tepponamisi

I found wifi. And a cafe with soymilk. It's a little too much like Starbucks, but I think it's the only place relatively close to my house that has these two very important factors. It's very near the Delft Markt, the old historical square Delft is famous for. It's in an old building right on the canal. I think I'm at level with the water, actually. A s'latte has never tasted so good. Now I've got somewhere to go to get away. I should find out the hours...
I think I might be getting sick again.
My hostmom is mad at me. Last night I took the car to my Nederlands class, but I had to stop to fill the tank on the way. She gave me her PIN card. I went to pay with it, but got the pin wrong. So the card's locked to prevent any unauthorized purchases. I had to use my emergency credit card to pay. She was mad, but it's really not a big deal. All she has to do is go to the bank and have them unlock it. Oh, but I forgot, she doesn't have time. She doesn't even have time for her own kids...
I'm just a little bitter.
I also don't know if I'm supposed to get my host family gifts for xmas. Does Sinterklaas do all the giving or should I get them something, too?
The weekend's coming.

Congratulations! You've been admitted to Indiana University. You should receive your admit packet in two to four weeks.

I'm going to relay the story of meeting my relatives here. Their relation to me is difficult to explain, but let's put it this way: they are my mom's cousins. And Jody, who is a little older than me, is one of their daughters. Jody's Oma and my Opa were brother and sister. This probably doesn't help.
I cought the tram into Den Haag about nine, got on the train at about 9:30. It was so expensive! 30 euros for the ticket. That's... $45. I definately need to purchase that discount card. So I had to switch trains at Arnhem, and also Utrecht, and Nijmegen, which is where I got lost. I couldn't figure out how to get from Nijmegen to Oss (which is so small they don't even list it as a stop). I spent about half an hour in Nijmegen trying to figure it out with the information desk.
I finally found the train and then Jody, who came to pick me up. She was nice, very excited to meet me. We had some running around to do, to the grocery store, her job, but we made it into Megen at about one. The first thing that I noticed was the windmill that seemed to be in her mom's backyard. It was huge and actually about a block away. The house was cute and old, brick with white and a nice garden. Inside, I met Shaun, Jody's mom (my mom's cousin). Also waiting was very pregnant Kim, who is Jody's sister. Soon after another sister (cousin of my mom) Thea showed up. This is when we got out the pictures, they argued together in Dutch, and said alot "Mooi!" They showed me pictures of my Oma and Opa without grey hair, my mom and my aunts when they were young. There was quite a bit of confusion at first because they kept saying "Tante Leise" to refer to my Oma, but I also have a "Tante Leise". After all the pictures, another one showed up. I really cannot remember her name. But she spoke no English at all, so she talked really loud to me like it would help me understand, but Jody still had to translate. The pictures came out again, they argued some more in Dutch, and we drank a lot of coffee. They smoked a lot of cigarettes, one after the other, inside with the windows closed. My head started to feel foggy. I was concerned for the health of the fetus. Then the baby woke up, and I was more concerned for his health. Kim's other child, Sven, had been sleeping. They all continued to smoke with him in the room. I find that strange, but very Dutch.
After a while, they all left and Jody and I went to meet another aunt, Riet. She lived on the other side of Megen, about a one minute drive. Jody drove me past the Catholic church where my Oma and Opa were married and the first four of my mom's sibling were baptised. She also drove me past the original farmhouse where they lived, which is in the center of town. At Riet's house, she smiled a lot and looked at me for long periods without saying anything. A lot like what my Oma does when we go up to visit. Riet was the most recent to visit Canada and my Oma, and my Oma had told her about me so she had a better idea of who I was. We went through photos again, with Jody translating when I couldn't think of the words for "son", "sister", and "cousin". I also met Riet's husband, Piet.
When we went to leave, Riet had ahold of my arm and was talking to me really fast in Dutch, smiling so much. This is what my Oma does when I leave her house. I was invited to come anytime and to stay in the house with Riet and Piet. We went back to Jody's, where Shaun had made dinner of bloemcaul, patats, soup, and meatless balls she found at the grocery store. It was delicious. Then there was more coffee, more invitations to return, and then I had to leave.
I also learned a few things about the brothers and sisters of my Oma. Her brother, Ton, has a son who is a farmer. He'll be featured on a Dutch TV series about finding wives for farmers. I will meet them next time I go. A sister, Eet, is old and can't hear, but still would like to meet me. So I have to return. Riet will also arrange a visit to the farmhouse, because she knows the residents. She told me that nearly everyone in Megen is related to me, so she will explain it all when I come back.

Yesterday at the petting zoo I tried to explain to Anna-Fleur that the piggies she liked so much were going to be her bacon later. But I didn't know how to say "pig", "bacon", or "slaughter", so she just ignored me, pointed at them, snorted, and giggled. It was sad.

They're leaving for Austria on Friday morning and will return Monday evening. I have a long weekend!
Since I don't know anyone to take trips with, I will make short day trips to places like Gouda, Rotterdam, Breda, Eindhoven, and maybe even Maastricht.
Can you think of anywhere better I should go?
I'll either bike to Delft or take the tram to Den Haag to go to the organic, natural supermarket to get essentials. I'm going to cook tasty VEGAN food, and they won't be around to insult it.
I'm excited.

Another week is over. My first week on my own wasn't too bad. A few mild things happened I could have done without. I've learned more about the family. Here are a few things I've learned:
-Marion doesn't like salted butter, and since it composes a quarter of the average Dutch diet, it's important to get the right kind.
-Gert-Jan likes his shirts ironed perfectly, his jeans pressed around the bottoms, and his underwear folded twice.
-Thom eats too much starch. (For one meal he had potatoes, for another rice, and at another he had bread)
-Anna-Fleur eats too much meat (She had meals comprised completely of chicken, ribs, and salami)
-Bananas are eaten when they're brown, grapes are a strange breakfast food, and the stalks of broccoli are thrown away.

Hello, week 3.

Last night was my first Dutch lesson. I'm in a class with 16 other people, representing 12 nations. To name a few there are people from Poland, China, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Maldova. I'm the youngest, and the only native English speaker. The French man is very old. The Icelandic girl is the other au pair. Today I go on my hunt to find the tekstboek and werkboek, which are apparently difficult to find. Den Haag will be busy today because Sinterklaas is coming on Saturday. They say the city is full of Zwarte Piets. Very scary.

I went into the city again today. I met Anissa, a German au pair living in Den Haag. She showed me all the tourist sites, and we went for coffee. I didn't take pictures because nothing is pretty when there's no sun. I'm a little more oriented now, in terms of where Den Haag Centraal Station is. I still don't know where my language course takes place, but I'm going to have to find out by Tuesday.
I also biked into Delft yesterday. Everything is starting to make more sense.
I've got the tram figured out. It comes every 15 minutes, and it take about 20 minutes and 4 strips to get to Centraal Station. I just wish there was a way for me to bring my bike along.
I also drove the car. It's manual, so I needed to practice. I still can't get it into first gear smoothly, but by next Sunday I've promised to have it all figured out.
New pictures on Flickr, of some random stuff.

My favourite Dutch word ever:
WINKEL.
You say it just like you think. It means "store".

Yay for the weekend!

What would it be like to have an au pair to take care of your children and your laundry and your dishes, and a house cleaner to take care of your vacuuming and your washing and your scrubbing? What do these people take care of themselves?

I went to the doctor today. I've got antibiotics and will feel better very soon.

I get off work at 3 today, and I might go somewhere. I don't know where. The weather is not nice. Today there has been rain, sleet, hail, sun, and wind. Maybe I'll bike to Delft. Or maybe I should learn how to drive this car...

FIXED.
You can now follow the link to get to my photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gohermaphroditesgo/

But there are no new pictures because I have been so busy. The weekend's coming, though, so I'll be going out for sure. And pictures will follow.

A few things I've realized in the last few days:
1. I'm working for the Dutch equivolent of the Pollocks.
2. I value sunshine.
3. To get something I want or need, I just have to do it without asking. If I have to ask for it, then I ask 20 times.
4. Taking things out of the dryer befor they wrinkle is essential.

The seat on the bike they gave me is way too high. I've asked Gert-Jan to lower it, but he says he doesn't have the tools. I tried to ride with Anna-Fleur on the back and I just fell over. I scraped my knee up. I'll be able to ride with her on the back once it is lower. I really need this bike, so I have to ask him again. He won't get to it, though, because he is so busy.
This week is strange, but my normal schedule looks like this:
Monday-
Thom to school 8:15
Fleur to school 8:45
Fleur out of school 11:30
Fleur lunch and nap and play 12-3
Thom out of school 3
Free time from 3:30-5:30
Tuesday-
Thom to school 8:15
Thom home from school 3
Wednesday-
FREE DAY
Thursday-
Thom to school 8:15
Anna Fleur to school 1
Thom out of school 3
Anna-Fleur out of school 3:30
Friday-
Thom to school 8:15
Thom out of school 3
Weekend-
FREE

In between all these I do all the laundry and ironing, pack lunches, make breakfast, clean up the toys, help make dinner, and clean up after dinner. I am "off" after dinner has been cleaned up. My days are full.

I don't know why that link to flickr doesn't work. Any ideas?

The Wild Thornberry's are on. But they're speaking Dutch. Hm.
My house is nice. There are no windows, but instead doors made of glass that you can open. Everything is white and black. The canal is just on the other side of the hedge. Thom goes to the Catholic school. Fluer goes to kindergarten three days a week. The village, which is a suburb of Den Haag, is called Ypenburg. It's small but there is a tram that goes into Den Haag city centre. I can also bike there, which takes 30 minutes. I will do that soon, but it's only my second day!
I learned the word "snoepje" fast from Fluer.
Tomorrow I go to some city to attend au pair training. I hope to make some friends.
For now I have some off time so I'm going to go get lost in Ypenburg.
See some pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gohermaphroditesgo/

I don't speak Dutch. I don't know what they're telling me.

This is my au pair journal. I'll post things about my time in the Netherlands. Most entries will be public, but please friend me if you don't want to miss anything exciting.

Bye.