7 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours and 45 minutes - that is how long it took for the honeymoon to end. It is a small miracle that some Dutch person wasn't at the receiving end of my wrath and fury and isn't dead today. From everything I had read on relocating and culture shock, this day was destined to come. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate everything about here and by no means do I want to/am ready to come back to Canada, but rather have finally reached a level of frustration that warrants someone dying!
First things first - it is still bloody cold here and I am still freezing. And sitting in some port, in some part of this country is my stuff. And in my stuff is my long underwear - which I am in desperate need of. I mean on Sunday I had to wear my down jacket, my mitts and a toque! It is the end of bloody March already! At least the sun occasionally shines. I am so fed up with this cold weather that I am heading to Palm Springs first thing in the morning and by first thing, I mean I have to catch the train to Schipol at 5:47am (and they are very efficient here) for an 8:15am flight, but I digress.
So what specifically has caused the honeymoon to end. Well I guess it was a couple of things today and on their own, none of them were really that big but compounded with one another, I just decided that the honeymoon was over. Firstly, as you know (if you read my blog) my stuff is here and is sitting in Rotterdam (I think) in a secure warehouse waiting to be cleared by Dutch customs. As a part of my relocation package, I am provided with a moving company who also handles the importation of my goods into the country and all of the necessary paperwork and declarations. What I was required to provide them (and did on March 5) was my proof of registration at the town hall, which would then lead to a "residence card" to be issued by Immigration. I had been previously counselled by the relocation team that also assists with my move, that all the moving company, and customs needed was that proof. So following the process as I so diligently have done during this entire move, I emailed a PDF copy of all of the appropriate paperwork, only to be told by the moving company that they, being Customs, needs a copy of my residence card. Okay but I have no control over how long that takes and they say typically is takes about 4 weeks for it to come in, from where, I don't know and to where I don't know, other than I would get a letter on where to pick it up. So every day, I have eagerly checking my mailbox. WAITING. And WAITING. And WAITING. Today it has officially been 5 weeks and no card. Then I read some of the fine print, in Dutch of course, and it said that Immigration officially has up to 6 months to issue you your card. After reading that, I realized that another email to the moving company was in order.
Simply put, I said to them just that - that Immigration had up to 6 months to issue my card, so would Customs really be holding my stuff for that long? Within about an hour, I got an email back from the moving company suggesting that there had been a communication issue and that they didn't require my actual card but rather proof of registration with the town office. So through my email files I went and sent a nice (honestly, it was) email back to the moving company, copying him of his original email to me and my email back with all of the attached paperwork, along with a note saying that I had yet another Dutch person read these forms (because they are all in Dutch and mean bupkas to me), and indeed one of the items that I had already sent was in fact my proof of registration. I do believe that this elevated my blood pressure slightly, as my entire move has been on hold because I/we have been waiting for this card. About an hour after I sent that email, I got another one back from the moving company suggesting that perhaps Customs has missed that paper. I want to know - how the hell can you miss it - it was the only attachment I had sent! I honestly think my mover was trying to pass the buck on to customs because he screwed up! However before I left for my holiday, I still hadn't heard back from the movers if Customs had all that they needed. So who the hell knows when I am going to get my stuff!
Then on top of that and staying with the whole moving theme, I still don't have my official rental contract, although in The Netherlands a verbal contract is a binding contract so the place is mine. What concerns me is that my possession date is supposed to be April 8 (I was originally assuming that my things would be out of hawk by then), which is the day that I return, with my mom, who is coming over to help me move in. See any problems here?! Just a few eh?! At the beginning of the week my rental agent sent me a note saying that we should have the contract later this week - well later this week has come and it is going and I have nothing. I sent them a note this morning asking for an update and also informing them that I was going away and would not be able to sign a contract while I was away as I won't have access to a printer or a scanner. Did I hear anything back. No. Typical Dutch. Let's put it this way, they don't pride themselves on customer service here. I am used to that.
By the time I leave the office, I am in not bad spirits because hey, it is a long weekend and I am going to sit in the sun and sip some cocktails for the next week and whatever happens with my things and my house, happens and there is not a whole lot I can do about it. So I get on my tram to head home and instead of swinging up towards where it is supposed to go (and where I am going) it starts to head in the opposite direction, b/c there is some big Easter thing happening and they have blocked the tramlines. Do they make an announcement on the tram that this is happening - no, I just figured it out when we started to head back to where I came from. I was mad for a couple of reasons. Firstly, b/c it is bloody cold and the only reason I was taking the tram instead of walking was because of the cold!!!! Secondly, were there any notices anywhere saying that this would be happening? No! (not that it would matter because they would be in Dutch anyway - but still, it is the principle) Rather than take out my fury on the tram driver, because he had no control of the situation and only found out about the change when he started his shift, I decided then and there that the honeymoon was over and that I was done with the Dutch!
I am sure in a few days, I will be back to loving the Dutch and the Dutch ways, but for now - I'm not and it is probably a good thing that I am taking a bit of a break, or I am sure someone would be getting my wrath sooner, rather than later - if only out of shear frustration.
First things first - it is still bloody cold here and I am still freezing. And sitting in some port, in some part of this country is my stuff. And in my stuff is my long underwear - which I am in desperate need of. I mean on Sunday I had to wear my down jacket, my mitts and a toque! It is the end of bloody March already! At least the sun occasionally shines. I am so fed up with this cold weather that I am heading to Palm Springs first thing in the morning and by first thing, I mean I have to catch the train to Schipol at 5:47am (and they are very efficient here) for an 8:15am flight, but I digress.
So what specifically has caused the honeymoon to end. Well I guess it was a couple of things today and on their own, none of them were really that big but compounded with one another, I just decided that the honeymoon was over. Firstly, as you know (if you read my blog) my stuff is here and is sitting in Rotterdam (I think) in a secure warehouse waiting to be cleared by Dutch customs. As a part of my relocation package, I am provided with a moving company who also handles the importation of my goods into the country and all of the necessary paperwork and declarations. What I was required to provide them (and did on March 5) was my proof of registration at the town hall, which would then lead to a "residence card" to be issued by Immigration. I had been previously counselled by the relocation team that also assists with my move, that all the moving company, and customs needed was that proof. So following the process as I so diligently have done during this entire move, I emailed a PDF copy of all of the appropriate paperwork, only to be told by the moving company that they, being Customs, needs a copy of my residence card. Okay but I have no control over how long that takes and they say typically is takes about 4 weeks for it to come in, from where, I don't know and to where I don't know, other than I would get a letter on where to pick it up. So every day, I have eagerly checking my mailbox. WAITING. And WAITING. And WAITING. Today it has officially been 5 weeks and no card. Then I read some of the fine print, in Dutch of course, and it said that Immigration officially has up to 6 months to issue you your card. After reading that, I realized that another email to the moving company was in order.
Simply put, I said to them just that - that Immigration had up to 6 months to issue my card, so would Customs really be holding my stuff for that long? Within about an hour, I got an email back from the moving company suggesting that there had been a communication issue and that they didn't require my actual card but rather proof of registration with the town office. So through my email files I went and sent a nice (honestly, it was) email back to the moving company, copying him of his original email to me and my email back with all of the attached paperwork, along with a note saying that I had yet another Dutch person read these forms (because they are all in Dutch and mean bupkas to me), and indeed one of the items that I had already sent was in fact my proof of registration. I do believe that this elevated my blood pressure slightly, as my entire move has been on hold because I/we have been waiting for this card. About an hour after I sent that email, I got another one back from the moving company suggesting that perhaps Customs has missed that paper. I want to know - how the hell can you miss it - it was the only attachment I had sent! I honestly think my mover was trying to pass the buck on to customs because he screwed up! However before I left for my holiday, I still hadn't heard back from the movers if Customs had all that they needed. So who the hell knows when I am going to get my stuff!
Then on top of that and staying with the whole moving theme, I still don't have my official rental contract, although in The Netherlands a verbal contract is a binding contract so the place is mine. What concerns me is that my possession date is supposed to be April 8 (I was originally assuming that my things would be out of hawk by then), which is the day that I return, with my mom, who is coming over to help me move in. See any problems here?! Just a few eh?! At the beginning of the week my rental agent sent me a note saying that we should have the contract later this week - well later this week has come and it is going and I have nothing. I sent them a note this morning asking for an update and also informing them that I was going away and would not be able to sign a contract while I was away as I won't have access to a printer or a scanner. Did I hear anything back. No. Typical Dutch. Let's put it this way, they don't pride themselves on customer service here. I am used to that.
By the time I leave the office, I am in not bad spirits because hey, it is a long weekend and I am going to sit in the sun and sip some cocktails for the next week and whatever happens with my things and my house, happens and there is not a whole lot I can do about it. So I get on my tram to head home and instead of swinging up towards where it is supposed to go (and where I am going) it starts to head in the opposite direction, b/c there is some big Easter thing happening and they have blocked the tramlines. Do they make an announcement on the tram that this is happening - no, I just figured it out when we started to head back to where I came from. I was mad for a couple of reasons. Firstly, b/c it is bloody cold and the only reason I was taking the tram instead of walking was because of the cold!!!! Secondly, were there any notices anywhere saying that this would be happening? No! (not that it would matter because they would be in Dutch anyway - but still, it is the principle) Rather than take out my fury on the tram driver, because he had no control of the situation and only found out about the change when he started his shift, I decided then and there that the honeymoon was over and that I was done with the Dutch!
I am sure in a few days, I will be back to loving the Dutch and the Dutch ways, but for now - I'm not and it is probably a good thing that I am taking a bit of a break, or I am sure someone would be getting my wrath sooner, rather than later - if only out of shear frustration.
Sounds like you are exercising admirable restraint. and I am sure the Dutch will learn to appreciate that. But you know, what I do, solve problems, so if you get an email with your contract, just jump in the car and come on over to Dogpound South and we will fire up our printer and scanner for you. It is only 4 hours and 45 minutes from the Palm Springs airport so not to bad for a world traveler.
ReplyDeleteAll kidding aside, have a great holiday, it will all make sense when you get back!
Wow you have shown amazing restraint. Have a great holiday and hopefully it will all come together when you get back. If not you'll have your Mom with you for morale support - or maybe to kick some Dutch butt.
ReplyDelete