a funny way to be

another quiet day. after sleeping in, Fieke and I walked to the shopping centre in Amstelveen to buy some Christmas gifts. we snacked on pepernoten in the afternoon until her parents returned from their weekend away. lovely to see them again and hear their stories of their time away.

I caught up with Emma for dinner. she drove all the way from Utrecht to see me. we caught up over pho and lemon iced tea, updating each other on what happened since our day together with Joel and Fieke in October. I showed her photos of the trip to Lewes, answering her questions about how everyone was travelling, what it was like to go back, how it felt … we enjoyed hot chocolates after dinner, talking about the future and when we might meet again.

we hugged goodbye in the foggy street. she drove away and I found it funny just how quickly we’d slipped in and out of each other’s lives again. Emma was like an older sister to me during our time in Lewes. her care for me has hardly changed - if anything, it seems to have grown with the time and distance between us. I count myself so very lucky to have found her and to know her friendship, and I just wish the distance wasn’t so great.

tea and Norwegian chocolate with the Tuinders before bed. it’s all feeling real now - the end drawing closer. thinking lots of my life here and the real world back home. I’ll always be missing people no matter where I am. what a funny way to be. <<