Hola a todos! Hallo allemaal! My name is Ale and I am a recent arrival in the incredibly contrasting and eclectic city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Originally from Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, I relocated to NL with my husband after living together in Prague, Czech Republic, for two and a half years.
When I was studying my Bachelor’s in Mexico I participated in an exchange programme in Prague and fell madly in love with the city, so I decided to come back for my Master’s degree in 2018. Couple of months after arriving back in Prague, I met who would become my future husband… a Dutchie from Rotterdam –and, a couple of years later, here I am! Have you guys tried getting married, planning an international move and starting life from scratch in the middle of a pandemic and lockdown measures? Life takes some, um… unexpected turns sometimes –to say the least!
Nevertheless, I am very happy to start experiencing a new country and culture. I have always wanted to travel the world, learn different languages, see impressive architecture and discover new smells, sounds and –above all– flavors! Both my husband and I enjoy cooking (and eating!) very much, and we are very fortunate to live in a city full of diversity –that means that there’s a whole world of different things to try. From all kinds of Moroccan spices and Turkish kumpir, to Surinamese food and –yes, of course—loads and loads and LOADS of delicious, rich, gooey Dutch cheese. But… the best part for me? The Mexican community in NL is so big that I can find all kinds of Mexican ingredients and food to very successfully tame my homesickness (yay!).
Speaking of homesickness: by this point I consider myself more of an immigrant than an expat, as we don’t have plans to relocate to Mexico, but a bit a fun fact about me is that both of my two sisters have found love in the Netherlands and moved here. Yup, that’s 3 out of 3… Moving to a new country but knowing that I’ll be surrounded by family is, I gotta say, one of the most wonderful coincidences of my life.
However, I like to think of myself as not having one single home. I carry Mexico and the Czech Republic in my heart, and now my third home –the Netherlands. I think that makes me very lucky.