Shoutout to those of you in Minnesota!

Dear friends from across the big blue glossy waters,

As promised, when I left, one last blog from me this time in a language you can all understand (not the demotivational dutch sentences). Time flies and I am already home for almost 1 month. Its weird how quick I’ve readjusted to the life I’ve not lived for over 6 months. Being back also made me realize even more what an amazing family, group of friends, and boyfriend I have. It already started when I got thru customs at the airport in Amsterdam. After a 8 hour flight on which I did not sleep (maybe dozed of for a couple of hours, but by far not enough to get rested) I was finally back on Dutch soil (cold and windy weather greeted me, as expected). An entire welcome committee was waiting for me, holding a huge banner saying they missed me. Loads of hugs and tears. Feelings of relieve and just general love for everyone surrounding me, but also a strange longing for what I had left behind, because I realized that some parts of it would be closed for ever.

However, most of it were happy tears and we started our trip back to Eindhoven (where my parents and Chiel live). Because we were in such a big group, we had decided to take the train beforehand. A trip that would take approximately 1.5 hours and consisted of mainly sitting. That I could handle.

Unfortunately the Dutch national railroads decided that 1.5 hours of sitting would be too easy and send us all across the country in overflowing trains with loads of delay. That was something I could not handle being sleep deprived and all. When we finally got home I can say that I was somewhat tired (try completely exhausted), but the pancakes I got for dinner (yes we eat pancakes for dinner) made everything better. I also slept a lot better than expected, my body did not even try to keep me (jetlag) awake for the first night I was back.

My first weekend back consisted mainly on seeing my family and Chiels and just being able to catch up, to see how much everyone had changed. Of course I changed a lot, but time did not stand still for them too, with my little sis growing an inch or two (or as she puts it: Sterre shrunk) but also seeing big emotional changes and them just having grown up a lot.

I finally got to see the kitten my parents adopted in August and she is delightful. Really a kitten so she does not care that much about you and mainly does what she wants. Our dog, that I missed a lot too of course, looked happy to see me after first greeting everyone else in the household (the bitch left for over half a year so she can wait a few minutes more for her hug).

I have to say I did not really struggle with a jetlag, but it was nice that I could relax a bit and get into a rhythm at my own speed. So, of course, the first Monday I slept in while Chiel went to work, muhahaha. Something I had been looking forward too for months because of the nasty person I am. The rest of the week I started unpacking (with the cat being super helpful and tossing everything over I just folded and put into the closet- you are right I did not want it there anyways) and had some time to really talk to my mom and finally go on a short run together again.

That weekend my lovely friends from Medicine had organized a “friends getaway weekend”. The date was set right before I left the country and would be the first and last we would be together for the next month with a lot of them traveling. It was awesome, I did not know what we were going to do (even though I guessed into the right direction) and it contained a load of organized stuff that I really like. I for real have the best friends ever. We started off with my belated birthdaypresent. As some of you might remember, I got my alcohol rights back halfway through May this year, so of course my birthday present contained a couple of glasses of the grapy juice: we went to a wine tasting. It was an amazing weekend with a spa day, chocolate fondue, sangria, Disney movies (we might have fallen asleep during the first one) and gourmet (I don’t know if you guys do that, its with a load of food). I had more than one food baby after this weekend, but it was definitely worth it. Funny cause I thought I gained some weight, turned out that I lost about 5 pounds. Still not sure how, but after this weekend it was probably all back.

One big thing of that week was that I started volleyball training again. Not having played for over 7 months (sorry the couple of beach volley adventures don’t really count) I was a little bit worried (try terrified) that I would screw up big time. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as anticipated, but I can for sure say that walking was quite hard (nearly impossible) the next couple of days. Guess I did not really use those muscles often (surprise surprise). The next week training was better and I could even enjoy my first match again. Like I’ve never been gone!

And it has been like I’ve never been gone. Even though my little sister still looks surprise when she comes home and sees me, most of it has felt like it has gone (back to normal).

However not completely back, cause I can definitely say that a lot has changed too. I feel stronger and more confident than I did before I went across the globe and I feel like I’m more mature than I was when I left. I am so grateful for this experience, because it has not only given me the change to travel and learn really cool science, it also taught me a lot about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses. Things I would have never ever been able to learn in such a short timespan if I’d just stayed in the country of Cheese (holymoly I did not even realize that I did not talk about cheese yet, while it has been my main food source being back- that only being a small exaggeration). I could write an entire paragraph about the awesomeness of Dutch cheese, but I will spare you all the details and not make you jealous. 

Yesterday was the day I finally received my bachelors diploma. My friends were there, my parents and Chiel came and it made me feel proud. It also made me think about a big part of my minor, which was filled with research in Minnesota. Also receiving that piece of paper made me looking forward to the rest of my studies, starting in January with some of my dear friends. But first if have to finish my Masters report and get some well-earned rest.

This blog, besides giving you a little peek into my Dutch life, is also meant to thank you all. Being there, meeting you all, hanging out, talking, laughing, crying, and getting a glimpse into your lives. I miss being there and as strange as it feels, because I am really happy that I am back again, part of me wants to go back and live the good parts over and over again. I want to thank everyone that has made me feel welcome and wanted, that was all I was looking for. I hope to be speaking with you guys and still being able to see parts of your lives, as you will never be out of mine. I am so grateful for all the opportunities given to me and I will never forget the kindness of those who were there for me and listened to me when I hit a rough spot. I want you to know that it all mattered and that I will never forget it.

Please be in touch and thank you guys for everything!

Love,

Sterre