April 30 is national holiday here in the Netherlands. It's Queen's Day. This is the official celebration of the Queen's birthday. The current Queen's birthday falls in a winter month, but she chose to keep the celebration in the Spring when the tulips are blooming and the weather is nice.
My husband and I have actually seen Queen's Day before - about 12 years ago when we were in Amsterdam for a business trip. Amsterdam was pretty crazy - people selling their junk on the sidewalks, lots of stages with bands, and gallons of Heineken beer. I was sorry that my husband wouldn't be here this time.
At any rate, being 12 years older, I decided to stay near home rather than venturing into Amsterdam. Here in Bussum, the celebration was quite a bit more family-oriented. There were little block parties with stages and concession stands all around town. In the town center, there was a good sized flea market. There were lots of children selling their used household goods for pocket money. I found a coffee maker and a hand blender for the kitchen. There were also more professional stands selling clothing, shoes, and other stuff. I found a cheap pair of shoes to wear in the house.
For entertainment, they had 5 stages set up and a rotation of 10 different singing groups. Each and every singing group performed sea shanties. Yes, the "yo ho yo ho blow the man down" kind of sea shanties. Each group had about a dozen singers - all men over the age of 50. Maybe there's an age requirement for this type of music. All joking aside, I actually like sea shanties and was really enjoying the music. Later in the afternoon, the rock bands started up and volume quadrupled. Obviously, I'm old because I found this terribly annoying.
Before the loud obnoxious music started, I found time to taste some of the food concessions. The profitijes were wonderful, they are little cream puffs warm from the cooking iron served with butter and powdered sugar. I had some grilled chicken satay and some Spanish Churros. I took a pass on the herring, though.
Now that it's later in the evening, I can hear the music from the stage near the train station. I walked over to see what was going on. Basically, it was a more young adult scene, with a lot of beer involved. It was very crowded - and of course not much fun for an old lady alone. Even if I wasn't alone, I'd still be too old. So I went back to the house to finish my laundry and see Baywatch. It was an older episode with Billy Warlock and Erica Elaniac. This is a test: if you know what I'm talking about, you're old, too! Gotcha!
Obviously I'm feeling sensitive about my age this week. On Monday I was working with a college student who is doing an internship project. She was dressed in jeans (a bit low-cut), a form-fitting shirt (a bit too short to reach the top of her jeans), and new shoes that were neither practical nor comfortable. I noticed that she developed a limp in the afternoon, you know, that limp you get when your feet are killing you. All day I kept noticing the guys watching her waist as she flashed her muffin tops. Her outfit was cute for a college campus, but not appropriate for work. She made me feel old. Not because I would never be able to wear that outfit, but because I was offended by it!
Tomorrow, May 1, is also a holiday. This one is a religious holiday, Ascension Day. Most of the stores will be closed. Although, the garden centers are all open because this is the high season for them. I don't have any plans besides getting the house ready for my husband and the cat. They arrive on Friday morning and I'm very excited for them to arrive. They don't make me feel old.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday night, I was feeling adventurous so I decided to try to set up my internet connection at home. The HR Angel had helped me sign up for cable TV, internet and telephone. Naturally, it was one of those bundled packages with a low price that turns into a higher price once you get the bill. I'm pretty sure these cable companies are part of a huge global conspiracy! At least I had declined to pay for "installation." I couldn't figure out what they would install when I don't have telephone, a TV, or a computer at home.
At any rate, the cable company mailed me a box with a bunch of electronic gizmos, cables, and cords. And a set of instructions, in Dutch of course. So, I brought my laptop home from the office and decided to see if I could get the cable set up. It goes like this: connect modem to TV cable, plug into the wall socket, and connect the internet cable. The trick here is that you have to wait 20 minutes for all the lights to go on - try figuring that out in Dutch! Once I got that done, it was just a matter of entering the username and password into the website to initialize the modem. For those who know me, you know I leave all this electronic junk to my husband. To have accomplished this by myself is like my husband cooking a 4 course meal. Not impossible, but highly unlikely! So now when my husband arrives at the end of next week, he'll be able to work right away, while sitting on folding lawn chairs with an overturned box for a table.
On Tuesday, I brought home a small TV, borrowed from a coworker. This was just plug and chug. Now I can enjoy all my favorites, Judging Amy, Baywatch, and the A-Team! At least I get some English channels, so I probably can't complain about the choices. In spite of the new TV, I went for a walk to enjoy the nice Spring weather.
I walked to the Naarden Vesting. This is the town that has fortress walls and a moat. The walls are actually arrow shaped and it looks really cool in aerial photographs. If you want to see it check it out on google maps. You can walk around the walls along the waterways. In the water, there are white swans, people rowing those skinny long boats, and people fishing from the shore. There are people walking dogs, jogging, and biking. The air smells like farmland (not like the huge pig farms, but like very fertile soil) and flowers. The walls are rather steep and covered in nicely manicured grass. So, how do they keep all those steep hills so nicely mowed? Why, goats of course! I saw the fleet of goats scaling the hillsides keeping the grass short and contributing to the smell in the air.
Mostly, it feels really good to be walking a lot. I walk to the stores and I have been out every night exploring the neighborhood. I am really looking forward to getting the bikes so I can explore a little further afield.
At any rate, the cable company mailed me a box with a bunch of electronic gizmos, cables, and cords. And a set of instructions, in Dutch of course. So, I brought my laptop home from the office and decided to see if I could get the cable set up. It goes like this: connect modem to TV cable, plug into the wall socket, and connect the internet cable. The trick here is that you have to wait 20 minutes for all the lights to go on - try figuring that out in Dutch! Once I got that done, it was just a matter of entering the username and password into the website to initialize the modem. For those who know me, you know I leave all this electronic junk to my husband. To have accomplished this by myself is like my husband cooking a 4 course meal. Not impossible, but highly unlikely! So now when my husband arrives at the end of next week, he'll be able to work right away, while sitting on folding lawn chairs with an overturned box for a table.
On Tuesday, I brought home a small TV, borrowed from a coworker. This was just plug and chug. Now I can enjoy all my favorites, Judging Amy, Baywatch, and the A-Team! At least I get some English channels, so I probably can't complain about the choices. In spite of the new TV, I went for a walk to enjoy the nice Spring weather.
I walked to the Naarden Vesting. This is the town that has fortress walls and a moat. The walls are actually arrow shaped and it looks really cool in aerial photographs. If you want to see it check it out on google maps. You can walk around the walls along the waterways. In the water, there are white swans, people rowing those skinny long boats, and people fishing from the shore. There are people walking dogs, jogging, and biking. The air smells like farmland (not like the huge pig farms, but like very fertile soil) and flowers. The walls are rather steep and covered in nicely manicured grass. So, how do they keep all those steep hills so nicely mowed? Why, goats of course! I saw the fleet of goats scaling the hillsides keeping the grass short and contributing to the smell in the air.
Mostly, it feels really good to be walking a lot. I walk to the stores and I have been out every night exploring the neighborhood. I am really looking forward to getting the bikes so I can explore a little further afield.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Gebezorg (if I knew how to pronounce it, I’d tell ya) – means deliver
Early Monday morning, the air shipment was delivered to my house. The guy was actually 5 minutes early! I was able to check out of the hotel and get to work on time, too. After work, I hustled back to my new home and started to set up camp. I have camping chairs and I turned one of the moving boxes upside down for a makeshift table.
For the bed, I thought I was being smart by bringing the queen sized air mattress and the pump with the cigarette lighter connection so I could blow it up. The pump worked like a charm, but I had to haul the mattress from the driveway up the stairs. At least it was light! I did some other unpacking and came back to make the bed when I noticed that the mattress already looked a bit wilted. I blew some more air into it and checked the stoppers. When I came back, again it was low. By this time, I realized there was a very serious problem. I had a leaky air mattress and all wood floors – not so smart! I did my best to settle in for a long night.
I asked at work the next day for a recommendation for a camping store or other place where I could buy an inexpensive camping bed. They gave me directions to a store and I needed to hurry to get out of work on time to get there before closing. Fortunately, I met up with one more person before I left the office. I had met her the day before at lunch. I told her my plight and she offered to loan me her spare mattress! We worked out all the details for me to pick it up. Yeah! Later that night, I followed her precise instructions and found her apartment. We lugged the single mattress out to my car and I was glad they gave me the giant rental car! At home, I had to haul it up the stairs be myself which was no easy feat. But at last, it was set up and I slept like a baby.
The week at work was spent getting settled with my new team and trying to figure out what the heck I’m supposed to do now. I was having trouble getting my computer to work properly, too. I found out it was still talking to the US network which slows everything down. I requested to be migrated to the Dutch network. I told them they could have my computer all day on Friday when I was going to be out of the office. Well, something got mixed up because my computer stopped working entirely on Wednesday at lunchtime. It turns out the US had already removed me from their network. I turned in my computer on Thursday morning and spent the rest of the day trying to find things to do that didn’t require a computer. This predicament also made it impossible for me to post to my blog!
On Friday, I was having my washer and dryer delivered. I had to look up on the store’s website when my delivery was scheduled for. Actually, I had to have someone look it up because I had no computer. Since the website was in Dutch, it was good to have help. That’s where I learned my word of the day. Gebezorg is the word they use for delivery here. I can’t say it, but I’ve seen it on several pizza restaurant menus.
The delivery guys came within the allotted time (three hour time slots, which is similar to the US, but they don’t deliver at all on Saturday). They had to carry the washer and dryer up to the third floor and then install them. Wow! The guys spoke a little English, possibly more English than most delivery guys in the US, and were able to give me a basic lesson on where to put the soap. The instructions are all in Dutch, German, and French. The buttons have a lot of pictures, so it should be OK to figure out.
After some laundry tests, I realized the washer takes FOREVER to run a load, at least 2 hours. I asked around and that seems normal for here. I think the problem is that there is only a cold water connection, so for warm and hot water washes, the washer heats the water. You can get this machine up to 95°C, although I have no idea why you want to cook your clothes!
The rest of Friday I spent going to Utrecht to pick up my residence permit. This has to be done in person and, of course, only during normal working hours. I rode the train from Bussum into Utrecht (about a 30 minute ride) and walked to the immigration office. I could easily tell the other people who were doing the same thing. They were all ethnic and were stopping people to ask directions. I had printed a map from google maps so I didn’t need to ask for help. At the office, I had to take a number and wait to be called. When my number came up, I went to the window and showed my letter and my passport. She handed me a card that looked a lot like a driver’s license. That was it. It took less than a minute at the window. For that, I spent 12 dollars and an hour on the train and 30 minutes walking.
When I got back to the house, I found the lawn mower that the owner had dropped off for me, some assembly required of course. So on Saturday, I started working on the yard. The lawn was so overgrown that the little push-mower kept clogging up. I had to keep stopping to clean it out. I was nearly done when the neighbor lady suggested that her husband could use the electric mower for the first go-round. I declined as I only had about 1 square foot left to do. When I finished, the lawn looked more trampled than mowed. I’m sure I’ll have to go again when it stands back up. I also got the patio swept and some of the shrubs trimmed. I planted some geraniums in the front to make it look a bit more homey. I’ll add some more potted flowers when I get some more free time.
Sunday I walked around town and relaxed a bit. The house is getting boring without TV and especially without my husband. I was watching the cats in the yard – boy, are there a lot of cats in this neighborhood! It makes me miss my cat. My kitty will come out with my husband in a couple more weeks.
For the bed, I thought I was being smart by bringing the queen sized air mattress and the pump with the cigarette lighter connection so I could blow it up. The pump worked like a charm, but I had to haul the mattress from the driveway up the stairs. At least it was light! I did some other unpacking and came back to make the bed when I noticed that the mattress already looked a bit wilted. I blew some more air into it and checked the stoppers. When I came back, again it was low. By this time, I realized there was a very serious problem. I had a leaky air mattress and all wood floors – not so smart! I did my best to settle in for a long night.
I asked at work the next day for a recommendation for a camping store or other place where I could buy an inexpensive camping bed. They gave me directions to a store and I needed to hurry to get out of work on time to get there before closing. Fortunately, I met up with one more person before I left the office. I had met her the day before at lunch. I told her my plight and she offered to loan me her spare mattress! We worked out all the details for me to pick it up. Yeah! Later that night, I followed her precise instructions and found her apartment. We lugged the single mattress out to my car and I was glad they gave me the giant rental car! At home, I had to haul it up the stairs be myself which was no easy feat. But at last, it was set up and I slept like a baby.
The week at work was spent getting settled with my new team and trying to figure out what the heck I’m supposed to do now. I was having trouble getting my computer to work properly, too. I found out it was still talking to the US network which slows everything down. I requested to be migrated to the Dutch network. I told them they could have my computer all day on Friday when I was going to be out of the office. Well, something got mixed up because my computer stopped working entirely on Wednesday at lunchtime. It turns out the US had already removed me from their network. I turned in my computer on Thursday morning and spent the rest of the day trying to find things to do that didn’t require a computer. This predicament also made it impossible for me to post to my blog!
On Friday, I was having my washer and dryer delivered. I had to look up on the store’s website when my delivery was scheduled for. Actually, I had to have someone look it up because I had no computer. Since the website was in Dutch, it was good to have help. That’s where I learned my word of the day. Gebezorg is the word they use for delivery here. I can’t say it, but I’ve seen it on several pizza restaurant menus.
The delivery guys came within the allotted time (three hour time slots, which is similar to the US, but they don’t deliver at all on Saturday). They had to carry the washer and dryer up to the third floor and then install them. Wow! The guys spoke a little English, possibly more English than most delivery guys in the US, and were able to give me a basic lesson on where to put the soap. The instructions are all in Dutch, German, and French. The buttons have a lot of pictures, so it should be OK to figure out.
After some laundry tests, I realized the washer takes FOREVER to run a load, at least 2 hours. I asked around and that seems normal for here. I think the problem is that there is only a cold water connection, so for warm and hot water washes, the washer heats the water. You can get this machine up to 95°C, although I have no idea why you want to cook your clothes!
The rest of Friday I spent going to Utrecht to pick up my residence permit. This has to be done in person and, of course, only during normal working hours. I rode the train from Bussum into Utrecht (about a 30 minute ride) and walked to the immigration office. I could easily tell the other people who were doing the same thing. They were all ethnic and were stopping people to ask directions. I had printed a map from google maps so I didn’t need to ask for help. At the office, I had to take a number and wait to be called. When my number came up, I went to the window and showed my letter and my passport. She handed me a card that looked a lot like a driver’s license. That was it. It took less than a minute at the window. For that, I spent 12 dollars and an hour on the train and 30 minutes walking.
When I got back to the house, I found the lawn mower that the owner had dropped off for me, some assembly required of course. So on Saturday, I started working on the yard. The lawn was so overgrown that the little push-mower kept clogging up. I had to keep stopping to clean it out. I was nearly done when the neighbor lady suggested that her husband could use the electric mower for the first go-round. I declined as I only had about 1 square foot left to do. When I finished, the lawn looked more trampled than mowed. I’m sure I’ll have to go again when it stands back up. I also got the patio swept and some of the shrubs trimmed. I planted some geraniums in the front to make it look a bit more homey. I’ll add some more potted flowers when I get some more free time.
Sunday I walked around town and relaxed a bit. The house is getting boring without TV and especially without my husband. I was watching the cats in the yard – boy, are there a lot of cats in this neighborhood! It makes me miss my cat. My kitty will come out with my husband in a couple more weeks.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Goed (pronounced like hoot, but with a very hard H) means good
Saturday morning and there’s not a minute to waste. The stores are open on Saturday, but not on Sunday. During the week, they close at 5:00, except for one evening a week when they stay open until 8:00. This may turn out to be the biggest cultural difference between the Netherlands and the US.
Knowing that my air shipment will be delivered early Monday morning, I want to get the house ready to live in. That means my shopping list is long and I only have one day to complete it.
First stop, Ikea! For this I have to get the address so I can enter it into the Neverlost. I’m still nervous to drive here, so this is a big adventure. With the Neverlost navigator I only took a couple of wrong turns. It turns out this Ikea is so new the address doesn’t register in the Neverlost system. I park in the huge, free parking ramp. A luxury around here for sure!
Inside, I do really well at finding an ironing board, two floor lamps, a small cabinet with drawers for the bathroom, a rolling clothing rack, and several large plastic recycling bins. I struggled at checkout, though. I pulled out my MasterCard and she said they don’t take MasterCard. She kept saying I should use my PIN card – which I don’t have. I was starting to panic a bit, and then I pulled out a rarely used Visa card. Bingo! They take Visa, just not MasterCard. Odd, but OK. Overall the prices at Ikea were quite a bit lower than the little stores in Bussum, which was nice. And with so much bulky stuff, I was glad to be able to take it to my car in the cart. In the US we don’t think twice about this, but things are different here.
After dropping off the Ikea items at the house, I walked into Bussum to order the washer and dryer. The real estate agent had recommended a store and also told me to ask for a discount for buying both items together. I did as told and was surprised by how much discount he gave me. They also deliver and install which is good because they have to go on the third floor and I can’t read the directions in Dutch! By Friday, I should be able to do laundry properly! I also picked up an iron and a clock radio.
I hauled the iron and the radio back to the house and went out again to buy some groceries. I headed to the discount grocery store back in town. As I entered, I saw the lady in front of me put 50 cents into the lock to release the cart. I saw another person return a card and get her 50 cents back. Interesting. I didn’t have the right coin, so I was limited to what I could hold in my hands. I picked up a few basics and went to check out. I was watching the other people loading their stuff into cloth bags – I didn’t see any plastic grocery bags. I asked the checkout lady and she said, yes they have bags. So after I paid for my stuff, she pulls out a bag and says it will be 10 cents. WTF? I don’t necessarily mind paying for the shopping bag, but she could have charged me for it with my groceries, don’t you think? Oh well, she seemed kind of mean.
I dropped off the groceries at the house, and went out again to buy some cleaning supplies (dish soap, floor cleaner, laundry detergent, shampoo, shower soap, etc). I went to another store for this. They were nicer and even had regular shopping bags.
Back at the hotel, I decided to walk up the street to explore a few stores on that side of town. I found a more up-scale grocery store which was much nicer to shop in. They had nicer food and the checkout lady was pleasant. That’s a relief after my previous experience.
Finally, I was able to relax knowing that I had gotten so much accomplished. I sat down for dinner in the hotel restaurant. The food is good, but the service is abysmal. I was quietly eating (I’m pretty sure they brought me the wrong meal) and reading my Kindle, when I heard the hostess telling someone that all of their tables were booked. I looked up and recognized one of the guys from the Cincinnati office. I waved him over to join me at my table. He’s not from my group, but sometimes joined us for lunch in the Cinci cafeteria. It was nice to have someone to eat with, even if we had trouble getting the wait staff to serve him.
Sunday was a bit more relaxing. I did some cleaning at the house and hand-washed some clothes to tide me over until the washer is delivered on Friday. I picked up the yard a little and met the next door neighbor. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood and everyone seems friendly enough. After a nice relaxing Sunday, I’m ready for the rat race to start again!
Knowing that my air shipment will be delivered early Monday morning, I want to get the house ready to live in. That means my shopping list is long and I only have one day to complete it.
First stop, Ikea! For this I have to get the address so I can enter it into the Neverlost. I’m still nervous to drive here, so this is a big adventure. With the Neverlost navigator I only took a couple of wrong turns. It turns out this Ikea is so new the address doesn’t register in the Neverlost system. I park in the huge, free parking ramp. A luxury around here for sure!
Inside, I do really well at finding an ironing board, two floor lamps, a small cabinet with drawers for the bathroom, a rolling clothing rack, and several large plastic recycling bins. I struggled at checkout, though. I pulled out my MasterCard and she said they don’t take MasterCard. She kept saying I should use my PIN card – which I don’t have. I was starting to panic a bit, and then I pulled out a rarely used Visa card. Bingo! They take Visa, just not MasterCard. Odd, but OK. Overall the prices at Ikea were quite a bit lower than the little stores in Bussum, which was nice. And with so much bulky stuff, I was glad to be able to take it to my car in the cart. In the US we don’t think twice about this, but things are different here.
After dropping off the Ikea items at the house, I walked into Bussum to order the washer and dryer. The real estate agent had recommended a store and also told me to ask for a discount for buying both items together. I did as told and was surprised by how much discount he gave me. They also deliver and install which is good because they have to go on the third floor and I can’t read the directions in Dutch! By Friday, I should be able to do laundry properly! I also picked up an iron and a clock radio.
I hauled the iron and the radio back to the house and went out again to buy some groceries. I headed to the discount grocery store back in town. As I entered, I saw the lady in front of me put 50 cents into the lock to release the cart. I saw another person return a card and get her 50 cents back. Interesting. I didn’t have the right coin, so I was limited to what I could hold in my hands. I picked up a few basics and went to check out. I was watching the other people loading their stuff into cloth bags – I didn’t see any plastic grocery bags. I asked the checkout lady and she said, yes they have bags. So after I paid for my stuff, she pulls out a bag and says it will be 10 cents. WTF? I don’t necessarily mind paying for the shopping bag, but she could have charged me for it with my groceries, don’t you think? Oh well, she seemed kind of mean.
I dropped off the groceries at the house, and went out again to buy some cleaning supplies (dish soap, floor cleaner, laundry detergent, shampoo, shower soap, etc). I went to another store for this. They were nicer and even had regular shopping bags.
Back at the hotel, I decided to walk up the street to explore a few stores on that side of town. I found a more up-scale grocery store which was much nicer to shop in. They had nicer food and the checkout lady was pleasant. That’s a relief after my previous experience.
Finally, I was able to relax knowing that I had gotten so much accomplished. I sat down for dinner in the hotel restaurant. The food is good, but the service is abysmal. I was quietly eating (I’m pretty sure they brought me the wrong meal) and reading my Kindle, when I heard the hostess telling someone that all of their tables were booked. I looked up and recognized one of the guys from the Cincinnati office. I waved him over to join me at my table. He’s not from my group, but sometimes joined us for lunch in the Cinci cafeteria. It was nice to have someone to eat with, even if we had trouble getting the wait staff to serve him.
Sunday was a bit more relaxing. I did some cleaning at the house and hand-washed some clothes to tide me over until the washer is delivered on Friday. I picked up the yard a little and met the next door neighbor. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood and everyone seems friendly enough. After a nice relaxing Sunday, I’m ready for the rat race to start again!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
I'm finally here!
Well it’s been a long time in the works, but I’m finally in NL. This week has been very overwhelming, but in a good way. I left the Chicago house on Tuesday morning and arrived here on Wednesday morning with about 4 hours of sleep. Getting the rental car took a bit of extra time because they weren’t sure they had an automatic vehicle available. After about 45 minutes, they put me in a rather large Corsa. It’s about the size of a small mini van, so I’m kind of afraid to drive it and parking is challenging. But it’s a very nice car and I think the size will be useful as I need to do some serious shopping.
At the hotel, they weren’t sure they had a room available (seems like a theme). I reminded the guy that my reservation was for Tuesday night so I wasn’t checking early, I was checking in late. He looked again and lo and behold there was a room available. Hm, I thought so. After a very quick change of clothes I hurried over to the office to meet with the HR Angel. I was already an hour later than I expected to be, but that’s what happens when you travel.
Angel took me immediately to the town hall to register for my residence permit. They gave me the document that’s needed for the customs declaration and the rest will come in the mail. After that, we stopped at ABN-AMRO bank to see if I could open an account. They wouldn’t do it because I’m an American and still own a house in the US. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, but they wouldn’t even allow me to be on a joint account with my company. The fact that my company does all their banking with ABN-AMRO didn’t matter. Without even a complaint, Angel led me out and told me she’d call every bank in town if she had to, but she’d find a bank that would give me an account!
We went back to the office, had lunch, and I checked out my new work space. The folks in my area have been expecting me and they decorated the office to welcome me. Several of them stopped by to introduce themselves. In my jet-lag fog I couldn’t remember their names, but I really felt their kindness. I’m going to be just fine here!
Thursday morning, the real estate goddess met me at the house to give me the keys and walk me through. Remember, when we were looking at the house, the agent wasn’t able to get the keys. All we could do was look in the windows. So, this was my first time actually being in the house for real. I was very happy with the size. There are two good sized bedrooms upstairs plus a small one that I think can be converted into a walk-in closet. On the top level, there is another good sized room, plus a loft space that will be the laundry room. There is space for a washer and dryer (smaller than American size, of course), but all plumbed in so it’s ready for installation. In the kitchen, the new oven was installed and working. The owner did not skimp – the oven is huge! It’s a 5-burner gas cook top with an electric convection oven. Cool!
The house has a couple of down-sides, though. The bathroom on the bedroom level is totally weird. The toilet is in a separate room from the shower, tub, and sink. I guess I can get used to that. But the main part of the bathroom has no towel racks and no cabinet space at all. There is a pedestal sink, so there are no drawers or cupboards, or anything. I bet Ikea has something that will work, though.
The kitchen has barely any cabinet space. There are some cabinets in the dining room that will have to be used for dishes and a pantry. There is also absolutely no freezer. The little refrigerator in the kitchen doesn’t even have one of those little freezer shelves in it. There is another little refrigerator in the cellar (both the cellar and the refrigerator are kind of creepy), but again, no freezer. The agent was going to call the owner back about the freezer and also about getting a lawn mower for the overgrown patch of grass in the front yard.
For the rest of Thursday, I checked out downtown Bussum on foot and I didn’t get back into the office until Friday. On Friday morning, I met up again with the HR Angel who told me that Rabbobank will let me have a bank account, but I have to wait until I get my Dutch social security number. That should only take a couple weeks. She signed me up for phone and cable and internet service, so that will all be functional in about 10 days. Too bad I don’t have a phone or a TV! The real estate agent called and the homeowner agreed to get me a lawn mower and a freezer – hopefully next week. And finally, I heard from the movers about my air shipment. They will deliver it on Monday morning! So on Monday I can check out of the hotel and move into my new Dutch house! I think you tell why I’m feeling overwhelmed.
At the hotel, they weren’t sure they had a room available (seems like a theme). I reminded the guy that my reservation was for Tuesday night so I wasn’t checking early, I was checking in late. He looked again and lo and behold there was a room available. Hm, I thought so. After a very quick change of clothes I hurried over to the office to meet with the HR Angel. I was already an hour later than I expected to be, but that’s what happens when you travel.
Angel took me immediately to the town hall to register for my residence permit. They gave me the document that’s needed for the customs declaration and the rest will come in the mail. After that, we stopped at ABN-AMRO bank to see if I could open an account. They wouldn’t do it because I’m an American and still own a house in the US. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, but they wouldn’t even allow me to be on a joint account with my company. The fact that my company does all their banking with ABN-AMRO didn’t matter. Without even a complaint, Angel led me out and told me she’d call every bank in town if she had to, but she’d find a bank that would give me an account!
We went back to the office, had lunch, and I checked out my new work space. The folks in my area have been expecting me and they decorated the office to welcome me. Several of them stopped by to introduce themselves. In my jet-lag fog I couldn’t remember their names, but I really felt their kindness. I’m going to be just fine here!
Thursday morning, the real estate goddess met me at the house to give me the keys and walk me through. Remember, when we were looking at the house, the agent wasn’t able to get the keys. All we could do was look in the windows. So, this was my first time actually being in the house for real. I was very happy with the size. There are two good sized bedrooms upstairs plus a small one that I think can be converted into a walk-in closet. On the top level, there is another good sized room, plus a loft space that will be the laundry room. There is space for a washer and dryer (smaller than American size, of course), but all plumbed in so it’s ready for installation. In the kitchen, the new oven was installed and working. The owner did not skimp – the oven is huge! It’s a 5-burner gas cook top with an electric convection oven. Cool!
The house has a couple of down-sides, though. The bathroom on the bedroom level is totally weird. The toilet is in a separate room from the shower, tub, and sink. I guess I can get used to that. But the main part of the bathroom has no towel racks and no cabinet space at all. There is a pedestal sink, so there are no drawers or cupboards, or anything. I bet Ikea has something that will work, though.
The kitchen has barely any cabinet space. There are some cabinets in the dining room that will have to be used for dishes and a pantry. There is also absolutely no freezer. The little refrigerator in the kitchen doesn’t even have one of those little freezer shelves in it. There is another little refrigerator in the cellar (both the cellar and the refrigerator are kind of creepy), but again, no freezer. The agent was going to call the owner back about the freezer and also about getting a lawn mower for the overgrown patch of grass in the front yard.
For the rest of Thursday, I checked out downtown Bussum on foot and I didn’t get back into the office until Friday. On Friday morning, I met up again with the HR Angel who told me that Rabbobank will let me have a bank account, but I have to wait until I get my Dutch social security number. That should only take a couple weeks. She signed me up for phone and cable and internet service, so that will all be functional in about 10 days. Too bad I don’t have a phone or a TV! The real estate agent called and the homeowner agreed to get me a lawn mower and a freezer – hopefully next week. And finally, I heard from the movers about my air shipment. They will deliver it on Monday morning! So on Monday I can check out of the hotel and move into my new Dutch house! I think you tell why I’m feeling overwhelmed.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Next Post will be from NL
I'm finishing up all of my "lasts" this weekend. For my last lunch with my Cincinnati group on Friday, we went to the Mexican restaurant that one of my coworkers owns. It will probably be difficult to get Mexican food in the Netherlands, so this was cool. My last drive from Cincinnati to Chicago was marred by road construction, as would be expected this time of year. We had our last Giordano's Pizza on Friday night. And a last dinner with our neighbors, T&T across the street on Saturday night.
In between, I'm getting the last of my laundry done and I'm trying to figure out how to get all my junk into the suitcases. Despite all my planning, I'm afraid my stuff has expanded. My carry-on luggage is getting out of control! You have to carry-on anything valuable like jewelery (not that I have much), important documents, all prescriptions, the laptop and other electronic gadgets. Not to mention the extra change of clothes and make-up in case they lose my luggage. Since I've been a victim of lost luggage before, I'm truly paranoid now. I am making an itemized list of everything in my suitcases and making sure there's an address card INSIDE each bag because the tags on the outside can be torn off too easily.
Despite all my paranoid packing and repacking, I noticed that I left a few items in the hotel room in Cincinnati. Fortunately, it was just some old workout clothes. And you know if I was actually working out, I would not have forgotten them. Oh well, it will make more room in my bags for else.
I'm really looking forward to getting to the Netherlands so I can dig into my job and get physically active again. There has been nothing worse for my fitness level than living in a hotel for three months. You don't realize how much exercise you get just running around the house. In a hotel room, you just sit on the bed. Even using the workout room doesn't really make up for the lack of activity. So, I'm ready for nice weather and I'm ready to get moving again!
So, on Tuesday, I'm off to the Netherlands. Dennis will join me on May 2 with the cat. And with any luck, our household goods will arrive around then as well. As for the customs snafu (needing to have the residence permit to get our stuff through customs), we have had some good news. The temporary residence permit is complete, so our things shouldn't be held up for that.
I'll let you know how it goes as I get the keys to the house in Bussum, get utilities set up, and finalize the immigration stuff. Look for a post later this week!
In between, I'm getting the last of my laundry done and I'm trying to figure out how to get all my junk into the suitcases. Despite all my planning, I'm afraid my stuff has expanded. My carry-on luggage is getting out of control! You have to carry-on anything valuable like jewelery (not that I have much), important documents, all prescriptions, the laptop and other electronic gadgets. Not to mention the extra change of clothes and make-up in case they lose my luggage. Since I've been a victim of lost luggage before, I'm truly paranoid now. I am making an itemized list of everything in my suitcases and making sure there's an address card INSIDE each bag because the tags on the outside can be torn off too easily.
Despite all my paranoid packing and repacking, I noticed that I left a few items in the hotel room in Cincinnati. Fortunately, it was just some old workout clothes. And you know if I was actually working out, I would not have forgotten them. Oh well, it will make more room in my bags for else.
I'm really looking forward to getting to the Netherlands so I can dig into my job and get physically active again. There has been nothing worse for my fitness level than living in a hotel for three months. You don't realize how much exercise you get just running around the house. In a hotel room, you just sit on the bed. Even using the workout room doesn't really make up for the lack of activity. So, I'm ready for nice weather and I'm ready to get moving again!
So, on Tuesday, I'm off to the Netherlands. Dennis will join me on May 2 with the cat. And with any luck, our household goods will arrive around then as well. As for the customs snafu (needing to have the residence permit to get our stuff through customs), we have had some good news. The temporary residence permit is complete, so our things shouldn't be held up for that.
I'll let you know how it goes as I get the keys to the house in Bussum, get utilities set up, and finalize the immigration stuff. Look for a post later this week!
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