Happy New Year 2018

Happy New Year 2018

The old year has drawn to a close and a new one has begun. I always enjoy the run up to this time of year. There is something I enjoy about wrapping things up, looking back over the accomplishments of the previous year and planning the goals of the next. It always feels like a turning point and a chance for renewal.

My 2017 might not have been as crazy as my 2016 but it was still very busy. I started my quest for Dutch nationality and the second draft of my book, both of which I hope to finish in the New Year. I shared nineteen strange Dutch habits which turned out to be my most popular post ever (even causing the site to crash for two days). I also shared ten awkward situations for expats living in The Netherlands, and then followed it with a hundred tips on how to be a happy expat just to prove it’s not all that bad. I brought up some old stories about my truly bizarre first experiences learning Dutch and another about the time I accidently bribed an NS ticket inspector without realizing it.

I did blog less. I’ll even confess that I had a little crisis of confidence. For a little while I questioned whether I still enjoyed blogging. Luckily your support reminded me that I do and I love you all for that. I’ll be refocusing my efforts in the New Year on this blog (and the book).

With that in mind I’d like to turn things over to you and ask; is there anything you’d like to see on Accidentally Dutch in the New Year? Any subjects you’d like me to cover, experiences you’d like shared or any improvements you’d like to see. Share any thoughts you have in the comments below.

I hope you all had an amazing 2017 and have an even more amazing 2018. Thank you again for reading the stories about my weird expat life in the Netherlands and laughing along with me. Happy New Year to you all. Have fun.

Stuart

Stuart is an accident prone Englishman who has been living in the Netherlands since 2001. Even his move to the country was an unintentional accident, the result of replying to a cryptic job advertisement he found one day in a local British magazine. Since then he has learned to love the Dutch (so much so that he married one of them) and now calls the country home. He started the blog Invading Holland in 2006 as a place to share his strange stories of language misunderstandings, cultural confusions and his own accident prone nature.

8 Responses

  1. Malcolm Barrett says:

    Happy New Year to you and the family. I’d love to see more of Alex de Leeu’s adventures in 2018!

    • Stuart says:

      Happy New Year to you too. I’ll start thinking about some adventures Alex can go on. He’s been spending his time since his last post hanging out in my sons bedroom.

  2. Niki says:

    The accidental bribe of the NS conductor was probably my favorite post. :)

  3. AQK1982 says:

    Best wishes for 2018! Just as Malcolm mentioned, more adventures of Alex de Leeuw and your general observations of Dutch quirks. I also voted for you :-)

    • Stuart says:

      Happy New Year to you too and thanks. I’ve started brain storming ideas on both subjects. I was thinking of covering the crazy sugar rush that is Dutch breakfast sometime soon.

  4. vallypee says:

    Hi Stu, I was wondering about your book! Email me? Great to hear your blog is as popular as ever!

  5. vallypee says:

    Oh and Happy 2018! We miss you guys!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.