Week 14- Personal

As week 14 approached I was very excited for the main fact being that I was going to see my parents for three days and this made me very happy! However, before I could see my parents I had a very sad goodbye to say as our friend Jodie (Dojo) from France had now finished her period of Erasmus and was heading back to Bordeaux on the Tuesday. So we all had a dinner together and then had a small party to spend our last night together as an Erasmus family. As soon as Tuesday came we instantly missed her as a gap now was evident in the group… the only good thing is that we are going to Bordeaux in June to see her once again!

“Good bye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you will always be.”

Walt Disney Company

Wednesday soon approached and I went to Amsterdam airport to pick up my parents and as soon as I seen them it felt like I had never left them! When we finally got back to Nijmegen after the train journey, we went and got food and then went for some drinks. I got to have a proper catch up with my parents and tell them about everything I have done and everyone I have met. Through this I realised how much I have done and achieved during the past three months. I also realised the coolness of how many new friends that I have made during Erasmus and the amount of different places where everyone is from. It means that I for sure won’t be alone when travelling the different places of the world as I have friends in many places now!

The next day I took mum and dad all around Nijmegen showing them viewpoints and the different parts of Nijmegen city centre; numerous shops, main street and of course the beer brewery! The brewery really impressed my dad and we really did love trying all the different beers that the brewery had to offer. I then took my parents to Vossenveld too to show them where I stayed. Here they seen the canal and got to meet my friends, which ended up to us deciding to have drinks together later on in the night! The rest of the day we walked about, ate in restaurants and finished a day that was perfect in my eyes.

The Friday then was also a good day but was also sad as I had the thought of saying goodbye again looming over me. Nonetheless, my parents and I shopped around and bought some presents for my sisters and nieces. Again, it just felt like I was home with the general carry on

with my mum and dad and with my dad’s usual windups to me. As the day itself was gloomy and a little rainy it maybe was a sense of pathetic fallacy as my mood, like all of us was a little gloomy because no one wanted to say goodbye again but we all knew that we had too. We continued to walk around Nijmegen and visiting of course more bars and restaurants; I was happy as mum and dad continued to treat me! We then finished off with a meal in a restaurant and went back to their hotel to rest. As we sat and watched TV together I just thought “this is just like home…” and I didn’t want to leave. Nonetheless, I said the dreaded words of "okay I have to go" and then the goodbyes were said. Sad as they were I will see them in June again so its more of a “see you later”. Thankfully they landed back in Northern Ireland safe and told me they had a good time, which was the main thing.

"Family is not an important thing. It's everything."

Michael J. Fox 

Once again I felt alone, but with my Erasmus family we had a party on the Saturday night and I felt just back to normal as I knew my friends would always be here for me in The Netherlands.

P.s. top tip for this week no matter if you miss your family and you feel lonely when they leave. You have always your friends!

References:

Fox, M.J. Available: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_family.html. Last Accessed: 14/05/13.

Disney, W. Available: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/goodbye. Last Accessed: 14/05/13.