New Year, New Post

New year's eve in our neighborhood reminded my of the night videos from Operation Desert Storm. Like, non-stop lights and explosions and smoke so thick we couldn't see across the street. It lasted at that level for 2 full hours. Some of our neighbors decided to burn the fireworks boxes after using them ... I'm glad there's idiots here too, not just in the US. Fortunately the box that exploded was in an upright position on the fire, and the fireworks went up instead of, say, up the nose of one the idiots.

I started back to newbie Dutch class last week, and it looks like the Russian girl dropped out. She's missed more than 20% of the classes now, so can't pass. I'm still making good progress with my speaking and listening. I went to the library last night with Astrid, and didn't have any problem. The librarian mention she had a British colleague that managed to learn Dutch in 6 months, and both her and Astrid thought I was well on my way to doing the same. Woohoo!

There's a lot of people that stay here for years without learning Dutch (EU still people don't have to until applying for permanent residency), which I just don't understand. Sure, you can speak English at your job and most shops and talk to family and fellow ex-pats, but it seems so limiting. Like you're only living half the life you could be living. I don't get it :-P

So I got signed up with the Utrecht province library system, which just involved showing a photo ID and a random letter from the bank with my name and address on it. And 42.50 euros for an unlimited yearly subscription (and 3.50 for a waterproof satchel with shoulder strap). But that includes up to 10 books borrowed at a time, and free CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray. I could have gotten it free through the city because I'm inburgering, but it's a small price so I'm not bothered about it.

The library closest to me is less than half a mile away, though it's a smallish one. There's a huge one south of downtown Amerfoort that has a huge selection, including a decent amount of novels for adults learning Dutch. I checked out three this morning. There's a closer library with books for Dutch learners, but all the novels were for children and angst-infested teens. Ugh.

I signed up for B1 lessons at James Boswell Instituut last week, after emailing my inburgering contact to get the info needed to have the NVA billed instead of me. It was easy ... also ordered the textbook. I'm taking the morning class, since I can get a ride with Jan and get there just a bit early, then take the bus and train home quickly afterward. I'll be home in time for an afternoon nap, and making dinner will be waaay easier. I had to get a new OV (public transit) card, since the regular one can't handle off-peak discounting on the trains.

Riding the train sounds pretty easy. I just put my card near a reader when entering the train station or on the platform before boarding, then do the same thing after I get off. Apparently conductors have a card reader to make sure card-using passengers have swiped in, when they walk through to check for tickets. I'm going to give it a try on Monday. A classmate living nearby is be taking the same train at the same time, so it shouldn't be too scary :-P