Some Words About Myself
My name is Alina. Not so long ago, namely in September 2017, I moved from Russia to Holland together with my dog. Yes, yes, from the immense Mother Russia to a tiny country called The Netherlands. From a country with 11 time zones to a country that can be travelled by car crosswise in 3 hours and lengthwise in 5 hours.
Taking this decision was not easy for me. Moving to another country means to live far away from your nearest and dearest people and leave everything that you had behind. It means starting all over from scratch; make new acquaintances, learn a new language, learn a new culture and traditions… Many people are not ready for this turn of events, they come to a new country and think that the local people will start dancing to their tune. But this is absolutely not the case, because every country has centuries-old traditions, it has it’s own and native culture that was created by generations.
When my boyfriend and I decided that I had to move to him I got ready for hard work. I imagined an endless flow of documents that were needed to be prepared for a visa and a residence permit. But still, the first on the list were the preparation and passing the Dutch Civic Basic exam at the Netherlands embassy. Learning new languages isn’t my favourite thing. I’m not a polyglot.
The last years before moving to the Netherlands, I lived and worked in Moscow. And there I met my boyfriend for the first time. I arrived to the capital city of the most big country in the world from a small town, which is located in the Stavropol Territory. The name of this city is Nevinnomyssk. My home town, like a big village, where everyone knows each other, and if not, then surely there are common acquaintances. People there, depend on the public opinion. If you are go out somewhere and you are wearing extraordinary clothes, many people will pay attention on you. And in some days you can hear from somebody this kind of monologue: “Yesterday I spoke with Vasya, and he was talking to Lena, but Lena spoke with Tanya, whom saw you a week ago, dressed like a clown”, each person from this chain, will necessarily embellish their own “truth “. This is really good example, how does my native city look.
Every day for me was like a ground-hog day: from house to job, to house, to sleep and all my days were the same. The feeling that I was degrading didn’t leave me for a second. But soon, the decision came to me itself. I left my dog at my grandma’s place, bought a one way ticket, and rushed to conquer the capital city. Moscow immediately led me to a great delight. A gorgeous and awesome city with it’s own magic beauty. Huge opportunities and perspective, hope for a brighter future. If you were not in the capital city of Russia, then you don’t know what is it to fall in love with a city.
And now, 18 months later, after graduating from university, I moved to the Netherlands. I would never have thought that I would live in another country.
In my blog, and website in general, I want to share my experience with my readers. I will write facts and tell you my opinion about the Netherlands and local people. Step by step I will inform you about the difference between the European and the Post-USSR mentality. Follow me, check my blog and feel free to ask me questions or give feedback in the comment section or by sending me a private message via the feedback form on this website. Thank you for being with me.
Kind regards,
Alina