Photo Guy Ackermans Spring in the Netherlands is something else. The tulips are in full bloom, the trees are lush again and, for the first time in months, I’m waking up to the clear sound of birds chirping — not just in the mornings, but even in the quiet evenings. It’s like suddenly everything is alive.
But one particular rainy spring evening hit me differently.
I had been studying all day for the Period 5 exams. I was completely drained and in no mood to even glance at another lecture slide. I was emotionally exhausted and academically overcooked — classic pre-exam stew.
So I decided to take a walk and pick up some groceries at Jumbo, a small act of defiance against the monotonous days. As I walked from Bornsesteeg, I passed this cosy garden where tulips bloomed beside soft yellow flowers. Of course I didn’t pluck the yellow ones, but the temptation was real. They were basically begging for a feel-good kidnap.
After passing that garden, I suddenly heard a few birds chirping, which reminded me of Nashik
After passing that garden, I suddenly heard a few birds chirping, which reminded me of Nashik, my home town in Maharashtra State in India. I travelled all the way to Nashik within a fraction of a second. During the rainy season in India, everything is surrounded with lush green, fresh air and cloudy weather with a background sound of all kinds of birds. I paused. I took a long breath to savour those memories and I could not believe it, I could smell home. A sudden smile popped up on my face!
It had been eight months since I’d arrived in Wageningen, but now finally is it starting to feel like home? Maybe it was the rain, reminding me of how raindrops used to tap on our windows back home. I remembered demanding hot pakodas — deep-fried onion fritters — from my mother and the joy of eating them fresh while chatting with her during the monsoon evening.
Now I was recreating these memories again — alone, but with a smile seizing the moment! Maybe that’s what feeling at home is: when the smell, sound and skies start to speak familiar language.
Arohi Natu, is a first year Master’s student Food Technology from India. She is a creative person who likes to try new things and also loves cooking, singing, painting and exploring new places.
