Gotta Talk that Dutch

People from home often ask: "How is the language barrier". The stock answer about Holland is: "You will rarely ever NEED to speak Dutch, and most everyone speaks English well". This is true.. but there are subtleties to living around the language that are starting to wear on me. For instance, it is impossible to be polite when asking for something; asking "when you get a chance, could you bring the bill" will be met with a blank look until you say: "I would like to pay, please". More importantly, when you hear people around you talking and they end up laughing, you get that sense that you aren't 'in' on the joke (somewhat of a High School feeling).

They laugh alot, so this has me thinking that I need to put the time and effort into learning some Dutch.

-Chad






For your viewing enjoyment, I threw in this picture of people repelling off of the Euromast.

Another visitor; McCormick

Our next visitor, ironically, was Feet's old partner in crime, McCormick. Jarod happened to be in Bruges, Belgium, for a conference. So afterwards he hopped on a train up to see us. He was here over the 4th of July weekend. It was nice to be with another fellow countryman on the 4th. ;)

We celebrated in style, by going to the beach at the Hague and sitting outside in a café on the beach, lounging and drinking and eating all afternoon. Jarod decided that he wanted to move to the Hague, so he could live this lifestyle all the time (in the short summer months of course). We also stumbled upon a wonderful tapas restaurant in the city for dinner that night. Once again, it was really nice to have a friend visit to share our new home with.

-S

Pics from Jarod's visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157606627461793/

Cyber Frustrations

One of the most frustrating parts of settling in here in Holland was trying to establish an internet connection. It seems like it should be straight forward. You go to the store, and leave with an internet subscription and modem. Not so.

Of course we wanted to get the cheapest option possible that would handle our needs, so we shopped around a bit. There are a few discount internet providers available, and the adds sounds great, so we first looked there. However, they do not provide the high speeds that we needed, especially to use Slingbox or Skype.

 

Then we looked for a higher speed providers, which took us to UPC or KPN. After taking a trip to each store downtown, we were told that setup took 4 weeks. FOUR WEEKS! That is such an incredibly long time, considering it should only involve them “flipping a switch,” so to speak. Could they not just hand us the modem in the store? I guess our expectations were too high. We were desparate for another option, so we kept looking.

We found that Orange also offered high speeds, but at a cheaper price. So we went to ask them, and they also told us it would take “4-6” weeks, but they expected it would be less than four (which was no consolation to us). After much deliberation, and still in disbelief of the long wait time, we decided to go to the Orange store and buy their setup. They put our information into the computer and “set us up.” We were now to wait a few weeks and then we would receive a modem.

Two weeks later, we received a letter, but not the one we were hoping for. The letter stated that they could not provide internet to our apartment, because we were within a certain postal code in the city limits, and they had already used the allotted number of lines that KPN (the phone company) provides to them. What!? Plus, why did it take them two weeks to come back to us with this information? Couldn't they look this up and tell us in the store? It is too complicated to get into the full explanation of this setup in here, so I’ll leave it at that. But long story short, we couldn’t use them.

I'm fairly certain that the internet setup in Rotterdam looked something like this:

So, we were back to where we started. Basically, our only option then was to go to UPC. It was much more expensive, but we bit the bullet and went ahead. We set up the account, and set in for the long wait. After a few weeks, we had heard nothing, so we went to check up. At this point, they told us they couldn’t create a new account for us because there was already an active account for our 'building.' Our building is split into three apartments, but they only had it as one address in their system. This didn't help us because the setup was not in our apartment.

Well, I didn't do a very good job of keeping this long story short, but in conclusion, we were able to go into the store with our upstairs neighbor, and purchase the expensive plan (saying we lived 'together'). Then we waited our allotted weeks, and presto... the magic world of the internet was at our fingertips (so long as the service didn't go out, as it often did)!

- C

Our first visitor; Feet!

Our first visitor came only a month after we moved into our new apartment. Feet (Forest), was on his way back home after living in the Middle East for a year, where he worked on establishing and improving a paramedic program.


Feet was very excited about the “cool” summer climates in Holland, after spending so much time in the hot dessert. He was also excited to eat pork again. We showed him around Rotterdam as best we could, with having only limited knowledge of the city ourselves. It was fun to explore the city with a friend from home.

Pics from Feet's visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157606890741178/

Our First Anniversary; Paris, France

June 6-11, 2008

What can I say about Paris? People have written books trying to capture the character and atmosphere of the city. So I will not attempt to do so in a couple paragraphs, but I will recap what we did. It really is a charming city, a photographers' paradise, and such a romantic place to celebrate our first anniversary. We couldn't believe it had been a whole year, because all of the fun we had at the wedding was still so fresh in our memories. Who knew then that within the next year we would be packing up and moving to Europe, and we'd end up spending our anniversary in Paris.

Despite popular belief, most people in France are incredibly friendly if you give at least a bit of effort to speak French, and don't act like an obnoxious tourist. First of all, thanks to my 5 years of traveling with FedEx and staying in Hilton chain hotels, I had saved up enough points to book the Hilton Arc de Triomphe for 5 nights! Score! We probably could have never afforded to stay in this hotel otherwise. It was only two (long) blocks from the Arc, and they even put little chocolates on your pillow. Yet another thing that made our experience there so cool.

For 5 days we just wondered around the city from one amazing site to the next. We strolled down the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. The size of the Arc is very impressive, especially when you are standing directly under it. It is also neat to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance peaking up over the buildings. Outside the Louvre, there are beautifully landscaped gardens full of Romanesque statues and large water fountains. We found a café and had some wine while we soaked up all of the beautiful things around us. Formerly the residence of royalty, the building of the Louvre is itself a piece of art. It is enormous, encompassing an entire block. Inside the painted ceilings and marble doorways and floors are really something to see. You could easily spend several days in this museum and not see everything, but we were able to see the main things that we wanted to see. Our favorite part by far is the statue gallery in the left wing, which is a huge open area with dozens of large marble and bronze statues.

Some of the best parts of Paris, though, are not the landmarks or tourist spots. One afternoon we bought a bottle of wine and sat in the lounge chairs in the Jardin du Luxembourg, a large garden in the city, talking for hours. It was nice because there were not many people there, so it was quiet and private. Another day we got lost in The Third, and ended up finding a really neat part of town. We stumbled upon a quaint little street with shops and cafes where we stopped to have a glass of white wine to cool off. And, when we walked around the corner, bam, there was Notre Dame! That is the neat thing about this city, you never know what you will encounter around the next corner.

Notre Dame is a beautiful cathedral, inside and out. It still has a medieval feeling to it. We bit the bullet and waited in line to go up in the bell towers. It was well worth the wait, because it provides a beautiful view of the city, including the Eiffel Tower off in the distance. It is also just interesting to see the inside of the towers with their tiny worn down spiral staircases, and gargoyles everywhere. I can't help but think about the Hunchback of Notre Dame when I'm up there. Haha.

The Eiffel Tower is obviously at the top of most peoples' list of things to see in Paris. It is just one more thing that made us say "wow." It is nice to see in the daylight, but you absolutely must visit it at night, too, as it has a completely different atmosphere. The parks and gardens surrounding the tour and nice to lay around in and drink some wine. Then about every half hour they have a light show where the whole tour sparkles. Talk about romantic…Our first anniversary was definitely memorable, and I'm sure we will be just as happy on our 50th. I would highly recommend adding Paris to your must-visit-list. You won't be disappointed.

-S

Pics from our first anniversary in Paris:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157605664028995/

Antwerp, Belgium

May 2008

We took a day trip to Antwerp with Slavka on Saturday in May. It was nice that it is only 1 hour by train, so it's a nice quick trip. Belgium is not too drastically different than the Netherlands, but Antwerp did have a lot of beautiful buildings with intricate scroll work and statues. There is a huge cathedral near the market. The tower is very tall, and you can see it from almost anywhere in the city.

Even the train station is nice with a tall glass ceiling, and marble pillers. The mail street in Antwerp leads from the train station to the market, and is a major shopping area. We were happy (as always) to find an Irish pub where we could grab a Guinness. ;)

The Castle on the riverfront

The Grote Markt (large market) is also nice with a large statue/water fountain & all of the flags of the EU, surrounded by shops and cafes. We were happy to find it because we could sit outside at one of the countless tables and enjoy Belgium's finest (beer, chocolate, and waffles). It's cliché, but it felt "European." haha. Mussels are also very popular in Belgium, and they are cooked in several different sauces including ones made with Belgium beer. I also discovered what is now still one of my favorite beers, Triple Karmeliet (and not just because there is a fleur de lis on the glass, it's a good beer).

Grote Markt, in Antwerp

-S

Pics from Antwerp:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157605372241932/

Every story needs plot development...

To add to Chad's summary of our move to Europe, I can help to give a little glimpse into what it was like moving to Holland, and what life has been like since we've arrived. After the two month wait due to delays with visas, work permits, marriage certificates, etc (in typical Dutch fashion), we were finally packed and ready to go. Our journey here was not easy, but it went as smoothly as can be expected. Think for a minute about trying to fit everything you'll need or want for two years into three bags that you have to carry through an airport, on and off trains, and across a foreign city to your new house at an unknown location. I wouldn't want to do it again, but with the help of family and friends on both sides of the globe we were able to make it happen.

A portion of our luggage that

we were happy to finally unpack.

We settled in quickly, and I think we both did a good job of adjusting to life in Rotterdam. As I write this, we are sitting on our balcony, drinking Belgium beer, and looking at the city; the people sitting at tables outside the cafes, the bikers riding by holding a bag of groceries while on their cell phone at the same time, the trams going down the street, the conversations all around us that we don't understand, the horns of impatient and aggressive Dutch drivers, and all of the other little things that we've become accustomed to so quickly in the last couple months here.

On the top of the Euromast

We are used to seeing all of these things in our daily lives now, and it's sometimes easy to forget where we are. We often have to remind ourselves that we're in Europe. I guess it's good that we have become so comfortable in our new city. It finally feels like home. But, thinking back to when we first arrived, it's easy to forget how many things were new and difficult. The simplest of tasks could take hours or even days to figure out. It can really test your patience. Imagine with me, again, going to the grocery store and not being able to read any of the labels on the food. To start, you can only buy what your recognize through the container or by a picture (milk, bread, salad, chicken, eggs, etc). Slowly, you start to sneak out your Dutch to English dictionary (with your back turned so you don't look like a total tourist), and decipher some of the unrecognizable or packaged food. After a couple trips, you get more and more comfortable with what you like and, more importantly, what to avoid (here's a tip, Filet American is a raw meat spread, don't find out the hard way like we did... ugghhhh).

With every challenge, there's always a positive flip side to keep in mind. The advantage to living in a new city and a new country, is that there are unlimited places to explore. I love walking around the neighborhoods and looking at the buildings and houses overflowing with flowers, and the beautiful canals lined with willow trees and filled with families of ducks and swans. The larger canals and harbors in the city also have some interesting ships and things to look at. Did you know that it is common for people to live on boats here?

The neighborhood in Capella aan Den Ijssel, where we stayed our first month.

At times it's been frustrating trying to deal with things in a foreign language, but we can easily remind ourselves of the advantages of living here. We've already taken advantage of our close location to several cool cities. We'll recap some of our early trips in the upcoming posts, and then get up to date so we can keep things current, because there's always more to come...

-S

Some more pics of Rotterdam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157605373169096/

And of Dick's house that we stayed in for 3 weeks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157604977068154/

And of putting together our apartment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kanickmoses/sets/72157605340232811/