Winkelwagen

Winkelwagen! I like the sound of that word 'vinkelvahen'

Holland, The Netherlands, and the Dutch...

I've was never quite sure of the use of Holland vs the Netherlands. Here is what I've come up with...

I know that it is the Kingdom of the Netherlands and that in English the people and the language are Dutch.

I live in Leiden, which is in the Province of Zuid-Holland or South Holland. Amsterdam is in Noord-Holland or North Holland. North Holland & South Holland are both in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Amsterdam and Haarlem are in North Holland. The Hague and Rotterdam are in South Holland and Utrecht is in the Province of Utrecht. Together the largest cities Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht form the Randstad. Culturally the Randstad largest cities have the most in common. The regions further out culturally have more in common with the countries with which they share borders, Germany and Belgium.

Whenever I've asked for clarification about Holland vs the Netherlands, they start talking about the Randstad...I think they don't get the subtleties of what's clearly an issue only in the English language. The language, the country, and the individuals are all "nederlands" to the nederlands.

Bears are ridiculous but puppies make perfect sense...

I've always found the ads for toilet paper with animated bears using toliet paper in the forest. Historically puppies and babies have also been in American toilet paper ads as well. Really? Out of the groups of bears, puppies, and babies, none actually would use toilet paper!

I was at the store shopping for toilet paper and found this paper with puppies printed on it. They were so cute...especially the downward dog puppy.

I read Burlesque star Dita von Teese talk about the Crazy Horse Paris in an interview at about the time of her run at the Crazy Horse in Las Vegas. As a teenager she saw a picture of the iconic Crazy Horse Paris dancers dressed as toy soldiers in her father's Playboy magazine that stuck with her. In the interview she talks about the glamour of the Crazy Horse and how she dreamed of becoming a Crazy Horse dancer but didn't fit the physical requirements. It inspired her but she surpassed her dream and instead she became the first guest dancer and created her own show. Her contribution to the world started with those images in Playboy. You never know where you will find inspiration.

I was thinking of her when I bought this red lipstick at Sephora. It's supposed to be the color that all of the Crazy Horse Dancers wear.

What the Hague?

I made my little pilgramage into The Hague today to go to Sephora. I needed my Benefit cosmetics fix! All of the Sephora stores in the Netherlands are in V&D (Vroom & Dreesman) Dept store. For those of you in the US, I'd say it's the equivalent to Carson's.

I was surprised to see that a lot of US Drugstore brands are at Sephora such as L'oreal and Max Factor. They of course had Benefit, as they have the same parent company. I bought a few items from Sephora and then bought a little teapot.

I had a moment when I heard a klip klop sound. I looked and it was mounted police! I wasn't expecting that. I couldn't resist watching as they passed and just then one of the horses defecated as it walked. It took away all of the grandeur of the moment. The Hague is where the Ceremonial palace of Queen Beatrix is located and her residence is just outside of the Hague. Although, Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, the Hague is the seat of government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In addition the UN's Judicial Institutions are located in the Hague along with most embassies. It's also much greener than other Dutch cities.

First picture I was amused that the street sign indicating the name said Plein, which is the equivalent to Plaza or Square. It is clearly a Square.

Also In one of the pics as I was approaching the shopping district in downtown, I saw the Burger King. I loved the building so I had to take a pic. Also across the street is a Kentucky Fried Chicken but that building isn't as remarkable.

All the world loves a coke...

I apologize for the long absence. I had some trouble with wifi connection after getting my TV installed. The good people at KPN were very happy to help and switched the channel for me.

So I had a few days of watching TV without the internet. I'm very glad to see that TV watching is pretty much like the experience in the US. I'm also very happy to report that I do have a DVR! All I seemed to watch in the US was Frasier and the King of Queens and I get them here with Dutch Subtitles. So it's pretty much like bizarro world for me with the menus all in Dutch and the DVR. But that's also like my experience with the internet. I've come to really love google.nl.

There is of course, the Office and My Name is Earl. Other than the cheesy American shows in syndication there is the BBC and several German stations and even a Spanish station. The BBC stations seem to be all Doctor Who all of the time. When it isn't Doctor Who, it's Doctor Who COnfidential which is a behind the scenes shows. What I watched most often was the Discovery Channel for the Mythbusters. I love Jaime and Adam...but Jaime more, then Grant...then Adam.

I've never craved a coke. Occasionally I've enjoyed a ginger ale, root beer or Dr. Pepper and in the Pepsi vs Coke debate, I'm all Pepsi. I guess it's all of the advertising but I've been craving a coke.

My favorite ad so far is this McDonald's ad for the Greek Mac. It appears to be a burger in pita. So the set up is this Dutch young guy enjoying a Greek Mac sitting next to his buddy at a table outdoors. His mind drifts off and he sees this Greek girl splashing around on a beach in a yellow bikini. He's dreaming of being with her on the beach, rolling around on the sand. She starts leading him off the beach through a courtyard, he's getting excited. She lead him through this door and he starts unbuttoning his shirt and then she turns to his left and introduces him to her big Greek family. Then he's jerked back into reality by his buddy. I don't know why it's so amusing to me.

Not all kings are equal...

To make life a little easier for myself as an Expat, I rented a furnished apartment with utilities included. I had figured it would make the transition much easier and I wouldn't have to worry about furniture and setting up utilities. When I was looking at apartments I looked at several that were not good fits for me. When I saw my current apartment, I really just spent a few minutes in it, instantly knew it was for me and left. I didn't know to what extent the apartment would be furnished. I wasn't expecting when I arrived here for there to be bed linens, towels, and even a toothbrush waiting for me. I brought along a lot of sheets, towels, kitchen utensils, and even pots and pans. In most cases I've been using the items I've brought just because they are more familiar to me.

There were a few things I didn't bring because I knew they would be useless here. For one, electrical appliances. You can use them here but they would need a adapters and converters. Europe is on a 210 vs US 110 so I could fry my appliances.

Also the standard bed sizes are completely different. I was surpised at how difficult it is to find a slaken or flat sheet here. Hoeslaken or fitted sheets are of course everywhere. I love that they are listed on the labels as "een persoon bed" and "twee persoons bed" My bed measures 180x200 making it a European King Sized bed. I find this quite comical. I sleep in a fetal position or on my tummy all night and don't move much. There I am all 5'3" of me in this big bed. Well I do move around or sleep on my tummy if I have trouble sleeping. I may get a big stuffed animal to stay on my bed all night.

Champagne

I couldn't resist getting this at Vroom & Dreesman today! They had it in a cute pink as well but I couldn't resist the Dutch Oranje. Of course I had to buy a bottle of cava at the next stop. It is chilling in the fridge as I write.

I'm very fascinated by this Dutch/English everywhere here. I see it in signs and also in naming of stores and business. The apartment finding service that I used to get this apartment has letterhead with their company name as it is in English but the their little tagline is in Dutch. Last week I was at a supermarket and I heard the stockboys talking to each other in Dutch but they would swear using English words. It was amusing to me as Native English speaker. Packaging on everything will have a few phrases in English.

I have always been fascinated by the evolution of language. I'm most fascinated by Spanglish use by Tejanos, but it's a group that as much as they are part of my heritage are still very foreign to me. You'll see signs for "The Spring Baile" or the Spring Dance. They use Spanish and English words interchangably with English grammar and structure. it's usually a 50/50 split so it isn't a good comparison to the Dutch. It's fascinating to me.

The most extreme example I know of has to be Philipinos and their vanacular. Years ago I had a Philipina friend of mine. I would love to hear her and other Philipino friends speak tagalog. I was fascinated by their use of English and Spanish in the language. Naturally after colonizaton of the Spanish and later the US, they would adopt several words. They seemed to take it to this other level. The seemed to begin the sentence in tagalog, throw in a Spanish word and finish it in English. I remember being struck as they were speaking I could pick out the word "orange" and thinking "you didn't have a word for orange before the Americans or the Spanish?" Language doesn't operate that way. It's develops and evolves with the living beings that use it.

Still with all of the languages there are, the world is getting smaller and smaller. There are universal words that everyone recognize, not to mention the brand names and logos everyone recognizes.

I think I'm kicking the jetlag...I woke up at 7:43 this morning. Of course, it is Sunday in Leiden so many places are closed. I've decided to spend the day cleaning and rearranging the things I had unpacked. I also did a load of laundry. We'll see how long it takes to dry!

Nosy neighbor

Everyone gets curious about the new neighbor on the block. I know, I know, no one can resist peeking in to see what they are like. This little guy I've caught staring at me late in the morning that last few days. He tends to play it cool when I catch him out of the corner of my eye and make eye contact. He just looks the other way very casually. When I've actually made it outside to take a better picture of him, he runs back inside.

There is a bakery with an orange cat in the window. Every time I pass he's bathing himself. It disturbs me a little that he's in the bakery.

There is a dog on this block. That I can tell you from the constant barking. I'm not sure where she is or what upsets her but she sounds close. She's been a constant reminder of little Lola. From this far she does sound like her. I'm thinking of you, little buddy.

Shopping today I did see a few people walk into clothing shops with smaller dogs on leashes. I wouldn't do that in states no matter how well behaved the four legged companion.

Peonies

I have a new mobile now and officially have a Dutch mobile number. No I feel European. I also bought a pink phone temporarily that was under the "ladyphone" tab on the tmobile.nl website. I managed to find the menu to change the menu settings to English but not all of the settings, (the settings I don't really understand yet) are still in Dutch.

After getting my phone I was off to the market for salt and ricemilk. I was happy to find some avocados. It was interesting to see that all produce had their country of origin stamped on them. The avocados were from South Africa. They were especially creamy. I went to the market, I was told, had more American products. They did along with many European products. They did have a greater produce section and they had my ricemilk...on sale!

I was half way home when I saw a street vendor with several flower bouquets. I had passed him on the way to the phone shop. I was lured in by the scent of the peonies. I couldn't resist buying some. I bought them in white and pink. I have to tell you, before I knew it, the entire conversation with the vendor was in Dutch. As it was at the end of the day, the vendor threw in an extra 10. So I ended up with twice as many as I had planned. I still managed to lug them home with 2 bags of groceries. On my way home I couldn't help think to myself that my mom would love them. For a moment I had to remind myself that she wouldn't be there. Just as it was hitting me I also ran into someone I knew. It was as if the universe was trying to remind me that although I don't have mom near me, I do have a growing group of people around me. She'll get to see pictures of them on skype. Within an hour I ran into 3 people I had already met, that's almost half the people I know in Leiden!

First 24 hours...or a girl's gotta eat...

I'm settling into my new apartment. I'm still jetlagged but still very excited and full of enthusiasm. I know I am because people smiled at me as they passed me on my way to the supermarket. I couldn't help smile with things everywhere assuring me that I'll find a home here. I passed a sign outside a bar for Prosecco across from a Spanish restaurant. Prosecco or really any bottle of bubbles can make me happy.

Following my trip to the supermarket, I just made my first real meal beyond a sandwich or chocolate covered raisins. Inspired by some roma tomatoes, I made spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and shallots. There were basil plants at the market and I brought one to the register but it didn't make it with me. I didn't remember to buy salt, but I remembered I took the little napkin packet from the plane and stuck it in my backpack for the napkin. Luckily the salt & pepper were still in there. I'm glad I remembered olive oil.

I was happy to see that there was some Mexican food representation at the supermarket. It was mostly salsa and hard taco shells but they did have some flour based tortilla wraps. They have a much larger Asian food section with more detail and distinction between Thai and Indonesian food. Lots of sauces to choose from.

As I walked into the supermarket, the smell of something sweet baking hit me. They were putting out the "Roomboter Appeltarten" and they were on sale! MMMM it's something between a cake and a pie. Very yummy and a nice way to end a meal. I was disappointed by the croissants, unlike the appeltaart with "roomboter" or butter, the croissants were made with margarine. I'll probably end up making a bread pudding with them. I was also happy to see plenty of prosecco and bottles of wine in the under 5 Euro category to try. I'll have to keep a good list of favorites.

Jetlagged

A fully furnished apartment really is the way to go for the expat. My landlord furnished everything from furniture to a toothbrush. They really intended for me to just walk in with my clothes and feel at home. I do. It's a very cute place. After looking for days for apartments last month this place was waiting for me.

I, of course, brought my own pots and pans and sheets in the wrong size but otherwise its all good. I'm forcing myself to stay awake by unpacking as much as I can today. I may not be able to remember where I put everything tomorrow. Luckily this place isn't very big. I've taken "before" shots of all of the rooms. As it is furnished, it is furnished in my landlord's taste. I'll have to take my time and make it my own.

I have to say one of the highlights of the journey from Chicago to Leiden via Dublin happened at passport control. I had just been on the 6 hr flight and was in good spirits despite the lack of sleep on the plane. Why didn't Aer Lingus dim the cabin lights? I was approaching passport control and the officer just had the warmest face so I couldn't resist saying a great big "good morning!" He replied with "Good morning, blossom" I'm guessing blossom is the Irish equivalent to the American Sweetie or Honey but it was so warm and genuine. Then he we exchanged a few words in Spanish. His Spanish with an Irish accent was so lovely. It felt like such a welcome on behalf of Europe. I have to plan a trip to Dublin. I was supposed to go in 2001 but I'm usually 10 years late. Dublin 2011!

I have to say that Aer Lingus had the most graphic safety video for being animated. All other airlines dance around the idea of anything going wrong. They really did preface everything with "this is standard safety procedure" when they would dim the lights or ask you to pull up or down the window shades. I just take issue with putting the seatbelt around your waist. As I understand it, seatbelts in cars or on planes should be on your thighs because your biggest bones can take the impact but if it's around your waist it can damage vital organs. Here is a link to the safety video I found on youtube. Do all safety vests/life jackets on planes have whistles & lights?

I wanted to start this blog as a way to keep my friends and family updated on how I'm adjusting. I've promised myself that I would post a pic or a written entry everyday. I'm sure there will be plenty of tears of laughter and homesickness but always full of optimism. I anticipate this space will be filled with little nuances of Dutch language and culture as well.

My mom gave me the pink key chain in the picture a few weeks ago. I'll think of her every time I look at my keys.