Oude en Niewe

I think that's what it's called... "old and new" or "happy new years!"

A few days ago I heard something that sounded like a gun shot... then a few hours later I heard another one.  Martin informed me that it was fireworks.  Martin says they're illegal, but a lot of young(ish) boys like to play with them... especially in December.  Yesterday there were a LOT more, and so far today (it's 3pm), there hasn't been a period of 10 minutes where I haven't heard one.  It's more like 5-10 a minute.  I'm guessing that this a signal of New Year's Eve.  This morning, I got to witness this "normal activity".  They're really more like little pieces of dynamite than they are fireworks.  I love fireworks!  But it's a bit strange to hear single pops of them, during the day, and not see anything.

As we were sitting, watching an episode of our favourite Dutch TV show, Martin started naming off the different kinds of fireworks that we heard... with a grin.  Haha.  I think I can picture him 17 years ago.

These are videos I took from our front bedroom window.  Notice the smoke in the second video.

But before all of that, I got to taste Martin's famous pancakes this morning.  So good!

A Different Kind of Christmas

*Yes, my blog did go on vacation, and we're back up and running now.  Thanks for the wake-up call Christl ;)  Also, I should mention that there are a LOT more things going through my mind that are not included here.  The main point is that it was a lovely and thought-provoking Christmas for me.  Now, you can read all the details if you'd like.*

Home is where the heart is.  Traditions are created with intention, for a purpose.  Normal is what is characterized by the majority.

These are three statements that I've been thinking about a lot this Christmas.  I've been asked "what's normal over there?"  I don't actually know what is normal for Christmas over here.  What's normal for Christmas in Canada?  I'm really not sure that I know that either!  I know what I have experienced, and I know how my Canadian family and Martin's Dutch family celebrates Christmas, but the reality is that each and every family celebrates in different ways.  "Christmas" means different things to each of us.  

Yes, I did miss my family this Christmas.  I missed staying up late on Christmas Eve to wrap Carrie's presents, I missed playing at our Christmas Eve service with Carrie, Joel and Mom with little-to-no practise, I missed watching Dad make stuffing, and cook the turkey, I missed playing endless games of Settlers, in our PJ's, I missed preparing a walk-way of candles with pop bottles, I missed the midnight walk, I missed the late-night kraft dinner, I missed the Christmas tree falling over, I missed spending time with my family... but things change.  I don't feel like I missed out on these things, but it's more that I look back and remember those moments with fond memories.  Those were the things that meant "Christmas time" to me.  Life changes.  Our circumstances change, and I was so glad to be here, celebrating Christmas with Martin.  We did not exchange any gifts, but it felt like a gift just to spend time with him.  I don't feel like I've missed out on anything by not exchanging gifts.

I realized this year that a lot of my family's Christmas traditions, and Canada's Christmas traditions are especially nice for kids.  And since Martin and I are "grown up", we wouldn't get the same excitement out of an advent calendar, or gingerbread house, as I certainly used to!  

Even though I don't want to seem to know what's "normal" for Christmas anywhere, here are some differences I noticed:

- turkey:  there's nothing special about turkey here.  In fact, when we went to the grocery store on Christmas Eve day, we had to ask the boy in the meat department if they had any turkeys.  He looked at us as if to say "now, why would you be looking for a turkey?"  He went to the back, and found one.  $26 Euros for a 5-pound bird.  We settled for chicken... which I stuffed.  Ha!

- gingerbread houses:  I didn't see one over here!

- stockings: nope!  I think they do the shoes-at-the-door here, during Sinterklaas, but no stockings at Christmas.

- candy canes:  didn't see any of these either.  Now, I wasn't looking hard, but I didn't just happen to see any, anywhere!  This includes candy cane ice cream.... I definitely missed that!

- stars: are hung upside-down... at least I saw a lot of them hanging like the photo below.  Can a star be upside down?

In a previous post, I mentioned that the Dutch have two Christmas days.  On each of these days, we spent time with family.  We went out to two very fancy restaurants (one with Martin's Dad's side of the family, and one with Martin's Mom's side of the family)- and everyone dresses up.  I'd say this is different from Canada, where we normally spend a good portion of the morning (or day) in our PJ's.

Gifts are not really exchanged here.  The fancy meal out and time with family is the gift.  And it was so nice!  It was really nice to not have the pressure of shopping, and choosing the right gifts, and getting it all done on a tight timeline.  It was so nice to just enjoy time together!

It was lovely to go to Doorbrekers on Christmas Eve for a 10:30pm service.  It was nice to go out for a bike-ride on Christmas day afternoon.  I realize that as newlyweds, everything is exciting, and just being together this year was a gift, but I'm excited to plan and create Christmas traditions with Martin in the years to come, and discover what we'd like to make "normal" for us.

Bicycles

I just got back from doing errands, on my bike, in the rain, and I thought it would be a fitting time to write about bikes.  All of the following statements are things I have seen or experienced while here in Barneveld.  I wanted to wait until I got a picture of each situation, but for the sake of time, I'm going to resort to google images for a few.


- Bikes come with locks on them.  When you lock your bike, it basically locks the rear brakes, so that it can't be ridden.  Before you start, you put your key in the "ignition", which unlocks the brake, and you ride with your keys in the bike lock.

-  Bikes are ridden by people of all ages.  I have seen two or three grey-haired people with walkers, and dozens riding bikes.

-  It's raining?  No problem!  You're welcome to borrow my umbrella!  (Picture from Google Images, but it looks just like it does here.)

-  A young child, just learning to bike is taught to brake by riding beside mom or dad, with mom or dad's hand on his shoulder, through town.    (picture from Google Images)

-  No need for helmets.  This means you can do your hair in the morning, and still ride your bike.  (The two pictures below are my pictures, from here in Barneveld, on a school morning.)

-  Kids have "Traffic" courses in school when they are about 10 yrs. old.  They also have a bike exam that they must pass (in school).  Since there are hardly any stop signs, it's important to know who has the right-of-way.

-  You meet up with your friends in town, and you want to "hitch a ride" with them?  No problem, just hop on the back of their bike!  It's just like the back seat of a car here, except better, because you get the wind blowing in your face, and it's a little more adventurous.

As I was searching for pictures, I found this website,  Bicycles in Amsterdam  which is almost exactly what I've been noticing, except I haven't noticed any of the big bike locks.

Bikes around here are worth a lot.  Since everything is so close, and the streets are not grid-like, in many cases it's actually faster to bike somewhere than to drive a car.  Take into account the numerous bike paths, plus the limited parking, plus the unlimited driving age... bikes are very valuable, regardless of how new they are, or how much monetary value they have.  If it gets you there faster than your feet would, then it's worth a lot!

-  One of the two bike-parking areas at one of the two train stations in Barneveld.  It almost always looks like this.  I think this is why people have brightly-coloured bikes.

Martin and I were given bikes as a wedding gift, and this has been most helpful!  Thank you!!  We went for a long bike-ride on Sunday afternoon, just for fun, and so far, I have done errands every day, on my bike :)  If you look closely, you can see my keys in the ignition :)

My detachable basket :)

Candlelight 2011

Here in Barneveld, Candlelight is an annual event that the shop owners organize.  It happens the Wednesday that is two weeks before Christmas (I think that's right).  It's a nice way to "get into the Christmas spirit".

As we were approaching the center of town; the marketplace; the pedestrian zone; we heard some music.  I wish I had taken more pictures.  In front of a restaurant, there was a men's choir singing some festive tune (in English- - but I didn't know what it was).  How nice!  Then, as we turned the corner, we could hear a band.... there was a musical group performing at about every 100m interval, or even less!  From schools to churches to community groups.... there was a bit of everything, including a few Alphorns (which, according to Martin, are not typical.)

That's all it is... an evening when different musical groups in town stand at a certain location, play music, and the downtown area is lit with candles.  It was a really nice way to spend the evening!  All the shops were closed, so it was just about the atmosphere.

A picture of the streets:

One choir dressed themselves in lights!

The best band:

                                                                     Above: most of the shops had candles burning in their windows.

 And of course, some oliebolen!  My first, real dutch taste of it.  It's a little ball of dough, with raisins, deep-fried (but not crispy), with some icing sugar sprinkled on top.  As we were walking back home, eating our oliebolen, I had a revelation.  Here was my thought process: "I like this.  It reminds me of my childhood favourite donut.  It's almost the same thing... dough mixed with raisins, deep-fried, and lightly iced.  It's called a "dutchie."  oooooooooooohh

Erwtensoep recipe

Thanks Mieke for the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 500g dry split peas (about 2c)
• 2 medium-large carrots
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1/2 kohlseleri (or 2-3 stalks of regular celery)
• 1 onion
• 2 big leeks (or 4-6 smaller leeks)
• 1-2 bouillon cubes (vegetable or beef)
• 2 smoked sausages  (each sausage is about 200-300g)
• 3 pieces ham, with bone in (Haaskavbonade) (about 500g total).
  
  - you can change the amounts of the veggies, based on your preference.  One recipe calls for 10 carrots and no potatoes.  You can't really go wrong with this!
  
  

1)  fill big soup pot 1/2 full with water.

2)  add split peas, ham and bouillon*
3)  boil for 1- 1.5 hours, until peas are cooked

-- find a nice book to read, clean the house, chop veggies, or go on facebook ;) --

4)  wash and chop all other veggies (dice, into bite-sized pieces)
5)  once peas are cooked, take out ham and add all other veggies, simmer on low for 2-3 hours
6)  remove bone from ham and dice into bite-sized pieces.
6)  1/2 cook sausages in a separate pot.
8)  once veggies are all cooked, use immersion blender to blend.
8.5) I used an immersion blender because I don't like the look of the cooked split-peas.  But I think in the real dutch recipe, they just serve the soup as is.
9)  dice sausage into bite-sized rounds, and add to veggie pot with ham.

* The recipe that I used in Canada required the peas to be soaked in water overnight.  No need for that in this recipe.

Erwtensoup

I think that's how it's spelled.  Pea soup- a common dish over here.  Last week, Romy (my sister-in-law) and I spent an afternoon together, making our first batch of Erwten soup, and with Mieke's tips, we got all the right ingredients, and it turned out well.

Two surprises for me:
1) the size of the leeks!  I looked up some Canadian recipes for this soup last week, and some of them called for 3-6 leeks.  Only two needed if they're this size!

2) Kohlseleri?  I don't know how to spell it, actually.  But I think it sounds something like that.  It looks like a mix between an octopus, potato and turnip.  It cuts like a turnip, and smells and tastes like celery!  It's PERFECT for soup, because it has the nice flavour of celery, but it can be cooked and mashed with NO stringy things!  Chances are that these are also sold in Canada, but I just overlooked them in the grocery store because they look so unappetizing!

And here's the soup in process... it turned out well!  I didn't take any pictures of the final product, partly because we ate it as soon as it was all done, and partly because, well, cooked split pea soup smells and tastes much better than it looks.

Dutch Yogurt

As Martin does some paperwork that should allow me to become a Resident of the NL, I'll make myself useful by sharing my deep thoughts about Dutch Yogurt.  And yes, I have been thinking about this one for a while now.

Dutch yogurt:
- comes in a carton
- is a common dessert
- can also be eaten for breakfast
- can be really runny
- is eaten with a spoon
- is drank out of a straw from a juice box (like yop... but it's more common than that)
- is poured from the carton into a bowl-- THIS is what first caught me off-guard.

**Note: this is just based on my very limited observations, and may not be true or accurate of ALL Dutch yogurt, or Dutch people**

Firsts

Yesterday I biked into town on my own, and picked up some groceries and other necessary household items.  In some ways, I feel like a child, because it seems like each small step like this is cause for celebration.  For me, it's these small steps that will make this feel like home.

I was really nervous.  I knew that many people in town speak English, so I wasn't likely to get "stuck", I knew that Barneveld was a very small town, I knew that I would recognize most of the streets and shops that I drove by.  Even though I had no logical reason to be nervous, I felt the same nerves that I haven't felt since my years of music recitals, performances, competitions and exams.  You know, when your stomach is in a knot, and every muscle in your body is filled with adrenaline, wanting to just get up there and get it over with?  I guess you can tell that I was the "nervous" type of performer.  Wow, this sounds pretty intense.  Don't worry, I tried to play it cool, so I don't think anyone noticed how nervous I was... except the two preteen boys who yelled at me (in Dutch), after I parked my bike too slowly.  (Note: I must become a more aggressive bike driver.)

Anyways, nervous as I was, I went, didn't get lost, got something extra from a cashier (I'm not sure what it was... maybe a coupon), and I got home safely and with everything that I needed.  What a sigh of relief, and more than anything, a good thing to have under my belt.  I'm sure each time I go into town will get easier and will become more normal.  I think my job right now is to do what I can to make these seemingly big steps become normal, as quickly as possible.  For now, I'm glad that that's done, and I'm looking forward to learning the streets in Barneveld by heart, so that I don't have to look at a map before I leave :)

Language

The most frustrating part of this move is the language difference.  Whenever I'm out with Martin, and he's talking with someone (eg. shopping), I have 4 choices:

1)  go to another part of the store, so that I'm not involved in the conversation at all
2)  stand beside him, looking to be interested in whatever he's talking about, but not saying a word, like a good submissive wife who doesn't care about the outcome.  I feel really rude doing this.
3)  pretend that I'm Dutch,  using a few words (like "thank you"), at the risk of the other person carrying on a conversation with me in Dutch
4)  mention that I only speak English, which often makes a scene.

I don't like any of these choices.  So off to learn Dutch for me :)

Same Difference

10 things I've noticed about life here:

1)  Everyone wears shoes inside the house.  Because the town is so small, and there is no mud (everything is either stone or asphalt), shoes don't really get dirty.  They might get a little wet, but nothing a small rug can't handle.  This is also really handy, since all of the girls and women wear boots.  I don't think I have seen anyone in sneakers or shoes.
2)  There are no fans in the bathroom.
3)  The driver's door on cars only locks with a key.  That way, you never get locked out of your car.
4)  Neutral colours (black, grey, whites and shades of brown) are by far the most common for clothing.  Everything looks OK together, and you can make a lot of different outfits out of a few pieces of clothing.
5)  Bikes are cool.  Men ride bikes with baskets, in their suits.  More on bikes later...
6)  Actually, one more about bikes.  Bike insurance is just as important as car insurance.  We just got 3 yrs. worth of insurance for our bikes.
7)  Houses are heated with radiant heating, which is really nice for drying and warming towels.
8)  The weather is always changing, but it's never too bad for too long, and no one talks about it.- EDIT: apparently the Dutch DO talk about the weather a lot.  I guess the only Dutch people I have spoken with so far are Martin's family and good friends, and we talk about more personal things than weather.
9)  They have systems in place that issue automatic speeding tickets in certain areas.
10)  Here, we have two Christmas days.  The 25th is referred to as "the first Christmas day" an the 26th is the "second Christmas day."  Handy, eh?

Main floor set-up

We've got the main floor pretty much done now.  I think it's going to stay like this for a while :)  We've ordered a china cabinet and bookshelf, which should arrive in February.  Until then, this is it!  Colours this year are: plum purple, green, grey and silver :)   Excuse the quality of the video... it's just for perspective.

Setting up a new home

There are so many things that need to be done before I can really unpack.  I still have everything in suitcases.  Martin's house has space for me (although it's not unlimited), but he didn't have furniture that will store and organize my "things".  The final count is 6 big suitcases, 3 medium and 3 small suitcases of "things" that I brought over, which is considerably less than I owned 5 months ago.  But that is still a lot of stuff that needs a home.

Each day we're making progress.  I'd like to take a moment to give a shout-out to my fantastic husband who has taken this week off work to be with me and help me settle in.  He's also the one putting together a closet (while I'm sitting on the stairs "cheering him on"??), so that we can put our bed back together and go to sleep sometime tonight.  To quote him "too bad there is only one hammer."  He asks "who are you talking to?"  I'm sure he says hi to anyone who's reading this.

Anyways, the point of this story is that it's taking a lot of time to prepare to start unpacking.  I did break into a suitcase to get the baking powder tonight, but otherwise, I'm waiting until I have a place to store things.  Yesterday we got a little cabinet for in the bathroom for me.  Today we picked up a closet for our bedroom, which will store mostly my clothes (I think?  hah... this could get interesting.)  And tomorrow we're planning to order a china cabinet and bookshelf for the dining room, to keep our china, cookbooks, music books and my personal reading books.

One thing that I've noticed is that many homes here only have what they need, and everything has a place.  Maybe that's just Martin, but it seems to me that it's a Dutch or European thing too.  So if you buy a hairdryer, then you need to make sure you have a storage spot designated for the hairdryer.  I'm actually really excited about my hairdryer storage spot... but it hasn't been installed yet.  I'll be sure to post pictures as we finish rooms.

Tomorrow I'll be unpacking clothes, we'll set up the Christmas tree and decorate for Christmas, I hope :)

OH!  I bought a cast iron pot today, and used it for dinner... it was AWESOME!  I fried up the onions, garlic and mushrooms in it, then added some other stew-like ingredients, then I put it in the oven for 30 minutes to cook the dumpling on top, then in the fridge with leftovers for tomorrow.

Okay, off to help lift the closet up... yay!

Grocery Shopping

We went grocery shopping today.  I had a few recipes in mind, so I had my list of ingredients with me.

I wanted to make manicotti... no manicotti noodles, no cottage cheese, no cheddar cheese.  I guess ricotta, parmesan and gouda will work.

I wanted to make a casserole, so I looked for frozen kernels of corn.  In the vegetable freezer, I found a box with a picture of corn on it, and a big number 2.  I shook the box, and it was definitely two frozen cobs of corn.  Canned corn it is!

Time for me to try new things and be resourceful myself!  Also, time for me to start importing slow-cookers... they also aren't used here!

Sinterklaas

Today is Sinterklaas.  Or, maybe more appropriately, it's the end of Sinterklaas.  Sinterklaas is both a person and a season... I think.  Sinterklaas arrives sometime at the end of November, along with his helper, Black Peter (or Schwarte Pete), and they leave papernote (little round ginger cookies) all over the place.  Then Sinterklaas leaves on December 5th, and the country of the Netherlands starts to celebrate Christmas.

I know that at Sinterklaas funny gifts are exchanged (the Canadian equivalent of white elephant gifts), but there is a lot more thought and effort put into these gifts- or so it seems.  From what I've observed (which isn't much), it seems that these gifts are meant to be cheap, but thoughtful.  It's a chance to find creative and resourceful ways to make something that means something.  I like this!  Along with this, a lot of families and people share poems with each other- about each other.

Since Martin and I are now our own little family, I won't be experiencing Sinterklaas like most kids will.  I don't really know the significance of how it affect daily life throughout the season, but it certainly seems like a nice way to start off the Christmas season.

The most bitter part of this sweet journey.

It is December 3^rd or 4^th,, depending on which time zone we're looking at. We just flew over Newfoundland and Labrador, on our way to Brussels, Belgium. It has been an emotional 24 hours for me. Last night I cried for about an hour before falling asleep. Even though I have lived a long distance from my family, living in another country (especially one that is across an ocean) is another ballgame. However, the hardest part is not knowing the future. While Martin and I don't know where we'll end up living in the future, all we know is that for now, home is Barneveld. I don't have another plane ticket booked. I don't know when I'll see people again, and I don't know if they'll ever be as “easily accessible” as they have been while living in the same country. I can not say to anyone anyone, myself included, the comforting phrase “See you in _____.” For now, it's simply “good bye.” That is hard. That is the reason for my tears.

I have met a few of Martin's friends, and his family- all of whom I'm excited to build relationships with, but I don't have any good friends of my own... yet. I have not visited Martin's church... yet. I have not been alone in downtown Barneveld... yet. These are all things that I hope will happen soon, and that will help me feel at home in Barneveld.

One thing that just is not possible, though, is the “accessibility” to family and friends. I can't call up a friend and invite myself over for tea (LL?) I can't go on a last-minute trip with a friend (Jo? Jules?) I can't invite friends over for games just because. I can't stop by at a friends' place because I'm in the area (Tiff?) I can't chat with people as easily just because we're both online (Rhi?) (well-- hopefully this can still happen, but my point here is that the time difference will make it less likely.) I won't be able to drive to meet family for a ski trip, or for Christmas, for that matter.

All of these relationships will be changing. It's sad to know that some of the things that have created, established and cultivated these relationships, just won't be possible anymore (without a plane ticket and a big trip.) However, just as Martin and I got to know each other from across the ocean, and with very few days in the same country, I hope that I'll be able to maintain contact with some people who have become my closest friends. And I am trusting that God will provide all my needs- right now, I think social and emotional needs are on the top of the list for me.

Of course, the sweet part of this journey is being with Martin, and being our own little family. Being with Martin doesn't take away my tears, it doesn't solve all of my problems, it doesn't give me 100% security in the future, it doesn't make it easy to say good-bye, but it makes the bitter part of the journey absolutely worth it.

Last day of packing

After a week of wedding preparation, a fantastic wedding day, and a wonderful week-long honeymoon, we're flying out of Canada tomorrow.  I will be coming back to visit, but as of right now, I don't have a ticket booked.  Tomorrow, I'll be flying to my new home.

I'm excited to be done with living in temporary homes, living out of a suitcase, and living without "spots" for my every-day things... like my lotion.

I'm anxious to find out what will happen when we go through passport control and customs in the Netherlands.  Will we be questioned?  Will we sit in a room for a couple hours?  I have no clue, but I can't worry about it... I just need to make sure that I'm not tired when we land.

Starting now, "Henri Dunantlaan, Barneveld" will go on my declaration card, as my place of residence.  When I come back to Canada, I'll fill out the "visitors to Canada" box on the same card.  Strange.

So I'm sad to be saying good-bye, but really glad that I now get to say "good morning" and "good night" to Martin each day.  I'm a little nervous about all the paperwork and immigration details, but I know we have done due diligence when it comes to immigration laws, and we have our paperwork in order, so I can't imagine that we will have any major problem.  However, we're at the mercy of the immigration officers.

I have been packing now for about 3 months.  Some things, I have packed and unpacked 3 times.  Right now, I have a small car-full of things that need to fit into 4 suitcases (that includes Martin's stuff, and his one suitcase).  I'm really dreading this-- I just don't want to do it.  BUT in 24 hours, we'll be at the airport, with everything done, ready to fly home.  Yes... home.  My home that I have never lived in.  My new house that I pray and trust will become home very shortly.  However, I'm sure this packing will be MUCH more enjoyable, with my husband cheering me on, and knowing that my reward for packing will be cake pops, and beating him at another round of Dutch Blitz ;)  Bring it on!