At this moment, I've been living in Utrecht for nearly 8 months! This fact blows my mind. It just doesn't totally feel like that long even though it's been a great experience so far. I've gotten to know my city pretty well and I have favorite places to shop, eat, drink coffee and go out for a beer or cocktail. I've got pretty decent command of riding a bike although admittedly when you've had a few drinks it's a wee bit more challenging... I have a running bucket list with biking that includes riding with no hands and carrying someone on the back of my bike. I've got a solid group of friends and housemates who are supportive of me when things can get tough (which they have occasionally). Overall, I've carved out a happy little nook for myself.
 |
| Me and my bike! |
 |
| My street in Utrecht (F.C. Dondersstraat) |
 |
| Utrecht and the dom tower on a sunny day |
 |
| This is the oudegracht (old canal) in Utrecht |
I've met some new people at my internship and at first it was hard. Most of the group is dutch and they're aren't fabulous at switching to English all the time despite their mostly excellent command of the language. Granted, all professional meetings and work that internationals are involved in are conducted in english but it was more of struggle during lunch or social breaks. I've found in, at least our group, that there is more resistance to switching languages than there was in Utrecht which is interesting considering I hear much more english spoken around the UvA campus than the Utrecht campus. Luckily, I work with two awesome internationals and a few dutchies who are really great about switching to english with us. They really lighten the stress and frustrations of the internship. I'm so happy to have met them.
Over the past couple months, I've decided that I probably want to do my PhD back in the states. As great as it is being here, I've realized it's hard being far from home, friends and familiarity. I used to be proud of my ability to move and feel comfortable in a new place rather quickly and surround myself with great people. I still have that skill but I've realized that it doesn't translate into the ability to be a constant nomad and live anywhere in the world. It's also been a realization that language separates you from normal experiences when you're immersed in your native tongue. I think it's important to make a small caveat, here. I have not learned much, if any, dutch in my time living here. In some ways I regret this but in others I don't. By not learning dutch I miss out on eavesdropping, at least partial, conversations. By not learning dutch I don't have to struggle with difficult pronunciations etc when in reality I can pretty easily converse with any dutch person in english. And frankly, unless I chose to live here more permanently, dutch isn't the most functional of languages since it's a small country and dutch isn't a commonly shared language. Back to the main topic, I miss out on things without knowing the language and I miss that. Those of you who know me, know how social I am. When I'm at a party, it's extremely typical for me to hop all over the party in and out of many different conversations. But when I'm at a party that's predominantly in another language, it's much more challenging to do that and silly as it sounds, it sucks having that taken away from me. In the end, I have another year and few months living here in Europe and who knows what is really in store for me. Maybe I'll fall in love with a new place and decide I want to stay forever. In the meantime, I'll just take it day by day!
For those of you with an appreciation of the hilarious typicalness that accompanies my life, I have a good story.
On Valentines day, I went out clubbing with a few of my coworkers. Alcohol was consumed, dinner was missed and I found myself a little drunker than I should have. Long story short, I tripped and fell as we were leaving and my face, specifically one front tooth, caught my fall. I also sliced under my chin pretty nicely. In the end, I should've gone to the hospital but I just didn't want to deal with it at the time and didn't think they could do much either. I went to the dentist the next day, got a root canal that following morning because I managed to expose one of my nerves in the break. Then we had to figure out my insurance, which took way longer than it should've, but luckily the insurance covered the entire costs of the root canal and the crown. It's still a bit a continuing story (yes, I realize it's almost 2.5 months later) because the crown glued on crooked and got a chip in it (not by my own fault). I'll be replacing it soon.
 |
| Looking good |
At the end of March, one of my best friends from New Paltz, where I did my bachelors, was able to visit me here in the Netherlands. I know that part of the trip worked out because she tacked it onto another she was taking with her mom to Spain but regardless, I was so thrilled to share my current life with a friend. Even though we had only 4 days of excitement, we got lots of sightseeing and shopping squeezed in. I got to be a tourist in Amsterdam, which admittedly I hadn't really done yet. We went on a canal boat tour, walked the red light district, ate dutch pancakes and took lots of pictures. Conveniently, I had bought tickets for Mumford and Sons that weekend AND I'd bought two extra tickets for no reason. Now I know I bought them for Emily and her mom without knowing it. It was awesome sharing a concert in another country for a band that we both really love. Such an unexpected treat. I hope she's not the only visitor other than my parents but even if she is, it means something that one more person got to take a little peek into my life here.
 |
| Em and I outside the pancake house in Amsterdam |
 |
| Mumford and Sons at Ziggo Dome |
So that's a nice little sum it up post about what I've been up to lately. I'm sure I've missed some things but I'll probably just make another post if I did!
No comments:
Post a Comment