RTW ’23: Week 16

Welcome back, everyone! Though I’ve missed connecting with you through the blog, I have really enjoyed some extra time to focus on some volunteer work, bouncing to new places, and self-care! I hope that the holidays treated you well, and you are starting the year reinvigorated! Looking back on 2023, I am proud of all that I have accomplished. It really amazes me how quickly the year flew by, and how beautifully all of my plans came together. I am starting 2024 with a renewed spirit, good intentions, and a sound understanding of what I want for the year. Though I did not chronicle my travels as deeply as I have previously, I did make note of some important highlights from each day that I thought you might enjoy reading about. Though my blog took a break, my travels certainly didn’t, and I’m excited to relive these moments with you here!

Wednesday was a rather uneventful day, and I very much appreciated the slow-paced travel day. It was a great way to start my blog hiatus, as I didn’t feel the need to see all there is to see in one day! I spoke with Corrine, and it felt good to know that we were on the same page with the blog. I love exploring and sharing everything, but I needed a break to just “be”, and I did just that! I took a train and a tram to get from The Hague to Amsterdam. I felt good with both packs, but I walked slower than normal with the extra weight. I’ve learned that I just need to be patient with myself and allot myself extra time in these situations. After 105 days of travel, I’m really getting into the groove of days on the move. It’s best to have the goal of a travel day to be getting from A to B, and not much more. It felt funny that the blog break started on the same day that I arrived in Amsterdam. I’ve been there before, so I didn’t have a huge desire to sightsee. I was, however, very happy to test out the tram, find out where the grocery store and laundromat were, and get settled into my dorm bed and call it an early night!

Thursday was a really special day in so many ways. I set up a volunteer opportunity at a reverse supermarket (a place where people donate nonperishable items and people in need can come and shop for 6 items each week) and I was ready to get to work! In the morning, it felt like I was actually going to work, in all the best ways. I wanted to be productive, contribute to society, learn something new, meet new people, and challenge myself. As I waited to catch the tram with my daypack containing my laptop, packed lunch, and rain gear, I blended in with all of the other people around me starting their day… except for the young woman who had all of the same items AND a skateboard, which she quickly dropped down and skated away on after we got off of the tram. I met Sem, who opened the reverse supermarket, and received instructions for the day. He sent me an email of the list, showed me an ID example, and showed me where overflow inventory was located. Another volunteer, Emily, was there as well, and she made the day that much more enjoyable. In between customers, we were able to chat and get to know each other. She’s a chemical engineer who is currently between jobs, and she chose to use her down time in such a wonderful way: at the store! It was also her first time volunteering at the store, so we figured out challenges together as they arose. It was also nice that, because there were two of us, we could take breaks as needed. We made a really good team, and she very nicely translated conversations she’d had with customers in Dutch after they left. We had about 40 people visit the shop in total, slightly more women than men, especially in the morning. I was a little shocked at first that each person could only take 6 items, as our shelves were stocked full and we had an overflow in the back. But, as the day went on, I learned a few things. Emily told me that cooking oil, mostly sunflower oil, became very expensive when the war in Ukraine began, so cooking oil was a high demand item, along with toilet paper and coffee. It was interesting to see how the customers prioritized certain items over others. In some ways, the weight of the item seemed to be a factor, like they were getting the most value because of the weight. It made me stop and think about what I would choose if I were given a limit on items to purchase. Overall, it was an extremely productive day, and I’m so glad that I met yet another amazing person on my RTW travels!

Friday was another volunteer day for me! Serve the City asked people to put together a reverse advent package (buy one item each day of advent from a list provided), then wrap up the package and bring it to a drop off center. Items were things to make Christmas dinner, along with gifts for children. Three other volunteers and I received packages from people who donated, then two other volunteers came by with a truck to deliver them to an undocumented refugee center in the city. The volunteers were really lovely to work with. Marie is from France, and she is the volunteer coordinator for Serve the City. She had previously lived in New Rochelle, NY as an au pair. Interestingly enough, I was born in New Rochelle! It still amazes me what a small world we really do live in. She was a really nice woman with shared interests in volunteering and traveling. She gave me some great resources to check out for volunteering while traveling and connecting with women. Radhika and Ahcene are a couple who met in Amsterdam many years ago. Radhika, originally from India, and Ahcene, originally from France, have a five year old son. They were a very nice couple, and I really enjoyed spending time with them!

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were a little odd. It was the first time I’ve been away from family on Christmas, and while I’m thankful to be on this grand adventure, my heart certainly felt the distance. I wasn’t sure if any of the restaurants would be open, so on Christmas Eve, I went to the grocery store to get a few items just in case. When I looked around at who else was shopping, it was either someone with a very full cart, clearly feeding a family, or solo people like me, getting a few items in a handheld basket. It felt like we were the Christmas losers, shopping for just ourselves for the holidays. I know that isn’t true, but it certainly felt very real. To put a cherry on the proverbial pity cake, I’m not very pleased with my new hostel. The guy on the bunk below me has a, what I’m guessing to be, anyway, constant smokers cough that shakes the whole bed, coupled with perpetual farts. Before going to sleep, I accidentally knocked over my tray and a bunch of my things fell down onto his bunk. I apologized, but he only handed me back my earbuds case. I still had my phone and charger, so I didn’t say anything more and tried to sleep. When I woke up, I couldn’t find my glasses, and figured they must have fallen during the tray debacle. I remembered I had another pair in my backpack, but the problem with that was that in order to read the combo lock to open the storage where the packs were, I needed my glasses to see the numbers. I laid in my bunk for awhile, trying to figure out how to solve the dilemma. It was actually kind of funny at first! I decided to try to open it using my cellphone flashlight. Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t read a single number, and because the room was dark, the light really reflected so it just made it worse. I tried feeling for when the lock released… but I’m no locksmith, so that didn’t work, either. I quickly realized I wasn’t going to be able to handle this one on my own, so I went and got some coffee and breakfast to fuel my brain. After some thought, I asked someone who worked at the hostel to open it up for me. It took a few tries, but it finally opened, and I was thankful to be able to see again! Later in the day, when the lights were on, I found my other glasses on the floor. On Christmas day, I decided to leave the hostel and move to the hotel. It dawned on me that what I thought was a smokers cough could be something contagious, and I needed to guard my health (and sanity). So, I started looking for rooms to move to. I found a smaller room at a hotel that I already booked for Wednesday, so I jumped on it. It was more money than I wanted to spend, but the thought of two more nights in a cough-ridden hostel made me cringe. I didn’t realize just how much the hostel was bringing me down until I left. When I walked into the hotel, I immediately felt better! I even found a Christmas market by happenstance and enjoyed a chess match in person. It ended up being a lovely day, even though I was far from home.

Below are some staple photos from the week that I wanted to share!

Though the holidays didn’t look the same as they usually do when I’m home, I embraced the journey! There are many opportunities to embrace new cultures, sights, sounds, and people, and for that, I am thankful. Until next time, dear friends: stay safe, stay healthy, and always remember to make space for what brings you joy.

You will never be completely at home again,
because part of your heart will be elsewhere.
That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people
in more than one place.
-Miriam Adeney