The van Putten Diaries

Happy New Year's Eve.... but, literally, the above translates to happy old year's evening . And I love that.  So much.  Perhaps it's a barely notable shift in the language, but I like the way the Dutch phrase emphasizes the close of the old year, drawing attention to something past rather than constantly looking forward.  I think American culture isn't comfortable sitting in the present and reflecting on growth as much as it is interested in moving forward through the constant hustle.  I can barely talk, though, since I've spent a long time now planning for a future that has just become a reality.  I hustled a whole lot to get out of that very culture. New Year has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember.  It's celebrated globally (even if the date itself varies), it's not tied to a particular religion, it's an event that you can celebrate individually or with a chosen group rather than an obligatory one.  No one judges you if you t...

Do you have any homesick feelings?  Or just happy? Just about two weeks into our move, one of my favorite humans texted this to me.  I had only started having passing thoughts and feelings about the PNW at the time and maybe I would have described them as homesickness.  I didn't want to analyze it too heavily yet, though, since that point in my cycle is always flooded with nonsense emotes anyway.  But, in the time since, I've used their question as a sort of barometer to check myself and to try to understand how I'm processing this huge life change.   When I think about Tacoma, some imagery makes me feel... something(s).  It's not nostalgia yet, it's not really missing or yearning for anything either, and it's certainly not homesickness.  It's more like a cozy anticipation of the passing of time lessening my feelings in general.  I look forward to things mattering less, though I'm also surprised at how little they matter thus far.  ...

We have done SO much in these last two weeks.  I feel pretty amazed at how awesome we are and I wanted just to brag.  You may not feel like these are quite as exciting as I do, but with two kids following us around 24/7 everything becomes that much more difficult and I become that much more grateful when we succeed! In relation to setting up our lives here, we have: Rented bikes through a long term rental company then purchased and mounted kid seats on them. Viewed 5 houses, had 2 meetings with our realtor, and settled on a home to purchase (hopefully the offer will be on the table today). Taken the train to the burbs of Amsterdam to get official through the immigration department, biometrics for all of us included.  Walked an average of 5 miles per day, in addition to the bike riding, while we not only go through the basics but also explore the city and get a feel for the various neighborhoods. Found so many wonderful shops, including the REI equivalent (omg did we need ...

One week ago today, we flew away from Sea-Tac International Airport (after a 2.5 hour delay due to snow) and eventually landed at Schiphol, ready to start our new lives.  That flight wasn't the beginning of this journey, though - we arrived after almost 2 years of preparations and we still have quite a way to go.  Before I make this thing to public, I thought I'd detail a bit of the what and how of our process.  We'll get to the "why" eventually, but that's a longer story. We've moved to the Netherlands under the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (aptly referred to as DAFT), which allows entrepreneurs from one country to setup a business and reside in the other.  It is a 2-year visa that needs to be renewed only one time and then leads to permanent residency.  The spouse and children of the entrepreneur receive residency permits as well and, as of 2020, the spouse also obtains a work permit and can enter the Dutch workforce.  If we so choose, after 5 years ...

Are there volcanoes in the Netherlands?  No, there are no volcanoes in the Netherlands. This is one of those gems that DuoLingo threw at me and hit me like a ton of bricks last week.  There aren't any volcanoes.  Nor evergreen trees.  Nor... hills. We move to the Netherlands in 23 days and the anxiety is real.  Not just because of the logistics of the move or getting rid of almost all of our stuff (we're not really taking anything with us), but mostly it's the awareness that we're probably not coming back.  I've been through transitions like this before, the kind where I start to think "this may be the last time that I ever...", and I've learned that I have to push through without stopping to feel the weight of it until it's passed.  I'm preparing myself to navigate this experience the same way, but it's more difficult to wrap my head around because it's so much bigger.  Even after 2 years of planning, I'm still trying to remind my ...