Amsterdam has redeemed itself this week in terms of weather. Last week, I was sure we had skipped straight from summer (which is more like an early fall here anyways) to winter - cold and damp. But, this week was beautiful - sunshine and just slightly cool. The leaves are starting to change, a really gorgeous sight over the canals. I had been missing an Illinois autumn, but I am back to loving right where we are!
A fairly typical week for the Zabikows. On Tuesday, we had 'wear your clothes' day at swim lessons. I commented in the last blog that I wasn't really understanding what this was all about. Well, come to find out, it actually makes a lot of sense. It was 'water safety' day, and so the whole lesson was devoted to learning how to stay safe in water emergencies. And, the purpose of having the children wear normal clothes is so that if they should ever fall into water unexpectedly with their clothes on, they won't panic...not knowing what to do without their swim clothes. I thought that was a pretty great idea, so the Dutch aren't so crazy I guess. :)
Also on Tuesday, we celebrated our 6 month Amsterdam anniversary! Wow, it's hard to believe that much time has gone by already. This means that our adventure is 1/3 over with...and going by way too fast! :( Don't worry though, we have lots more travel in our future, so we hope to keep the blog filled with exciting travel stories and pictures for the next 12 months.
On Wednesday, our relocation consultant, Catharina, came to close out our paperwork. We are officially off her "books", but she is such a wonderful woman that she is still offering her help with translating documents or asking questions whenever we need her. She has become like a Dutch grandma to Ben, so we definitely plan to stay in touch. We cannot thank her enough for the invaluable experience and help she provided...could not have made this move without her!
Thursday was Little Gym in the morning, and we met up with some friends in the afternoon at the park. It was beautiful outside, so the park was packed! That is definitely something the Dutch understand - when it is nice outside, you do NOT stay indoors! Ben loved getting to see his friend Ryan, playing in the sand, sliding, and swinging - and all with his coat off! Not much going on Friday, except a cute Ben story. Greg was leaving for work, and each day as we close the door, I tell Ben that Dada is going to work, he'll be back later. Well, on Friday, as we closed the door, Ben got a pouty face, sad to see Dad go - but then just as quickly got a smile on his face and said "Dada to work". He gets it! Although, we were all playing on the bed on Saturday morning, and Ben said "Dada to work". We'll have to work on understanding why he gets to stay home on the weekends... Speaking of Saturday, it was a slow morning, pj's until 10 a.m.! Loved it, and we could not remember the last time we had been able to lounge like that - was many months ago. Later that afternoon, we had a 1st birthday party for Ben's friend Amelie (what a beautiful name). A very sweet little girl who belongs to Wendi and Che, huge Oklahoma Sooners fans! It was a great party and good to have family time - so often it is just the moms and babes.
We went to church this morning, and now I am blogging - putting off the grocery shopping and cleaning I have to do to prepare to host Moms and Tots tomorrow morning. This will be the first major test of our apartment to see how well it holds so many people - and a Ben test to see how well he will share his toys. (Why am I already thinking that the apartment may pass the test, but Ben will not? It's so hard being almost 2!) :)
For a bit more procrastination, here is an installment of Getting to Know Amsterdam. Preface - we LOVE Amsterdam, but we have noticed (and many of our friends have also found this to be true) that the "rules" can change at the drop of a hat. What is acceptable last time may not be acceptable this time, and what should be a simple solution may often turn into the most difficult one - for the sake of not breaking a 'rule'. Here are 2 examples from just this week that show you what I mean...
1. To be able to see a doctor, you first have to register with that physician. There is paperwork to fill out, in Dutch of course. I had turned the paperwork for Ben and me in a while ago, and Greg had recently finished his so I went on Wednesday to turn it in. The doctor was sitting at the reception desk (you would never be able to tell who the doctor is - everyone is in plain clothes with no nametags), and I handed him the paperwork. On the computer, he was reconciling Greg's papers with my registration, and he told me that Ben and I were registered with his colleague, the other doctor in the practice. I wondered aloud why that was, considering we all had the same paperwork. (There is a form with the doctor's name that requires the patient signature.) Instead of believing me that my form had his name, he went to the files to look it up. He did indeed find that my form had his name, but that it had been crossed out and the other doctor's name written in. He remembered that he wasn't accepting any new patients a few months ago, so that must have been why. Long story short, instead of also crossing out the doctor name on Greg's form (which already had his signature and which had already been done on my form), he gave me a new form with the new doctor name to go home and have Greg sign. Um, what??? Many of you know, I am not a big fan of confrontation, so I smiled politely, said "sure", and went on my way. Part of that is the lack of wanting to confront, and the other part is that after 6 months, I have simply learned that it is easier to agree. It is not a long walk to the doctor, and the weather this week was beautiful so it was no trouble walking there again. So, although it didn't make sense, to quote Spamalot, "always look on the bright side of life!" Turned the signed new paper in on Friday, so it is now officially off the to do list - just a couple days later than expected. :)
2. This morning, as we got on the bus after church to come home, the driver told us that we would have to take Ben out of his 'cart' (stroller). I said "I'm sorry?" We have never been asked to take Ben out of his stroller before - in fact, there is even a designated spot for wheelchairs and strollers on the bus. The driver told me that if he had to brake suddenly, the cart would continue to go forward and could be harmful for the child. Um, so it is better to have an unrestrained child sitting (or in Ben's case, standing) in my lap, mind you the seats in the stroller section are sideways, so that if I have to brace myself due to a sudden stop, I will also have to try and catch Ben before he goes flying?? And, his stroller has wheel locks, so I don't really see the 'cart' rolling down the aisle. Alas, I again smiled politely, said "sure", and went on my way. And next time, if we go to take Ben out of his stroller, the driver will say - 'no, it is better to have him in the stroller'. :) C'est la vie!
On a lighter and much happier note, our friends Betsy and Marc are coming to visit on Thursday! Hooray!! Betsy will be running in the half marathon next Sunday with Greg, while Marc, Ben, and I cheer on the sidelines - eating our croissants and drinking our coffee. :) Cannot wait to see them and show them around this beautiful city we call home!! Should make for lots of stories and pictures for next week...until then, tot ziens!
1 comment:
hey, hey! We made the blog :-) can't wait to see you.
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