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Almost 20 hours and 108 Euros later, I reached The Netherlands by private bus. Everything feels very time-sensitive. I say "feel" because there is no way of knowing if it actually is. The dreadful news of new crimes against humanity being committed in Ukraine continues to pour in. Messages, stories, posts, and more from friends and acquaintances, some in Ukraine and some from outside the borders keep my phone busy. I try to stay calm but it really is tough. One of my earliest blockchain friends is still stuck in Ukraine with his family. I keep reading his updates and message him from time to time. Another friend has moved to the west but isn't ready to leave her husband behind. And one friend, for the last 7 days, has been completely missing.

My good friend from Kharkiv, Elena, managed to escape the invasion with her father and mother. She was in Mariupol when the madness began. Recently, we worked together to bring an older woman from Kharkiv to Lviv. But our hearts sank together when Elena's ex-husband and her friends went offline for about 3 days. They were in Mariupol, and the news coming from there didn't help our mental state at all. Eventually, they did come online. We spoke to them and they said they were alive but the situation is worse than any nightmare. 


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The initial plan was to stop at Amsterdam and take it from there. I made a friend while I was staying in the hostels in Warsaw. They made it safely to the Netherlands and left me quite a few helpful tips on how to navigate through the confusion once I made it here. But while we (@priyanrc, Gigi, and myself) were on the road, we decided to head to Hague. We told the driver about the change and that was that. I really couldn't see much of the country while we were on the road since it was pretty late at night. 

Big shoutout to @artakush who not only waited for us to arrive, even though it was pretty late at night but received us from the door of the bus and let us stay at his place. It was really incredible to see him. I remember him very well from the DDaily days. I did tell him that many dtubers would lose their heads if they knew I met him. Not only did he let us into his house, he made sure that we felt comfortable and did not hesitate with anything. 
 
It is really a blessing to be part of such a tight-knit community. Even though he and I did not ever strike a friendship in the past, he was still there when we needed it the most. He showed us around his home, gave us a room, a bed, a bed for GIGI, food, water, what have you, the whole 9 yards. Showed us his workstation and stayed up chatting with us till we felt like it. Thank you, Art. Far too kind of you! 

I did ask him the blaring question "why aren't you active?". There are a lot of people, especially from back in the day, that do miss his presence. The Ddaily days were very fun! Well, he has a lot on his plate right now. I think it is best if he talks about it when he wants to. Nevertheless, posting or not, he was there for us, for the community members, like a real friend, and helped us. Can't be more "active in the community" than that. He is a good person and a very kind friend. 

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Might I add he is also a very good cook. Unfortunately, I had to take a rain check on the BBQ and other good stuff. He really wanted us to stay longer but my fidgety bones were very...*fidgety*. The next morning pri and I left for the Dan Hague central station before Art woke up (didnt want to disturb the man's sleep). We thought there would be a refugee reception point there and we could approach them for registration and all the other processes. However, there wasn't a refugee point there. So we did some more walking around and research on the internet. We were pretty beat so we decided to have a heavy breakfast, i.e, a doner kebab meal. Everything pointed towards redirecting to the original plan of Amsterdam. 

I did get a good chance to look at the beautiful city. It is a *mood* by itself. Really cool city with so many cool places to explore. The interesting architecture, the china town, the city center, the water, all of it was amazing. But it was time to go. Mind you, Art was very clear that he did not want us to go around like "headless chickens". His advice was to stay at his place for as long as needed and come Monday we could approach the municipality and start with the process.

But after staying for almost a whole month in Poland with very little progress, I really wasn't in the mood to just sit around. Moreover, I really didn't feel comfortable disturbing Art's peace and throwing a wrench at his normal life. I am sure, given the circumstances, he would not mind. But it just doesn't sit right with me or Priyan. We did go to the municipality with Gigi that day but were told to book an appointment later(which meant more waiting). 

Eventually, we decided to go to Amsterdam and if need be we could come back to Art if things were slower there. Art was really kind and generous to let us leave some of our stuff at his place as we headed to Amsterdam. There wasn't much we could do or say to thank him for his kindness.

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I did get to meet Art today, and we decided that a meet-up had to happen when things get better for us. Actually, he brought up the idea of gathering the OGs like himself and other community members and sitting down for a chat on the first night. I am looking forward to it, especially if I stay here for longer. I really enjoyed Art's vibes. Really cool guy. 

So far, things have been smoother in the Netherlands for Gigi, Pri and myself. Yes, it is a little more expensive than Poland and a lot more expensive than Ukraine. In the 3 days I have been in the Netherlands I have already spent more than what I paid for monthly rent in Ukraine. But, but, but, I am hoping that in the near future I can share some positive and light-hearted posts. We've received help from Amsterdam through Red Cross. We are okay and so far, all is well and I am hoping the next few days will bring some good news. Fingers crossed.