by Alice Rush
I ALWAYS look forward to our trips to the Netherlands. I really enjoy visiting all our family and friends, seeing the architecture of the houses, the land with new plants and unusual birds, and the food, but what I am unprepared for, no matter how much I try to prepare, is the change. Everything is suddenly different.
That is what is expected on many vacations, and it is what you are looking for with many trips as an escape from the ordinary, but you don’t expect how all that change will affect you. I think this could be harder to understand for anyone who speaks multiple languages. Sadly, in the United States we really only learn one language, and though I have tried to learn other languages, they don’t stick because I don’t have occasion to use them.
BY NOW, you would think and expect that I could speak Dutch. Unfortunately, I can only follow some conversations, and I speak almost none. I know words, but not enough, and certainly not enough to string them together properly. So, one of the changes that gets to me over time is not hearing much that I can understand. My apologies and my heartfelt thanks for speaking English when you can. The fault is mine.
Add to this that the food is different. I enjoy it though! I have no complaints, but meals are just slightly different, as they should be. The atmosphere is different, and the driving is slightly different too. When driving I don’t know my way around, and I can’t always interpret all the road signs well. I’ve always been safe, and I have learned much, but I still find myself being tailgated by other cars, or accidentally in the wrong lane, and always watching for the cyclists of course. I’m sure that this is normal for a foreigner, but I’m typically a good driver in the States, so it has me out of sorts in Holland.
ALL OF this, and I am at my core an introvert. So after several days I feel fairly run down and overstimulated. I need sleep for more than just the jetlag. I can get overly emotional in some situations. I suppose that there is some medication out there for this, but I don’t take any drugs if I can possibly avoid it. Maybe I should allow myself more alcoholic beverages or a stop in a cafe? I’m not a big drinker on a regular basis or a smoker either.
It is always fine. People are so gracious and often happy to talk to an American. I am thrilled to talk and even to try and follow conversations in Dutch. So visits are joyful and heartwarming with how welcome I feel. Once I relax and can laugh at my awkwardness it is better. I’ll just look for an outlet for the mild anxiety that can hit after several days adjusting. Maybe I’ll walk more. It certainly couldn’t hurt!
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
