Honey Moon

It was a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief, a tingle of excitement, that moment when the Email with my approval for a position in the Netherlands came in. The stakes could not have been any higher: between the revolution brewing and planned financial collapse of Lebanon, my wasted youth spent distancing myself from any and all meaningful relationships, and my envy having looked at how ex-colleagues and High School friends were all living the life, shooting the shit in Europe or the US.

Setting foot there definitely delivered on the initial promises of first-world standards of living, ease of transit throughout the continent, and almost no friction associated with social life in Lebanon. For better or for worse, I got used to how things were run almost immediately. Sadly, having a superfluous grasp of a society will land you into a trap of complacency, steering you away from the work required to properly assimilate and make friends in a society where the unwritten rules are abundant, and merciless: not a single Dutch person will give you the time of day out of the kindness of their heart.

These people are weird, man

I’ve been here for over 5 years now, and I can barely speak the language, or tell you anything beyond a tourist’s understanding about this country. Assimilation is no joke, and no wonder most european states struggle with that.. For the sake of my family’s future though, there is no turning back, not before I pocket the passport I’ve worked so hard for. Europe is a good place to live, as long as you’re not an america-brained person with a calculator replacing your heart. There is value in taking care of your citizens, making sure the streets are clean and safe, that the elderly can live dignified, and that the trains run mostly on time even on bad weather days. The food is varied, tourism and vacationing are taken care of, and your health issues won’t ruin you or your family if dealt with smartly.

All in all I don’t regret any of my choices the past 5 years. Could I have started the process to get my passport a little earlier and move to Japan? Certainly, but not by much, and I did make the most out of my last 2 years here. Planning on doing the same for the coming one, hopefully after which I’ll be free to pursue the experience and life I’ve always dreamt of living.

To a future of beef