Europe 2001: A Travelogue
LeSjaana Toowa Tiekateewoe
20 September 2001, 9:01 a.m.
(That's Happy New Year in the Dutch transliteration of Hebrew -- L'Shana Tova Tikateivu)
Another day, another commute. This time, with my PC, so I can write faster. Also, I got a great seat, so no complaints here.
Tonight we head to Paris, first class (what the heck -- the seat reservation was only $10 more than the second class reservation, and we get dinner). We're taking the fast train -- the Thalys -- which takes only about 3 hours. If it's anything like the AVE in Spain, it should be a nice ride.
This week has been unusual, in that I worked at home two days -- one because of Rosh Hashanah (went to services in the morning) and the other because I got sick. Bleah. Post nasal drip, which I know will exacerbate my asthma... Oh well. I'm sure it won't go away for awhile, so I might as well deal with it.
Tuesday's services were really nice -- I had found out that Rotterdam has two synagogues, one for Orthodox, one for "Liberal," which is a combination of Reform and Conservative, leaning toward Conservative. The synagogue is about four miles north of us, but to get there we had to take a tram to the train station and another tram to the end of the line in a nice suburban area. Went through parts of Rotterdam that reminded me of London's suburbs -- pretty turn-of-the-century type buildings (last century), local shopping areas, stuff like that.
We left the apartment at 8:30 and made it to the synagogue by 9:30 -- I had tried to call the day before to find out what time services were, but no one had answered, so we figured 9:30 would be safe enough. In fact, service didn't start until 10, so we had time to meet people and help set up the community room for the post-service meal.
Everyone was very welcoming, and like I said the services were great. Adam was called for an aliyah -- for those who don't know, it means he was called up to where the Rabbi was reading the Torah, to say one of the opening and closing prayers. It's a real honor, and was very nice of them. Adam said it reminded him why his late Granny and Grandpa used to go to services wherever they could while they were traveling, because you really get a feel for the community and can meet some nice people. In fact, after the services -- during the snack -- we got to meet two young women, Tanya and Eveline, who were daughters of two prominent families in the synagogue. Eveline will be studying at UCLA in the spring, so we got her email and contact info, and Tanya invited us to a break-the-fast dinner after Yom Kippur next week. Tanya, who's 26, works as a chemical engineer at Shell and lives in Rotterdam, so we may get together some other time as well while we're in town.
But other than the people, like I said, the service itself was quite nice, even though we couldn't quite understand all the Dutch. We got the gist of what was being said, and the Rabbi and his family were quite nice. The Rabbi even said an added prayer for the United States in this time of terror and danger -- usually the prayers are for Israel, the world as a whole, and your own country -- in fact, the prayerbook had in it a prayer for the government of the Netherlands and the Queen. So the prayer for the United States, which the Rabbi added in English -- the one time he spoke English the entire service -- was really touching.
I can't think of much else to add at the moment -- there's probably lots to write about, but my brain is fuzzy with the cold and all. But I thought I'd add to this the contents of a message I sent to my coworkers at RAND, after one of them asked what it was like to be here when so much is going on back home. I sent the message on Monday 17 September and planned to add it to the site then, but work kept me really busy. Here it is:
Having lived in DC for six years, and having many friends who work in NYC, Tuesday was just hell for Adam and me, but then it wasn't much better over there, I'm sure. The worst part, at first, was the news blackout; at work, I didn't have CNN or any TV to watch, and of course all the websites were overwhelmed. I ended up leaving early and going home with Rebecca Hamer, one of my web contacts here, as she has CNN. (It was also pleasantly distracting to be in a Dutch home, with two very young, rambunctious kids who didn't have much of an idea what was going on and just wanted to play games and show me their hamster, but that's another story).
The overall response here in Europe has been overwhelmingly supportive of America, and Adam and I have truly been touched by that. Everywhere we go, when people learn we are American, they offer their sympathies and support. We took a bit of time on Friday afternoon to walk around Leiden and were amazed at the number of flags flying -- Dutch as well as American -- all at half-staff. The whole business & shopping district looked like there was a celebration going on, with all the red-white-and-blue everywhere. In an odd way it reminded me of the summer I spent in Paris in 1994, specifically the week surrounding the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Very patriotic and heartwarming.
Concentrating on work has been difficult, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this. This weekend was a welcome if temporary break, with day trips to Delft and Haarlem. We were supposed to have dinner with some gradschool classmates of mine in Amsterdam, but they had to cancel at the last minute because Sebastian works for the Dutch Ministry of Defense and had to prepare for the coming week. On our way home in Rotterdam, on the tram, there were maybe two dozen young men, all with *very* short hair and large duffels; we asked if they were part of a group. Turns out they're Dutch Marines, and were probably getting ready to support the U.S. in whatever action is planned through NATO's Article V. They all looked so young...
We've been watching CNN and the BBC almost nonstop when we're at home -- it's actually nice to have BBC, because the reporting is often more in-depth and, well, British. It also doesn't repeat footage and content as often. We also get CNN International, which has a much better world perspective. So in many ways, I think we're getting very good reportage. Of course, it would be nice to be able to get newspapers other than online, because there's something soothing about folding the paper and reading the news on print rather than online. But otherwise we can't complain too much.
Finally, while we would have been in touch with our friends regardless (sending emails and postcards and the like), it seems like there's much more of an impetus now to be in touch with loved ones. I'm hearing from so many people with whom I thought I'd lost touch, and the first-person accounts I've been getting from friends in New York are harrowing. I have two close friends who worked in the WTC buildings, one of whom was late arriving and the other who worked every other day. The first friend got out of the subway in time to see the second plane crash, and she had to walk 100 blocks uptown to get back home, while covered in debris and soot, of course. The other friend lives several blocks away from the financial district, but he was able to watch it all unfold from the rooftop of his building -- and there were scores of other folks doing the same from his and other buildings nearby, he said. I also heard from a friend whose husband works as a civilian in the Pentagon and was supposed to be assigned to the new wing but hadn't yet been moved -- thank God for small miracles.
Adam's parents, who are psychiatrists in Rockville, MD., are having a hell of a time dealing with all the cases of post-traumatic stress disorder that people are exhibiting. I feel so much for all those therapists and psychologists who work with the EAP and other programs and are having to deal with their own feelings as well as those of their patients.
But, that all having been said, writing and talking with people is probably one of the most therapeutic ways of dealing with what no one should have to deal with, so Amy, thanks for asking, and I hope that you are all doing well and are able to cope with all that has been happening.
As tonight starts the Jewish new year, I wish you all a sweeter and more peaceful year than that which has just ended, and I hope you know that you are all in my thoughts.
And a happy new year to all of you as well. Have a great weekend, and I'll write more next week. (By the way, don't miss our Amsterdam "photo album"; we should have Leiden Delft ones posted sometime soon, plus of course a Paris one after we return and get the photos developed.)
Tot ziens, et a bientot!