I love this picture because it captures everything that I miss so much in the world–my family, friends, laughter (American humor), honest food, multiculturalism, generosity, warmth, and individuality (just to name a few).

I could go on and on about the aspects in life that I don’t have in the Netherlands. But I’d rather not spend another moment trying to illicit compassion and sympathy.

I am, however, going to impart an important piece of advice that a kind priest shared with me when I was in Philadelphia. Whenever I am suffering from homesickness, I can remind myself that my “suffering” is rather a “blessing from God”. I can acknowledge it as a gift–of how lucky I am to have a loving family, to come from such a nostalgically beautiful part of the world, and to have had experienced all the wonderful things that I did have.

The simply reality of it all is that I am no longer living in the “San Francisco Bay Area Bubble”. I am living in a different world that expresses kindness, compassion, and warmth in a dramatically different, much more rigid, conservative manner.

I am grateful that Bram is by my side in this “character building” journey, and I hope to live the rest of this New Year a little wiser, more patient, and open-hearted. =)

This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Expat Journey(s), Mahal/Love/Liefde. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.