Moving to Amsterdam is an incredible opportunity. The general reaction to us telling people we're moving across the world was: "Oh my gosh that's so amazing, I'm so jealous!!"... And I totally get it. When I used to read or hear about people living abroad in Europe I completely felt the same way. And believe me, I know it is going to be an absolutely amazing adventure. But there are things that really, really suck about it, too.
I was totally expecting to have a tearful breakdown within the first couple days, and I guess I know myself really well, because a few nights ago I stayed up all night sobbing. I was jetlagged and homesick and feeling really out of it. I was longing to feel settled, to not be living in a hotel, to be able to sleep, to hang out with friends and family... Somehow in this ridiculously dense city I was feeling alone. Luckily, I have the most caring husband in the world who walked me off the ledge (at 3 AM) and reminded me that these first few days are the worst we'll have here. We don't have a home, we don't know our way around the city, we haven't slept in days, we haven't seen anyone we know or talked with any of our work friends... The list goes on. I realized this was all just part of the growing pains, which I knew, but sometimes it just feels good to have a really dramatic cry. You know what I mean?
Anyway, on a positive note the last two days have been awesome. I'm pretty sure we found an apartment (it's gorgeous and has a canal view!!!!), got our residence permits and got a European bank account. Things are finally starting to fall into place and every day Amsterdam is feeling more and more like home.
{Photo © Liz Denfeld}
