Adjusting

So it has been a relatively long time since I have last posted! I realize now that I can write a bit and save as draft so I think that I might do that for the times that I don't have time to write a full post but have something that I want to write about. The way I'm doing it now I have completely forgotten what I have been doing since my last post that I will miss many things! Maybe not such a tragedy but still:D.

So the title of this post is adjusting...it has been a month since I have come here...a whole month...and I am still adjusting. I think that it is taking a bit too long. I think that the main reason would be that I do not know the language. Sure people speak to me in english so that's fine but I cannot not have conversations with the girls which really affects our relationship. We are bonding nicely, I will admit, and we have a lot of fun talking and trying to figure out what the other is saying...with the help of a dictionary of course...but I still feel quite distant from them.

To make things a little bit lighter, having to do with language, I started my language course on Tuesday. Other than walking in five minutes late...by my standards not late at all for the first day!..but by the teacher's standards very late. She just stared at me, not helping me out at all! So I asked if I was in the right place and invited myself to take a seat at the already full table. That was followed by the teacher kindly inviting one of my fellow classmates to ask me something in dutch. Hello lady...I'm in the class for a reason. So I just stared right back at the teacher until my very sweet neighbour whispered in my ear "name"...which I responded to by saying my name. Oh course that was not good enough for the teacher who fired some more dutch at me. "I assume that you are asking me for my last name as well which is Sandink" was my answer this time. That would have been fine had she recognized it. Of course she did not so I had to repeat it three time...but no matter. When she went onto speaking some more dutch to the whole class, and as my classmates nodded their heads as if they knew full well she was saying I asked my sweet neighbour if it was also her first day. When she said yes I thought either these people learned a heck of a lot in the first five minutes or they were good at pretending. I'll go with the second.

It actually is a fun class though and I'm looking forward to it again (although next time I'll be sure that I get there on time!). I wrote down all the countries that people are from. They are from everyehere. Englishwise we have me (Canadian!), British, Australian, and maybe an American but I will have to ask her...she came in 1 hour late...I thought the teacher was going to have a heart attack...she gave her an even harder time!

We just learnt greetings and things like that, which I've already managed to mess up by asking Albert who he was rather than asking him how he was...honest mistake...I realized when I made the same mistake with the cleaning lady and she corrected me. I'll never make that mistake again:D! We learn questions and answers and then practice with each other. The teacher was appauled by my pronounciation of waar (where). She gasped...and I mean gasped and acted as if I had killed a bird. Oh jongen (hehe that's oh boy my most favourite saying which I have translated to dutch!!!) I'm going to have fun with this lady! Anyway so as I was studying tonight, going over what we learnt, I went onto the next thing that we will do next week. So we learn how to say "Who are you", "How are you", and like 2 more things like languages you speak and how you got to the lesson. So the next most important thing to ask....I translated myself without the help of a dictionary but with the use of a picture..."Are you married?" I thought my sides were going to split from laughter. Why, I am thinking, would that come right after "how did you get to the lesson", and the 4th thing in the book. I confirmed that I had translated correctly with Sandra and I still laugh as I write this. Maybe it's not that amusing to you but when I read it...I will say I was thoroughly amused!

Oh man oh man this is long and I haven't even come close to finishing saying everything! You might want to read this one in blocks....maybe take a koffie break inbetween. Oh and please direct me by telling me to write about certain things if you would like!

So the second reason why I am not adjusting as quickly as I would like. I live with a family that I do not know. It's hard. First of all it just is hard. Every family is different and therefore you have to figure them out before you can actually begin to fit in and feel comfortable. Second of all I have been living not in a family...traditionally speaking...for 3.5 years. As a student you do what you want when you want. If I want to eat lunch at 3 in the afternoon then I can. If I want to leave at 10 at night I can. When you are with a family that is not so easy. I think I will get over that but it will take awhile. A third reason is that they are not Christian which I have never lived with before but that is the topic of a different post.

I'm doing ok in the community though. People are even asking me for directions...well once someone did but I was on a bike with a child seat, standing at the side of the road talking on a cell phone...pretty clear sign that I'm from around here...ha...I sure fooled them! Today I was also very pleased to have the guy at the Albert Hein remember that I am english. He even said "See you next week"! which is wonderful for me:D...small things make me happy I know...but what else could be a sure sign that yo are fitting in in the community.

So I think that's all I will post for now. I was going to write about my trip to Albert's in this post but then though I could even better make a whole post on that with it's very own title of "My visit to Albert's"...so stay tuned my dear friends!

Oh and something I almost forgot! I should have done this first...I need to protect my sister from undue stress...Jan emailed me quite concerned about the comments on my blog re. crazy lady. Well Jan, my dear, no worries as it is , I'm sure, someone making a joke...quite a funny one at that;D for even I would have been concerned had I not known my friends. I have my assumption of who it might be..although my first guess was denied...but really no worries. Please continue to post!!!!!:D!

Oh and one last thing...Elaine although your name has been made fun of thoroughly in the comments section I would like to tell you that your name has actually helped my out greatly here! Elaine is very similar to the dutch word "alleen" which means only (albert correct me if I am wrong) which I hear very often! So be proud and stand tall!

Tot ziens...I am going to go practice guitar which Albert's very kind and generous brother and sister in law lent me. I will post more about that in the post titled "My visit to Albert's";).