The Netherlands Will Always Feel Like Home

For the second time this year, I found myself crying on an airplane- something I really should stop doing. This time, it wasn’t because a sense of relief had finally washed over me after what seemed like one obstacle after the other. No, this time it was because the airplane had begun its descent to…

Amsterdam, I Was Wrong About You

I have to be very honest here: I had been trash-talking Amsterdam for the better part of the past five years. Whenever I was asked to give my opinion on the city, I would always reply that it didn’t captivate me quite as much as Maastricht or Den Haag. I would always claim that the…

I Didn’t Mean to Be Offensive- The Dutch Edition

A couple of nights ago we went out to celebrate Lily’s birthday. It wasn’t a large gathering and I knew some of the people invited because we always meet for her birthday. Soon enough though, we were joined by a friend of a friend who happened to be from the Netherlands. And I was thrilled!…

A Year In Travelling- Part 1

In case you haven’t noticed, life goes by so fast. One day you’re planning every tiny detail for your first trip home and the next you find yourself engaged in a discussion with a world-renowned environmentalist about how it felt to experience altitude after several months in the Netherlands. It’s funny to think that these…

First Impressions are Not Everything in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, the Dutch capital, tends to win over a lot of people, of whom I am not among. Because it is an utter and complete shame to be living in a country for several months and still not have visited its capital, and because we had those wonderful day passes, we stopped in Amsterdam for…

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Getting to Maastricht

After a very long week, and an even longer 24 hours of using almost every common method of transportation, I’m finally at my desk in my new apartment in Maastricht, blasting some music and enjoying a cup of coffee on my first full day here. And it’s been raining and cloudy all morning long even though…

A List of Things I Plan on Accomplishing in My Year in Maastricht

I’ve never needed an excuse to write lists. I even have a notebook for them- a notebook emblazoned with the logo of the initiative I used to work for while in college to remind me to take things seriously. And now that my countdown to the great big adventure is in the single digits, my obsession  fondness for list…

Things and People I Never Knew Were Dutch

Even though I published a list yesterday dealing with several companies I never knew were Dutch, I have to admit once again, that it was too brief . So in the spirit of that, this list will focus on little random items that originated in the Netherlands. Honestly, I could go on and on. Edam…

Companies I Never Knew Were Dutch

I have to admit this: before I had this very crazy idea of going to the Netherlands to do my master’s degree, I had absolutely zero interest in Dutch culture and quirks. Which should make you wonder what exactly drew me to going there.  Sure, I always knew that the Netherlands is the land of…

You’re Going To The Netherlands? -The Reactions

Like I explained in a few posts, not everyone welcomed the idea my studying in the Netherlands with open arms. In fact, there were plenty of reactions ranging from the hilarious to the incredibly clueless and of course, the genuinely concerned. Now I know, the reputation of the Netherlands is far from spotless, but it…