Thursday, June 08, 2006

tot ziens!

Well, the time has come and my days in Holland have come to an end. Tomorrow is the last day of school and I depart for my new home in South America on Monday. My tenure in Rotterdam has reached its conclusion - guess I'll have to change my tagline. The "Live from the Land of the Flying Dutchmen" will be replaced when I can think of something new - something that reflects my new home in Peru.

The last week has been filled with so much. I sold my motorcycle, packed my life into boxes and luggage for its impending departure to Peru or my storage facility in California, and have starting saying my farewells to my friends at school (both staff and students). Stress levels have been up and down, frazzeling me in every which way that I care to remember.

Luckily for me, I've found a great website to help me distract myself as I pack. Its called Pandora.com and you should give it a try. Its a great way to listen to your style of music while getting a broader perspective of what's in that genre. Personally, I wanted to find some more bands that have a funk feel to them (kinda like Tower of Power) and was happy to have this "radio station" play some new artists for me like Graham Central Station and The Drifters. You can customize your sound depending on your mood and make different "stations" for your different musical tastes. And just perhaps you'll give artists you had already written off a second chance. I never would have thought that I would like Prince without the New Power Generation - but hey, whaddaya know??!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Expat! How about “Live from the Land of the Hot Latino” as a blog name in Peru? ;-) Gotta learn that salsa, cowboy!

I know how hard it can be to leave the host country after years of living there, and I especially know how hard it is to say good-bye to students. It’s one of the toughest parts of being a teacher, especially an international teacher.

The last days of craziness right before an international move are always tough. Remember to light a candle. And always, always hook up with the ex. It’s excellent therapy, good karma, and a great way to tie up loose ends- no pun intended. ;-)

I won’t be offended in the least if you delete this comment!

Safe travels, dear friend, and see you soon!

Expat Nomad said...

I'll take the tagline under consideration. Perhaps I'll change 'latino' to 'latina' - it might suit my heterosexual manner a bit better...

Thanks for the advice about tying up loose ends but I think I'll pass on it this time. We'll talk in Plym about it, let's just say that it wouldn't be a gentlemanly thing to do (no need for mind games)...

Your comment is fine, I'll not moderate you on THIS one... ;) See in a few weeks in Plymouth.