Learning to drive ... again

Over the last month or so, I've been learning to drive all over again. An American drivers' license is good for 185 days after an American receives a residency card, and those 185 days are almost up. Getting a drivers' license is much more a rite of passage in Holland than in the US. The theory exam is quite difficult, and the driving exam is much more thorough than back home. Whereas back home, most people pass both with relative ease, most people fail both theory and driving exams the first time they take them. That's not good because, in addition to the emotional trauma of failure, the driving exam costs several hundred euros.

I'd put driving lessons off for as long as I could because I was not looking forward to learning to drive again. The problem is that I need to pass my driving exam in a car with manual transmission, and I've just never been a clutch player when it comes to driving.

The lessons have been quite a source of frustration. Automatics and manual cars are entirely different machines. The first few weeks, I'd stall the car again and again. It's like things in life: if you don't like to do something, first you avoid it and when that's no longer possible, you do it as quickly as possible. This methodology doesn't work well when driving a manual.

And, of course, I have had to learn Dutch traffic law, too. I was very happy that the theory exam is offered in English for an additional fee. (Sometimes, there are more important things in life than saving money.) The first part of the theory exam consists of 25 pictures of traffic situations, as seen through the window of "your" car, and you must choose within 8 seconds whether you'd a) brake; b) release the accelerator; or c) do nothing. The second part of the exam consists of 45 questions over knowledge of the traffic rules and safety. You have to know, for example, the minimum tire tread depth (1,6 mm); the blood alcohol level for people with their license less than five years (0,2) and more than five years (0,5); how many meters away from a bus stop you're not allowed to park (12 m), how to distinguish the first and last vehicles of a military convoy, etc. (You'd think the latter would be self-evident, but the first and last vehicles of the convoy are distinguished by a different coloured-flag on the side of the vehicle and by one differently-coloured headlight.)

Even though the exam was in English, it was still a little tricky because it was in British English, meaning questions dealt with lorries, articulated lorries, and lay-by's, for example. Not to mention having to gauge speeds and distances in km/hr and meters. With my book came access to an interactive study guide on the internet with 12 practice tests.

Most of the practice tests I failed the first time I took them. I had scheduled the exam for last Friday. To prepare for it, I took Thursday afternoon off work. I was rather discouraged Thursday night--I had a few practice exams I hadn't taken yet, and I still failed them the first time I took them. In total, I probably studied some 15 hours for the exam.

I arrived at the traffic bureau about 45 minutes early, so I got to observe the exit of the test takers just before my group was scheduled. At 11:20, the doors to the testing hall opened, and a couple of girls burst out of it, shouting and hugging each other: they'd passed! A few more people trickled out ... I felt bad for the ones who'd failed. I couldn't help wondering what fate awaited us in the half hour we were about to spend beyond those doors.

We filed into the room and to our assigned seats. On the white table before us a keypad was inset into the table and above us were screens on which we'd read the questions. I noticed that folks before me had scrawled things into the table. I wondered why they'd done that, how and when. I mean, you're taking a timed test. As the test began, we were shown questions, and you'd hear the sound of people desperately pressing their keypads before the color disappeared from the timer. Exam proctors prowled the hall to make sure everyone was taking their own test. (I still wondered how people had time to vandalize my work station between answering questions and avoiding the watchful eyes.) Finally, the 65th question had been posed, was either answered or guessed at, and the exam was finished.

The proctors then told us they would take a few minutes to compile the results, and in the meantime we were neither allowed to leave the hall, eat, drink, nor, of course, be merry. The proctors left the room and we were left alone in the dark to ponder our fates. The minutes dragged by. I concluded this must have been the time when previous test takers extracted their knives to carve esoteric drawings on my table. Finally, our proctors returned, with the sorrowful news that not everyone had passed. They then distributed the results to each of us, either consoling or congratulating. Finally, the lady came to station #5 (where I sat). Fortunately, she asked no questions about the table carvings, but offered her congratulations. I was so relieved: there, on my paper, was the word GESLAAGD! While the word actually sounds like an onomatopoeia for that sound when someone brings mucus from the throat through coughing, it warmed my heart because it meant I had passed!

Now, I just have to pass the driving exam in the next 12 months to avoid having to take the theory exam again. Last night was another kilometerstone in this journey. I had my first driving lesson in which I didn't stall the car. As the Dutch would say, "I can see it sitting," which, poetically translated means that things are starting to look up in my quest for a driving license.

Before signing off, I wish all a very happy Queens' Day (that's why I don't have to work today). Liesbeth and I went over to her parents' house this morning where we were able to finally fix the lock on her bicycle, as well as enjoy a nice lunch and some laughs with the nieces.

But the best thing about this weekend is that tomorrow morning, I go to the airport to pick up my parents who will be here for the next week and a half. We're very excited about their visit. We're going to have a wonderful time together. The thing I miss most is simply sitting in the den in the evenings--Mom, Dad, Ashton, and I each reading in our respective chairs or talking and laughing together. Tomorrow morning can't come soon enough!

So, she woke up in the middle of the night....

I probably would have kept on sleeping and missed absolutely everything. But she leaped out of her bed (like she's probably never done before...and this was 2AM) and raced to the window. I was still sleeping. She had been awakened by the sounds of people shouting in the parking lot below us. The shouting escalated to blows as she stood at the window. Fortunately, things broke up rather quickly. It was a Friday night, and I think some folks just had too much to drink. Poor Lies was wound pretty tightly, and I thought there'd be no chance of getting her back to sleep for hours. But we both were pleasantly surprised that some 30-40 minutes later we both drifted back off to sleep, very thankful that we live on the 4th floor. The next morning (better late than never), we registered the altercation with the police so they could give a little more attention to our parking lot.

The week thereafter, actually last week, brought beautiful weather. Lies and I rode our bicycles to church in the morning. When we came back, we parked our bicycles in front of the flat with the intention of using them again later that day. We ended up driving our car to a park to enjoy a walk in the sunshine. It was a very relaxing afternoon. And good thing, too, because when we got back to the flat we discovered someone had tried to steal Liesbeth's bicycle. Fortunately, they succeeded only in ripping the bicycle lock off the frame, but the lock's latch held fast around the tire, preventing said someone from riding away. It was a good thing that the would-be thief wasn't around when we came back, because whatever my wife would have tried to do would probably have been much more successful than the thief's aborted theft. I was the innocent bystander, and I had my hands full enough! I thought it rather rich that my bike wasn't good enough for the thief.

To prevent this post from being too somber, I include the photo below from a trip Lies and I took with the Diederen family to Wassenaar, a park that border's one of the royal family's castles. Pictured below (l-r): Geert, Marieke, Rapp; above: Anke, Lisanne, and Mariloe. Not pictured: my wife who snapped this picture.

We're back....

After weeks and weeks, I have finally logged back into my blog. Yes, as some have heard, we have been very busy lately. It's rather appropriate that my last post hailed from February 1. Life has picked up speed ... and if what my father-in-law tells me holds true, things probably won't slow down until retirement!

What have I been up to? Namely, work. The Lord has really given me favor in my work ... in the first two months, I've been given two promotions. DesignStar has only existed for a year and a half, and it's growing very quickly. Business has almost doubled in the last twelve months. I came along at a time when a new Operations Manager position was created, so there was shuffling of the ranks upward and a reorganization of some responsibilities, and I've been a beneficiary of this rising tide. (As long as the boats are in the water, a rising tide lifts all of them.) What do I do at work? For the last two months, I was responsible for printing the display cards that go with our plants and diverse promotional materials. A few weeks ago, I was asked to translate a booklet for the company from Dutch to English, which was lots of fun.

I'm now learning how big a business plant tags can be. Last year, we sold some 14 million tags, both to our own nursery, but increasingly to companies that don't buy our plants. Without getting bogged down in details, I'm learning to oversee the ordering of these tags and shipping them to our customers. Learning all of this in Dutch makes the work rather exhausting. Getting up at 5:30 every morning also plays a role.

I'm also working on getting my driver's license. My American license is valid for 6 months, and those 6 months are almost over. So I'm learning finally to drive a stick-shift. It has not been a happy experience, but I'm finally starting to get the hang of it. Additionally, I'm doing another Dutch course (this one is on the city hall), which is 3 hours one evening/week. Soon, it'll be two evenings per week.

But really, that's the less exciting parts of our life together. Things got exciting a last weekend, when Lies awoke in the middle of the night.... and our dinner guest has arrived, so I must go. To be cont'd....

First Day at Work in Holland

Yesterday, Liesbeth and I drove up to Wapenveld to visit Bro. Henk Dijkstra's church. We had planned to visit a few weeks ago, but a combination of sickness and very bad weather postponed our visit to yesterday. We had a very nice service, in which we spoke about choices. There was a very nice atmosphere in the church, and we enjoyed the presence of the Lord very much in the after service.

This morning, I got up bright and early for my first day at work. The Starre-Group does several different things at their Boskoop location, including both a printing operation and growing clematis. Today, I worked for DesignStar (the printing operation). I handled lots of etiquettes (the signs that go in the flower pots) because I had to count them. I also applied quite a few price tags to etiquettes. (I think they were headed to Norway, because the prices were, for example, NOK 129,90. I took that to mean Norwegian kroner, but that's just a guess.) My favorite part of the day was cutting some freshly printed posters and then laminating them. I finished the day by, again, counting etiquettes and bundling them in groups of 25. Before I left, the DesignStar manager (named Johan) told me I might be able to do some work on a computer later this week. I'd like to get into designing some of their signage, but that might require a particular educational background. We'll see. I'm just glad to have a job.

I spent most of the day working with an Iranian emigre who has worked for the Starre Group for about 12 years. It was nice to work with him because his Dutch is easier to understand than some of the true Dutchmen. A lot of the workers have quite a nasal accent. It's much different from my in-laws', so I'm not used to listening to it and it'll take me some time to understand it.

Now, it's almost nine o'clock, and the morning will come soon, so good night!

An Evening at the Bibelot

This evening, Liesbeth and I enjoyed a nice dinner date at a local French restaurant called The Bibelot. We'd been given some gift certificates as a wedding present, and we thought it'd be special to go out tonight. The restaurant offers top-notch service, and excellent food. I ate some succulent beef and Lies some flavorful venison. For dessert, she had her standard hot chocolate with cream, and I tried the crepes with cream and a small (bibelot means an object of curiosity or rarity) scoop of ice cream. Everything we needed (and some things we didn't) were offered.

Liesbeth commented on the waiters' attentiveness that she wondered what they were saying about their relativelt unsophisticated diners this evening. As customers, we were probably far below their socio-economic mean. There were four other diners there tonight. At one table, a Dutch businessman and his Spanish counterpart discussed tomorrow's negotiations. The Dutch man apparently has a relative in the USA who is a pulmonary doctor in North Carolina, described as "prime smoking country." Said doctor stays very busy, but doesn't like any of Obama's health care ideas, which would make him work more for less. Rather than take that bad deal, he'd leave the profession. The other two diners were an older couple, who were rather quiet.

We had a very romantic dinner. The burning candles served as beautiful metaphors and creators of atmosphere. And now we are home.... and Liesbeth has come to sit beside me, so I shall do the smart thing, and sign off.

Another project crossed off the list ... and a job

When Liesbeth took possession of our apartment this summer, the former tenant sold us the flooring in the living room and bedrooms. The only problem was that not all of the trim had been put on, and there were some large gaps (~2 cm) between the flooring and the wall in very visible places. Every now and then, I'd hear a gentle reminder about the trim not being installed yet, and I finally decided that I'd tackle the project. My father-in-law kindly lent me his miter saw and jig saw, and seven hours later, the job was done. Liesbeth was very happy. To help ensure her happiness, I made a concentrated effort to vacuum up all the sawdust from the living room. Fortunately, my cleaning job received the same high marks as my carpentry job.

It was very handy that I finished that task yesterday, because I'll soon be losing the flexible schedule I've had these last few months. At my brother-in-law Stefan's suggestion, Liesbeth and I visited a greenhouse in Boskoop today. (Boskoop is a village a few kilometers to the north of Waddinxveen.) We walked into their front office and I asked the receptionist about vacancies, and she went to talk to her manager. While we were waiting, a gentleman came around the corner and asked if we needed help. But the secretary was already taking care of us. Her manager told me about the vacancies, and I told her that I like to work hard and learn new things, I've always dreamed of working in greenhouses, and that I have five green thumbs. This sounded interesting. She took my CV, and registered me in their system. At which point, the gentleman who had earlier come around the corner, stepped out of his office, and asked if we could do an interview right then.

Turns out that he was the Productions Manager. We had a nice interview. Marius was quite pleased to find I was a native English speaker, because Starre Group (that's the company name, see www.starregroup.nl for the company website) is currently working on entering the American market. He offered me a temporary position, lasting from February to August. But he seemed quite hopeful, that after I show what I can do for the company (not everyone has five green thumbs), a permanent position may well be forthcoming. Praise the Lord for a job! I was pleasantly surprised to find out during the interview that temp workers also get vacation days ... my contract will give me 14 days vacation!

The company is quite interesting. The big boss (he's three times as big as Marius, weighing in at nearly 160 kilos--350 lbs--according to Marius) is Dutch Reformed. The lunch break begins with quiet time for people to pray, and right after the lunch break is over, the President or one of the managers reads a chapter of the Bible aloud and closes the time in prayer. How unique! I assured Marius that would present no problem to me. He also told me that cursing isn't aloud, and if I heard any of the other temp workers using bad language, I was to remind them of the rule. The company dress code is also very nice ... I'm supposed to wear trousers and decent shirts (no holes, except those for the head and arms) and female workers have to wear skirts and modest blouses/shirts. As he gave me a tour of the premises, it was nice not to hear any worldly music or anything of the sort. I'm very thankful for such a job!

As I conclude this post, I can smell fine fragrances wafting from the kitchen. Supper is almost ready. And I am ready for it, too! Tonight, we have the special privilege of hosting Bro. Philip Mawugbe, a friend from home. Or, rather, he was from home, but he's since moved to Canada. But that's beside the point, which is he's visiting us this weekend en route to Tanzania, where he's joining a missions team. But before I go chasing after more rabbits, I'll sign off ... and go eat supper!

Hot Date in Cold Gouda

I learned something today. This afternoon, Liesbeth and I went out on a very nice afternoon date to Gouda. (To Desmond's probable gratification, we did not ride the bicycles.) I had been wanting to do something special for Lies since she'd been such a nice hostess for my friend, not to mention a wonderful wife for me. Instead of my conventional evening-out-for-dinner date, we went shopping together. It's amazing to witness the transformation in my wife when she enters a store (especially a clothing store). She enters her element; energy courses through her veins; her eyes twinkle and her smile sparkles. And I have found that when her eyes twinkle so affectionately and her smile sparkles so beautifully, and I can say little (translation: nothing). Result: I came home with a new pair of trousers and a new shirt. Once she'd scratched a wardrobe addition for her man off her list, we walked through the old city at a more relaxed pace.

We tried to find a poster of some of Monet's artwork to hang over our couch, but that was unsuccessful. So we perambulated further down the street, poking our head (and wallet) in a few more stores along the way. We found a very beautiful skirt for her (her eyes are still twinkling) and some tasty cups of ... yes, you guessed it: hot chocolate (her favorite). We also found a mouse.

But don't worry. The mouse wasn't in the apple cake, or the hot chocolate, or even the cafe. It was in the Kijk-Shop, which sells miscellaneous items for home electronics. I finally bought a mouse for my laptop, so I can more easily mouse around with my left hand, to give the muscles in the right hand a break.

So, what did I learn? Liesbeth really enjoys shopping, and buying even better. Before today, that was just head knowledge, but now I have personal experience. I even have the shirt to prove it.

Oh, and I'm feeling much better, and Liesbeth is healthy, too, though we still need to keep up on our rest.