Back in Holland

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This will be my last blog: I arrived in Holland a couple of days ago. On my last Saturday in New Zealand I had a really cool goodbye party (see pictures). Then I started packing, which was quite hard, because I had way too much stuff! So I gave my flatmates about half my wardrobe (okay I’m lying now, it was more like a quarter) and just got my suitcase to close… The night before I left, my flatmates gave me a beautiful picture frame with some pictures of all of us, which they had secretly printed. They are so sweet, I am really going to miss them!

Unfortunately, the trip back home did not go very smoothly. There were cyclones in Hong Kong, so we could not land there, and we had to make an additional stop in Manila (Philippines) because we ran out of fuel. This detour delayed us by about 4 hours, which made me miss my flight from London to Brussels. And when I finally arrived in Brussels, much later than planned, my suitcase had gotten lost somewhere along the way! Fortunately, it was delivered a few days later, so I have all my things back now. When I saw my friends back home again they had made a “Welcome back to Holland” package for me, including cheese, liqourice candy, ‘stroopwafels’, wooden shoes, herring, a tulip, and… a joint :) So that was very funny, and we had a lot of fun having dinner together and catching up!

Now I am back home again, and it feels very strange and at the same time very familiar… I cannot really explain it. Looking back on my New Zealand adventure I do not regret any of it: I saw beautiful landscapes, got to know many new people, conducted interesting research, and made a couple of really good friends. Thanks everyone for giving me such a great experience!

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