and thus life in California begins...
20 December, 2010 - 06:03 — Mieke
I will try to keep you updated about my activities and thoughts during our stay in Sunnyvale, California. But life with two kids means little time. By the way, feel free to stop reading anytime, I won't be offended.
The trip to Sunnyvale was nothing I had anticipated. The children were actually quite easy (granted, I did have my parents to support me which definitely helped). Lucas did not sleep on the plane, but watched a lot of t.v. and loved the little presents we brought on the flight. And all the flight attendants loved Kwint who (of course) used his smile to charm them. Lucas was very excited about the prospect of flying, although I think it might have been a little disappointing. During the trip he stated frequently: "We vliegen niet he?" He did earn a lot of laughter when he screamed: "JA, WE GAAN!", when the airplane started on the runway.
So the first week started out by going supermarket-hunting. And trust me, that is an experience in and of itself. Whereas the first three supermarkets continually wowed me, the fourth, fifth up until the sixtieth did little more than annoy me since I could not remember which brand of X was cheapest in what supermarket. And of course there would not be one supermarket that would have the cheapest brand of everything. Luckily my parents were there to help me sort things out. The second thing I did in the first week was getting myself a Smartphone! Amazing what the thing can do! Lots of apps, and a very good camera which I am using extensively. Unfortunately I haven't had time to put the photo's on the web yet.
Now, since last weekend I am officially a stay at home mom (for the time being). My parents left after a week, which was difficult since I will miss them immensely. They have been great, and I am forever indebted to them for taking me and the children in for two months, and flying with me even though my mom hates flying and my father had lots of work to do. I still remember my mom when she first heard about our California plans (" En denk maar niet dat ik je kom opzoeken!"). But there it was, my first day as a fulltime stay at home mom. It ended in me questioning my sanity. Lucky for me that you sorta grow into these things. So I experienced several new things:
My first encounter with an all american vacuum cleaner... I don't know whether the saying "you can eat off the floor" actually exists in english, but the point is that we could eat of the floor... literally. So it was time to vacuum, a dreaded moment since this is a huge apparatus which makes unbelievable noise. And judging from the result all it does is wipe dirt/food/dust around. So hurray for American vacuum cleaners. Shitty things.
So one of the perks of not working is more time for hobbies. This is not true by the way, since most of the time you're trying to guide the children one way or another. But okay. One of my biggest hobbies is cooking, which is a good thing considering the Korean supermarket and Indian supermarket around the corner. Which of course I wanted to try out. So one of the first recipes I tried out was...Dutch shepard pie. No I'm not kidding. Courtesy of my brother, who wants us to remember our Dutch roots. And it really was a nice recipe. But sorry, it could not compete with the Korean cuisine I tried out (Jjim dak for those of you familiar with Korean cuisine). I'll keep you posted on successes and failures. One of the strangest experiences was walking into the Korean and Indian supermarket and finding myself to be the ONLY non-Korean/Indian present. Isn't that strange? Judging from the people visiting the Asian restaurants you would say you'd be able to find a couple of Americans cooking in this style too. But alas.
Another thing I tried out: baking my own bread since the american style bread is not really up to dutch standards. For instance, dutch breads generally don't last a couple of months. and that's a good thing, trust me. So after a couple of imploded breads, I ended up with a good baseline bread. The following weeks I will try to use extra ingredients to make the bread more interesting.
Our first week together (that is to say, without my parents) ended with us going to Monterey bay aquarium. From the outside not spectacular, but the inside was incredible!!!! Huge fish tanks with an occasional diver, rooms in beach style with birds who were definitely not impressed by the audience, and possibilities to touch crabs and seastars. O and I'm forgetting flamingos, sea-horses (which according to Lucas danced), otters (which is Lucas' favourite animal apparently), penguins, and many other things in huge tanks which mimicked their occupants habitats. So, when some of you will visit us, we will definitely have to take you there.
So I do understand that the weather in Holland is interesting and quite unlike regular weather. Now I wish I could laugh in your faces, but unfortunately Californian weather has been quite un-Californian lately. The last couple of days (en the next few days) have been and will be rainy, rainy and..... uhmmm, rainy! This was NOT why we moved here. But ok, freak weather conditions do occur, even on this side of the ocean. And the upside: even with the rain it is not cold like in Holland.
What else did we do? Too many things to name and too little time to name them. Learning to drive in our sled (yes it IS a big car, I know), going on strolls with the children, hunting squirrels and hummingbirds, visiting the Christmas party at the daycare/preschool Lucas and Kwint will go to, teaching Lucas some english words (so far we nailed bye), having a fun day with a friend who visited San Fransisco for a conference and who brought great news of an upcoming baby.
Now, since Lucas is experimenting with language (both English and Dutch), I will try to remember some of the interesting things he says. Featuring this week:
Mama, mag ik even je rug peperen? (kloppen op de rug vanwege hoesten)
Takkieauto (takelwagen)
Scheerboor (scheerapparaat)
Mama, dat is Sinterklaas!!! (bij het zien van de Kerstman)
Dat is bi-zon-der! (bij het zien van de zeepaardjes, waarbij hij mij imiteerde)
So let's recap: do I like it here? Yes. Is it anything like home? Yes and no. Life goes on, and we're finding ourselves a normal rythm (ok, maybe Kwint doesn't quite get the hang of that rythm thing yet), but we need to re-invent everything. Do I miss family, friends and work? Definitely. But skype works, and I will start with some projects in january. Still receiving mails from people interested in my work, and have many lovely people around me who will work with me from Holland. Moreover, I will start looking for interesting jobs around Christmas. Maybe Santa will bring me a present :-)
The trip to Sunnyvale was nothing I had anticipated. The children were actually quite easy (granted, I did have my parents to support me which definitely helped). Lucas did not sleep on the plane, but watched a lot of t.v. and loved the little presents we brought on the flight. And all the flight attendants loved Kwint who (of course) used his smile to charm them. Lucas was very excited about the prospect of flying, although I think it might have been a little disappointing. During the trip he stated frequently: "We vliegen niet he?" He did earn a lot of laughter when he screamed: "JA, WE GAAN!", when the airplane started on the runway.
So the first week started out by going supermarket-hunting. And trust me, that is an experience in and of itself. Whereas the first three supermarkets continually wowed me, the fourth, fifth up until the sixtieth did little more than annoy me since I could not remember which brand of X was cheapest in what supermarket. And of course there would not be one supermarket that would have the cheapest brand of everything. Luckily my parents were there to help me sort things out. The second thing I did in the first week was getting myself a Smartphone! Amazing what the thing can do! Lots of apps, and a very good camera which I am using extensively. Unfortunately I haven't had time to put the photo's on the web yet.
Now, since last weekend I am officially a stay at home mom (for the time being). My parents left after a week, which was difficult since I will miss them immensely. They have been great, and I am forever indebted to them for taking me and the children in for two months, and flying with me even though my mom hates flying and my father had lots of work to do. I still remember my mom when she first heard about our California plans (" En denk maar niet dat ik je kom opzoeken!"). But there it was, my first day as a fulltime stay at home mom. It ended in me questioning my sanity. Lucky for me that you sorta grow into these things. So I experienced several new things:
My first encounter with an all american vacuum cleaner... I don't know whether the saying "you can eat off the floor" actually exists in english, but the point is that we could eat of the floor... literally. So it was time to vacuum, a dreaded moment since this is a huge apparatus which makes unbelievable noise. And judging from the result all it does is wipe dirt/food/dust around. So hurray for American vacuum cleaners. Shitty things.
So one of the perks of not working is more time for hobbies. This is not true by the way, since most of the time you're trying to guide the children one way or another. But okay. One of my biggest hobbies is cooking, which is a good thing considering the Korean supermarket and Indian supermarket around the corner. Which of course I wanted to try out. So one of the first recipes I tried out was...Dutch shepard pie. No I'm not kidding. Courtesy of my brother, who wants us to remember our Dutch roots. And it really was a nice recipe. But sorry, it could not compete with the Korean cuisine I tried out (Jjim dak for those of you familiar with Korean cuisine). I'll keep you posted on successes and failures. One of the strangest experiences was walking into the Korean and Indian supermarket and finding myself to be the ONLY non-Korean/Indian present. Isn't that strange? Judging from the people visiting the Asian restaurants you would say you'd be able to find a couple of Americans cooking in this style too. But alas.
Another thing I tried out: baking my own bread since the american style bread is not really up to dutch standards. For instance, dutch breads generally don't last a couple of months. and that's a good thing, trust me. So after a couple of imploded breads, I ended up with a good baseline bread. The following weeks I will try to use extra ingredients to make the bread more interesting.
Our first week together (that is to say, without my parents) ended with us going to Monterey bay aquarium. From the outside not spectacular, but the inside was incredible!!!! Huge fish tanks with an occasional diver, rooms in beach style with birds who were definitely not impressed by the audience, and possibilities to touch crabs and seastars. O and I'm forgetting flamingos, sea-horses (which according to Lucas danced), otters (which is Lucas' favourite animal apparently), penguins, and many other things in huge tanks which mimicked their occupants habitats. So, when some of you will visit us, we will definitely have to take you there.
So I do understand that the weather in Holland is interesting and quite unlike regular weather. Now I wish I could laugh in your faces, but unfortunately Californian weather has been quite un-Californian lately. The last couple of days (en the next few days) have been and will be rainy, rainy and..... uhmmm, rainy! This was NOT why we moved here. But ok, freak weather conditions do occur, even on this side of the ocean. And the upside: even with the rain it is not cold like in Holland.
What else did we do? Too many things to name and too little time to name them. Learning to drive in our sled (yes it IS a big car, I know), going on strolls with the children, hunting squirrels and hummingbirds, visiting the Christmas party at the daycare/preschool Lucas and Kwint will go to, teaching Lucas some english words (so far we nailed bye), having a fun day with a friend who visited San Fransisco for a conference and who brought great news of an upcoming baby.
Now, since Lucas is experimenting with language (both English and Dutch), I will try to remember some of the interesting things he says. Featuring this week:
Mama, mag ik even je rug peperen? (kloppen op de rug vanwege hoesten)
Takkieauto (takelwagen)
Scheerboor (scheerapparaat)
Mama, dat is Sinterklaas!!! (bij het zien van de Kerstman)
Dat is bi-zon-der! (bij het zien van de zeepaardjes, waarbij hij mij imiteerde)
So let's recap: do I like it here? Yes. Is it anything like home? Yes and no. Life goes on, and we're finding ourselves a normal rythm (ok, maybe Kwint doesn't quite get the hang of that rythm thing yet), but we need to re-invent everything. Do I miss family, friends and work? Definitely. But skype works, and I will start with some projects in january. Still receiving mails from people interested in my work, and have many lovely people around me who will work with me from Holland. Moreover, I will start looking for interesting jobs around Christmas. Maybe Santa will bring me a present :-)