Greetings Sojourners:
Hi. And Welcome back to another installment of life in Holland with an American-born daughter of Immigrants! (This will be important later)
This week my health has significantly improved. I have been getting used to the time difference and enjoying long walks in town before I dig into working on school work and work work. School is almost through for the semester, so that will be a good time to continue to read my books. When I left Kansas I left with five books and a few journals for school. When I finally got to Holland I was forced by my long-time friend to downsize my book collection to two! I have cruel friends! If I’m honest I overpacked but! A girl can learn!
At any rate! This week we spontaneously went for an afternoon in Belgium. I am very well
aware European countries are so close together. However, I was not expecting my apartment to be fifteen minutes from the “border”. I use this word very
loosely. The only thing that indicated we were in a whole other country was a text message from my phone welcoming me back to Holland. This interaction along with the book I am reading “You sound Like a white girl: A rejection of assimilation” got me thinking. On Nationality and the War in Ukraine and the complication of living in a world where we make thing
s so complicated in the name of patriotism. When really, it should be simple and welcoming and we could work much harder at being global citizens regardless of what border we happen to be born into.
I digress, on our trip to Belgium, I had to have waffles with Ice cream! My hot date was underwhelmed by their lacklusterness! Ignorance is bliss they say, I was just happy to be eating a waffle in Belgium. Call me basic! But when was the last time you got to eat a Waffel in Belgium?
I was excited to try and speak french! But this little town of Lommel mostly spoke Dutch, in fact, everything from street signs to stores was mostly bilingual French and Dutch. It was lovely, with many shops and cafes. Since it was Sunday and most places were closed, we decided to shop for some CHOCOLATE! Let me tell you! The best place to buy good and wallet-friendly chocolate is in grocery stores! We might have spent 20 minutes looking at Chocolate. I did not mind. I enjoyed the company and the plans for my dessert on the trip back home.
All in all, I am settling into a ‘Normal’ life!
TTFN
Love,
Marielena
Until next time, Stay Hydrated. Take your Vitamins and be Kind.