I amsterdam

Hallo,

It's official, we are Amsterdam!   As of last week Kirk and I received our SSN's, known as BSN (Burgerservice Number).  We are now permitted to work in Holland.  We also will be getting our identification cards soon.  The process was pretty easy, back in the states you have to have your birth certificate and marriage license signed by an Apostille (from the state you were born/married in).  Next you have to provide the Dutch with proof of lease rental and occupation.  This all took place at the World Trade Center in their Expat Center.  My friend warned me that these things take time and they sure do, but at least we are getting a little closer to settling in!    
                                                                                                                                        

Also this week we signed our contract for our beautiful 2 bedroom apartment!  This unfortunately was not an easy process.  At one point Kirk and I got a taste of what it was like to be homeless but luckily some friends put us up for a few nights while our apartment was getting furnished/paperwork processed.  Thanks Alison!  What I am definitely experiencing here so far is no sense of urgency.  Multiple times we stated things like "do they know we need to be moved in by April 1st, do they know we have a dog, do they know we need furniture?"  Our agent loved to say "yeah, that shouldn't be a problem" then a week would go by and we would find out in fact it was a problem.  Luckily we found a great place, the owner is very kind and really setting it up nicely.  Currently, we do not have all of our furniture.  Kenneth, the owner, is ordering all new furniture, some appliances and putting in a deck off of our bedroom!

The apartment looks right over the Prinsengracht Canal.  The view is beautiful.  I love seeing all the boats going by, the people looking out their windows, sitting outside on their steps drinking wine, and the locals/tourists stepping into the coffeeshops through out the night. Oh yeah, did I mention that our apartment is actually on top of a bar and two coffeeshops?  Should be an interesting crowd!  Either way we love it!

More fun and interesting observations we have had so far in this lovely city: No sense of personal space, waiters not waiting on you even though you have been sitting there for 45 minutes with an empty beer, wrapping your food with the same napkin you are supposed to place in your lap and wipe your hands with, customer is never right (a simple no means NO), local neighborhood cats patrolling the cafe for mice, and fingers in the food they are spooning onto your dish.

Common Dutch Phrases that we try to use:
Hello - Hallo
Thank You - Dank U/ Dank U wel
Please - Alstublieft
Welcome - Welkom
Goodbye - Doei
Small Beer - Beer ja

And I have to share that when looking up common Dutch phrases (for spelling, etc) I thought the last phrase was a bit alarming: My hovercraft is full of eels - Mijn hovercraft zit vol palingen.  http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/dutch.php 

More to adore:

Espressobar Tazzina - Tasty Croissants and Espresso
Bo Cinq - Drinks and mini sliders
Walks throughout the Jordaan
Reruns of "Who's The Boss"
Having an English breakfast in England
Bacon, Brie and Cranberry sandwiches
Choc-o-lait - belgian chocolate on a stick for your coffee
Sitting around a table with English, Irish, Australian, Kiwi and American citizens.  Can't beat the conversations!

Stuff that I miss and will have a hard time finding here: Customer service, prompt responses to inqueries, black beans, mexican beer, walks on the boardwalk, and a beautiful view of the Pacific.

Indiana Update: Some were curious about the process of how we got Indiana to Amsterdam.  Overall, it was pretty easy! Amsterdam does not quarantine dogs unless your dog does not have a rabies shot within the last year.  You do have a get a "doggie passport" which is basically a health check and having a registered Veterinary sign off on the Dutch documents.  KLM airline requires you to use a Pet Relocator.  We ended up with Pacific Pet.  When they told me over the phone that while I am going thru Customs, Indiana would hanging out in the "Doggie Hotel", I thought "wow, what a treat, Indiana can run around, play, lounge a bit".  Nice right?  Not so much.  Doggie Hotel was a young girl sitting at her computer on facebook, a three-legged dog roaming around and our check-in point smoking a cigarette while going over the release documents.  Either way she made it to Amsterdam safely!!!

Since we were temporarily homeless, I tagged along with Kirk for his commercial shoot to Birmingham, Midlands, which actually ended up being Loughborough (about 40 minutes outside Birmingham).  We arrived on Easter Sunday and stayed at Quorn Country Hotel - about 20 rooms.  Kirk's company and production company filled up  the hotel with most of its guests.  Every night the whole group would sit in the lounge hammering away at their laptops before sitting down for a nice meal - ploughman's, lamb, risotto, and my favorite, pigs cheek.

This week I was fortunate enough to get a taste of what Kirk experiences on his shoots.  I would like to call myself assistant stylist, but I was more of "volunteer/Kirk's wife/need an extra hand".  Basically I helped the stylist by following around the talent, making sure they were comfortable (since it was freezing out), and that they didn't steal anything - I liked to say I did a good job and I am updating my resume!  I really enjoyed watching the day unfold - especially the director - I have been watching his videos for a really long time, so it was truly wonderful to see him work!

Now I am back in Amsterdam, our stuff arrives today from the states and hopefully I will have a bed to sleep on!  Kirk is in London now and then off to Valencia, Spain this weekend (still working on the same shoot).

Hope all is well and that everyone had a nice Easter!  Hope to have some apartment pics up soon!!!