A picnic at Vondelpark, nightly meals at the garden, a boat trip with my classmates, drinks at the terrace, lounging out, evening walks, barbecue parties, a day at the strand--a handful of activities that I have enjoyed at the onset of summer. But sadly these have been all momentary. Just when I thought that summer has finally arrived, the rain and grey skies started setting in. The summer seems to be having a break as well. Sigh.
I look forward to this summer break. It will be comforting to be with good old friends and be on familiar territory. I don't have to hesitate to speak nor think twice (or thrice!) on what to say. I could just be ME--spontaneous without the fear of not being understood. I can lounge on my (I secretly claimed this) comfy couch in this cozy cafe and read without being bothered. I can choose whatever parks I fancy and find a good spot to enjoy an instant picnic. I can spend hours at my favourite book shop and indulge myself with loads of English books.
I just want to walk, and walk and walk further and enjoy the all familiar bustling atmosphere. And should the weather not cooperate, I would gladly go to the numerous museums, free of charge. I also look forward to sharing once more with hubby the things that we used to enjoy doing while living in this country. I also look forward being out of the city and enjoy the lovely countryside, wander through the rolling hills or visit small quaint villages.
Temporarily, I won't have to deal with my Dutch deficiencies, but on the other hand my 9-year old Dutch niece has loaned me some books to remind me of my Dutch affiliation.
I just need a sense of normality even for a few weeks...a breathing spell...an opportunity to reflect on the next steps.
I dream that when I return from this retreat, the sun will be shining once more in the flatlands, just enough to keep me going again.
I do hope that when we leave for our trip, the sun will be on our side. However, I will not be surprised if this will not be so. I guess seeing old friends and colleagues and being on familiar ground will compensate for the abysmal performance of the sun.
2 comments:
It's a joke in the office that the Gods cancelled summer. We normally have a good weather once July is here, but it's almost the end of the month (exaggerating of course)and we only had about 4 hours of summer so far.
Ting-Aling, how is your summer? I just got back (a few days and the month of July ends), and was welcomed by rain again! We had a very good weather in the UK for the first 2 weeks. Imagine some parts in Europe are having a heat wave and we're having rain, rain here...
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