Sinterklaas Day

At the week-end we had the sinterklaas celebration - 'Sinterklaas Feest' with Rik's family. Actually it was rather like our Christmas with opening presents however each family does it a bit differently. What happens usually is that the names of all family members are put in a hat and then a name is picked by each person and then you buy a present for that person but also you must write a poem as well for that person and the poem is written as if from Sinterklaas. We did it a bit differently for our family as it was my first time and we just bought presents for everyone and did a poem if we wanted to however Rik wrote a poem for me which was great and I will wrote it here so you can see the kind of thing people write- you will see from the poem that Rik doesn't like Santa at all!

" Sinterklaas that's me,

heard you have been talking about me!

You find my birthday quite confusing,

and also a little amusing,

all these things people do in honour of me...

Yes, I'm quite popular around her you see!

I have to warn you, one guy imitates me,

he really thinks he is the bees knees!

I tell you now, he's all fake,

as bad and sickly as St Stephen's church cake.

You know I'm talking about Santa Claus.

beware of him, don't let him get close!

You've been looking for a house,

yourself and your lovely spouse.

Iheard you were really shocked,

when the door of one flat was unlocked,

to see a bathroom so small,

that the shower on the wall,

was right above the toilet seat,
my goodness, that isn't very neat!

I hope you find a nice place soon,

I know you will be over the moon!

To give the place a nice atmosphere,

I got you a little present here.

To remember you are a bright light

as this gift, to light at night!"

Yes we really did see a bathroom that small in one of the flats we were viewing!

Here are some pictures above from the day we had together and some other random ones about the place. Then after this post I will shut up about sinterklaas as I'm sure you've had enough of me rambling on about it!

Here is a random selection of photos I also took at the week-end. This first one is a view of the skyline of Rottterdam - it is taken overlooking the lake in the big park near to us, the second one is near to our house- along all of the streets round us are little canals and bridges- the third picture is the canal just at the back of our garden. The other pictures are of streets near here, as you can see some of the cycle lanes are as big as the road! The area we live in now has got some of the oldest buildings in Rotterdam- most of the buildings in Rotterdam were bombed in the war so alot of them are modern but the area we live in was saved from the bombing. Some of the modern buildings as you can see in the picture at the top are very high and some of them are flats- I can't imagine living in one of those very tall buildings but I suppose you must have a good view! The dutch are said to be very good at architecture so there are some very original modern buildings.

Well it has been very cold here in Holland - I think it gets a bit colder here in Holland with more ice and snow. But it is fine because the house we are staying in is so warm, but you have to wrap up really warm when you are out on your bike - your hands especially get very cold!

I took a few photos of things at the week-end. Here is us with our bikes and me in action on the bike!

Thank-you Theresa, John, Mum and Sophie for those replies! It is so nice to be in touch like this and know that people are thinking of us at this time!
I'm sorry the post was so down, as I reread it afterwards I thought I didn't have many good things to say!
However in reply to your questions Theresa I will say a bit how things are in Holland. As I said I love to cycle everywhere that is probably the thing I like most as it is so relaxing and easy and gives me lots of freedom to get around. There are quite a few parks to walk in, where we live at the moment there is a huge one with a big lake and woods just five minutes walk away so that is really nice. People don't really walk if they want to get somewhere though- they tend to cycle as it is quicker so in some places the pavements is really narrow and the bike path is very wide!
The shops are similar to here however some things are different such as in the department stores they always have a bakery where you can buy lovely bread and a chocolaterie. There two very good shops that I shop in a lot since I have been here and that is the V&D which is a department store where you can buy absolutely anything and then the Hema which is a cheaper shop selling nearly everything at a really good price. The clothes are really nice here- lots of style but with comfort and practicality too. I have just bought a lovely warm coat for the winter and I need it now too as it snowed all of yesterday- has it snowed in England? I think it gets colder here in winter so I am glad to have a warm coat especially on the bike!
At the moment in Holland there is build up to Sinterklaas day which is on the 5th of Dec. Scintillas comes from St Nicholas who was a bishop from Turkey who helped poor children. That is as much as I know about the history. He arrives every year at this time (end Nov) on a boat and travels round the country delivering presents with his helper called black Pete who is a funny character, a bit mischievous. Before Sinterklaas day which is when Sinterklaas brings presents for the children there is a build up to him coming like the children make special little cookies made with spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and these on Sinterklaas day are thrown into the room by black Pete where the family are sitting. At the week-end when we were cycling through town we could smell the spices from the cooking of the cookies.
Up until Sinterklaas comes on some days the children can put their shoes out by the front door with a carrot in for the horse and in the night sinterklaas will come and put a little present in. They seem to do this on some days before the actual sinterklaas day which I suppose is because he has actually arrived in the town already. The other things that go on is that you can see lots of black Pete's about the place singing and playing instruments and dancing like in town on Saturday i saw a group of them. You also see children dressed up as sinterklaas and black Pete like my nephews dress up a lot as them and it provides a lot of entertainment for both adults and children!
I don't know yet exactly what happens on the day so I will write again when i know. I find it all very new and strange but nice too! It seems too early to be doing all of it but then Sinterklaas has nothing to do with Christmas here- that is really a separate celebration.

Anyway I will stop here as have a few jobs to do,
lots of love,
Ruth

I've finally made our blog!

Hello dear friends,

Well here I am starting our blog, I mainly wanted to start it up so that I can let each of you know how we are getting on in our new life in Holland. To be honest it has not been easy so far. We have been here now nearly three months and we still have not found somewhere of our own to live yet so we are still living with my sister and brother-in-law in there big attic room however it has no door to the room so we have no privacy and feel like we are a bit too close to them for comfort! We have been looking for a place to live but for one reason and another we haven't found the right one yet. Initially we started looking in Utrecht which a big town in the centre of Holland where Rik has been on the housing list there for 5 years. So we thought that we would have a good chance of finding somewhere good there however we don't have so good a chance as we thought so that avenue is taking long. So then we thought we would look in Rotterdam where we are living now, privately rented places. However that has proved difficult too as many estate agents require you to have a salary 4-5 times the rent which is quite high for us.

On top of all that Rik's job is temporary so he is now looking for a new one as the contract finishes at the end of December. He has an interview this week for a job in the Hague which is not far from Rotterdam and may-be another interview in Den Bosch which is just south of Utrecht so depending on those outcomes we will know more where to live. So as you can see it is all very confusing and also stressful and stressful as well to continue living with my brother-in-law's family.

In all this I have had to really dig deep and look for things to be thank-ful for as it has been so hard. Things I am really thank-ful for is my wonderful loving husband who has been so good to me through all of this and been my rock. the other thing is my wonderful parents who have also been there for me and given me strength.

Some other news is that I have a small job too - a post-woman! I get post brought to my house on Monday and Thursday and then I sort it at my house and deliver it on Tuesday around streets close to my area. I have just been doing it for a week so it is still new but I think it is going to be okay and will give me something to do and a little money. I have also signed up for a dutch course - it is actually a course for all new-comers to Holland to learn the language but also about the society and is very practical for different situations that you might find yourself in. I am waiting to hear back about that as to when I will start and where.

There are some things about Holland that I find very nice which are cycling everywhere- it is so easy to do and so relaxing and as Rik and I described it to each other- ''it is good for the soul''. The bikes are also really nice to ride as the handlebars are high so when you ride you can be upright so you can see everything around you very easily when you ride.

I also like the streets very much here as nearly all the streets have trees planted along them that I notice is a difference to England. I like that because it is again good for soul that you can see trees when you are going along the street and be near to trees that it is not just concrete and more concrete!

Well I don't really know what else to write now but I will hopefully write again soon and tell you about what happens here on Sinterklaas day (st. Nicholas day) on the 5th of December!

Lots of Love,

Ruth