That Girl from Derwent dwells on the value of religion this Christmas.
That Girl from Derwent has learned a few more things about prejudice since moving up North.
That Girl From Derwent reckons if you're going to be offensive, you should find a better reason.
That Girl from Derwent considers why it is that some words have wider implications than others.
And there it was, England. It woke me up with a bang, literally. I was so tired I fell asleep on the plane and didn’t wake up until we landed – I thought we had crashed. Luckily my journey to the University wasn’t in fact my journey to ‘the Other side’, but intimidating it surely was. After that rude awakening I made my way to the bus where a Yorkshire accent greeted me, and I repeatedly answered with, excuse me? What had I done, why did I decide to go to a foreign country when I could have been at home in the city I grew up in surrounded by the friends that I love. Now, the answer why I went here is exactly in that, my whole life I’d lived in the same house, in the same city, and though it is great, I felt I should explore something else in my life before I can go back and settle back in.
It’s almost two years ago since I left that plane and got on that bus, but I remember everything that happened that day; the fear, the nervousness but also the excitement and the relief of finding a friendly home. Things have changed, I can admit, things that seemed strange those first couple of weeks have become a part of me, but I also still miss bits of my country, my city, my home, the place and the people who I grew up with.
Unlike many other international students at the university, my home is only an hour away by flight, if there was no sea in between we’d even be neighbours. My culture is not very different from the English, and yet it is. Like in England our staple food is potatoes, meat and vegetables, our favourite sport is football as it is here and the weather is rainy. But when an English person queues, we will use our elbows to get to the front. Unlike Englishmen, we do not cover our arguments in politeness: we say what we think. When we go out we wear jeans, sneakers and a coat, no short dresses and high heels in the clubs. My country, my city, is by some known for its architecture, its art, its history, but for more it will be famous for the drugs policies and the hookers. I hope you understand by now that I was born and raised in Amsterdam.
As I’m writing this I’m getting nostalgic, I miss it, but I’ve learned from English culture as well. All those quirky little differences are fun to discover, although they sometimes continue to confuse me. I’ll keep on trying to understand them, and I’m happy you keep on trying to understand mine. We’ll comprehend each other eventually, I’m sure we will. No, that’s a lie. I’ll accept your differences, if you’ll accept mine. Deal?
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