Karin Droogendyk

I’ve been home for a week now, and am still not completely used to living here. I thought it would only take me a few hours to get back into speaking Dutch, but it took me a few days.  As long as I speak about things that happened in the Netherlands, I’m ok, but when I start talking about things I did in Canada I start speaking English again.  I just can’t find the right Dutch words, and use English words without even noticing.

It isn’t just the talking that is different again.  Even things that were normal for my whole life are weird now. I had to look for the handle of the toilet to flush it.  In the Netherlands, it is usually on the top, but in Canada it is on the left side and I couldn’t find it.  I was waving my hand beside the toilet but didn’t feel anything.

The trucks look like they drove into a wall with the flat noses. When I came to Canada I thought the trucks with long noses looked funny, but now I think the same about the trucks here.  Funny how time changes things.

The first thing I did when I got home was walk through the whole house.  Up the stairs to see my bed room, and to see what changed, and what was still the same.

The only thing that feels normal is that there isn’t so much room.  It stills feels normal to bike everywhere, and see other people biking.  Biking was hard at first though.  The bike I drive in Canada was so different then my own bike at home that the first time I drove to the store on the sidewalk because I wasn’t sure about my biking yet.

It is nice to be able to see my friends so often again.  There was a barbeque on Saturday with some friends from church and I really enjoyed that.   A lot has happened since I was here, so I felt a little left out at times, but it was good to be back with people I know, and to learn about their lives again.

Tomorrow I have to go to Allevo, the home care organisation where I worked the last two summers.  I’ll get a timesheet, where I am supposed to write where and how much I worked.  This probably means that they need me quite soon, which will be nice.