I know three words in English: "I love you."

These were the words from an 80+ year old Dutch woman that was in the car with me en route to my cousin’s mother’s 80th birthday party on Saturday.

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to visit my mother’s side of the family in the Netherlands. I spent the weekend with my second cousin and his wife in Echt, a very small village close to Roermond and Maastricht (the two cities where my grandparents grew up).

The whole weekend was sort of surreal. I’ve heard my grandmother talk about Roermond and her childhood. It felt so special to be there, to walk the same streets, see her childhood home, and to visit the town hall where she and my grandfather were married. I was also lucky to meet the rest of my extended family, including one of my great aunts and many more second cousins and their children. They’re all names that I’ve heard before and it was incredible to finally meet them. I recognized a lot of family similarities in personality and appearance. We’re sort of an atypical looking Dutch family. The very dark hair and eyes are common for us.

I felt incredibly welcomed and just like a part of the family that’s been living there all along. Everyone was so sweet and interested in how I’ve been and how my family is doing. I wouldn’t hesitate to return or to invite any one of them to my home in the US.

I also really loved spending the weekend in a European home. Just to be in a home in general, was a nice change from these past several months. There is so much space for so few people! Anyways, I didn’t notice any significant differences between a Dutch home and my own. I felt very comfortable, there was an endless supply of brewed (!!!!) coffee, and lovely people.

Overall, I feel this was exactly what I needed. This was the first family I’ve seen in nearly 7 months and it’s really been a great reminder of why I’m looking forward to going back home.

-Maria