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| Spring in Holland |
Showing posts with label holland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holland. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Six Years in the Netherlands
September 11 2011 marked my 6 year stay in the Netherlands. I didn’t write on the day since it happened to be also an important anniversary of a tragic event. But there was nothing tragic happening to me 6 years ago. I had just moved to Amsterdam, assuming that in 12 weeks I would be going back to Malta. Boy I was so wrong!
1st year: The year I was a tourist. When you start living in a new country, you have a feeling of being always on holiday. You go to work 5 days a week but on your free time you keep visiting new places, meeting new people, trying different foods. It passes quickly on certain weeks and slow when you start feeling homesick. The first few months pass so quickly. I was still absorbing all the autumn colours when all of a sudden it was snowing and my stint in the country was possibly coming to an end. I asked to stay longer at my position at work and the request was granted. This is how my 6 year journey started!
2nd year: The year I became fresh local. After a year in a country you don’t really feel like a tourist anymore. You are still meeting new people all the time and seeing new places but now I wasn’t getting lost at every corner and I could at least understand a few basic Dutch words that were thrown at me. Still I preferred to stick with the expats, my community of people who understood what it meant to be in a foreign country.
3rd year: The year I began to be Dutchified. Amsterdam didn’t feel foreign anymore to me. I was going around with my bike, not really steady but I was on it and I had friends by then which I knew for a couple of years. Routine was setting in, life was easy going.
4th year: The year I fell in love. This particular Dutch guy entered my life and the rest was history. The year went by quickly and in the meantime I learnt most of the train schedules between Amsterdam and The Hague.
5th year: The year I moved in with my boyfriend. This was an important year not only because it was my first experience at living with someone (apart from my family) but also because I moved from the city I had lived in for 4 years. Getting to feel foreign in my new city was an interesting experience which wasn’t always easy. Humans adapt really quickly though and slowly the city of The Hague became another comfortable and well known city to me.
6th year: The year I bought a house. Being a home owner was a wish I had in the past years, the time and money wasn’t always right but I got to take the plunge. I am now a mortgage owner which is disguised as a home. This year involved a lot of hard work but living in a house that you turned to a home is wonderful.
I’m now looking forward to what this 7th year in the lowlands of the Netherlands will bring along.
1st year: The year I was a tourist. When you start living in a new country, you have a feeling of being always on holiday. You go to work 5 days a week but on your free time you keep visiting new places, meeting new people, trying different foods. It passes quickly on certain weeks and slow when you start feeling homesick. The first few months pass so quickly. I was still absorbing all the autumn colours when all of a sudden it was snowing and my stint in the country was possibly coming to an end. I asked to stay longer at my position at work and the request was granted. This is how my 6 year journey started!
2nd year: The year I became fresh local. After a year in a country you don’t really feel like a tourist anymore. You are still meeting new people all the time and seeing new places but now I wasn’t getting lost at every corner and I could at least understand a few basic Dutch words that were thrown at me. Still I preferred to stick with the expats, my community of people who understood what it meant to be in a foreign country.
3rd year: The year I began to be Dutchified. Amsterdam didn’t feel foreign anymore to me. I was going around with my bike, not really steady but I was on it and I had friends by then which I knew for a couple of years. Routine was setting in, life was easy going.
4th year: The year I fell in love. This particular Dutch guy entered my life and the rest was history. The year went by quickly and in the meantime I learnt most of the train schedules between Amsterdam and The Hague.
5th year: The year I moved in with my boyfriend. This was an important year not only because it was my first experience at living with someone (apart from my family) but also because I moved from the city I had lived in for 4 years. Getting to feel foreign in my new city was an interesting experience which wasn’t always easy. Humans adapt really quickly though and slowly the city of The Hague became another comfortable and well known city to me.
6th year: The year I bought a house. Being a home owner was a wish I had in the past years, the time and money wasn’t always right but I got to take the plunge. I am now a mortgage owner which is disguised as a home. This year involved a lot of hard work but living in a house that you turned to a home is wonderful.
I’m now looking forward to what this 7th year in the lowlands of the Netherlands will bring along.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Reasons why I love Malta and the Netherlands
These are a couple of reasons why I love Malta.
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| The Mediterranean blue seas & weather that matches |
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| Old & new side by side |
And these are a couple of reasons why I love the Netherlands.
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| The green all around |
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| Tulips all over the country |
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Five years in the Netherlands
Today is my fifth anniversary in the Netherlands. My move seems such a long time ago. If I was asked five years ago where I would be living in five years time I doubt I would have said Netherlands! At the time I expected to stay in Amsterdam for three months, however once my stint came to an end I made sure to re-new the contract over and over again!
Five years ago I worked with an international software developing company. It's clients were banks and every now and again some of us were required to do 3-6 months stints at clients. In 2005 I had done a 6 month period at a bank in Munich, Germany and on my return to Malta I soon noticed that Malta wasn't enough for me anymore. So when I was offered the opportunity to go for a short period to a client bank in Amsterdam I accepted eagerly.
My three months were over quickly and I was just not ready to leave, so I kept extending my stay until I decided to find a job in the country to make my stay a bit more definitive.
These five years have been a very good five years and the best way to describe them is through pictures!
Five years ago I worked with an international software developing company. It's clients were banks and every now and again some of us were required to do 3-6 months stints at clients. In 2005 I had done a 6 month period at a bank in Munich, Germany and on my return to Malta I soon noticed that Malta wasn't enough for me anymore. So when I was offered the opportunity to go for a short period to a client bank in Amsterdam I accepted eagerly.
My three months were over quickly and I was just not ready to leave, so I kept extending my stay until I decided to find a job in the country to make my stay a bit more definitive.
These five years have been a very good five years and the best way to describe them is through pictures!
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| 2005 - Flower Market |
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| 2006 - Bloemendaal beach |
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| 2007 - Windmills at Zaanse Schans |
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| 2007 - Queen's Day |
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| 2008 - Maltese fenkata |
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| 2008 - Lowlands |
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| 2008 - Halloween |
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| 2008 - Sailing in Markenmeer |
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| 2009 - Dance Valley |
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| 2009 - Sand sculptures at Texel |
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| 2009 - Michael became part of my lfe |
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| 2009 - Hot air balloon ride |
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| 2010 - Football at Ajax stadium |
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| 2010 - Royal Beach Concert |
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| 2010 - Efteling park |
Monday, June 14, 2010
A New Bike
In my childhood I never owned a bike. Not many kids owned one in Malta. My cousin did have a bike which she lent me every now and then. So I learned to bike in a straight line but nothing else. I could not turn around without needing an area as wide as a football pitch.
So when I moved to Holland around 5 years ago I was faced with a problem. A twenty-something girl with no idea how to ride a bike having to start using a bike in the busy roads of Amsterdam! When I got my first bike I didn’t use it for ages. I think secretly I was hoping for it to be stolen, like most bikes in Amsterdam. Unluckily I had good locks and nothing happened to the bike. At some point I decided to teach myself bike riding. So I did; it took time and a couple of falls but now I can cycle a couple of kilometres without serious accidents.
I’m still not a proper Dutchie. The Dutch, while cycling, can answer calls, hold an umbrella while having a couple of kids and a dog on their own bike.
Hints of cycling in the city:
• Avoid tourists. No matter how much you ring your bell they will not move from the bike lane
• Be careful of wet tram lines
• Always carry wet proof clothes
• If you’re a beginner never answer your mobile phone while riding the bike
Since my last move over six months ago I didn’t have a bike. Last weekend we finally found a bike that I liked (and that also fit my height). There’s no more need for my boyfriend to piggyback me everywhere. Unluckily for me it’s time to make my own pedalling.
My Puch Limited Trendy purple bike:
[Image Credits: Bakfiets, Puch Limited Tendy]
So when I moved to Holland around 5 years ago I was faced with a problem. A twenty-something girl with no idea how to ride a bike having to start using a bike in the busy roads of Amsterdam! When I got my first bike I didn’t use it for ages. I think secretly I was hoping for it to be stolen, like most bikes in Amsterdam. Unluckily I had good locks and nothing happened to the bike. At some point I decided to teach myself bike riding. So I did; it took time and a couple of falls but now I can cycle a couple of kilometres without serious accidents.
I’m still not a proper Dutchie. The Dutch, while cycling, can answer calls, hold an umbrella while having a couple of kids and a dog on their own bike.
Hints of cycling in the city:
• Avoid tourists. No matter how much you ring your bell they will not move from the bike lane
• Be careful of wet tram lines
• Always carry wet proof clothes
• If you’re a beginner never answer your mobile phone while riding the bike
Since my last move over six months ago I didn’t have a bike. Last weekend we finally found a bike that I liked (and that also fit my height). There’s no more need for my boyfriend to piggyback me everywhere. Unluckily for me it’s time to make my own pedalling.
My Puch Limited Trendy purple bike:
[Image Credits: Bakfiets, Puch Limited Tendy]
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Vacationing with the in-laws
Summer in Holland was here last Saturday but it seems it was lost in transit. It has left us all once again and might or might not make an appearance again. I learnt long ago that if I want a natural tan I have to make plans that take me out of here. Coming from a Mediterranean island makes this easy. I can get my tan just by visiting my parents. I cannot even call a trip to Malta a holiday; it’s a child duty to her parents!
So in a month I will be doing my duty and going for a fortnight in Malta. Only this time there is a difference. My in-laws will be joining my boyfriend and me. The timeless question is will the in-laws and my parents hit it off? Or will it be like a scene just come out from the film Meet the Fockers where all hell breaks lose when the in-laws meet the parents for the first time?
There’s going to be a culture difference, an age difference and also a language difference. However I’m sure they will get along well. And if they don’t I’m sure they will pretend to get along well. In the end they will only be together for 10 days.
So in a month I will be doing my duty and going for a fortnight in Malta. Only this time there is a difference. My in-laws will be joining my boyfriend and me. The timeless question is will the in-laws and my parents hit it off? Or will it be like a scene just come out from the film Meet the Fockers where all hell breaks lose when the in-laws meet the parents for the first time?There’s going to be a culture difference, an age difference and also a language difference. However I’m sure they will get along well. And if they don’t I’m sure they will pretend to get along well. In the end they will only be together for 10 days.
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