'Africans going Dutch': Part 26 – Dinner party

One evening I was invited for dinner with some new friends. There were five of us. From five different countries, ages and backgrounds.
By Karyn Benquet

Our hostess was a teacher from the Dominican Republic who had lived in the Netherlands for 17 years. We talked about our different cultures. She asked us what kept us in Holland. For her, it was the people she loved. They made her feel at home.
The successful Argentinean musician-composer, who had been here for nine years, said he was still having the time of his life. He loved the freedoms a cosmopolitan, open country gave him. He could live the lifestyle he wished.
The holistic life coach from California had been living here for a year. There were experiences he could only have by living in Holland, he said.
Family, history and the balance he said he found living in his native country kept the Dutchman here. This was a good place to be a good Tao yoga teacher.
Listening to all the answers, I realised how living in Holland has given me many opportunities to live meaningful experiences – including this very night. We barely knew each other, these four people and I, but could still share reflections and feelings about our own lives in an open and intimate way. Like old friends, without any boundaries.
The night reminded me of being young, when I was still living in Africa. We would spend long evenings in Atongowanga, the village of my grandparents. We sat talking around the fire, sharing all kinds of personal stories. What we had learned from them.

I know why I came to Holland. To dance. But what’s my reason for staying? Well, I haven’t found a reason to leave yet.
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