This will be a series of anecdotes of me- an Indian born American expat settling down in Amsterdam.
It is more than a change in the voltage used for appliances that you have to adapt to. It is a different way of life; a slower though surely more honest way of living.
This is not to say that my American counterparts on the other side of the ocean are leading dishonest lives ( though some of them are and I won't name names ;) you know who you are).
Be that as it may, this would be more of a chronicle of my clumsy, albeit honest (yea, it starts to rub off really soon here) ways to fit in this land of Ditzy Dutch.
This has been a day of ups and downs. I was muttering today about missing my good ole NPR and feeling out-of-touch with everything back in Chicago. I am making breakfast and fiddling with the radio buttons hoping to get an English station somewhere when....STOP! Is that Hindi that I hear..? Somebody saying "Ujala ke liye tayyar rahiye, subah ke....". OMG,..there is actually a Bollywood station playing here in Amsterdam....I was back to my smiling old self again making crepes or pannenkoeken for all today....
It is now midnight here and am not able to watch the Oscars online. I am outside the USA and so not allowed to see it on the Oscar website. I am fiddling with the buttons on the TV remote,..looking for a channel broadcasting the OSCARS live....BBCWorld shows bits of Red Carpet Live for all of 20 seconds and I am thrilled. Only to realise that is it..I am homesick and it is really bad now...Come on, it is the biggest night in Hollywood..but maybe not so much here...I am constantly checking Pacific time to see if there is still time for the Oscars to start..Every year I have fun on this night, making fun finger food and dressing up at home. One year, we even had an Oscar party..remember? And this year,.. I am stuck here. And then I come across Highlights of the India-England World Cup match and it is such a sweet surprise. A big smile on my face and I am screaming for Sanjay to come see the match..It was such an exciting with a nailbiting finish..4 runs to get off of 2 balls for England to win and India to lose .....It ends in a TIE! Ah! Maybe it is not so bad here after all.. I may not get Oscars here on TV but I can watch cricket...Good night! But still no Oscars on TV....
