Seeing orange

In support of the Netherlands' participation in the World Cup there is orange everywhere. It is like the Fourth of July in the States, when everything and every place is decorated with stars and stripes. Only here it is slightly more intense.

Mostly I only notice how 75% of the houses and business are strung with little orange flags but I was a bit startled about mid-week when I found this in the bathroom.


Orange toilet paper.

So, it is not just about wearing orange or putting it up outside for everyone to see. Even the most private room in the house needs to encourage the football team to victory.

Do not worry if you were wondering why all the orange when the Dutch flag is red, white, and blue. I had no idea either but a quick Google search led me to this: "Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty -- the House of Oranje-Nassau -- dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch." (source)

P.S. I find it interesting (and somewhat ironic if I think about it long enough) that the Medici family (practically the royal family) of Florence had oranges on their family crest. I was told that oranges were appropriate for the Medicis because medici means "doctors/medics" and oranges were considered medical apples.

To build a home

Tuesday was my first day in Holland. Thursday was my first day as an au pair. Even if I say those facts out loud it still doesn't seem like my life. Even though I'm learning quickly this doesn't feel like my life yet.

To think, in less than 24 hours I went from a messy room and empty suitcases to a chilly room and three nearly full suitcases.



So, during the past five days I have had to adjust to life in another country as well as life with a family different than my own. It has been exhausting on so many differnt levels but I'm surviving. I've taken to observing and listening - two things I think I am pretty good at.

I observe how things are done or handled around the house and with the children. I listen closely to what they say in Dutch even though I don't understand any of it. Dutch is very new to my years. The only other languages I've been exposed to, aside from English, are French and Italian. With my years of Latin I am far more comfortable being around Italian, even if I am not fluent in speaking and can only understand enough to get buy on a day-to-day basis. But Dutch sounds so different. I am getting better at grasping the gist of things.

Anna sat down with me the night before I started with the children and I wrote down some words she thought I should know. Example:
dicht - close
meer - more
heerlijk - delicious
Ik doe het - I do it
The last one is used most often by Reinhilde (2). She is entering the terrible two's phase so she wants to do everything herself.

Other than just figuring things out I've found the children's daily diet of Sesame Street (Sesam Straat) to be most helpful. I speak in English to them, which fortunately Ruben (4) understands. Usually I can get them to repeat words back to me but for now I'm concentrating on the basics like "please" and "thank you." However, Ruben's favorite phrase is "you're being silly" which I said to him the first day or so and he thinks its hilarious to yell it back at me.

Which brings me to my best mechanism: humor. Not only is it wonderful to hear the children laughing (or giggling in Reinhilde's case) but it helps them feel comfortable around me. It has been working so far. The afternoon Robin and Anna commented that the children have such great chemistry with me which is unusual so soon. I was flattered, of course, and I hope that I can keep up being on their good side. It takes a lot of energy and patience to be an au pair.

Yesterday we went to Purmerend and Edam. Today we went into Amsterdam. However, the adapter I brought over does not work on my Macbook so I can't upload pictures until I get a different adapter. An entry about this weekend shall have to wait.

And that is why I'm keeping this post on the short side. Plus, I'm not settled enough yet to really write about daily life and what not. Of course there are little things I already know I'm feeling - a sense of homesickness and the like but I'm going to move on from that soon. For now, I'm exhausted and Italy is playing in the Cup. It's time to take a little break and watch my boys.