from holland with love

Ok, so I am finally getting around to starting this blog up. I guess I needed to feel more comfortable before I could sit down and really write anything. This first blog will be a sort of introductory, so it may be a little boring for some, but I'm sure some of you are wondering about the specifics of my stay in the Netherlands... so here we go!

First thing's first: in case you hadn't already figured it out, I arrived safe and sound. The flight was really long and uncomfortable. Very little leg room, and we were literally shoulder to shoulder. I didn't get a wink of sleep, even though I had been up for quite a while on very little sleep. Next time I fly for an extended distance, I think I'm going to upgrade to club class. Long legs and cramped seats don't mesh well!

I've been here almost two weeks now (two weeks tomorrow, to be exact), and I'm just starting to get over this jet lag. I really didn't think I'd even get jet lag, because I didn't travel THAT far, but I've been so incessantly tired since I got here. But I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.

So, anyway, a bit about where I live and the family I live with: I live on a gorgeous street in a rather wealthy neighborhood of Den Haag, Netherlands. I live about a 10-15 minute bike ride from the city centre, where there are lots of neat shops, restaurants, pubs, cafes, etc. I'm also about the same distance from Scheveningen, a gorgeous beach on the North Sea which attracts a lot of tourists in the summertime (the photos below are a few neat scultpures I came across at Scheveningen the other day).

I live in a huge three floor townhouse that is at least 100 years old (and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been changed since!). It's quite a bit different than your typical Canadian home. For one, the toilets are in a separate room than the showers (which is pretty standard in Europe, I'm learning). The first floor consists of a dining room, which leads into the living room/play room, and then a kitchen and WC. There is a spiral staircase that leads to the second floor (another thing that I'm finding very common in Holland), where there is Kasper's room, Charlotte's room which leads into the master bedroom, which leads into the computer room/office, and another WC and a large bathroom. Then there is another spiral staircase leading to the third and top floor, which holds my room, another WC, the laundry room, a kitchenette, and two guest rooms (one very large, and the other about the same size as my room). The top floor is basically my living space, unless there are guests, which isn't very often.

(My street!)


(The fountain at the end of my street.)

I live with a family of four: Joanna (mom), Jurgen (dad), Kasper (4), and Charlotte (1). Jurgen works at home for an IT company based out of the UK, and Joanna is a British diplomat. Jurgen is Belgian, so he speaks Flemish and Dutch, Joanna is British so of course she speaks English (and she's also fluent in Dutch), and Kasper speaks both Dutch and English. And Charlotte, well, she barely speaks at all. Although she's learning to say a few things here and there.

Just to give you an idea of what my job entails, here is a typical day so far: be downstairs for 7am to get everyone's morning drinks ready, set out the breakfast stuff, then help get Charlotte and Kasper dressed, eat breakfast, then take them to nursery school for 8:30am. Then I come back to clean up breakfast, the play room if needed, and the children's laundry when needed. Then I have the afternoons to myself. I start cooking dinner around 4:30pm, pick up the kids from nursery school, help with eating dinner, and that's it! Unless Jurgen or Joanna (or both) is gone for the evening, then I help with bath and bed. Then I have the evening off. I also have weekends off, so I have tons of time to explore!

Den Haag is a really gorgeous city, with lots of stuff to do. And everyone bikes here. I've never seen so many bikes in one spot in my life! I mean, I've seen pictures, but it's pretty amazing to see it with your own eyes. And bicyclists actually have the right of way over pedestrians and cars (legally, I'm not sure, but that's just how it goes here). It's really weird to get used to, and people get pretty angry here if you don't know/obey the rules of biking, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Well, I think that basically explains things so far. I haven't done anything too exciting yet to really blog about. I've basically spent that past couple weeks getting acquainted with my new city - went to a couple museums (including the Maurtishuis, where the original Girl With the Pearl Earring lives! And yes, I did see it!), took lots of bike rides, did some shopping, had my first tastes of real Dutch foods (including fresh stroopwafles, pannekoeken, olliebollen... which I might add are WAY better than the Canadian versions!). Oh, and I saw my first windmills, too. =)

So, that's it for now. I will be posting all photos I take on Flickr, so please check frequently for updates!

Bye for now, and thanks for reading!