Time to say her final ‘goodbyes’ nears

June – 2005


My host mom, Irma Philipsen (right), and her sister, Ciel Löwenthal (left), busy talking, sharing a laugh and being sisters.

The thermometer is steadily rising, and my last two weeks in the Netherlands are winding down. I hardly know what is going on anymore because time is whizzing by, like the Road Runner or something equally speedy. The “departure” is July 2nd. Feeling a little pressured, I am trying to keep my focus on a couple things: Bonding and, later on, saying goodbye.

Bonding is definitely the most important right now. Thankfully, I have the time for it because I am done with school, besides a couple practical things. I will be going back to school this week to hand in books and pick up my report card, which will have as many holes as Swiss cheese. This is the case because I followed a slightly easier curriculum, and a few grades will be missing. That is fine with me though because I am beaver-happy to be able to go back to school and see my friends some more. When school ended, I realized how much fun it is to see all my friends every day.


Some more very good friends, during the party. I can't even imagine my year without these girls.

Fortunately, I was able to see them again yesterday, when family and friends came over for a Sunday afternoon party. I invited over all acquaintances, family, and school friends for a nice get-together. It was meant as a goodbye-farewell-bon-voyage-party, but there were very few actual goodbyes said. Before each person left, it was always, “We’ll see each other at least once more. I’m sure we will.” It wasn’t just denial either because I’m going to try to do as much as possible with everyone before July 2nd.

For a few hours we hung out in the backyard. My family has a colorfully plentiful garden for a backyard, and yesterday was the perfect day for a garden gathering. It was about 30 degrees Celsius. That is the only way I think about temperature these days, but for you pesky Americans, 30 degrees Celsius is about 85 degrees Fahrenheit.


Some friends from my class in Ulenhof, sitting out in the garden.

That is about the hottest it has been in Holland all year, so the weather is the current hot topic. Everyone is taking full advantage of the sun rays, mostly opting to sit outside on the terrace of cafés or in the garden with pleasant company.

I was also overjoyed to have such great weather for my shindig. Starting around three o’clock the guests started coming, and everyone surprised me with presents. It was funny because I was not expecting any kind of presents; that’s for birthdays, not going-away parties. Surprised, but still childishly happy with the presents, I got lots of fun, authentic Dutch things such as Hagel Slag and Dutch coffee mugs. We spent the party-time talking and joking around. Equipped with books and so, I made sure I got a little something written down from every guest, so that I never forget anyone.


Showing some pictures to one of my awesome friends,
Marée Miedema.

That is an important task now. Remembering. I think about the whole year often, such as during the party, looking through photos, or remembering an amusing story. So much has happened, gallons more than I have been able to write about in letters. But that’s okay. I am not able to write everything down, because I am the experience. I lived through it, learned a language, made some awesome friends, became part of an awesome host family, and actually saw the Netherlands. I saw it. That is something I won’t be forgetting soon. All I have seen will stay with me, and I have no doubt that it will enrich the dickens out of life.

As for saying goodbye, I am pretty determined not to worry about it too much yet. I’m thinking about it but keeping it at a safe distance. Still, time is going by and before I know it I’ll be at the airport, hugging every last drop out of my host family. It is a strange feeling.

Now everything is hanging off of time. It’s funny how time works. It goes fast and slow, but in the end just equals out to time. I’m glad that my exchange year was time well spent.

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