hair growing on the bottom of my chin (hooray!), but not nearly enough to tickle someone. Dad will probably tell me to shave it off.
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Anyways, it’ll be good to see the folks back home.
And just like that, my year abroad in the Netherlands has come to an end. Wow-wee, what an adventure! There are a lot of things I want to write about, and have yet to write about — but that will have to wait for another time.
New posts starting at the end of July, when I return home to California.
In about ten hours I will be running my first marathon. My good friend and neighbor Brian will be running his first half-marathon. We’ve been training for months, but there’s still that sense of nervousness and anticipation. (Or: butterflies in the stomach, so to speak).
Good for motivation. Not so good for sleeping.
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I’ve never been to Amersfoort before. It’s about 30 km away from Utrecht, and I hear it has a gorgeous city center.
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It’s our last month here in Utrecht as exchange students. Running the marathon would be (or at least I thought at the time) a good way to end the year well. One more personal challenge before heading out.
Our good friends and neighbors said they would come watch and support us while we ran. That’s a warm feeling, to know that someone is cheering you on.
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I’m a bit worried about nipple chaffing, especially after seeing some photos from Google Images. But I will worry about running the race first.
My goal is to cross that finish line. A good meal with good company afterwards would be lovely, too.
The entrance at De Uithof library in Utrecht, during a hailstorm last month.
Dutch weather is notoriously unpredictable. And like the average ambitious twenty-year-old, Dutch weather is also indecisive.
Will today be filled with sunshine? Rain? Thunder? Dutch weather can’t stand to make a decision, so it gives a bit of everything instead. That just ends up making everybody confused.
I was chatting with Ingrid, the owner of CaféHooi right around closing time. I asked her how things were going since it’s been a few weeks since I first visited (and she still remembered our last conversation!).
Hoe is het? — Aah, goed — Waarom goed?
Ingrid said she felt good when she spent some time with her newborn son earlier in the morning.
“Even changing his diapers?”
“Well, not so much that. But it’s part of the deal.”
Every night before you head off to bed, write down with pen and paper:
Three good experiences you had during the day, and
why those good experiences happened, or
why you think these were good experiences.
You will soon find that:
This habit is easily maintained. It takes about fifteen minutes, and you can quickly get back into practice if you miss a day.
It becomes an effective way to remind yourself of all the wonderful things that happen in your life regularly. We all need reminders from time to time.
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But what happens if I struggle to find even three good things today?
Some days are harder than others, definitely. If that is a genuine statement, then I won’t resort to a platitude (e,g, there’s always a silver lining! as the Americans like to say)or tell you to get over it. Few people actively wish for a shitty day.
But if you’ve done this exercise for a while, you can take a look back at your previous entries when you’re in a slump. Perhaps a brief visit to a past memory is all you need to keep on going.
Rotten days are rotten for a reason, and remembering three good things that happened during the day won’t change that. But over time, those rotten days become less suffocating and dominating — especially in comparison to everything else that has gone well in your life.
I like this exercise because it’s a good way to stay sane and in good spirits.
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My good neighbors Brian and Maja have been making this a daily conversation topic at night, and I do enjoy hearing what they have to say. I got the idea from them.
Literally it means times ago, but tijden geleden is something you would say when you reunite with someone — intentionally or not. You can say it to an old friend, an acquaintance, or even a familiar stranger. An equivalent in English would be: long time no see. And just like in English, tijden geleden suggests that you’re glad about the reunion.
“Long time no see.”
It’s my last month here in Utrecht. And just as things are starting to wrap up, I’ve been bumping into people I met only briefly throughout the year. People I’ve sat next to in lectures, people I’ve made small talk to in the elevator, and familiar strangers I meet whenever there’s a party.
The odd thing is that while we can recognize each other and remember the conversations we had, the name of the other person still escapes us.
But when they do remember your name, and you remember theirs, and when you both remember tidbits (superficial as they may be) about each other’s lives — it’s a wonderful feeling to behold. Just to think — wow, a stranger actually cared enough to listen to me and remember who I am! (And you, too, get to play a role in helping another person feel that way).
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On the last day of my lab work, I went to the Gutenberg café in the university library. The barista recognized me from about a month ago. I recognized the barista as well, because I embarrassed myself after trying to make small talk with her in broken Dutch.
Tijden geleden, she says. I didn’t know what that meant, so she had to repeat it a few times before she eventually explained it in English. We exchange pleasantries and chat about our weekend.
I ordered a big cappuccino, but she only charged me for a small one. For a second I wondered if it was a slip of the finger.
