Amour

Tomorrow the dog is going to the babysitter and my man is taking me out for a night on the town.

I like the sounds of that!!

Things were starting to get a little bit too… domestic

We’re going to go to our favourite restaraunt (again!) but first a nice walk on the beach.  To say I’m looking forward to it would be an understatement.

Does feel a little cruel to go to the beach and eat gorgeous food without this guy though!

Got steak?

The Final Countdown

The last 2 months for me have really been focusing on reducing stress in my life. From an outsider’s perspective I may not lead the most stressful life, but for me the bricks were piling up. Therefore, Peter pretty much said enough is enough and we started to make some changes in our relationship and lifestyle that took a little bit of pressure off of me.

Say what you want, but I already know I’m a wimp.

Living in the Netherlands the first 2 years, for me, was a breeze. I worked as a live in nanny and although being a nanny comes with it’s own set of stresses it was overall, a low stress situation. I didn’t have any bills to pay, no one to really answer to outside of working hours, I didn’t have any housework to do or meals to cook. Complete freedom.

Also, it was still all so new and I was always busy planning and taking trips, meeting new friends, organizing events and just being busy.

Fast forward to present day. I literally feel like a housewife, but with a 30 (last month 50) hour a week job. With NO RING on her finger! I live in a small town in Brabant, where if you don’t drink yourself silly all weekend there is really limited things to do. My time off consists of trying to keep the house clean and my boyfriend + dog entertained. Besides spending time on line there is very little things I do for ME, that I enjoy.

At least it feels/felt that way.

I started to get to the point where I didn’t see the joys of living in Europe. I could live back in Canada and work 50 hours a week, be left with much more money in the end (in an English speaking environment) as well as not being so darn far away from my family.

I guess I momentarily lost sight of why I was here.

Well, I’ve got that vision back and I’m working on trying to not take everything so seriously and just sit back and enjoy the ride. With my job in Amsterdam ending next week, and finally selling the Audi this past Friday there are 2 big worries officially off my shoulders.

As part of my alleviate stress/be happier in NL/happier in life in general plan I’ve made a list of goals and things I need to do in order to achieve that.

1- Start/continue cooking and eating meals at home. Only eat out once per week, even if it’s just lunch at McDonald’s it counts. This should help the waistline and budget.

2- Spend 1-2 hours per day studying/speaking Dutch with Peter. Now that I’m not working I really have no excuse.

3- Book theory exam for Dutch driver’s license. Have been driving around with my Canadian license since October and I live in non stop fear of the Dutch police! I’m a boefje (criminal)! I’m a very confident driver and have driven in nearly every major city in Europe (aside from London) and I guess I’m just stubborn. After nearly 12 years of accident free driving, it pains me to start from scratch here. However, I have to do it. I live in a small town with no train station, no train station even close by. MUST GET D/L.

4- Go back to tracking all food and exercise online. Best website ever!

5- Spend more time with P’s sister. She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met in NL and I know she wants to be closer with me. The only problem is she speaks barely any English so when I go there I feel like all the pressure is on me. She (and the rest of his family) all say I’m doing really well and improving every time they see me, but what they don’t know is all the things I want to say but don’t because I can’t find the right words.

There is 5 for now, there is more I want to improve on/change in my life but little steps are always the way to go.

Time to fall back in love with Europe.

Moi?!

Thanks to Isabella at A Touch of Dutch I am the recipient of my first blogger award. Yeah, I’m pretty impressed with myself!

Also, I’ve decided to participate in this week’s “7 Awe-sum Things Meme”

The rules:List seven things about yourself that are awe-sum, then send this to seven other bloggers who you think are awe-sum.

1- I only this morning found out that Thursday is a Dutchie holiday (Hemelvaartsdag for the record). Therefore, that means an extra long, long weekend for me! FYI: Hemelvaart is Ascension. Which in Canada is not a holiday, but I’m not sure about the USA/UK.

2- The extra long, long week comes at perfect timing as Peter’s birthday is this coming Friday and although I don’t have to do much (as we’re going out with his family for dinner) I did say I’d bake a cake!

3- We’re going to our favourite restaurant on Friday! I LOVE the Green Parrot! If you’re ever in Zeeland you MUST go to this place. Admittedly, I haven’t had REAL tex-mex since I was a kid in New Mexico I can’t imagine it gets much better than this! It certainly doesn’t get better in the Netherlands and if it does, please tell me where!

4- Our dog, Guus had to have surgery on Friday. The vet removed several tumour like growths from his mouth. The vet called today to let us know he’s cancer free! Instead it’s something very treatable… phew.

5- I was complimented on my Dutch yesterday! We had a bakfiets delivered yesterday and the delivery guy was also from Brabant (I was in Amsterdam at the time) and the guy basically said I was doing “awe-sum”!!

6- Speaking of bakfiets, I rode one today for the very first time.. WITH 2 children inside (brave parents, eh?!) Anyways, it was pretty much a pain in the ass but I got a great leg workout! I could barely walk up the stairs when I got home  

7- Next week on Tuesday and Thursday I’m commuting to Amsterdam for the last time (fingers crossed)! Although I’ll miss somethings about it, I certainly won’t miss the commute and getting up at 4:50am

Moo vs Boo Debate

In the Netherlands, cows say “BOO”.

In any English speaking countries, cows say “MOO”.

What do cows say in Germany? Italy? Portugal? Spain? China?

Anyone know? I’m overly curious.

For the record, I’m not taking any side here… but what do you think it sounds like? “MOO” or “BOO”?

 

M/BOO?

Expat Meme

Here is an expat meme I recently read on: http://atouchofdutch.blogspot.com/

Before:

Before you knew you’d be coming to the Netherlands, for whatever reason you originally came to the Netherlands, truthfully how much did you know about the country? Growing up my family would go for brunch every Sunday for as far back as I can remember. We’d almost always go to De Dutch Pannekoekhuis ( http://www.dedutch.com) I remember my Grandfather (who was of German descent) telling me the difference between Dutch and American/Canadian pancakes.  I also remember him turning over one of the paper place mats and drawing a map of western Europe. 

Didyou learn about the Netherlands in school when you were growing up? Yes, during high school history class the Netherlands was discussed quite a bit regarding WWII. During geography class it was also covered.

Do you have family who is Dutch or Dutch heritage? Not that I’m aware of.. but my I consider my boyfriend and his family part of my own family.. so in that way yes.. I have Dutch family.

Were you aware the language the Dutch spoke was Dutch and not German or any other language? Yes, also pointed out by my Grandfather. I also had a friend from the age 10-16 who’s father was born and raised in Amsterdam and moved to Canada at the age of 16…. he spoke Dutch a lot on the phone but we only knew the swearwords

Had you ever lived outside of your home country for longer than one month prior to living in the Netherlands? Not really.. once spent a long summer in Europe but had not actually moved here at that point.

Had you learned to speak any other language than your own, even if only partially so, before coming to the Netherlands? Just the French that we’re “forced” to learn in Canadian schools. From k-12. (Grade 10-12 is an elective)

When you learned you’d be coming to the Netherlands, did you feel it was important to learn Dutch? Very much so. I was very enthusiastic about it at first… but for the first 2 years I lived in the Netherlands I was in Amsterdam and found it very hard to get people on the street to speak it to me. It wasn’t until I moved to a smaller town with my boyfriend that I got to speak it on a regular basis. I still find it very important.

Did anyone prepare you with information of any type before you came to live in the Netherlands, did you attempt to find information on your own, or did you come to the Netherlands without preparing? I feel like I was pretty informed. I had been here to visit before and spent time with a Canadian friend who was living in Dordrecht. My Dutch experience was not limited to Amsterdam. I also found a lot of online communities to gather information and made Dutch friends that way before I ever moved here.

How did your friends and family react when they learned you’d be moving to the Netherlands? Although I knew they’d miss me, my family has never been anything but supportive. There is a lot of wanderlust in my family!

What did you think would be your biggest challenge living in a foreign country? Or did you feel you would face any big challenges? I thought my biggest challenge would be homesickness and missing my family and friends.

And after:

Upon arriving, can you remember the overall impression you had in the first 48 hours? It was a whirlwind! I had been here before, but this time I was moving to Amsterdam. Everything seemed to move very fast, too fast and it was viciously HOT! I arrived during a heatwave and there was no a/c anywhere!

Tell me about your bicycle, if you have one. Is it borrowed/rented or do you own it? And how often do you use it weekly? Have you ever had your bike stolen? Feel free to mention and elaborate about anything special concerning experiences you have/had with your bicycle.  My current bike is one that my boyfriend bought me off marktplaats.nl It was both our first times ever buying anything via that website but it worked out perfectly. I remember making my boyfriend “test drive” it though because I was afraid the lady we got it from would laugh at my lack of skills. I’ve ridden bikes my whole life, but coming from Vancouver they were almost always mountain bikes, and it was for exercise and not transportation so much. I still find the bikes here too high up, but I make do

Name three of your favorite things about the Dutch culture which first come to mind: Spending q-time with family, cafe cultuur and gezelligheid in general.

Of the things you never knew before coming here, what have you learned about the Netherlands? I learned a lot, and keep on learning everyday.

Culture shock. Does this ring a bell? Not really. Culturally I don’t think the Dutch are so far off from what I was used to in Canada. Sure there are different traditions etc, but nothing that was so far off the beaten path that I felt like I was on a different planet.

 How far have you come with learning Dutch? I consider myself about 1/2 way there. I think I’ve come to the point where I’ve learned as much as I can out of any course I could take and now the rest comes with time, and practice, practice, practice!!! I am constantly working on coming out of my shell and just daring to make a fool out of myself.

 What was/is your overall impression of the inburgering [immigration] program? I’m “all for” it but I’m not sure how I feel about it becoming “verplicht” (mandatory).

Coffeeshops and smartshops. What is your opinion? Have you ever visited a coffeeshop or smartshop? You don’t need to go too far in detail, if you feel it’s too revealing on your own blog: I wouldn’t say I have a strong view on this, but I do consider myself quite liberal.. therefore I’m pro-coffee shop. I like that there is the choice, and have gone into a couple when friends have visited from overseas. We had fun, and we were safe.

Since living here, have you learned anything new about yourself? Or perhaps have you learned anything else new? A new hobby or a new way of life? I have come to realize that I’m quite the risk taker and have learned to embrace it rather than fight it. I used to be a bit embarrassed about it and felt as if it meant I couldn’t commit to anything in life. I have learned to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the little things in life.