Wow, it’s hard to believe we’ve already been in Amsterdam for a week. It’s been great to catch up with our old team and some of our Dutch friends. It’s also nice to see so many of the familiar faces around the campus (and lots of new ones too). We took a nice long walk around the city last Saturday and walked by some of our favorite places…remembering how much we like Amsterdam and Dutch culture.
The FIS start date was pushed back a week due to some of the students who had immigration difficulties. It was actually a big relief… another week to get organized and get over the jet lag. Today was the first day of class; it’s looking to be a great school. We were looking at our schedules last night and realized how fast these three months are going to go. I’m wrapping up my thesis project and staffing the FIS, Becka is taking classes and teaching English, and somehow Aidan is going to be in the middle of it all!
Speaking of Aidan, he is definitely missing everyone back home. For some reason this has definitely been the hardest transition for him. But it helps that everything here is somewhat familiar to him, and there are no shortages of trains, buses, and other exciting things to see! He loves to say ‘no’ to every question you ask him these days, except he is very polite; he randomly started saying ‘no thanks’ to just about everything. So a normal conversation will go like this:
Me: Aidan, do you want to have a snack before bed?
Aidan: No thanks.
Me: Ok, then its time to go to bed.
Aidan: No thanks, daddy.
Me: Well, I don’t think you understood, it’s not really a choice. Lets brush you teeth.
Aidan: No thanks mommy and daddy. I play toys.
He also likes to repeat things he’s heard from Thomas and Friends (as I’m writing this, he’s yelling, “bust my buffers Thomas!”)
Here’s what Amsterdam looks like in the winter:
It’s amazing how much light affects mood, schedule, etc. It doesn’t get light until after 8:30am (which makes it hard to get out of bed!) But one of the things I like about Amsterdam is that (on the rare occasions) when the sun is shining, the whole atmosphere of the city changes.
glad you all are safe and sound and getting back into the swing of things. post some pics when you can - the city is so beautiful!
Glad to hear you are settling in well!
You are greatly missed here, too.
Violet asks after each of you at least ten times a day (no joke). She was crying in her high chair the other night and I was trying to figure out what she wanted “Do you want crackers? Do you want banana? Do you want raisins?” and she said very pitifully “I want Aidan!”
Also, E&E were arguing over who would get to marry Aidan. I had to break it to them gently that the answer to that is neither of them. Anyway, you are loved and missed!
oh, the last part that post made me teary eyed. i so miss being a part of his everyday life, and hearing about all the cute stuff, and having such an adorable shadow…this list could go on
i’m hoping to catch you guys on skype tomorrow (sat.)! miss you all.