The van Putten Diaries

We woke up at 04:30 this morning to tune into election results as they swept towards the American west coast, and, while we were definitely sad, we weren't surprised.  One of Nic's first statements was "Well, at least he won't have to resort to violence to steal it."  This has been my biggest train of thought all along - there was likely going to be violence either way.  Violence if he came out behind, violence if he came out ahead.  Violence not just from the Right, also from the Left.  No one was going to fix the broken systems and culture that make up the United States either, so the idea of Harris winning and things being okay wasn't one I subscribed to (just like when Biden won and everyone else seemed to feel relieved). Nic and I went for a long walk just before Wisconsin was called to process our thoughts and feelings together.  I want to record these thoughts for myself, but also to share with you - random reader - in case you want to process this m...

I have a lot to say about our trip to the US, but I'm not feeling eloquent enough to turn it into a nice and coherent thing to read thing.  However, I took excellent notes during the whole trip and I think it would be entertaining to share these one-liners with you. During the car ride from the airport to Tacoma: "I forgot about those really big trees." - David "This is scary." - Miles, while we were on a freeway onramp. I kept looking around and sitting with the feeling that my mom wasn't there anymore. "What was that?!" - David, about the noise a car made while it revved its engine. "It's a flipped over white ship made of tires. Really big." - Miles about the Tacoma Dome. In Tacoma: This latte cost $5.99 omg. The political yard signs were less loud - more green, more unique blues, less red. "I recognize that park, but just a little." - David while driving past People's Park for the first time. Continuing the theme that...

This post was written by a friend who visited us with his family in May. Our kids went to school together in Tacoma and we lived in the same neighborhood. This visit was short, but we look forward to spending some time with them during our upcoming trip to the US 🥰 This summer we were fortunate enough to visit the Netherlands, France and Italy. Going to Europe was a chance to get away from a neighborhood that overwhelms my senses from the cars, the gun violence and those experiencing homelessness. Being in Europe brought solace for my senses, and times of stress for my older son's. I was at peace riding a bicycle through the streets while he stressed out that one of the many cyclists might crash into him. Our children were able to have a good visit with the van Puttens and we will miss the pigs from our farmstay. The only thing I missed about my life in the neighborhood in the US was baking bread and my daily meditation of feeding the yeast. Being back in the neighborhood after ou...

Miles declared recently, seemingly out of the blue, that when he is of the age to learn his 3rd language at school, he would learn French.  He said that if he could speak English, Chinese, and French (or Spanish) that he would be able to speak to most people in the world, and it sounded like that idea really appealed to him. I asked Miles if speaking multiple languages felt like a superpower... and he said no.  He said it just felt normal.  We reminded him of how difficult he found it to engage with other kids when we first got here and he didn't speak Dutch - didn't he feel that that experience signified that it wasn't actually normal?  Maybe, he replied, but he mostly just pretended that we hadn't mentioned that aspect at all. I certainly think being multilingual is a superpower, and I have always thought so, but I can also understand why Miles might disagree, even considering the difficulties he faced in his first few months here.  The culture around language...

The end of May was hard.  We lost 2 loved ones just 10 days apart, one a close friend and the other my mom.  Both were expected, as much as death can be, but being halfway around the world added another layer of emotion, I think.  We're still processing in our own different ways, and I imagine we will be for a long time yet. When we moved, I heavily suspected that the goodbye hug with my mom was going to be my last hug with her.  We continued to have weekly phone calls, which we'd done since before the pandemic.  There have been various periods in which I knew things weren't great for her and I wondered if it would be our last call.  I tried to treat each one as if it was and I did my best to pull her along with me in my stories, to bring her a few moments of joy.   Our last call was good.  I don't remember what we talked about while I took the dogs for a walk, but I remember feeling like it was a goodbye that felt kind of floaty.  She o...

REMINDER OF THE PREVIOUS INTRO:   If you know Nic at all, you probably understand that he's a walking encyclopedia for both relevant and irrelevant information spanning all sorts of subjects.  It's been just about a year since I spoke with him for this blog and there have been quite a few developments relating to his field(s) of expertise (particularly international relations) which I wanted to get his feedback on since people on both sides of the world have been asking.   I also wanted to give him an opportunity to check-in on a personal level, but he is far less analytical on that topic. ....................... Alex:   Okay, so is there anything else you want to say? Nic:  Various little things.  I'm finishing my Dutch class with my test on Wednesday.  I think I'm going to pass, but learning Dutch is slow.  I can speak with more people, but not to the point where I can go hang out with a Dutch person and just chat without switching to...

REMINDER OF THE PREVIOUS INTRO:   If you know Nic at all, you probably understand that he's a walking encyclopedia for both relevant and irrelevant information spanning all sorts of subjects.  It's been just about a year since I spoke with him for this blog and there have been quite a few developments relating to his field(s) of expertise (particularly international relations) which I wanted to get his feedback on since people on both sides of the world have been asking.   I also wanted to give him an opportunity to check-in on a personal level, but he is far less analytical on that topic. ....................... Alex:  Can you tell me about what's happening in Europe?  We've been asked by folks how Geert Wilders' victory in the Dutch election last November has affected our outlook and we know there's a trend towards the right in Europe, but is any of it actually changing your lens regarding our move? Nic:  There are a number of things that I thin...