Monday, August 16, 2004
At Blog's End
We arrived home two weeks ago and have recovered quite easily, almost as if we hadn't ever left. I am back at work after a week's rest, filing cases against King County's petty felons.
Was it worth it? To that I answer a resounding ... probably. This was always something of an experiment in being an expat family for us. We'll assess how successful this was in the following months.
In the meantime, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the differences between my two homes. This, afterall, is why Americans travel to other countries, is it not? So that they can confirm what they knew all along: America is the greatest country on earth (with room to improve, of course). So, in the tradition of that David Letterman and Nick Hornby, I present my Lists of Things Missed and Good Riddance.
5 Things I Don't Hate About The Hague:
1. July. That is, July off with my family, enjoying at least one week of Genuine Summer at the beach.
2. Sheryl's Hague Concoctions. Sheryl shopped based on what was on sale, both at the ubiquitous Albert Heijn and at the sprawling outdoor Haagse Markt. This resulted in lots of interesting flavors that will always remind me of The Hague, even though her cooking over here is excellent. I don't think you can get that tangy tofu over here.
3. Dedicated Internationalists. I was the only one among my friends who had not embarked on a similar sort of stint abroad. For each of them, this was their second or third foray into working in a foreign country for little money among a group of like-minded internationalist idealists. The optimism among these people is simply astounding. It was a taste of a world I had not known existed.
4. Stroops. And the rows and rows of cheap cookies in general. I have a sad little package of stroops in my office at work; the bottom cookies have melted in the heat of our library (where they were stored in an as-yet unpacked suitcase), causing the carmel to ooze out into the bottom of the package. It only serves to remind me of how yummy fresh stroops can be after heated in the magnatron for a few seconds and then dipped into a steaming cup of Euroshopper Earl Grey tea. Sigh.
5. Cheap, Euroshopper tea. See above. Drinking this because an afternoon and evening ritual for us. Somehow, it just doesn't feel the same drinking tea here.
Was it worth it? To that I answer a resounding ... probably. This was always something of an experiment in being an expat family for us. We'll assess how successful this was in the following months.
In the meantime, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the differences between my two homes. This, afterall, is why Americans travel to other countries, is it not? So that they can confirm what they knew all along: America is the greatest country on earth (with room to improve, of course). So, in the tradition of that David Letterman and Nick Hornby, I present my Lists of Things Missed and Good Riddance.
5 Things I Don't Hate About The Hague:
1. July. That is, July off with my family, enjoying at least one week of Genuine Summer at the beach.
2. Sheryl's Hague Concoctions. Sheryl shopped based on what was on sale, both at the ubiquitous Albert Heijn and at the sprawling outdoor Haagse Markt. This resulted in lots of interesting flavors that will always remind me of The Hague, even though her cooking over here is excellent. I don't think you can get that tangy tofu over here.
3. Dedicated Internationalists. I was the only one among my friends who had not embarked on a similar sort of stint abroad. For each of them, this was their second or third foray into working in a foreign country for little money among a group of like-minded internationalist idealists. The optimism among these people is simply astounding. It was a taste of a world I had not known existed.
4. Stroops. And the rows and rows of cheap cookies in general. I have a sad little package of stroops in my office at work; the bottom cookies have melted in the heat of our library (where they were stored in an as-yet unpacked suitcase), causing the carmel to ooze out into the bottom of the package. It only serves to remind me of how yummy fresh stroops can be after heated in the magnatron for a few seconds and then dipped into a steaming cup of Euroshopper Earl Grey tea. Sigh.
5. Cheap, Euroshopper tea. See above. Drinking this because an afternoon and evening ritual for us. Somehow, it just doesn't feel the same drinking tea here.
Comments:
Post a Comment
