Excess

Now that my life has calmed down a bit, I am able to reflect some on my thoughts and reactions to being back in America. My first thought is that it is nice to be able to read and understand everything. In the Netherlands, I am constantly trying to process a sign or what someone is saying. It's harder work on your brain than you might expect!!! It's also very nice to be able to just jump in a WARM car and head off to my destination, without really having to worry about the weather.

There were some other things that hit me right away after arriving home. We live in excess. The way our society is structured leans towards excess.  We have huge houses, big cars, Wal-Mart supercenters, and every gadget we can possibly have to make our life easier. I'm not saying it's all necessarily bad but with more stuff comes more responsibility and more anxiety about keeping up with all the stuff. We've become so dependent on our stuff that we can't fathom a life without it.

People ask me how I survive without a cell phone or a microwave. My response? The same way we did 20 years ago. Admittedly, not having a phone gets annoying and we are going to get one but we will only have 100 minutes a month and a 100 texts. I know that's a shocker considering I was the biggest cell phone addict:)

Life is so fast paced here. There is so much to do, so  many choices, and everything is easily accessible. We are constantly on the go here and don't take the time to really stop and enjoy life.

It's interesting because I think many people think that because the Netherlands isn't structured the way the US is, that it is a third world country. But that's the interesting part. It's not. They have made choices to have their country set up that way. They could put a fast food restaurant on every corner or build supercenters but that is not their way of life. It's not crazy to them to have to go to the store a few times a week or to have to heat their leftovers in an oven or to ride a bike everywhere. It's not weird that a family of 5 might live in a small house with crazy steep steps.

America is all about excess and the school of thought that "if we can, we should". Sometimes this line of thinking leads to great things and amazing life improvements. Other times it leads to anxiety and depression medication because it's just too much to try and keep up. 

I think during this holiday season, where excess gets out of hand, we should really reflect on the simplicity of life and ask ourselves what can be cut away from our own lives to get back to simplicity.

WHEEL.OF.FORTUNEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

The day started out early, with me catching a shuttle from the hotel to Sony Studios, along with about 10 other contestants. You could tell everyone was nervous and excited. Everyone was talking about where they were from, solving puzzles, past game shows, etc. No one else from Missouri that day!

When we arrived at the Studios, we were greeted by the contestant assistants and ushered into the studio.  We did paperwork for awhile and then went out onto the set. Talk about surreal. There I was on the set of Wheel of Fortune, looking at the wheel, the puzzle, and all the sights you see on tv. The set was much smaller than you would think. We practiced spinning the wheel a few times (the wheel is HEAVY!!), calling out letters and buying vowels, and checking out the used letter board. Afterwards we headed back into our room and who walked in?? Vanna White! I hardly recognized her in her juicy coture sweatpants, a t-shirt, and her hair wet and pulled back. She was super nice and visited with us for a few minutes.

Then it came time to find out what show we were going to be on. They tape 6 shows a day, which are drawn at random. I was hoping for one of the first 5 shows because the theme for that week was "Sand and Sea" and aired in February. My group of 3 got show #5!!!!! Which meant we wouldn't tape until later in the day but at least I was still in that week.

Then it was time for makeup. I seriously need a make-up artist all the time. She did airbrush on my face and it looked awesome! We were constantly be touched up all day long. Next we were all ushered back out onto set to film a commerical for our local newsstation that will air the week of our show! So if you're in the Kansas City area, check out KSHB, 41 to see my smiling mug telling you to watch Wheel of Fortune!:)

Then it came time for the first show so we all headed out to the audience (a secluded part) and kicked off the day's festivities! It was exciting and nervewracking all at the same time. We felt happiness and sadness for the contestants, as we had all grown close throughout the morning. It's true what Pat says, the wheel can be harsh.

Before I knew it, lunch had passed and they were calling for the 5th show contestants. I thought I was going to pass out from nerves when I walked up on thes tage and the music started, signaling the start of the show. I'll admit, I was a little starstruck when Pat walked out and stood next to me but then it was time to focus and get down to business.

We did the toss ups and then I was the first to spin the wheel. . . the rest of the show went super quick and was filled with ups and downs. They tell us not to put out details on the internet because they want people to watch the show. So I can't disclose what happened but you will want to watch because you will probably be seeing a lot of me!!!

It was such a great experience. I'm glad that it's over and my stomach can go back to normal. There really were no losers because everyone gets $1000 regardless of if you win any puzzles.

Remember to tune in February 25, it's a Friday! I'll remind everyone as it gets closer! And in the meantime, Big Money, Big Money!!!!!

LA

***If you click on the slideshow, it will make it full screen and easier to see the pictures!


Wow! Where to even begin??? It was such a whirlwind of a week!!!We left KC and 20 degree weather at 7am on Thursday and arrived to 70 degree weather in LA! We had a short amount of time there so we wanted to see the sights so we took off for Hollywood. Along the way, we stopped at a famous hot dog stand to enjoy lunch and take a break from my mom's driving. :)

After that we headed to Kat Von D's, High Voltage Tattoo shop. She has the tv show, L.A. Ink so we wanted to pick up t-shirts and take pictures. As you can see from the pictures, it was a very cool tattoo shop, but not a whole lot different from your average run of the mill shop. It was very non-discreet and you could totally miss it if you didn't know what to look for. It was here we had our first celebrity sighting!!!

We were in the shop for about 20 minutes before Brandy spotted him. She comes running out of the shop(we were outside taking pictures) and tells us to get inside, fast. Who was sitting in a tattoo chair, a mere 10 feet away from us? Keifer Sutherland! Some of you may know him more appropriately as Jack Bauer from the tv show "24". It was awesome!!!!

So we continued on our high and drove through Hollywood. We made it to Beverly Hills and walked down Rodeo Drive. We saw many stores that we were not rich enough to get any attention in. Later we went to Santa Monica Beach where we put our feet in the freezing cold water and wished for warmer times back home.

We went to bed early that night since I had to be up and at Sony Studios by 7:45am. There was a shuttle from our hotel that was filled with Wheel of Fortune contestants. Now, my experience there deserves a post in and of itself so stay tuned for all the details about my day at Wheel of Fortune! For now, enjoy the pics!!

Getting home, Part two

The other part I did not have time to write about this morning  was my fear that I was on the plane with a terrorist. Yes, a terrorist.

After I was seated on the plane, a man got on who looked to be of Italian descent. He sat caddy cornered behind me, so if I were to glance back, I would see him. This became a problem later on in the flight. We were sitting there as the flight attendants came on and gave the safety spiel. He was on his phone and was covering the mouthpiece as he talked into it!! Suspicious right? Could've been that the person he was talking to couldn't hear him well because it was loud in the plane but I leaned towards terrorism planning.

He continued talking like this after we were told to shut off our cell phones. I kept glancing back at him and naturally he caught me everytime. So now I was convinced that not only was he going to blow up our plane, he was going to make sure that I was the first one to go.

Throughout the flight, I kept trying to casually look back, just to keep an eye on things. Unfortunately it seemed that he was keeping an eye on me because nearly everytime I looked back, he was staring straight at me. I nonchalantly acted like I was trying to see out his window...until I realized that was a mistake since his window was closed. This continued throughout much of the 8 hour flight. The one time he got up to go to the bathroom, I felt he was gone for way too long of a time(because it's my duty to decide how long one should take in the bathroom. . .)and was convinced that the tail of the plane was about to be blown off and our little plane would go careening into the Atlantic.

However, we made it. The man was not a terrorist and in fact was very nice. We walked together on our way to customs. He was from Holland, going to America to visit his mother and brother, whom he hadn't seen in 8 years. I felt pretty bad about thinking he was a terrorist but maybe people should be more careful about talking in hushed tones on an airplane. . .I'm  just saying. It would make my flying experience more peaceful.

Or I suppose I could learn that the odds of a terrorist being on my plane are slim to none. . .

Home

Sorry for the delay in posts but I've been running around or sleeping since my feet touched American soil but I'm finally feeling more adjusted and decided I'd better sneak a post in before I jump two more time zones to head to LA on Thursday.

I made it home safely. Barely. I had a little trouble getting through security in the Netherlands, which is the last place I thought I would have trouble. Apparently I was flagged because I was in the country 2 days longer than my 3 months I am allowed without a residency permit. I explained to them that my permit was "in process" but that did not stop them from asking to see a Dutch form of ID(remember how I just told you I didn't have my residency permit yet??) , talking to their supervisor 3 times, grilling me about when I got married(I had two passports, my old one with my maiden name and my new one with my married name.), demanding to see proof  that I live in the Netherlands, and last but not least, opening one of my wedding thank you cards and reading it!!!! I was in near tears, thinking they were not going to let me out of the country! But they finally allowed me through and I began my journey home.

The flights were relatively smooth. I judge my flights by how many times the captain has to turn on the fasten seatbelt sign due to turbulence. He only turned it on once during my entire 8.5 hour flight, so I consider that a success. By the time I reached KC, I was exhausted beyond words.

But it was nice to be greeted by people in English. To not have to process every word of advertisement, to get in heated transportation, to see open spaces.

But it's also kind of a reverse culture shock. There are so many choices for everything! There is so much convience. I felt like it was a welcome to America party when I got off the plane in Chicago and everybody was eating McDonald's. I mean EVERYBODY. One guy didn't even bother to use his hands to eat his fries, he just tipped the container to his mouth and poured.

We leave for LA on Thursday! Taping of the show is on Friday! I will definitely let everyone know how it goes!

Time to come home

At this time tomorrow, I will be back home in Missouri!!! As you can see from the map, there's quite an ocean to span before arriving safely at home.  It's hard to believe I actually live so far away from the U.S. And I'm wondering now if this map is drawn to scale. . .oh well you get the idea.

We have gotten an unseasonal amount of snow this week. We definitely have a few inches on the ground and it has snowed like crazy since last night. I have been sick most of the week(thank you crazy weather-having to ride around on my bike with snow blowing in my face) so it has prevented me from getting a lot done. But Thursday night (shops stay open until 8pm!! which is a miracle here) Dan and I went and got some more Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for  myself and my national tv appearance. :) Today we had to finish up the shopping and naturally it was snowing like crazy. We spent a good 3 hours traipsing around different places, getting Christmas presents, and things to take back home. As we were walking around, we wondered why there were so many people out on this snowy day and we were reminded that Sinterklaas comes tomorrow night. Everyone was out doing their last minute shopping. 

So now it is time to start packing, deliver some Christmas goodies to my neighbors, and pray for the snow to stop both here in and in Chicago, where I will be flying to. The next time you hear from me, I will be stateside! Dan will still be here as he can't come until December 20th. I have a feeling this month at home is going to be a whirlwind. 

I can't wait to see everyone and eat some Chipotle! I hope I remember how to drive a car. . .

Pray for safe travels and I'll see you stateside!!!!

Baby, it's cold outside!

 Today the temperature was around 15 degrees (or -7.1 C for all my Dutch readers out there). I dreaded riding my bike to my house I was scheduled to clean today. While I appreciated the sunshine today, I did NOT appreciate the cold and the wind. I felt like it was appropriate to try and paint a picture for my readers about what life without a car in the wintertime here is like. 

1. Get a good, warm coat. Preferably one that does not only have one button and flies open when you ride. Trust me. I know from experience that pea coats are great for the average America but for the Dutch, bike riding expat, not so much.

2. Get a nice, long, thick scarf. 

3. Warm gloves that will keep the wind out.

4. Long underwear is a necessity. I do not have any yet and everytime I ride for more than 5 minutes, my legs are thoroughly frozen by the time I get to my destination--which also makes getting to my destination more painful because it is surprisingly difficult to pedal a bike with frozen legs. Who knew?

5. Leg warmers. That is right my fashion-ista American friends, they are back. Or maybe they never left, at least for practical purposes. These are great if you want to wear a skirt somewhere because the leg warmers will keep your legs a lot warmer than just wearing your tights. 


Once you have compiled this list, you are ready for a warm adventure out on the cold streets of Leiden. You can really make do with just a coat, scarf, and gloves but it will not necessarily be a "warm" adventure. 


Now, onto the actual experience itself. You will unlock your bike from the cold, lonely alleyway, brush the snow off your seat and get on your bike. The wind will be the first thing that hits you, followed by a cooling sensation on your behind as the snow you didn't quite get all the way off starts seeping through your pants. Then you put the pedal to the medal(figuratively speaking of course) and start pedaling. 


There will be a sense of urgency to get where you are going quickly because the cold is setting in but your legs won't pedal much faster because they are starting to freeze. 


BUT WAIT. A weird thing is happening. . .you are sweating! That's right, underneath your bundle of clothing, you are sweating. Freezing, but sweating. It's an odd situation, but that is what happens.  By the time you arrive at your destination, you are hot AND cold.  Your legs are frozen but there is sweat running down your neck. It takes you a few minutes to adjust to your new, indoor surroundings and just as you sigh with relief that you made it, you realize that you will eventually have to ride home.

Baking mishap

For one of our Thanksgivings, I was assigned a dessert. It's always a challenge finding recipes and adapting recipes here to fit the ingredients that they sell. With help from the "Australian and British goods" store , I was able to find some of the necessary ingredients to begin my baking adventure.

Meagan always made a yummy marble cheesecake for special occasions. I was assigned a chocolate dessert and since Dan likes cheesecake and I had seen some Philadelphia cream cheese in the store, I thought it was a safe bet. I couldn't find any baking chocolate so just used chocolate chips. Substituted "country biscuits" for graham crackers for the crust and voila! Little did I know that it would not be the international adaptations that would get me but that it would be my good ole fashioned reading/baking skills that would be my cheesecake's downfall.

I had done everything perfectly and when I got to the end, right before I was to pop it in the oven, the directions said draw a knife through the batter to marbelize. I stared at that and read it over at least 3 times. It did not make sense to me. Why would they want me to cut a line in the batter? I didn't know but that's what the instructions said, so that is what I did. I started at one end of the pan and drew my knife straight across to the other end, leaving basically my cheesecake in two parts. My thought process was going something like this --"Hmm, this is really weird. How is it going to marbelize? what does that even mean? Maybe by separating the cake into two parts essentially, it will somehow allow for the layers to mix(I had a 2 white layers and 2 chocolate layers)." I had no idea how that  line down the middle of my cheesecake was going to work it's magic but I knew better than to question instructions.

After the cheesecake came out of the oven, Dan came over to look at it and presumably try to steal a bite. As I smacked his hand away, he asked why there was a line cut through the middle of the cake. I explained to him that I didn't really get it either but read to him what the instructions said. He started laughing hysterically and it was about that time that the lightbulb in my head clicked on. He said, " Darling, it didn't mean to draw the knife in a straight line through the middle of the cake. It meant to take the knife and swirl it around in the batter so that the layers mixed together, hence marbelizing the cheesecake."

Baking Fail.

Luckily for me, there was a layer of ganache waiting to go on it. When all was said and done, you could just see a faint line under the ganache where the cake had been cut. And hey, it was going to be cut anyways right??

First Snow!

We had our first snow today in Leiden! I had to ride up to Dan's work to bring something for my residency permit and it started spitting snow on the way. It was a long, cold ride. By the time I got home, my legs were numb. I think I'm going to need some long underwear to survive here. I'm pretty sure it's going to be interesting trying to navigate my bike in the snow. The streets get pretty slippery it seems so I may be forced to being a walker again for a good part of the winter.

Later tonight though, I looked out our window and saw big, beautiful snowflakes! The ground was quickly becoming covered and I was anxious to get out in it! So we took a walk outside (see, here it is normal to take a walk in the snow/cold because you know you have to go out anyways at some point during the day so it is not so bad). We got some beautiful pictures of the canal at night.

Final Thanksgivings

We had our last two real Thanksgiving's this weekend. On Saturday night we met up with a bunch of friends and had Thanksgiving, complete with all the fixin's. Everyone was American except for two Dutch guys who are married to American's. It was a great night of hanging out, eating too much, and playing Mafia. Anyone remember that game? Yes, it spans oceans. Thankfully, a friend picked us up in his car because it would've been a long, cold bike ride with a marble cheesecake and homemade hot rolls.

We just got home from our second Thanksgiving of the weekend with a different set of American friends. I cooked the turkey for this one and we did NOT have a car to escort us to their house so we packed a 7lb turkey, gravy, hot rolls, stuffing, 2 bottles of wine, and a pumpkin pie into my basket and bungee corded to the back rack of our bikes. Ahh, the life of an American expat.

Thanksgiving-Leiden style

Yesterday, as you all remember, I made and took some pumpkin cupcakes to my Dutch class in honor of Thanksgiving.They were a big hit!I talked a little about why we celebrated Thanksgiving and there were many questions about it. Some people thought it was related to Christmas, others had never heard of it. One person made a comment, after I said the Indians helped the pilgrims learn how to hunt and fish, "yeah and then you killed all of the Indians".I said, "That's not exactly what happened" but in my head I was thinking, "Do you really want to get into a history lesson right now?I don't think so." She was from Germany.

Overall they were a huge success! Then last night I was watching the Macy's Day parade via live stream on CNN. I started getting sad thinking about how awesome America is, as the dough boy float was passing by and the crowd was chanting"Dough Boy! Dough Boy!".  Dan and I were both sad that we were missing Thanksgiving dinner ON Thanksgiving(we are having a few dinners with friends later in the weekend) so we decided to jump on our bikes and head to the Holiday Inn.

Yes, there is a Holiday Inn here in Leiden. And yes, they were serving a "Real American Thanksgiving Meal"! We  paid way too much for a meal where the only "real" Thanksgiving food was turkey, cranberries, and pumpkinpie but we still got our turkey fix and a memorable first Thanksgiving. The good thing about eating a feast here, is that you get to bike it off after you're done!Check out the pics below. If you click on the slideshow, it will make the pictures full size.

Thankful

I was thinking today how it doesn't really feel like Thanksgiving to me because everyone is working, there are no turkeys in the supermarkets, there are no "supermarkets", you can't find canned pumpkin, etc. But then I started making pumpkin cupcakes (pumpkin courtesy of Katie Theriot and recipe courtesy of Meagan Farber) to take to my Dutch class. I figured I'd spread a little Thanksgiving cheer. 

That got me thinking about why we actually celebrated Thanksgiving, what the roots are, etc. I'll be honest, I had to Wikipedia it. Throughout all of this, I was reminded that most importantly, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the things that we are thankful for.

So here is my list and is not all inclusive.

1. 2010. Yep, the whole year. I would like to claim 2010 as MY year. It was a fabulous one. 

2. My amazing Husband. Who during the past 8months has gone from boyfriend, to fiance', to husband. He is a great leader, a loving spouse, and a fantastic provider. 

3. Family- My family has been so supportive through all of these crazy changes throughout this year. Life could've been made really difficult without their support. They stood to lose something as well but were so supportive and gracious. 

4. More family- I gained another family this year as well and am so lucky that I gained a great family. So many people have problems and reservations about their in-laws but I consider myself blessed to be able to extend my family and have even more people who love us.

5. Europe-Sometimes I just look around while I'm out and am utterly amazed that I actually lived here. I'm pretty sure in all my life I never imagined LIVING in Europe. Visiting yes, living here, no. It is such an amazing opportunity and while there are hard times sometimes, this is such an incredible adventure.

6. Great friends- I have so many great friends, old and new. I'm thankful for my best friends who I am constantly missing. I'm thankful for my new friends here who have helped make this transition so much easier. I'm thankful for friends I have to return to for game nights and good food.

What a truly fantastic year. I have so much to be thankful for.

And now, I am going to be thankful for these. . .

Home

I am so excited to be coming home! It's less than 2 weeks away now! I have a feeling that the month I am home will be like a whirlwind. I'm also anxious to see how I will feel and what things will be like. I've adjusted to not being able to understand what people around me are saying or having to hop on my bike to go somewhere. I've started writing my grocery lists in Dutch (with the help of google translate and my Dutch language class of course) because it's easier to find what I need or ask someone when I'm there.

I think it will be interesting to know what the cashier is saying to me at the store. To see signs in English and not have to take the time to process in my brain the translation. What if I'm on Wheel of Fortune and I blurt something out in Dutch?!(ok, i'm not that good yet:) )

I think it will be an adjustment coming back, even though it hasn't been that long. I've worked so hard to adapt my brain to think differently here,now I have to reprogram it for a short time to function American style.

And then there's the question of when I come back. I am nervous about the adjustment period there as well. I hope it won't be like starting over. My Australian friend in my Dutch class is going to email me her notes so I can keep up with the class but even that will be difficult because who wants to do homework when there's  Chipotle to be eaten and cars to be driven??

I'm excited for our trip home but I hope it doesn't set back the integration process here too much, because the reality is is that this is my home for the next 4 years.

Welkom Sinterklaas!!

Sinterklaas made it to town this weekend and we were there to witness his arrival! He and his "zwarte Piet's" (black Pete) arrived via boats, coming up one of the canals. The square was filled with kids dressed up like Zwarte Piets and Sintkerklaas. They were singing what I can only assume to be Christmas songs, in Dutch. The Zwarte Piets (which are grown adults in what appear to be jester costumes, with their faces painted black because they climb down the chimney to deliver presents) throw out kruidnoten, which is like gingerbread. Eventually Sinterklaas got on his horse and rode through the town. 

After seeing him in Leiden, we took the train to Delft to finish up some Christmas shopping. Little did we know that Sinterklaas was making his appearance there as well. We got some great pictures and a short video of Sinterklaas speaking to all the children. 

 

Weekly Happenings

This has been a pretty exciting week for the Caputo family. In one week, we received two care packages, found out I was going to be on Wheel of Fortune, booked flights home for Christmas, went and saw the Hubble movie in Imax and got to see the city of Den Hague. 

Dan's mom sent us a loaded care package! It was full of everything imaginable for Christmas baking! Since I am coming home in two weeks, it means I have to get on my Christmas baking early. Good thing they celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5. Brandy also sent us a care package full of my favorite candy and s'more poptarts!! It was the perfect pick me up from home.

Yesterday we went to Den Hague to see Hubble on IMAX. Dan's department at work paid for the entire department to go so it was great to get to meet his friend and colleagues. Den Hague (of The Hague) is where the government for the Netherlands sit. These are pictures of the building below.

The town itself is beautiful and some of it's streets date back to the middle ages. Parts of the city sustained heavy damage during World War II and has a pretty bleak history during the war. Apparently there are still areas where you can see some of the damage. We were on a tram when these pictures were taken so we didn't get to explore the city but I'm excited to because it looks beautiful. Here are some more pictures of the city.

Then we went to the IMAX to see the movie. Here is Dan fulfilling his lifelong dream of being an astronaut

 It's been a pretty great week! Tomorrow is the arrival of Sinterklass!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to buy a vowel please. . .

The call has finally come.  Today I received a call from Wheel of Fortune, asking me to come out in December and be on a taping of a show! For some background history, last April I tried out for Wheel of Fortune and the same week I got engaged, I got a letter saying I had been selected to be on Wheel of Fortune!!! That was a fabulous week for me!

So after receiving the call, we immediately booked my flight home. I will be home 2 weeks from  Sunday!!! I am coming in early and then will fly out to LA a few days later. Dan can't come until later in the month due to work but we'll be staying until after the New Years. 

It's all so surreal. Coming home, being on Wheel of Fortune, spending Christmas with family. . .

Well, it's off to practice so I can win "big money, big money".

Sinterklaas Traditions

 I copied this from a Dutch website, that shows the tradition of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. Sinterklaas is arriving by boat in our city this Saturday so get ready for awesome pictures! But for now, read up on the Dutch tradition.

In mid-November Dutch television broadcasts the official arrival of St. Nicholas and his helper Zwarte Piet live to the nation. Coming by steamer from Spain, each year they dock in the harbor of a different city or village. Wearing traditional bishop's robes, Sinterklaas rides into town on a white horse to be greeted by the mayor. A motorcade and a brass band begin a great parade which leads Sinterklaas and his Piets through the town.
Nearly every city, town and village has its own Sinterklaas parade. He usually arrives by horseback, but occaisionally he comes by boaty, carriage, moped, or helicopter.
In the following weeks before St. Nicholas Day, December 6, Sinterklaas goes about the country to determine if the children have been well-behaved. He and his Zwarte Piet helpers visit children in schools, hospitals, department stores, and even at home. Bakeries are busy making speculaas molded spice cookies for the season.
During this time children sing Sinterklaas songs and put their shoes next to the window or door, or, by the fireplace or heater, along with a nice drawing, a wish-list and a carrot or hay, and maybe a saucer of water, for the horse. If St. Nicholas happens by while checking on their behavior, the next morning children may find chocolate coins or initial letter, candy treats, pepernoten, and little gifts in their shoes. Everyone hopes for sweets, not coal or a little bag of salt. In some families he may stop by every night, but usually just once or several times—and not if the children have been naughty that day or forgot to sing their songs!
The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas on December 5th, St. Nicholas Eve, with festive family parties when gifts and surprises are exchanged. In the Netherlands, unlike other places, adults as well as children join in the fun. As the Dutch like an element of surprise, a small gift may be wrapped in a huge box, or it may be hidden and require following clues to discover where it is.

Child's Sinterklaas Backpack St Nicholas Center Collection

Gifts are prettily wrapped in special Sinterklaas paper or they may be hidden, for example, in a potato or an old sock. Each gift, anonymously signed "from Sinterklaas," comes with a clever rhyme that may point out a person's shortcomings in a humorous way. (For the less creative, there are books with suggestions for making rhymes and packaging disguises.) Originality, not value of the gift, is what counts. Children sing traditional Sinterklaas songs while waiting for the saint to appear. A knock comes on the door and a black gloved hand appears to toss candies and pepernoten inside. Children scramble to gather up the treats. A large burlap bag, "de zak van Sinterklaas," also appears filled with gifts. At the table, decorated with speculaas and other sweets, guests may find their initial in a chocolate letter at their places. Food is apt to include hot chocolate, Bishop's wine, and letter banket.

Dutch Pencil Topper St Nicholas Center Collection

The Dutch feast of Saint Nicholas is about giving, for "it is in giving that we receive." The fun is in trying to surprise people, to tease in a well-meaning way, to make a good joke, to produce a rollicking rhyme. The gift itself is just a bonus, as the fun is in the doing. Sinterklaas is the most important tradition for the Dutch, a 2008 Centre for Dutch Culture survey found. Celebrated the evening of December 5 with traditional tasty foods, it is the main time for family gift-giving. The second ranked tradition is decorating a Christmas tree, followed by Queen's Day, April 30. Blowing out birthday candles and eating raw herring were also in the top ten.
Studies* with young children (ages 4-7) in the Netherlands show that St. Nicholas encourages positive, sharing behavior:

One may think that traditions like the Dutch Saint Nicholas tradition makes children materialistic, greedy, and less likely to share with others as they are spoiled with gifts and candy. However, our results clearly show that children in The Netherlands still associate Saint Nicholas with "sharing with others"  . . . .

Significant others, such as family members, friends, and Saint Nicholas, are pre-eminently the people that influence us and that teach us what is good, and what is bad, and what the social norms are in our society. . . . Give Dutch children a coloring picture depicting the attributes of Saint Nicholas (a book, miter, and a staff) and they will give away more of their candy.

Random thoughts on Dutch life

Have we talked about the Dutch stairs yet? Because we need to. I'm not sure where they got the bright idea to build stairs the way they do. They are steep, narrow, winding, and the actual stair itself is not wide enough to accommodate a grown person's foot. Most times, you actually have to go down sideways and don't even try to hang on to a railing because more often than not, there isn't one.

These stairs pose a problem for me in my everyday life because well, frankly, I have a hard enough time walking up or down regular stairs. At my new cleaning job, the stairs are crazy Dutch (that's what I've taken to calling these types of stairs) and there are 31 tiny, winding, narrow stairs that I have to climb from the first floor to the third. Yes, I've counted them. I'm sure they will be my demise one of these days when I'm carrying the vaccuum upstairs to clean their only stretch of carpet in the house. A 5x3 piece in the hallway. I found some pictures online of typical Dutch stairs. THey really doesn't do them justice so I suppose you will have to come experience them for yourself!

Also, I found out today that the TNT Post, which who delivers our mail, is on strike. Strike? You can't go on strike! I have Thanksgiving items coming my way and care packages from home! What kind of mail service goes on strike? I also have my passport coming back from the US Embassy where I had sent it to get my name changed. Hope that comes soon because my time to apply for my residency permit is quickly running out!! Hmm, I may be home for Christmas after all!!:)

And last but certainly not least, did everyone hear that Prince William is finally engaged to his longtime girlfriend?Not sure why this interests me. I think I have this unrealistic expectation that anything that happens in Europe, I will get to be a part of. . .

1. Prince William's wedding will be taking place in the spring in London. I am close to London.
2. The 2010 Olympic games are also taking place in London. I am close to London.
3. The Tour De France is actually in France! It's kind of like Cinco de Mayo. You know what it says but it never really registers with you that it's the 5th of May or that the Tour De France is actually in France.
4. I will stop now before everyone stops reading because they've decided I'm a complete idiot.

And last but not least, we are hoping to take a trip over Christmas that is less expensive than coming home but will also allow us to travel. Has anyone been anywhere in Europe during Christmas time that they would recommend? So far we are looking into Switzerland and Austria and would like to go somewhere cold, in keeping with the Christmas spirit.

Newlyweds in the Netherlands

Many people have asked me what it has been like to start my marriage in a foreign country and "how I am doing with married life". I have given a lot of thought to this as I had prepared myself for a difficult adjustment period of being married. Granted, we are only almost 3 months in and definitely still in the honeymoon stage but I can speak to what my thoughts are so far. 


I think that this big move has helped ease the struggles that sometimes accompanies a new marriage. My life has taken a complete 180 in the last few months. For most newlyweds, the only major change in their life is the marriage itself. For us, we changed jobs or quit careers, we sold nearly all of our possessions, moved across the world to a different country--oh and got married. :)


I feel like we've had so many big changes in our life that marriage is just another change to adapt to. We are going through all of this newness together. All of the stress of change isn't just on the marriage and I think that helps. We know that we both only have each other over here and we are drawn closer by this. We try to look at this as an adventure. Sure, some days, I want to mow people over on my bike and other days I shout at people that I can't understand them but the majority of days are good days and I'm glad we get to have this adventure so early in our marriage. 


I think that this move will only serve to strengthen our relationship by forcing us to depend only on God and each other. If we get into an argument, I can't really grab my passport and say "see ya"! We can laugh together at some of the craziness that we encounter. I know he can relate to all the same feelings I'm having about living in a foreign country. And most importantly, this was a decision that we both made together, after much prayer and consideration, and felt that this was too good of an adventure to pass up. 


So, not only do we continue to grow in our knowledge of the Dutch language and culture, in knowledge of bike riding and hand signaling, in maneuvering furniture through tiny spaces and disassembling and reassembling furniture, but also we continue to grow in our love for each other and appreciation for this amazing adventure we are on.

Sin City

When people found out we were moving to the Netherlands, we heard one of 4 things. "Legal pot, prostitution, tulips, and wooden shoes!". When I tell Dutch people this, they just shake their head. Since we've been here, we have seen wooden shoes and will see tulips in the spring. We have heard about shops in the city where we could buy pot. And we thought we had to go to Amsterdam to find brothels. But oh contraire my friends. There is a brothel not 80 meters from our house!!

While I dropped my bedding off to dry, I sneakily rode down the alley to take some pictures for everyone!

Apparently they are trying to shut down a lot of the brothels, especially in Amsterdam's red light district. There is a lot of criminal activity associated with them. Go figure. There are also some neat ministries that work with the prostitutes and try to help get them out of that lifestyle.

Anyways, since this is one of the most popular questions we get about living here, thought I'd share our neighborhood brothel.

My City

I rode around town today taking some pictures to give you a better idea of what Leiden looks like! If you click on the slideshow, it will make it bigger. I tried putting captions but they didn't save. Most are self-explanatory. There is a picture in there of the Italian restaurant where we had date night a few weeks ago.

Thanksgiving on the brain

Ahh, pumpkin. This arrived in the mail today from my dear friend Katie Theriot. What is Thanksgiving time without lots of pumpkin recipes??


I already had Thanksgiving on the brain because during class this morning, my Australian friend told me she had been invited to a Thanksgiving meal by some of her American neighbors. She was very excited about it and was asking me what kind of foods she should bring. I started listing off traditional Thanksgiving foods and was getting so excited just talking about it! 


She asked if it was a tradition for people to go around at dinner and say what they are thankful for. I told her it was a good idea and that more people should do it.  She also said that the kids were going to be given bonus points for naming the most US states. It's pretty funny to think about people not knowing the states or understanding how our country is set up. She asked where I was from and when I told her Missouri, she asked if that was in Arizona :) I told her we had learned a song to memorize all the states in elementary school and maybe I started singing it right there . :) I immediately went home and googled "thanksgiving" to get some more history on it to share with my class.




I'm excited to reflect on all of our traditions and really give thought to why we do what we do. I think it will help us to appreciate our holidays more and to not take them for granted. 


And a funny international tidbit for the day: In Australia, they call their "Baby boomers", the "gray army"! She said that they all are no longer leaving their inheritance to their children but instead blowing through all their money by buying Winnebago's and driving all across the country like maniacs! I Love it!

Christmas Project

Only one person will be able to full appreciate this post and really get the craziness of the task I'm undertaking. This person is probably still picking up sequins off of our living room floor from last Christmas. 

Last Christmas Dan and I decided we didn't want to spend a lot of money on each other for Christmas and were going to make homemade gifts. I got the brilliant idea to make Dan a stocking. My mom made all of us kids stocking growing up and I always loved them and thought it would be a great tradition to carry over. Well, I got this brilliant idea about 3 weeks before Christmas. Little did I know the task that I was undertaking. 

I spent hours cutting out felt, sewing pieces together, sewing individual sequins on this stocking. Meagan and I would be watching tv as I would sew for hours, desperately trying to get it done and cursing myself that I hadn't thought to start sooner. It was a nightmare. We were finding sequins for months all over our house. But the end result was amazing.

 But after that I swore I was never going to do that again and that our kids would just have to suffer with a plain old red stocking while Dan had this magnificent one.

So what possessed me to have my mom send me another stocking for me to make for myself? Good question guys, I have no idea. I think it's kind of like having a baby. It's painful and terrible and you swear at the time you are never going through that again but very shortly after the sweet little baby is born, you forget about all the pain and trauma. 

Yes, I do realize I am comparing having a baby to making a stocking. The stocking making was pretty intense.


But the moment I opened the package to look at the stocking, all the terrible feelings came rushing back.

 This is what the stocking looks like.


I am feeling sick to my stomach.

 This is what it should look like when it's done.

What have I gotten myself into???

Customer Service

See this picture? If you live in the Netherlands, it is a vicious lie. I promised a post about the customer service, or lack thereof, a while back and here it is. 

Every day I am more and more amazed at the lack of customer service in this country.If you were to walk into a shop in the States, you would be greeted by at least one person and in some shops 3-4 people. Anyone play The Buckle game? Where you had to walk through to the back of The Buckle and back to the front without getting greeted by the crazies that were employed there and worked on commission?   Here, you are rarely greeted by anyone and typically the employee stands at the back of the store and acts annoyed if you bother him.

Another example is customer service phone lines. If I call my cell phone provider because the service they are providing is sketchy or I have a problem with my bill, I am charged 10cents a minute just for calling them! Now, I know most of you have sat on hold with a cell phone company plenty of times and you can attest that it is not a 5minute phone call! And it's not just cell phones, any customer service line you call, you are charged.

In restaurants, you rarely see your waiter. Now, to be fair, this is not strictly due to poor customer service,  but they also do not want to intrude on your private meal, which is sometimes nice but when my mouth is parched and I'm ready for the check, I need my waiter!

When talking to a Dutch person about the frustrations regarding customer service, the typical response is " why would you want someone to fake niceness or that they really care?" Hmm.  This is where the problem with a more socialist society comes in. There is no competition. They know the government (i.e. Dan's 42% taxes he pays out of his paycheck each month) will bail them out and that it's very difficult to lose a business.  Everyone is paid similarly, regardless of the job(obviously there are some exceptions) so you don't have the extremely wealthy(because they tax the crap out of you! ) and you don't have the extremely poor. However, you also don't have healthy competition, which results in poor customer service and poor business management. 

I have taken for granted how nice it is to have someone to call when you have a problem with their product.  This is their way of life here and it's not out of the ordinary to them. Maybe that's why I've had more than one Dutch person tell me how friendly Americans are and how we'll talk to anyone. We may be faking it some days but we'll make you feel like you are our #1 priority. . .and that's how I like it.
 

Oh sweet husband of mine

My  husband left for Sweden this morning. Yes, Sweden the country, where until today there was a shooter on the loose killing immigrants in the country. I suggested he dye his hair blonde and speak with a Swedish accent but he felt he could hold his own.

Anyways, he is there for a conference. I am majorally bummed that I did not get to go with him. Although I was a little less bummed when I found out he didn't get a stamp on his passport. Apparently you can travel within the EU without getting your passport stamped. I really like getting mine stamped and want to try and get more countries than him! But that is  besides the point.

He will be gone until Saturday. It was really like a scene out of a depressing movie this morning when I walked him to the bus stop. We stood in the rain, waiting for the bus and I kissed him goodbye and waved to him as the bus drove away, leaving me standing in the rain. Sad. Although this does mean that the bathroom floors can go an extra day without being cleaned!!! :)

So, he knew I was really bummed about not being able to go with him because we thought at one point I would be able to. However, another guy from his department ended up going and needed to room with him and we figured that could be awkward.

Dan planned this awesome surprise for me to help me feel better about staying here without him. He put together a spa night!!! He went and got fresh fruits and veggies from our favorite organic store and spent the morning and part of the time I was shopping, preparing the spa elements.

Later that night, he cleansed my face with a kiwi/orange/ carrot mask and then washed my hair in a banana, egg, orange mixture, and coated my face in another fruit laden mask.  He rubbed my feet while the mask was setting and read to me from Song of Solomon. It was all pretty amazing!

(Don't worry I do have a towel on!) I'm pretty sure Dan enjoyed taking these pictures of me looking goofy. Notice that my head is in a bowl.

It was all very sweet and thoughtful. Who knew I didn't need to be paying for spa treatments? I just needed to get married!!

Shopping...Netherlands style

Sorry for the delay in postings, it's been a pretty uneventful week. But this weekend wielded a ton of fun and new activities!


On Friday night, we went to our first small group through church. Naturally it started raining when we were riding our bikes there and while it was not far at all, we were both drenched by the time we got there. Water running down our faces, my jacket soaked completely through, we looked like drowned rats. Seems like I am going to have to learn to ride with an umbrella. But we had a good time and met some nice people. 


A few girls from this same group had arranged a shopping date on Saturday in a town South of ours. I had been looking forward to this outing all week for numerous reasons. I was eager to get out of Leiden for the day, excited to go shopping, and excited about spending some time with people I had met. 


Four of us went, 3 Americans and 1 Aruban. It was very nice walking around, speaking in English. For a few seconds, I could almost believe that we were in America. But then I'd see an ad in Dutch or nearly get ran over by an unruly Dutch child ( they take a pretty laid back attitude towards parenting here, which means the kids are out of control, running wildly around, while their parents sit back and drink their tea) and remember I was still in a foreign country. 


We had a lot of fun and while it wasn't quite like the shopping malls back home, it was still pretty neat. When I got home, Dan had a wonderful surprise awaiting me. Tune in tomorrow to see pics and hear about the very "cleansing" surprise!


Here are some pictures of the shopping center!

Dank u wel!

Mark this down as a momentous occasion in our adventure. Today I had my first full conversation in Dutch!!! It was not long and it was not pretty but it was good enough that I convinced the woman to talk only to me in Dutch! I was at the bakery and was able to tell her that I wanted half a loaf of this certain type of bread. She asked, in Dutch, if I wanted it sliced, and I was able to understand her and answer her back! I had tricked the Dutch woman into thinking I could actually speak Dutch!!

I walked out of that bakery with my head held high and a big smile on my face! Guess these classes are starting to pay off a little.

November

Wow. I am so glad it's November. October was quite possibly the longest month of my life. Now, to be fair, there were 5 weeks in October but I thought this month was never going to end.

I'm not sure if it dragged by because the newness has worn off and things are getting more familiar and routine or if because I'm missing people more or if it's simply because there really were more days in this month.

In all actuality, it's probably a combination of all three. Everything is not new and amazing anymore. The humdrum of everyday life is setting in. I still enjoy going to the store everyday but now when it's raining, I mourn the fact that I can't jump in my car and head down to Price Chopper. I've wanted to kick my bike several times after the pedal hit my leg for the upteenth time, sending waves of pain through my leg. I've held back many tears when I can't find what I need in the store.

Somedays I feel like I'm not cut out to be a housewife. I like going to work, I hate cleaning.  I like feeling like I have a purpose everyday, not wandering lost throughout a foreign city. I miss having a closest. I miss having friends that I know I can call up and go do something with. (Luckily I have made a friend who I "email up" and we go meet up:) I'm pretty sure I'd be going crazy by now if that were not the case).

I missed celebrating Halloween and seeing my niece dressed up. I missed the 2nd annual Halloween Party at the Andes. I missed game nights with friends. I missed birthdays and gatherings and longingly facebook stalked everybody's parties and costumes.

I know this is kind of a debbie downer of a post and it's not meant to be. It's meant to show that there are difficult days. Most days are good--really good. I still wouldn't trade my life for anything right now. I live in frickin' Europe! I get to walk/ride over beautiful canals everyday that are surrounded by old world buildings. I get to eat fresh foods from the weekly markets. I haven't driven a  car in 2 months. I get to travel to many different countries. I'm like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, riding around on my bike with  my basket on the front and my little dog Tozer (when he comes:(  ).

But still, like Dorothy says, "There's no place like home".

A Christmas Quandry

This weekend was the much anticipated Kerstmarkt (Christmas market) at the second hand store. I was rushing Dan out the door so we could be there right at 10am when it opened. Dan was heckling me, saying that there wouldn't be a line. But if anybody knows Christmas markets, it's me. And there was most definitely a line.We finally got in after a small, 60 year old Japanese woman pulled a stealth maneuver and cut in front of us(I mean really, what is anyone going to do about it?). We got some beautiful old ornaments and decor for a great price and I can't wait to decorate our house for Christmas!! But this leads me to the great Christmas Quandry. . .

When do I start decorating for Christmas?

I have always been a staunch believer that the Christmas tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving. Not one minute before. You must fully celebrate Thanksgiving before moving onto Christmas. My problem, you see, is that they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here(it being a American/pilgrim/indian tradition and all). 

"Ok Sam", you might say, "just go ahead and celebrate Thanksgiving even if the rest of the country doesn't and then put your Christmas tree up the day after". Well friends, my problem with that is two fold.

1. Dan doesn't get Friday off (or Thursday for that matter) and decorating for Christmas is a family event.

2. They celebrate Sinterklaas day. . .on December 5. Santa arrives on a boat from Spain in mid November and makes his way around to kids, who leave their shoes out by their bed and he fills it with candy the weeks leading up to and including December 5.

So, if we are also going to celebrate Sinterklaas day, it would make sense that it would be all right to start decorating for it more than one week before the day? Hence, putting my decorations up before Thanksgiving. 

You can see my dilemma. 

The tradition is deeply ingrained in me from my mom, who pulls out her 5 Christmas trees and 25 bin boxes of Christmas decorations (this is no exaggeration) the day after Thanksgiving. 

 I am not sure how to settle this quandry deep within my soul.

Strained Relations

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Well, here it is.

I am in a domestically violent relationship with my bike.

Wow that feels good to get it out there!  Don't get me wrong, I love my bike. I love how I can get places and back super fast. I love how European I look when I see myself in a store window as I am riding past. I especially love how my arms are no longer sore from lugging bags around because my basket and saddle bags take the brunt of the weight. 

However I do  not love this

I have another one in the same spot on the other leg and various other bruises up and down my leg. I am not entirely sure how I do it. I think it's from the pedals when trying to mount the bike. It's a very precarious situation, getting on the bike. You usually have one foot on the pedal, start going and then hoist yourself on the seat. Somewhere in that process (I think) is where the damage is done.  Yesterday was bad because I hit myself in the same spot again, while it was already tender from the day before.  My pants are getting too big so they get stuck on my seat when trying to sit on it. I'm a mess.

But, in other bike related news, I wanted to show the bike parking garages. Yes, they really have them!!

 and there are several more rows in this garage, just like this one. The top row, you pull down the "bike slip" and wheel your bike into it and then put it back up. It's pretty wild. This one is outside of Centraal Station so there are quite a lot of bikes in this one.

Also,not bike related..I got new boots:)

They're super cute and super comfy. Some people were wanting to see what I was talking about with the boots, so here they are!

Despite my current strained relationship with my bike, I am still quite happy with it.

See? I'm still smiling.

Tidbits

I found out some interesting things about other cultures today during my Dutch class. We were learning how to tell someone happy birthday and all the other celebratory words that go with it and we began talking about what birthdays are "big" birthdays.

In the Netherlands, 16 is a big age.  Not because you can drive (they can't until 18 and even then it's very expensive and very difficult to get your license) but because you can buy alcohol.  People started chiming in the legal age in their country (most were 18) and someone looked at me and said "Is it 21 in America still?". Everyone was pretty shocked about that.  I made a joke that maybe that's why they don't get their license until they're 18 here...give them a few years to get their partying out of their system before they get behind a wheel.:)

Also, we should be thankful for our current point system for driving. Most countries seem to have an ongoing point system that never starts over. And some countries you only have a system until you're 21 or something and then there's nothing.

Another embarrassing moment happened during class when we were discussing how to end a postcard or letter. My Australian friend said "We usually end our letter with 'cheese'!" I yelled out, "Cheese?! why do you say that? like when you're taking a picture?" No one else seemed bewildered by it. She said," No, no, no, cheese!" Only then did I realize that she was trying to say "cheers" but I wasn't getting that because of her accent. Everyone got a good laugh out of that one.

And I almost got attacked by a goose on my bike today. I was stopped for traffic and literally had to ride into traffic because this crazy goose was waddling down the road, hissing and quacking at me.

It's been an interesting day so far and it's only 2:00.