Moving Day!

Moving Day was on the 31st of May. The day where packers came and boxed up the last 3 years of our lives in The Netherlands into multi-sized carton boxes, packed into a 20-foot container and shipped off across the ocean to Singapore.

The packers brought a whole load of cartons and tape and tape and arrived before 8am. Talk about an early start. I could barely keep my eyes open...

And then they just went right into it! Folding boxes, wrapping our stuff, packing them in and sealing it shut. And all the labelling... Living, Kitchen, Bedroom, Fragile, Electronics, etc etc.. Watching all our stuff being methodically wrapped, packed and labelled was strangely surreal and nostalgic. The fact was dawning loud and clear.. WE ARE REALLY MOVING!! *panics*

A 20-footer Backing Up Into Our Little Lane

 

Then a 20-foot container was driven into the lane where we lived and our many boxes were hoarded into it. It was a truly reminiscent experience of us moving to The Netherlands 3 years ago, when again, we watched the movers in Malaysia packing our items into a container that was to be shipped to Europe. After everything was done and the container was locked, while we waited to sign off on the shipping documents. I felt a sudden rush of relief... I suppose it was due to the fact that I was in hyperdrive for the last two weeks and was doing frenzied dusting and cleaning of our accumulated possessions in the past 3 years.

And now, we are freshly checked into a long-stay apartment in a hotel and going through the motions of everyday life, before we really have to say goodbye to our life and friends here in less than 3 weeks...

Talk about being on an emotional roller coaster... 

Making A Move

Some time last year, Jim and I received work of a possible future assignment posting for him in Singapore in 2013. Whilst in the back of my mind, I've been very much aware of it... the reality of it never really sank in. Until now. 

It seemed like just not that long ago that he and I made the decision to move here to the Netherlands for a change of environment. Yes, KL-PJ was sucking the soul out of us (or maybe just me, I don't know). And although the move here was fraught with a mix of both excitement and fear, our journey through it all, albeit harrowing, allowed us to emerge stronger and more appreciative of life, love and each other. 

Looking back the three years (almost!) that we've been here, it has made me see that the world is so big, and it is filled with endless opportunities and boundless possibilities. If we could just disentangle ourselves from the negative experiences, we'd be able to see and appreciate so much more. Of course there would be bad experiences, otherwise it isn't life, right? :) 

On a Tulip trail

Life here isn't free from complaints. Far from it! Haha... Maybe I'm a serial-complainer, I don't know. But what I do know is that the good outweighs the bad. We've never really made the decision if we would grow our roots in the Netherlands, as we were still getting used to life here, not to mention the language. And I tell you, that is the biggest barrier for me. The Dutch Language seriously, seriously kills me. To even want to say something in Dutch, I got to crack my brains and ultimately come up with something so wrong that it makes everyone laugh out loud.

Us in Volendam with our Klompens

But before we found out about the assignment to Singapore, we were thinking of making things more permanent. We were thinking about a move to Central Holland (near the city of Utrecht) and to make plans settling there. Just a side note, Leeuwarden's not that bad.. But it can get pretty boring and it's so far away from everything else. What ties me to Leeuwarden the most are the friends that I've made while I was here.

With the Windmill in Kinderdijk

It's just that now, when we are finally settled in The Netherlands (barely!), we are packing again. Even though we've only been here for a short time, and it's also only a 3 year assignment to Singapore, it's ironic how burdened I feel about leaving what I know here. And I can't believe that I find myself looking forward to coming back here again after our 'adventure' in Singapore is over.

I know, I have some ridiculously random photos on this post. But it's just a reminder to myself the good times I've had here :)

 

Not From England

Jimmy and I went for a day out in the centrum today for some shopping and walking around. We were just walking in one of the stores, a departmental store called V&D, when we stopped to browse through some sweaters on a rack.

We didn't notice but there was a lady about 2 feet behind us and I suppose we stopped too abruptly and got in her way. We only realized when she heaved a loud sigh and shoved right past us!

Jimmy was pretty miffed and called out after her, "An 'excuse me' would be nice!". Then she turned around and retorted:

*brace yourself for this*

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"I Am Not From England!"

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Huh?!? Whaaaaa...??? Okay... It's just that I never knew that common courtesy was indigenous to England. I always just assumed that civility was practiced in all cultures. Hmmm... I've met a lot of wonderfully well-mannered and polite Dutch, so I'm don't really know where that lady was coming from...

I am not one who is easily rendered speechless but this one really did a good job of temporarily dumbing me. It took a couple of seconds before the statement really sank in and for me to come up with a few snarky remarks. I didn't manage to use any of them though, because Jimmy was ready to get into it further and I just told him "Don't stoop to that level" and he reluctantly let it go.

It's interesting how complex human nature is... Although unpleasant, it was definitely an eye-opening experience.

Miss Saigon in the Netherlands

It's here!

Well, it's been here since September last year but I've been out of touch with my blog then, so I'm making up for lost time here. When I found out that it was showing here, I was over-the-moon, love drunk, delirious!  I'm so out of touch with the local news here that it was sheer luck that I saw the ad on one of the panel ad spaces at the bus stop.

The first thing I did was to look it up online the minute I got home on www.musicals.nl. It is showing at the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht, which is okay for me since it's only about a 2 hour drive, and besides, Jimmy and I could always spend the night there and take the next day to check out the surroundings. The ticket prices were also fairly reasonable at about EUR40 - EUR95 per person, depending on the seats. I was really getting worked up about seeing it, so I went online to do more research.

Screenshot on www.musicals.nl

Then I found out that apparently, this was the debut of the Dutch version of my favourite musical. So everything, and I mean, everything, is in Dutch. That stopped me in my tracks a little bit...

I pondered and pondered and I didn't know if I should go. Yes, I don't mind the Dutch language and I probably know the entire musical by heart, but still... I've wanted to see the stage performance for this musical since forever and it felt that if I went ahead and watched the Dutch version of it, I would be settling. Sort of.

I wouldn't mind seeing any other stage musicals in Dutch because I think it'll be a really good experience but I really cannot bring myself to see this particular one, my first and favourite one, in a language that is foreign to me. I know that if it's a stage performance of any other musical, like Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat or even Starlight Express, I would have clicked on "Betaal Nu" in a heartbeat. 

Is that silly of me?

My old worn copy :)

It's just that I remember so clearly how I felt when I heard this musical back in the old days. The music playing on the bulky stereo, lying on the bed reading the CD inlet.

I felt the stirrings of something magical listening to Sun and Moon
Tapped my feet and bopped my head to the beat of The Heat Is On In Saigon 

Fell in love to Last Night of the World 

Felt torn but hopeful when I heard Please

Chuckled to the Engineer singing What A Waste 

Felt a chill run down my spine when John told Chris about Kim and her son in The Revelation

And I wanted to poke the eyes out of Ellen in I Still Believe and Her Or Me

(*note: in the local representation of this musical, in place of Her Or Me, Ellen will be singing Maybe or "Toch Nog" in Dutch, a new song written by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil)

The inspiration behind the beautifully heartbreaking Miss Saigon

I dug out my old CD and have been listening to it again in the recent days. And it has made me more certain that I want to wait it out until the original version comes about. Because if you ask me what my first love is, I think this is it.

Although, I have to admit that I am more than a little curious about how the Dutch version of Please is going to sound like.. heh heh *winks*

I've done a post on Miss Saigon the Musical many years ago on this same blog, and here's the link, if anyone is interested:

http://soonyee.blogspot.com/2005/08/miss-saigon.html

The Dutch 'Huisart' System

'Huisart' in Dutch refers to a GP.. Or sometimes, we know them as family doctors. Generally, the group of medical practitioners that you go to when you have health issues, big or small. If it's a big issue, then your 'huisart' will refer you to the hospital for treatment. And these 'huisart's, they only see you if you are subscribed to insurance, so that would indicate that there's a proper system for it.

Medisch Centrum Zwaaij - Photo Courtesy of Google Maps

In Malaysia, when I was feeling under the weather and needed medication, I would drive to the trusty Mediviron Clinic in Paramount PJ. I would show the nurse on duty my medical card (I was insured by my employer so I need not pay) and wait in line to see the doctor on duty. Sure, there were issues when it came to Mediviron Clinic. The line is never ending and I always catch the nurses slipping 'paying' guests in front of me. However quirky the issue was when I visited my GP in Malaysia, it cannot compare to what I've come to experience here in Netherlands.

Jimmy came home from work in a bad state on Thursday evening. I believe he went through some work aggravation, but I digress.. Anyways, he spent all night coughing and keeping us both awake. We got concerned because he has been coughing since 6 weeks ago when he came back from our vacation in Malaysia.

So on Friday morning, he called in sick to work and called to make an appointment with a GP near to where we are staying - the Westerman Huisart. The administrative personnel told him that he has to go back to the huisart that he has been seeing previously, the Boscha Huisart, but Jimmy explained to the administrative personnel/receptionist that he has been trying to make an appointment with Boscha Huisart but keeps getting rejected for because, according to the Boscha Huisart Receptionist, his coughing is not serious enough to warrant an appointment, and he should instead drink more water, sleep more and try some over-the-counter medication. He further explained to the Westerman Huisart Receptionist that he has tried all that and after so many weeks his coughing still persists, but still they denied him appointment with the doctor and he is getting a bit freaked because all the coughing is giving him sleepless nights and he is getting blood in his spit.

The Westerman Huisart Receptionist then told him that it is a lot of work that he is asking to see another GP(wtf?!) but finally relented and gave him an appointment at 2:20pm. So we headed over at 2:10pm but we could not find the location of the Huisart. The GPS brought us to a few different locations in Cambuur but we still could not for the life of us, find the clinic! We tried calling the receptionist again to clarify but got a voice recording saying that it's past working hours.

Then Jimmy went to the Boscha Huisart building to inquire about the Westerman Huisart and found out both practices are sharing the same building, together with about 6 other practices! So we hurried to the Westerman Huisart Reception and explained to her the situation and apologized for our tardiness. The Westerman Receptionist told us that she made an appointment for Jimmy with Boscha Huisart because it would be better that he has a medical record in the same practice. We thanked her and went back to the 1st Floor of the same building to see the Boscha Huisart. The Boscha Huisart receptionist told Jimmy that he does not have an appointment in her records and the doctor is fully booked. She told him to go back to the 2nd Floor to see the Westerman Huisart since he has made an appointment there. So, Jimmy, with his temper mounting, went back up to 2nd Floor to speak to the Westerman Huisart Receptionist again and this time, the receptionist just casually told him that she is busy, it is past his appointment time and he should make another appointment via phone for another day! (mind you, she was reading a book when he approached her)

Woohoo!! Talk about being kicked around like a ball!!! A sick coughing ball at that!

Naturally, my dear husband erupted like a volcano and told the Westerman Receptionist off, aggravating his already aggravated cough. He stormed to the Boscha Huisart Receptionist and told her what happened and she simply told him that the doctor's occupied and she'll have make him an appointment for Monday morning.

If this was a life and death situation, I think the ghost of my dear husband would be tormenting the Westerman Huisart Receptionist as I write this.

But on a serious note, why do the GP's take the health issues of the residents of Netherlands so lightly? I mean, this is a beautifully developed country but the house doctor system is skewed towards Primitive! (please note my emphasis on the P)

I know that the hospitals here have excellent service record but just because it is not what they deem is an emergency, that does not mean that it should be dismissed with the wave of a hand.

It is at times like this, I wish for the Mediviron Clinic.. At least it would be a fruitful wait and the doctor-on-duty would be able to give us peace of mind and tell us straight off whether he has a throat infection and what we can do to make it better.

I heard from Jimmy that his colleague's father has been diagnosed with 4th stage cancer because it was detected late. Apparently he has been to see the Huisarts so many times to treat the symptoms and they keep playing it down and telling him that it's not an emergency and that it will go away. Now, he been told he's only got 3 months left and it is too late for treatment...

It is just so easy to dismiss a person when that person is of no importance to you, but I guess it has never occurred to these Huisarts that these people have families too, and they mean the world to someone else out there...

Update (8th May 2012) : Jimmy's finally seen the doctor at the Boscha Huisart group yesterday and the doctor's confirmed that he indeed, has an inflamed and infected throat, that has been making him feverish, and has been given a strong dose of antibiotics to curb and ease the inflammation. Jeeez...

Tulpen Festival at Noordoostpolder

Spring - the season in a year where the cold of winter gives way to light breezes and a little bit of sunny warmth. Being here now, and given the chance to experience a cold hard winter, Spring (known in Dutch as "Lente") gives the impression of hope; seeing the green in trees and bursts of color in flowers that are blooming in gardens and along the roads.

And springtime in Netherlands is a spring very blessed with hordes and hordes of Tulips! Blooming in patches of green along the expressway, in unanticipated areas of the city centers, in personal gardens and sitting pretty in vases in homes. 

I was lucky enough to get to tag along on a day out with Jimmy's colleagues Harald and Udomreip, who was visiting from Thailand. And it was so sweet of Jimmy and Harald to take the weekend to show Udomreip the magic of Spring in the Netherlands before he left for home.

There's something called a TulpenFestival (Tulip Festiaval) that allows residents and visitors to see the fields of tulips either by car or by bicycle mapped by a preplanned tulip route.

The tulip route for visitors with cars

And here are some photos we took of the tulip fields.. They're like a sea of color! Harald told us that these tulip are are planted in bulk in these fields so that they can be harvested for their seedlings which will be sold to consumers the following year. Meanwhile, while the tulips are in their prime, visitors from all around the Netherlands come to appreciate their bloom. And so, instead of hocking it with the masses of tourists in the famed Keukenhof, we get to experience what the locals experience :)

Fields of Purple, Red and Yellow

 Check out the contrast of the yellow field against the looming dark clouds... We were lucky that the clouds cleared after a while to give way to bright blue skies.

And these following photos were taken at the an area set up for visitors of the Tulip Festival where volunteers handed out booklets containing information on the participating fields, the vehicle routes, and some flower bulbs for personal gardens. There were masses tulips in all colors, shapes and sizes in this area with their respective names displayed.

Tulips in all colors, shapes and sizes!

Against the horizon

Such Vibrant Colors!

 

 The tulips and their names:

Apricot Beauty

Jumbo Pink

Rambo

White Heaven

Christmas Exotic

Christmas Dream

Candy Prince

Sugar Prince

And there were a whole load of others that I did not manage to take.. But you can imagine that it was almost magical that we get to see so many colors in one field.

And of course, after indulging in the beautiful colors of the tulips, we decided to indulge a little for the sake of our tummies and so we just walked across the path to a little cafe that was a participant of the tulip festival. Coffee, cakes and tulips! A good mix, I'd say...

 

Two men debating the origins of a wooden tulip

All in all, I thought that the organizers for this festival did a wonderful job of allowing visitors experience the beauty of the Dutch Spring through tulips. And if I have the chance, I think I will try to persuade Jimmy to go again next year :)

Salute!

Snapshots of Leeuwarden

I went cycling with Jimmy (from now on, I'm referring to Chin Aun as Jimmy because it's faster to type.. Haha) on Sunday last week just to make sure that I can still cycle. It's been so long since I last cycled that I was afraid that I would need training wheels again...

And I equipped myself with camera-slash-phone to get some scenic shots of Leeuwarden to post up just in case I move away in a few years and forget how this place looks like..

Here goes:

Houses Against The Clear Blue Skies Along Rietlandroute

The Intersection of Rietlandroute and Prinsentuin

We basked for a little while in the sunlight to get our share of some Vitamin D before heading on our way to take more photographs...

Riding Along Emmakade (and lookie, that is my shadow on the ground)

View of the Centrum from the Bridge of Julianastraat

Then from there, we headed on along Archipelweg and circled the empty parking lot of De Centraale a few times just for fun.. And our next stop, the Doctor Zamenhofpark... where we go to look at ducks.. and pretend that we have breadcrumbs so that they'd waddle near us...

Daffodils in Bloom

Waddle, Ducks, Waddle!!

I love the Doctor Zamenhofpark... It's so serene and scenic.. and if I were a permanent resident of Leeuwarden, I could consider investing in a house or apartment overlooking it.  

Here's another photo of the park taken in Wintertime during dusk when I was on foot... Absolutely breathtaking :)

Aside from the last photo which was cropped, all photos posted here are unedited and taken using my phone on its automatic mode. I'm not much of a photographer but I thought the photos taken were pretty satisfactory (especially for an amateur!). I guess it really makes a difference when the contents of the photos (in this case, this little town of Leeuwarden) are naturally scenic..