[Life as an Expat] Changes After Two Years of Living in the Netherlands and Shifts in My Assumptions

Hello.

I'm Nao.

I have summarized the changes I've experienced after two years of living in the Netherlands below.

Today, I will talk about the third part.

Food and a little bit more.

Don't spend time on breakfast and lunch

I wrote an article like this the other day.

To put it briefly,

I have started to value my meals more,

that is what I said, but

I have a confession to make.

I only cook a "proper" meal for dinner.

I basically don't "really" make breakfast or lunch.

I make porridge in the morning, but sometimes we have cornflakes, and

lunch is a cheese sandwich.

Compared to when I was in Japan,

the time I spend on it is worlds apart.

How did things end up like this?!

Waking up from the curse

When I lived in Japan,

I would wake up at 6 a.m.

and my day would start by cooking rice in an earthenware pot.

While making a simple breakfast of miso soup and rice,

I would spend time making bento lunches for my children.

They weren't anything that elaborate, but

I used to make sure my children's lunch boxes were at a level where they wouldn't feel embarrassed when they opened them at school.

I was making them.

Dinner was also basically homemade.

This was because I had these thoughts.

Meals should be homemade.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner should basically be home-cooked meals by the parents.
Lunch boxes should also be homemade every day. No frozen foods.
Meals should basically consist of miso soup, a side dish, and rice.

This was the setting I had inside me.

Therefore,

Eating out or buying meals from outside was

only for when there was some special reasonfor it.

However, since coming to the Netherlands, that setting has started to crumble.

Looking around me,

some people don't even eat breakfast,

and even if they do, it's just cornflakes or bread with chocolate spread.

It is common to see children who only have a bread roll for lunch.

Or just pizza for dinner.

What!?

Is that really okay?

The time and energy spent is love—that is what I used to think.

However, looking around, that is definitely not the case.

Even for parents and children who seem to eat only pizza and ice cream,

it does not look like they lack love,

and I have also met families who make every meal from scratch

yet face a mountain of problems with communication and other issues.

Of course, there is the matter of nutrition,

so personally, I don't think I could do just pizza for everything.

However,

I decided to keep breakfast and lunch simple,

and continue making dinner just as I always have.

And this is what happened.

3 things that changed with my dietary reform

3 things that changed with my dietary reform.

1. I gained more time...It goes without saying, but because I gained more time, I have more psychological and physical breathing room. Instead of being chased by meal preparation, I can now talk with my children, go for walks, or use that time for work.

2. I realized my assumptions...I realized that I had quite a lot of assumptions about how things 'must be done.' Of course, I'm not denying the act of cooking meals, but I realized that there are other options available.

3. Allowing myself to take it easy...I was able to allow myself to take it easy. Being in a constant rush and busy was my default state. Being able to forgive myself and accept that it's okay to take it easy is a truly significant gain.

Thoroughly efficient!

The Netherlands is a thoroughly efficient country.

It seems they do absolutely nothing that is 'wasteful'.

There are many pre-cut vegetables sold at supermarkets, and

in the first place, it seems there are few people who cook from scratch, so the kitchens themselves are often small.

For example,

The automation of checkout counters is also very advanced.

Basically, all payments are made by card.

Utility bills, gas, and electricity are also paid online.

Most administrative procedures can also be done online.

There are no post offices, and postal services are handled by local bookstores and similar shops.

Because of that,

It seems I have been influenced by it to no small degree.

Cooking meals is by no means a waste of time, but

I have come to think that if I can make things easier, I don't have to aim for everything to be homemade.

Asking family

I have become able to ask my family for various things.

For example,

When I was in Japan, I couldn't ask my family to take out the trash.

That's because I thought taking out the trash was my job.

But now, I've become able to ask my husband or my children for help.

Taking out the trash is such a small thing, but

it's a huge help when someone else does it for me!

To ask for help is to trust.

To trust is to trust yourself.

I realized that I had been living within my own assumptions.

I really felt that.

Summary

Things have gradually changed in the two years since I came to the Netherlands.

I think being able to notice these "assumptions"

is only possible because I am in a different environment.

Assumptions aren't just about food,

they apply to my entire lifestyle.

Freeing yourself from your assumptions is

Both your body and mind will become free.

It is an essential process for health.

If you are rigid with assumptions,

both your mind and body will stiffen and become unhealthy.

When you encounter a different culture,

this kind of chemical reaction occurs.

The way it happens is different for everyone, which is truly fascinating.

Some people might not change much,

while others change significantly.

That is what a chemical reaction is, and you won't know until you experiment.

I am still in the middle of the experiment ^^

Thank you for reading until the end today as well.

Nao

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