Friends&Family

Browsing (Or: European and American shoe sized compared)

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Niki

On my last trip to the Netherlands, I quickly found out that the sneakers I bought for the trip just weren’t going to cut it. I go through shoes pretty fast, unfortunately. So Roger took me to a few shoe stores in the Hague, but not before I looked up my shoe size in European terms.

Since I wear a 7 1/2, I figured that I should probably look for a 38. After a few shoe stores, I was able to find a basic white sneaker that didn’t seem too horrible for my feet. Of course, the pair only lasted a week or two after I got back to the States, so it wasn’t the best quality in the world. But I think I only paid €15. (Incidentally, I went clothes shopping with Marco later that week, though I didn’t know my shirt size at all. I ended up with another 38! Bought the shirt at V&D in the Hague.)

Also a random fun memory from that shoe shopping trip: Roger and I went and got Burger King and brought it back to eat. It was nice and quick to order, so that won out.

But back to the shoes… I went to the mall yesterday to get new sneakers. I was pondering getting more black sneakers for my work outfits, but decided against it for now. Marco recommended that I get some new pairs and bring them over unworn to NL so I know I have something that fits. I am starting to think it’s not a bad idea at all.

For the record, I hate shoe shopping. Anything that takes more than 5 minutes of browsing and trying on shoes annoys me. But there’s really only a few styles that won’t kill my feet, so it shouldn’t take that long at all.

Categories: Everyday purchases, Friends&Family | 4 Comments

Greeting cards (Or: Marco’s response)

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Niki

As I wrote last week, I had sent Marco 13 greeting cards in the last two months leading up to his birthday.

Well… his response came last night! Happily it came in the middle of one of our videochats, so he got to see me open the package. The highlight was four cards.

Four cards from random Dutchies… well, not *random*. I do pretend to know them as long as they aren’t acting too crazy… (look’s at Marco’s mom!)

The four cards came from different people.

Upper left card: Roger’s card… thanks for the little fancy card that made me feel special. I was very amused by your handwriting while trying to write on a speeding train way too early in the morning. 😉

Upper right card: Marco’s card… apparently he bought it before the first of my seventeen cards arrived. After the third or fourth one arrived, he thought it would look silly to send a card back, so he waited a bit.

Lower right card: Marco’s mom’s card… she definitely knows how to get to my heart. Put anything edible-looking on it and you are good to go! Eten, eten, eten!

Lower left card: Marco’s dad and his wife’s card… yes, that butterfly (vlinder) has 3D wings. Very cool and I had to stop myself from moving the wings up and down. All of the cards are homemade and take a while to complete.

Thank you for the cards, everyone! 🙂 It was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

Also included in the extra large box: a bag of chocolate covered stroopwafels, and another that was labeled as “chewy caramel”. Two boxes of speculaas (regular flavor) and one box of chocolate covered…Mmmm…. and two boxes of pickwick Dutch tea. Good times.

Those treats should last me the 6 weeks or so before Marco comes back in late September… (ha!)

Categories: Friends&Family | Tags: | 3 Comments

Birthdays (Or: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!)

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Niki

Tomorrow is the birthday of Marco’s mother, so today Marco and her went out to eat at Sumo, a Japanese restaurant.

But Marco devised a scheme – before she arrived, he and I would start up a videochat, and then surprise her. I will say that when she arrived, it was nice to hear her voice again (off screen), with its Dutch accent and happy nature showing through. He asked her to open up my card. After she read it to herself, he took the card back and repeated what I had said in English, line by line. She translated it into Dutch to show that she understood what I was saying.

Afterwards, at an opportune moment he had me say “Happy birthday, Henny!” as he turned around the laptop to show her my grinning face. Her reaction was predictable – instantly flustered, for whatever reason! 🙂 Probably suddenly having to speak English! It was nice to speak with her again, since it has been almost a year since I seen her (last August). Marco and her stayed at my place last year for her birthday, so it was hard to be an ocean apart this year.

Here was the wrapped gift:

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Categories: Friends&Family | Tags: | 7 Comments

Strange places (Or: Volunteering and summer camps)

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Niki

My friend Roger had an interesting work assignment today …outside. Of course, this meant that Amsterdam was experiencing horrible downpours at times today!

Once a year his company volunteers somewhere. This year, he and his coworkers were asked to spend a day with kids. Most of his morning was spent preparing for their arrival, as the organization decided to host a barbecue dinner outside (but still underneath a party tent). This entailed cleaning out a barn, setting up tables and chairs, and hanging balloons.

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Categories: Friends&Family | 1 Comment

Stolen bicycle seats (Or: That’s a new one)

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Niki

When Roger came back from Amsterdam yesterday, he found something missing.

His bicycle seat.

One bicycle, no seat

Apparently they really do take whatever isn’t nailed down. The bike was nailed down, but the seat wasn’t. I am happy to report, however, that the problem has already been fixed (at cost to him of course :/) ! And this time with a seat that isn’t quite as easily removable…

Categories: Daily Dutch living, Friends&Family, Transportation | Tags: | 3 Comments

Dutch letters (Or: Holding the paper at an angle)

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Niki

First off: exactly 7 months until the (predicted) move. We tentatively set a date of December 18 for the flight to the Netherlands.

* * *

As a thank you for Marco’s dad and his wife sending me an Easter card (Paaskaart) and a birthday card (verjaardagkaart), I wrote them a letter earlier this week.

In Dutch.

The letter I mailed to Marco’s dad and wife 🙂

(Yes, Marco helped.) First I wrote out what I wanted to say in English, and then wrote out what I thought it was in Dutch, and then later when I saw Marco online he helped me fix things. As expected, some sentences were pretty decent – and some were pretty screwed up!

It was a fun exercise. I need to do more of that. Underneath the letter, you can see my notebook with Dutch notes.

Oh, and you can also see that I accidentally held the letter at a bit of an angle when I wrote!

Categories: Friends&Family | Tags: | 1 Comment

Work gatherings (Or: Life in a new direction)

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Niki

First off, congratulations to Roger, who will be getting a promotion at work very soon. 🙂 (You rule!) Here’s hoping you’re don’t blush too much to have a mention in my blog!

***

Today at work we had another all-college meeting, where faculty, administrators (me) and staff have a luncheon. We have one in mid August before the Fall semester, one in mid January before the Spring semester, and one in May for “service recognition”. This is where they honor people who have been there for 5, 10, 15, etc years, plus anyone who gets tenure, retires, or receives the coveted grant money for their projects.

When I started this job in August 2009, I had been on the job for about a week when the August meeting was held. The academic dean introduced me to the college, making the joke that since my predecessor had my job for 30 years, there was a little known stipulation in the contract that said I must hold it for 30 years as well.

Everyone including me laughed at that joke. While at the time I did not think that I would actually spend 30 years there (the likelihood of being in one place for that long wasn’t high nor is there any room for real promotion) I did expect to see myself there for around 10 years.

Well, when I leave in December it will have been 3 years and 4 months. So I wasn’t even there for 5 years (no gift for me!). Although someone else who is widely known and respected in the college was retiring after only 6 years on the job. So perhaps it is possible to make my mark in only 3 or so years.

Another thing that I was thinking about way too much during today’s luncheon was the possibility of a going-away party for me. Personally, I don’t really think I want or need one, but Marco has expressed a genuine interest in going back to campus and attending that. He will be coming to the country in December to come pick me up (and be a luggage mule!). It sounds like he wants one, so I will have to ask around to make sure one takes place (they usually do, on some scale). Maybe I can have him bring some speculaas and stroopwafels in his luggage so everyone can have a Dutch dessert…

So much to ponder. Things I never thought of 3 years ago.

Categories: Friends&Family | 1 Comment

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