I amsterdam

Amsterdam is the city I was born and raised for 12 twelve years to be exact before I moved to Abu Dhabi. Since I left, Amsterdam has encountered a huge increase in international interest. The typical Dutch archetypes carry a significant importance for tourists to explore, as the small city is yearly visited by 16 million individuals. The canals are a daily spectacle along with the canal houses and museums. In those few years I've been gone it is easy for me to indicate the increase in international interest. This summer beats it all; the city with its fairly small pathways and public spaces was packed by large crowds of holidaymakers walking uncoordinatedly in smaller devisions around the streets of Amsterdam. Many languages vibrated on the drums of my ears however the city moved as a whole; we were all celebrating summer and enjoying the freedom which Amsterdam offers. Would I have noticed the cultural diversity and flow of international people if I still lived here? Or would I simply be annoyed by the many unexperienced bikers? Back in time I considered this my home but now I slightly feel more connected to the ones who encounter Amsterdam for the first time; with love for its culture and admiration for its appearance. The feeling of returning to Amsterdam arouses excitement, more than before when I would return from a holiday. It is a special place to me and I share this feeling with many others who come from far. This city offers so much inspiration and life aspirations that the thought of Amsterdam as my home has now changed into the city which will open up a new chapter in my life. Next year when I move back for my studies, I will start experiencing Amsterdam in a different light. One which I would not have known if I had still lived there. The small details of the city are much more visible and my observations of the way my local friends move around the city contrast to how I silently await till the next tram arrives. For them it is a daily burden but for me a daily realization how enormously handy public transportation is to easily make your way through the secular streets of Amsterdam. 

I truly believe that value of a home country or city is intensified at least twice as much once you step away from it for a few years and revisit it with a broadened mindset.