The library behind us is one of the reasons we moved here. I'm actually writing this blog from its beautiful study space.
Chris and I arrived in Amersfoort, Netherlands on Tuesday afternoon and are slowly settling into our Airbnb, where we'll stay for about six weeks while we find a rental apartment. Our new environment is so far a bewildering mix of foreign sounds, signs, and fashion punctuated by random familiarity - a Subway with all English signage, American pop music playing in the grocery store, and (thank goodness) Oreos.
Being in the Netherlands still feels like a vacation, but every so often it hits that we're actually living here. Before sitting down to write this, Chris and I stopped by the currency exchange and transferred all our American cash into euros. In the back of my mind, I'd been thinking that we should hold onto some cash to use "when we go home". Realizing that this could be months away was a rude awakening. Likewise, factoring in the time difference when contacting folks in the US is a constant reminder of how far we've traveled.
The stairs in our Airbnb make us feel like we need hiking poles to go down to the bathroom!
Fortunately, our transition has been aided by incredibly nice and helpful strangers. When we arrived at the Amersfoort train station, everyone seemed to know where they were going and what they were doing. It was so intimidating! I felt small and provincial and about 10 years old. But without fail, people have been eager to help us, smiling at our newbie blunders and our comical attempts at Dutch. We attended our first intermediate language class on Tuesday evening, and the teachers and other students couldn't have been nicer. If the past two days are any indication, we should be able to fumble our way into living here just fine.
Over the next few days, we'll continue to expand our reach in Amersfoort. Chris is signed up to start CrossFit tomorrow evening; and I, not yet courageous enough for a Dutch yoga class, will investigate the running trails in a local park. We'll both start working again next week, which will add some welcome structure to our days. Residence permits, bank accounts, apartment hunting, and a social life all yet to come. One day at a time.
In the meantime, we would love to hear from you! We use the free messaging app "WhatsApp" for international texting. Check it out and drop us a line :-)
Tot de volgende keer,
Vicki & Chris
Waiting to check in at Logan airport with our many suitcases
On the way to our stopover in Reykjavik. Note the empty seats - for the first time ever we had rows to ourselves to stretch out and snooze.
Chris found gaming equipment on our first night in town. He's going to be happy here! In unrelated news, shoes appear to be ridiculously cheap :-)