Different encounters with old friends.

I have always been more of male friends person. During my time at the University of Tilburg I was part of an inseparable group of friends, me and 4 guys. We went trough a lot together: growing up, one marriage, one funeral and many nights in our student houses. I have sort of lost touch with some of them. Last week however, I went to see Lennaert and we had diner together with his wife. Since they got married young, they are sometimes struggling but I was very impressed with the life they built and their relationship. They are not a dull couple but very open to both me and each other. A lovely night it was.

Last weekend I went to Leiden to see Scott, a.k.a. Douglas. We met in India and always kept in touch. Whenever he is in The Netherlands, taking a break from his prestigious but beloved Oxford university, he gives me a call. When I was visiting him in London last year, we were having breakfast across the street of the British Museum (for anyone who knows him: typical Scott spot) and I was enjoying my morning tea. Since we both love to talk, Scott however wanted to start a discussion. He convinced me some philosopher stated, 100 years back, that the politics of the Middle-East was an analogy for….honestly after this I cannot remember the conversation. Babbling in his own world, using political theories that I never heard of, convincing me he was right. That is Scott though.

Since he already gave me the Leiden guided tour once (involuntarily by the way, but oh my god, he is like a walking, talking tourist book), he reduced his comments to a couple random remarks (did u know this building was built….yes Scott, u told me). We took a table at a restaurant next to a canal. I asked the waiter a random question, while Scott explained to him that I was an ignorant student, while wearing an AIESEC sweater sponsored by 5 different companies and a short-sleeved pants, funny. It was very good talking to him again though. Since Harry Potter is a shared passion of ours, we went to see the new movie after. It ended at the station, with Scott contemplating the question what fundamental things had changed in the last decades. Evoked by Harry, he was mesmerizing the good and the evil in this world. God, I will miss him when he goes back.