In between lands

Lying in bed and listening to jazz music seems like a theme while writing these blogs. At the moment I am in the Netherlands but in a few hours I’ll be back in London in my small room and dirty kitchen. Luckily, there are a few things I do look forward to. Going to taskmaster, salsa, swimming and seeing the final cut of the documentary we made. There are also things I am dreading. Being in London, not getting enough sleep. hanging out on Tuesday with classmates I don’t click with, having to go down three flights of stairs for my laundry, being alone during weekends and the deadline for the photo book. If I am honest I am actually also looking forward to some me time. Just hanging out in the bath tub and reading a book. The habit of walking at least 10,000 steps is something I took with me to the Netherlands. The habit of not drinking alcohol and brushing my teeth not only in the morning but also in the evening is something I want to keep up with too. Alcohol is going well. Unfortunately peanut butter – Dutch joke – , I didn’t brush my teeth in the evening on two occasions. I will try to keep it up though in the future. I am still not drinking which I am proud of. There is one more thing I am looking forward to: going to Sky Garden with Theo.

What I am really looking forward to is going back to the Netherlands. To my little city that sometimes feels like a village. There are so many people I just know there and I come across just by walking on the street. I didn’t know that I loved that so much! My city is so beautiful. I can’t imagine living somewhere else. I love Zwolle. I mean I love Edinburgh, Bristol and Haarlem as well. But the bonds I have made with the people in Zwolle are everything to me. They are home. And I am looking forward to going home.

London was tougher than I thought. I was scared before I left and actually really wondered if it was the right decision. I was also dating at the time. Haha, luckily, I can resume my dating days when I return. I think I can properly reflect on my trip to London when I am actually finally back in the Netherlands. I have already printed photos and bought a photo book. This is the first time I’ll make this photo book differently. Being in London and following the class about photo books and seeing an old photo book in Camden town changed my idea of how to make one. I’ll use little corners to keep the photos in the book and I’ll be able to write text under it. I am looking forward to that.

I hope I will slow down a little once I am back in Zwollywood. Get more sleep and feel less impatient while waiting for a red light. I also love the Dutch language. I always longed to speak English and was happy for every opportunity I got to speak English but I must say I enjoy speaking Dutch. Also something I came to learn. I guess it’s loving both languages and unfortunately just being slightly better in expressing myself in Dutch. I have always known that I would never emigrate. Although the thought popped into my head twice which astonished me. But at the same time longing for Zwolle is also very prominent.

Why you say? Why do you want to be in that small town? London is much more exciting! Well, I like to bike through my city and enjoy that a park is only a five-minute walk. That a shop is only a two-minute walk and that there aren’t too many shops to choose from. I only miss a Tiger Tiger. That is a fun shop. I think I’ve become so used to Zwolle. I’ve lived there for nearly eleven years now. It feels like a safe place. But you never know what the future holds. But you know, I might just grow old in Zwollywood.

I enjoyed spending a week there. Seeing friends. Being in my favourite park. The sun was shining. The blossom on the trees. One was so pink. Bright pink. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like it before. I am so happy to be full of bewilderment. I also got the chance to play games in an Irish pub with my friends and go dancing afterwards. That was a good night.