Flessenpost 10: Home?
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Vera
23 Mei 2018 | Australië, Sydney
(mid/late Feb 2018)
It’s 6am in the morning, pitch black outside, the sun is nowhere to be seen and my phone indicates it’s freezing outside. This can’t be Australia? For a moment not sure what is up and down, I realize I am back in the Netherlands and my jetlag woke me up at this unholy hour.
Mid February I went back for the first time to the Netherlands and after what can only be described as my best two flights ever (in both flights I had 3 seats to myself, practically a personal flight attendant and a solid 8hr sleep), the cold air is the first thing that welcomes me as I walk through the jet bridge.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, part of me had really been longing to go back in the past weeks, part of me didn’t want to leave relaxed, carefree, always sunny Australia. But being back felt so familiar and home again. It was as if I had never left and Australia had just been one big sweet dream.
My ‘holiday’ in the Netherlands started with rediscovering Strijp S, which has definitely improved over the years and made my native town more lively than it used to be. Afterwards it was packed with seeing as many friends and family as possible in less than two weeks time. Including crashing Michelle’s graduation, çlub eten, more graduation drinks, high teas, dinner at my old house in Delft, a visit to the Royal Palace, and good old party like the old days in the Atmosfeer and in Eindhoven with my high school friends. Although I did manage to also make it a productive trip and had a short meeting with a professor in Delft, specialized in networks and spreading of epidemics, about my project.
Right back in time before the real cold (-20 windchill) would start I flew back to Australia. But, a lovely sleepover at Doha airport and two long flights left me pondering if I had made the right choice to leave the Netherlands. Two weeks of seeing the people I love, had left me confused and almost convinced that I should stay, that the sacrifice I had made and the decision to leave certain people behind for ultimate freedom wasn’t worth it. But the moment I stepped out of the airport link into the CBD, I had my answer, I got a warm and fuzzy feeling, the smell, the light, the air, freedom. Maybe it was because Sydney is always humid and hot, maybe it was something else, but it didn’t matter, it felt like home. Two hours later and I was right back at daily life, a 4hr mandatory tutor training, an interesting encounter and the ‘compulsary’ after drinks at the Rose later and I had fallen in love again with Australia, the people and its way of life, I was back home!
It’s 6am in the morning, pitch black outside, the sun is nowhere to be seen and my phone indicates it’s freezing outside. This can’t be Australia? For a moment not sure what is up and down, I realize I am back in the Netherlands and my jetlag woke me up at this unholy hour.
Mid February I went back for the first time to the Netherlands and after what can only be described as my best two flights ever (in both flights I had 3 seats to myself, practically a personal flight attendant and a solid 8hr sleep), the cold air is the first thing that welcomes me as I walk through the jet bridge.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, part of me had really been longing to go back in the past weeks, part of me didn’t want to leave relaxed, carefree, always sunny Australia. But being back felt so familiar and home again. It was as if I had never left and Australia had just been one big sweet dream.
My ‘holiday’ in the Netherlands started with rediscovering Strijp S, which has definitely improved over the years and made my native town more lively than it used to be. Afterwards it was packed with seeing as many friends and family as possible in less than two weeks time. Including crashing Michelle’s graduation, çlub eten, more graduation drinks, high teas, dinner at my old house in Delft, a visit to the Royal Palace, and good old party like the old days in the Atmosfeer and in Eindhoven with my high school friends. Although I did manage to also make it a productive trip and had a short meeting with a professor in Delft, specialized in networks and spreading of epidemics, about my project.
Right back in time before the real cold (-20 windchill) would start I flew back to Australia. But, a lovely sleepover at Doha airport and two long flights left me pondering if I had made the right choice to leave the Netherlands. Two weeks of seeing the people I love, had left me confused and almost convinced that I should stay, that the sacrifice I had made and the decision to leave certain people behind for ultimate freedom wasn’t worth it. But the moment I stepped out of the airport link into the CBD, I had my answer, I got a warm and fuzzy feeling, the smell, the light, the air, freedom. Maybe it was because Sydney is always humid and hot, maybe it was something else, but it didn’t matter, it felt like home. Two hours later and I was right back at daily life, a 4hr mandatory tutor training, an interesting encounter and the ‘compulsary’ after drinks at the Rose later and I had fallen in love again with Australia, the people and its way of life, I was back home!
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
