I am admittedly a bad blogger. I have ideas and take pictures that I store in my memory and SD card to share with the handful of readers I have and then life and laziness get in the way. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have posted this as soon as I have if my lovely cousin hadn’t inquired if I got a job because I hadn’t posted in awhile. Thank you Britt for reminding me that people are interested in what I have to say!
We’ve been back in the Netherlands for a month and life continued as if we hadn’t left. Gearoid went back to work the day after we arrived and happily resumed the routine of life he had cultivated since moving to the Netherlands. I have continued the following:
1) Volunteer work- My Asian ladies and I have started meeting weekly again for tea and English conversation. It’s not as stilted as before and we are finding more topics to discuss. For them it is a great way to practice their English and for me (along with the nice company) it gets me out of bed at a decent hour on Monday mornings.
I have also met with the women I worked with on International Refugee Day and we had a follow up discussion as to how the event went. Our next plan of action is to help out at an event for International Peace Week. I will, of course, be helping with the children activities.
I have been invited to help with bike lessons again. I was tempted to not do it again because I started to find the lessons a little boring and the bike ride to the lessons is a long one. However, in the end I decided to do it again because it is good for my Dutch language skills and I enjoy the company of the people I volunteer with.
I have also been matched with a Dutch person in this program called Link who will help me find more volunteer work and maybe some part time work. On a whim last week, I decided that I must work with animals in need. I enjoy animals and can’t have a pet myself so it seemed like a good idea. This week’s whim is different though so we’ll see what comes out of it.
2) Mastering the Dutch Language- One thing I really enjoyed about being in the States was the English language. I understood what was going on in my surroundings and minimally embarrassed myself. Although most people speak incredible English here, life is lived in Dutch. I am proud to say that I am fighting the constant worry of sounding stupid in broken Dutch and have started using Dutch at the market and cafes. I understand more than I can speak and answer most questions with “ja” or “nee.” Having no Dutch lessons at all, Gearoid asks me what people have asked of him or what signs say. I can usually give him an answer but the other night emboldened by a glass (or two) of wine I asked the cashier to repeat what she said to Gearoid so I can figure out the answer to his question. However, by asking boldly in English, I totally threw the young girl off and she stopped her productivity and pondered what this red faced loud American was asking her. The line behind us quickly grew as she completely stopped giving us our change and stared blankly at me. Usually my embarrassment is accidental but this time I had caused it myself so I quickly said “nevermind “to her and “let’s get out of here to Gearoid” as the queue of people in the tiny store stared at the foreigners who were stopping the efficiency of the cashier and preventing them from getting on with their Friday night. Unlike the States, I can’t assume I will never see her or the other customers again and have decided that if I am going to embarrass myself, I will limit it to Dutch and not in English.
To continue my pursuit of mastering Dutch and limiting the level embarrassment and awkwardness that persists in my everyday life, I have continued my Dutch lessons. Twice a week, 2 hours at a time, I sit in my level 2 Dutch class and try to converse and understand the rules of this difficult language. So far, I only have 3 other classmates which means I have to speak and pay attention more than I did in my last class of 15. Needless to say, my brain is tired when I finish. It’s a good tired though like after a thorough workout.
I have also continued with my language buddy Paul who constantly works with ridding me of my American accent when speaking Dutch. As a retired English teacher, he also answers questions for me that I have from my class or about the Dutch Culture.
Future Dutch endeavors for me also include taking an additional Dutch class that upon completion ends with a formalized test and a certificate stating I can speak a certain level of Dutch.
3) Running- October 31, 2011 will be the scariest Halloween ever as Gearoid and I run the Dublin Marathon. We had an extremely difficult time keeping up with our training in the States as we were on vacation and being in the Southern parts of the country had to deal with heat, humidity, and mosquitoes. The few times we did run we came back completely spent, near sun poisoned, and half drowned from the humid air residing in our lungs. Since coming back, we have resumed our training. Gearoid is striving for a 4 hour or less time. I am striving to survive to the finish line. My original goal was a time around 5 hours but as our runs grow longer to 11, 14, 16, and next week 18 miles, I have amended the goal to just finish. Luckily the weather here in the Netherlands is more conducive to long runs in Gearoid’s case and rambling walks in mine. Fourteen miles isn’t so bad when the weather is cool, there are pretty flower fields to walk by, and wild blackberries to pick. I do try to fit in some running during my site seeing walks though.
4) Miscellaneous life tasks- My arthritic hands have healed and I have been knitting socks again. I have none to show though as I pass them along to people as I finish. I’m nowhere near as prolific as I once was but I’m also not watching as much T.V. as I was before. Just wait until my favorite shows start with the new seasons.
I am continuing with my book club and between club choices, I have been spending my time in the sun reading books (or under the covers on rainy days) that have been on my shelves for years but I never had time to read. My goal is to read a minimum of 50 books this year and I’m already on 35. Oh, the goals you can have when unemployed.
I have also been planning trips and attending things happening in Nijmegen. Gearoid and I bought several day train tickets at a low price that allow us to ride on the train anywhere in the country all day for one low price. We have several plans coming up in the next month or so and I will post on those accordingly. I also want to feel more involved in Nijmegen so I am regularly paying attention to and even attending classes and festivals going on in town.
5) Finding a job-The biggest difference since coming back is that I can now legally work. Finding a job in a non-English speaking country is quite difficult. Before I moved here, I was incredibly stressed by my demanding job and told Gearoid I would do anything for work in Holland- walk dogs, serve tables, sweep floors, etc. However, after being unemployed for the past 8 months and having had sufficient time to relax, enjoy life, and bum around I have decided I don’t want to settle for just anything. I want to use my degrees (I mean I’m still paying for my student loans) and be challenged again. That’s easier said than done. I called some job placement companies and they can’t help people who don’t speak fluent Dutch. I signed up for some expat job placement websites but I don’t qualify for most of the business oriented jobs. My options at this point are to get lucky with a job at an international school or take a part-time service oriented job until I can improve my Dutch. I’m taking the appropriate albeit slow steps though. I contacted an international school and the director offered me a tour and some suggestions as to what my first steps to getting back in the classroom should be. My Link buddy in the meantime is helping me look for some type of part time job in which I can improve my language skills. There are some days in which I am fine with the waiting and searching but admittedly there are others when I get frustrated and overwhelmed. So cross your fingers for me and I’ll keep you all posted.
Despite the normalcy of everything since coming back there was one thing that really surprised me. Several people in my life here- landlady, friends, and classmates- were all surprised that I actually came back. It’s not that I’m unhappy here- just adjusting- but I didn’t realize how strongly the small frustrations and times of homesickness were being expressed by me. My landlady told me she was so happy for me that I got to go home but my first week back she fixed up my garden so I could “feel at home here.”
Some of my new flowers in my beautifully improved garden.
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