I love living in Europe. The people, the languages, the foods, the proximity to so much history and diversity; it's all a travelers delight. However, I recently returned from another holiday in the Middle East -- this time in Dubai and Muscat, Oman with a one night layover in Amman, Jordan -- and I realized something which first pulled my conscious when I last visited the region in August 2013.
That last visit was arguably the best two weeks of my life. Reconnecting with uber creative and loving people couldn't have been more emotionally fulfilling.
This recent trip brought back those same people and included more from my life in the US. Each day for more than two weeks I felt the love of friends, family, a language, a cuisine and a heritage. Sure, some of my excitement and emotion was heightened by the experience of traveling in a new place, but when I walked into my warm and welcoming apartment in the city center of The Hague, my first feelings were emptiness. It was a completely unexpected emotion. Almost immediately I felt lonely misplaced.
So there I was standing in my apartment with my travel bag still on and sensing I was between worlds again. I left a place filled with people near to my heart for somewhere removed and curiously uninviting. It was a peculiar feeling.
I suppose the idiom, the grass is always greener on the otherside, holds true. However, at this point in my writing, I have to ask: Is it good to be back in the Netherlands?
I would say, it's good to slot back into a comfortable and routinized life again, yes. And it's been good to reacquaint myself with structure and predictability. I appreciate those things and for now, those things just happen to be in the Netherlands. Carpe diem.
That last visit was arguably the best two weeks of my life. Reconnecting with uber creative and loving people couldn't have been more emotionally fulfilling.
This recent trip brought back those same people and included more from my life in the US. Each day for more than two weeks I felt the love of friends, family, a language, a cuisine and a heritage. Sure, some of my excitement and emotion was heightened by the experience of traveling in a new place, but when I walked into my warm and welcoming apartment in the city center of The Hague, my first feelings were emptiness. It was a completely unexpected emotion. Almost immediately I felt lonely misplaced.
So there I was standing in my apartment with my travel bag still on and sensing I was between worlds again. I left a place filled with people near to my heart for somewhere removed and curiously uninviting. It was a peculiar feeling.
I suppose the idiom, the grass is always greener on the otherside, holds true. However, at this point in my writing, I have to ask: Is it good to be back in the Netherlands?
I would say, it's good to slot back into a comfortable and routinized life again, yes. And it's been good to reacquaint myself with structure and predictability. I appreciate those things and for now, those things just happen to be in the Netherlands. Carpe diem.
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