Every day is a new day

I've come to find that nothing is the same here... at least not yet. Everyday presents it's new set of challenges and adventures and stories. No two days are alike. Some days I spend walking through town, meandering in and out shops, longing for all the yummy goodness in the bakeries. Other days are spent with a direct purpose, marching directly to the secondhand shop or to the shopping street to find a desired item. Nearly everyday is spent with a trip to one, sometimes two grocery stores.

I've made a new friend recently. Funny story how it all came about. She had posted an ad on a yahoo group I belong to for foreigners living in Leiden. She was looking for someone to clean her house a few times a month. She and her husband and one year old son had just moved here from The United States. Since I am looking for "under the table" work that does not require a residency permit, I responded. We agreed to meet the following week to see the house and see what she wanted done. Later that weekend, Dan and I decided to stop in the bike shop to see if my bike was ready(sidenote: the bike guy STILL has not heard anything about my bike!:( Dan is checking with his work and the bike guy is checking with the bike people). Well, we were waiting in line behind this couple and we heard them speaking in english, without an accent!Dan asked them if they were Americans and they said yes and we long story short, it was the woman I had corresponded with on email!! It was great to get to visit with another American and to discuss the odd things that you initaly notice when first moving here. Since that time, we have got to spend a lot of time together, wandering the streets of Leiden and trying to discover new stores. It has been great having someone else to explore with during the day while our husbands are at work.

And one more random note: Today I was at the secondhand store and saw the most glorious, magical sight. The Christmas store! They have the section roped off until october 30 but let me tell you people, i will be there RIGHT when the store opens to get my pick of Christmas items! It looked so pretty and sparkly back there! I can't wait!!!!