Piece of Me: We're going to have a chicken, not a turkey

Wow!  With me NOT writing anything for a while, my last one of these was only a few posts ago...whoops!
Anyway, here's...A Piece Of Me


This month (November)…
 
I like: All the winter stuff I (really did have to) buy in which I can now look stylish in - leggings, hats, and some very awesome boots.

I don't like: having to put away all my summer clothes.  Or should I say...mail them home.  It's not like I'll be needing them.

I want you to know: that I have been introduced to pretzel M&Ms (thanks Auntie Jeanie).  I'll never eat any other kind of M&M the same again.  And no...no they don't have them here in Holland.

I've planned: a border jump to England.  Walking tour, drinks at the Savoy, seeing friends again, and most likely a Broadway Show.  No it's not illegal.  I have the immigration email to prove it.  But it's still fun to call it a border jump.

I want to say to someone special: dear Immigration...no seriously...I have the email to prove it.  Please let me back into your country.

Picture of the Month:

Word of the Day: November - November

See you next October!

I GOT MY VISA!!
As you may or may not know, applying for a visa in EU is a little...interesting.  To sum up, you're not allowed to be in the EU for more than 3 months without a visa, but you don't find out the status of your visa until about 5 months into your stay.  So really, you could just pay 300 Euros to stay in the country longer.  Just saying.
I was fairly sure I was going to get my residence permit.  There was nothing on my application that was out of place.  And I had written proof that my night involving a pimp offering body shots of coke and a large black woman named Juanita would have no affect on my application status.  Or maybe I just had forgotten to mention that. :-D
I got my letter a couple days ago.  But it was in Dutch...and I couldn't read it.  And my family wasn't home.  And it was really hard to type a five page letter into google translator.  So I had no idea.  At all.  It was a little weird.
But long story short...I got it.  And I'm here.  And I'm so incredibly happy.  And I didn't even have to marry a hot dutch guy.
The end.
See you October 28th.

 

Word of the Day: burger - citizen

Must...make it...more...hilarious...too... much...sentiment...

It’s January 30^th and you all know what that means!

1. Here in Holland, we are celebrating the end of the 80-year war.  (I don’t know of any actual celebrating, but Wikipedia tells me we should be.)

2. One more day before we are officially in Love-Makes-Libby-Sick mode (by that I mean February and Valentine’s Day)

3. I’ve been in this country for three months!!!

Now it’s time for a little sub list.  Because being in this country for three months also means several things…

1. I’m already one quarter of the way through my journey here in Europe as an aupair.

2. I’ve only got nine more months to get my butt in gear and do some more traveling.

3. I’ve officially been in Europe longer than I’m allowed to be without having a visa.  Fortunately, an application for a visa is an acceptable form of proof that I’m still allowed to be here.  And thank goodness for that, because I still won’t find out about my visa until the middle of April.

It really is crazy to think about three months.  So many things are happening, and I’m missing them.  But at the same time, I’m experiencing a whole new realm of things I can only begin to describe on this thing known as my blog.  I missed Halloween this year.  Sure I put on a shirt that was printed to look like a mummy, but I just sat around in my house that day, lack of confidence keeping me from going into Amsterdam for the Halloween couch surfing meet-up.  But I made Amsterdam Museum n8, meeting new friends, exploring a new city, and experiencing European culture full force. I missed Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family.  Of course when I worked at Disneyland, the same thing happened, but there’s something about being 300 miles away versus being 5000 (sorry...5371) that makes it a little harder to bear.  Then again, when you compare what I’m doing now, to wearing ugly and unflattering green pants and talking about the latest technology, Holland kicks Innoventions’ butt.  Plus being here opened my world to the celebration of Sinterklaas, and the welcoming arms of an adoptive family for the year.  I’m missing Pat’s one-man show, which is sure to be a huge hit.  I’m missing birthdays, parties, shows at school; so many things.  But then I look around and I see the possibilities for trips to far away lands, which thanks to having already crossed that pesky ocean, aren’t actually that far away.  I see the opportunities for cultural enrichment through museums, shows, and celebrations unknown to me before now.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that it’s been hard.  But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  I’m happy with what I’m doing and I’m proud I’m out here doing it. So thanks to everyone out there who’s supported me – from my friends whose constant facebooking never fails to keep me in the loop, to my grandparents and extended family, who read my blog religiously and send me emails and letters of love constantly. From my sister who talks to me almost every day on skype, to my parents who make sure we talk at least once a week, and my brother whenever he’s home (get skype doofus!)  From my new friends and family here, who have made the transition so much easier, to you, the readers of the blogging world, who prove that in internet world, being 5371 miles away is the same as living next door to each other.  And knowing I’ve got the support of all of you will make nine more months breeze by just as the last three already have.

Aw shucks…it seems I’ve gotten sentimental.

Word of the day: reis - journey

My American culture in fifteen phrases or less (hint: it's less)

So I have just signed up for my visa-required dutch course.

WARNING! TANGENT!

Of course it’s not actually required strangely enough.  Because coming to work here is supposed to be mostly for the cultural experience, on the visa application, the family must list certain things they plan on doing with me to introduce me to Dutch culture.  Taking a language course just happens to be the easiest thing to fill out.  So it’s not actually required, it’s just one of those “you should take it anyway, so why not make the family pay for it?” things.  In fact, a couple of my Columbian friends who are aupairs are actually planning on taking an English course instead.  Plus Caro and I are going to have days where I help her with English and she helps me with Spanish.  She already knows a lot of English from being taught it in school.  I already know some Spanish from Dora…not the California Public Schooling system unfortunately.

Anyway, back from the tangent. As you may have noticed, I’ve been writing words of the day every…well…day.  I’m learning more and more every day with the help of the parents, Fien, various print I read, and of course television.  But today I really noticed how much English I’ve taught my family.  Especially Fien.  What’s actually the most fun is attempting to explain what they mean.  Try it…how would you respond if someone said, “what is this ‘dude’?”  Or “What is the girl ‘bro’ called?”

So, here’s a list of terms, words, quotes, etc. that were not common in this household until I came along.

-Get it, got it, good

-Redneck

-Sneaky
-Bro

-Swiping (as in “Swiper no…”)

-Yea dude

-NO TOUCHING!

-What’s Crackin?

-C is for cookie…

-Sounds like a plan Stan
-Hit the road jack

-Yucky
-Sign language for “more”

-Sign language for “all done”

Nina – Unfortunately I have yet to get Fien to say “you’ve got it dude.”  But soon, have no fear!

Ok, so there you go.  Hope you enjoyed that.  There’s no word of the day today because really, I just gave you 14.

HAPPY 55TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO GRAMMY AND GRAMPY!!! (although I'm a day late)

Yes I would like to live here alsjeblieft

Well, I have officially applied to become a Dutch resident for a year. As of 10:00 this morning, the matter is no longer in my hands. It was amazing how many things I had to do to get here.
Before I even came, I had to get a certified birth certificate (which resulted in a parking ticket…stupid line taking too long.) Apparently the one I had was not certified, even though it had a sheriff signature and a stamp which is apparently what qualifies it to be certified. I found out it wasn’t eligible after sending it in to get an apostle and receiving an letter of decline. So after getting the correct one, I had to get that apostled. An apostle (pronounced ap-oh-steal not uh-pos-le) is a certified paper that says the certificate is eligible for use in another country.
I also had to buy a plane ticket and a years worth of travel insurance, and since I didn’t have enough money for both, I had to reopen my credit card, which I had JUST finished paying off. But it came in handy for the other things I needed – jackets, turtlenecks, sweatpants, converter, etc.
Once I got here I had to go to the town hall and register with them. Then they gave me a number to call to register with immigration, which then game me a date (Dec. 4th) to go turn in paperwork. Upon receiving this date, we also received a confirmation packet in the mail with all the paperwork I needed to fill out. Thank goodness I had an English version downloaded on my computer, or I would have been so lost. The packet included a statement of non-marriage, statement of no dependants, what my hours and pay would be, all my hosts’ information, and a statement of non-criminal status.
For those of you wondering, non-criminal status is considered having a non-criminal status according to Dutch law. For example, you can be imprisoned for being gay in some countries, but that would not make you a criminal for your Dutch visa application. So I am not considered a criminal in the county of Holland despite my seven cousins and me getting a field arrest for attempting to start a fire in the woods by shooting off an illegal potato gun (true story btw.)
Anyway, I now have a temporary sticker on my passport and the decision is out of my hands. I don’t get an official response for another six months, so even if they do decide to reject it, I’ll have been here for seven months. They could decide to reject it for any number of reasons, but most likely it should be fine. Now all that’s left to do it wait.

Word of the day: verblijfsvergunning – resident application

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!