Cerebration: Walking home

There’s a beautiful orange here in the Netherlands that lights up the sky. We don’t see this orange back home in India. I’ve heard, the distinct orange sky in Netherlands is why the Dutch wear orange during events and name their streets Oranjebaan or Oranjestraat or Oranjelaan.

The Netherlands is interesting. The culture is mixed and seemingly congruent. People start speaking to me in Dutch with the assumption that I am a local. This makes me feel at home.

There are some things that are very fascinating and new to me in this part of the world. The orange juice at JUMBO and Albert Heijn, squeezed out freshly for you by a machine. Technology and automated machines everywhere. The airport, railway station and bus stand all in one place. Cyclists are royalty on streets and motored vehicles, not. People carrying raincoats, gum boots and umbrellas on sunny days. People celebrating sunny, warm days. The rain that comes without warning. The freedom to attend class or not which, makes me choose to learn everyday. Lecturers motivate thinking rather than memorizing.

I’ve only been here two weeks but it feels like I’ve known some of my new friends for years. We don’t have enough time to be the good friends we could be. It’s happened before and you feel bad every time. Exchanging empty future plans of visiting each other’s country is a part of it.

Exploring endlessly through Amsterdam and Delft’s colourful and well paved streets is a stark contrast to the streets of India. Watching different faces, walks and heights, listening to different languages, pronunciations and mannerisms makes me look at my home country differently. I remember walking through many parts of India as well but not watching it with the same child like wonder that I have right now. The pace is different here but diverse. My pace is slower here and that makes me learn better. In my mind, I vow to walk slower when I’m back home.

I think of the surprises every day back in India. Some of us, who are used to these surprises assume that these stories are not worth telling. They can be, when you see stark contrasts in lives.

An empty feeling comes over me. A feeling of nostalgia for moments when one wasn’t present enough to enjoy a sky that I’m used to, the sun setting earlier, spicier food and potentially getting into an accident as a pedestrian.

The empty feeling soon transforms into an imaginary train of thought to walk back to Bangalore with this realization of curiosity and wonder. Catch a few ferries as google maps suggests. A 78 day exploration of 9,329 Kms of planet earth. Different stories of mankind, changing skyscapes and sunsets through the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, a bit of South west Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkeministan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and maybe catch a flight from Mumbai to home. I’ll be pretty tired by then. Maybe I should call my parents and let them know I will be a month late.

My imagination returns to my balcony in Delft. The realization dawns again, to return to the wonder and excitement of where I am right now. All that matters here is this orange sky.