Holy crap, I'm in Holland!
I haven't been on LJ much these past few months, as my life has been pretty crazy. The month of May, in particular, was so stressful that I'm sure it took years off my life. :-P I finally got my thesis finished and bound, and after a series of mishaps and miscommunications straight out of a Hollywood movie, managed to turn it in just in time for me to graduate. Which I did, on May 22, surrounded by my family, my roommate Matt, and Rick, who flew in to see me in my ridiculous graduation get-up and to help me pack. We actually managed to get all of my earthly possessions into the back of my dad's tiny little pickup without anything falling out along the way, thanks to Rick's MacGuyver-like ingenuity. :)
Back home in Plano, I spent my time frantically sorting through boxes, packing, visiting assorted friends and family, taking my 12-year-old sister to the anime convention with all her little friends (an indescribably scary experience), having breakfast with my old teachers and next-door neighbors, and going to assorted doctors and dentists while I still could, as I get dropped from my mom's insurance soon. I also took a trip up to Oklahoma to visit all my relatives there, and wound up spending an evening in the basement of the Methodist church with about 400 other people, thanks to a pair of tornadoes ripping through the area. Ah, Oklahoma! :) Luckily, no one was killed by these particular twisters, but they did quite a bit of damage property-wise.
One more hurried trip back to Austin, during which I drove around to various government offices getting all the necessary papers in order, hung out one last time with my Barnes and Noble friends, and said goodbye to my roommate, and I was off. I cried all the damn way home after saying 'bye to Matt-- he's been a part of my life since we first met 9 years ago, and I'm gonna miss him like crazy. :(
Finally, the big day arrived, and I said goodbye to everyone and hopped on the plane with all my insanely heavy luggage. I wound up sitting in the back row, next to the restrooms, with no window and a seat that couldn't lean back, but somehow I survived, and was greeted at Schiphol by a smiling Rick, who mercifully took the heaviest bags. :) We took the train from there to Schagen, and now here we are! I really can't believe it!
I'll take some pictures of the house later, but for now I can just describe it as a typical Dutch row-house, with enormous windows, modern furniture mixed with some old-fashioned knick-knacks, an unbelievable number of potted plants, and lots of computer junk (Rick's stuff). The back yard is tiny, but bursting with flowers, and there's a little pond with fish and salamanders in it. Rick's brother, Tim, lives here too, though we don't see too much of him, as he's usually out with friends.
Schagen itself is an impossibly cute, friendly-looking place, and Rick's neighborhood, in particular, is awesome. The houses are nearly choked out by trees, bushes, and greenery of every kind, and twisty little paths lead to little hidden parks, soccer fields, playgrounds, and even community petting zoos. Kids are running around everywhere playing, horses keep clip-clopping by, and birds are singing in all the treetops. A short walk in one direction takes me to the town center, with brick streets, cute little shops, and beautiful old churches with enormous spires. An even shorter walk in the other direction leads to green fields full of sheep, beautiful black Friesian horses, and the occasional swan. The inevitable windmills and farmhouses with thatched roofs dot the landscape here and there, and the dunes are just barely visible in the distance.
Rick and I have spent the past few days getting unpacked and settled in. A couple of trips to Hema and Blokker, and we now seem to have most of the kitchen and bathroom stuff that we need (honestly, how did he get along before I got here?). ;-) Rick is appalled at the amount of clothing I have, and insists that there isn't room for it all. He doesn't understand that girls need more than 5 shirts and 2 pairs of shoes, which is what he gets by on. A trip to Ikea for some more shelves is definitely in order. :)
The weekend was great, and today is my first day home while Rick is at work. I slept in a bit before heading into town to run some errands. My experiences there have convinced me that this impression I had of the Dutch as hardworking, industrious people is entirely false. Not only were all the shops closed on Sunday, but Rick neglected to inform me that they were all closed until 1:00 on Monday, too! I was able to go to the Postbank and exchange some money, but everything else had to wait. Oh well. I came home, grabbed the cloth grocery sacks (another thing I am not used to!) and headed to the supermarket for some proper food, since Rick appears to live off of frozen kroketten and potato chips. Shopping was an adventure since I had no idea where everything was, but I think I'll get the hang of it just fine. One nice thing is that groceries are soooo much cheaper here (though unfortunately they're the only thing that's cheaper... I about fell over dead when I saw how much a paperback book costs here, and clothing and electronics aren't any better). In just a few minutes, I will head to town again (walking, because I am still terrified by my bicycle), to go buy a small birthday gift for Rick's mom's boyfriend's son's girlfriend (this is all too complicated for me!), to try to find some canisters to put sugar and flour in, and to take Rick's tie to the stomerij. I'm making him feel very guilty indeed for making his poor girlfriend play housewife while he is away at work... though to be honest, I'm having fun wandering around town. :)
The only thing that I am not enjoying is answering the telephone. I suffered from telephone anxiety back home in the US, and being in a foreign country is not making things any better. My Dutch is decent enough that I can make myself understood, but still I depend a lot on facial expressions and gestures, and that's obviously not possible over the phone. Possibly the worst part about the telephone, however, is answering it. I'm used to just saying, "Hello?", but now I am required to greet the person and identify myself. So when the phone rings, I panic. Do I need to say "good morning" or "good afternoon"? Or can a simple "hallo" suffice? Do I say "with Megan" or do I give my last name too? What inflection do I use? Do I sound stupid? Will they understand me? *sigh*
But things are, on the whole, going really well. The postbode just waved to me through the big window in the front room where I've been sitting, and dropped some mail through our mail slot. It's addressed to "Megan and Rick." Hard to believe that time is finally here, after all that waiting. Life is good. :)
Back home in Plano, I spent my time frantically sorting through boxes, packing, visiting assorted friends and family, taking my 12-year-old sister to the anime convention with all her little friends (an indescribably scary experience), having breakfast with my old teachers and next-door neighbors, and going to assorted doctors and dentists while I still could, as I get dropped from my mom's insurance soon. I also took a trip up to Oklahoma to visit all my relatives there, and wound up spending an evening in the basement of the Methodist church with about 400 other people, thanks to a pair of tornadoes ripping through the area. Ah, Oklahoma! :) Luckily, no one was killed by these particular twisters, but they did quite a bit of damage property-wise.
One more hurried trip back to Austin, during which I drove around to various government offices getting all the necessary papers in order, hung out one last time with my Barnes and Noble friends, and said goodbye to my roommate, and I was off. I cried all the damn way home after saying 'bye to Matt-- he's been a part of my life since we first met 9 years ago, and I'm gonna miss him like crazy. :(
Finally, the big day arrived, and I said goodbye to everyone and hopped on the plane with all my insanely heavy luggage. I wound up sitting in the back row, next to the restrooms, with no window and a seat that couldn't lean back, but somehow I survived, and was greeted at Schiphol by a smiling Rick, who mercifully took the heaviest bags. :) We took the train from there to Schagen, and now here we are! I really can't believe it!
I'll take some pictures of the house later, but for now I can just describe it as a typical Dutch row-house, with enormous windows, modern furniture mixed with some old-fashioned knick-knacks, an unbelievable number of potted plants, and lots of computer junk (Rick's stuff). The back yard is tiny, but bursting with flowers, and there's a little pond with fish and salamanders in it. Rick's brother, Tim, lives here too, though we don't see too much of him, as he's usually out with friends.
Schagen itself is an impossibly cute, friendly-looking place, and Rick's neighborhood, in particular, is awesome. The houses are nearly choked out by trees, bushes, and greenery of every kind, and twisty little paths lead to little hidden parks, soccer fields, playgrounds, and even community petting zoos. Kids are running around everywhere playing, horses keep clip-clopping by, and birds are singing in all the treetops. A short walk in one direction takes me to the town center, with brick streets, cute little shops, and beautiful old churches with enormous spires. An even shorter walk in the other direction leads to green fields full of sheep, beautiful black Friesian horses, and the occasional swan. The inevitable windmills and farmhouses with thatched roofs dot the landscape here and there, and the dunes are just barely visible in the distance.
Rick and I have spent the past few days getting unpacked and settled in. A couple of trips to Hema and Blokker, and we now seem to have most of the kitchen and bathroom stuff that we need (honestly, how did he get along before I got here?). ;-) Rick is appalled at the amount of clothing I have, and insists that there isn't room for it all. He doesn't understand that girls need more than 5 shirts and 2 pairs of shoes, which is what he gets by on. A trip to Ikea for some more shelves is definitely in order. :)
The weekend was great, and today is my first day home while Rick is at work. I slept in a bit before heading into town to run some errands. My experiences there have convinced me that this impression I had of the Dutch as hardworking, industrious people is entirely false. Not only were all the shops closed on Sunday, but Rick neglected to inform me that they were all closed until 1:00 on Monday, too! I was able to go to the Postbank and exchange some money, but everything else had to wait. Oh well. I came home, grabbed the cloth grocery sacks (another thing I am not used to!) and headed to the supermarket for some proper food, since Rick appears to live off of frozen kroketten and potato chips. Shopping was an adventure since I had no idea where everything was, but I think I'll get the hang of it just fine. One nice thing is that groceries are soooo much cheaper here (though unfortunately they're the only thing that's cheaper... I about fell over dead when I saw how much a paperback book costs here, and clothing and electronics aren't any better). In just a few minutes, I will head to town again (walking, because I am still terrified by my bicycle), to go buy a small birthday gift for Rick's mom's boyfriend's son's girlfriend (this is all too complicated for me!), to try to find some canisters to put sugar and flour in, and to take Rick's tie to the stomerij. I'm making him feel very guilty indeed for making his poor girlfriend play housewife while he is away at work... though to be honest, I'm having fun wandering around town. :)
The only thing that I am not enjoying is answering the telephone. I suffered from telephone anxiety back home in the US, and being in a foreign country is not making things any better. My Dutch is decent enough that I can make myself understood, but still I depend a lot on facial expressions and gestures, and that's obviously not possible over the phone. Possibly the worst part about the telephone, however, is answering it. I'm used to just saying, "Hello?", but now I am required to greet the person and identify myself. So when the phone rings, I panic. Do I need to say "good morning" or "good afternoon"? Or can a simple "hallo" suffice? Do I say "with Megan" or do I give my last name too? What inflection do I use? Do I sound stupid? Will they understand me? *sigh*
But things are, on the whole, going really well. The postbode just waved to me through the big window in the front room where I've been sitting, and dropped some mail through our mail slot. It's addressed to "Megan and Rick." Hard to believe that time is finally here, after all that waiting. Life is good. :)