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What’s it like to live in the Netherlands?
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Answer ( 1 )
Grey and boring. This means:
• no hot sun and also no strong rains/thunderstorms
• no poverty and no rich
• simple and modest
• no big crying and no big laughing
• no screaming (of happiness or of upsetness)
• flat (no mountains, no up and downs, flat tastes)
As a “latin” origin, I was used to big differences and the middle term still surprises me. It has advantages and disadvantages. It is a calmer life, no big risks, you usually know what you can count with. Though, sometimes is like a passion, and you may miss it, and you may feel like screaming very loud, or just missing the strong rain or the strong sun, or just laughing without a reason. Sometimes, holidays are enough … maybe … or if you know the other side, maybe one day, you just need to be at the sun all the time, if you were born used to that.
I feel safe here, but I miss the Portuguese side. We can’t have it all.
UPDATE (Begin 2016): I am not at this moment “hispanic”. I am still living in Europe (Netherlands). Though, we were going to move to Atlanta in May-2016 and I was looking schools for my small son and he would be hispanic there. I just mixed up. Me and my little son have darker hair, eyes, skin, … a very “latin” look. So, I just corrected.
UPDATE (April-2017): I returned to my home Country Portugal, mainly because my oldest son decided to return. By the way, I learned Dutch, I was the one teaching Dutch to my small son (now 8 years old) and I miss some things from the Netherlands. As I said above, we can´t have it all. Our home Country will be always our home, also. That makes a difference. Not for the language, but for the culture when you are raising children. Well, Lisbon is still Europe.