Life in Holland

First of all, let me say that OUR FREIGHT IS DUE TO BE DELIVERED TOMORROW!! This is really huge, because we were told that it could take up to two months, and of course, we've heard horror stories from others who have been in our same shoes. This is also peak time, so we were also told to expect delays. Anyway, we've been here almost three weeks, and our shipment was packed on August 18, so it hasn't even been a month, yet! I'm shocked. Really. Let's just hope that the movers actually show up with the right stuff tomorrow. :-)

So, since we've been here, the weather has been less than beautiful. We were told that July and August are the beautiful, warm and dry summer months, but what we've found is that THIS July and August have been cloudy, cold and wet...much more like Tennessee winter months. Apparently, "summer" for Holland was in April, May and June. At least Chris got to enjoy the "summer" here while we got to "experience" the most tornadic and deadliest month of April on record in the United States. The weather here is MUCH different than in Tennessee. Here it is windy most of the time. It could be beautiful here one minute, then the clouds could roll in and bring a short monsoonal rain. Also, the temperature here has rarely even reached 75 degrees Fahrenheit. (That is fantastic when it is sunny, but that can be pretty chilly when it's cloudy and windy.) Today, the weather is cloudy and 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and it has rained off and on...in fact, it just started raining. Again.

We've been busy here at home. We've gotten registered with the country and the town hall, added me to the bank account, bought a van, attempted TWICE to purchase me a cell phone, visited (several times) the grocery store--Albert Heijn (pronounced "Hine"), visited the local beach, visited a church, visited IKEA, visited the kids' school twice AND a few other things here and there.

One of the highlights so far has been taking the kids to the school. It is fantastic, and I can't even begin to tell you how much support they offer! The kids had their "intake" interview with the school counselors on Tuesday. We were greeted and assigned to a "Parent Welcomer" who took us on a tour of the school and also took us to our designated appointments at the appropriate time. The kids loved it, and they immediately felt at home. Ashlynn is going to be in middle school this year, and she is excited. She will have eight classes, but she will only have four classes each day, and each class is 75 minutes long. They have a rotating schedule, though, that is hard to explain. Basically, every class meets at a different time during the day so that over a two week period, every class is a morning class at some point. (If you're really interested in how this works, send me an email, but I won't bore you with the details.) Ashlynn will have math, language arts, science, social studies, PE/Health, Instrument/Choir, Dutch, and an elective that she gets to choose. She will have four different electives throughout the year including home economics, dance/movement, drama, and computers. (I think there was another to choose from, but I can't remember what it was.) Anyway, she is pretty pumped about it. :-) She also gets to go on a Project Trip that is an overnight trip to a camp in east Holland. She'll get to go to a monkey park with all kinds of different species of monkies, and she'll see the Van Goh Museum, too. (I never knew that Van Goh was Dutch until we got here! Wow!) She is really excited about this, too!

The boys will have their tour of the elementary part of the school next Tuesday, and we will meet their teachers then. I can't wait for them to see the Science room! I remember going through it when Chris and I were here in February, and having been a science teacher, I was overwhelmed at ALL the stuff and cool items they had in that room!! I thought I had a pretty good collection of elementary science equipment, but mine was nothing compared to this! So, so fun.

And, for me...they have Monday Morning Connections which is kind of like a sorority pledge class of sorts. It is mostly new parents who are coming together to meet other parents and to learn how to really make the most of living in the Netherlands. I'm really excited and can't wait for this to get started! (For those of you who know me best, you know THIS is right up my alley.)

Well, I'm going to run, but I'll post more later. Hopefully, once our shipment arrives, we can quickly locate our USB port, and I'll be able to post PICTURES!! :-)