I arrived in Amsterdam last Saturday morning. As my plane was about to land I chatted with the nice older man near me who asked if I live in Amsterdam. I was ecstatic to hear my response. "Yes I do!"
Bart was there waiting for me with a set of keys and a huge smile on his face. I was exhausted, sick, nervous, and ridiculously excited. His good friend Raymond drove us home from the airport, which was sooo nice (especially since I, of course, used every ounce of my baggage allowance). On our drive home the nervousness began creeping in more and more, as I realized just how unstructured this situation is and that I have no idea what will happen in the future. Then we got back to Bart's new place (that he owns and worked so hard on!). The minute I walked through the door all of the nervous feelings stopped immediately. I looked around, smiled, and announced: "Honey, I'm home!"
I've felt that way ever since. Bart has been absolutely incredible with helping me get settled and making it clear that this is OUR home. I love him.
So, quickly! Here's what we've been up to:
Saturday we walked around the neighborhood a bit (there's an amazing market, the best in Holland, near our place, I love it!), and I tried to sleep a little. I woke up that afternoon and heard Louis Armstrong records playing softly and saw Bart in the kitchen making dinner. Once again, I smiled, and I wondered how on earth I got so lucky. That evening Barry came over for dinner, and it was great to see a familiar friend so soon. Barry lives in Zurich, so I met him the same night I met Bart and we hung out the rest of my time there. Later more of Bart's friends came over (including Bob, who I also met when I met Bart!), so we had a full and happy house the first night.
Sunday Bart's mom, step dad, and sister came over for the afternoon and evening. I really, really like his family, we had a really nice time. I spent Monday sleeping, exploring the neighborhood, and decorating the house for Valentine's Day. I even cooked for Bart! I couldn't believe it! But it went very well. :)
Bart took Tuesday off so we spent the whole day doing things for the house. We realized then that it was exactly 6 months since we'd said goodbye after Streetparade (where we met). When we said bye then, I didn't think I'd ever see Bart again. And six months later, here we were -- in OUR place -- hanging pictures and building a closet. It's funny how things change, isn't it?!
Wednesday was an adventure. We were having dinner guests and I spent what felt like six hours in the grocery store searching for ingredients to make Mexican food. But I did, kind of! So I made Mexican food that night for my chef boyfriend and Dutch friends. It went really well! We had a great time. The guests were Raymond and his wife Denise, and their two month old baby, Kian. Kian and I are going to be great friends.
I spent Thursday with my friend Jo, who was also an au pair in Switzerland and lives here now. It is SO nice to have a girlfriend/ex-pat/old friend here!! So I'm glad for that. :) Thursday evening I also landed my first job and went out with Bart to celebrate.
Friday I picked up my Aunt, Cecile from the airport (for a weekend stop on her way home from Kenya!) and then worked all afternoon, which went very well. Saturday and Sunday were cold, but Bart, Cecile and I explored the city and had a great time. It was so nice to have family here. We had a lot of fun.
And that completed my first wonderful week living in Amsterdam!
It's truly been amazing. There are so many aspects of life and culture here that I can't wait to write about. For now it just seems like I've hardly talked to anyone, so that's the brief catch-up, and there's a lot more good news to come! Unlike Switzerland, I will have more frequent blogs posts. So enjoy. :)
The biggest news now is that we're so very happy. This is an adventure, and we're loving every minute of it!
Loveeeeeee.
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