Krees goes Dutch Kiwi!

Decisions by committee

The Dutch, in some respects, have a very practical perspective on decision-making in the workplace. If a manager wants to make a decision, he knows he needs buy-in from his employees if he wants to see his decisions followed through on. Unfortunately this also means there are lots of meetings so that employees can be part of the decision-making process, and it can take a long time for anything to get accomplished.

verboten

forbidden

Saturday, July 30 & Sunday, July 31

Sheesh! I'm already behind on Word of the Day and Tip of the Day. Maybe I need to make those a weekday only thing.

Charles and I had a good, relaxing weekend. Saturday morning we rode our bikes out to Diever, where we'll be living for the next year. It looks like we'll have about a 25-minute bike ride each way to and from work. In the afternoon we rode down to Pesse again for the annual garden party and softball game. We had gorgeous weather, and outstanding soccer practice field (I played barefoot in the grass for most of the game), a good group of about 20 people of various levels of softball skill, a lot of fun and a surprisingly good game. Dinner was potluck style, which is odd for being hosted at a Dutch house, and with the exception of polka music (?!?) blaring from a sound system at the nearby athletic fields and the crash of people on the half-pipe, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Sunday we biked to Beilen (got a little lost on the way and missed our train) and took the train up to Groningen. We were a little brain dead, so we mostly just walked around the city, climbed the bell tower at Martinikerk, walked around the Groninger Museum but didn't go inside, had a little lunch at De Kosterij and wrote some postcards. The weather held out nicely while we were there, but we were rained on for the entire hour-long bike ride back from Beilen, with a complete downpour for the last 10 or 15 minutes. I suspect it won't be the last time that happens.

alstu'blieft

please

You say it's your birthday

Birthdays are a big deal in the Netherlands! Supposedly every family hangs a birthday calendar in the bathroom so as not to miss any. But it's impolite to add your own birthday to someone else's calendar.

Friday, July 28

This morning we had a taxi to take us to the 8:15 train. Two hours to Rijswijk and we were both nodding off a little. but the IND office was easy enough to find, we didn't have to wait long, we got our passport stamps and we didn't get deported! But they also haven't made the decision yet about our work permits. Our applications "are with the decision-maker," and we were advised to register as quickly as possible with the gemeentehuis, because that's where they'll send a letter once a decision is made.

We called the office to see if we could try to register this afternoon, but they would send us with someone Monday and to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. So we went into the Hague for lunch and to look at cell phones. It was too hot to enjoy very much, and I think we'll have a better visit when it's cooler and we have more time.

Thursday, July 27

Thursday we spent the morning and most of the afternoon at the office, attempting to read the 188-page definition of work for our project without nodding off. Charles was successful. I gave up.

(We found out Wednesday that before we could register at the gemeentehuis we would need to go to the IND office in Rijswijk Friday to get stickers in our passports. Instead of reading I looked at hotels and train schedules to see if we didn't want to spend the night in Den Haag and maybe see the Rembrandts on display at Mauritshuis. We decided against since we didn't know how long the IND appointment would take, and we wanted to be back in time for a party and softball game Saturday afternoon.)

We left the office about 4:00, changed clothes and grabbed our bikes. It took about an hour to ride down to Hoogeveen. We weren't quite sure where the center of town was. I'm still not sure we were there, but we found a long street that was closed to traffic. They were tearing down from what must have been a market, and the whole street was lined with shops, mostly clothing.

After poking around a cell phone store, we sat outside what I thought was just a coffee shop. We ended up ordering a sandwich and a couple sodas, but service was so slow that we probably sat there for an hour. There was an above-ground canal of sorts winding its way down the middle of the street -- sort of a decorative / public art sort of thing. When we first arrived there were some kids splashing around in it waiting for their food to arrive. Later there was a young woman letting her dog (a pit bull mix? but I didn't think they were allowed here) chase either its tail or some imaginary monsters in the water. She tried to sit down near us and order a beer, but the crazy dog just kept trying to get back to the canal, pulling her out of her chair by its chain every time. She finally just moved to a table closer to the water so the dog could do his thing, and she could still have a beer. It was reassuring to see that Maui might not be the most ill-behaved dog around.

Put your hands where I can see them!

Unlike in the States where it's rude to put your elbows on the table, in the Netherlands it's rude to eat with your hands in your lap. Lightly rest your wrists on the edge of the table.

fietspad

bicycle path

Wednesday, July 26

Wednesday morning I slept through my alarm, but oh well! We're still unemployed! We "worked" in the office in the morning. We got a temporary computer, which is really nice. (We can also use a computer where the grad students work, but it's so hot in there!)

We decided to ditch midday and rode the bikes back to Dwingeloo, taking a slightly different route around to the west. There are so many Dutch tourists around here right now! Apparently Drenthe is a really popular area for biking and camping while everyone's on holiday in July and August. It's nice for us that, even though we might stand out as not being Dutch, we're not the only outsiders around.

The real purpose of the trip was to look at cell phones, so we rode around the shops first to try and find a store (no luck). We parked the bikes, perused a bike shop, bought some post cards and stamps ("Ik wil deze kaart naar der Verigden Staten sturen") and then wandered around the flea market in de brink. Found a Dutch/English dictionary at the library's table for one euro!

It was really hot out, so we went back to the place where we had dinner Monday and sat under an umbrella to write postcards and have a beer.

Dinner at the guest house was our own strange concoction of ground beef, onions, garlic, red wine, potatoes, tomato sauce and pasta. (We're making do with what's stocked in the guest house pantry and cooking pans and utensils that aren't our own. I'm quite glad now that we decided to ship some of our own, but I wonder how long it will take us to start regularly making food we like from what we find on our own at the store.) We made too much of our weird dinner, so we invited Adam the Australian grad student and Bob the Australian visiting researcher to share with us. It wasn't bad - just odd - and they cleaned their plates anyway. Perhaps they were just being polite.

We were invited to join the weekly gathering of foreigners to play bridge at Jan & Joanna's house in Pesse, so around 8:00 we hopped on the bikes again to ride down there (13km). There was a group of about 12-14. Joanna tried teaching Charles and I and refreshing Bob's memory. I just kept thinking "What a ridiculous game!" but maybe I just need more time and practice. Just a reminder of how I don't like doing things I'm not good at and am unfamiliar with. And with a little competition and being in the spotlight (I kept being dealt good enough hands to be the one to make the contract) - the bridge itself was not particularly enjoyable.

But then when it got too dark in the garden to see very well, we all gathered around one table. Someone had previously brought a nice bottle of vodka, and it had become a tradition of sorts to sit around with different bottles of alcohol people had brought from around the world and just talk. There was a lot of bashing of American politics and media as expected, but it was all in good fun. It was midnight before we left, so Charles, Bob, Marcik, Ana and I all switched on our bike lamps and rode home in the dark. 40 minutes riding in the dark countryside isn't nearly as scary or dangerous as I would have thought!

Tuesday, July 25

Tuesday morning we went over to the institute. Marjan showed us the office we'll be sharing. Without our work permits, we can't really do work or get paid, but as visitors we can probably talk with people and read some materials.

We met with Mike, the program director and our new boss, at 11am. We don't know for sure, but we think our work permit applications were mailed two weeks ago Tuesday, but he and Marjan both said we should have them mid-August at the latest.

The Netherlands is having the hottest summer in at least 300 years (when they started recording temps). It's been sunny and about 90-degrees each day. Since the buildings don't have air conditioning, it's getting quite warm inside. So most of Tuesday afternoon was spent reading in our office with the window wide open and the lights off.

Mid-afternoon we met with Jeanette from Personnel. She explained that we would need to go to Gemeentehuis (town  hall) to establish residency. Ger, whose house we're renting, has already had to notify them that he and his family will be leaving next week. So it seemed up for debate whether our dates of residence could overlap. But once we've established residency we can open a bank account. Technically we're not supposed to be able to do that, but apparently the institute has an agreement with the only bank in town that with residency and an offer letter we can open an account.

Jeanette also said that once we got work on the permits, we could go to Groningen to get our Sofinummers (social security numbers), which we would need to obtain car insurance. She also gave us a package with some great books:

• At Home in Holland: An English Speaking Guide to Living in the Netherlands
• Expat Toolkit 2005: A Guide to the Dutch Workplace
• The Holiday Diary
• Nederland Autokaart (roadmaps)
• a Dutch/English dictionary
• a couple booklets from Connect International on finding your way around the health care system

Then we met up with Ger. He drove us up to Diever, about 7km, where we met his wife Marjon. The house is great! They don't know how old it is (we should have asked for a guess), but it's had a few additions over the years. There's a sunroom on the northern end, a living room, small eating area, tiny little kitchen, small desk, small bedroom/office area, master bedroom, bathroom and W.C. on the first floor. Upstairs is another small bedroom.

The yard is quite large out back with a sizable vegetable and herb garden and two chickens that stay in their coop. And then there's also a large shed with an attached bedroom and bathroom (and possibly a kitchenette?), but that's where they'll store their things, so we won't have use of it.

Hosting visitors will require a little juggling, especially since Erik and Julie are likely to arrive before our things do. But I think we'll really enjoy renting the house anyway.

Ger and Marjon walked us around Diever. So cute! What a great little town! We were able to see where the grocery store is, and fruit store, library, bike shop, barber shop, restaurants and clothing shops.

Putting down a deposit is a bit complicated since we don't have a bank account here, we don't have work permits to get any sort of paychecks or advances, and we can only pull so much money out of the ATM. But Ger seems really understanding and flexible.

Ger drove us back to the institute where we grabbed our rental bikes and rode into Dwingeloo. We picked up some groceries as the store closed at 8:00 and made a late dinner back at the guest house.

Monday, July 24

We made it to the Netherlands Monday morning. Our duffel bag of shoes missed the connection at Heathrow, but it worked in our favor not to have to lug it around the train with all our other things. (And British Airways delivered it to the institute Tuesday.)

The train ride out here was about two hours. Too warm and sunny to stay awake without trying really hard. We were both nodding off. (I didn't sleep more than an hour on the plane, but Charles got a few hours.)

A taxi service picked us up at the station and drove us up to the institute. Ina(?) from reception gave us a little bit of a tour and took us over to the guest house. Unfortunately, the water wasn't working, so we unpacked and wandered around a little to stay awake until we could shower.

We borrowed bikes from a couple grad students and rode into Dwingeloo (3km/10 min) for an early dinner: bouillabaisse for Charles and ham, egg and cheese toasted on bread for me at an outdoor table on "de brink," or square in the middle of town. On the way we passed mostly farms - open fields, sheep, cows, some ponies and goats, and one very large pile of manure.

After dinner we rode back toward the institute and did a loop out in the Dwingelderveld in front of the old radio telescope. Then back at the guest house we spent a few minutes in the common room with the grad students to keep ourselves awake a little longer, and then crashed at 9:00.

Mom, and probably Dad and Charles' parents as well, are going to find it extremely pretty and charming here. It is! I worry that it will become truly too cute and quaint, but we'll see. I'm really enjoying it for now. Even the smell of cow poo.

The only things I don't care for?

• the flies and bees - farmland and open windows with no screens
• no top sheet on the bed
• uncertainty of our work permit

The ceremony of the "First Sip"

This is a tradition you will recognize as a guest in a Dutch home. It can be elaborate or simple, but Dutch guests will expect it.

The host lifts his glass of wine or cocktail, exchanges a glance with each of the guests, simply says "Welcome to our home," and takes a sip. Only after this has happened should guests take a first sip. You may encourage your guests to help themselves, but remember that the Dutch will find it quite awkward - just as we do now that we know we should wait before reaching for the cheese and crackers.

From At Home in Holland: An English Speaking Guide to Living in the Netherlands, Tenth Edition, by the American Women's Club of The Hague.

Gemeentehuis

town hall