There are few people who have not heard of Tinder. What exactly the app is for though remains a mystery to me until today. Some people argue it is a hook up app, others have found long-term partners on Tinder, and I have also come across people (of both genders!) who simply use it to…
When I travel, I like to visit ancient sites, art museums and doing other types of cultural activities. Not when I am in Kuwait. As Kuwait is just a small country, I have seen pretty much everything worth visiting already. The focus shifts to relaxation and catching up with friends instead. Pretty much all of…
Whenever I come across Kuwaitis, without exception they are surprised to hear about my love for their country. After having tried to explain why I am so very fond of their tiny city state, the follow-up question is almost always the same, “So what do you think of Kuwaitis?’ Now, that is a dangerous question…
One of the reasons I love returning to Kuwait is that with each and every visit, the country succeeds in destroying more stereotypes I have about this part of the world. “What did you learn this time?”, my new friend M. (whom we also met in “A Good Guy Does Not Have A Nationality?”) inquires.…
The position of women in the Middle East is a topic of much interest here in the West. It is discussed at length in magazines, newspapers and on television, and everyone seems to have an opinion on the matter – whether informed or uninformed. What it is like to be a Middle Eastern guy is…
I am walking home from Kuwait’s newest mall. Just having finished buying cookies for family, friends and colleagues, I discarded the idea of taking a taxi for such a short distance. The weather is wonderful, and even though Kuwait is not exactly a walking country (read: the pavement looks like an obstacle run) I think…
Friday afternoon at my favorite beach club. I am enjoying the scorching heat of Kuwait’s autumn sun when two young ladies strike up conversation with my companion and myself. They are clearly better prepared for a day at the beach, having only a bottle of water to share between the two of us. Next thing…
“I am planning to move to Spain for six months to become fluent in Spanish”. A young lady with inspiring plans posts in a Facebook group I am a member of, asking for recommendations. I can’t help responding that whereas I think immersion in a language is great and super helpful, fluency in just six…
“Your life is so exciting, you travel so much”. I am meeting two of my closest friends over the Christmas break, and they express their envy of some of the things that I am doing. And it is true, you know, I do travel a lot. Last year I went on six trips, and the…
No one likes going to the doctor. Doctor visits are like Russian roulette: sometimes you are lucky and you have a nice and empathetic doctor, sometimes you are less lucky and you are either treated like a child who cannot differentiate left from right, or worse, totally trashed for one reason or another. And it…
Hamburg Airport. I am going through security for the zillionth time this year and the security personnel asks me whether I speak German or English. I reply that I speak both, and I smile secretly. Hamburg Airport must be about the only place in Germany where people routinely ask me in which language I prefer…
This month marks the two year anniversary of my decision to move to Germany. It was not an easy decision at the time, having job offers from both Hamburg and Kuwait. Right after gradution I did not think that I would end up in the luxurious position of having to choose between jobs, but there I…
There are many great things about living and working abroad: the possibility to discover new places, during the weekend, meeting cool people from all over the world, and yes, also learning a new language. In theory, in any case. Speaking a foreign language on a daily basis was one of the things that I found most…
With less than two weeks to go until my Italy trip, it suddenly struck me. The guilt feeling. That little voice inside your head asking you why you are using a few of your precious holidays to go travel a foreign country, all on your own. The answer is very easy of course: with the…
With Erdogan and his referendum campaign creating headlines all over the world, one would almost forget that a political event of note also took place in the Netherlands. This month, the Netherlands voted for a new parliament, an event I had been looking forward with both hope and anxiety. On the one hand it was a chance to get…
The Life And Times Of A Dutchie Abroad 