A Brief Look at Dordrecht

We had a long weekend so we decided to go check out Dordrecht. Dordrecht is in South Holland and is surrounded by water (three rivers meet here). On this particular day, the area of the city that we were in felt deserted (we believe because it was a Monday). There were lots of shops and cafes but nothing was open and very few people were out. Despite the desolate feel, the area was very charming.

We began at the old church. From there we stopped by an old city gate from 1625.

We strolled along the harbor area and over to the narrowest street in the city. Interestingly enough, the top is narrower than the bottom because shifting over time has caused the building to lean.

We strolled along some lovely streets and canal areas and ended up at Het Hof. It is now a museum, but it was once the site of a very important meeting. Remember William of Orange (otherwise known as William the Silent) from an earlier post? He was the one murdered in an area of Delft. Well, when he began his attempt to free The Netherlands from the Spanish occupation, he gathered his fellow revolutionaries at Het Hof to discuss their plans and seal their alliance.

Overall, it was a quiet hour or so, but a pleasant, quick excursion.

September 25, 2018 0

It Ain’t Easy, But Friends Help

Lest you think that moving your family to a foreign country is easy, let me enlighten you. Is it hard being a stranger is a new culture? Yes. Is it hard not understanding the language? Yes. Is it hard not knowing where to find things or finding that things are just different? Yes. Is it hard to navigate through all the differences and new things? Yes. But all of that pales in comparison to the emotional struggle-most of which involves our children. On an almost daily basis, we struggle with one or more of our children as they attempt to cope with the changes their lives have undergone. As a result, on an almost daily basis, I struggle with the guilt of whether or not this was the right decision, or if I have systematically altered my children’s personalities and changed the course of their lives in a negative way forever; and that’s a lot of guilt! This constant state of living in an emotionally charged existence puts a strain on yourself and all of your relationships. It’s a whole different level of hard.

The good news is that if you look and open yourself up, there are other people who are going through or have gone through the same thing. I’m not sure how I would survive these ups and downs if we hadn’t connected with a group of other expats through the school. Just being able to talk to these women (and laugh a little) and hear that they have gone through the same thing and that their kids have gone through the same thing and displayed the same behaviors, lightens the load a little. Will this solve the issues? No, of course not. Will this make all of my guilt go away? A wonderful thought, but no. But, at least for a few minutes, it might help lessen that guilt and provide a ray of hope that this will pass; that we will survive and that someday our kids will be happy and thanking us (not murdering us in our sleep over unforgiven emotional scars)! So, for now, here’s to friends, empathy, support and someday!

September 25, 2018 0

Baby Steps- Strong Legs Required

Today, I took a baby step toward making a life here. I went to the grocery store-alone and On My Bike!!! This may sound like no big deal, but, for me, stepping out on my own in another country is huge. And, in fact, I felt like it was a multistep process.

Step one-get on the bike path and make it to the store-check. Step two-lock my bike in an appropriate “parking spot”-check. Step three-get in the store and put a Euro in to use a shopping cart-check. Step four-pull up my app that allows me to scan as I go and pay at self-check at the end-check (one of the machines wasn’t working so this almost sent me into a panic!). Step five-maneuver around the other shoppers and get what I need whilst scanning and loading my shopping bags-check. Step six-use my phone translator to translate a few items that I haven’t learned yet-check. Step seven-successfully use the produce scale to weigh and print a ticket for scanning the item-check. Step eight-return the scanner to download my purchases and then scan my app and pay-check. Step nine-return my cart successfully so that I can have my Euro back-check. Now here’s where it gets tricky; step ten-carry my three very large and heavy bags to my bike and get them loaded on. This was a bit of a struggle. Two bags went into the carrier that I have attached to my bike, but the other bag had to hang on my handlebar. Nonetheless, I got them on and the bike unlocked-check. Step eleven-and here’s where I was really panicking because this bike was weighted down-balance the bike and pedal hard enough to get home with that extra weight-check. To complete this process, strong legs were required!

But here’s the funny part-strong legs weren’t just required for the pedaling. I felt like I needed “strong legs” to get through the whole eleven step process. I may or may not have had to talk quietly to myself today to reassure myself that I was, in fact, going to successfully complete this, but I did it. My legs, taking those baby steps, were strong enough to get me through. Perhaps, in a future step, I’ll need more strength, and I won’t quite make it. But, if I keep trying and moving forward, I’ll make my legs stronger, and by the time I’m done with this experience in my life, man will I have some “strong legs” to stand on!

September 14, 2018 1

D is for Delightful (or Delfshaven and Delft)

This past weekend we visited two locations that are very close to our home-Delfshaven and Delft.

Delfshaven is a historic district in Rotterdam. There is a lovely canal area dotted with many historic boats. Most of these boats are houseboats in which people live on a daily basis. The area was very quiet even though just a block over was an incredibly busy street. Some of the highlights of Delfhaven were an old windmill that has also served as a restaurant and the historic church which was the starting point of the pilgrims from The Netherlands that sailed on The Mayflower. They began their journey in Delfshaven on a vessel called The Speedwell and sailed to England, joining The Mayflower to sail to America. I honestly didn’t know that there were any Pilgrims from The Netherlands on The Mayflower, but my child informs me that everyone knows that!

Next, we visited Delft. This was a lovely town with a great main square. In the main square, you could see a church with a huge tower and the old town hall. Lining the other sides of the square were small restaurants and cafes as well as shops selling items from clothing and housewares to souvenirs (including some beautiful Delft blue china pieces).

Other areas around the square sported historic features such as old bridges and gates and this former single family home.

In addition, there was a monastery dating back to the 1400’s that was the site of the murder of William, Prince of Orange, who led a Protestant revolution against the Spanish during the 1500’s (you can read more about that here:William, Prince of Orange). The building is now used as a museum.

We really enjoyed these two areas. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday and Sunday afternoon!

September 3, 2018 1

The Container Has Arrived-Oh Happy Day…Right?

So, our belongings have finally arrived! Watching all of those boxes being loaded into the house was so exciting. I could hardly wait to open them up and start getting our things out. All of our stuff was finally here! But what I didn’t anticipate, was, that with that sense of relief and joy, there was another feeling. Because as I relished the fact that all of our stuff was here, it also dawned on me that all of our stuff was here, meaning that this was, in fact, a permanent move and not just some temporary trip. And reality set in. The joy was tempered with some sadness, proving that you can feel two polar emotions at once. Are we happy our things are here and will life be much easier with them? Absolutely! Does that mean that life is easy and every day is positive? Nope! Just another part of the misadventure of being an Expat.

September 1, 2018 0