Saturday, April 13, 2013

Mom, Tulips & Windmills

It has been a little while since I have posted - I had a quick trip back to N. America for a small vacay and to attend a very special wedding (no - not mine).  For the trip back, my mom met me in Calgary, where I managed to switch her boarding pass without her even noticing, from the back of the bus up to Executive First, which was where I was sitting.  There was no way that I could have my mother sitting in economy while I sat in First, and although I had thought about giving up my seat to her, I realized that I didn't want to sit back there either, so it was just easier to get her a seat in First.  The only downside is that she if flying back of the bus back to Canada, and I can't even upgrade her as she is flying Lufthansa.

Long ago, I gleaned some sage advice from a fellow, seasoned expat - Ms. Carley Morgan.  For her multiple moves, she would fly her mom to help her pack and unpack and I decided to do that as well.  Although I have already been here for just over 2 months, I figured that it would be great to have some help to help get settled and boy has it been worth it!  On moving day (which was Wednesday), we had an early start with the movers arriving between 7:00-7:30am and we (meaning my mom) unpacked, while I checked off boxes, directed where things were going and also unpacked boxes - we did this for 10 hours and were both plum exhausted by the end of the day.  On day one, we managed to get both of the beds set up, found the basics for the kitchen and quickly realized that I was lacking some serious storage in the kitchen!  It was a long but productive day!  I would like to say that I am totally unpacked now, but I am not.  I am tackling a room a day and on Tuesday, I will have a cabinet delivered which I hope will help alleviate my kitchen issues.

I am not a total slave driver and have given my mom some time off to play tourist :-)  Yesterday we went to the Keukfenhof, the world's most beautiful spring garden.  For someone who LOVES tulips (me), this was heaven.  I took a few hundred photos - here is a sample of a few of them.





Canadian Liberator




Today was more touring - this time with us taking a drive out to the Kinderdijk, which happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage site for windmills.  My mom and I had a "moment" whereby we each looked to the right at the same time and saw the windmills and at the same time both went "oh" - we had a good laugh at that!






Tuesday, April 2, 2013

I Live Here Now

As I think most of you know, I am currently back in North America on a little vacay.  Prior to moving to The Hague,  I hadn't completed my annual pilgrimage down to Palm Springs and a very dear friend is getting married in Calgary next weekend and I could not miss her wedding, so I decided to combine the two into a nice little Easter holiday - killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

I had a bit of a moment on Friday, at the airport as I was leaving.  Just like everyone else, I had to go through passport control, so I handed over my passport and watched as the agent flipped through it and just as she was about to land her stamp on a blank page, I said "I am a resident", as I realized that she hadn't seen my visa.  She nicely asked for my residents card - which I don't have - see previous entry but I pointed out my visa, which she then stamped and I was on my way.  That was the first time that I think I said to anyone, I live here.

Now add to that, when I go into Canada on Friday, I have to check off the little box that says visitor and to be honest, that one is going to hard.  I get teary just thinking about it.  It is weird to think that I am going to be a visitor in my own country.  A country that I so proudly hold a passport for and a country that I will forever proudly call Home with a capitol H.  But, I am no longer a resident, so that makes me a visitor.  Good thing though, my Nexus card still works :-) and I can still avoid all of those line-ups that I hate!

For this trip I still used my Canadian address for everything because my credit cards are still tagged to that address, I haven't traded in my drivers license yet (on the To-Do list when I get back) and it is just easier that trying to spell out Bezuidenhoutsweg 65-130 (my current address) every time I rent something or check-in.

I am also using this trip to stock up on those things that either I can't get in The Netherlands, or I know I can get cheaper here - like ice cube trays.   The Dutch aren't big fans of ice cubes, and none of the freezers I have looked in have ice cubes or ice cube trays, so I bought some.  I also bought some dental floss - the thread that they have there, well it ain't dental floss in my books.  I also bought some toilet cleaner - I know, odd purchase but I really like the Method toilet bowl cleaner, so I bought a couple of bottles.  Let's put it this way, me and Target have been good friends on this trip and I packed an extra-large MEC duffel bag so I could load it up with stuff to bring home.  Now in my defence, I have also agreed to pick up a new winter jacket in Calgary for my friend Lindsey and that will take up a fair bit of space in my bag.  Thankfully I have a 3 bag  baggage allowance so I can cart all of my "stuff" home. I also bought a really nice 10 piece set of All-Clad pots and pans, as I Goodwilled all of my pots before I left and if I want to feed my mom, I am going to need some pots.   At least the pots are in a nice sturdy and albeit large box.

It's true what they say, Home is where the heart is, but home is where also where I live now.