It Feels Good to be Busy

Hello!

Well, the weather is getting cold here in Holland the rain has settled in it seems. I've been keeping busy with school 3 nights a week and still out looking for a job. So far, things are lookin' up on that front. I've also been wrapped up in starting a new online store for some of my photographs. I'm still not sure how it will pan out, but it doesn't hurt to try...and it's keeping me busy on these rainy days! :-)

I've still got many more photos to put up, but the store is up and running.

Settling In

I was going through my wallet the other day and I was a little bit surprised at how many cards there are in there that I've accumulated since I've been here. From top to bottom:

1.) Dutch bank card - I opened up a dutch bank account recently. I don't really use it yet, but I'll need it once I get a job :-)

2.) Health Insurance Card - Health insurance is required here. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it's not nearly as expensive as back in the States...I believe every insurance company has to offer the same coverage at the same prices, and no one can be turned down for the basic coverage.

3.) Verblifsdocument - This is what we call a "green card" in America. I'm a card carrying immigrant :-) This card says I can stay until March 31, 2010, at which point I'll apply to stay for another year. Next year, the process should be much simpler and cheaper since they've already got all of my info on file. As long as my situation doesn't change, I shouldn't be turned down for any reason.

4.) Delft Library card - You actually have to pay for library cards here, but it's not very expensive (28 euros for 6 months or a year or something like that). Still much cheaper than buying my own books. It's a lovely library right in the city center and they have a good selection of English books. So I think it's more than worth it.

5.) Albert Heijn Bonus Card - Albert Heijn is one of the main grocery store chains here in the Netherlands. This card works just like an Albertson's preferred card or a Ralph's Rewards card - I like it, it gets me discounts and it's free :-)

And for a general update on how things are going, I'm still looking for a job but I'm making progress on the language front. I've registered with the city of Delft for their integration program. They subsidize courses with local schools so that I'll be able to prepare for the exam at a much cheaper cost than if I were to do it on my own.
We were told that if I plan on staying in the Netherlands indefinitely, then I'm required to take the integration exam within 3.5 years of my arrival here.

There are two options for this exam: The Civic Integration Exam (Inburgeringsexamen), or the State Exam (Staatsexamen).
According to IND's website, "The State exam is an examination at a higher level than the integration examination and provides access to higher professional education or university."
I was advised to opt for the State Exam since the integration exam doesn't exactly require a very high level of Dutch to pass. With this option, I should be able to speak and understand at the B1 level upon completion of the course.

Once I take the course and pass the exam I'll be given a diploma that says I can speak Dutch at this level. It is my understanding that this will help later on when looking for employment that requires knowledge of the Dutch language.

So, I've taken an initial evaluation exam so they know where to place me, I have an orientation on August 19th, and I will be starting classes in September.

I suppose I should post more often to avoid these loooooonng entries :-)

The IND Experience

Michel and I have heard both horror stories and success stories about the IND (The dutch immigration office) process. So, naturally, we went in a little nervous about how things were going to go. Before making our appointment, we did a lot of research via web forums, blogs, the IND website, and emailing people who have been through it (Quick note: Thanks for all of your help Isabella!)

Needless to say, we went in pretty prepared with what we needed. Surprisingly, the immigration process in the Netherlands isn't really that difficult. They need lots and lots of paperwork (and a pretty hefty fee), but as long as you have a dutch citizen with a decent job and a place to live backing you up, then it seems pretty cut and dry (but we'll see for sure in 3-6 months when we get word on whether or not i'm approved). For now, I got a special sticker in my passport that lets me stay here until the end of September or until we get word from the IND. Yay!

These are a few of my favorite things...

My favorite dutch things, Part 1:

1.) Riding my bike - in the city I live in, everything I need is within a 10 minute bike ride. I can ride my bike to the lake to sit around and read and watch the dogs play in the water. I can ride my bike to the grocery store to get whatever I want to make for dinner that night. I can ride my bike to Ici Paris to buy makeup, or H & M to buy clothes...are any number of department stores in downtown Delft. I can ride my bike to have lunch in the city at any number of sweet little restaurants with little outdoor patios. I can ride my bike just to ride my bike. I have an adorable white omafiets bicycle with a sweet little wicker basket in the front that Michel's wonderful parents bought me.

2.) Koffie - Coffee, coffee all the time. I love coffee. And dutchies really love their coffee. And it is almost always very very good coffee too. It's also much much cheaper here to buy coffee, in its ground form at least. I can get a bag of coffee that will last (sadly, with the way Michel and I drink Coffee) about a week and a half for 3 euros. This same amount of coffee with a similar quality, will cost you at least double in the states. The best part? They always have special teeny tiny spoons just for stirring your coffee. It's silly, but I really really love those little spoons for some reason.

3.) The Grocery Store - I know this sounds silly, but I love the grocery store. I've always loved the grocery store for some reason, and now I have a reason to go often. Typically, a dutch household will do their groceries at least twice a week. Since dutch households are typically smaller, the refrigerators and pantries are typically much smaller too. This means that you can't store 2 weeks worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners in your kitchen. I'm also having a fun time learning about everything. With the exception of the produce, nothing is the same. Obviously, most of the meat products are the same but they're all written in dutch, so figuring out what is what has to be done. The food is less expensive here (even when you allow for the conversion of dollars to euros) and it also tastes better, in my opinion. They don't put nearly the amount of preservatives and junk in their food...in America...almost every ingredients label will contain the words "high frustose corn syrup." Here, when something needs to be sweetened...it is done so with sugar. At least, to the best of my knowledge that is. I've only been here two weeks...so I could be wrong :-). All I really know is that I can go to grocery store, buy healthy (mostly) food that tastes good and only spend 9 euros for two nights dinner and some extras.

4.) Sunny Days - Yes, sunny days are far less frequent here than in Southern California, but so far, we've had at least 3 sunny blue days each week since I've been here. It doesnt sound like much, but you get to appreciate them so much more. When you go outside, and the sky is blue and the clouds are fluffy and white, something inside you just sparks. I'm instantly in a happy smiling mood.

Seeing as I started this blog about a month ago, I've decided to go ahead and post what I've got so far and then continue onto to another installation later. It's getting a bit too long anyway :-)

Kusjes!

-Karen

First Star To The Right And Straight On Til Morning...

I am a 25 year old American girl and today I'm leaving the only home I've ever known and getting on a plane to live in the Netherlands.

Six months ago, I jumped out of a plane. I mention this because to me, jumping out of a plane is a lot like moving 6,000 miles away. You have to prepare for it in the same way, but in the end, there is no way you can know if you'll be able to make that jump until you're crouching at the open door of a little plane 13,000 feet in the sky. For weeks before the time comes, you teeter between feelings of excitement and fear like a yo-yo, you think about the "what-ifs", and sometimes you just wonder why in the world you're jumping out of a perfectly good plane. But when that chute opens, and you start to glide towards the ground, it's like you can finally breath again. You can stop, relax, and just enjoy the view. I imagine that will be a lot like seeing my Michel again for the first time in 2 months and knowing that we are on our way home.

So, I had my last day at work yesterday and the feeling I had when I left that office for the last time was what I remember of the feeling I had on my last day of high school. Freedom. Freedom to go and be whatever I want to. It was a fun 4 years, but it's time to move on.

Maybe it hasn't quite set in yet, but I'm not staring at that open door just yet either. I don't know what its going to be like, I don't know if I'll like my new country and I don't know if I'll have trouble learning the language, but what I do know, is that i'm going to give it everything I have to make it work. I have faith that I can do anything if I want it bad enough, and I want this more than i've ever wanted anything. Two of my dreams are coming true today...I couldn't ask for more.

When I'm old, I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that when I was young, I lived my dreams. I did the thing that I wanted to do and I never looked back. In my weeks leading up to this, I've spoken to a lot of people, and most of them told me about something a little crazy that they wanted to do when they were young but didn't do it...and that makes me a little bit sad. Complacency is a curse. Life is short, and I'm not willing to settle.

My flight leaves in 7.5 hours, then it's 10 hours through the night over this country and over the atlantic and then I'll be home with my Michel.

First star to right, and straight on till morning!

-Karen Michelle