Are we there yet???

No...no we are not. We still have no bank account and our registration paperwork has not been processed yet, though tomorrow should be the day. It's funny because we do feel settled but still not really like we live here yet. We're getting there though.

Let's update...

Last Saturday we went to ABN Amro to try and open a bank account. Yes, crazy we know there is ONE back here open on Saturday. We were told you could get an account there without your social security number. We arrrived there at 2:02. They closed at 2:00. Ahh.... so then we left and went shopping. And later found out, you do need your SSN. It was good though to have a free afternoon, we got a few more things to help us get organized at school and a few more decorations for the house. We decided Saturday should again be a date night. We had a pass to the movie theatre for a buy one get one so we went to an early show (Public Enemies, it was pretty good) and then for dinner at the Evita steak house! Yum. The movie theatres are so fun here because they have huge bulk candy sections where you can get all the yummy gummies you'd usually buy at the gas station and sneak in in your purse. They also have beer which you can enjoy during your movie. We've yet to do this. We were one of four couples in the movie theatre so that was fun to kind of have it to ourselves. Dinner was really good and relaxed. It was at about 9 so we also felt like we had the restaurant to ourselves.

Sunday we woke up in an attempt to go to church but realized we were a lot farther than we realized and so we would have been very late. We instead listened to Mars online and it was as usual great and really what we needed to hear. We had a nice Sunday nap and then went out for a walk/picnic in the park. We stayed out later after eating and just kept walking. We found ourselves purposefully lost in the country hillside just outside the city. It felt nice to breathe and see the green. We are only about a fifteen minute walk away from some farms and beautiful rolling hills. I guess there are also fabulous wineries nearby and some other cool places to explore. We are getting really excited to get bikes.

The week of school was good and again another week has broughten us to feeling more in the swing of things. Our kids continue to be wonderful and slowly the drama of school is slowing down and we're all getting used to the schedule. I found out my teaching partner Suzanne is pregnant. I am so excited for her and she and her husband, Mathew are SO EXCITED! They have been married a year and a half and are both early 30's so their ready to start their family.
We've had many compliments from parents, teachers and staff that we're doing a great job and the kids are enjoying having us there. This is great for us and a definite confidence boost.

Friday, Matt had his second meeting with Jopp. Jopp is a fifty something musican who Matt is giving English language conversation lessons to. They meet once a week for an hour and just talk. Matt marks Jopp's pronunciations and other difficulties and they talk about him. It is one of his favourite times of the week and mine as well; I got to shop on my own. :) There's something so accomplished feeling in successfully going to the grocery store by yourself. I know that sounds silly. But let me tell you, going alone can be really stressful or even going together. You have to bag all your own groceries, no big deal normally but here the conveyor belts are so small and so buy the time you start bagging your groceries the next customers are already getting mixed in. And then everyone acts annoyed at you. So when I had all my groceries bagged before I even had to pay I felt pretty good. Now I only bought about ten things, but this is the usual here. I also got to go out and do some birthday shopping for Matt. This was good because otherwise we aren't apart too much! :)

This weekend we've hung around home, catching up on rest and chatting with family/friends. We went out for a wonderful dinner last night and today just enjoyed quiet reading at home mixed in with some cleaning. Tonight we went to church. An English speaking protestant service. It was really great. We really like the group of people. It's about 40 people and a lot of them have a connection with the school or secondary school some how. There is one teacher from the secondary even. They meet at the red church by our house the last Sunday of the month and the 1st and 3rd Sunday they meet at another church close by. The 2nd Sunday of the month they have a social gathering/outing and go somewhere fun in the surrounding area. There is also a Thursday night bible study. They told us how they have been praying for Christian teachers to come to Joppenhof. They were SO excited to meet us and we've already been invited over for Thanksgiving to one couples house. It's weird to maybe be the answer to someone's prayer. They have all been through the same paperwork process as us so it's nice to have some people to relate to. There is a family from Minnesota, Canada, and England. Plus more I am sure but that's all we've meet so far.

Also our new neighbor moved in downstairs and she is from New York. She is here working on her PH.d and seems really cool. Hopefully we'll have her up soon.

Next weekend we are going to Bruges, Belguim to celebrate Matt's birthday and just get away! We can't wait. Still no October break plans yet, but we're working on it.

Week Four... here we come!!!!