120 days- Time for a Check Up

The chief blogger of the family (Ruth) was on vacation the past few weeks, hence no updates. This past month has been Brent's busiest time at work, so he surprised me with a ticket back to the states for a three week visit. He is so thoughtful! I had a wonderful time visiting family. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to connect with so many dear friends too. Being away from Amsterdam also gave me the opportunity to assess my time here thus far. While in the US I was pleasantly surprised to feel that "home" is now Amsterdam. Here's a little taste of the up side and the not so up side about living here.

Things I like here in Amsterdam:

• Windmills that grace the landscape like a painting out of time past.
• Swans who live on the canals and swim by our apartment every morning.
• The quaint, small store shopping atmosphere. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.
• Feeling safe walking alone at night.
• The abundance of beautiful inexpensive flowers. A bouquet of 20 roses will set you back $5 euros.
  
• Our neighborhood Saturday market- strolling the variety of stalls is one of our favorite weekend activities.
  
• The amazing cheese and bread selection!
• Cruising the picturesque canals by boat. Need I say more?
  
• Beautiful architecture, especially the gables and cornices on the old canal houses.
• The sense of history that permeates everything.
• The ease of riding bikes everywhere and the on-time trams. US cities could take note.
• Traveling to other countries in Europe- many countries are less than 2 hours by train and you don't have to go through security or show your passport- it's so convenient!
  

Things I miss from the US or don't always agree with here:

• Due to the size of the country and how large the population is everything in the Netherlands is...small.
• Stylish clothing can be very expensive and is often made for tall, thin women (the Dutch are considered among the tallest people in the world).
• Television shows from America which are broadcast here are usually only MTV, Dr. Phil-esque shows and soap operas.
• How expensive books are!
• Products labeled "American" yet I have never even seen these products on the North American continent.
• The graffiti on the old buildings. Don't people know how special some old buildings are?
• Bicycles are stolen easily. Sometimes the thieves don't even care if the bike is locked to prevent theft. They want it, they take it.
• ¿Dónde están los auténticos restaurantes mexicanos?
• Affordable prices- everything is more expensive.
• Being able to jump in the car and dash off to the grocery store at 10pm on a Sunday evening. Most stores are only open past 6pm on Thursdays nights, when they stay open until 9pm!
• Grocery stores big enough to have grocery carts and having a selection of items that would shock most Europeans.
• Raisins are located in the candy aisle! What is that about??? We definitely miss American junk food- popcorn, chocolate chips, marshmallows...
• And of course- all of our family and friends who aren't here.

Obviously visiting family was the highlight of my trip back, but I did indulge in some shopping! I took back two empty suitcases so I would have plenty of room for cheap American goods (or more likely goods made in China) but either way it was still cheap! One night while I was there, I did some shopping at Safeway grocer at 10:30pm just because I could. I got a shopping cart and cruised every aisle- it was heavenly. While we have managed without 50 choices of cereal, we do have some "essentials" that I stocked up on...


So after our first few months here we have begun to see the essence of what it means to live in a completely new environment. No, we haven't figured it all out yet; but we have learned that for everything we miss there is something else to surprise or encourage us. Fall is definitely here and winter is on the way. We'll be posting pics soon of the scenery and our fully decorate apartment. Till then, love you all!