A few weeks in the USA

For my winter break, Bob and I decided to travel back to the US to be with our families for Christmas and in Portland with our friends for a few weeks. After a rather harrowing journey, we arrived in Boston. There was a snowstorm in the Netherlands that kind of paralyzed transportation, so our tram was delayed, our train was cancelled, and we got to run through two different airports to try to catch flights that turned out being delayed anyway. Ah, the holiday travel season. Upon arriving in the US, I must say I began to look at some things differently right away.

I did some grocery shopping to help my mother prepare for Christmas dinner. I walked into the Portland Hannaford and was immediately overwhelmed at the height of the ceilings, the size of the store, and the amount of people shopping with HUGE carts of food. In Rotterdam, I shop nearly every day at a small store toting a small, polka-dotted shopping basket that was given to me as a gift when I moved into my apartment. I buy food for a day or two and always have nice fresh produce, dairy products, bread, and cheese (plenty of Gouda). At the Hannaford, it looked like everyone was stocking up for some apocalypse that I had yet to hear of.

As I stood in line at the large deli counter to order some sliced pepper jack cheese, I turned around and noticed a giant disply of hummus. Why, I thought to myself, did we need to have 20 different kinds and brands of hummus? Isn't that overkill? Who needs that much choice? I marveled for a moment at all the different sizes, flavors, and producers of the chick pea based treat that I am actually quite fond of. As I continued to roam the store looking for vegatables for a salad and parchment paper for the Christmas cookies to be baked upon, my mind wandered back to when this was my shopping experience. I might shop once a week, loading up on food that I hoped to cook but often wouldn't be able to finish before it went bad. Super sized packaging and buy one get one free deals often lured me into buying much more than I needed. The more I thought about the Hannaford, the more I realized that some things about me have changed in the five months I've been away. I yearned for my polka-dotted shopping basket, the modest supermarket next door to my modest flat, and my Dutch bike.

Snow

I awoke to snow a few days ago. An inch, maybe two at the most, but it transformed Hillegersburg. One of the first things I always notice when it has snowed is the quiet. Our neighborhood is usually quiet anyway, but when there is a cover of snow it's different kind. Having spend my whole life in the northeast United States, snow is nothing new to me. I grew up praying for snow days, gambling from time to time by not doing my homework. For some reason, though, the first snow here was exciting and different. It was unexpected, and it was just sticky enough to really cover everything. I woke Bob up, despite the early hour and the darkness, so he could see our first Dutch snow as well. I'm not sure he was as excited as I was, but he didn't need to be up for a few more hours so I do understand his lack of enthusiasm.

I dressed for work in the silent darkness and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and some breakfast looking out my big picture window onto the snowy wonderland below. The traffic was slow, drivers tentative. A few brave souls biked slowly down the road. I bundled up and stepped outside to walk to school. Though it was still dark at 7:45 (the sun doesn't rise until about 9 am right now) there were kids playing outside. Their joyful shouts in the neighborhood made me smile as they had snowball fights and built snowman in the pre-dawn light.

I expected the snow to be gone in a few hours. Everyone here said it snows from time to time but melts rather quickly.

Three days later. There is still snow on the ground and an occasional flurry in the air. And it's cold. Much colder than I expected. We're going home to Maine on Monday for a few weeks, so this is really just a dress rehearsal for the frigid temperatures and possible feet of snow we will likely face in the coming weeks. My first Dutch snow, though, was magic.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving didn't really feel like Thanksgiving this year. Not surprising, given it's a US holiday, but I thought I might feel a bit sad or disappointed at the lack of pumpkin pie and my father's awesome stuffing. While I did miss the family time and the food a little, the day kind of passed as any other day might. I was quite thankful for a few of the things that happened yesterday, though.

1. I had the day off from school! Very glad for the break. I actually slept later than Bob, for once!

2. Bob went to hang out with some of our friends from Rotterdam in Amsterdam. I am very thankful that he is finding his way here (not that I had any doubts) and is enjoying living here as much as I am.

3. I did some light shopping with one of my new friends. It's nice to have some girl time.

4. Got to come home, park it on the couch, drink coffee, and watch crappy US television online. In the middle of the day!

5. Had a lovely dinner with two great ladies. Plenty of wine and great conversation. Again, nice to have some girl time.

6. I'm very thankful that Bob and I have the chance to live here and meet all the wonderful people we've been fortunate enough to get to know so far.

7. Got to say a Thanksgiving hello to my family by Skype and phone. I am thankful for modern technology at times like these.

Our Big Purchase

As an overseas hire, my school applied for me to receive a tax benefit called the 30% Ruling here in the Netherlands. From my limited understanding, 30% of my income is untaxed, so I get to keep more of my money, especially since I will still have to pay some taxes in my home country. So, my 30% Ruling came through in October and my paycheck was a bit bigger... and I also received back pay for my first two months of work. What does one do with "extra" money like that? Well, spend it!

Our "was-droogcombinatie" is a thing of beauty. Part-washer and part-dryer, it does twice the work and takes up half the space of a regular appliance. We got a good deal and it was also delivered and installed. The model we picked, the least expensive one, was actually the evil machine that locked up my laundry (described in an earlier post). This time I have an English manual that tells me what I need to do to get the appliance to do my bidding. Really looking forward to doing laundry in my own apartment instead of sneaking it into school! In truth, the school was fine with it but I was slightly sheepish about it. I felt a bit like a bag lady carting my huge blue Ikea bag to school and skulking up the stairs into the Life Skills room to quickly toss in a load before my day started.

Train to Belgium

Last week I had October break. Perfect timing, since we've been in school since the beginning of August. I really needed a week off. Bob and I hadn't planned any major vacation which was just fine with me because what I felt like I really needed was some downtime. I've been rushing around for the last few months trying to do so many things!

From Rotterdam, there is a train to Antwerp that only takes an hour. Bob and I decided that two days in Antwerp would be perfect. Just a backpack, low commitment, not too much travel time. We booked an inexpensive hostel and set off. When we arrived in Belgium, after marveling at the gorgeous central train station, we set off toward the old section of the city and the Grote Market to find our hostel.

I stayed in hostels around Europe in 2003 when I studied abroad in Dublin: bunk beds, drunk roommates, marginally clean bathrooms, interesting characters. I didn't mind it too much, and it was definitely an inexpensive way to see lots of places. Bob and I decided to do the "hostel thing" to save a little money. We can sleep in bunk beds for a night! What fun! I called top bunk. Our hostel was an interesting little place that was allegedly a Russian ballet school. It had a pub downstairs that has some folk music on the weekends. We had a great view of the main cathedral in Antwerp out a little balcony off our room, so it seemed ok. Not the cleanest... but not the worst either.

We set out to explore the city and drink some beer. We went to a great little pre-WW2 beer cafe and had wonderful, cheap Belgian beer. Dutch and American beers are alright, but I think Belgian beer is really my favorite. After sampling a few different kinds, Bob and I decided to make our way back to the area where we were staying to get some dinner. After getting lost and turned around (and arguing a little bit like your typical American couple fighting about directions... guess who was holding the map) we finally made it back and went to a cute little Italian restaurant. After a nice dinner and a half hour wait to try to get our check, we went back to the hostel and had a drink in the bar downstairs.

We met a nice off-duty police officer/guitar luthier who took us around to a few of his favorite places in Antwerp. After a wonderful night of rousing conversation, more beer, and some free jazz, Bob and I decided it was time to turn in. To our bunk beds. It was a cold night.

After another day of exploration, and some upright bass shopping, we decided to hit the road and go back to Rotterdam. I had a wonderful waffle on the way, feeling that I couldn't miss out on that experience, and then caught the train home. It's amazing to me that we can spend an hour on the train and be in a different city and country. I'm truly looking forward to some more weekend adventures.

Riding "Dutch Style"

Until a few days ago, there were two people living in Lijsterlaan 85 with just one bike between them. Bob and I decided to do some bike shopping to get him set up, so we ventured a mile or so down the road to a local bike shop. We've seen lots of people here riding two people on one bike, heck, a mom and her three gorgeous, blond kids can all ride the same bicycle here. So we figured we should learn. Why not? We live here now.

We tried with Bob riding and me hopping on the back. A bit wobbly, especially since my bike is a bit too small for Bob. Then we tried the other way, since we truly are close to the same weight. No shame here. That was tricky too. So we walked my bike down to the shop. On the way back we thought we'd try again. Bob was "driving" and I was on the back, and though we were a wobbly, we made it!

The next day we went to look at a bike at a friend's house. This time, I drove since my bike fits me far better. Bob made it on the back, and after a few tries and some near disasters, we finally got it. I found that the faster I went, the easier it was to keep my balance. When we got to my friend's place, Bob got off. He looked a bit shaken, and said, "I've never felt like I needed a bike helmet more in my life." I drove us home again later on that night, and we're getting steadier each time.

Bike Shopping

I've had a bike for a while, but since Bob is here now I've once again gone through the excitement and frustration of bicycle acquisition. Our friend Justin had an old, rusty Dutch bike that needed a new inner tube and a little love, so Bob decided to take it on as a project. Turns out it's actually a bit to small for his tall frame, but the inner tube has since been replaced and we're working on a new set to make it into a good, solid guest bike.

After a few outings with the two of us on the same bike (see Riding "Dutch Style"), it was really time to get Bob something solid. We took another trip, this time on foot, to our local bike shop and Bob had the guts to essentially ask for the cheapest bike they had. Enter "The Dolphin." It's green with a little bit of magenta lettering, but it's a men's bike and it's tall enough for Bob. It is in pretty good shape but probably won't attract much attention. Exactly what we want. Since we've started to get the hang of riding tandem on one bike, Bob steadily drove us home. So now we're able to bike side by side, as opposed to sharing a bike.

Who needs Taco Bell?

Bob and I visited the grocery store together for the first time. I've been going a few times a week for two months so I am rather used to it by now. There are still many things that I am not familiar with, but a lot of them are meat-based products that I steer clear of anyway. I do remember, however, my first trip to the grocery store, scrutinizing each package and trying to ascertain what it held. I've gotten into a bit of a grocery store rhythm, I know what I need and where it is and I buy many of the same things each week. I skip the Koffiemelk (condensed milk) and buy Vollemelk (whole milk) and Slagroom (heavy cream) to mix together for my own version of 1/2 and 1/2. I know where the reduced fat ice cream is. I know where to pick up a package of tortillas and how to weigh my own produce before getting to the register.

As Bob and I wander the aisles, me pointing out some things he might want to know about, his eyes glazing over a little bit as he sights the huge variety of meat. And we're at the little grocery store! Bob is the kind of guy who goes to the Hannaford at home maybe once a week or once every two weeks and just stocks up. Lately I've been going to the grocery store and buying a small basket worth of food every two days. It's a different style.

Bob picks out a box of taco dinner mix and we grab some veggies and chicken. We get it home and open the box. There are two taco shells and two different bags of seasoning. A bit different than what we were expecting. I turn over the box and look at the directions. Yep. Luckily the computer is already on and I fire up my new favorite program: Google Translate. I type in parts of the directions, or words here and there, trying to piece together the sequence of events that is going to yield the best, most delicious tacos. Unfortunately, we can't seem to figure out exactly what the two different packets of spices are, so we end up just winging it anyway. The result is a bit saucier than we might have hoped for, but the taste is good and we had a fun time trying to figure it all out.

The wonders of Ikea

I've been to Ikea a few times. By car. I've never tried to bike or take public transportation there. On a quiet Sunday, I knew it was finally time to try to be brave and attempt the trip. I got on the tram near my house, went to Rotterdam Central Station and took the train to Delft. Once in Delft, I waited a bit and took a bus over to Ikea. After browsing and eating a little bit in the Ikea cafe to fuel my journey, I began to fill my cart with the necessary pieces I've been thinking about to finish off my apartment.

My purchases included a few kitchen things, a larger comforter and a duvet so Bob's feet won't stick out when he gets here in a week, throw pillows, extra pillows for bed, a few posters, and new cushions for my inherited Ikea chairs. I cashed out and started to try to situate my packages to get them home. It was only then that I realized that I bought more than I could physically carry. Two bags... but then the two new cushions didn't fit. They wouldn't even fit under an arm, they were too big. I got back in line and bought a little cart, then loaded everything on the best I could. I waited for the bus, working to situate and re-situate the packages... it seemed no matter what I did they were in someone's way or falling over. I made if on the bus. From the bus to the train station, I kept getting caught on bushes, bikes, tight corners, and losing the balance of the car. I muscled my purchases down a set of stairs and up another to get on the right side of the platform for my train. Train to station, station to tram, tram to home... and up yet another set of stairs to get to my apartment. I made it, though! I spent a few hours decorating and putting everything together. The apartment looks great! Definitely worth the hassle and the temporary "bag lady" appearance.

Learning the Language

Phrase of the Day: Wat een prachtige dag! What a beautiful day!

The knowledge that I will be living here for at least two years has inspired me to learn the language. Most people speak at least some English, but I think it would be fairly selfish and ethnocentric of me to not learn as much as I can. I really want to be able to start conversations and understand a little bit, though for more in depth chats English will probably be necessary. I work with an English-speaking population at school, and so I spend the vast majority of my day surrounded by people that speak the same language as I do. While this is helpful, it also doesn't "force" me to learn the language to get around.

I joined a www.livemocha.com, an online community for language learners. I'm going to give it a try and see if it will give me a bit of a start on learning Dutch. It's not an easy language. The Livemocha community has online lessons, but then also pairs people with a local speaker to practice the language. I will be paired with people who speak Dutch and are learning English, so we can both practice. Best of all, it's free. I was hoping to acquire a copy of Rosetta Stone, but it's too expensive and I haven't been able to get a hold of it from anyone yet. I'm hoping Livemocha will push me in the right direction. I will be taking Dutch classes at some point also, but it probably won't be for another few weeks.

Tot ziens!

On TV

Watching television here is fun. In the US, all programs start and stop at either the 1/2 hour or hour. You know you can flip through the channels at 8 pm and shows will be starting. Not so in Holland. Programs just start and end at random times. There are fewer commercials breaks, and you can see when the American commercials would break in, but when there are breaks they are, for the most part, longer. I flip around and find something to watch. It ends, and then I flip around and find something else. I rarely catch the beginning of anything, unless I stay on the same channel.

To add to the variety, there are some Dutch channels. If I spoke the language, I'm sure I would actually watch them! There are actually a couple of Dutch sitcoms that look rather funny. All of the English programs have Dutch subtitles, which is actually helping me pick up words and phrases here and there. They aren't direct translations, so they actually use phrases that people use here sometimes. Any time a weight is mentioned, it is translated in kilos. When someone talks about dollars, the correct amount of money in euros is translated on the bottom of the screen. Maybe I'll get more familiar with weights, measures, and the language.

A Market Full of Beer

A beer market, you say? Something I can definitely get on board with. A square packed with people, all holding glasses of beer, their pockets full of tokens. It is crowded, loud, and progressively more drunk as the afternoon passes.

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to visit this event with a crowd of Dutch friends. For those of you that know me well, I really like beer and wine. I became interested in beer partly because of father's love of Saranac and Long Trail, but even more because of a semester I spent in Ireland sampling all kinds of beer. While there, I was told it is easy to pick out an American girl in a bar because she is the one drinking the Guinness. A lot of women in Ireland paid €6 to drink Coors Light over ice. Not my thing... but I digress. So, I developed an interest in beers of the world a few years ago and I'm always excited to sample a new one. Giel and Remy, two lovely and interesting young gents that I've gotten to know since my visit to Holland last year, braved the crowds to pick out some interesting beers for us to sample. There was a nice refreshing white beer, an interesting and sweet rose beer, and a tart and slightly odd cherry beer. We finished our sampling with a traditional Dutch beer: Heineken.

After standing around the market for a while, our small crew walked a bit away from the square so we could rest and actually hear each other again. Sitting along the canal, discussing politics, language, and culture, my friends kindly spoke English so I could follow the conversation (as best I could given the beer). They also remarked that it is strange, of course, for them to talk to each other in English. I am at times embarrassed of my lack of foreign language skills, especially when surrounded by people who are fluent in at least two and sometimes more languages. I do plan to learn some Dutch, but it probably won't be enough to converse fluently anytime soon. After more talk, some pizza, and a nice walk back to the station, I was on a train back to Rotterdam and my little apartment. Quite honestly, this day was one of the best I've had since I got here. I definitely felt like I was in a foreign country, sitting along a canal drinking beer, but I was also surrounded by new friends and could be myself. Friends can make a place start to feel like a home.

Dutch Food

I must start by admitting that my eating habits are not terribly compatible with traditional Dutch cuisine. Lots of fried food and plenty of meat. Fried meat is also common. Just bread it and toss it in the hot oil. While I am not a vegetarian, I never eat any 4-legged creature and rarely cook chicken or turkey for myself. I have fish about once a week. I eat a lot of vegetables. Not so for the people of Rotterdam. Lot of shoarma and doner kebab with frites. And sausages. And meat spreads. Sign me up for a falafel! Acutally, I just do most of my own cooking.

The bread and pastries here are amazing. I've tried not to partake of too many, but anything I've had has been really wonderful. Even regular old grocery store whole wheat bread is moist, fresh, and delicious. I'm in love with stroop wafels, waffle-type cookies with a delicious caramel sauce in between. The grocery stores make them and package them, but the best way to have stroop wafels is fresh, warm, and HUGE from a street vendor. It's a heavenly diabetic coma waiting to happen.

I can say the one thing that the Dutch and I agree upon is coffee. Coffee is everywhere, and it's really quite good. Usually fairly strong, served with a single biscuit or cookie. The cups are certainly smaller than in the US, but I'll just have two. The one part of the coffee ritual here that I struggle to agree with is "koffiemilk." Essentially unsweetened, condensed milk, it doesn't need to be refrigerated and is bought in little cartons. I have always been a 1/2 and 1/2 kind of gal, but I really can't stomach the condensed milk. I'm trying to switch over to whole milk (volle melk) but it's difficult! I like my coffee just so. I think I'm going to end up making my own version with a mix of heavy cream and milk, but haven't quite gotten there yet. I'm glad that the Dutch like their coffee, though, because I existed for a semester in Dublin on instant coffee and it was ok, but just not the same.

Adventures in Laundry

Clean clothes are important. Unfortunately, for those of us that do not own a washer or dryer, clean clothes are hard to come by. After braving a very confusing aisle of laundry products, powders, tablets, liquid detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, other assorted things I don't recognize, I settled on "wasmiddel," thinking it looked the most like detergent. After I confirmed my hunch using my favorite new tool, Google Translate, I began to sort my laundry. Knowing that I have only a small sink and a dry rack to complete this exciting, necessary task, I end up with three piles. I paw through two and a half weeks of laundry, pulling out my favorite articles to wash right away, a pile of underwear and other essentials, and a mound of clothes that will just have to wait. I only have so much space on the dry rack.

I start by washing out the sink thoroughly and filling it with hot water and some detergent. I have no large wooden spoon or serving spoon, so I stir the detergent in with a large spatula. I put in the clothes and stir again with the spatula. I drain the sink, rinse the clothes, and hang them up. After repeating this ritual four times, I have watched all of my "favorite things" and a fair amount of the "necessary articles" pile as well. Though I've rung them out as best I could, they're still quite wet so I decide to place a large towel under the dry rack.

Cue my next attempt at laundry, a few weeks later. After being informed that I can use the all-in-one washer dryer at school, I decided to bring a big bag of dirty clothes with me to work today. I put them in the washer/dryer and couldn't figure out how it worked. There are three different knobs, about eight different buttons... not easy. I called our receptionist and she came and helped me, though she had no idea either. Well, I evidently didn't set a dryer cycle because after two hours of washing, it stopped. I tried to set it to just do a dry cycle. Not happening. I accidently hit a button and it starts a wash cycle again. And the door locks. I see my poor, wet clothes getting sloshed around again, and there is nothing I can do. I helplessly try to turn the machine off. It works, but the door is still locked. I turn it back on. It continues where it left off. I decide I've been defeated, so I set a dryer cycle to follow the wash and leave. Two and a half hours later I go upstairs again. My clothes are still being held hostage. What to do? So I hit a button that I think should shorten the dry cycle and leave. Upon my return fifteen minutes later, the contraption has finally stopped. My clothes are still wet. I haul them out, put them in my bag, carry them home and hang them on my dry rack. Ok, so that took all day.

I think I'll try to wash the other load tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. I just can't let that machine get the better of me.

I want to ride my...

Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! Come on, you know the Queen tune! In all seriousness, though, I love my bike. It's well engineered, it's fast, it has four gears, but it is a few years old and a little rusty so as not to attract too much attention. She's not flashy, but she definitely gets me from point A to point B. Riding my bike, besides being necessary in Holland with no car, is fun. I feel so free not having to find parking, worry about insurance or fuel, leave my car somewhere if I have a little too much beer... Though biking drunk here is not legal. But if I have two glasses of wine I can still get on a bike where I wouldn't get behind the wheel of my Honda given it is a large machine. Being active and riding places feels good both physically and mentally. You can ask me again when it's raining and windy for months on end how much I like biking, but for now I truly enjoy it.

Furniture Acquisition

Furnishing an apartment on a shoestring is an interesting project. It's amazing what you can live without and what becomes a priority when you're building from very little.

A list of what I currently own, after a few weeks of searching:

Bed, Fridge, Toast Oven, Gas Cooktop, Dining Room Table, Folding Chair (1), Coffee Table, Dressers (2), TV, Ikea Lounge Chairs (2)

A list of what I am still looking for:

Couch, Bedside Tables, Lamps, Porch Furniture (for my balcony!), Dining Room Chairs, Washer

Things I Plan to Live Without:

Oven, Kitchen Appliances, Dryer, Stereo

There are times when I feel like it doesn't really matter if I get more furniture, but the other night I realized there are some things worth getting. Two of my friends came over to help me hook up my UPC cable/phone/internet package. Great! I made dinner, we had some wine, they played with all the cables and Dutch instruction booklets. I put dinner on my lovely dining room table, which I had set with Ikea placemats and my new (used) candle holders from my favorite second hand shop. We pulled over my folding chair and the other two chairs that I own, which are more of a lounge chair to watch TV in. Sitting in those chairs, my friend's chins were about eight inches above the table surface. Not great.

Couch and dining room chairs... important so that if I have friends over, they have a real place to sit.

A rainy morning

I woke up yesterday to gray skies and a bit of rain. As I walked to work in the drizzle, I couldn't help but actually think to myself, this is actually rather nice. The weather has been gorgeous for the last three weeks and I'm so glad. It has been a really wonderful introduction to this country, especially since I keep hearing that it's going to get really rainy and unpleasant in a few months. If it never rained, would we appreciate the sun as much?

UPC

Ahh. UPC. Dutch communications company... television, internet, phone. All in one. Ok, sounds good to me. After a series of frustrating phone calls, I finally go and pick up the package containing the link from my apartment to the outside world. I should stop here and mention that the day I choose to do this is the Monday that I returned from a very quick weekend in Boston for a lovely wedding. Flew to Boston on Friday. Left Sunday afternoon. Arrived in Amsterdam on Monday morning at 7am. Went to work.

I unpacked the box and looked at all the different cables. Then I looked at the 8 instructions manuals in..... Dutch! Of course. Jet lag, package full of complicated cables and foreign instructions. I suppose I can wait another day for the internet. It's been a month.

iPhone Excitement

After much searching and many disappointments, I found a store with an 8 gig iPhone in stock. Again I am faced with signing forms that I can't actually read and understand, hoping that I can trust the person explaining what they say. I get the phone home, excitedly tearing into the well designed black iPhone box, imagining all of the possibilities that will unfold once I am again connected.

It's all in Dutch. Of course. Luckily I am able to connect everything and get the phone working. Trial and error. It's a beautiful thing.

Upon moving in....

Moving into an apartment in the Netherlands, and in Europe in general from what I understand, is an interesting experience to say the least. First and foremost, when the ad says an apartment is rented “bare,” that literally means nothing. Naked. As in, “you must buy the floor from us or we’re taking that, too,” bare. I bought the floor. And the blinds. And a bed. But that’s it. No fridge, stove, oven, microwave, light fixtures (though a few ugly ones did get left behind)…. you get the point.

Given the lack of furniture, I was very able to appreciate the actual space of my apartment upon my arrival. The light is lovely, the rooms are sweet, and the floor worth every penny.