Coincidence?

I was randomly browsing Youtube, trying to find a video to share for today’s post. I don’t feel like writing much and the only song going through my head is the one that the whole world has been singing this past week: Adele’s Hello. So sharing that would be redundant because you cannot escape that song and…

What Living in the Netherlands Taught Me

If I’ve learned anything lately, it’s that time flies. One moment you’re getting your acceptance letter for graduate school, the next it’s four years down the line and you can barely remember what you studied or where you lived or who you encountered. Wow, it’s been four years since I moved to Maastricht, a town…

Found, Again

We’re sitting in the living room, in the middle of a conversation when a familiar melody starts to play, to the point where we can’t even hear one other. The source, much like the caller are easily identifiable. All three of us jump instantly to grab my mother’s phone, to answer the incoming call. My mother…

The Tiny Lovely Park (That Remains in My Memories)

“Why would anyone want to leave this place?” I smiled and thought to myself at that very moment. I had only learned to cycle a few days before and decided that the best form of practice would be to cycle around the city. I was by myself on my bike, on the Hoge Brug (the name…

Lost and Found and Back Again

I don’t normally dread the airport. I love to travel and there’s always a sense of excitement surrounding me whenever I’m the one to take a trip. But when he’s here? I dread the airport so much. I don’t want to be anywhere near it, I don’t want to even hear about it. I don’t…

Wardehofplein 15C: If I Could Go Back Again

I can still smell it: that mix of home cooking, cleaning detergents, shampoos, beauty products, and something I can only describe as freshness, probably from my roommate’s freshly made coffee.  It’s been three years since I’ve moved out of that apartment, Wardehofplein 15C, but that smell still lingers faintly to this day. And why would it not? After…

It’s Not the Place, It’s the People

There are days when I lose focus of everything around me and find myself transported back to that tiny bedroom that I tried to make my own in a town whose name I still can’t pronounce right. Everyone who has met me knows that I traveled to the Netherlands for graduate school. I don’t hide…

On Graduate School and Studying Abroad

I didn’t take anyone’s advice when I went to Maastricht. If I did, I probably would’ve ended up somewhere much less interesting and the experience would’ve been much less fulfilling. In addition, I’m absolutely terrible with these things, especially when my mind’s made up and I’m all set to go. Basically, I took care of…

I Have My Masters Degree: Looking Back

Exactly a year to the date that I moved to Maastricht to start this adventure I keep talking about, and get that highly coveted Masters degree, I got an email confirming that I had passed that pesky thing that kept me up for nights on end and had me learning complicated statistical methods- my thesis….

Signs You’re A Lebanese Living Abroad

Perhaps I’m the most shocked. It’s already been a full month since I joined the Lebanese expatriates club, yet that very short time has provided me with some unique insight on what being Lebanese abroad, and especially in Europe, means. So this list is dedicated to all those who have already left the country, are about to,…