In Good Company

I have been busy, so please excuse the long absence. The past few weeks have been wrought with stress and panic as I prepared for a seminar I knew I would pass, but could not bring myself to relax about. On the Monday morning I made it through my confirmation with flying colours, which set me up for my trip to the Netherlands with high spirits (and a bit more of that elusive confidence). I boarded the plane and arrived in a foreign country full to the brim with fear and anxiety, unsure of what to expect from a congress of seasoned academics and a city I had never even heard of.

What a fool I was.

The conference was a wonder - like summer camp for grown-ups. Imagine traveling to a foreign country and spending a week listening to people from all over the world talk about the subject you find most interesting. What a joy! And in between the sessions there were espressos at quaint canal-side cafes and three course meals on boats. I loved every moment of it.

I fell equally in love with the wondrous city of Leiden.


Full of cyclists, canals, trees, museums, windmills, fantastic architecture, and best of all - the friendliest townfolk I ever did meet. I have never been one to enjoy my own company, but in Leiden I was happy to saunter around by myself and take in the picturesque setting.


It's not Paris or Rome. There are no grand buildings or wonders of the world. But there is just something about it that feels like - for lack of a better word - home. It's beautiful and inviting, simple and elegant. It's odd, I can't even describe now what I loved about it. Perhaps those of you who have been there before can help me find the words. Those of you who have not - go. Go now! Flights into Schipol Airport are not too expensive, and it only takes 5 Euros and twenty minutes on a [very clean and efficient] train to get there.



Perhaps one of the things that made this trip so special was not the setting, or the conference, but the fact that for the very first time in my 27 years, I was alone with myself and I enjoyed it. I spent five days in mainly my own company. Sure I had the other conference delegates, and I really enjoyed my time with some of them, but I spent an awful lot more time with me. I read books, wrote an outline for a short story (which I haven't done in years), listened to music, went on a boat ride, made pitiful attempts at speaking Dutch. It was liberating.

If only it hadn't taken me 27 years to figure out that I can do things by myself.