Homesickness and the Art of Moving Forward
The cure for homesickness is simple and well known- stay busy.
So it's only logical that I would begin to feel homesick when I caught a cold last week and was pretty much stuck at home. Although I moved out of my family home almost three years ago, which each place I always have a case of homesickness. It's not that life here is very difficult or that I'm unhappy. I think it's just a natural part of moving into a new place. Constantly being surrounded by the unknown and uncomfortable inevitably makes you crave the known, the comfortable. I think it's funny that, in general, as a humankind, we are constantly swinging between wanting to be safe and comfortable to chasing the dangerous and adventurous. As life goes on, it is my hope that I'll become more and more comfortable with the dangerous. At this point, I still miss my mom's cooking, my dad's hugs, and my sibling's company.
As of the middle of this week, I think I did finally get over the nasty cold I caught. After being pretty inactive for a week and a half, I've had a lot of time to think about comparing/contrasting America vs. the Netherlands. So I'm going to put my writing where my mind is and tell you what I miss the most.
1. The Weirdness
One thing I thought I would never miss was the weirdness of Portland (or the Northwest in general). Turns out I was taking one of the best parts of life in America for granted. America is so full of variety, and is such a melting pot with no old traditions or cultural backgrounds. In America, I love how eccentric and passionate people are about all the little weird things they like. It's such a lovable factor about us Americans.
If I have learned anything about Dutch people, it's that they're racist. So racist that they lean towards not being racist simply because they're racist towards everybody. This might sound harsh, but if you were to ask a dutchman about the subject, they don't really argue with the point. Dutch people don't think they're racist mostly because they judge everybody equally (including themselves). And most of the time, it's actually pretty hilarious. I think it's connected with their humor and/or sense of national pride. I really miss the passionate enthrallment Portland and the general West Coast (USA) has for the weird, strange and wonderful.
2. Warm Breakfasts
Don't get me wrong, I totally LOVE the dutch take on breakfast. A typical dutch breakfast is some milk and bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles on top. And not chocolate sprinkles like the ones we have in America that are pretty much brown-colored plastic. We're talking real, dark, milky, chocolatey yumminess. It's pure bliss, really.
But every now and then, I totally crave toast, eggs, and breakfast meats. Oatmeal. Pancakes. French toast. Scones. The list goes on.
I miss little kids! Specifically, I miss the kids that I worked with before I came here. They were awesome. Not to say that the kids I work with now aren't fantastic, but there's something to be said about the really special connections I made with the kids in Portland. Cato and Otto (11 and 12 years old) are fantastic, but bonding is harder with more independent children. It is nice that they're older, but I miss the dynamic bonds I had with the children I used to work with.
There's so many other things I could talk about. But even as I write this, I feel the ache of homesickness ebbing. And homesickness is like that, an ebb and flow. Unpredictable, even on the best of days.
I think I've found another, better cure for homesickness than staying busy. My new-found solution: connecting deeply. Making the effort and being the first to say hello and risking awkward conversations and misunderstandings. In the end, connecting is really what travel is about. It's about connecting to new people, new experiences, and new cultures. And the better you connect, the more successful your adventure truly is.
And each of us connect in different ways. I feel connected more even by simply writing like this. I feel connected finding secret jazz bars and good places to eat. More and more, I am connecting with the place that I am and I am moving forward from the place I was.
Speaking of moving forward, I'm quite literally moving forward like never before: in November I will be (hopefully) completing my first marathon! After not being able to run for two years, my Physical Therapist has given me the clear to try and run once again. And I won't be running just any marathon: my first marathon will (again, hopefully) be happening where the original marathon did- ATHENS, GREECE! Cross your fingers and toes people, I'm going to make it happen.
Oh, and I'm headed to Italy next week! When I post next time, I'll have been to Rome, Florence, and possibly Venice.
Thanks for tuning in again! I promise that by moving forward, I'm really not moving on from all the things and people I love so much back home. Adventure is my middle name, but Oregon runs in my blood.
Doei~
Jessica J Wolfe
So it's only logical that I would begin to feel homesick when I caught a cold last week and was pretty much stuck at home. Although I moved out of my family home almost three years ago, which each place I always have a case of homesickness. It's not that life here is very difficult or that I'm unhappy. I think it's just a natural part of moving into a new place. Constantly being surrounded by the unknown and uncomfortable inevitably makes you crave the known, the comfortable. I think it's funny that, in general, as a humankind, we are constantly swinging between wanting to be safe and comfortable to chasing the dangerous and adventurous. As life goes on, it is my hope that I'll become more and more comfortable with the dangerous. At this point, I still miss my mom's cooking, my dad's hugs, and my sibling's company.
As of the middle of this week, I think I did finally get over the nasty cold I caught. After being pretty inactive for a week and a half, I've had a lot of time to think about comparing/contrasting America vs. the Netherlands. So I'm going to put my writing where my mind is and tell you what I miss the most.
1. The Weirdness
 |
| Rock on Portland. |
If I have learned anything about Dutch people, it's that they're racist. So racist that they lean towards not being racist simply because they're racist towards everybody. This might sound harsh, but if you were to ask a dutchman about the subject, they don't really argue with the point. Dutch people don't think they're racist mostly because they judge everybody equally (including themselves). And most of the time, it's actually pretty hilarious. I think it's connected with their humor and/or sense of national pride. I really miss the passionate enthrallment Portland and the general West Coast (USA) has for the weird, strange and wonderful.
2. Warm Breakfasts
Don't get me wrong, I totally LOVE the dutch take on breakfast. A typical dutch breakfast is some milk and bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles on top. And not chocolate sprinkles like the ones we have in America that are pretty much brown-colored plastic. We're talking real, dark, milky, chocolatey yumminess. It's pure bliss, really.
 |
| They call these sprinkles "chocolate vlokken" |
3. The Music
Or more specifically, the variety of music. Genres, age groups, variety of tastes, the dutch are pretty monogamous when it comes to their music. However, this was a point I made before I managed to actually attend some musical events. Since then, I've gotten to attend an ensemble, an orchestra, and a jazz cafe. Here's a clip from the jazz cafe:
It was fun going to the cafe, because I just heard of it through word of mouth. There were no signs, no windows, and no advertisements, and I had to circle around the block a few times before I found the right door to knock on. Just like a real adventurer. One gentleman passed me and said something in Dutch. When I told him I only speak English, his eyes got wide and he exclaimed, "but if you're English how did you find this place?!"
Although I so appreciate and enjoy music in all of it's forms, I definitely miss the exploratory (and maybe even "weird") music.
4. The Kids
There's so many other things I could talk about. But even as I write this, I feel the ache of homesickness ebbing. And homesickness is like that, an ebb and flow. Unpredictable, even on the best of days.
I think I've found another, better cure for homesickness than staying busy. My new-found solution: connecting deeply. Making the effort and being the first to say hello and risking awkward conversations and misunderstandings. In the end, connecting is really what travel is about. It's about connecting to new people, new experiences, and new cultures. And the better you connect, the more successful your adventure truly is.
And each of us connect in different ways. I feel connected more even by simply writing like this. I feel connected finding secret jazz bars and good places to eat. More and more, I am connecting with the place that I am and I am moving forward from the place I was.
 |
| Private ensemble. I met Wim, the cello player, on the train! |
Speaking of moving forward, I'm quite literally moving forward like never before: in November I will be (hopefully) completing my first marathon! After not being able to run for two years, my Physical Therapist has given me the clear to try and run once again. And I won't be running just any marathon: my first marathon will (again, hopefully) be happening where the original marathon did- ATHENS, GREECE! Cross your fingers and toes people, I'm going to make it happen.
Oh, and I'm headed to Italy next week! When I post next time, I'll have been to Rome, Florence, and possibly Venice.
Thanks for tuning in again! I promise that by moving forward, I'm really not moving on from all the things and people I love so much back home. Adventure is my middle name, but Oregon runs in my blood.
Doei~
Jessica J Wolfe
 |
| The Dutch are still pretty cool in my book |
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