| Author | Message | ||
     Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 436 Registered: 10-2003 |
We're here! After much trial and tribulation, persistence pays off. We had a good flight over. A little hassle on both ends getting the cats settled, but we're here now and they are adjusting to tour temporary hotel home. Lily doesn't want to come out from under the bed, but Oliver has taken over the place, including the maids. We had our first adventure today with the grocery store and managed to buy what we needed, no problem. Tomorrow we'll go exploring and I'll have more to report. R | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 5438 Registered: 5-2001  |
Rebecca- congrats! I love the Netherlands. There is, however, one mystery I could never figure out. I used to work for a Dutch company, and was there a lot. At functions, I was always offered "meat" or "fish". No one ever knew what kind of meat & thought I was crazy for asking. I would try to make a game out of it: "Before it became 'meat', what kind of animal was it? What did it say? Moo? Oink"? I never was able to solve this mystery. Perhaps you can investigate it for me? Thanks. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 437 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'll work on that for you Greentree. We've had a mixed up kind of day today, sleeping at odd times and awake at odd times. It's just part of our transition. Tomorrow I think we'll be on a pretty close schedule to normal. We visited the grocery store again, with more money. Not many stores of any kind are open on Sunday, but the grocery store was hopping. Like Kings, it's cramped and crowed with people and carts. We're sticking to the little baskets for now. You have to pay to use a cart, but also we have to carry everything we buy a long way home. Our room has a little kitchenette, one bathroom with sink and toilet and one which also has separate shower and bathtub. We were out when the maids came today, but I left a sticky note on the door not to vacuum under the bed. A little surprise yesterday when Oliver bolted out from under there. Got caught in a tremendous downpour on the way back. Lucky we had on our Gore-tex. The day has been blustery like that, but two or three periods of bright sun inbetween. Really beautiful. We can just see the sea from our windows. We're on the 7th floor up, but the 1st floor is Ground so we're in the 600s. There's no gym here, but a heated indoor pool we enjoy. We're also figuring out the climate control. I think we had the airconditioning on some last night. We'll get it eventually. TS is preparing his clothes for the first day of work tomorrow, wants to look good and everything we have is wrinkled. I'm going to need to find a laundromat type place by the end of the week. I'm sure the hotel is expecting to make big money off us with laundry but I can't afford to pay 2.50 Euros for each pair of underwear. It would cost 100Euros to have two loads of laundry cleaned. Gotta go. R | ||
| jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 1440 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hi, Becky. Nice to hear about your adventures. You'll be pleased to hear that I haven't killed the spider plant yet. Wish TS luck on his first day at the new job. | ||
| mtierney Citizen Username: Mtierney Post Number: 866 Registered: 3-2001 |
Hi Becky - I saw you and your spouse at the Home Depot parking lot just last week and here you are already in the Netherlands! Had I known, I would have blown the horn and waved best wishes! Keep us posted, I enjoy vicarious adventure stories! Now I am worried that the maids will let your cats slip out!  | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 438 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'm glad you're enjoying the plant, jem. It's quite difficult to kill. Paul had a great day yesterday. It looks like 9-6 with an hour for lunch pretty much every day, plus you can take a couple hours off each week for an exercise class or workout. Very laid back. Very antiquated though. Marie, I think that was the day before we left an we were getting some kitchen floor moulding to put down. That house is a never ending story. The cabinet contractors didn't order the special sink for the powder room and will have to go back in this week to put it in. For those of you following the 'Flies Away' thread I have to say: I was a little harsh on the neighbors (I was also generalizing). It ended up that some of them actually gave helpful advice and one actually recommended someone to come look at the house as a possible rental. That was actively helping. We really did like our neighbors, just a little sensitive about the rental sign thing. Yesterday I waited here for the maid to come. She barely did her work, I think because she doesn't like/is afraid of? the cats and with me sitting there she seemed a little nervous. They seem to think we are quite strange for having them with us. We don't have some weird 'they're our babies' thing. They are cats to us, companions. Something to love and care for and recieve love in return, but also our responsibility. They seem to be dog people, but that's first impression. If the cats got out, they couldn't go anywhere but in the hallway. I doubt they would go near an elevator and we're on the 7th floor. I'm looking for a laundromat. No one seems to know where one is, but they have to do their laundry somewhere. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 439 Registered: 10-2003 |
Okay, I found the laundromat/wassarette. Not too far, but not my favorite thing to carry a bag of laundry over and back every time we need clean clothes. 6 Euros for a load! and that's just to wash. It does include washing powder. Today we look at our first samples of housing. I'm hoping we won't be disappointed. Everything seems so expensive, but very clean. We've had two beautiful days, but today is starting out with a thick fog. It may burn off and be sunny or rain may move in. The weather changes by the hour so be prepared seems to be the moto. R | ||
| Wilkanoid Citizen Username: Cseleosida Post Number: 491 Registered: 10-2002 |
I sympathize with you completely on the laundromat issue. We lived in overseas for a while, and until we got ourselves settled in an apartment, laundry was an issue. I took bags of laundry to a laundromat (I had to take the MTR or MRT or whatever it was) for a month. Got strange looks from the hotel staff coming in and out. The smallest things ... | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 440 Registered: 10-2003 |
Everyone is talking about how this is unusual weather for October. It has been nice every afternoon warming up to 60 something. The fog can be quite heavy in the morning though so I'm glad I have no schedule and can wait for afternoon to go out in the sun. I took one small load of laundry in a kind or tapestry bag (to disguise it) to the Wassarette this afternoon. The lady there was very nice to walk me through the whole procedure. I would have never figured it out. The soap goes in a flap on top of the machine, but the laudry goes in the front. As I said, 6 Euros a load. But the centrifuge is free, step 2, and made a real difference in the time I spent at step 3, the dryer. The whole load dried in less than 17 minutes. I think I'll take a load of whites next time and just alternate about every 5-7 days. We just have to get by 3 more weeks and are used to 'rewearing' clothes while traveling. Much more than at home. I didn't really like the area we looked at for housing yesterday. It was really nice, but every house (they're row houses) is exactly the same, no character, some needing real work and the shopping street was a little too upmarket for me. I've gotten spoiled with Fredrik Hendriklaan. It's just so perfect a balance of things you need everyday, like Albert Hein grocery, a Blokker and the wassarette, plus some nicer shops for shoes and clothes, a bookstore, a couple of flower or veg markets, meat markets and even a British import food shop. Unfortunately that area, the Statenkwartier, doesn't have any rental listing with outdoor space. I'm about to give up on that, but will make one more effort. We're checking out another area by bike tomorrow. About halfway between here and the Centrum. Postcode is the same as here. I'll let you know what we find. R | ||
| Dave Supporter Username: Dave Post Number: 7572 Registered: 4-1997  |
I'll be keeping tabs.   Maybe P. can get some his colleagues to join MOL. They'd love it. Tell them we're very European. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 442 Registered: 10-2003 |
Okay, Dave. We'll see what we can do. Yesterday we saw Tosca and had dinner at an historic hotel in the city center. Tosca was in Italian with the 'overtitles' in Dutch, but the food was the best we've had so far. Perfectly prepared and hot. Today will be a boring day for me after two days of adventure, but I need to do a little shopping and maybe a load of wash. No progress on the house hunt. Feeling frustrated. R | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 6458 Registered: 5-2001 |
Do the Dutch have the equivalent of realtors that you can speak with about a possible rental? Do Paul's employer and/or co-workers offer any suggestions? (Where do any who rent live?) Does the information exist on-line in a language you can read and understand (possibly using some form of translator program) so that you can do some research on places to live and perhaps even access some listings? | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 443 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yes to all your questions Joan. The Dutch realtors (makelaars) are just not as forthcoming as their American colleagues.(sp?) We just haven't found one that seems the least bit friendly and/or helpful. Their Multiple Listing-type site is Funda.nl and is really excellent. I've picked out places to look at that I think will work. Unfortunately the first neighborhood we looked in we didn't click with, not to mention the realtor was very cool and didn't try to sell the area at all. We're meeting with another realtor tomorrow and checking out a different neighborhood that P and I spent time in this weekend. Hopefully we'll have a better match, but I don't have a good feeling about the realty company. When I asked questions about the property over the phone the person just said, "I don't know." No offer to go find out. She also told us the shopping street was 5-10 minutes away BY CAR! In reality it's about 2 blocks up. Very nice and easy to find. They also put us off once and then we had to change our appointment once so now we don't even know the name of the person meeting us. You just get the feeling they don't care at all. I have a list of the only places on the market we can fit into. If we have to we can just call each place and see them individually. I'm not too worried about it, but it's a little irritating to not be making progress. Lunch with P at his work today. Cafeteria food with wine? It's okay. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 444 Registered: 10-2003 |
I've been looking through the other threads and one of them reminded me of a strange program on TV here. Please bear in mind that there aren't a lot of choices for viewing. You pretty much watch what's on. Well anyway, there's a program called "War at the Door" from BBC that is about problems among neighbors, complaints, etc. There's one segment which follows a Council worker as he tries to track down and ticket (50 Pounds!) illegal dumpers. People walk right out of their building and drop bags of trash on the street in front of the building hoping someone will come an take it away. This happens all over London and they have a whole office of people trying to police this problem. It's a funny program, kind of sad too. Last night they arrested three different people for illegal dumping. It's taken very seriously. Just something to think about. R | ||
| eliz Supporter Username: Eliz Post Number: 1209 Registered: 5-2001 |
What about the expat community? Somehow you have to get yourself hooked in - they should be able to help. The Hague attracts people from all over the globe - I have to imagine that there is some sort of network and/or facilitation service. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 445 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yes, expats are generally helpful. I'm going to check out the American Women's Club. I've already been getting some advice from Expatica. Sometimes helpful, but not always specific enough. It just takes a little time. Hopefully tomorrow we'll make a connection to this new realtor. R | ||
| Wilkanoid Citizen Username: Cseleosida Post Number: 500 Registered: 10-2002 |
Doesn't the company your husband works for have any realtors they routinely recommend? If they work regularly with employees from the company, they may be more sensitive to your needs. | ||
| jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 1452 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hi, Becky. I'm going to remind my husband to send P. a contact for the online community that we spoke about. There are a fair number of Dutch participants, and they may also be helpful. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 446 Registered: 10-2003 |
Wilk, None in particular. They do recommend we stay away from certain ones. They would actually prefer we find a place on our own, I think. Saves them the commission. It's just not the same as in the US. JEM, Thanks. The more people we can ask questions of, the better. Had a really strange (to us) experience with our new bank. They set up the account and it took them three days to give us an account number so money could be deposited in it. Then today we went to activate our cards and guess what? We have a deficit. They charged us for insurance and interest on the insurance fee as if it were a loan becuase they didn't activate an overdraft protection and it's taking so long for them to process the first deposit. The bank staff kind of brushed it off, but P was very unhappy and made the ultimate negative comment "That wouldn't be acceptable in the US." I smoothed it over, but it's their own incompetence that is causing the problem and they don't care. Dutch customer service with a smile. We're finally getting it. We later agreed to NOT make references to US service, etc. anymore. It's just not a good idea. Had nothing to do with the situation and the staff didn't really understand our concern. It's just a few cents, but we were really taken aback. They did warn us about moving money from one account to another on the same day. The bank can go back to a previous day's interest and charge you for it if you don't leave 'new' money in an account overnight. It's very strange, but it causes them to lose money and they charge you for it. We're going to have to pay close attention to everything here. It's all in the details. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 447 Registered: 10-2003 |
I've been having trouble with my internet access here in the hotel for days. So slooow. Now it seems to have stabilized, but I still cannot access some pages. Unfortunately, one of the things I cannot do is sign in to my Hotmail account. That happens to be the account I use for this forum, so if anyone is trying to talk to me, try my Maplewood Library address instead. Thanks, R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 448 Registered: 10-2003 |
Well, it's done. We made an offer to rent a house/apartment. I don't know what you call it really, I think a row house. They are all alike and stuck together, but not a town house the way we have them. I wrote the offer letter asking a few specific questions, describing us and making the offer. We proposed 150 Euros less than they are asking. I hope the fact that "We're a rather quiet couple who enjoy wine, classical music, working around the house and garden." will make the lower rent more palatable. We can go a little higher, but not much if we want to do anything fun while we are here. The big selling point of this place is the outdoor area. It's a kind of wooden terrace system with a little pond and then a grassy area in the back. There are also two brick terraces on the back of the house so we should have room for our outdoor table, chairs and grill. We really like to be outside as much as possible and the cats will love the pond. We can have fish in it. Shouldn't get ahead of myself. We may be on the search again tomorrow. Gotta get a bike. Last Saturday they were all rented out by the time we got around to it. Ugh. The tram is fine though. Gets you everywhere you want to go. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 449 Registered: 10-2003 |
Monday morning here and another beautiful day in the Netherlands. We had one day in these first two weeks that the sun didn't shine. I'm saving up sunrays. This weekend we spent some time in the Centrum, walking all the shopping streets and having coffee in a street cafe. Coffee is the drink of choice. I don't drink coffe, but they usually have a number of teas to choose from. Sunday we spent the day going to Kijkduin Beach. We found our way through the dunes (they're covered in scrub growth, I pictured them as big sand piles with sand blowing in your face, etc.) to a hotel right on the water. We stopped to use the toilets and discovered a brunch for that day around 12:30. We made a reservation and then walked down to the beach to kill some time. They have really deep beaches it seems to me, but I'm not a beach expert. I grew up around lots of rivers and lakes. There is a whole strip of restaurants of many types right along the water. We'll have to try some of them when we move. The house we're hoping for is about 10 minutes from there by bike. Speaking of bikes. I may have a little difficulty with that. We rented bikes from the hotel for the day, but couldn't use them because they were so big. Even with the seat at it's lowest, my feet were about 6" above the ground. They just have longer legs, I guess. We've been looking in shops, but new bikes are really expensive and I haven't seen any small enough for me anyway. I would rather have a used 'granny bike', big seat and feet brakes. Less likely to get stolen anyway. We had a really nice 'brunch' which lasted from 12:30-3:30! They have a system of serving and even though it's a buffet, you have to wait for certain things to happen. We just relaxed and enjoyed the view. They night before we went out with another American couple living in the hotel. They've been here since May and in this hotel since the summer. They are buying a house nearby and won't take possession until January. Even then I doubt they'll live there for several weeks. Houses don't come with the standard fixtures you might expect. The light fixtures, appliances and some plumbing fixtures will mostly be gone. You can rent places like that also. Not even flooring! We're going for 'partly furnished' meaning that the fixtures and most appliances are provided. Hope to hear about that today. I hope it's not back to the drawing board. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 450 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yeah! It looks like we have a place to live. We just agreed on the rent and conditions this morning and will sign the contract Wed, I think. It should still be on the Funda website, if you're interested. Go to Funda.nl and click on huur (rent) then put in the postcode box 2564 and the price between 2000 and 2500 Euros. It should be the only listing to pop up. Laan van Meerdervoort 790. We're renting it unfurnished so ignore the furnishings, but check out the back and it has great stained glass. Gotta go. Laundry is waiting and I need to drop off copies of our passports so they can write out the contract. R | ||
| jem Citizen Username: Jem Post Number: 1458 Registered: 5-2001 |
It looks really nice. Hope all goes well with the contract. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 451 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thanks, jem. Now to coordinate the arrival of our household goods with getting in this place. Hopefully, no hangups at the Customs Department. We have two cases of wine to pay the duty on, but we were open about that. It's listed on our form. Unfortunately, it may mean a trip to the docks in person. We'll see. It's another beautiful day here, although cool. Fall has really arrived. I just have a gore-tex jacket, but can wear another layer underneath. I may need to buy a scarf, the wind seems to blow a lot some days, but the sun is shining. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 452 Registered: 10-2003 |
It's Tuesday evening and I just got word that we'll sign our lease, do a walk-through and take possession of our house on Thursday! I'm so glad. Now if we can just get the moving company to deliver our household goods by Monday. I'm already planning how the furniture will go. Today was laundry again. It's amazing how often it comes up when you have very few clothes. It's been a wet and blustery day, but the sun shone for an hour or two this afternoon. I have to say I have a problem with the sun. I think it has to do with the angle of the sun or being at a different latitude. Around 10:30 in the morning and again around 4:00 in the afternoon I find the sun to be almost painfully close and piercing to my eyes. I can't seem to look anywhere that it's not aimed directly at me. I'm one of the few people in the whole city who wears sunglasses, but I find them totally necessary during these times of day. Something that is really bugging P is the fact that the shops all store their wine upright. Every bottle we have brought home has had such a dry cork that we tear it completely up trying to get it out. What's with this? We've bought wine at all the shops in our area and it's a really nice, expensive area. They are all the same. I think their excuse is small storage space, but I'm not sure that's reasonable. A bottle is a bottle whichever way you store it. Anyway, we're looking forward to having a kind of wine cellar in our small basement/crawl space. It's not like a basement in the US, but quite large for one here. You can pretty much stand up and it seems relatively dry. No realy dampness that we could feel or see. Tomorrow I plan on walking over to the American Women's Club. Weather depending. I don't go out when it's gushing, but any other time you just have to keep going. The group is large enough to have it's own 'clubhouse' and the largest English language library in The Hague. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 453 Registered: 10-2003 |
I've been enjoying some Aesop's Fables. A thirsty crow found a pitcher with some water in it, but so little was there that, try as she might, she could not reach it with her beak, and it seemed as though she would die of thirst within sight of the remedy. At last she hit upon a clever plan. She began dropping pebbles into the pitcher, and with each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it reached the brim, and the knowing bird was enabled to quench her thirst. Necessity it the mother of invention. I've never heard the fable, but I've heard the conclusion many times. Interesting. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 454 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yes, at last I have Internet access! I can't believe I went three weeks without posting or reading, researching or fiddling around on a computer. I was very busy, had some issues, but things are going pretty well. I will have to summarize: Found and rented a 'rowhouse' in a part of The Hague away from the city center. It's a great house with a garden, has been kept up well and has enough rooms (and they are big enough) for all our stuff. We moved out of the hotel and spent two nights on the floor, ugh, also no heat because we couldn't figure out the controls. Furniture arrived, mostly unharmed and we got the hang of most of the electrical items in the house. No phone for the first week and a half, no internet for another week. Side note: this is what they call Dutch service. They sent us a brand new wireless modem for our house. They sent instructions for a different modem and software to set up yet an different modem than that. Paul's Dutch improved greatly through this episode. They charge 10 cents a minute to call for guidance. !!!!!!What were they expecting?!!! Anyway, we've had a really great transition. I've joined the American Women's Club and the International Women's Contact. I'm shopping almost daily on my local shopping street. I have a little pull cart/bag for going to the market or the little 'mall' (you would never consider this a mall, but it's all I've got). I'll continue in a bit. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 455 Registered: 10-2003 |
I just went to check on my pumpkin bread. It's looks beautiful, but full of wet, uncooked dough in the middle. Let's just say the transition to European appliances has been my greatest challenge. The first time I used the washing machine I couldn't get my clothes back for almost three hours! Not to mention the fact that you can't run the washer and the dryer at the same time. It's physically impossible because they are on a single circuit that flips from one to the other. I have since adjusted my thinking regarding clean clothes. It takes me all day to do two loads of laundry wash/dry/wash/dry and fold. We have become quite careful with our clothes. Regarding food and cooking. I haven't really had that much trouble. The AWC (I mentioned I joined them) gave me a cheat sheet with temperature conversions, etc. and I've been doing well with that. It's the stupid convection thing in the oven that gets me. It always runs, no options. So things seem to brown much quicker than you expect. We're doing American Thanksgiving for P's coworkers on Saturday (Thursday isn't a holiday). They are from several countries, one from the US, none are Dutch, but some have lived here a long time. I'm doing food preparation bit by bit on a daily basis so there won't be as much room for disaster on the actual day. I had to order two turkeys (one wouldn't have fit in the oven) from a special butcher. You wouldn't believe what I paid for them. | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 456 Registered: 10-2003 |
Last night we had our first Dutch lesson. I'm not too terrible, but can't imagine actually conversing in this language. I know nothing to say except good morning and what is that and where is the toilet? This could be a slow process. It does seem to be necessary though. Many people say: Oh all the Dutch speak English. Well.....yes and no (P hates it when I do that). Anyway, English is a language that is taught in school and also some is passed down and assimilated into their daily lives. However, if you're in an area like the one we live in, you're very likely to meet people who have hardly ever used the English they learned. I just plough through with some English and and gestures and they pick out the key words, sometimes I can use their Dutch noun in place of the English one and we make do. The young people transfer to English fluidly, but many people use the words they know and mix them with the Dutch. I've found that they understand a lot more than they can speak, which makes sense. I also understand a lot more Dutch, especially signs, than I can say. Pronunciation is a problem for me. I don't have enough phlegm (I'm joking). | ||
| mtierney Citizen Username: Mtierney Post Number: 877 Registered: 3-2001 |
So glad to see you back online! Please keep posting. I enjoy reading how you cope with all the changes in your lives! PS The nifty needlers are again holding meetings - I missed the first one this month, however  | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 457 Registered: 10-2003 |
Marie, I'm glad the Needlers didn't die out. I was a little worried about the transition. We've had the most serious computer problems so far. Had to send the laptop away and it came back today with a new motherboard, etc. It's a whole new computer. I still don't know what happened to it. Tonight is the big work Christmas party at Madurodam. Did I tell you about that? It's a model of a bunch of Dutch places and things. I guess about kid size, not really what you'd call miniature, but very small buildings, etc. It's formal dress. P's wearing his tux and I'll be in silk and velvet. Soooooo we start with a tour of the outside 'museum' (I'm not sure what to call this) while sipping drinks and freezing our toes in dress shoes then we go inside for a buffet meal, music and dancing. I heard it wasn't ballroom dancing so I'm not sure what. Rock-n-roll? The food should be good and the little buildings interesting and I may meet some interesting people. Will continue...... | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 458 Registered: 10-2003 |
Just to review Thanksgiving: It went very well. I haven't cooked for 12 people (in a little oven) in a long time. Everyone was very nice and seemed to enjoy the food. The only problem I had was I accidentally 'overbrowned' the rolls :-) ha. I also thought the potatoes were very watery. They have a lot of different kinds of potatoes here and I may have gotten the wrong ones to mash. We're having several couples over again next week, but I think I'll play it safe with chilli and grilled cheese or something. I'm getting a good grip on the transportation setup here and noticed something that bugs me. They have a somewhat honorcode system for paying for the trams (when you get on the bus, the driver stamps your strip so you can't avoid that), but on the tram it's your call. They periodically have teams of employees get on and go through the whole tram checking to see if everyone paid. However, that's very erratic and truthfully I've only seen them on certain lines and certain times. Anyway, I figure if someone doesn't pay at all and want's to take the chance, what can I do about it? On the other hand lots of people do what I'll call 'shortchange' the system. I've noticed it a lot and I'm not sure I understand the ins and outs but basically they do this: Get on the tram at stop A, wait until stop D to stamp their strip (this may be in a new zone and they can stamp one less strip on their card) or sometimes they stand near the machine and listen. When the machine turns over to a new zone or new time frame, they stamp their strip. This way they get an extra half hour to use the tram while their card is valid. My sense of fairness and abiding by the rules is offended, especially when so many people do it. No one is going to catch them or ever say anything, but who are they cheating? Is it one of those, "Oh, a penny doesn't matter" situations? That's how some people become millionaires, by stealing a few pennies from a few million people. Anyway, something to think about. R | ||
| mtierney Citizen Username: Mtierney Post Number: 880 Registered: 3-2001 |
Becky, sorry to report that the second scheduled meeting of the knitting group last night was a bust - just me and the librarian showed up! She is planning to notifiy everyone that unless she hears otherwise, she's calling it off.  | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 459 Registered: 10-2003 |
That's too bad. It's funny how these things work or don't work. There are so many factors and some of them are really random. I heard the knitting shop is closing/closed. I wonder if the popularity of knitting is sliding back a bit? I had my third Dutch lesson last night and felt somewhat better about it. It's just so much to take in when you're starting out with a language. Especially difficult for a person like me. I'm primarily a visual learner, but language is all about sounds. By the end I was able to do some of the exercises on asking and giving directions. I need to memorize the phrase asking people to speak more slowly. They speak quite fast and their pronunciation isn't clear. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 460 Registered: 10-2003 |
I want to relate a funny story regarding the cats. I hope you don't think I'm cruel, but the situation was unbearable for us and needed to stop. Okay: We have two cats who are mostly indoor cats. They typically sleep on the foot of our bed or in their own beds in our room. We have an en suite bathroom with shower, bath and sink, but the toilet is in the hall (typical Dutch). This room has no door. Now envision us sleeping peacefully, night after night with our cats quietly coming and going as they please. This is generally true, but one night this week they decided to play in the bathroom. Actually in and out of the bathtub. One on the edge and one on the floor, then one in the tub and one on the edge. Kind of hopping up and down and running around in the tub, sometimes bumping the shower door which then goes 'clunk'. Why? I don't know. And why in the middle of the night? I don't know, it's a mystery of cats. They woke us up several times two nights in a row playing this game. If I try to put them out of our room, they cry at the door. So, what to do? Move their beds out and keep the door closed every night? Hope they stop on their own and go without sleep in the meantime? Or close the bath plug and put some water in the bottom so they can't play in the tub? Yes, that's right. You should have heard the commotion when they each took a turn 'wading' in the pool at the bottom of that tub. They scampered out of there so fast, sat licking their paws for a long time and didn't play around any more that night. I doubt they'll be playing in that room at all again. We've been sleeping peacefully ever since. R | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 461 Registered: 10-2003 |
Another weekend of mixed weather. The weather here is a big topic of conversation. We were told horror stories about how the sun never shines and it rains every single day, etc. We've actually had really good weather in the last two months. A very mild and sunny fall for here. Now that it's winter, it does rain most days, but it also clears off and the sun shines for at least an hour or two at some point. I'm okay with it because I have no real schedule and when I see the sun come out I go do my errands then. There have only been three or four days (including yesterday) that the sun never shone at all. I may have mentioned Sinterklaas before, but don't want to go back and look. I'll summarize and move on. It's really disturbing and ties in to some other issues about this country that are strange. Sinterklaas is not Santa Claus. You may have thought they were the same person, just a diffirent way of saying the name. No, Sinterklaas comes on a boat from Spain every November and spends several weeks visiting with communities in the Netherlands. He stays until his birthday, December 5, when he gives out presents and then returns to Spain until next year. (Unfortunately, the commercial use of Santa Claus is increasing and now many people find they have to buy Christmas presents also.) Sinterklaas usually does a TV show or two, being entertained by all the big stars here. He brings with him the Swarte Piets (black Peters). They are supposed to be his helpers, but they spend a lot of time being silly and have their own TV shows so you can follow their adventures. They are decended from slave so are supposed to be black. They are actually a bunch of people in black-face and hands with red costumes on. I find the whole thing strange. I don't object to Sinterklaas or the Piets, but why do they all have to be black? What difference does that really make unless you want to be sure and make the connection to the history of slavery? I just try to be observant and keep and open mind, but this it weird. There are other issues with immigration and integration here that are deeply rooted in tradition. I don't understand it fully, but some of it goes back to their Calvinist roots of everyone being the same and noone standing out. It's important to note that the Dutch are not liberal. Many people believe that they are because of the acceptance of gays, prostitution and some drug laws. These things are more a pragmatic: It's going to happen anyway, why not regulate it? They are a very private people who make friends with difficulty and yet keep their front window curtains wide open so everyone can see: We're neat, we're clean, we're normal. I've liked all the people I've met so far and am hoping that by thinking some of these things out, I will understand them better. I'm not trying to judge. R | ||
| kmk Supporter Username: Kmk Post Number: 861 Registered: 5-2001 |
Rebecca, Thanks for the social studies lessons! I have followed your posts religiously and I love hearing about other cultures from someone with the same perspective as me. I have a great book for you to get. I read it almost eight(?) years ago. It is called The Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama. It's sub heading calls it an "Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age." I know it is about the golden age but I swear it describes my American friends of Dutch descent to a tee! Perhaps it would help you get a handle on "where in the world" these people are coming from. Keep posting - I need a distraction from the everyday grind (I am sure you need a dose of the familiar just as badly!) | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 462 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thanks for the suggestion KMK. I'll take a look at it. I had another interesting conversation today with a lady who's lived here entire life here, but in the south of the country. She's half Belg (I don't actually know what you call them) and half Dutch and is Catholic. You should hear what she has to say about the uptight, unhappy protestants. She says, "The Dutch are always complaining. It's just the way they're made." She says that as if she isn't. And it's true that Catholic Dutch people have had it very hard. They were persecuted and at the very list ignored for many years, not able to hold any official positions or advance in any way. I'm learning more about the history of that also. Here's an annoying thing: The Christmas tree lights are just stupid. You can't hook one string to another by plugs like you can in the US which means each string has to reach the extension cord or outlet. They are also made in a loop with the two ends coming around to meet at the plug. It's a nightmare to put on a tree. No going around the tree or wrapping branches. You'll end up with a bunch of lights in one strip and none anywhere else or just in a big knot. Okay, that's my first real complaint. I also don't like the phone/internet/cable company. They pretend they can't speak English, they don't have correct directions for usage (in any language) and they don't care! And the TV here isn't worth getting. It's mostly lottery or spelling games (one girl on the screen and you call in the letters to win), old American tv shows (Charlie's Angels and Hunter are the current favorites), some news and talk show in Dutch and English (I can only take so much of that in any language) Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet and BBC Prime (which I don't like too well, it's the current BBC shows mostly not the classic stuff). The only good thing about it is that it's mostly subtitled in Dutch so I'm catching on to that a bit and I'm usually busy with other things anyway so don't care what's on. Okay, gripes over. WE have a beautiful Christmas tree this year 3 meters high. The largest we've ever had. We're going to Gouda (like the cheese, pronounced howda with a little flem in the front) for the candle lighting tomorrow (Tuesday) night. It's supposed to be beautiful. r | ||
| Rebecca Raines Citizen Username: Robin_realist Post Number: 463 Registered: 10-2003 |
Today is one of those slow motion days. Not that the day is slow, it just seems to be me. I seem to be paddling in soup. I've been busy so I'll hit the high spots for you. We were invited to a bar-b-que Sunday which was quite nice. It was basically a dinner for three families that included a lot of meat cooked on a grill. I couldn't eat meat for a day after that. Just too much. You should know that the meat here is not like ours. It's kind of tough and doesn't taste the same. It's almost stringy sometimes. A lot of expats go to the international food markets for their meat, places that cater to restaurants and foreigners with money. I haven't been, but I do have a membership. It came when I joined the American Women's Club. I made spiced pecans to give to P's coworkers this year. I had to go to the nut shop twice and I didn't have any leftovers for us. It took me most of a day to do that an make one batch of rocky road fudge. I also have the regular cooking to do. I enjoy that, I'm going through cookbooks and trying some new recipes. This can be hazardous due to the double unknowns: new recipe and foreign language labeled ingredients. It's fun though. I already decided we're going to the pub for dinner tonight. I had my first exam with our new dr. here. You may have heard that Dutch drs are not very proactive. The do believe that the body can heal itself in many cases, if you'll just treat it right. I was really concerned abou this. We are hardly sick, but do have family histories of cancer and heart disease. We explained this to him and he was concerned and surprised. I think he seemed taken aback. He seemed surprised that we even knew this stuff and that it was important to watch out for signs. We may have been laying it on a little thick, but wanted him to be proactive. He seems okay with doing our exams and some basic (to us Americans) lab tests every year. He's very nice, but the whole thing was a little more stressful than I expected and I'm wiped out. I had errands to do afterwards, but I need to do all the holiday grocery shopping tomorrow/Thursday. It will be crazy in the grocery store Friday and Saturday. Not just long lines, but people are really pushy. It's not really being rude, just getting ahead. It's the only way to get waited on in some shops: you really have to pay attention to who was in the shop when you arrived. Other than groceries, I'm pretty much done shopping. I have a bottle of wine for P to pick up tomorrow. I'll try to get the housecleaning completely done so I can enjoy the holiday. K is arriving Friday morning around 6:30. We arranged a car to pick her up. I can't see going to the airport at 5:30 in the morning and then bringing her back here by train. We'll have 3 days of adjustment and holiday and then we're going to Brussels for the week. I'm looking forward to our first overnight trip since we arrived. Our Dutch teacher lives nearby and will come in to check on the cats and fish. I feel that I'm rambling somewhat so will stop for now. It's just that I've been very busy and if it goes too long between posting, I forget interesting things to say. Bye for now. R |
