My tea kettle has whistled, and fragrant Darjeeling second
flush tea leaves are being brewed, and I am all set with my tea-time adda.
Catching up with friends is always fun. You can start off anytime from where
you had left it the last time you met up.
So let me start off with our story of life as expats. Last 4
years we were in the beautiful country of Netherlands, in Utrecht region. Our
apartment looked over the Amsterdam Rijn Canal and the Hoge Brug(High Bridge).
It would have been great if I could take you through a house-tour, but somehow
it did not happen that way.
We stayed in this furnished Dutch apartment and enjoyed
every minute of it in spite of all grief and loss that we had to go through at
home in India. These 4 years have taught me a lot. First and foremost staying
away from home country, family and relatives was not easy, more so when my Mom
was unwell, fighting Cancer in India.
The short grey wet winter days were exciting initially, but
depressing at times, later on. So onus was on you to stay and keep others
cheerful. I learnt to appreciate the nature’s blessings…the clean
bright blue sky, the sunshine, the rainbow, the fall, the spring. Being from
tropical country, sunshine was always taken for granted, so never realized how
precious it could be, to many. You could almost never step out without the
jacket at the least. The most adorable corner of the house was a Sun room that
we could use only during the non-winter months as it did not have access to
central heating. Back here we miss that cosy nook, the sofa and the silence.
As we stayed we grew. We started spotting shops and market
centrum where we got Indian grocery, vegetable and protein to our choice. Spotted
shops that sold hot green chillies, or Got used to a small refrigerator and
smaller freezer, electric induction cooktop, clothes dryer, the high and the
higher shelves all over the apartment, meant for people with European heights.
The most precious wealth that we gathered in these 4 years
were our wonderful, affectionate neighbors, who embraced us with open arms,
despite the language and culture barrier. And the most emotional farewell I
have been to was given by the 10 neighbor families. It was a priceless memory
for us, and will cherish for life.
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