It's about time I told you what I've been up to, although it hasn't been that much... but it's highly likely this will be a very long post anyway haha.
I got back home to my glorious family and the [glorious?] dutch weather on the last day of April. I spent the next 2 weeks relaxing, unpacking, cycling around the beautiful tulip fields, and spending time with my family who I hadn't seen for 4 MONTHS! Here's a picture of some GORGEOUS flowers near our house.
In the middle of May I turned 18 which I was very excited about! It felt like I had been 17 for ever... and so much had happened in the past year. Graduation from high school, final American summer, saying goodbye to all my friends and moving back to Europe, travelling through the UK, France, Australia & New Zealand, catching up with over 40 far-flung relatives and then ending up back at home again! What a lucky/blessed year I had....
My birthday was fantastic. My grandparents spent 4 days with us and we had absolutely amazing weather! Spring is considered the best season here, there's relatively little rain and lots of sun. Plus all the amazing flowers. Mum cooked a fantastic Indian meal for my birthday dinner plus the traditional home-made birthday cake (chocolate & strawberry this year). We took a little trip to Delft and climbed the Oude Kerk (Old Church-- a very original name), we played tennis, walked through some of the nature reserve surrounding the house, and just had a relaxing time. Here are some pictures in Delft:
I also went out with a few friends one night and celebrated at an Argentinian restaurant complete with a Colombian man (forgot his name... let's call him 'Jose') playing his guitar & singing to each table. One of my friends asked if he would play the macarena... which led to a mini-dance party with all the people enjoying their steaks :) Here's a picture of us with Jose's guitar & hat.
On G&G's last night here we went out for dinner at a restaurant in Wassenaar in a gorgeous old building. It was very fancy and everything was served as an appetizer (a dutch take on a tapas restaurant I suppose...) and presented so beautifully & creatively.
Since all those festivities ended, I've been pretty busy! I have a job as a waitress at a little cafe in Wassenaar and I'm also babysitting 2-3 times a week. I absolutely love my waitressing job. It was a huge blessing to even get it, because I have no waitressing experience and I speak very little dutch! But the manager explained that everyone speaks English & most of the people who eat there are not Dutch because the Dutch are incredibly frugal & never eat out... unlike the Americans. The main things I do are getting the coffees & other drinks, taking things to/from tables, and organizing the dishwashing in the kitchen. When it's busy in there, the hours pass so quickly which is great. I've met some really nice people, and it's great when you see familiar faces coming in to have their daily cappucino. I think it's also nice for some of the Expats to have a native English speaker serving them, it's easy to feel stupid & inadequate when you don't speak the language here, but at least we all get through it together. And I am picking up lots of words. I can now pronounce cappucino with a dutch accent, and can do the basic 'hello/how are you/how can I help you/enjoy your meal/see you later' things. Although, this does get me into trouble so times because I fool them into thinking I'm Dutch and then they rattle off a complicated question ie. 'my bagel is too hot, my soup is too cold, and I need 2 and a half more packets of sugar for my coffee' which leaves me looking at them like an idiot and blushing while I say "I'm sorry, I don't actually speak Dutch, could you speak in English please?"
Babysitting is also going well, I'm at the point now where it's such a go-to job for me, I'm very confident and relaxed around kids so I just enjoy their company. I'm babysitting for the next 3 nights which will probably be completely exhausting...
The boys are currently finishing up their school year & sitting exams. I cannot believe they have already had one year at their school! No longer are they going to be "new students!" Dad is still working very hard & has recently been elected to the American Chamber of Commerce, which we all find hilarious because he's not American. Mum is staying busy with all of her friends & keeping everyone organised. Here's a picture of Dad, the boys, & I in Scheveningen which a seaside resort town near here.
Just 10 more days until we're off to Greece for our family holiday! We're sailing in the Ionian Sea for a week then sightseeing through Athens & a few other places for a week. I'm SO SO SO SO excited to go! I have visions of a very hilarious & chaotic week with the five of us living on and sailing a small boat in the open sea. When we get back we have a long list of visitors from the UK, Australia, and America until the end of August! I am praying that the weather will stay nice and not turn into the typical wet and windy Dutch summer...
Haha what did I tell you? I nice long post about my 'uneventful' past month.
I hope you are all looking forward to a great summer, wherever you are!
--Rach
