A wise woman once told me: “the body may travel by plane, your mind goes by camel”. This might explain why, when asked whether we’re all settled in nicely yet, I kind of feel the giggles coming up and reply we haven’t even started! One reason for this might also be that although we travelled by plane, our stuff went by boat, taking a whopping 4-6 weeks to arrive in the Netherlands. Meaning we’re still in temporary housing, living out of the 5 suitcases we brought, working out our new routines, which in two weeks time will change again, after we move to our more permanent housing.

But let’s not get all gloomy. About three weeks ago we left Houston and since then, after a very heartwarming welcome of family and friends, we’ve managed to start work, find a house, buy a car, book two cake orders and get the kids to school. Although, in all fairness, only 2 out of 6 days, school was actually attended by all three of them.
After all, we’ve been missing out on a lot of viruses while being away, so everyone is trying their best to catch up. On all of them. Perpetually. This caused us to work out some intricate logistics, as the wage earner was to meet his boss for the first time, the new house needed a handover, airfreight was to be collected, kids were to attend the first day of school, and this all happened on the same day, while one of them was ill.

To add to injury, the movers broke my bike upon delivery, the one means of transportation that was to be our savior after discovering our temporary housing was admittedly nicely located in The Hague city center, but parking costs a freaking 30 euro’s a day. So, stingy reintegrating Dutchies as we are, we decided to take the kids to school by tram to Rijswijk city (10 mns) where I could transfer to my beloved bike to drive the kids to their schools (another 5-15 mns). This was clearly not entirely the most relaxed way of moving the kids around, but the broken bike kind of really messed things up. Luckily – this is Holland after all – there were at least three bike shops between tram and school, so it’s fixed now and as soon as all fevers will have subsided, we’re good to go!

The girls really enjoyed their first days in school. Nomi was hooked right away (she found out teachers do not immediately object when you sit on the table or shout top of your lungs), Mila seems to be a bit more reserved while making up her mind who is to be her new best friend, and Lara – although slightly upset she was not permitted to play in the sandpit all day – was the happy little camper she always is.

We hope that in one or two weeks time our container will be cleared by customs, so we’ll be able to celebrate Nomi’s 6^th birthday in our new home, a lovely traditional “jaren ‘30” house in the old town of Rijswijk, 5-15 minutes to the girls’ schools by bike. Even though I still hate the dark, cold, wet windy weather our home country treats us to, I really love walking around in this area with cosy corners and beautiful buildings. And granted; I’m slightly worried our massive Chrysler –still waiting to be transported from the US – might not nearly fit the narrow streets and tiny parking spots, we’re still very happy to have found this place. So let’s hope our camels run fast and let’s get the move on!