On wednesday, after eight years of living in Amsterdam as an expat, I'll pack my bags and relocate to Germany. Now there's often quite a bit of negativity here on the forums concerning our host country, and of course, if everything was perfect, I wouldn't be leaving: I've never really integrated into the society, the weather's ******, traffic jams everywhere etc, we know the drill. Still it's way harder to leave than I thought. Amsterdam is such a beautiful place, I've spent the whole Saturday strolling through the streets along the frozen canals with the skaters on them in the winter sun and I couldn't take my sunglasses off because my eyes were filled with tears the whole way. I'm gonna miss the easy feeling of living here, the rough tenderness of the Dutch language, the pragmatic way of handling things, the horrible headaches that only Heineken can give you.... This flattest of all countries and its stubborn, almost child-like people will always have a place in my heart. And for a German, that's a whole lot to say :-) Tot ziens!
Quote: 'and its stubborn, almost child-like people' Yes, you're right there! rigid & stubborn, you'll get more reaction from a slab of concrete! and yes, the childish & immature behavior, all too often these Dutchies will go into a childlike tantrum over nothing! but I guess that's the only way they can express themselves.
