Nothing like DC

I've been in the Netherlands for more than a month now, in Amsterdam for almost four weeks, and I started my job at ING about three weeks ago. Nevertheless, it sometimes feels as if I'm still in DC. When I see a tv-reporter comment on American politics in front of the Capitol, it still feels like it's right around the corner. When I see NY on tv or in a movie, it feels like it's just a short busride away. When I go for a run through the Dutch meadows or city-parks, I imagine passing the DC zoo and crossing Rock Creek Park. When I read about the World Bank and the IMF, it's like I'm reading about my neighbors, and when I ride my bike, it feels as if the next turn could just as well be Pennsylvania Avenue. Sometimes I want to speak English to my Dutch friends, and I have to remind myself all the time that shopkeepers speak Dutch.
But there's no White House anywhere near here, and instead of an eloquent black president I have to listen to a stuck-up, mispronouncing queen. Instead of Penn-avenue's wide lanes, I'm now walking the narrow streets next to the canals in Amsterdam, and the financial center where I work consists of a few high-rise office buildings and lots of social housing. DC's summer heat has been replaced by a gray sky, a cold wind a frequent showers, and New York once again turned into a fancy destination for a long trip abroad.
It's hard to get used to this change, but when I look at the beautiful 17th century houses in Amsterdam, when I hang out with my Dutch friends who had been so far away the past two years, and when I hear about the great things I'll be able to do at ING, I realize it's not that bad in the Netherlands. I'll just have to learn to appreciate it all again.