Still in Holland

Morning :)

I'm still in bed at 11, mostly because I've done a very great deal this week/fortnight with too little rest for an ME person; the immediate cause is yesterday's little tumble from my bike, which was rather upsetting despite causing no apparent lasting damage to either bike or me. There was alternating snow and freezing rain all day - when I got back to my bike after college there was a sheet of shiny solid ice covering one of my panniers - and when I braked to avoid hitting a cyclist I hadn't seen earlier because of the ice needles in my eyes the wheels stopped turning but the bike continued its forward motion. I stopped it with my foot but first swerved into the pavement and then toppled over sideways onto said paving stones. Ouch. I don't have anywhere to be today (for the first time ever, or so it feels) so I've decided not to go out on still-slippery roads that negate my brakes, and I'm making the most of it.

Yesterday, aside from the RTA and the weather that caused it, was a really good day :) I had college at 9am so was up and out with Erik in the morning before the precipitation began, and I enjoyed the lesson again, though again the only Dutch I learned was the word for a smart suit (het pak) and the odd colloquial expression our tutor Ineke dropped in from time to time.* At the break Ineke asked if I was getting enough from the beginners' course; I said I was enjoying it but when she asked if I'd learned much so far I had to say no, which was when she suggested that I try the next level up. I'm happy to blow my own trumpet from time to time but this is a bit daunting - skipping a whole course might leave me without some crucial basic grammar and vocabulary, though I'll have the textbook for reference. I put this to Ineke and later to Erik and they both said independently that anything I didn't know I'd be able to ask or look up for myself, so I'm going to take her up on the offer. I think it's pretty decent of her and the college not to insist on my taking (and paying for) both courses.

The second level class was meeting last night so before we knew what the roads were like I said I'd come along and find out how much of a leap there'd be. Of course after I'd walked the bike most of the way home in the sleet and snow I no longer planned to attend, but in any case Erik had had a call from Ineke cancelling the session, probably due to the weather conditions, so I'll go to the next class the Monday after next week's half-term holiday, thankfully in the morning and not 7-10pm like the Thursday one. My lovely little bike has lights (the clever front one powered by dynamo) but I'd rather not have to cycle at night.

Incidentally, I really do <3 my bicycle. It is black with high handlebars, the standard Dutch chain cover and a spiky retro flower pattern on the frame, and it is a beauty :) There are only three gears but after all I'm not a road racer and since there are no hills to speak of there isn't much call for a wide range of low gears. I was at a bit of a loose end on Wednesday afternoon, after going to the stadhuis again (of which more anon), so I had a bowl of soup in a cafe and then took myself off for a wander in the Botermarkt as it was market day. There was a stall with a gentleman selling cycling accessories so I bought my bike a couple of welcoming presents: a set of inexpensive panniers, mainly for college books and grocery shopping, and a seat cover to keep it from freezing in weather like yesterday's. It's sad that it lives outdoors but I would ride it less if it were in the berging so it'll have to cope with the cold till the weer improves. (I typed 'weather' there but my phone's auto-fix bot changed it to 'weer' and since that is the Dutch word for weather I decided it was fate and left it.)

The other thing I did yesterday was to visit a local volunteer organisation called Gilde Samenspraak ('speaking together group') which matches up immigrants like me with native Dutch speakers for an hour or two's Dutch speaking practice once a week or so. The ladies there were very nice and friendly, and they put my jumper and scarf on the radiator to dry. They were very complimentary about my Dutch accent :) and will contact me if the volunteer they have in mind is willing, and have provided me with details of several musical ensembles and choirs in the area. On top of all this, I now have a voucher for a year's free library membership (you have to pay an annual subscription here), including 'meelezen' books which you read along with an audio file of the text, like parents reading with young children. I was in the library the other day, hiding from the weather with my crochet, and overheard two young girls revising for an English test :) It's a very bright and pleasant space. Since I'm not braving the city roads today I may have to wait till Monday to take up this opportunity but that is fine by me :) Free books and audiobooks! Libraries FTW.

So, the repeat stadhuis visit. You may remember that I had an appointment there on Tuesday to register my presence in Leiden. I dutifully turned up in good time, in fact half an hour early after taking account of likely delays, such as getting lost (a frequent occurrence this week), which did not in the end materialise despite there being not one sign on the building announcing it to be the city hall. Perhaps to Dutch people the simple fact of it being the only surviving mediaeval building in the street is advertisement enough. I whiled away the time in crocheting a hat to go with the mittens I got up in a hurry last week to delay frostbite, but when I got to the desk the lady told me that Erik needed to be registered first in order for his letter of permission for me to live in his house to be valid. So I sighed and took away all the paperwork, bravely resisted beating Erik that evening when he found it all terribly amusing, and went back on Wednesday morning for their drop-in session after the nice gentlemen from the appliance shop had delivered our dinky new freezer (yay freezer). Everything being now in order, except my birth certificate which apparently requires a sticker (?) from Milton Keynes, I should receive my Burgerservicenummer (BSN) within a fortnight. As I understand it this is something like an American social security number - without it I am unable to open a bank account, set up a mobile phone contract or, most importantly, obtain health insurance. Considering my demonstrable cycling proficiency level and the related likelihood of needing said insurance in the near future, all speed to the Dutch postal service.

Things keep happening every day, too many to report in full :) I'm getting to know my way to/around certain bits of the city pretty well and I've visited Erik at work twice so far. Ulrike who owns the shop is very cheerful and nice, and has said I'm welcome to turn up at any time :) She is German so we had a bit of a chat (mostly in Dutch) about Dutch pronunciation and related things, and she's offered to find out about local Orthodox churches from a friend of hers. People in general (especially those over 30 who are not government employees) continue to be very generous and kind, and the Gilde Samenspraak ladies assure me that if I ask Dutch people not to speak English they will be patient with my still-halting Dutch. I shall investigate local music groups where I'll just have to speak more Dutch, cram for starting the second half of the textbook after half-term, and await word about my potential taalmaatje (language buddy). What an adventure! :)

* e.g. when something is easy peasy you say 'appeltje eitje!' (little apple, little egg) - isn't that sweet? :)

Uit Nederland

Dag alles.  I arrived in Holland early on Monday morning after several nightmare weeks of packing and not sleeping.  I would like to state first that Erik is a saint and I would not have survived without him.  My parents also deserve high commendations for all their help, especially my mother.

The ferry journey was really rather pleasant.  I won't go on about it: I shall just say that the cabin was clean and spacious, with sizeable bunk beds and an en suite shower room, and they fed us quite a posh three-course dinner and an English breakfast.  I barely felt the ship's motion at all.  Indeed, it was such a pleasant and relaxing means of transport that I would do it again, even though in the past I have had only the most unpleasant of experiences on ferries.  Well done Stena Lines.

The most I have to describe is more recent - so much has happened in so short a time!  I am this hour returned from my first-ever Dutch lesson and I think that the course is going to be marvellous.  My fellow students are,without exception, nice, bright, keen women (no men in this class) who really want to learn Dutch and who ask sensible questions without looking like they think anyone is going to eat them for it.  That last is testament to the atmosphere in the group.  No one even gave me death-glares when I volunteered something in Dutch or asked a question that wasn't exactly to do with the point under discussion.  Although they have all been in Holland for months and I only got here on Monday I think I have studied the language most out of all of us - after all I haven't been coping with an international house move with family/job/bills/etc into the bargain.  The course book costs all of €95 new, which is pretty steep even with the included CD-ROM, but I am hopeful of finding a second-hand copy on the interwebs for much less than that.  I didn't learn very much from today's lesson because my level is already about right for the first part of the course, but I will learn more as we go along and I really enjoyed the class - three hours passed like one!  AND two of the group are Spanish au pairs who have very generously agreed to speak Spanish to me from time to time!  Truly I have fallen on my feet. 

Speaking Dutch grows easier with each passing day of practice. I have been on two shopping trips (three if you count yesterday when I got to the supermarket till and thought I'd left my money at home, only to remember as I got back to the flat that my money isn't in my purse because I haven't got a Dutch bank account yet and I'd had it all along; I returned quietly to the shops and chided myself muchly) and asked for assistance in Dutch from four shop employees, including one gentleman from a country other than Holland who, when asked if he spoke English, replied 'I barely speak Dutch!', which entertained me greatly :)  Needless to say, the succeeding conversation is the most Dutch I have spoken with anyone but Erik since my arrival.  I have an appointment on Tuesday to register myself as a legal resident in Leiden, for which procedure Erik has to produce a letter of permission formally stating that it's OK for me to live here.  If it isn't this is probably a bad time for him to tell me, so I hope that the letter will be forthcoming anon.

The bicycle Erik provided for me to get to college today is far too tall: even with the seat at its lowest I can barely touch the tips of my toes to the ground, which is a very frightening position to be in at busy junctions, I can tell you.  When I put this to Erik this morning he said, rather caustically, 'That's a standard Dutch bicycle.  Do you want a children's bike?', to which I felt like saying 'Do I look like a standard-height Dutch woman?  If it stops me rolling under a bus, yes!' but I didn't because he was being otherwise kind and saw me all the way to the college in the pouring freezing rain even though it meant he couldn't be early for work like he wanted.  He really has been an absolute gem throughout the whole international escapade so far, and I have been trying enough, I promise you.

So after college this lunchtime two students (Rachel from America and Michal from Israel) and I went for lunch at a falafel bar (I know, I know, but it was really not inedible at all) and then Rachel took me to a second-hand bike shop she's known for a while and we found a low-frame ladies' bicycle for €120, which is not at all bad for a good bike.  It has a dynamo that powers the front light as one pedals, and a wheel lock and a stand, none of which features appear on the one I've ridden today.  I felt positively precipitous whenever I had to stop and (try to) put a foot down, so a lower seat will be a joy.  Erik is going to stop by there after work and pay off the balance - I put down a deposit to make sure it won't have disappeared by the time he gets there.  My plan was to get a bus to meet him at the shop and ride My New Bike home but the bus doesn't save much of the walk and I wouldn't know when to push the button anyway, so on the whole I'd rather not.  Erik's new plan is to leave his bike at work and ride my little one home, if his legs aren't entirely too long.  We may go to look at carpets this evening, as the nearby home decor shop is open till 8, though we'll see if I'm still mobile enough by the time Erik gets home with the aforementioned bicycle.  The bedroom and my study both lack floor coverings and my study walls still need painting, so we do need to get on with choosing things.  We're planning to have a look on Saturday but Erik's parents are coming round (Erik: 'Don't worry, they know about the chaos.'  Me: 'Thank you, dear.') and I expect we'll be tidying up, and I might even be expected to cook (heaven forbid).  

I don't intend to cook tonight, especially if it would mean walking or taking the scary bike to the supermarket to get fresh vegetables.  We do have two sausages left from last night's tea and I could eke out a side dish from packets of rice and dried vegetables.  If that doesn't suffice we'll manage on sandwiches, or else we could eat out somewhere or try a local taken-away food specialist.  I feel like celebrating today because my last rent payment for my little house in Stoke (which is still on the market to buy and to rent, by the way, and is actually much nicer than the pictures make out) has been refunded to my bank account and Bramptons have authorised the refund of my deposit in its entirety so I will shortly be considerably better off.  No need to splash out on luxuries in general, of course, but I think one meal out won't break us.

Good heavens I'm tired.  Everyone tells me cycling is easier on the muscles than walking.  I don't know about that, but I'm going to break the bike in over the next week before my next Dutch lesson, getting to know the area and learning how to navigate cycle lanes.  I did find that my headscarf in its customary position limits my peripheral vision too much for safety so I'll put it up the way I used to in uni, tied around a bun.  It'll still keep my ears warm but will allow me to see more people before they crash into me.  I will also look out my gloves from whichever box they lie in - it was bitter in the sleet this morning and I would very much like to feel my hands when they are in charge of the brakes.  Erik's bike is an 'oma-fiets' or 'grandma bike', with no brake levers - you pedal backwards to brake - but I don't want to be dealing with unfamiliar braking methods as well as unfamiliar road layouts and over-confident Dutch cyclists so I'm glad that my new bike is not one of these 'proper' ones.

Nap time.  Goede middag.