At Amsterdam’s Boom Chicago comedy club, a sold-out crowd gathered on Tuesday night to watch the election returns as Americans went to the polls. The theatre—decked out in American flags, life-size Kamala cutouts and red, white and blue balloons—was filled mostly with Americans, many who knew each other and giving the event a bit of a reunion vibe.

At this giant watch party, election observers—overwhelmingly Harris supporters—indeed came to celebrate or commiserate en masse. “I’m glad we’re all here,” said one leader of Democrats Abroad, who co-hosted this sixth US Election Night. “We need each other.”

“I just wanted to be with other Americans tonight as we see what’s going on,” said Randi, a 51-year-old researcher who grew up up near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “It just feels important to be together and with friends, to feel connected to this faraway land.”

She came to Boom Chicago—one of dozens of election events in the Netherlands—with her friend Kimberly Adtkins, a 44-year-old training consultant and coach who lived in Kansas City, Missouri before moving to Amsterdam five years ago.

“I don’t want to deal with this alone, whether it goes badly or whether we’re celebrating the first female president,” said the former self-declared “indoctrinated Republican”.

“I want to be a part of it. I am being an optimist, hoping for a surprise, a landslide for blue.”

Hungover

But as the sun rose and it became clear Trump was on his way to victory, people’s optimism turned to dread.

“I’m in shock and denial, which I anticipate shifting to devastation soon,” said Kimberly. “I’ve lost faith in people.”

“I want to vomit and call my mom,” Randi said in a text message. “I am not mentally prepared for this. I’m going back to bed. I’m not sure what to do with myself.”

Randi said living in the Netherlands has helped her deny how terrifying the US has become, especially concerning women’s health.

“I had a miscarriage in the Netherlands, and it was just a very painful, traumatic event in which I was cared for really beautifully by the doctors and midwives here.

“And I keep thinking about how someone in the same situation now in some US states would be unable to get support and care from a medical professional. And it’s just so deeply disturbing to me that that’s what’s happening. The cruelty of it is just unfathomable to me. But America is often a cruel country.”

Committed voters

Randi is from Pennsylvania, a key swing state that fell to Trump. She was thrilled that her vote mattered, even spending €52 to send her ballot by DHL to make sure it was received on time.

Another committed voter was working the phones at 1am, speaking with Alaskan election officials to make sure her ballot was received.

And then there was Donna Driver-Zwartkruis, a Texan living in Amsterdam who teaches business administration at Nyenrode Business University and whose husband served as a Dutch ambassador.

“Being here tonight is a wonderful opportunity to be with fellow Democrats and to share and to anticipate together,” she said.  “I’m hoping, anticipating and very cautiously optimistic that Ms. Harris will become our president.”

Like many at Boom Chicago, she views the US elections as having global significance. “There’s a lot of implications for our work with our allies and with NATO. And there are also implications for how our economy is going to thrive and survive. Right now, the American economy is very strong, and we hope that continues.”

Survivors

While her cautious optimism may not have been realised, she’s managed to stay optimistic.

“I am fine,” she said this morning. “One of things that was so helpful was to prepare for today. I did this by writing a memo to myself last week reminding me of the beautiful things in life.  And I continue to believe in goodness. In this way, I will not fall into despair. Let’s keep the faith!”

She says she’ll spend the day working and exercising, wearing the yellow sweater she bought last week in preparation for today. “I named it my happy sweater. I will wear it all day.”

Forty-year-old Surinamese Jay, Boom Chicago’s head of tech, also managed to keep his head above the fray in what he called a very strange election.

“One candidate should not be a candidate, so it’s really weird to me why he is,” he said. “But we had the same thing over here, actually across Europe. People are really similar.

“When they feel marginalized, they’ll go in any direction. It’s just a human thing. America does have a lot of influence across the world, but at the same time, I feel like elections come and go. People, we survive. We survived the last one.”