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Blog: wordgeyser Topics:expat, netherlands, family and life expatsblogs
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Category Archives: Expat Experiences
A Period of Solitude: Why We Sometimes Need One
I haven’t posted for a while as sometimes life necessitates taking a step back, pulling up the drawbridge and keeping yourself and family safe in the Ivory Tower. Protected, for a while, from the devastating whirlwinds of sadness, loss, fear, … Continue reading
Dutch Sending the Poles Home?
So the Dutch are considering sending Polish and other east Europeans home? I didn’t read the full story immediately as my brain went into complete melt down and shock at the thought of the Dutch economy grinding to a halt … Continue reading
Every Parent’s Worst Fear
If you’ve been anywhere near newspapers the past week or so you can’t have failed to have noticed the untimely deaths of many young people. I wrote only a few posts back about the sister of Missy’s best friend, killed as … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Inspiration and Reflection, Personal challenges
Tagged Chamonix, climbing deaths, death of a child, death of british climbers on Mont Blanc, deaths on mont blanc, French Alps, grief of parents, james brownhill climber, james brownhill sheffield, Mont Blanc
5 Comments
And I thought the Dutch Were Tolerant
Last night after a day driving down and around Victoria BC, we settled with our hosts to watch a movie. Nothing too challenging but with enough entertainment value to stop us drifting off to sleep. John Grisham’s The Rainmaker suited … Continue reading
When the Captain decided to check out the quality of Canadian Emergency Care
Wherever our family live or travel one of the first things we do is check out where to find the local hospital, or more importantly their Emergency Room. The first person I met on arriving in the Netherlands, Karen, admitted … Continue reading
From the Netherlands to British Columbia, Canada: A Treat for the Weary Spirit
All is well in British Columbia, this western bastion of Canada, where the looming mountains of Vancouver Island protect its eastern isles from the wrath and might of the vast Pacific Ocean. Nestling in its protective embrace the day dawns stealthily … Continue reading
Schiphol, Heathrow, Vancouver, Thetis Island: Traveling to the Edge of the World
When the Captain announced we would be traveling to Vancouver via London Heathrow‘s Terminal five I must admit to an involuntary shudder and a dampening of my usual high spirits. Why couldn’t we fly direct from Schiphol, our local airport in … Continue reading
My Father’s Greatest Gift
He’s never said, but I rather think my dad would have liked a son to share his macho interests, but being the man he is, decided to make the best of a bad job. From an early age I could … Continue reading
Kids Home Alone: Part II – The Installation of a Plastic Hot Tub
. . . continued from the previous post, in which we returned home from a weekend away to discover all was not quite as we had left it . . . I was still seething at the maltreatment of my … Continue reading
Kids Home Alone: Part I – What’s the Right Age?
OK we’re back, feeling a tad grouchy after having to deal with the cross Channel ferry . . . technically, according to the Captain, the trans North Sea ferry as we’re nowhere near the Channel travelling Hull to Rotterdam. I … Continue reading
Why Holland is the Worst Country for Drivers
Excuse me while I take a moment to swallow some heavy-duty Tylenol (to stop the pulsating banging in my head) washed down with something even stronger to subdue the need to kill anyone who comes into my field of vision. The … Continue reading
Who Dat?: Friendly Faces in Foreign Places
A while back driving home from Schiphol (Amsterdam) Airport, the Captain and I experienced something which got me thinking about how we react when we meet fellow countrymen thousands of miles from home. Our American home is New Orleans; I’ve … Continue reading
Dutch Workmen: Tips On Understanding The Tribe
I’ve been doing some unofficial research of late into the habits and behaviour of Dutch workmen. I say unofficial because it’s more observation than research and has happened only because we have decorators repainting the exterior of our building. It’s supposedly a twelve … Continue reading
Garden Gnomes and Pink Flamingos: The Ultimate in Taste
In the previous blog I wrote about how some people judge or pigeonhole others by the way they speak, which led me to wonder why people are also judgemental about other folks’ belongings, their choice of furniture, the way they decorate their homes. Who it is that dictates what … Continue reading
If The Accent Fits, Should We Wear It?
Struggling this morning with a thumping headache brought on by an accidental glue-sniffing incident (long story) I was rather concerned I wouldn’t be able to think of anything to blog about. Getting the grey matter going was a slow job, until I … Continue reading
Posted in England and Things English, Expat Experiences, USA
Tagged English language, foreign accents, Linguistics, posh accents, Regional accents of English, social aspirations and accents, what accent should we have, what accents tell us about people, what we can tell about people from their accent
5 Comments
Family Travels and Unaccompanied Children
There’s something rather nice about returning home from travelling, even if home is in a foreign country. It’s a feeling of having survived a mission during which so much could have gone wrong. As I mentioned a few posts ago, getting out of … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, The Netherlands, Travel
Tagged children travelling alone, cross channel ferry, expat children travelling alone, international travel and unaccompanied children, international travel with children, losing a passport while travelling, Passport, teens travelling alone, travel, travel from europe to UK, unaccompanied children and international travel, unaccompanied minors, when should kids travel on their own
6 Comments
Foreign Invasion: When the Tourists Arrive
The sun is beaming gloriously from a blue sky and it’s two days to go to the Easter weekend. As a family we hate traveling at peak holiday periods, we know Schiphol airport (Amsterdam) will be bursting at the seams … Continue reading
Posted in Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, The Netherlands
Tagged Dutch attitudes to expats, Dutch attitudes to foreigners, Dutch life, expats and locals, holidaymakers in the netherlands, holidays in the netherlands, summer in the netherlands, wassenaar netherlands, wassenaar the netherlands
3 Comments
Keukenhof: The Jewel in the Crown of The Netherlands
What I didn’t mention in The Perfect Palette : The Netherlands in Spring and what anyone living here would think of when you put ‘spring’ and ‘The Netherlands’ in the same sentence – the Keukenhof The reason, dear readers, is because I’ve saved … Continue reading
Dutch Death and Taxes: Where There’s a Will There’s a Lawyer
This week has seen the Captain and I have our annual meeting with our Dutch and US accountants – enough angst to put both of us in need of a long vacation somewhere warm, with hammocks, and 24-hour room service. … Continue reading
Posted in Dutch Culture, Dutch Laws, Taxes and Bureaucracy, Expat Experiences, Family Life, The Netherlands
Tagged do you need a will in the netherlands, do you need to have a will in holland, does an American living in the netherlands need a dutch will, dutch inheritance laws, Dutch inheritance laws and wills, dutch taxes and inheritance, dutch wills, expat and wills in holland, expat and wills in the netherlands, expat life, expats and wills, last will and testament
7 Comments
Loving your Dutch Bike
Ask anyone to think of anything Dutch and I guarantee the top four will be, in no particular order, tulips, windmills, clogs and bikes. Bikes will always be listed – they are such an ingrained part of Dutch life and … Continue reading
Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, Family Life, The Netherlands
Tagged best bike for the netherlands, biking in the netherlands, choosing a bike, dutch bikes, exploring the netherlands on a bike, humor, Jeremy Clarkson, learning to ride a bike, Netherlands, omafiets bikes in the netherlands
7 Comments
Dutch Rules and Regulations
There’s no getting away from it, the Dutch are a nation managed by infinite rules and regulations. They are there for a reason, they work and are immoveable. Even Moses would have had a tough time without the Ten Commandments in … Continue reading
Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Dutch Culture, Dutch Laws, Taxes and Bureaucracy, Expat Experiences, Family Life
Tagged bureaucracy in the netherlands, correct forms of ID in the netherlands, dutch bank cards and acceptable ID, dutch rules and regulations, humor, Identity document, Netherlands, Passport, passport as ID in the netherlands
8 Comments
Question: What is An Expat?
According to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) – for me the only font of knowledge when it comes to definitive explanation of all words English – ‘expatriate’ is defined as, ‘To expel, remove oneself from homeland; withdraw oneself from citizenship or … Continue reading
Spring Time and Dutch Delights: Dutch Leisure Pursuits
Finally after six long months of cold, wet and dark the Spring Equinox has arrived, the first day in the year when day and night are of equal length. From now until September 21 the days will be longer than the … Continue reading
Boomerang Kids
Life is pretty interesting in our house right now, especially for Missy who has moved back into the bosom of her family after graduating in December. This is not the scenario she had planned as she stood on the verge of … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Personal challenges
Tagged boomerang kids, employment for graduates, entry level jobs, expat family, expats with boomerang kids, financing kids post college, graduates moving home, TCKs finishing college, TCKs moving home after college, TCKs returneing home after college
3 Comments
Disaster and Tragedy: The Emotional Cost
In 2001 I spent days watching footage from Japan. Then last week Hurricane Sandy. What struck me with both was my utter numbness. It seems inhuman and inhumane to admit this in the face of such horror and suffering on … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Hurricane Katrina, Personal challenges, Politics and Social Comment
Tagged aftermath of disasters, aftermath of hurricane Sandy, clean-up after disasters, emotional trauma, emotional trauma after natural disasters, Expat, hurricane Katrina, hurricane Sandy, Japan, mental well-being of survivors, New Orleans, psychological effect of natural disaster on
8 Comments
Negative? Moi?
There have been grave rumblings in our household of late which were finally verbalised over dinner the other night. It seems my family members are concerned by – in their opinion – negative aspects in my blogs on life in the … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, Writing
Tagged Expat, negative writing, Netherlands, on reading, the four agreements
5 Comments
Leash Laws and Dog Wardens
The bell tolls long and loud for all Dutch dog owners from 1 March through to 1 August. The annual leash laws mean rather than running freely through public parks and woodland (in slow motion with the theme to Chariots of … Continue reading
Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Dutch Culture, Dutch Laws, Taxes and Bureaucracy, Expat Experiences, Family Life
Tagged dog laws in the netherlands, Dogs, dogs in the netherlands, Expat, expat family, expat pets, leash laws in the netherlands, Life Around The Hague, Netherlands
2 Comments
Raunchy Daffodils and Randy Tulips: Learning the Lingo Part III
February, and those fragile signs that winter is finally drawing to a close and spring is just around the corner. Spending time outdoors walking the Archster I’m perhaps more aware than most of the changing seasons – when the first snowdrops appear and … Continue reading
Posted in Dutch Culture, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Learning Dutch, Personal challenges
Tagged daffodils, Dutch language, Dutch tulips, Expat, expat experiences, expats and new languages, how to speak Dutch, learning a foreign language, learning Dutch, Life Around The Hague, Netherlands, speaking Dutch, Tulip
3 Comments
New Orleans – Proud to Have Called Her Home
It is the traveler with real soul who will go beyond the guide books and tourist hype to find the beating heart of a place and the rhythm of the people who live there. If you are someone who feels … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Travel, USA
Tagged expat homesickness, feelings of home, Louisiana USA, mississippi river, New Orleans, southernliving, United States
6 Comments
Life’s Certainties: the Dutch and Taxes
It’s January and there’s that sinking feeling in my stomach. Not the winter blues, nor the realisation that the New Years Resolution to lose 10 lbs by the end of the month is a lost cause. No, this is the gargantuan … Continue reading
Posted in Advice for New Arrivals in the Netherlands, Dutch Culture, Dutch Laws, Taxes and Bureaucracy, Expat Experiences
Tagged belastingdienst, Dutch taxes, Expat, expats and international tax, Internal Revenue Service, international tax, international tax in the netherlands, IRS, IRS and international tax, US citizens and Dutch tax, USA taxes
3 Comments
How the English Approach Language Learning: Learning the Lingo Part I
The Captain and I settled into uncomfortable silence, looking down at the space between us. We had made an executive decision to, maybe, engage the services of a private Dutch tutor to finally get to grips with the language. There … Continue reading
Posted in England and Things English, Expat Experiences, Family Life, Learning Dutch, Personal challenges
Tagged Battle of Agincourt, Expat, expat experiences with languages, expat life, expats learning new language, how to learn a new language, humor, languages, learning a new language, learning Dutch
1 Comment
Diplomatic Incidents In the Sick Bed
I have been forced back to bed for the day by my husband, not for the bliss of carnal delights, but because he seems to think I’m ‘going down with something’. The possibility of the domestic helm being unmanned has galvanised him into action, … Continue reading
Planes, Trains and Snowmobiles
Here we go again. Further adventures in the Snowmobile. The Captain is en route from Harwich along with refugees from the nightmare of Heathrow and the other London airports. Guess who’s designated to pick him up? I’m also collecting Don and Stuart, … Continue reading
Posted in Expat Experiences, Family Life, The Netherlands
Tagged driving, driving in snow, Harwich Rotterdam ferry, Heathrow, hook of holland ferry, international travel delays due to weather, keeping warm in vehicle in snow conditions, snow mobile, stuck in vehicle in bad weather, travel delays due to snow, travel delays due to snow in europe, travel delays due to snow in the Netherlands, travel delays due to snow in UK, travel problems, winter driving in the Netherlands
4 Comments
Wassenaar White-out
I’m done with the snow and you can cancel Christmas too. We woke up this morning to the wonderful light and deep quiet of a new snowfall, a real magical winter wonderland. Like an idiot I’d promised Harry I’d drive … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Thanksgiving and Holidays, Expat Experiences, Inspiration and Reflection, The Netherlands
Tagged Christmas, December in the Netherlands, driving in snow, Expat, loving snow, serenity of snow, snow days in the netherlands, snow in the netherlands, Thanksgiving and Holidays, traffic delays in snow, winter driving in the Netherlands, winter traffic in the netherlands
1 Comment
wordgeyser 
And Death Came Third: Facing Your Fears
I was chatting with someone recently and they mentioned a book whose title has played on my mind ever since. Called And Death Came Third, it was the title which initially caught my interest. I haven’t read the book (yet) but the idea … Continue reading →